Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 18, 2025

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Self-distancing in Young Children
07:01

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Self-distancing in Young Children

Published on: March 1, 2019

8.0K

The importance of differentiating between cold and hot response inhibition in the parenting context, when examining

Sofie Rousseau1, Tahl I Frenkel2

  • 1School of Education, Ariel University.

Emotion (Washington, D.C.)
|August 24, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Parents' ability to inhibit responses (RI) is crucial for preventing harsh parenting (HP). Lower RI in response to infant negative emotions is linked to increased HP, suggesting targeted interventions for early detection and prevention.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Parenting Studies

Background:

  • Harsh parenting (HP) negatively impacts child development.
  • Parents' response inhibition (RI) capacity is a potential protective factor against HP.
  • Previous research focused on trait RI, but state RI in specific contexts may be more relevant.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between parents' state response inhibition (RI) and harsh parenting (HP).
  • To examine if RI differs in contexts of infant versus adult emotional faces.
  • To determine if RI in infant emotional contexts, particularly negative ones, predicts HP.

Main Methods:

  • 98 first-time parents completed a Go/No-Go task measuring RI.
  • RI was assessed across neutral, positive, and negative infant and adult emotional face contexts.
  • Parents also self-reported on their harsh parenting behaviors.

Main Results:

  • Parents exhibited lower RI in infant emotional contexts compared to adult emotional contexts.
  • RI was significantly lower in response to infant negative emotional faces than infant neutral or positive faces.
  • Reduced RI specifically in infant negative emotional contexts was associated with higher levels of harsh parenting.

Conclusions:

  • Parents' state response inhibition, particularly in the face of infant distress, is a critical factor in harsh parenting.
  • Findings highlight the importance of context in understanding parental self-regulation.
  • Results offer potential for early detection and intervention strategies targeting parental RI in infant-related emotional situations.

More Related Videos

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood08:09

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood

Published on: February 11, 2017

11.5K
Novel Assay for Cold Nociception in Drosophila Larvae06:52

Novel Assay for Cold Nociception in Drosophila Larvae

Published on: April 3, 2017

7.8K

Related Concept Videos

Parenting Styles01:27

Parenting Styles

Diana Baumrind's four parenting styles — authoritarian, authoritative, neglectful, and permissive — each influence children's socio-emotional development differently.
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative...
93
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood03:34

Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood

Attachment is a long-standing connection or bond with others. While Attachment Theory was conceived in developmental psychology to describe infant-caregiver bonding, it's been extended into adulthood to include romantic relationships. 
43.5K
Socioemotional Development during Infancy01:30

Socioemotional Development during Infancy

Socio-emotional development in infancy is primarily shaped by early emotional responses and social connections, with temperament playing a central role. Temperament refers to the consistent patterns in an individual's emotional and behavioral responses, observable even in infancy. By examining temperament, researchers can better understand an infant's unique ways of interacting with the world, influencing subsequent personality and socio-emotional growth.
Primary Temperament Types
84
Responses to Heat and Cold Stress02:45

Responses to Heat and Cold Stress

Every organism has an optimum temperature range within which healthy growth and physiological functioning can occur. At the ends of this range, there will be a minimum and maximum temperature that interrupt biological processes.
13.6K
Punishment01:27

Punishment

Negative reinforcement and punishment are often confused but serve distinct functions in behavior modification. Reinforcement, whether positive or negative, increases the likelihood of a desired behavior, while punishment decreases it.
Punishment can be positive or negative. Positive punishment involves adding an undesirable stimulus, such as scolding, to decrease a behavior. Negative punishment involves removing a desirable stimulus, such as taking away a favorite toy, to decrease behavior....
230
Attachment01:20

Attachment

Attachment is vital for infant development, as warm social interactions support growth and well-being. In a classic 1958 study by Harry Harlow, the significance of warmth and comfort in forming attachments was examined. Harlow separated newborn monkeys from their mothers and provided two artificial "mothers": one made of cold wire and the other covered in soft cloth. Despite the wire mother offering food, the infant monkeys preferred the comfort of the cloth mother, demonstrating that...
90