How are children’s emotions impacted by lower amounts of sleep? Researchers who sought to answer this question studied how nap deprivation impacts toddlers’ emotional expressions. In their study, Berger et al. assigned 10 toddlers to nap or no-nap conditions and later provided them with emotion elicitation and challenge protocol to examine how napping impacts both. In the emotion elicitation protocol, researchers showed toddlers positive, negative, and neutral emotion-eliciting pictures and noted their reactions to each. In the challenge protocol, researchers provided toddlers with first a solvable, and then an unsolvable puzzle to see how the toddlers behaved when doing both. The researchers also collected data concerning each toddlers’ actigraphy, sleep diaries, and regular emotional behaviors.

Overall, Berger et al. discovered that in the emotion-eliciting trials, toddlers who didn’t nap were confused by fewer slides than those who napped, and also showed more negative reactions to the neutral pictures. In the challenge trials, toddlers who didn’t nap showed less positive emotions, more neutral emotions, were less confused when doing the unsolvable puzzle, and were overall more worried and anxious.

These findings suggest that children who do not receive enough sleep may struggle in challenging environments, such as school, as their lack of sleep can lead to confusion and negative emotions. Toddlers’ lack of confusion when trying to solve the unsolvable puzzle may have been because without sleep, they were deprived of attentiveness that would have otherwise allowed them to register that the puzzle could not be completed. In all, napping may be an essential component of toddlers’ regular sleep as it impacts their cognitive and emotional responses to stimulating environments.

Kylie Robinshaw

UConn KIDS, Research Assistant

Read the full article here

Sleep has been shown to assist with processes involved in self-regulation–the ability to control behavior, cognition, and emotion when challenged. As sleep decreases and toddlers begin their transition from physical to cognitive-based self-regulation strategies, they may struggle with controlling their emotions in trying situations. As such, Miller et al. conducted a study to investigates the impact of napping on self-regulation on toddler’s self-regulation skills.

Children in this study were assigned to either nap or no-nap conditions; both groups were given an unsolvable puzzle to complete an hour after their normal nap wake time. Overall, Miller et al. discovered that an absence of napping affects some, but not all self-regulation strategies, as children who didn’t nap showed decreases in skepticism and negative self-appraisal, and displayed increases in physical self-soothing and an insistence that they completed the unsolvable puzzle.

Thus, wakefulness in young children poorly impacts their capacity for self-regulation; this capacity can be restored through sleep. Further, children who didn’t nap resorted to old self-regulation strategies and were not attentive enough to the puzzle or their own abilities to recognize that the puzzle could not be completed. This study suggests that napping can aid young children with handling difficult emotions, and provides serious implications for school settings. Children who do not receive adequate sleep may struggle to remain engaged, assess their own abilities, and retain information that they learn. To fully understand the extent to which napping impacts self-regulation in older students, further research needs to be done.

Kylie Robinshaw

UConn KIDS, Research Assistant

Read the full article here

Today’s Friday Feature is Celine Li!

Celine currently works as the Program Coordinator for the TRANSCEND Ph.D. Training Program and is the project manager for the Socio-Emotional Competencies (SEC) project! Celine got her B.A. in Psychology at UC Berkeley in 2021 and a minor degree in Early Development and Learning Science. She is working alongside Caroline G. Richter, PhD, Fumiko Hoeft, MD Phd, and Jacqueline M. Chen, PhD on a study that evaluates a measure of socio-emotional competencies in children and adolescents (HR 18-113).

Celine’s lab is recruiting 11-14 year-olds for an exciting new project called Socio-Emotional Competencies study. All English-speaking children from 11  to 14 years of age are eligible to participate. Students with learning differences are encouraged to participate. In this study, children will complete a 60-90 minute assessment supervised by a research assistant via WebEx. In this session, you and your child can ask any questions you might have about the research. Participants who fully complete the assessment and survey will be mailed a $50 gift card. A resource guide will be provided at the conclusion of the study which will include helpful tips on how to improve your child’s socio-emotional skills. 

Celine’s experience growing up under fictive kinship has stamped her interest in researching the role of stress in psychological development. She’s particularly interested in understanding how we can expand our knowledge of resilience to better inform treatment and intervention for children and adults who experienced severe adversity, such as childhood trauma, disabilities, and mental health disorders. Her goal is to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical science/clinical psychology and become a research professor.

In her spare time, Celine loves spending time with her three pets, doing pilates and stretching. These activities really help her become more mindful and are her tools to cope with stress as well!

Montessori education was developed by Maria Montessori around 1900 and centers on learning through hands-on play and given materials. Children who attend Montessori schools are given the freedom to choose how they engage with the materials, and generally play in groups or individually. One unique aspect of Montessori schooling is that it does not use any reward or punishment system. It also focuses on the entirety of a child’s abilities, rather than just academic ability.

Recent research on the effectiveness of Montessori education is limited, yet the literature that exists displays the many benefits of Montessori schooling. Montessori education has been shown to correlate with higher reading and math scores, increased social skills, and heightened executive functioning in preschoolers. Montessori education has also been shown to have delayed effects on young children who enroll in it, as 3 years after completing Montessori school, the same preschoolers displayed increased growth in academics, theory of mind and mastery orientation.

Research on the advantages/disadvantages of enrolling children in Montessori education is still sparse and much remains to be studied within this domain.

Kylie Robinshaw

UConn KIDS, Research Assistant

Read more here

Fairness, or what is seen as just treatment and what’s not, is a culturally-bound word, as the concept and perception of fairness differ by what culture you’re examining. The idea of fairness can be split into two separate categories: disadvantageous inequity aversion ( and advantageous inequity aversion. Disadvantageous inequity aversion occurs when one avoids receiving less than a peer, and advantageous inequity aversion occurs when one avoids receiving more than a peer. Studies on the two have been mostly done in Western societies, and have found that disadvantageous inequity aversion emerges when a child is 4-years-old, and advantageous inequity when a child is 8. In their study, Blake et al. examine the development of both inequity aversions in 866 children aged 4-15 years old from different countries to examine if there any cross-cultural differences exist.

Children in this study played an inequality game with another child in which they were randomly assigned to the disadvantageous or advantageous inequity conditions. Children in the game were randomly assigned to play against a child whose age was similar to theirs and played the game for 16 trials.

Overall, it was found that disadvantageous inequity aversion emerged early in childhood in all 7 countries studied, suggesting that this is a general feature of human behavior. Advantageous inequity aversion was present in only the Western societies and Uganda (Ugandan children frequently interact with Western teachers and researchers) and emerged by late childhood, suggesting that it may be a culturally-bound behavior. Further, the different ages of onset between disadvantageous and advantageous inequity aversion suggests that both may be supported by different psychological processes. Overall, the idea of fairness has cross-cultural differences and similarities as evidenced by Blake et al.

Kylie Robinshaw

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Read the full article here

Research focusing on parent-guided use of spontaneous focus on number (the frequency at which children focus their attention on the number of objects in a set) has shown that enhancing a child’s SFON may lead to increased math performance later in life.

In the study, Children’s Spontaneous Focus on Number Before and After Guided Parent-Child Interactions in a Children’s Museum, researchers examined the extend to which parents can foster the development of SFON in children while interacting with a play grocery-store exhibit in a children’s museum. Parents were given one of two prompts to guide their child’s play: a numerical prompt (budgeting) and a nonnumerical prompt (healthy eating), and were directed to play with their children for five minutes. Children were given SFON assessments before and after the parent-guided play to assess any changes in SFON. In these pre- and posttests researchers asked children to replicate a series of actions, and evaluated whether children accurately replicated the number of actions that were completed.

Overall, it was found that children whose parents were assigned to the numerical prompt scored higher on SFON in their posttest. Parents’ use of number talk is relatively simple and can aid children in focusing more on numbers and mathematical concepts in their play in a relatively short amount of time.

Kylie Robinshaw

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Read the full article here

Childrens’ ability to use emotional labels like “happy” or “sad” for how they’re feeling has been shown to predict their interactions with peers, ability to tamper extreme emotions, and educational success.

A recent study from Princeton University looked at language production and input with toddlers to explore if emotional labels help children learn their meaning, as well as if parents and caregivers are able to support the apprehension of these labels. Their research found that children are more likely to understand an emotional label if related valenced (positive/negative) words are used with it in context, and that parental/caregiver support helps. For example, parents can support their child’s learning of the label “happy,” by pairing “happy” situations or actions, like a birthday party, with their discussion.

Further research conducted on this matter analyzed the development of valenced words in over 5,000 toddlers and found that learning of emotional labels begin at neutral labels and later extends to positive and negative labels. This research also demonstrated that when caregivers consistently link emotional labels to valenced words, it facilitates children’s learning.

Overall, while this topic of study is relatively new and needs to be further researched, evidence has so far shown that children can benefit from learning emotional labels when they are paired with valenced words.

Kylie Robinshaw

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Read the full article here

Positive parenting can be defined as putting more attention on a child’s positive aspects, such as their strengths and achievements, rather than on any potential negatives, like failures or weaknesses. Positive parenting uses principles of positive psychology to assist parents in developing solid, warm, and trusting relationships with their children. Positive parenting is different from dismissive parenting in that it utilizes boundary-setting and still involves the use of consequences for behaviors that break set boundaries. It also allows parents to set working expectations while maintaining a loving bond with their children.

Positive parenting has also been shown to have positive effects on children’s cognitive development because of how it takes children’s feelings, emotions, and responsivity into consideration through the use of positive modeling of behaviors. Recent research has shown that positive parenting helps improve cognitive skills such as mental abilities, language, and literacy skills. Overall, positive parenting puts emphasis on a child’s positive qualities and may promote cognitive development in children all the while providing them with a warm and accepting connection to their parents.

Kylie Robinshaw

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Read the full article here

Children learn through observation and experimentation; when they learn something that surprises them, they seek answers through exploration and experimentation. Children 6 and up are more likely to seek answers to the questions they hold about the world, but there has been little research on why they do. 

Research done in collaboration with Harvard University and the University of Toronto shows that children become more doubtful of what adults tell them as they age. In their first study, the researchers presented child participants aged 4-6 years-old with three objects: a rock, a sponge, and a hacky sack. The children were randomly assigned to be told something that goes against what they have learned about the world, (“This rock is soft,”), or told something that matches their knowledge (“This rock is hard”). After hearing these statements, the researchers would ask the children a question regarding the properties of the object (“Is this rock hard or soft?”). It was found that children’s judgments about the rock aligned for the most part with what the researcher told them. The researcher then left the room, granting children the opportunity to investigate the rock; most children in the study tested the researchers’ surprising claim. 

In their second study, the researchers presented children aged 4-7 years-old with eight vignettes, and were told that an adult made a surprising claim about each. They were then asked what another child should do about the claim and what the motivation behind the child’s actions would be. Older children were more likely to suggest that the child explores the claim, showing that as children age, they are more likely to investigate questionable claims. 

Where this line of research still has work to be done, one thing stands out: children, as they age, do not believe everything they are told. 

Kylie Robinshaw

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Read the full article here 

Today’s Friday Feature is Caroline G. Richter! 

Caroline G. Richter was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at UConn from 2021-2022. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham collaborating with Dr. Fumiko Hoeft, Professor of Psychological Science and Director of BrainLENS at UConn. She’s originally from Brazil, where she received her BA in Psychology and MA in Developmental Psychology; she earned her PhD in Developmental Psychology at the University of Louisville.

In her lab, they conduct research with typically developing children and with children who are neurodiverse. They are interested in understanding the cognitive and socio-emotional aspects that contribute to the variability on the academic achievement and adaptive outcomes of children who are neurodiverse. They focus their work particularly on children with Specific Learning Disability, Williams syndrome, and Down syndrome. They hope that the results of their research can be used to inform targeted assessments and interventions, leading to improvements in the quality of life of children and their families. You can find more about their lab here: Science of Child Development and Neurodiversity (STARS) Laboratory. 

 

Currently, Caroline is studying how socio-emotional constructs, such as motivation, resilience, and stigma impact mental health and academic outcomes of children (11-14-year-olds) who have a learning difference, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, or ADHD. You can learn more about their study in the BrainLENS website and here. 

In her free time, Caroline enjoys meditating, doing yoga, hiking, reading, traveling, and spending time with her husband, friends, and family. Caroline also loves to spend time with her pets from Brazil.