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The way parents and their children play together may be the framework for how kids will treat other children, according to a recent study from the University of Georgia.

Figuring out how to approach new social situations is key for toddlers, and research suggests that caregivers play a big part in giving kids a script to draw from.

The new study found the way mothers and toddlers interacted during play predicted how the children later interacted with other kids.

“It’s not just what the mom does when they’re interacting, and it’s not just what the child does when they’re interacting,” said Niyantri Ravindran, lead author of the study and an assistant professor in UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences. “It’s really about how their behaviors are occurring together. That back-and-forth dialogue between the mother and child is contributing to how children are interacting with their peers.”

Caretakers help kids practice for future social situations

The researchers focused on two main types of behavior in 120 toddler-aged children: responsiveness and assertiveness. They followed the children through their preschool days, examining how they interacted with their friends while playing, and later paired them with both new kids, and close friends.

Children who were receptive to the suggestions of their playmate and enthusiastic about playing with them scored high on responsiveness.

Mothers and children had a strong connection if the mother was sensitive to the child’s behavior and the child responded positively. When they showed this dynamic during play, those children were more likely to show the same responsiveness with their friends.

Similarly, when mothers were sensitive and children were assertive during play, those children were more likely to be assertive with kids they didn’t know. While many may think assertive behavior equals aggressive behavior, assertiveness in this study meant that the children took initiative, like inviting another kid to play or coming up with ideas for games.

“You don’t want a child to be completely only compliant and never really taking the initiative,” said Ravindran. “Neither do you want a child who is bossy and never listening to the other kids’ suggestions. Having a balance between those two behaviors could help result in more socially competent children.”

Caregivers play a large role in how children develop social skills and not just because they are their children’s primary role models. How kids and parents interact serves as practice for new social situations.

“You’re going to guide your child, teach them and show them how to do things, but it’s also just as important to follow their lead sometimes,” said Ravindran. “That can really help balance out those behaviors.”

This study was published in Developmental Psychology and co-authored by Nancy L. McElwain of the University of Illinois’ Department of Human Development and Family Studies.

Writer: Sydney Barrilleaux
Contact: Niyantri Ravindran, niyantri.ravindran@uga.edu

 

There’s a common thread between parenting, teaching, statistics, and engineering for Drew Abney.

Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, he always dreamed of being a high school teacher— specifically, a wood shop and engineering design teacher. His mother, however, had a different future in mind for him.

“My mom used to say I should be a psychologist because I was that friend in high school who everyone went to with their problems and talked them through it,” said Abney, associate professor in the Franklin College of Arts & Sciences Department of Psychology. “And when I was working on my master’s degree, I found myself reading a lot of books on cognition, behavior, and neuroscience.”

While working on his master’s in education, Abney took a statistics class that, surprisingly, made his passing interest in psychology seem like a possible career option. It was the first time in his life he felt he excelled at math. He saw how statistics correlated with the research he was reading about, such as quantifying the probability of behavior changes, and began to consider a different path.

“My mom was sort of right, although she thought I was going to be a clinical psychologist. Still, she likes to remind me she always knew I’d do this,” Abney said.

Abney earned a master’s in experimental psychology and a Ph.D. in cognitive and information sciences, studying at the intersection of experimental psychology and computer science. His current psychology research is the culmination of these past skills.

Beginning with his dissertation, Abney has focused on modeling and quantifying human interaction. The interactions between infants and their caregivers led him to developmental psychology, for which he received a James S. McDonnell Foundation grant to study sensory-motor development during infant sleep.

“Every parent worries about sleep and how their child sleeps, and the developmental trajectories of sleep have always been a fascinating area of research that I wanted to get into,” he said.

As luck would have it, a perfect pilot subject came into Abney’s life around that time: his own daughter.

“Before she was born, I was an expert in developmental psychology, but I wasn’t an expert in parenting,” he said. “It was exciting to watch the different developmental milestones play out before my eyes, not just as a psychologist but as a father.”

While he was developing a sleep room for subjects, Abney’s daughter indicated discomfort in the lab. Abney realized that the best way to study infant sleep would be in their natural home environment.

The research team pivoted to recording infant naps over four sessions during home visits in the local Athens community, using a mobile lab setup.

Initially, the work was difficult. Abney and his team were used to conducting studies in a more controlled environment. They were able to make it work, however, with an infrared camera and mobile electrocardiogram (ECG) system.

During these home visits, Abney’s team uses sensors that monitor infant movements during the rest of the day and artificial intelligence to classify babies’ movements. This allows them to analyze and model movement dynamics during sleep and while they are awake. While home visits were not part of the original study design, Abney said they improved ecological validity since they capture better-quality sleep data in infants’ home environments.

In spring 2024, Abney received the university-wide Charles B. Knapp Early Career Scholar Award for his research. He’s also become a rising star in the classroom; since arriving at UGA in 2020, he has won two Outstanding Teaching Awards from the Department of Psychology.

Abney brings these skills to bear in unique ways, and it still goes back to his interest in statistics.

“I really love teaching statistics at the undergraduate and graduate levels, which not all undergraduate students in psychology are excited about and I accept that,” Abney said. “But what I love about teaching statistics is it’s just a great way to build hands-on skills that are translatable to careers right out of the gate with a bachelor’s degree.”

“Human behavior touches just about every field you can think of, whether it’s economics or political science or sociology. [For people] going into the academic study of psychology, I would encourage them to think more outside their disciplines, [for example] about emerging trends in artificial intelligence and how you can use tools from artificial intelligence to study human behavior.”

Article written by Emily Tingle

 

We are delighted to announce the promotion of Jenny Claire Carey to the position of Post Award Operations Manager. Jenny Claire has shown exceptional dedication and expertise in her work with grants, making her an invaluable member of our team. Her passion and desire to embrace new challenges have driven her to this well-deserved promotion.

When asked why she was interested in this new position, Jenny Claire said, “I was interested in the Post Award Operations Manager position because I enjoy the work that I do with grants but was ready to welcome new challenges with this role. I also really enjoy my colleagues and would like to continue working with them as I grow in my career.”

In her new role, Jenny Claire’s responsibilities will expand significantly. “In addition to the oversight of a vast and complex grant management caseload, I am now overseeing departmental operating budgets, annual budget development, internally funded seed grants, and pilot grants, as well as serving on the OIBR Management Team,” she explained. This role will allow her to leverage her extensive experience and skills in new and impactful ways.

Jenny Claire attributes her promotion to the skills and experiences she has gained over the years. “Over the last few years, I worked with Paula McIntyre, who was previously in this position, to gain a better understanding of the business processes within the Institute that I didn’t necessarily see working with grants alone. I’ve also taken on the Institute’s largest and most complex grants and continually asked for new projects and challenges because I believe doing the work is the best way to gain skills and experience.”

Looking forward, Jenny Claire hopes to be a supportive and collaborative leader. “I hope to be someone that the OIBR team feels confident to come to with questions and issues and am hopeful that we will be able to collaborate and continue OIBR’s success.”

Please join us in congratulating Jenny Claire Carey on her promotion and wishing her continued success in her new role!