Quiz 1: effortful control

how does effortful control relate to temperament?

Following the classic definition of temperament, effortful control - Has a biological and heritable basis - Is influenced by parenting practices - Is moderately stable throughout childhood once it emerges in late infancy

what are the outcomes of greater effortful control in early childhood and through the school age years?

- fewer problem behaviors - Less emotional distress - High social competence and self confidence - Conscience development - Greater long term self regulation

what are the early childhood dimensions of temperament?

- positive affect, activity, negative affect, effortful control

what can kids do at 14- 18 months in terms of effortful control?

- effortful control of attention and inhibition emerge - Best observed when they are well fed and rested

what did rothbart find in terms of developmental pathways of effortful control?

- Attentional control at 12 months and greater executive functioning/ attention contribute to greater self- regulation, effortful control ages 2- 5 - Combination of positive approach and low attentional control at 12 months → extraversion and low effortful control at ages 2-5 → later conduct problems

what are the coping strategies related to self- regulation?

- Challenging situations stress children's self regulation - Problem- centered coping: appraising the situation, deciding if it is fixable - Emotion- focused coping: appraising the situation and then reducing emotional distress in relation to the situation - Pressure to favor problem- centered coping - School age children prefer to control emotional response

what characterizes rothbart's definition of temperament?

- Early appearing stable individual differences in the quality and intensity of: -- Emotional reaction -- Activity level -- Attention -- Emotional self- regulation - Falls on a spectrum - More researched- based (in lab)

what are the outcomes of low effortful control in boys and girls?

- Girls: more likely to have anxiety with low effortful control - Boys: more likely to have conduct disorders with low effortful control

how does effortful control relate to executive functions?

- Managing attention Inhibitory control of behavior (focusing on goals, delaying gratification) - Activation of behavior - This is difficult for young children!

what is effortful control?

- Voluntary control of behavior so that reactive tendency can be inhibited and more adaptive responses appear → conscious, voluntary, hence 'effortful' - Allows freedom from emotionally driven responses

what are the infancy dimensions of temperament?

- activity level - positive affect - soothability - fearful distress - irritable distress - attention span/ persistence (measured with looking time)

how do temperament traits in infancy lead to those in early childhood?

- activity level, positive affect, and soothability in infancy lead to positive affect and activity in early childhood - fearful distress and irritable distress in infancy lead to negative affect in early childhood - attention span and persistence in infancy lead to effortful control in early childhood

what can kids do at 30 -36 months in terms of effortful control?

- big improvements in inhibition of pre- potent responses (responses kids typically go to in a situation → takes a lot of effortful to not respond with the pre- potent response) but children still struggle

how can parents influence effortful control?

- can encourage effortful control with sensitive responding to child's distress (We want children to regulate their response to emotions, not tell them they shouldn't be feeling that way) - can encourage effortful control by promoting committed compliance vs. situational compliance (Offering consistent, clear limits) - Encourage sustained attention and engagement with tasks - Harsh, directive, controlling style encourages low effortful control by child - A change in parenting style is best if it happens before age 3

what can kids do at 42- 48 months in terms of effortful control?

- children are more able to change, delay, and adapt - We expect effortful control early, but kids really can't demonstrate it consistently until partway through preschool

how is effortful control related to self regulation?

supports self regulation: - Voluntary control of thoughts and feelings - Resolving conflicts due to poor/ confusing information - Correcting errors - Planning new actions