Abstract
Seven hundred seventy-nine infants were screened at 4 months of age for motor and emotional reactivity. At age 9 months, infants who showed extreme patterns of motor and negative (n = 75) or motor and positive (n = 73) reactivity and an unselected control group (n = 86) were administered the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery, and baseline electroencephalogram data were collected. Negatively reactive infants showed significantly more avoidance than positively reactive infants and displayed a pattern of right frontal electroencephalogram asymmetry. Positively reactive infants exhibited significantly more approach behavior than controls and exhibited a pattern of left frontal asymmetry. Results support the notion that approach-withdrawal bias underlies reactivity in infancy.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1491-1496 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Developmental psychology |
Volume | 44 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2008 |
Keywords
- approach-withdrawal bias
- frontal EEG asymmetry
- temperament
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Life-span and Life-course Studies
- Demography