Help, mom, I’m scared! Toddlers’ proximity to parent when introduced to strangers, puppets, and clowns.
Poster Number
20A
Format
Poster Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Jessica Grady
Faculty Mentor Department
Psychology
Abstract/Artist Statement
Toddlers who are shy tend to exhibit fear or wariness when faced with unfamiliar social environments. However some social environments have been shown to be more challenging than others for children. For instance, toddlers generally showed more fear when introduced to strangers than when introduced to friendly clowns and puppets (Buss, 2011). We examined whether Buss’s (2011) results could be replicated with just shy toddlers. Fifty toddlers, ages 21 to 24 months, who were identified as shy were observed in different laboratory episodes. These episodes were designed to introduce the participants to a series of unfamiliar social environments, including new female and male examiners, a female examiner dressed as a clown, and a female examiner enacting a puppet show. We coded the toddlers’ proximity to parents or caregivers when introduced to each new stimulus. Proximity to parent was defined as arms length or within 2 feet of the parent. We also measured the number of times the child sought comfort from the parents through contact. Data entry is ongoing. Analyses will examine the frequencies of proximity to and contact seeking with the parent across episodes. We expect toddlers to show more proximity to parent and contact seeking when introduced to a new female or male examiner than when introduced to a new female examiner dressed as a clown or enacting a puppet show.
Location
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
Start Date
28-4-2018 10:00 AM
End Date
28-4-2018 12:00 PM
Help, mom, I’m scared! Toddlers’ proximity to parent when introduced to strangers, puppets, and clowns.
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
Toddlers who are shy tend to exhibit fear or wariness when faced with unfamiliar social environments. However some social environments have been shown to be more challenging than others for children. For instance, toddlers generally showed more fear when introduced to strangers than when introduced to friendly clowns and puppets (Buss, 2011). We examined whether Buss’s (2011) results could be replicated with just shy toddlers. Fifty toddlers, ages 21 to 24 months, who were identified as shy were observed in different laboratory episodes. These episodes were designed to introduce the participants to a series of unfamiliar social environments, including new female and male examiners, a female examiner dressed as a clown, and a female examiner enacting a puppet show. We coded the toddlers’ proximity to parents or caregivers when introduced to each new stimulus. Proximity to parent was defined as arms length or within 2 feet of the parent. We also measured the number of times the child sought comfort from the parents through contact. Data entry is ongoing. Analyses will examine the frequencies of proximity to and contact seeking with the parent across episodes. We expect toddlers to show more proximity to parent and contact seeking when introduced to a new female or male examiner than when introduced to a new female examiner dressed as a clown or enacting a puppet show.