Low positive affectivity and behavioral inhibition in preschool-age children: A replication and extension of previous findings

The present report replicates and extends our previous study using a laboratory assessment of child temperament and behavior to distinguish the affective component, low positive affect (PA), of the broader positive emotionality construct from behavioral inhibition (BI) in a larger, independent sample. Additionally, we examined whether laboratory-assessed traits could be distinguished on parent/teacher-reports of related constructs. Low positive emotionality and BI share the core feature of low approach/engagement and are often not distinguished in the literature, despite presumed differences in underlying motivation. We examined these traits in novel and non-novel laboratory contexts. Similar to previous findings, we found that in novel situations, children with low PA and children with high BI exhibited similar levels of approach, and both groups exhibited lower approach than controls. In contrast, in non-novel situations, children with low PA exhibited significantly lower levels of approach than children with high BI and controls. Finally, we also found external evidence for the distinction between laboratory-defined low PA and high BI on parent- and teacher-reports of child temperament.