Task-Specific and General Social Goals as Predictors of In Vivo Emotional Responses to Social Challenge

• In Event: Poster Session 05
  In Poster Session: PS 05 Topic - Social, Emotional, Personality

Abstract

According to the affective social competence model (Halberstadt et al., 2001), emotion is essential to successful social interactions, particularly among children. One potential predictor of children’s affective social competence is the goals they pursue within social contexts, which can contribute to their emotional responses to challenge. Whereas mastery goals (focus on developing relationships and acquiring social skills; Goalsmastery) may help children regulate their emotions, thereby fostering more positive and less negative emotions, performance-approach goals (focus on demonstrating social competence by gaining positive social judgements; Goalsapp) and performance-avoidance goals (focus on demonstrating social competence by avoiding negative social judgements; Goalsavoid) may heighten arousal in the face of challenge, thereby fostering less positive and more negative emotions (Rudolph et al., 2011). Moreover, the potency of these goals may be intensified in the context of highly negative social interactions and undesirable outcomes. The current study examined whether children's task-specific and general social goals predicted their emotional responses during a laboratory social challenge.
132 children (Mage=9.46 years, SD=.33) completed a social challenge task following 3rd grade. Dyads were paired to ensure same sex and lack of familiarity between partners. After a building task, dyads were instructed to decide on the distribution of two prizes with noticeably unequal value (e.g., an art set vs. a plain pad of paper). Prior to the visit, children completed a general social goals measure. Following the prize distribution, children completed a task-specific social goals measure. Based on videotapes of the interaction, children rated their subjective emotions, and trained coders rated children’s objective emotions and the negativity of dyadic interactions.
Bayesian multilevel modeling analysis revealed several main effects of social goals on emotions (Table 1) and several interactions (Figure 1a, b, c display sample interactions). High task-specific Goalsmastery predicted more subjective positive emotions and buffered children against low subjective positive emotions when receiving the less valued prize (Figure 1a), although they also predicted more objective negative emotions in high-negative dyads. Low task-specific and general Goalsapp predicted more objective negative emotions, particularly in high-negative dyads (Figure 1b) and when children received the less valued prize (for general Goalsapp), although high task-specific Goalsapp predicted more subjective negative emotions in low-negative dyads. High task-specific Goalsavoid suppressed subjective positive emotions, and high task-specific and general Goalsavoid predicted more subjective and objective negative emotions, with several of these effects intensified in high-negative dyads and when children received the less valued prize (Figure 1c).
These results support the idea that social goals contribute to children’s emotional responses to social challenges. Whereas Goalsmastery generally enhance positive emotional engagement with peers (unless interactions are highly negative), Goalsavoid consistently promote more negative emotional responses, particularly in the context of highly negative dyadic exchanges and disappointing social outcomes. Contrary to expectations, Goalsapp often predicted less negative emotions, suggesting that Goalsapp may share some benefits of having a general approach orientation toward relationships. Overall, this work highlights the important contribution of social goals to children’s affective social competence and provides novel avenues for intervention efforts aimed at enhancing children’s socioemotional adjustment.

Authors

• Yuetian Li, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Presenting Author

• Tianying Cai, Northwestern University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Xiaomei Li, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Non-Presenting Author

• Karen Rudolph, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Non-Presenting Author