Then a second person, referred to as the “emoter,” entered the room and sat down on a chair near the table. The experimenter repeated the demonstration and the emoter complained in an angry voice, calling the experimenter’s actions with the toys “aggravating” and “annoying.”
After witnessing the simulated argument, the children had a chance to play with the toys, but under slightly different circumstances. For some, the emoter left the room or turned her back so she couldn’t see what the child was doing. In these situations, toddlers eagerly grabbed the toy and copied the actions they had seen in the demonstration.
In other groups, the angered emoter maintained a neutral facial expression while either watching the child or looking at a magazine. Most toddlers in these groups hesitated before touching the toy, waiting about four seconds on average. And when they finally did reach out, the children were less likely to imitate the action the experimenter had demonstrated.
The study didn’t factor in how much previous conflict children had seen at home or elsewhere, such as arguing parents or violent television shows. But Repacholi speculated that an emotionally charged home environment could make some children desensitized to anger, or others could become hypersensitive to it and overreact.
The researchers also wondered if the children’s temperament played a role. They had parents fill out the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire, which uses questions like “How long does your child stop and think before making decisions?” to measure impulsivity.
The higher the score for impulsivity, the researchers found, the more likely the toddlers were to perform the forbidden actions when the anger-prone adult was watching them.
Repacholi and Meltzoff are doing a follow-up study with the toddlers, who are now school-aged, to see if their behaviors as 15-month-olds predicts their later ability to control their own behavior.
“Ultimately, we want kids who are well regulated, who can use multiple cues from others to help decide what they should and shouldn’t do,” Repacholi said.
Other UW co-authors are Hillary Rowe and Tamara Spiewak Toub. The National Institutes of Health funded the study.
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