When Does Anger Appear in Infants?
Many of us want to know if infants can experience anger or similar feeling. Current research states that infants can perceive positive and negative feelings. They can express their displeasure by facial expressions. DePaul University psychologist Linda Camras believes that the use of the term "angry" to describe infants before the age of six months can be misleading. When infants are "angry" as judged by facial expressions in situations that aren't at all similar to those that make adults angry, she recommends the term "distress" be used.
Gifted Children - What drives them?
Three Research Scientists of the American Psychological Foundation in the US have been given a grant to investigate what drives gifted children to study. They will be examining if it is solely intrinsic or if the driving force(s) external. External motivators could be parents, coaches, teachers or peers.
Presently it is believed that intrinsic motivation drives children to do well academically but there in no research to back this claim. Knowing the motivating factors will be useful for teachers and parents
One of the main reasons for the success of gifted children is that they are Intrinsically Motivted. Intrinsic motivation is when a child uses initiative without prompting from others. In this way the child continues to work/study at his/her own pace, without adult supervision.
For this to occur parents need to start educationg their children early. Parents need to be in the background and be willing to praise the child for his/her effort. Furhter, this will only be effective if the child is sufficiently mature to be able to delay gratification until exam. results or he/she gets a good job. In other words, children who seek immediate gratification will need to rewarded with other rewards until their ability to delay gratification matures.
Children who cannot delay gratification and parents who cannot learn to take the back seat will not be successful with this method which is often called Positive behavioral reinforcement.
This method can also be used to extinguish unacceptable behaviours.
Shergill