CHILDRENS VISUAL AVOIDANCE OF THREAT - A STRATEGY ASSOCIATED WITH LOWSOCIAL-CONTROL

Children watched a videotape of a child have a routine but ambiguous m edical examination; tapes were varied for the presence or absence of t hreat as expressed facially by actors. It was hypothesized that childr en's visual engagement with stimulus materials (in particular, cues to threat) is influenced by their perceived social control. In Study 1, children (ages 5-10 years) were selected as either dispositionally hig h or low in perceived social control. In Study 2, children (ages 5 and 6 years) were experimentally primed for high or low social control. I n both studies, interactions were obtained between child control and p resence/absence of threat cues. As predicted, children with high versu s low control showed opposite reactions to threat cues: high-control c hildren showed high levels of visual engagement whereas low-control ch ildren showed relatively high disengagement. Visual disengagement was interpreted as facilitating short-term coping but producing negative c onsequences for social interaction and information acquisition.