Stability in Temperament and Emotional Expression in 1- To 3-Year-Old Children

Abstract

I examined the stability of emotional expression in 18 toddlers aged 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years using laboratory observation. The children were presented with 5 social stimuli. Their emotional expressions were video recorded and later behaviorally coded by 2 independent raters. Average latency, intensity, and duration scores for emotional expression for each child were calculated at ages 1, 2, and 3 years and compared using Friedman's test. Intensity of emotional expression in the children showed stability over the 3 years; no significant differences were found between ages 1, 2, and 3 ( 2 (2) = 1.78, p = .41). Additionally, based on parental questionnaires for each year, from 1 to 3 years of age intensity, mood, activity, approach, and adaptability were 5 dimensions of temperament that showed stability.

Infants' emotional expression: Differences in the expression of pleasure and discomfort between infants from Chile and the United States

“…Emotional expression is understood as a reaction to stimuli that is evident through both corporal expression, including body and facial gestures and vocalizations (Aviezer, Trope, & Todorov, ; Goldsmith, ). As Lopez and colleagues (2009, in Corrales, ) proposed, some emotional expressions alert others to the nature of a stimulus and facilitate social interactions (Lewis, 1998 cited in Losonczy‐Marshall, ). Emotions are also understood as related to goal‐motivated behaviour, emerging as a person strives to maintain or regain his or her sense of well‐being (Trommsdorff & Cole, ).…”

¿Influyen el sexo y el temperamento en los cambios en la expresividad emocional de infantes chilenos? Un estudio longitudinal

“…Por ejemplo, estudios respecto a la rabia y el miedo muestran que la intensidad emocional es menor en infantes de 7-8 meses comparado con infantes de 9-13 meses (Losonczy-Marshall, 2008), mientras que otros estudios muestran una disminución en la intensidad de las emociones negativas entre la etapa preescolar, escolar (Morris et al, 2011) y a lo largo de toda la vida (Carstensen et al, 2000). En cambio, las emociones positivas suelen mantenerse estables en su intensidad a lo largo de la vida (Carstensen et al, 2000), lo cual es coherente con el estudio longitudinal de Losonczy-Marshall (2014), el cual no encontró cambios significativos en la intensidad de la expresión emocional en infantes de 1, 2 y 3 años.…”