New Insights on Environmental Sensitivity in Early Childhood

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Numerous studies have shown that children differ in their sensitivity toward similar contexts (Ellis & Boyce, 2011; Obradović et al., 2010; Pluess et al., 2020). Sensitivity refers to the degree to which individuals can perceive subtle environmental characteristics and cognitively process the input. According to the environmental sensitivity framework (Pluess, 2015), individuals not only differ in their capacity to perceive and process environmental stimuli, but sensitive individuals are also more affected by positive as well as negative features of their environment. In developmental science, there has been a concentration on environmental sensitivity in childhood and adolescence. However, early childhood demands alternative ways to examine sensitivity characteristics and the implications thereof. The proposed symposium includes three papers aiming to advance (a) the assessment of environmental sensitivity in early childhood and (b) refine our understanding of the implications of sensitivity in early childhood. The first contribution examines the psychometric properties of an observational measure of environmental sensitivity in a US preschool sample. In addition, the study investigated sensitivity within the same individual on three levels: behavioral, genetic, and physiological. The second multi-method study conducted in Poland introduces a newly developed parent report and a teacher report to assess sensitivity in preschoolers. The third study examines the interaction between parenting and children’s sensitivity regarding children's cognitive skills in a Swiss preschool sample. The symposium brings together research on advanced measurement instruments of environmental sensitivity in early childhood and provides new insights into the complex interactional effects of parenting and sensitivity in early years.

Sub Unit

• Methods, History, Theory

Chair

• Niamh Oeri, Universität Bern

Discussant

• Patricia Bijttebier, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven)

Individual Presentations

• Observer-Rated Environmental Sensitivity and its Characterization at Genetic, Physiological, and Behavioral Level - Presenting Author: Sofie Weyn, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven); Francesca Lionetti, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara and Queen Mary University of London; Daniel N Klein, Stony Brook University; Elaine Aron, Stony Brook University; Arthur Aron, Stony Brook University; Elizabeth P. Hayden, University of Western Ontario; Lea Rose Dougherty, University of Maryland, College Park; Shiva Singh; Monika Waszczuk; Roman Kotov, Stony Brook University Hospital; Anna Docherty; Andrey Shabalin; Michael Pluess, Queen Mary University of London

• Manifestation of Sensory Processing Sensitivity in Physical, Emotional, Interpersonal, and Cognitive Spheres in Preschoolers - Presenting Author: Monika Baryła-Matejczuk, WSEI University; Nicolás Ruiz-Robledillo, University of Alicante; Natalia Albaladejo-Blázquez, University of Alicante. Spain; Rosario Ferrer-Cascales, University of Alicante; Manuel Fernández-Alcántara, University of Alicante; Maria Rubio-Aparicio; Borja Costa-López

• Parenting and executive functions in early childhood: The moderating role of environmental sensitivity - Presenting Author: Niamh Oeri, Universität Bern; Nora Tilda Kunz; Michael Pluess, Queen Mary University of London