Developmental Psychology

Özden, Zeynep B.; Walle, Eric A.; Reschke, Peter J.

doi: 10.1037/dev0001932pmid: 39899015

Responding to others’ emotions entails the coordination of multiple behaviors. Yet, research on such responding typically analyses each behavior separately. We investigated the heterogeneity of 16-, 19-, and 24-month-old infants’ (N = 296, 51.4% girls; 3.1% African American, 10.1% Asian, 12.9% Hispanic, 44.7% White, 29.2% other racial/ethnic groups) behavioral response patterns to five discrete emotions (joy, sadness, fear, anger, disgust) during a naturalistic interaction. Various infant behaviors (social avoidance, security seeking, stimulus exploration, prosocial responding, information seeking, relaxed play) in response to the emotional context were coded. A latent-class analysis revealed four distinct classes of behaviors: prosocial exploring, active information seeking, cautious information seeking, and relaxed playing. Finally, a generalized linear mixed-effect model examined the differences in class prevalence across discrete emotions, across age groups, and between age groups within emotions. The analysis revealed several interesting differences in the frequency of each class across emotions and ages. This is the first study to utilize an infant-centered analysis to identify patterns of goal-directed behaviors in response to discrete emotions. Our findings suggest that infants are able to coordinate a variety of goal-directed behaviors to respond to emotional contexts. Furthermore, the utilization of each pattern of behaviors might be driven by the valence of the context.

Ugurlu, Özge; Luerssen, Anna; Ocampo, Joseph; John, Oliver P.; Ayduk, Özlem

doi: 10.1037/dev0001949pmid: 40892582

Emotion recognition, one key aspect of emotion reasoning, is crucial to socioemotional development in childhood. While much developmental research has focused on facial emotion recognition, studies on the recognition of emotions conveyed through vocal bursts remain relatively scarce, despite the voice being one of the primary channels for conveying emotion. To address this gap, we investigated (a) how recognition accuracy across six well-studied emotions in vocal bursts changes between the ages of 5 and 8 (N = 162, 47.53% girls and 52.47% boys), (b) whether gender moderates the developmental trajectories of recognition accuracy (both overall and at the level of distinct emotions), and (c) whether recognition accuracy predicts socioemotional functioning concurrently and longitudinally. Our findings revealed that recognition accuracy was highest for happiness and lowest for fear and that accuracy improved with age for all emotions except for happiness, which was positively associated with age at a marginal level. While younger girls (compared with boys) were better at recognizing emotions, this difference disappeared by age 8. This same pattern was observed for sadness and anger at the level of distinct emotions. The capacity to recognize emotion in vocal bursts did not correlate with caregivers’ perceptions of children’s emotional symptoms or hyperactivity. However, it predicted a lower likelihood of conduct problems and a higher tendency toward prosocial behavior concurrently, with the latter effect staying significant longitudinally. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of emotion recognition beyond the face and its implications for children’s socioemotional adjustment.

Caldwell, Melissa Pearl; Cheung, Him; Siu, Tik Sze Carrey

doi: 10.1037/dev0002093pmid: 41182748

Most existing training programs designed to enhance children’s sociocognitive abilities, such as emotion understanding and theory of mind, rely heavily on language-based approaches. This study investigated the effectiveness of a novel visuospatial-based block-building training protocol compared with traditional language-based training in improving children’s understanding of emotions and minds. A total of 106 4.5-year-old children (Mage = 53.77 months, SD = 2.53 months; 53% girls) from Hong Kong participated in a pretest–posttest training study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three training conditions: (a) block building with verbal cues, (b) block building with visual-verbal cues, or (c) dialogic reading. Each group received 1.5-hr weekly sessions for 6 weeks. Posttraining assessments showed significant gains in visuospatial perspective-taking and social-cognitive abilities, particularly among children in the block-building group with visual-verbal cues. Notably, the visuospatial-based training was as effective as the language-based approach in improving emotion understanding and theory of mind. These findings illuminate the interconnectedness of visuospatial perspective-taking and sociocognitive abilities and suggest that embodied simulation mechanisms may underlie psychological perspective taking.

Somers, Jennifer A.; Querdasi, Francesca R.; Aghajani, Minella; Sun, Qiran (Cheryl); Xu, Sarah; Li, Wenyue (Lily); Nussbaum, Siyan; Chu, Kristen A.; Gancz, Naomi; Towner, Emily; Callaghan, Bridget L.

doi: 10.1037/dev0002070

Laamanen, Petra; Kiuru, Noona; Nowicki, Stephen; Kiviruusu, Olli; Lindblom, Jallu

doi: 10.1037/dev0002150pmid: 41712347

Although prior research has identified population-level trends in facial emotion recognition (FER) in middle childhood, it is unclear whether all children follow a similar developmental trajectory. To address this gap, we used a person-oriented approach to identify qualitatively distinct FER profiles based on accuracy and bias. The sample (N = 3,717, 51% girls, baseline Mage = 8.20, SD = 0.86) came from a Finnish social–emotional learning intervention study, with data collected across three waves (2013–2015). We applied latent profile analysis and random-intercept latent transition analysis to examine FER profiles and their stability across early school years. Moreover, we assessed whether parenting and children’s social–emotional adjustment were associated with FER profile membership and transitions. We found five FER profiles: balanced accuracy (14%–26%), sadness bias (34%–38%), positively biased (34%–38%), anger bias (3%–4%), and low accuracy (2%–7%). While the three largest profiles showed moderate stability, children in the anger bias and low accuracy profiles were more likely to transition to other profiles. Compared with the positively biased profile, children in the anger bias profile experienced lower parental warmth and fewer peer problems and showed less prosocial behavior. These findings suggest substantial heterogeneity in children’s FER development and link emotion-specific patterns to children’s social functioning. Understanding that children may follow distinct developmental trajectories could help design targeted interventions to support children’s social skills.

Tang, Ping; Song, Zheyu; Wu, Ruowei; Li, Yi; Li, Shanpeng; Qin, Xuewu; Xia, Lihua; Lin, Yi

doi: 10.1037/dev0002182pmid: 41941180

Prosody and semantic content are important cues in emotion perception, though they are not always congruent, as in irony, humor, and insincerity. Adults typically rely on prosody to interpret emotions when cues conflict, while children gradually shift their reliance from semantics to prosody with age, acquiring adult-like cue-weighting strategies during the school years. However, it was unclear whether children learning tonal languages such as Mandarin Chinese show a similar developmental trajectory, as their intensive experience with linguistically meaningful pitch variations (lexical tones) may heighten sensitivity to emotional prosody and potentially accelerate development. We recruited 104 Mandarin-learning 3- to 6-year olds and 27 adult controls. Stimuli included semantically positive or negative utterances produced with happy or sad prosody, creating prosody–semantics incongruent expressions (e.g., semantically positive utterances with sad prosody, and vice versa). Participants judged the speaker’s emotion (happy or sad), and the proportion of prosody-based responses was analyzed. Results showed that 3- and 4-year olds displayed no clear preference for either cue, with prosody-based responses near chance level (50%). Five-year olds began to show prosodic preference (though only for positive utterances with sad prosody), while 6-year olds demonstrated robust prosodic preference for both utterance types, reaching adult-like levels. These findings indicate that Mandarin-learning children develop prosodic preference during preschool years, with emerging preference by age 5 and adult-like strength by age 6. The results suggest that cue-weighting strategies in emotion perception may follow a universal developmental trajectory from semantic-dominance to prosody–dominance, with detailed developmental courses modulated by language-specific experience.

Wild, Tess; Willroth, Emily C.; English, Tammy

doi: 10.1037/dev0002069pmid: 40892586

Feeling lonely is a common experience across the lifespan and people’s feelings of loneliness often do not correspond with their levels of social interaction in expected ways (i.e., social asymmetry). It is unclear, however, whether loneliness in daily life differs by age or cognitive status and how loneliness varies as a function of social interaction across age and cognitive status. The present research used experience sampling to investigate group differences in loneliness and social interaction in the daily lives of individuals (N = 219; Rangeage = 21–84; 57% women; 67% White), including younger adults (Mage = 27), cognitively unimpaired older adults (Mage = 75), and older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI; Mage = 77). Compared with older adults, younger adults reported being lonelier and their loneliness was more strongly tied to recent social interactions (i.e., greater reductions in loneliness vs. when no recent interaction). In contrast, relative to younger adults, cognitively unimpaired older adults demonstrated an attenuated negative relation between their social interactions and loneliness levels and no such association was present for older adults with MCI. Across groups loneliness was lower after social interactions that occurred face-to-face, but partner closeness primarily mattered for reduced loneliness in older adults with MCI. The findings suggest younger adults are particularly vulnerable to experiencing loneliness in their daily lives, and frequent face-to-face social interactions may serve as a buffer against loneliness. Although older adults may feel less lonely on average, older adults with MCI may be especially likely to experience social asymmetries.

Hare, Megan M.; Humphreys, Kathryn L.; Cosmoiu, Ana; Fox, Nathan A.; Nelson, Charles A.; Zeanah, Charles H.

doi: 10.1037/dev0002029pmid: 40638296

In the present study, we examined adaptive functioning data from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, a randomized controlled trial of foster care as an alternative to institutional care following exposure to severe psychosocial deprivation. Adaptive functioning refers to the skills individuals need to meet age-appropriate social and practical demands required for independent functioning. These abilities are essential for successful navigation of daily life and can be impacted by early adversity. We report data from 134 children (55% female) assessed in early adulthood (Mage = 18.9 years). Adaptive functioning was assessed via the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (Vineland). We found that 16 years after randomization occurred, those who had been randomized to the foster care group (FCG) had significantly higher scores in adaptive functioning, including communication and socialization skills, compared to those in care as usual group (CAUG). Further, when examining age equivalences (i.e., individual’s adaptive functioning by representing their functional level in terms of age milestones), individuals in the FCG had higher age equivalences compared to those in the CAUG. Mediation analyses revealed that caregiving quality partially mediated the association between the intent-to-treat group (i.e., CAUG vs. FCG) and adaptive functioning, with higher caregiving quality associated with higher levels of adaptive functioning. Similarly, caregiving quality mediated the association when comparing the never-institutionalized group to the ever-institutionalized group (CAUG + FCG) and adaptive functioning. These findings underscore the positive impact of nurturing environments on children’s adaptive functioning and indicate that early investment in family care as an alternative to institutional care leads to better adaptive functioning during the transition to adulthood.

Pfund, Gabrielle N.; Willroth, Emily C.; English, Tammy

doi: 10.1037/dev0002100pmid: 41213549

The current work uses ecological momentary assessment data in an age and cognitively diverse group of adults to explore if, when, and why individuals feel purposeful in daily life. Seven times per day for 9 days, young adults (age: M = 27.36; 51.4% men, 47.1% women, 1.4% additional gender; 7.0% Asian/Asian American, 28.6% as Black/African American, 1.4% as Indigenous, 5.7% as Latine/Hispanic, 1.4% Middle Eastern, 58.6% White/European American), older adults without cognitive impairment (age: M = 75.18; 32.6% men, 67.4% women; 23.6% Black/African American, 1.1% Latine/Hispanic, 74.2% White/European American), and older adults with mild cognitive impairment (age: M = 76.97; 50.0% identified as men, 50.0% as women; 31.7% identified as Black/African American, 65.0% White/European American) reported their current sense of purpose and their current activity (N = 219). On average, older adults had higher momentary sense of purpose and less variability in momentary sense of purpose than young adults regardless of cognitive status. Across age and cognitive status groups, individuals felt more purposeful when they were at work/school, engaged in physical activity, volunteering, doing errands/chores, or doing a hobby, and felt less purposeful when they were engaged with media/TV/internet. Individuals often felt more purposeful when they had recently engaged in a social interaction, especially when that social interaction was pleasant and not uncomfortable. Interactions with coworkers were associated with a higher sense of purpose across all groups, though face-to-face interactions versus other interactions (e.g., phone calls, video calls) were not differentially related to momentary sense of purpose. Findings highlight activities that individuals may engage in to bolster their sense of purpose across development.

Wettstein, Markus; Blotenberg, Iris; Ghisletta, Paolo; Lindenberger, Ulman; Gerstorf, Denis; Wurm, Susanne

doi: 10.1037/dev0002084pmid: 41051819

Subjective aging predicts various developmental outcomes, including cognitive functioning. However, associations could be bidirectional. We focused on central dimensions of subjective aging (subjective age; self-perceptions of aging related to social losses, physical losses, and ongoing development) and investigated reciprocal longitudinal associations with perceptual–motor speed, both at the between-person level (i.e., Do individuals with more positive subjective aging trajectories exhibit better cognitive performance trajectories?) and within-person level (e.g., Is an individuals’ cognitive performance poorer than their typical trajectory on measurement occasions when their subjective aging is less positive than their typical trajectory?). We used data from the German Ageing Survey (n = 15,898; aged 40–95 years; observation period: 2002–2017, up to five occasions; mean number of observations: 2.1; sample sizes between 2002 and 2017: 4,334; 7,668; 4,800; 9,703; 6,551). Using autoregressive latent trajectory models with structured residuals, we controlled for sociodemographic, social, and health-related factors. At the between-person level, higher levels of perceptions related to ongoing development and lower levels of perceptions related to physical and social loss were associated with higher levels of perceptual–motor speed. Linear decline in perceptual–motor speed was less steep for individuals with lower physical loss intercepts and higher ongoing development levels. While there were significant within-person synchronous associations between perceptual–motor speed and subjective aging, we found no reliable cross-lagged associations. All between-person and within-person associations of subjective age with perceptual–motor speed were not statistically significant. Our results imply that there are meaningful between-person and within-person associations between subjective aging and cognitive abilities.