Poster #86 - Using micro-coding to investigate temporal dynamics of empathic concern in 18-month-old infants

• In Event: Poster Session 01

Abstract

Empathic concern for others in distress can be observed in infants as young as 3-months, modestly growing with age, and plateauing during the second year of life. In developmental settings empathic concern is typically investigated by macro coding videos of situations in which infants observe others in stress (for instance the primary caregiver). Macro-coding refers to assigning one value per condition or behavior investigated. In the case of empathic concern, behaviors investigated are typically cognitive- (inquiry behavior), affective- (concerned affect), prosocial-, or self-distress- reactions of the infant to the primary caregiver’s distress. These behaviors are classified by assigning a value to the observed condition. However, macro-coding has disadvantages, as it requires the observer to make a judgment on a limited scale about the strength of a behavior and it does not quantify temporal dynamics of behaviors observed. For instance, whether one behavior appears earlier than the other. One option to overcome such disadvantages is the use of micro-coding, in which behavior is continuously observed and a code is assigned each time a behavior is displayed.

In the present project we have collected data from 54-mother-infant dyads at 18-months of age. Replicating an empathic concern paradigm, mothers were instructed to display distress for 1-minute by pretending to hurt their fingers or knees. Before and after the distress phase mothers and infants played for 1 minute. We plan on micro- and macro-coding the infant’s behavior during the maternal distress simulation. For macro-coding we will replicate previous coding schemes to investigate inquiry behavior, concerned affect, prosocial behavior, and self-distress. Going beyond previous approaches we will also take a closer look at self-distress by distinguishing between vocal-, bodily-, and facial distress. For micro-coding we will use the same coding schemes but assign a value to each frame depending on the behavior being present (1) or not (0). For our analysis we will aggregate the scores for each second.

To investigate the micro coded behaviors, we will use growth curve models. We will test whether a linear or quadratic coefficient best explains the data. We expect that for each behavior a quadratic term will best explain the data. Further, we expect a temporal hierarchy of behaviors as infants gradually process and adapt to the situation such that infants first display inquiry behavior, followed by concerned affect, and last prosocial behavior. Regarding self-distress, we expect a similar progression such that infants first display facial-, then bodily-, and last vocal distress. In a second step we will aim at validating our approach by computing separate growth curve models for each behavior, including the respective macro-coded behavior as a factor in the analysis. We expect a strong relationship between micro- and macro-coded behaviors.

In sum, the present project aims at introducing and validating a micro-coding approach measuring empathic concern in infants. Compared to traditional macro-coding scales the current approach allows for a more objective and detailed description of infants’ behavior, which can help deepen our understanding of the temporal dynamics of empathic concern in infancy.

Authors

• Markus R Tünte, University of Vienna
  Presenting Author

• Gesine Jordan, University of Vienna

• Rebecca Lutz, University of Vienna

• Stefanie Hoehl, University of Vienna