Little children never cease to amaze. University of Washington researchers have found that 18-month-old toddlers engage in what is called "emotional eavesdropping," by listening and watching emotional reactions directed by one adult to another and then using this emotional information to shape their own behavior. The research indicates infants understand other people's emotional states at a very young age. This may be a precursor to 'reading' other people's minds by understanding their emotional and psychological states. Understanding other people's emotions is a lifelong skill and is crucial for school readiness. The fascinating result of this study is how sensitive toddlers are to the emotional dynamics of the interactions around them. To test whether infants eavesdrop on adults to pick up emotional clues, the youngsters watched an adult play with a toy, while another adult expressed anger or a neutral reaction in response to the adult playing with the toy. The infants were then allowed to play with the toy. All of the infants were interested in the toy - watching closely, leaning forward, making noises and indicating they wanted it. When the other adult expressed anger, it took the child an average of 5 seconds to pick up the toy. But, when the other adult reacted neutrally, the youngsters grabbed the toy within 1 second. This study is the first demonstration that infants can modify their own behavior in response to an emotional communication that does not involve them. Interesting... don't you think? Let's all be careful of our behavior when we're around children. Labels: children, emotional eavesdropping
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