FRONTAL ACTIVATION ASYMMETRY AND SOCIAL COMPETENCE AT 4 YEARS OF AGE

The pattern of frontal activation as measured by the ongoing electroen cephalogram (EEG) may be a marker for individual differences in infant and adult disposition to respond with either positive or negative aff ect. We studied 48 4-year-old children who were first observed in same -sex quartets during free-play sessions, while making speeches, and du ring a ticket-sorting task. Social and interactive behaviors were code d from these sessions. Each child was subsequently seen 2 weeks later when EEG was recorded while the child attended to a visual stimulus. T he pattern of EEG activation computed from the session was significant ly related to the child's behavior in the quarter session. Children wh o displayed social competence (high degree of social initiations and p ositive affect) exhibited greater relative left frontal activation, wh ile children who displayed social withdrawal (isolated, onlooking, and unoccupied behavior) during the play session exhibited greater relati ve right frontal activation. Differences among children in frontal asy mmetry were a function of power in the left frontal region. These EEG/ behavior findings suggest that resting frontal asymmetry may be a mark er for certain temperamental dispositions.