Effortful control moderates the relation between negative emotionality and socially appropriate behavior

The current study investigated the relation between negative emotionality and socially appropriate behavior in a diverse sample of preschool and kindergarten children (N = 74). More specifically, we tested whether effortful control would moderate this relation. A computerized task measured children's effortful control by assessing their accuracy in shifting attention between different emotionally valenced faces (happy and angry) while inhibiting their responses to neutral faces. Teachers completed the Affect Intensity Scale-Child Version to assess child negative emotionality as well as the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales to assess two aspects of socially appropriate behavior (social cooperation and inhibition of externalizing behavior). Regression analyses indicated that children with high negative emotionality and strong effortful control had fewer externalizing problems and greater social cooperation compared with their counterparts with weaker effortful control. These findings support and extend previous research suggesting that effortful control may protect children, particularly those with high negative emotionality, from poor social outcomes. A novel contribution of this study is its use of an attention shifting task that incorporates emotionally salient stimuli. These findings have important implications for educators working with young children who encounter increased expectations for regulating their behavior during preschool and kindergarten.