Understanding how young children manage their emotions is vital for fostering their social skills and psychological well-being. A study by Febe Brice et al. (2024) published in Psychiatric Quarterly explored the relationship between visual attention bias and emotion dysregulation (ED) in children aged 3 to 8 years. The study used the RealEye eye-tracking platform to examine how children's visual attention to emotional faces might relate to their emotional regulation abilities.
What is Emotion Dysregulation (ED)?
Emotion Dysregulation (ED) refers to the inability to control or regulate emotional responses in a manner appropriate for the social context. It is often characterized by frequent mood swings, emotional outbursts, and aggression. Identifying ED early in childhood is crucial as it can indicate potential behavioral and psychological issues later in life.
How RealEye Was Used in the Study
RealEye, as an online webcam eye-tracking platform, enables researchers to measure visual attention by tracking where and for how long a person looks at specific areas on a screen. In this study, RealEte was used to monitor children's gaze patterns while they viewed a series of images showing emotional expressions.
The heat map of eye gaze fxation time in AOI (the eye region of an angry face): (A) the individualwith a lower level of CBCL externalising problems; (B) the individual with a higher level of CBCL externalising problems (authors' description)
Key Steps in Using RealEye:
Calibration Phase: Each child began with a calibration phase, where they were asked to gaze at dots on the screen to ensure accurate tracking.
Test Phase: Following calibration, children viewed five images: two showing human faces with happy or angry expressions, and three depicting interactions between characters. The RealEye software tracked their gaze, focusing on specific Areas of Interest (AOIs) like the eyes and mouth of the faces.
Data Analysis: The platform analyzed fixation duration and gaze patterns on these AOIs to determine if there was a visual attention bias towards or away from certain emotional cues. This data was then correlated with parental reports of the children's emotional regulation behaviors.
Findings from the RealEye Analysis
The study revealed significant patterns in how young children with different levels of ED responded to emotional stimuli:
Children with Higher ED Levels: Showed less visual attention towards images displaying unpleasant emotions (like anger). This trend was particularly pronounced in younger children (below 70 months).
Influence of Age: The relationship between ED and visual attention bias varied with age. Younger children exhibited a stronger aversion to unpleasant emotional stimuli compared to older children.
Gender and Social Function: Gender and social responsiveness were also considered in the analysis. However, the most notable finding was the inverse correlation between visual attention to negative emotional cues and externalizing problem behaviors (e.g., aggression).
The relationship between the externalising problem score and visual attention bias in two age groups(<70 months and ≥ 70 months, respectively) (authors' description)
The findings suggest that young children with greater symptoms of ED might employ visual avoidance as a strategy to regulate their emotions when faced with unpleasant stimuli. This avoidance can serve as an early indicator of ED and associated behavioral issues.
Moreover, these insights demonstrate the potential of RealEye and other eye-tracking technologies as accessible tools for screening ED-related mental health concerns in early childhood. By identifying visual attention biases, healthcare providers may develop more tailored interventions to support emotional regulation skills in young children.
You can run a similar study!
Follow the steps below to start your own experiment with RealEye:
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