The dynamics of self- and co-regulation in children with emerging emotional and behavioural difficulties

Developmental research has sought to explore the parent-child relationship as a key context in which we can elucidate sources of risk for and resilience against children’s psychological difficulties. To date, most research on emotional processes (e.g., emotion regulation) in parent-child relationships has relied on methodologies and analytical strategies that obscure their dynamic (i.e., nonlinear) nature. Advances in analytical methods have enabled more nuanced examinations of the dynamics of parent-child emotion and behaviour, capturing both aspects of child self-regulation and coregulation in interactive contexts. In its exploration of dynamic patterns of emotional responding in a sample of mother-child dyads with children experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties, this thesis had four main aims: The first aim was to illustrate whether micro-analytical methods can successfully capture the dynamics of emotion and the regulation of emotion. This was met in all three empirical studies with the application of a molecular approach to observed emotional expressions and regulatory behaviour. The second aim was to uncover patterns of emotional responding (i.e., the influence of children’s avoidance-based, cognitive-behavioural, and approach-based regulatory strategies on displays of anger/frustration). This was met in the empirical study detailed in Chapter 2, where temporal contingencies between children’s displays of negative emotion and regulatory responses were found. In particular, children’s cognitive-behavioural strategies (i.e., self-resignation/helplessness) increased recurrence of negative emotion; and patterns of emotional responding in children at higher levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties were suggestive of a reliance on avoidance-based strategies. The third aim was to index the dynamics of socialisation practices in terms of temporal patterns of contingency between mother and child emotion and behaviour, thus ascertaining whether it is the statistical interdependency with child emotion that makes these practices adaptive. The findings from the empirical study detailed in Chapter 3 revealed interesting patterns: Mothers’ unsupportive coregulatory behaviours appeared to hinder recurrence of child positive emotion (i.e., social adaptiveness), particularly in high internalising children. While mothers’ second-by-second use of autonomy support resolved children’s negative emotion displays, the opposite pattern was found in dyads with children at higher levels of internalising difficulties, where mothers’ second-by-second use of positive directives (i.e., instructional behaviours) instead exacerbated negative emotion. While this appeared to point to low levels of receptiveness to socialisation efforts in dyads with such children, the effect of children’s motivational tendencies on emotion displays signified the need for the examination of mothers’ interpretations of their child’s signals. The empirical study in Chapter 4 investigated the role of attachment-based constructs, namely, narrative coherence (i.e., parental mental representations of the child and parent-child relationship). It particularly found associations between the coherence of mothers’ mental representations and increased engagement in supportive coregulatory behaviour, as well as higher levels of contingent responsiveness with children’s displays of positive emotion. This chapter thus achieved the final aim of the thesis in its attempt to bridge the gap between traditional parent-child relationship qualities and dynamic social processes. Taken together, this indicates that a focus on dynamic self- and co-regulatory patterns in high-risk populations provides new avenues for refining theoretical models and informing clinical practice

Promoting Andean children's learning of science through cultural and digital tools

Conference Theme: To see the world and a grain of sand: Learning across levels of space, time, and scaleIn Peru, there is a large achievement gap in rural schools. In order to overcome this problem, the study aims to design environments that enhance science learning through the integration of ICT with cultural artifacts, respecting the Andean culture and empower rural children to pursue lifelong learning. This investigation employs the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) framework, and the Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology using an iterative process of design, implementation and evaluation of the innovative practice.published_or_final_versio

Maternal nonverbal and verbal scaffolding of infant attention during toy-centered play : influences of toy-type, age and birth status

The purpose of the current thesis which consists of a three-part study was to investigate the nonverbal and verbal attention-scaffolding behaviours mothers employ during toy play with their infants, and to evaluate changes in these behaviours and infant gaze according to infant age, birth status and toy-type. Toy-types included books and toys with functional and/or social properties. Two groups of mother-infant dyads were investigated at 5�$1

Retrieval-, Distributed-, and Interleaved Practice in the Classroom:A Systematic Review

Three of the most effective learning strategies identified are retrieval practice, distributed practice, and interleaved practice, also referred to as desirable difficulties. However, it is yet unknown to what extent these three practices foster learning in primary and secondary education classrooms (as opposed to the laboratory and/or tertiary education classrooms, where most research is conducted) and whether these strategies affect different students differently. To address these gaps, we conducted a systematic review. Initial and detailed screening of 869 documents found in a threefold search resulted in a pool of 29 journal articles published from 2006 through June 2020. Seventy-five effect sizes nested in 47 experiments nested in 29 documents were included in the review. Retrieval- and interleaved practice appeared to benefit students’ learning outcomes quite consistently; distributed practice less so. Furthermore, only cognitive Student*Task characteristics (i.e., features of the student’s cognition regarding the task, such as initial success) appeared to be significant moderators. We conclude that future research further conceptualising and operationalising initial effort is required, as is a differentiated approach to implementing desirable difficulties