Associations between respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity and effortful control in preschool-age children.
We tested whether respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity in response to each of three self-regulation tasks (bird and dragon; knock-tap; and gift wrap) would predict self-regulation performance in a sample of 101 preschool-age children (M age = 4.49, SD = .64). While controlling for baseline RSA, decreases in RSA from bird and dragon to knock-tap (but not from baseline to bird and dragon) predicted a latent variable measuring self-regulation. Furthermore, increases in RSA from the knock-tap to gift wrap-the only task involving delay of gratification-were related to concurrent task performance while controlling for the relation between RSA reactivity and the latent self-regulation variable. Results suggest that the relations between RSA reactivity and self-regulatory ability are influenced by task-specific demands and possibly by task order. Furthermore, RSA reactivity appears to relate differently to performance on motivationally salient self-regulation tasks such as delay of gratification relative to cool executive function tasks.
Institute of Human Development and Social Change, New York University, New York, NY.
Michael J
MJ
Sulik
Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1104.
Nancy
N
Eisenberg
T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.
Tracy L
TL
Spinrad
T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.
Kassondra M
KM
Silva
D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D002666:Psychology, Child; D056152:Respiratory Rate / Q000502:physiology; D065809:Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia / Q000502:physiology; D000068356:Self-Control / Q000523:psychology
D006854:Hydrocortisone
effortful control; executive function; respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA); self-regulation; vagal tone