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Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
Published on: October 19, 2014
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Intergenerational Transmission of Valence Bias Is Moderated by Attachment
Ashley Humphries1,2, Isabella Peckinpaugh1,2, Grace Kupka3
1Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.
Developmental Science
|August 25, 2025
Summary
Children’s valence bias, or how they interpret ambiguous emotions, mirrors their parents. Parent-child communication strengthens this emotional bias transmission, suggesting a shared worldview development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Genetics
Background:
- Individual differences in interpreting emotionally ambiguous cues (valence bias) impact mental health and social functioning.
- Parental influence on children's cognitive biases, including appraisals of uncertainty, is well-documented.
- The developmental trajectory of valence bias in childhood and adolescence remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the intergenerational transmission of valence bias from parents to children.
- To examine the moderating role of parent-child attachment (communication, alienation, trust) in this transmission.
- To explore the underlying mechanisms, such as social learning and generalized shared reality.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 136 parent-child dyads with children aged 6–17 years.
- Administered a dual-valence ambiguity task to measure valence bias in both parents and children.
- Employed structural equation modeling to analyze the associations and moderating effects.
Main Results:
- A significant association was found between parent and child valence bias (β = 0.283, p = 0.005).
- Parent-child communication moderated this transmission, strengthening the relationship between parent and child bias (β = 0.03, p = 0.04).
- Higher parent-child communication correlated with more similar valence biases.
Conclusions:
- Parental valence bias is a mechanism influencing child valence bias development through social learning.
- Parent-child communication plays a crucial role in shaping the similarity of their emotional interpretations.
- Findings support the theory of generalized shared reality, where strong interpersonal connections foster similar worldviews.
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