The area of research that I have focused on in this study pertains to psychology and is specifically about children’s socioemotional development. Participants were 100 children (44 girls, 56 boys) and their mothers participating in an ongoing longitudinal study, with a visit at age four and age five. To measure child empathy coders scored overall empathic behavior on a scale from 1 (low) to 7 (high). Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA) quantifies parasympathetic activity, it is the variability in the intervals between heartbeats. RSA was measured through children’s electrocardiogram during a resting baseline and during the empathy task. The research question we proposed asked if gender moderates the relationship between parasympathetic regulation and empathetic behaviors. This research is important for the field of psychology because there is little known about the relationship between RSA and empathetic behaviors. This study tested whether the relation between RSA and empathic behaviors was different for boys and girls. There was no significant interaction between RSA and gender in predicting empathy behaviors, which was contrary to our hypothesis. We found marginal differences between boys and girls at age five, but this was only true when baseline RSA was in the model. These findings contribute to future investigation of whether or when RSA is related to other indicators of empathy. The opportunity to participate in the Undergraduate Research Forum has strengthened my knowledge of psychological research. Through this process, I have had the opportunity to learn more about measuring, analyzing, and interpreting data as well as articulating my findings on a poster. I plan to attend graduate school upon completion of my degree and pursue a career as a Child Clinical Psychologist. This experience has strengthened my ability to complete future research and helped prepare me for graduate school and my future career.
Author(s): Hannah Gero, Psychology Major
Advisor(s): Elizabeth Kiel, Department of Psychology
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