Emotions in the Lives of Children

DOCUMENT.RESUME ED 164 133 AUTHOR TITLE INSTITUTION REPORT NO PUB DATE NOTE, AVAILABLE FROM PS 010 338 Herbert, Wray Emotions in' the Ives of .Children. , National Inst.. of.'llen-ta.3 Health (DREW), Rockville, Md. Div. ofpcientific and Public- Information. DHEW-ADM-78 May 77. 20p. Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, WAshington, D.C. 20402 ($1.00, Stock No. 017-024-00656-4) 41. EDRS. PRICE DESCRIPTORS MF=$0.83 HC-$1.67 Plus Postage. *Altruism; Children; *Emotional Development; -*Empathy; .Imitation; Infants; Longitudinal Studies; 'Modeling (Psychological); Mothers; *Perspective Taking; *Prosocial Behavior; Research; Role Models; L Social Development . ABSTRACT Several related studies' of empathy and.altiuism in children were conducted to answer such questions as: (1) What are the -very early signs of empathy and-altruism in children? A2) What kinds . of.transformqtion's in'these behaviors take place during.development? and (3) Hdw do rearing experienCes influence these behaviors? Data related to these questions.were obtained from several age -groups and through different methods. Children 10 months,to,2-1/2.years were studied in the, environmenE'by trained mothers who functioned ig research assistants.. Children 3-1/2-5-1/2 years were studied under experimental conditions. Children. 5-8 years were studied in nursery schools And day camps through naturalistic and systematic observation. Among the findings, developmentally changing behaviors were noted : childrenls response to the distress of another begins (around 14-12 months) with, agitated fa4a1 eipressi.ons and/or cry of distress' and proceeds-through touching or rubbing the injured p#rson andc later to trying on feelingS,by'deliberate-imitation and self-referencing or immediate taking ,on the emotion of the injured other. An increase in altruism appears to require a combination of conditions in which caregivers have a narturantrelationship with-the child and actively demonstrate altruism inbehavior toward people in distress. IAuthor/RH), 7 a - v ******************************4c********************** **************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the-bedt that can:be made * * from the briginai document. ,j *********i******************************************** ***************** - / "/ NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION 8. WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECE1vED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS -STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICiAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY JS Oi' so I ti IP "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY N TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATI0p) CENTER (ERIC) liND USE4 OF THE ERIC SYSTEM." - a 4' J x Inestigator: Marian' Radke Yarrow, Ph.D.. Chief, Laboratory of Developmental Pychology Division 44 Clinical and Behavioral Resear Intramur4lResearch Program National Institute .of Mental Health Bethesda, Maryland 20014 Author: Wray Herbert .Date of Ilterview: May'1977 Mental Health Studies and Reports Branch -. Division of Scientific and Public Infozraation. Nati Onal Institute 61- Mental Health- 5603Mers Lane ,..Maryland0857. Roc . ;. 40 A . 4. F:,6r sale by the superintendent of Doattmentii. 1.7:;S: dpve-rninent Printing Office . WIssiungton...D.q204102 Stock No 0*4124-00656-4 - . . sr- - :. -,s FOREWORD Rarely do we think of-infants and shall Cli.ildr4a in terms of emotional beings. Yet, children.from infancy on hlre iuri a world surrounded by emotionsthe infant laviShecl..with parental -..---; love; the toddler experiencing peer envy, anger, fear; and the-7 ._ -. growing child exposed to TV violence and eikpariding, etivi- ,-.. .. . rotamental pressures. When do children bec e,sansitive to -Leniotional cis in the world around. them'i.) ..IL at impact do itheseues have on children? What is in *the process of c dren's emotional growth? Do .01-:it ildrenf.experience the same' emotions in the same way? Dr. Marian Yarrow, Chief of theNationalInstituteofMental Health's Laboratory-of Developmental Psychology, and her - colleag-uet havetindertaken the di,fficult task ioPattempting to . ' _answer_,--fhese question g They are investigating -tale broad ... s._-alit-6 Cif factors involvegin the emoticirial.development of children; with a goal of piecing tog-ethei a scientific portrait of' emotions in phililrep. , In a world made cynical by daily items of international conflict and interpersonal aggression, the description of Dr. Y- OVeS research presented in this report provides a refreshg perspective. It deals with emerging :pro-Social bellhyior in .children, examining the complex'!dynainies involved in how .- . _ - . :. dm .7 .. w .... in 14 '1- ..,:- . empathythe forerunner of altruistic .behavierdevelOps in children an its _relationship to. perceptual and cognitive, abilities, goci7ê1 awareness, ad stable personality traits. The research is of great iniportanee to those interested in children for it suggests that adult- modeling plays a- crucial=role in nourishing altruistic lbarning- early m a child's life.. Parents particjulaill will gain insight into the emotional 7.'''stiaitili they provide their "childien through their-childrearirig--. . .practaces. Researchers "will gain new .perspectives -.regardingthe complex techniques involved in tracing developniental _ Changes in young -ehildrerr. . . ,. ... .. Francis N. Waldrop, M.D Acting Director National Institute- of Mental Health . 1 air Emotions In the Lives of Children . 412 The emotions of children are a. difficult area for scientific I: child behavior, it is essential to examine themto learn how they develop and how they are adaptive or maladaptive in the lives= of young children_ . Virtually all things_ that children do have emotional components. In early-learning, in the processes of discovery..-and imoblemsolving, there are emotional investments and.'reacdons of a- positive nature; and, just as surely, there are vainful emotions- locked into learning-failures. Childrearing a3ad edu-,cation involve significant. emotional interchanges between ',. adult' and child, just as a -child's life does among hi"S. peers. Wheil behavior becomes "pioblem be vior," clisorderecl.4:r uncontrolled emotions are usually invoked. One has but to ask a few questions to- discover how vastl3Fs uncharted the realm of emotional deyelopinent is: (1) Do e ,dren -of all ages experience the same emotions 7-.-joy, anger, b-guilt,-p ride, and so forth--"--and do they experience themiiii the same way? (Although most of us feel quite secure in assutiun g that experiences are different for a toddler' and a 12-yeaf7old and that *fdeirelopmental changes must. take -place,---4iith emotions as they ,do with other behavibrs, what is not clear-is the nature of these developmental-changes.) (.2Y How do other matliring-gabilities di" the child, such as cognitive abilities and personality variables, interact with emotional development? (3) What- argsthe influences Qf childhood expeiences on the 1---,study;-yet, because they are inseparable from many aspects of - . . immediate and long-term emotional characteristics of the child? Much research must still be directed to these qUestionS 4 5C- 1L ap- before they can be answered with a needed specificity and sophistication. Thfsfresearch effort must, of necessity, focus on specific -aspects M the larger questions. Scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) engaged in re- , search on emotional_, development of .children'have been concerned particularly_ with emotions in the environments of children and how these emotions affect the emotions and behavior_ of children. In other words, how sensitive are children to the emotions of persons around them; how do children "process" and act upon the emotional input from their social environ- rnent?' And how are reactions to this emotional input influenced by the developmental level and by the ways in which the child is reared? The scientific team engaged in this research is led by Dr. Marian Radke Yarrow, Chief of the NIMH Laboratory of Developmental.- Psychology. .Dr. Carolyn Waxier has been a major collaborator during much of the research, and more recently Dr. David Barrett has joined the research team. In addition, Dr. Phyllis Scott, now at Monash University in Australia; and Dr. Robert King, now at the Children's Hospital National Medical. Center in Washington, D.C., were involved in earlier phases of the-program. What is meant by emotional, or affective; input from the:environmerit? The NIMH scientists decribed the foundation for their respazch: "Consider the day-to-day experiences of childKen. A large class of stimuli includes the emotions and feelings qperson.s in their world. Children ar&often observers of these events just as they-are the observers of other events. They are bystanders, to the glee and thrill of a playmate who has found' her lost kitten, to the grievAng of a friend whose parent has died, to the anger of two drivers competing fdr the same parking space. The emotions of others often intimately t bound up with interactions- with. the are child, as, for example, when a mother displays fright and anger as slie rescues her child from danger or when the child is in daily contact with a sullen or depressed father. In these instances, a parent's exnbtions Have direct consequences for a child; under other circumstances, -tile emotions may be something akin to traffic noise or climate they are context, background." There -is every reason to believe that these stimuli do not -.unheeded by children. Indeed, there is considerable evidence that ;even very_yoting children are keenly sensitive to the feelin4.5_,of others and that they often pick up subtle cues. Many an adult, for example, who has tried to .conceal his or ----hex' real feelings to "protect" a Gild, has learned that "einoional fraud" is not easy, perhaps not even possible. Just how diserhninating are children? What are the respohsive behaviots of Children when they are confronted with. emotional . _- stimuli in -their environment? .7- "Emotion" is a label for an extensive -assortment of states and behavio.rs. Psychological research on emotions goes back a long way in the history of child studies. During the 1930's and .1940's,.scientists gave intense scrutiny to the emotions of infants-,--looking to discover what emotions are present at birth and soon after and how early different kinds of emotions are experienced and expreSsed. The-roles of both maturation and experience were given consideration. There'-were investigations of specific emotionsfears in young children, what they are how they came into being, and how they might be eliminated. However, over the, years, a systematic study of children's emotions dia not Continue in any broad or comprehensive way. Research bias flourished op certain areas of early emotional life, notably-infant attachment to the mothei and child hostility and aggression. Other areas have been neglected. Thus, children's affection, outside the studies of mother- child bonds, ' has not been closely examined, and, similarly, childfen'ssorrow and depression remain poorly understobd. Many other emotional .states (pride, guilt, shame, fear), important in the lives of children, have had relatively little systematic study. The research at NIMH's Laboratory of Developmental Psy'cho,logy,began with a focus on empathy and feelings of collipassion \and altrVism in children. Successive studies .involved broader emotions in the lives of children_ Empathy; as the investigators view it, is emotional arousal -in response to another person's emotional experiences; it is the vicarious experiencing of another's emotion. (As you witness the car door slam shut.on your friend's fingers, you shuddetpr. feel taint.) The capacity foreempathy is essential for effective interpersonal relationships: Empathy, it is assumed, is a basis for compassionate feelingd and. 'altruistic behaviors toward (e.g., acts of help, rescue, generosity, sympathy). There is a long history of controversy.- about altruism, wliet it is or is not a part of human nature. The literature-of philo ophy, the writings of Darwin and of Freud, the investigad s in present-day biology and psychOlog-y attest to the con ued interest in. the kinds of feelings and behaviors that result in benefit to other persons. Research in various disci-' plines has begun to transform the -discussion of "altruism" from phil9Sophical argument to empirical data. As an example of the Q?iological approach, 15r. Paul MacLean of NIMH is currently searching out the possible neural base of empathy. From psychological studies, the2e is accumulateainformation on the fo -ss s of altruism- and the processed `and conditions underlyin these behavi9rs. The NIMH reseb.r41...teall has approadhed these questions.fTom a developinental perspective. What4are the very early signs of empathy artd altruism in children? What kinds of transformations in these behaviors take . place -during development? How do rearing experiences influence-:' these behaviors? These- questions have led the reseakchers through a series of dstudies which provide new understanding of the development of emotions in the lives of children. The Methods The NIMH scientists have used a variety of methods in their investigations: (1) They have designed experiments in which "mini-social situations" are created, in which to observe children. (2) They have used \systematic techniques for observing children in natural interabtiohs. (3) They hate trained moth- ers to observe and report on their children's behaviors, to provide data not readily accessible to an "outsider." The studies have been carried out in various "laboratories" --the NIMI-1 psychology laboratory itself, the children's homes, nursery schools, and:, summer camps. The children have ranged in age from 9 months to 8 years. Since the methods for arriving at information on these complex bZhaviors are important, each methpa is describe& below. LJ.i.tig an experimental approach, the researchers measured the altruistic behaviors of more than a hundred 31/2- to 51/2-yearo5ds by obtaining their responses to pictured persons or a.nimacs in distress (e.g. (e.g., a child as fallen out of a swing) and to behavioral events of (e.'g-L., a teaches apparently bumps her head hard on a desk as she gets up after retrieving a pencil that had fallen under the de6k). The children who showed little altruiSm became part of an experiment. Their preschool experiences were carefially, programed to provide them with different conditions of adult care and teaching_ These were specific learning conditions of adult care and teaching that researchers hypothesized were important in the development of empathy and altruistic behaviors. In this experiment, groups of children spent a period of time on each of 5 days spaced over several weeks with experimenterzteachers; who took care of the children in different ways. With` half of the group, the adults systematically bkilt up wal-m and nurturant relationships with the childrest. Tlaelother half of the. group had teachdrs who . maintained 40;teutral, detached distance, adequately taking care of the children's needs but not offering attentive nurturanee. After these his, ries ' of relationships between child and adult had been esta dished, the teachers, during the next I weeds, systematically zovided learning exrieriences about 1 behaving alttkListically elping, sharing, comforting. Teaching was done o ways: One way was the use of picture stories or toy_ drakes that might call for empathy and altrtiism (for example, monkey trying to retrieve banana that has, fallen outside thecage; a child has falles, off a bicycle). The teacher interpreted each story or event, explain4 .. _ It a ing how the animal or child felt and what might bq said or done to intervenein this ,way conveying principles or expectations regarding behavior in response to someone's distress. In a second way of teaching, the adult modeled real -`helping, sharing, and tomfcirting-. Situations involving.. minor distresses to the-adult or a-pet or a peer (for example, rescuing a kitten that had become entangled in yarn, attending to the minor injury- of another teacher with words of sympathy, or sharing 'materials with a peer vOho was without them) were carefully, integrated into the preschool routine. -Half the growiTas'of children who had a-highly nurturant caretaker and half who had a low-nurturant caretaker received only the first kind of training (the symbolic and verbal altruism); the other half of the nurtured and ldrw-nurtured groups received both kintls of training. The children were reassessed on altruism for 2 days, and then again 2 weeks after training, on different situations in which helping, sharing, or comforting would be a esponse. . This brief account,' hardly a technical or scientific description of the experimeni; illustrates how experimental methods can be used to investigate children's social and emotional behavior. The objective of this experiment was to Yecreatein the laboratory, as authentically as possible; on a n?iniatue scale, different styles. -of childrearing. The 'experimenters' played the roles of different kinds of mother-subsikutes in order to study how rearing influences.- the likelihood of a child's responding to anther's distress. Naturalistic observations were the major tool for studying child emotions and behaviors. In other phases of the research program, children were observed in play-and in work projects with their.peers. Systematic observation requires precise rules for sampling behavior and for recording and interpreting it. In some of the studies, behavicir was recorded in specific categories (for example, shaies, shouts angrily, cries, seek mother's attention). The categories varied, depeiaduig on the specific research questions of each study. In order to make certain that the observational records were providing reasonably accurate accounts, two observers piooceedecl independently, and their reports were analyzed for correspondence. In other-obeervational studies of altruism, the ,researchers' accounts were made, in narrative form and then coded into 'categories_For example: - . . ny is sitting in front of the TV with her faMily eating dinner. The s program parades on-the-spot coverage of the bloody death and destruction of street fighting in a current war. The 'family goes on with the dinner conversation as the news continues. Ginny chews her food and drinks her milk, all the time watching. At one point she grimaces, but she is almost immediately caught up in her father's comment about the family car. k. For still other studies, mothers were trained as research 5 assistants in techniques of observing and recording behavior. They were asked to report incidents of distress in their child's environment- in which there were expressions of feeling anger, fear,.sofrow, pain, fatigue, and so forth. The mothers followed a specified form for dictating their observations, always including: (1) who was expressirig emotion, (2) what was being expressed, (3) what caused the emotion, (4) what the child's responses to '(or about) the pepson(s) showing, emotion were, and <5) what the mother's own behaviorg were_ One mother, fdr example, dictated this narrative of an 1:8-month-old child: A nbeighbor's baby cries. S 'looked- startled, her body stiffened. She approached and tried to give the baby cookiek. She followed him around and began to whimper herself. She then cried to stroke his hair, but he pulled away. Later, she approached her mother. led her to the baby, and tried to put mother's hand on the baby'g head. He calmed down a little. but S still looked worried. She continued to bring him toys and to pat his head- and shoulders. A single research approach, Dr. Yarrow explains, would bez, inadequate; some methods are best suited to some stages of research, and .different methods to others. Also,. it is important to replicate and validate a finding through the use of differing procedukes. The Findings The initial studies of children's altruism were addressed to the question of howand, indeed, whetheraltruistic behavior could be increased in young children. Could the methods-of caretaking and teaching, which are known influence other child behaviors, also influence sympathetictobehaviors? That is, would an adult's modeling of altruism lead to the child'ks imitation of the altruistic acts? Would the imitations that occurred in the presence of an adult model translate into an enduring form of altruism? Would nurturant adult models be most effective in influencing children's learning of altruism? Td answer these qvestions, Dr_ Yarrow and her ,colleagues carried out the experiment, described ear1ir, with 31/2- to 51/2year -old children. The difFerent kinds of care and fraining provided by the various conditions of the experiment had very different effects on the children.. Children who were tried in words and symbols (pictures and toy materials only) expr6ssed,more-generosity and helping only at the level of words and symbols, not in situations calling for actual behavior: The nurturance of the adult -made no difference_ The children whose training included also the caregiver's modeling of actual helpful and compassionate .behavior to "victims': of distress, and whose caregiver was nurturant toward them (in a sense, modeling helpfulness and compassion toward them) we're the children 'whose own altruistic behavior increased 1 4 markedly. Their' behaviors were sometimes quite ingenious afisl remarkably se0itive arid adaptive. One child, for examresponded in the following way to one of the experimental "distress" situations used to assess' the effects of the expsrimentartraining : A mother has brought her f2-month-old infant for a visit. He is "in a playpen. The mother who has(been playing with the child leaves the room for a Moment and in lea -accidently" pull(f..he tout of his grasp, outside the playpen. This event invariably }exult some protest and distress. The child of-the experiment Ts momentarily alone beside the playpen. Returning the toy to the baby is a 'usual act of kindness. This child (age 4), however, returned the toy, brought still an9ther; and reached out.and patted the baby's arm while trying to talk to him comfortingly. Thus an increase in altruisrr_ -ed a combination of conditionsparent surrogate wht, both a nurturant relationship with the child-and demonstrated altruism notjust in stories or words but generally in her behavior toward_ people in distress. There was another important element in the caregiver's behavior in the experimental ,training,_ namely, when distress occurred' she verbally brought the distress to the child's attention, interpreting how the "victim" probably felt and explaining how her helping was making a difference in the victim's feelings. In the toy drama where the monkey is unable to reach the banana, for example, the experimenter would say, "Oh, you -can't reach your banana. You must be hungry. I'll help you get 4then you'll feel better." The experiment was repeated with different adult caregivers and.. with other groups of children in day care centers. The results were the same as in the first study; thus helping_ to so the conclusions about effective conditions for learning pros -al behaviors. -ere findings, of course, do not produce simple recipes for creating altruistic children. Each of the rearing pr- :tices that appears to have been important in increasing ht. _ping, cbmforting, or sharing was carried out by adults who were aware, of, and sensitive to, the needs and capabilities of th. young children. Nurturance was not limitless; the adult set limits and was at times withholding and critical: The verbal interpretations, too, were not "overdone" or belabored. It was the combiruition of rearing practices that made a difference in the children's behaviors. Since it is assumed that the children in the experiments had behaved-altruistically before taking pa --t in the experiment, the effects of the experimental training were interpreted as making the children more aware of others' feelings, and giving children, through the model's examples, more ways to act on their-sensitivities. The training increased their willingnessor their motivation or their feelings of responsibilityto be considerate to a distressed person. "One should not overinterpret the findings from these expet: -iments as Providing a complete formula for develbping more altruistic behaviors," Dr. Waxier cautioned. "Even the richest experiment is only one step toward accounting for factors contributing to complex behaviors such as empathy and altituism. Although these experiments demonstrated some telling differences in the effectiveness of various rearing -.- practices, the findings also clearly posed other questions!! One set of questions grows out of the difference in responding by the children in the - exp-eriments:'-Given the same distress signals from :'peers or adults or animals, not every child responded empalhicallly. Exposed to What were generally the most effective training conditions for fostering these responses, not every child learned. In other words, the training conditions were not sufficient to account for all of the -differenCes in altruiStic behavior; and one is confronted with questions: What kind of child is altruistic or can be trained to _ be so? When does a child show altruism? There are many ways to look for answers; for example, -one is to look fo existing personal differences in-the youngsters. One expect./ that certain personality -characteriitics would make it more or less likely for a child to be altruistic. One-might also anticipate that children's cognitive ,abilities, especially abilities o take the roles or. perspectives of other persons, would be influential in the likelihood of responding when another person was in distress.- All told, much of the evidence on both .the perS'onality or the cognitive side as to who is less or more altruistic has yet to be gathered. The research was directed to this issue; therefore,-several hundred children, some in nursery schools and some in,day camps, were systematically obsqrved in interactions with their peers and with their adult caregiNKers. Interabtions of each child were coded as social initiatioxs that were assertive,- aggrelsive, seeking the-adult's attention, sharing, helping, or sympathizing.. Behaviors that peers directed to :-the child-were coded_ similarly. Personal characteristics expressed in modes of --interaction were folind to make a difference in whether or not children intervened 'to help-their peers, There was a tendency for the less sbcially interactive .children to show leSs altruism, which suggests that general inhibition in social initiatives interferes with altruistic or--,prosocial reactions. Aggressive and assertive behaviors in children and altruistic behaviors are complexly related -Co altruism. r Whereas in much earlier research (In the-1930's) a-positive siiive association had' been ieported, and ever. since asMamed, between sympathy and aggression .(suggesting possibly a reparative motive for the altruism), studies by the NIMI-L team tell 'a different story. Children showing socially .assertive behaviors (which may sometimes' border-on wl-i&t one thinks of as "aggressive ") were more likely,to respond altruistically . - :1 4 - than children who were nonassertive. I-Iloweve, children'(Usu-`-- -.. ally bOy_s)- showing high frequencies- of clearly -aggressive behaviors, such as hitting or calling names, _were less likely to ..cOme to the help of-their peers:A lot of aggressive behavior is '----. , : ,-- not compatible with a lot of altruistic behaviorsatleast not within the saine general peer circumstances. Also,: when the -succession or _sequences of these children's interactions with -" . peers were observed, itliecarae clear -that, after a child has ,-...- been aggressive to a peer, theprobability of a prosocial action , or other peers is in the :succe:eding- interaction wit14 that significantly lowered_ For a brief time at least, the-child seems to be lessresponsiVe:th-sbcial -cues that signal otoportunitiesto .. be prosocial. Certain other kinds of experiences with-peers, on ---the other. hand, seemed to sensitize children_ to. feelings of; othets: Children, ._who had some peer aggzession directed against their were more altruistic than children who had not had such experiences; however, there a9 no correlation for ' th.cie children who had been victimized by their peers a great C .. ; . deal. The children who were observed in their play were also ,tested to see if cognitive abilities, along with personal-characteriSties, help to predict qiialities of altruistic children. How. - . , g.. . . Well can a child understand the paint of view a .another person which differs from his or her own? If a child had. -. success and .fin with a game, how well appreciated was the fact that another child disliked .the game -(a child who had been unsuccessful)? Or, if the child was sitting across the table frcim the teacher and was looking at the picture of a man, could the child -understand that the man in the picture was upside down to the teacher? These questions were called "ticing the perspective of the other." -A second social cognitive _ability was assessedhow well ,,.. . - . . the child can interpret behavior. Children were shown a series of video tapes of interaction in which behavior changed _because of some emotional event. For example, a little boy is -skillfully constructing a buildingiout .ofblocksAlis parents are in the room .talldng with once another. -As their talk; Ti g becomes an angry interchange, the boy casts some quick glances at them; his-hands become unsteady2 and the building begins to fall.. Children are asked tosrexplain what happened. Onesays,..,!I think he got scared and shaky when his mother and fatheri:-were.fighting." The researchers were interested to :learn whether chAdren's abilities to make -inferences about= others' behavior: related to their. inclinaAons to respond to therS in -. heed. . i ---.. In general, the tested cognitive skills ciid not pi. "ct 'degrees of altraiSmunless they were considered along with personality traits.' .'or' Chi.ren. who skillfully interpreted .the video:taped sequeficeS;;Veisocially assertive was positively asso,. . I`) 9 -... . cia tt.d with altruistic behavior. For--4ja.adren not skilled in interpreting behavior, iliere was no preclictioi-idfc;altruistic behavioif Dr.,Barrett said of these findings: "For childranfivho. interpret othei-tporsons' beha-4ois on the basis of logical orgy nizing principles, the prediction of altr=uism froin other person al variables may be better than fox chlItzlren. who view behavior. Less systeniatigally. For their, _perhaps, their prosocial' behaviors are tore dependent on situational events than on personalitY..characteristics." To better understand the conditions -affectimg individ.ual. children's' decisions to intervene, some of the 1-iildren were 'observed closely when someone was in distress. Varied motives aid inhibitions 'seetned to be operating. On the occasion of-a familiar adult's tearful upset over the contents of a letter, several children approaclied and sympathized openly-:*-"I'm' sorry you feel sad." Other-children-seemed, to attempt to make : .. contact, alternately approaching.- and withdrawing. One.child-. oscillated like a pendulum; circling and grimacing but:not Another-child tritrjrie3o aid the adult indirectlY"wrapping4ecrayon In a paper lane and throwing ifloviard the adult; she` then ran and stared out the window. She. later explained that she was trying to cheer up the adult. Wh-6n the teacher pinched her finger in a drawer, one child came up quickly, "I'll take care of you." In cases of peer distresS, children's-reactions ranged from direct helping to running to the teacher for help, scurrying away as if fearful, or paying no attention. As Dr. YarroNw r. explained, long observation, under many kinds of circumstances, is necessary to arrive at good assessments of the individual, to know, for example, what is facilitating hindering a child's socially responsible:-behavior, whether. a child has chaliacteristic responses - to another person's emotion, and whether some.children''are consistently nonempathic and nonaltruistic and others consistently empathic and altrUistic. Similarly, before makingotTnersliations about 'age differnces or s differences in empathy and altruism, a substam... tial sampling is required. Therefore, the conclusions-that the researchers draw from their data are stated tentatively. Almost every one,-of the childjen-Studied showed some prosocial responding, but the frequency varied considerably. There was a tendency, but not a strong one (§ignificant correlations - about +.38), for children's scores on sharing and comforting, tested' experimentally, to be similar to their scores on these behaviors observed in natural settings. In this sense, _there was a suggestion of individual' corkSistency. The ages of the children (5 to 8) did not mark- off. any consistent trends of increase or decrease in altruism, and neither the frequency nor the forms of altruism appeared to differ for boys and girls of :these ages. r. . . Cr., IQ 14 ./ These studies and the dxperiandni$ describea:earher framed .1' _the oblectivdsvaf the research that -Dr. Yarrow descyibed as a "naturalf.' extension of the precesding work_ "To -get at the -emerge a of empathic' and altruistic behaviol-s, we needed to '. study ei.j.d.ren younger, than die nursery agewhen. sharing_ and helping and syrnpathiztag are already present; children at the end ofthe first .year.and4into the second and$third year of life. To get. at development ,of syhipathy and altriism.,- weneeded to stay with each child: Oyer an extended period of time. 7 If we- did this we would also be. in a positibn to look at 'individual' patterns, and 13;rhaps consistencies in 'empaihic behaviors. We needed to move away from experimental designs; for a time at least, in order to deal with more intense emotional experiences in-the lives of young children." To fulfill these research Parposes, 24 children, were studied iniensively70ne-third of the group was-10 months old whenthe...study. started and 19 months old when It ended; a second one-third of the children entered the study at 15 months andended at 24 months; another one-third began at 20. months and ended at 29 months_ The overlapping cohort design made possible longitudinal and cross-sectional examinations of development from 10 months to ,21/2 years. Mothers of the children were trained as research assistants. Their job was to report on emotional events occurring in ,,the natural environment. These- Were events in which pain, anger, joy, sorrow, orweaxiness were expressed by persons in the child's immediate surrounditig. , The emotional events to be noted were of two' kinds': those in which the child was -a bystander, and those in which the child was the cause of someone's distress. Events were recorded in accordance with specified procedures: Mothers dictated an account of the event,.the child's responses to_he event, and the consequences, if any, of the child's reactions_ At the same time the mothers -also simulated seven specified emotions on a predetermines schedule, one emotion each week, and recorded the child's reactions. The mothers thus supplied data on chil. dren's reactions to the emotions of :others, especially those assumed to be emotions of distress_ In;this way it was possible to obtain data on -pe. pr--cili-sors,,-and ear ly forms of empathy and altruism and, from the 9 months of records on each child; to map the developmental transformations in empathy and. altruism. AppfoxinaatelY 1,500 incidents were obtained. Dr. Yarrow -described the'develOpraentally changing behiviors.4Children of all, ages, she noted, responded to positive, happy events differently from events -of emotional distress_ Laughing and imitating were the primary responses to the joy of another person. The repertoire of'the 10- to 12-month-old children in response to others' emotions of distreS's is limited . - and predictable: Agitation, expressed in facial expressions Of . , ( 74. ' cry may 'be :assumed to be a primitive, reflexive empathic _response; which at- this -age has little to do with the other ...? --t..1person,;? . for ...example, the reaction of a child of 10y2montlis: r .7 ....- a J.intensefroWn, a Waverial.g.smile), (an ntense and/O-r-a cry. of distress - chafacteristic reactions to another person's distress! The t'ale I On observing- the painful blow on her mother's ankle, the child "looked sad, puckered up and burst out crying. She continued to cry intensely," or: When father and mother were fighting; the child "whim 'pered, tensely . m2y.e8 heik.arms about, becoming very restless." -thi 'age the child- seems unready to engage the victati and does not look for specific cu relating to the dis1 .ti-es.s;.-bzi rather to the perscin as a w in contrast to children several months. older who often ect.victiros' tears or bruises. Around 12 to 15 months, everchild studied showed the first , positive responses directed to the °the/ perscin, The first form of touching or rubbing the person seems to suggest the child is establiShing the distress and -emotion as part of the other person. It is possible that these responses also represent the child's seeking comfort in an upsetting circumstance through contact and attempting-to give comfort. The crying response begins to wane. Beginning at -about 18 months, children chahge- in their reactions to the expressed fear, pain, anger, and sadness of others. Two kinds of reactions, emotional expression and self-refererktial behaviors, tellA lot about what the child is processing. Imitations- of the other person's emotional expressions seem almost reflexive.. (The mother accidentally bit her cheek and winced_ Immediately, the- child's face "was an exact mirror of _the pain. ") This imitation seems, of course, much like empathy (experiencing mother's- emotion) . Imitations also may be deliberate and studied, as though the child is "trying on" the emotional expression and getting feedback to know how it feels. We see this "deliberate" imitation and self-referencing in the progression of a 21- month -old -child's reaction: The mother bumped her elbow and grimaced and rubbed it. The child looked pained too, rubbed her own elbow, said "Criir," and then rubbed her mother's elbow. This .sequence seems to aid the child's comprehension of the moth., e s emotion as it progresses to an actual initiation of -a p 'five positive behavior toward the victim. For some children, in the developmental changes, imitation appears to take second place to the predominance of affect. The developmental transformation appears to be more a relocation of affect, as illustrated in changes in one little girl from 11 months old to 19 months old. This child is in the ciistwess-cry stage; her brother is enraged, `she cries, turns t9 hermother and is nestled and stroked. Later, when she is a little older, she comes upon her mother who is reacting ..t.o a scalded hand. i . -12 1 Again the nestlig ,o-c1=4-igging_w-rth bier mother occur, but now she gives some comfort to her mother as..-well as getting. -coinfort from her. Still later, the child's independent affect is. unmistakable. .She is observed coinfortmg a visiting, crying baby. She 1ST stri*iiig his head; hugsigg and patting him, offering-,im taysi and finally-trying to bring her mather.to the rescue.. / The children'S tendeny to refer sOmepn.e's'ethotion to themselves, as in the illustration of the mothers bumped elbow, is especially interesting because such sent""- reference seems to show children's active attempts fo understand others' feelings by, "trying them on.7 according to Dr. King. It was not uncommon, he. indicated; for self- referential responses to be' follOwect-by compassionate actions_ Athong 117 to 2 year olds, .NRoinforting was sometimes elaborate: -Eugging the sobbing baby, trying to giVe theTibaby a toy, covering -mother with a 'blanket 'when she is resting, trying to put-a Band-aid on a. peer's hurt, Or verbal-17irg sympathy or concrrx. Of course, acts., ;.-of kindness toward someone in distress are not-universal reactions of young childien. There are alsam.aily, 'occasions when other? emotions bring no suchresponses and; . '7 instead, bririg anger and aggressionoi no reaction at all. What is significant,' however, is that the capabilities for kindness and compassion are preseiit at very early stages of development. ..") One. of- the most evocative emotions for young children is auger in others:: It is' reacted to strongly and variously. For example, 'children showed distress to parents' arguments and ---i-anger with one another: 'crying, covering eyes and ears, Iiiigging one parent, hitting- parents, or running out of the doom. "We have been describing the central tendendies in the ways - children in the first 2 yeas -react toward others in emotional distreSsi in order to show the developmental changes," Dr. Yarrow noted. "We had several-- other interests in this study, one being to-look at.chiidien over time for patterns of individual consistency. Indeed, :distinct and consistent patterns emerged for. some children. A. number-of children stood out a..4_ empathic _and securely and .competently altruistic.. Several were intensely emotionally invested in comforting. For one little boy, emotionS_ seemed tO, make Pirriost no impression. Another child stood- out In her lack-of tolerance for others' emotions...4511e physically shut.I.lierL out (hiding,' covering her . ears, cotvering, fleeing the room)' or 3n_shed out aggressively. Theseprofiles were relatively stable- dyer the 9 months of thestudy. They alert.us to the fact that the beginnings of empathic qualities wf _the indiVidual are discernible at very early ages, and to look for factors.shaping these qualities we will do well to considr what emotions. are being manifested around and to5vir,ard: the- child." 13 The mothers' descriptions of thesemotional 'events and , their handling, of these situations provide information op-how .chilth.en: are being trained difFerentfy, in regard, to being' responsive to others' feelings-and to being kind. Dr. Waxier described maternal ,behaViors that are linked with 'empathy and conpassibii. Children who wsre most empathic and-altruistic and mbst. reparative when they had caused distress had 1-mothers.. who showed ia. concern about others' emotional well-being. Mothers were themselves exemplars of altruism , in responding-Ito- others' needs" and in being warm and- caring toward .their own children. -These moihers,had high expections-con.cenaing the child's control of his/her aggressive impulses. When the child'S own acts wereinjurious to another,. thjese mothers strongly and affectively explained the diltressing,_ impact of the child's actions on the other person: "That Makes me very sad to see Siou hit someone." "People -are not for hurting!" "Stop #.4at You hurting him." ."1- don't -like to be with you. when yoii act like that." And the .leaves the room The researchers suggest that it is notth' verbal contents .of mothers' communications but _the' emotional accompaniments that arouSepliildren to. action. Or it may be that the mother's_affect is necessary in order to get the cognitive message to the Child. A significant locus for the child's learning empathy and altruism; these investigators believe, is the 'situation in which the child is directly involved by having. caused the &Stress. What the caregiver does here in close interaction with the child tends to "develop feelings and behaviorS in the ch that transfer to othei- distress situations in which the child is not the, cause and in which the child behaves altruistically. Thits, coming to someone's rescue, or comforting sometioae who is sad or hurt, is not always without some anxious feelings on the 'part of the child. These. anxiqus fee hn-gs probably derive from the affect-arousing messages from the mothei when the child -has been "at fault" Training the child to be attentive-to the needs of others and to be responsible for one's own 'behavior which hurts others, and at the same time not to carry a heavy. burden of anxiety, is not an easy task for parent's. The "affecfive loading". of the parent's communications seems to be, a critical dimension, but one nbt fully clarified in the present data. Dr:Yarrow emphasized the "in progress7, nature of this aspect of the research: "Our study of the youiagest children and their - mothers .has given us descriptive information from which we have made. inferences about Isiocesses of- parental influence. Our dgsigpas now take us to ekperimental Procethires in which we,Fwith the mothers, will be attempting to. bring the processes into clearer view.", . - .L ._ 14 V --ConcLusidri - 0-4e By their- ir(quiries into the emotions of children and' the 'emotional environments that impinge on children:Dr. Yarrow and her associates have added new Perspectives-on child:development. They have offe,ried insights into the complexities of social-emotional development by tracing some of the developempathic and altruistic capabilities of mental changes of thelactorS contribyoung childrerrrand by idgntifying some_ fZuna links between uting to the'Se behaviors. They have these beha.vidrs and childrearing practkes, On t_ he orre hand, of and individual temperamental and :cognitive-:properties sight of the rechildren; on the other. It is important not to lose studies = search techniques that were developed in these phenometechniques that managed to retain fir reality of to exper-. na under scrutiny while sirbjectirig these phenomena -imentation, intensive observation, and rigorous analysis. But `the keen most of all, these data are important as they signalEspecially z sensitivities of young children to emotional stimuli. in .the longitudinal analyses of Children in the second and third years of life, the acquired data are useful as (1) markers of normal emotional development and (2) early,-signs of deviant.. .. affective behavior. influenced by expeEmpathy and altruism are appreciably riential factors, as dembristrated in the experimental studies. of preschool -age children and. in the naturalistic studies of younger children. Data from these sources indicate that altru.ism- is best learned from parents who are themselves empathic th-&i. provide a moderof and altruisticarentsmust do more others;they must also pro- , compassionate behaviors toward vide cognitive training of the kind decribed, maintain high expectations for their" child, and have a caring, nurturant relationship with 4.ifir child_ -4,Ithough the research has been concentrated on4parents' rearii:4g practices, Drt. Yarrow and Waxier present a much broader version of "rearing influences at a- distance"--the emotional events in the child's immediate environent. The emotions of other persons in the world of children, especially in the pr.t.,,..rate wOrld of the family,- are stibauli quit as rea4. as roan_ y more toner to and tangible stimuli and potentially quite as influential as, the more direct rearing practices in the. . -_ - moldin.g.of children's emotional-s6Cial development. -15 Suggested Readings .-- s Barrett, D.E., and YarroVi, M.R. Prosocial behavioi., assertivenets and social. 48:47-.48.1, 1977. it;., inferential abilkty in children. child Development, ?. .,, i . -influencing '..Vglitative learning in Waxiel, C2., and Yarrow, M.R.Experimental, Factors Child Piychology, 9:1.15-130, ,-gr'esalobl children. Journal .of 19,70. ,L - _ -i'" * and Yarrow, M.R. An observationjal study of maternal. models. , ,. A Wax ler4C.Z, ----Zr-Vi:u.cr-nca of Developmental Psychology, 4:485-494, 1975, Wa./e'r, C.Z. 'and Yag-o- w, !VIM. Perspective-taking And prosocial behavior. Journal ofDevelopmental Psychology, 13:87-88, 1977. Yarrow, M.R. Research on child rearing a.s3a basis forti practice. Child Welfare, 4:209-2-19, 1973. eds. Yarrow,...M_R.::Peers and- frieldship. In: Lewis: M., And Rosenblum, L.,York: Origin of BehdVior. VoL II. New Friendship and Peer .Relatierho:. The john Wiley and Sons,L976. Imitation of nurtura.nt and nonnurturant Yarrow, M.R-, and Scott, P models. Journal of Persorzalitytznd Social Psychology, 23:25970, 1972_ Yarrow, M.R.; Scott, RM.; an Waxier, C.Z. Learning concern fOr others. Developrnental Psychology, 8:240-266, 1973. and correlates of prosoefal Yarrocr, M L, and Waxier, C2. Dimensions behavior in young children. Child Development, 47:118 -125, 1976: -Yarrow, M_RiVand. Waxier, CZ. Emergence and functions of progoCial behavand Smart, ;M., eds. Readings in iors in young children. In: Smart, R.C.,and Infants: Developmental and Child -Development and Relationships Relationships. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1976. pp. 77-812Yarrow,Nr.Rf, and Waxier, C.Z ,.. Observing interaction: A cptifroAtation with -methodology. In: Carins, Robert, ed. Social Interactional Aruilysis": Methods an4lllustrations. Hillsdale, N.J.': Lawrence Eribaum A'ssociates.n press. , . 3 17: S.::+cablaVERNMENT PRIlsrrZIG OFFICE :1978 0 , 264..448