Parents, keep your reactions in check. Scientists from the Institute of Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS) of the University of Washington authored two studies that shed light on babies' capability to judge adult emotions and reactions and form opinions about them.
The experiment sought to find out infants' reactions when exposed to "angry personalities" and how their formed perceptions will change their behavior. The first study, published in the journal Developmental Psychology, discovered that "babies will do whatever they can to avoid being the target of anger," according to lead author Betty Repacholi, as told by Tech Times.
The first of the two studies can be accessed in the journal Developmental Psychology. The second study is pending for publishing in the journal Infancy.
To arrive at the conclusion, the authors observed and analyzed a group of 270 boys and girls all with an average age of 15 months. They then presented the kids two scenarios as part of their data gathering process. An "Experimenter," an "Emoter" as well as some toys were involved in the social experiment.
While babies are seated on their parents' laps, they are presented with a scenario: the Experimenter is handling and tinkering with the toys while the study's Emoter manifests either a neutral or angry expression to the former's action. As the Experimenter touches the toy, the Emoter's facial expression remains unchanged.
After the scenario between the Experimenter and Emoter, the Emoter will give the 15-month-old a chance to play with the toy. The researchers found out that the babies will avoid touching or playing with the toy if the Emoter's reaction is strict or cold.
"Our research shows that babies are carefully paying attention to the emotional reactions of adults," co-author Andrew Meltzoff says, as told by Tribune India. "Babies make snap judgments as to whether an adult is anger-prone. They pigeonhole adults more quickly than we thought."
On the other hand, the second study asserts that babies know how to pacify anger-prone personalities. A group of 70 15-month-olds comprised of 50 percent boys and 50 percent girls were presented with toys and were allowed to play with them. After which, the Emoter takes the toys away. About 69 percent of the subjects who were exposed to the angry Emoter gave up their toys easily as compared to the 46 percent of the kids who saw a neutral response.
