Research at TRI
CHILDREN
Aerobics
Alpert, B., Field, T.,
Goldstein, S., & Perry, S. (1990). Aerobics enhances cardiovascular fitness
and agility in preschoolers. Health
Psychology, 9, 48- 56.
•
Thirty minutes of aerobics were provided daily for a period of 8 weeks for a
group of children while other children engaged in freeplay on the school
playground. The aerobic group showed decreases in heart rate, and increases in
agility and self-esteem following the exercise program. These findings suggest
that cardiovascular fitness, agility and self-esteem can be facilitated in
preschoolers by aerobics.
Art
Aylward, K., Hartley, S.,
Vega-Lahr, N., Greer, J., & Field, T. (1993). An art appreciation
curriculum for preschool children. Early
Child Development and Care, 96, 35-48.
• A 10- week art appreciation curriculum was provided for preschool children
for one-half hour per week in small groups in their classroom. Following the
course the children showed greater involvement in art and tended to be more
consistent in their artwork preferences. They were also better able to
distinguish paintings from sculptures, and they improved on tasks that involved
naming artists and identifying artists’ works. Finally their self-esteem scores
increased.
Autism
Field,
T. & Diego, M. (2008). Vagal Activity, Early Growth and Emotional
Development. Infant Behavior and
Development,31, 361-373.
• A review of the research on infant
vagal tone suggests that vagal activity is associated with both infant growth
and infant socioemotional development. Vagal activity has been noted to
increase following the stimulation of pressure receptors, as in massage
therapy. Vagal activity, in turn, stimulates gastric motility which mediates
weight gain in infants. Vagal activity has also been notably elevated during
synchronous mother-infant interactions and positive affect, providing
confirmatory data for the Porges "social engagement system" model. In
contrast, low vagal activity has been noted in prenatally depressed mothers
(and prenatally angry and anxious mothers) and their infants, as well as in
children with autism. These studies highlight the relations between vagal
activity and the social behaviors of attentiveness, facial expressions and
vocalizations.
Field, T., Nadel,
J., Diego, M., Hernandez-Reif, M., Russo, K., Vchulek, D. & Lendi, K.
(2008). Children with Autism Are More Imitative With An Imitative Adult Than
With Their Parents. Early Child
Development and Care, 178, 1-6.
• Children with autism (mean age = 6 years) were videotaped
first interacting with a parent and then with an unfamiliar researcher who
imitated the child’s behaviours. The researcher showed more imitative and
playful behaviours than the parents. In turn, the children showed more
imitative behaviour when playing with the imitative researcher than with their
parents.
Nadel, J., Field, T., Escalona, A., & Lundy, B. (2007). Children
with autism approach more imitative and playful adults. Early Child Development and Care, 177, 461-465.
• Children with autism were selected to be in high-approach
and low-approach groups based on a median split of their proximity-seeking
behavior with adults (looking at, approaching and touching adults) during
videotaped interactions. The same videotapes of those two sets of interactions
were then coded and analyzed for the adult partners’ behaviors. The adult
interaction partner of high approach children showed more looking at child,
smiling at child, moving toward child, inviting child to play, imitating child
in play and being playful.
Day Care
Bendell, D., Stone, W., Field, T., &
Goldstein, S. (1988). Children's effects on parenting stress in a low income,
minority population. Topics in Early
Childhood Special Education, 8, 58- 71.
•
Relationships between parenting stress as measured by the Parenting Stress
Index and other maternal and child characteristics were investigated in a
sample of low income mothers and their 5- to 8- year- old children who were at
risk for educational disabilities. Because the children’s behavior and academic
achievement constituted significant sources of parent stress, supportive
counseling services may be needed that are often required for children of low
income, less well-educated parents.
Field, T., Masi, W., Goldstein, S., Perry, S.,
& Parl, S. (1988). Infant daycare facilitates preschool social behavior. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 3,
341- 359.
•
Preschool-age children entering infant day care at varying times and receiving
varying amounts of infant day care were compared on their reunion-with-parent
behavior, teacher and parent ratings of their behavior, and playground play
interactions. Continuous infant day care in quality centers facilitated
preschool social behavior and does not negatively affect attachment behavior.
Field, T. (1991). Quality infant day-care and
grade school behavior and performance. Child
Development, 62, 863-870.
•
The amount of time spent in full-time center care was positively related to the
number of friends and extracurricular activities of the children. In addition,
more time in the center was positively related to parents’ ratings of the
children’s emotional well-being, leadership, popularity, attractiveness, and
assertiveness and negatively related to aggressivity.
Children with more time in high-quality day-care showed more physical affection
during peer interactions, were more often assigned to the gifted program, and
received higher math grades.
Depression
Field, T., Sandberg, D., Goldstein, S., Garcia, R., Vega
Lahr, N., Porter, K., & Dowling, M. (1987). Play interactions and
interviews of depressed and conduct disorder children and their mothers. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 17,
213- 233.
• Normal, depressed and
conduct disorder children (M age = 5 years) were interviewed (as were their
mothers) and observed in free play and puzzle completion tasks both alone and
together with their mothers to determine differences in temperament, behavior
problems and play interaction behaviors. The depressed children reported more
“depressed” feelings, lower self- esteem and more external locus of control.
Although their mothers were indistinguishable from mothers of normal children
on interviews, their dyadic play behavior together suggested less fantasy play
and less involvement. The conduct disorder children’s interview responses did
not differ from their normal peers, although their mothers reported more
self-depression, more external locus of control and less nurturant childrearing
practices and rated their children as having more active temperaments. The
conduct disorder children were more active motorically and less interactive
during play sessions, and their mothers were less interactive and more
disapproving than the other mothers. The results are discussed in the context
of the literature on different behavior problems, self-concept, temperament and
childrearing practices in these two groups of disturbed children.
Lundy, B., Field, T.,
McBride, C., Abrams, S., & Carraway, K. (1997). Child psychiatric patients’
interactions with their mothers. Child
Psychiatry and Human Development, 27, 231-240.
• This study
investigated whether child psychiatric patients and their mothers interacted
differently as a function of whether the children were diagnosed as having
internalizing or externalizing disorders. The children and their mothers were
rated on eight behavior dimensions as they engaged in a ten-minute play
session. Overall, both children with internalizing and externalizing disorders
showed fewer positive behaviors when their mothers were depressed. Children
with an externalizing disorder appeared to be more affected by their mothers'
depression than those with an internalizing disorder. Based on the present
findings then, there appeared to be a strong relation between maternal
depression and child psychiatric patients' behaviors (i.e., affect,
interactiveness, eye contact and whether the child included the mother in their
play interactions).
Disturbed Children
Gonzalez, K., Field, T., Lasko, D., La
Greca, A., & Lahey, B. (1996). Social anxiety and aggression in behaviorally
disordered children. Early Child
Development and Care, 121, 1-8.
• Boys
attending classes for the behaviorally disturbed were given questionnaires on
trait anxiety, social anxiety, empathy, depression and self esteem, and
teachers rated them on aggression to test the hypothesis that anxiety and
empathy attenuate aggression. Contrary to the hypothesis, anxiety and empathy
scores were not correlated with aggression. However, scores on all of these
measures were higher than those for normative samples suggesting that this
sample had a limited range. A second important finding was that social anxiety
was positively correlated with trait anxiety and depression.
Drug Effects
DeCubas, M.M., & Field, T. (1993). Children of methadone-dependent women:
Developmental outcomes. American Journal
of Orthopsychiatry,63, 266-276.
• A group of school age
children was assessed for possible effects of prenatal exposure to methadone
compared to a control group of non-exposed children. Methadone-exposed children
exhibited greater anxiety, aggression and rejection, and their mothers reported
more behavior problems.
Fantasy Play
Field, T., DeStefano, L., & Koewler, J. (1982). Fantasy
play of toddlers and preschoolers. Developmental
Psychology, 18, 503- 508.
• Reality play, object
and person fantasy play and announced fantasy play were observed during the
free play of children age 1 to 5 years in their mixed-age preschool class.
Comparisons were made across three different age groups, and a subsample of
children was observed again a year later to determine age differences and the
developmental course of these types of play. Although the age curves are linear
for some and curvilinear for other types of reality/fantasy play, a general
developmental progression emerged from reality play to object fantasy to person
fantasy and announced fantasy play.
Friends
Field, T., Greenwald, P., Morrow, C., Foster,
T., Guthertz, M., Healy, B. & Frost, P. (1992). Behavior state matching
during interactions of preadolescent friends versus acquaintances. Developmental Psychology, 28, 242-250.
• Face-to face
interactions of sixth-grade friend and acquaintance pairs were videotaped,
heart rate was recorded, and saliva cortisol was sampled. Greater coherence in
the friend pairs’ behavior states and in the acquaintance pairs’ vocal activity
suggested that the friend pairs more often shared the same behavior state
(e.g., playful), and the acquaintance pairs more often paid attention to each
others’ turn- taking signals, so that when one person talked, the other was
silent.
Field, T., Miller, J., & Field, T. (1994).
How well preschoolers know their friends. Early
Child Development and Care, 100, 101-109.
• Preschoolers
were observed during classroom and playground play and were subsequently
interviewed. The best friend choice of 81% of the children was confirmed by at
least one other source (teacher, classroom, or playground observation). The
children were also accurate about several of their best friends’
characteristics including their hair color, relative age and height. The
children’s most common reasons for having friends were “for play” and because
they “liked” their friends.
Goldstein, S., Field, T., & Healy, B.
(1989). Concordance of play behavior and physiology in preschool friends. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology,
10, 337- 351.
• Close
friends and acquaintances were identified among nursery school toddlers and
preschoolers based on behavioral observation sociograms and child and teacher
sociometric ratings. Greater concordance was noted for friend versus
acquaintance pairs on some play behaviors, suggesting that friends become
attuned to each others' behaviors and physiological rhythms as early as the
toddler/preschool stage. Furthermore, stress experienced by young children may
be reduced by the presence of a close friend, thereby reinforcing the notion
that early friendships play an important role in development.
Handicapped
Field, T. (1981). Ecological variables and
examiner biases in assessing handicapped preschool children. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 6, 155-
163.
• Handicapped
preschool children’s developmental assessment performance and test taking
behaviors were positively affected by the presence of toys in the waiting room
and by being given the developmental prior to the physical assessment. Having
an examiner familiar with the child or the child’s record tended to deflate
scores, suggesting that the familiar examiner may have had lesser expectations
of the child which, in turn, may have limited attempts at eliciting optimal
performance of the child. Examiners who had recent experience in testing normal
children systematically assigned lower scores to the handicapped children
suggesting that examiners without recent experience in testing normal children
may have had handicapped children rather than normal children as a frame of
reference.
Field, T., Roseman, S., DeStefano, L., &
Koewler, J.H.(1981). Play behaviors of handicapped preschool children in the
presence and absence of non handicapped peers. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 2, 49- 58.
• Minimally
handicapped children and non-handicapped children were observed playing as
separate classes and as a combined group on their preschool playground. The
results suggest that the normal children were not negatively affected and the
handicapped children were positively affected by the integrated play situation.
Greenberg, R., & Field, T. (1982).
Temperament ratings of handicapped infants during classroom, mother, and
teacher interactions. Journal of
Pediatric Psychology, 7, 387- 405.
• The
temperament of normal and same-developmental age, developmentally delayed, Down
syndrome, cerebral palsy, and audio-visually handicapped infants was assessed
by the infants’ mothers, teachers, and an independent observer using the Carey
Infant Temperament Questionnaire. Mothers tended to rate their infants’
temperament as being less difficult than did the observers who, in turn,
assigned less-difficult ratings than teachers. Normal, developmentally delayed,
and Down syndrome infants received less-difficult ratings than cerebral palsy
and audiovisually handicapped infants on most of the temperament dimensions
rated during classroom play. The interaction context also appeared to affect
temperament ratings with more difficult ratings assigned during classroom play
than during dyadic interactions.
Hospitalization
Field, T. Alpert, B., Vega Lahr, N. Goldstein,
S., & Perry, S. (1988). Hospitalization
stress in children: Sensitizer and repressor coping styles. Health Psychology,
7, 433- 445.
• To examine
the effects of individual sensitizer/repressor coping styles on responses to
hospital procedures, children (mean age = 6.5 years) were observed during
hospitalization for minor surgery. The sensitizer children were more talkative,
expressive, and active during hospital play observations and required fewer
hours of intensive care.
Imitation
Lubin, L., & Field, T., (1981). Imitation
during preschool peer interactions. International
Journal of Behavioral Development, 4, 443- 453.
• Two to four-year-old
preschool children’s peer interactions were observed during free play. A
curvilinear relationship between age and imitation was noted with
three-year-olds engaging in the greatest amount of imitation. The use of
imitation as an interaction also contributed to the greatest amount of variance
on sustained interactions.
Legal Interviews
Field,
T., Malphurs, J., Yando, R., Bendell, D., Carraway, K. & Cohen, R. (2008).
Legal interviewers use children’s affect and eye contact cues to assess credibility
of their testimony. Early Child
Development and Care, 178, 1-7.
• Based on interviews with 120 children ranging from age 3
to 12, legal interviewers rated the grade school and middle school age children
as competent and as understanding the meaning of lying. The interviewers rated
the grade school children as more credible ‘witnesses in court’ than either the
preschool or the middle school age children. The cues they reported using most
frequently were affect and eye contact.
Music
Field, T. (1999). Music enhances sleep in
preschool children. Early Child
Development and Care, 150, 65-68.
• Background
classical guitar music was played to preschool children at naptime on alternate
days in order to assess its effect on naptime sleep onset. On the music versus
no music days the children fell asleep faster and the toddlers faster than the
preschoolers.
Peer
Preferences
Field, T. (1982). Same sex preferences of
preschool children: An artifact of same age grouping? Child Study Journal, 12, 151- 159.
• Preschool
children, aged 2 to 5 years, were observed during free play with a group of
same-age and a group of mixed-age classmates. More frequent play with same-sex
peers occurred during the same-age than the mixed-age group play situation.
Data suggests that comparable verbal fluency may be a significant factor in the
formation of peer preferences. Children may prefer same-sex children in the
same-age situation because they are more closely matched on verbal abilities.
Play
Roopnarine, J.L., & Field, T.M. (1983).
Peer directed behaviors of infants and toddlers during nursery school play. Infant Behavior and Development, 6, 133
138.
•
Peer-directed behaviors of infants and toddlers were observed during nursery
school free play at the beginning and end of a semester. Both infants and
toddlers directed positive behaviors toward their peers more frequently than
negative behaviors. At both observation periods toddlers engaged in more distal
social behaviors, particularly vocalizing and laughing, than infants. These
data and other reports in the literature suggest that proximal contact
behaviors may be more affected by time apart with peers and distal social
behaviors may be more age-dependent.
Segal, M., Peck, J., Vega Lahr, N.,
& Field, T. (1987). A medieval kingdom: leader follower styles of preschool
play. Journal of Applied Developmental
Psychology, 8, 79- 95.
•
Three studies were conducted to determine the validity and utility of a
leader-follower preschool social style classification system developed by Adcock
and Segal (1983) called the Medieval Kingdom. In their system, preschool
children were classified as Lords, Bishops, Vassals, and Serfs as a function of
their leader-follower styles. The Lords and Bishops exhibited more frequent
leadership behaviors (organization/maintenance of play), while Serfs showed
more follower-type behaviors (nondirective and peripheral play behaviors).
Vassals' behaviors fell between those of the Lords/Bishops and the Serfs.
Finally, a case study investigated the utility of pairing leaders-followers to
reduce the aggressive behavior of followers in the classroom. Verbal
reinforcement of the dyadic play of paired leaders and followers facilitated a
reduction in aggressive behavior.
Separation
Stress
Field, T. (1984). Separation stress of
young children transferring to new schools. Developmental
Psychology, 20, 786- 792.
•
Preschool children who were transferring to new schools were observed during a
2-wk period prior to the separation from their classmates who were not transferring.
Results showed that children who were leaving the school, compared to those who
were staying, showed greater fantasy play, physical contact, negative
statements and affect, and less fussiness, lower activity level, lower tonic
heart rate, and less illness, as well as changes in eating and sleeping
patterns. Shortly after their departure, this agitated behavior appeared to
diminish in the children who were leaving but increased for those who remained
in the school. This behavior pattern may represent a coping response to
separation in an environment that is laden with cues of the losses associated
with separation.
Field, T., Gewirtz, J. L., Cohen, D.,
Garcia, R., Greenberg, R., & Collins, K. (1984). Leavetakings and reunions
of infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their parents. Child Development, 55, 628- 635.
•
The leave-taking and reunion behaviors of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and
their parents were observed as the children were "dropped off" and
"picked up" at their nursery school each day. Parent behaviors such
as verbal explanation, distracting the child, latency to leave, and
"sneaking out of the room" were correlated with children's distress
and leave-taking distress was related to ambivalent behavior at reunion.
Field, T., & Reite, M. (1984).
Children's responses to separation from mother during the birth of another
child. Child Development, 55, 1308-
1316.
•
Preschool children's behavioral and physiological responses to separation were
monitored before, during, and after their mothers' hospitalization for the
birth of a sibling. Following the mother's return, decreases were noted in
positive affect, activity level, heart rate, and active sleep suggestive of
depression.
Field, T., Vega Lahr, N., &
Jagadish, S. (1984). Separation stress of nursery school infants and toddlers
graduating to new classes. Infant
Behavior and Development, 7, 527-530
•
The play behaviors and sleep patterns of infants (15 months) and toddlers (24
months) were observed during the first and fourth week of the month preceding
and following their graduation to new nursery classes. The infants as compared
to the toddlers were less agitated just prior to graduation, but more agitated
during the first week in their new class. Those infants/toddlers who moved to a
new class with a close friend appeared to be less affected by the transfer than
those who did not move with a close friend.
Field, T. (1991). Young children's
adaptations to repeated separations from their mothers. Child Development, 62, 539-547.
•
Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers were observed before, during, and after
separations from their mothers, who were attending conferences (M = 4 days).
Only the first separation was stressful. Infants and children in this study
seemed to adapt to repeated separations.
Field, T. (1996). Attachment and
separation in young children. Annual
Review of Psychology, 47, 541-561.
•
Separations may be stressful to the infant and young child because of the loss
of a major source of reinforcement. Reinforcement is typically provided by the
mother in the form of adequate stimulation and arousal modulation. Loss of
control, feedback, and predictability, which are clearly important features of
their interaction, could also occur during separations.
Fox, N., & Field, T. (1989). Individual
differences in preschool entry behavior. Journal
of Applied Developmental Psychology, 10, 527- 540.
•
Preschool entry behavior was investigated in three-year-old children who were
entering preschool for the first time. Individual differences in the children's
vagal tone, a measure of parasympathetic control over heart rate, and
temperament predicted solitary and interactive behavior patterns over the first
6 weeks of preschool. Children with high vagal tone and activity level and low
distractibility showed a greater decrease in solitary play behavior and a
greater increase in interactive play behavior over the first 6 weeks of
preschool.
Teacher/
Child Ratios
Field, T.M. (1980). Preschool play:
Effects of teacher/child ratios and organization of classroom space. Child Study Journal, 10, 191- 205.
•
Eight white, middle-class, 3-4-year old
children were observed in four daycare classrooms varying on two dimensions:
teacher/child ratios and physical layout. A number of sex and group differences
emerged which suggested that the optimal classroom for facilitating peer
interactions and fantasy play among middle-class, preschool children was the
classroom featuring a low teacher/child ratio and partitioned special play
areas.
Temperament
Field, T. & Greenberg, R. (1982).
Temperament ratings by parents and teachers of infants, toddlers, and preschool
children. Child Development, 53, 160-
163.
•
Temperament ratings of infants, toddlers, and preschool children were made by
their parents and their all-day nursery school teachers to determine whether
low parent-observer reliabilities previously reported may relate to
differential experience with children. Despite the teachers’ extensive contact
with these children, convergence coefficients were no greater than those
generally reported in the literature. The dimensions on which there was
interrater agreement were rhythmicity at the infancy stage and persistence and
adaptability at the toddler/preschool stage. Convergence of parent and teacher
ratings was greater at the toddler/ preschool stage than during infancy.
Testimony
Field, T., Malphurs, J., Yando, R., Bendell,
D., Carraway, K. & Cohen, R. (2008). Legal interviewers use children’s
affect and eye contact cues to assess credibility of their testimony. Early Child Development and Care, 178, 1-7.
• Based on
interviews with 120 children ranging from age 3 to 12, legal interviewers rated
the grade school and middle school age children as competent and as
understanding the meaning of lying. The results of this study indicate discrete
age differences among abused children in terms of their credibility as
witnesses in court. Children aged six to nine were viewed as the most credible
future witnesses and least vague in their responses to questions about their
alleged abuse. Younger children (three to five) were viewed by the Children’s
Center interviewers as the least credible future witnesses, perhaps because of
other variables including difficulty retrieving information about the abuse,
lack of competence and a lack of understanding the meaning of truth and lying.
The oldest children (10–12) understood truth and lying and had little
difficulty retrieving and recalling information about their abuse. However, the
interviewers found this group of children to be more vague in their responses
and less consistent in their statements, perhaps indicating a higher level of
coercion and suggestibility among this age group. The oldest group was also
seen as less credible future witnesses, possibly as a result of these
inconsistencies.
Touching
Cigales, M., Field, T., Hossain, Z.,
Pelaez-Nogueras, M., & Gewirtz, J. (1996). Touch among children at nursery
school. Early Child Development &
Care, 126, 101-110.
• Naturalistic
observations of touching behaviors were conducted among children, ranging from
3 to 64 months of age. Preschool children engaged in touching behavior similar
to touching observed among adults. Touch involved “vulnerable body parts” more
often among toddlers than among preschoolers. ‘Negative’ responses to being touched
occurred more often among toddlers than among preschoolers, and task-related
touch occurred less often in the preschool than in the toddler and infant
classes.
Field, T., Harding, J. Soliday, B.,
Lasko, D., Gonzalez, N.,& Valdeon, C. (1994). Touching in infant, toddler
& preschool nurseries. Early Child
Development and Care,98, 113-120.
•
Observations were made in infant, toddler and preschool nurseries to establish
baseline touching between children and their peers and teachers. Positive touch
(including holding, hugging, kissing, handholding, and caregiving) increased
following a request to teachers to increase their touching. Boys were touched
in a positive way more frequently than girls, and progressively less positive
touch was noted across ages from the infant to toddler to preschool nurseries.
Carrying and caregiving in the nurseries were correlated with time spent
holding by parents during end-of day reunions. Teacher ratings of touch
behavior were related to actual behavior, i.e. how often the teacher thought
she touched the child was correlated with how often the child was actually
touched, and how much the child liked being touched correlated with how much
the child was touched during reunion with the parents.
Type
A Behavior
Vega Lahr, N., & Field, T. (1986).
Type A behavior in preschool children. Child
Development, 57, 1333- 1348.
•
Type A behaviors were observed in a group of 48 preschool children in different
free-play and competitive situations. The data were consistent with other
findings on type A behavior in preschool children and suggest that the
behavioral dimensions of type A (competitiveness and impatience-aggression) may
emerge as early as the preschool years, particularly in competitive situations.
Vagal Activity
Field,
T. & Diego, M. (2008). Vagal Activity, Early Growth and Emotional
Development. Infant Behavior and
Development,31, 361-373.
• A review of the research on infant
vagal tone suggests that vagal activity is associated with both infant growth
and infant socioemotional development. Vagal activity has been noted to
increase following the stimulation of pressure receptors as in massage therapy.
Vagal activity, in turn, stimulates gastric motility which mediates weight gain
in infants. Vagal activity has also been notably elevated during synchronous
mother-infant interactions and positive affect, providing confirmatory data for
the Porges "social engagement system" model. In contrast, low vagal
activity has been noted in prenatally depressed mothers (and prenatally angry
and anxious mothers) and their infants, as well as in children with autism.
These studies highlight the relations between vagal activity and the social
behaviors of attentiveness, facial expressions and vocalizations.