We studied frontal asymmetry (FA) in relation to fearfulness, prosocial behavior and aggressive behavior in young twins. Based on the literature FA was a likely candidate to explain individual... Show moreWe studied frontal asymmetry (FA) in relation to fearfulness, prosocial behavior and aggressive behavior in young twins. Based on the literature FA was a likely candidate to explain individual differences in approach and withdrawal related behavior. However, our results showed no associations between fearfulness, prosocial behavior or aggressive behavior on the one hand and FA on the other in 4-6 year old children. We did show that genetic influences were involved in fearfulness, prosocial behavior and FA in young twins. Furthermore, we have developed two new, age appropriate, tasks: the Prosocial Owl Game (POG) and the Social Network Aggression Task – Early Childhood (SNAT-EC). In both tasks, young children show similar responses to social exclusion and social judgments as older children, adolescents and adults. The POG and SNAT-EC turned out to be reliable measures that can be used for long-term follow-up research. New insights in the role of FA may be revealed when the children grow older, increasing the value of the data in the coming years. Show less
Wijk, I.C. van; Huffmeijer, R.; Bosdriesz, J.R.; Bakermans-Kranenburg, M.J.; Kolijn, L.; Van IJzendoorn, M.H.; ... ; Bulk, B.G. van den 2019
