The aim of this thesis is to increase our knowledge of individual differences in the neural processing and appraisal of children’s faces that differ in their degree of resemblance with the... Show moreThe aim of this thesis is to increase our knowledge of individual differences in the neural processing and appraisal of children’s faces that differ in their degree of resemblance with the participant’s face. Chapter 2 focuses on participants’ neural responses to child faces that differ in their degree of resemblance with the participant’s face, both in neutral and threatening contexts. Moderating effects of love withdrawal and empathy are examined to explore associations between participants’ experiences with love withdrawal, their levels of empathy and their neural processing of facial resemblance. In Chapter 3, we examine how participants’ evaluations of the different child faces on a range of negative and positive criteria are affected by children’s degree of resemblance with the participant’s face. In addition, we explore how experiences of love withdrawal and FFA activity moderate participants’ appraisal of these child faces. Chapter 4 focuses on the test-retest reliability of the fMRI data acquired during the face processing paradigm we used to examine the effects of facial resemblance on participants’ brain activity. Show less
To thrive as an individual and within society, children need to master the ability to control their behavior and adapt it to social rules and standards. They also need to acquire the social... Show moreTo thrive as an individual and within society, children need to master the ability to control their behavior and adapt it to social rules and standards. They also need to acquire the social competence to interact and communicate with others. Studies showing the relevance of behavioral control and social competence for children’s future development give rise to the search for factors that are associated with these competencies. These factors can be characteristics of the child, factors within the child’s social environment, and factors within the physical and socioeconomic environment. In the current thesis we aimed to identify some of these factors associated with the development of behavioral control in early childhood, and with prosocial behavior in early to mid-adolescence. We assessed four types of behavioral control: parent-reported effortful control, observed cheating behavior, delay of gratification, and response inhibition. For prosocial behavior, one type was assessed: observed compensating behavior towards an excluded peer. The results show that there is quite some variation in children’s level of behavioral control as well as in adolescents’ level of prosocial behavior and that these levels can be related to child characteristics, factors in their social environment, physical, and socioeconomic environment in a meaningful way. Show less
