Roles of Individual Differences and Neural Correlates in the Response to Peer Feedback in Early Childhood
Open Access
Author:
Choi, Jeong Ha
Area of Honors:
Psychology
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Dr. Koraly Elisa Pérez-Edgar, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Richard Alan Carlson, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Peer feedback Behavioral Inhibition Rejection Sensitivity Event Related Potentials
Abstract:
Although peer rejection has broad negative consequences for children’s psychological and social adjustment (Nesdale & Lambert, 2007), specific children may be more sensitive to the long-term effects of social rejection. The goal of this preliminary study was to examine how temperament and rejection sensitivity may shape a young child’s initial emotional and neural response to positive and negative peer feedback by using Event Related Potentials (ERPs). Results show that there was a significant difference in Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire (BIQ) levels for high and low Rejection Sensitive (RS) groups. When children reported to be unhappier with their peer feedback, they showed smaller C1 mean amplitudes. Also, children with high anxious expectations showed faster N1 latency when rejected. Lastly, children with high BIQ showed faster N1 latency when accepted, and faster C1 latency when rejected. Findings inform our understanding of variations in children’s response to social feedback. Continued data collection will allow us to see if these patterns remain over time.
