Two studies examined the effects of musical manipulation on the challenging behaviors of two children and one adult with severe/profound mental retardation. First, high-rate challenging behaviors were identified and then fast- or slow-beat music was added. Challenging behavior was more frequent when slow-beat music was played. Affect also varied…

Expressed emotion (EE) is a measure of the affective relationship between two people characterized by criticism, hostility, and emotionally over-involved attitudes. Outside of the field of intellectual disabilities, there has been considerable interest in EE as an environmental marker that explains variance in the severity and/or course of a…

Affect regulation (AR) and temperament were examined in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). To determine AR, children were exposed to a mildly frustrating situation. Temperament was assessed by the Children's Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ). Children with ASD showed greater variability in AR and used less effective AR strategies compared to…

Exploring issues of content and construct validity, this paper reviews how empathy in young children has been defined and measured. Discussion first focuses on empathy viewed as an affective awareness and response to the feelings of another person. The review reports research using the Affective Situation Test, naturalistic studies of affective…

The emotional impact of televised interpersonal dramas was investigated, with specific emphasis being given to age- and gender-related differences in children's spontaneous nonverbal expressive reactions. Participants were 27 female and 22 male children in three age groups: 4-5, 7-8, and 13-14 years. Facial expressions were unobtrusively…

Aspects of a child's social environment, in this case those connected with networks and dyadic interaction, are influenced by different maternal and child characteristics. The young child's social network is influenced by at-risk status but not by chronological age. Not only do families with handicapped infants receive more support from formal…

The first part of this paper discusses presentations by other symposium participants which addressed different facets of the developmental paths involved in understanding one's own emotional states, the emotional states of others, why one feels what one does, and whether or not one shows these feelings expressively to others. It is the premise of…

Physical fitness camp experience resulted in significant changes from an external to an internal locus of control (as well as in physical fitness performance levels) of children ages six to fourteen. (MB)

Physiological measures were monitored as 80 undergraduate women watched videotapes of responsive and unresponsive children in anticipation of interaction with them and later during a postinterview. Results were interpreted as indicating the importance of social cognitions as moderators of caregiver response to child behavior. (RH)

Twenty male and twenty female third graders expected boy characters to retaliate more strongly than girl characters when intervening in an attack upon a friend and girl characters to retaliate more strongly than boys when being verbally or physically assaulted. (Author/KH)

Presented children (N=96) aged 8-11 with verbal pain or nonpain stimuli contingent or noncontingent on a target response. Delivered stimuli within an aggressive or nonaggressive setting and with or without affect. Type of setting did not influence the behavior, but stimuli delivered in an affective manner did facilitate responding. (Author/RC)

Examined relationship of emotion regulation and emotionality to social functioning in 77 children followed from age 4 to age 10. Found that high-quality social functioning was predicted by high emotion regulation and low nonconstructive coping, negative emotionality, and emotional intensity. Measures of regulation and emotionality frequently…

A total of 20 abused and 20 nonabused pairs of children of three-seven years and their mothers participated in a facial expression posing task and a facial expression recognition task. Findings suggest that abused children may not observe as often as nonabused children do the easily interpreted voluntary displays of emotion by their mothers. (RH)