Individual differences in infant’s emotional resonance to a peer in distress: self-other awareness and emotion regulation

Elena Geangu; Oana Benga; Daniel Stahl; Tricia Striano

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2010.00596.x

Individual differences in infant’s emotional resonance to a peer in distress: self-other awareness and emotion regulation

Elena Geangu, Oana Benga, Daniel Stahl, Tricia Striano

Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

In this study, relations between emotional resonance responses to another's distress, emotion regulation, and self-other discrimination were investigated in infants three-, six-, and nine-months-old. We measured the emotional reactions to the pain cry of a peer, along with the ability to regulate emotions and to discriminate between self and other body movements. We found evidence that infants do regulate their emotional resonance responses to another's distress. This relation is age specific, with younger infants using more primitive self-soothing behaviors, while in older participants attentional based strategies relate to affect sharing reactions. Only nine-month-old infants have shown self-other differentiation abilities, and these were significantly connected to their emotions in response to a peer's distress. These findings have implications for our understanding of early empathy development.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	450-470
Number of pages	21
Journal	Social development
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2010.00596.x
Publication status	Published - Aug 2011

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abstract = "In this study, relations between emotional resonance responses to another's distress, emotion regulation, and self-other discrimination were investigated in infants three-, six-, and nine-months-old. We measured the emotional reactions to the pain cry of a peer, along with the ability to regulate emotions and to discriminate between self and other body movements. We found evidence that infants do regulate their emotional resonance responses to another's distress. This relation is age specific, with younger infants using more primitive self-soothing behaviors, while in older participants attentional based strategies relate to affect sharing reactions. Only nine-month-old infants have shown self-other differentiation abilities, and these were significantly connected to their emotions in response to a peer's distress. These findings have implications for our understanding of early empathy development.",

author = "Elena Geangu and Oana Benga and Daniel Stahl and Tricia Striano",

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AB - In this study, relations between emotional resonance responses to another's distress, emotion regulation, and self-other discrimination were investigated in infants three-, six-, and nine-months-old. We measured the emotional reactions to the pain cry of a peer, along with the ability to regulate emotions and to discriminate between self and other body movements. We found evidence that infants do regulate their emotional resonance responses to another's distress. This relation is age specific, with younger infants using more primitive self-soothing behaviors, while in older participants attentional based strategies relate to affect sharing reactions. Only nine-month-old infants have shown self-other differentiation abilities, and these were significantly connected to their emotions in response to a peer's distress. These findings have implications for our understanding of early empathy development.

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SP - 450

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JO - Social development

JF - Social development

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Individual differences in infant’s emotional resonance to a peer in distress: self-other awareness and emotion regulation

Abstract

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