WEBVTT 00:00:02.307 --> 00:00:04.038 Back at the University of Maryland, 00:00:04.038 --> 00:00:06.163 infants are brought in at 9 months for 00:00:06.163 --> 00:00:07.865 the second assessment of the temperament 00:00:07.865 --> 00:00:10.680 study. This time researchers want to measure 00:00:10.680 --> 00:00:15.303 the emotions of anger, joy, and fear. All aspects 00:00:15.303 --> 00:00:18.303 of temperament. First, Jack is allowed to play 00:00:18.303 --> 00:00:21.242 with a colorful toy. Then a transparent 00:00:21.242 --> 00:00:23.840 barrier is put between him and the object 00:00:23.840 --> 00:00:28.124 of his desire. He sees the toy but can't 00:00:28.124 --> 00:00:36.303 reach it. No matter how frustrated Jack 00:00:36.303 --> 00:00:43.125 feels he won't give up. And when he can't 00:00:43.125 --> 00:00:45.487 do it on his own, he tries to charm the 00:00:45.487 --> 00:00:52.472 researcher into helping him. 00:00:52.472 --> 00:00:55.212 Emily, also 9 months, is of a different 00:00:55.212 --> 00:01:00.609 temperament than Jack. It seems she's 00:01:00.609 --> 00:01:07.140 more laid back. She gives it one or two 00:01:07.140 --> 00:01:15.303 tries but then gives up. 00:01:15.303 --> 00:01:16.834 And even when the researcher tries to 00:01:16.834 --> 00:01:21.940 entice her again, she can't be bothered. 00:01:21.940 --> 00:01:25.095 Everyone knows that a puppet show makes 00:01:25.095 --> 00:01:31.062 children happy. During this part of the study, 00:01:31.062 --> 00:01:33.241 researchers want to draw joy from the 00:01:33.241 --> 00:01:37.018 babies. Emily loves the puppets and even 00:01:37.018 --> 00:01:39.742 tries to join in on the action. 00:01:44.432 --> 00:01:46.212 But when the researcher tries the same 00:01:46.212 --> 00:01:50.834 experiment on Jack, he finds the situation 00:01:50.834 --> 00:01:56.272 anything but joyful. His temperament is 00:01:56.272 --> 00:01:59.864 such that he's easily frightened and he 00:01:59.864 --> 00:02:03.487 will have none of it. The minute the puppets 00:02:03.487 --> 00:02:06.870 are removed, he cheers up and is ready for 00:02:06.870 --> 00:02:11.365 more action. Next researchers test the baby's 00:02:11.365 --> 00:02:14.940 reaction when something frightens them. 00:02:14.940 --> 00:02:18.093 Not surprisingly, Jack is shaken by the scary mask. 00:02:20.005 --> 00:02:24.388 So they bring on the clown mask and this one 00:02:24.388 --> 00:02:29.265 really pushes him past his limit. 00:02:40.888 --> 00:02:43.143 But Emily is very interested. She finds the 00:02:43.143 --> 00:02:46.035 clown amusing and thinks it's just a continuation 00:02:46.035 --> 00:02:51.035 of the previous entertainment. As for the more 00:02:51.035 --> 00:02:54.172 ominous mask, she just takes it in stride and 00:02:54.172 --> 00:02:59.067 adopts a "wait and see" attitude. Why does 00:02:59.067 --> 00:03:01.780 Emily react differently from Jack? Where 00:03:01.780 --> 00:03:06.005 does the difference reside? To find out, 00:03:06.005 --> 00:03:09.325 Dr. Peter Marshall places an EEG cap on 00:03:09.325 --> 00:03:11.765 Emily. The electrodes on the cap will 00:03:11.765 --> 00:03:13.852 measure the electrical signals produced 00:03:13.852 --> 00:03:16.281 by her brain in response to a series of 00:03:16.281 --> 00:03:19.296 sounds. A researcher distracts Emily 00:03:19.296 --> 00:03:21.233 while they get a base line reading of her 00:03:21.233 --> 00:03:25.602 brain. Then she hears a series of tones. 00:03:25.602 --> 00:03:28.449 The series consists of regular beeps, interspersed 00:03:28.449 --> 00:03:31.566 with other sounds that are different. How the 00:03:31.566 --> 00:03:35.612 brain reacts to sudden new stimuli is recorded. 00:03:35.612 --> 00:03:37.826 Emily seems to have more activity in her 00:03:37.826 --> 00:03:41.096 right frontal lobe. This kind of reading is 00:03:41.096 --> 00:03:43.357 associated with children who have a more 00:03:43.357 --> 00:03:48.509 subdued personality. But what has fascinated 00:03:48.509 --> 00:03:51.101 researchers is that babies with exuberant 00:03:51.101 --> 00:03:53.704 temperaments show an exaggerated response 00:03:53.704 --> 00:03:59.480 on the other side of the brain, in the left frontal lobe. 00:03:59.480 --> 00:04:02.882 In test after test, this ground breaking research 00:04:02.882 --> 00:04:05.764 has shed light on the neurobiological basis of 00:04:05.764 --> 00:04:11.479 restraint and exuberance. Jack overreacts so much 00:04:11.479 --> 00:04:15.703 that he won't even allow the cap to be put on. 00:04:15.703 --> 00:04:17.612 One can only guess what the alpha waves in 00:04:17.612 --> 00:04:23.112 his left frontal lobe are showing. But is emotional 00:04:23.112 --> 00:04:26.704 temperament constant over time? Will the temperament 00:04:26.704 --> 00:04:29.112 that Elizabeth exhibits at six months be the same 00:04:29.112 --> 00:04:33.327 when she is older? 00:04:33.327 --> 00:04:37.827 Will the curious toddler remain curious forever? 00:04:37.827 --> 00:04:46.004 The lounger. The joker. The dreamer. 00:04:46.004 --> 00:04:50.010 The industrious one. Are they destined to carry 00:04:50.010 --> 00:04:54.827 these temperament traits into the years ahead? 00:04:54.827 --> 00:05:01.066 And what about the worrier? And even the shy one? 00:05:01.066 --> 00:05:04.264 To find out researchers at Nathan Fox's lab bring 00:05:04.264 --> 00:05:07.112 back children previously tested for the final part 00:05:07.112 --> 00:05:11.172 of the long term study. 24 month Ethan and his 00:05:11.172 --> 00:05:14.510 mother are introduced to the risk room to see 00:05:14.510 --> 00:05:18.764 how Ethan reacts to various stressful situations. 00:05:18.764 --> 00:05:24.250 A stranger enters. In this first part of the study, 00:05:24.250 --> 00:05:26.857 what researchers measure is how long it takes 00:05:26.857 --> 00:05:30.827 for the child, if at all, to overcome shyness and 00:05:30.827 --> 00:05:34.265 warm up to the stranger. Eventually, when the 00:05:34.265 --> 00:05:36.948 so called stranger pulls out some inviting toys 00:05:36.948 --> 00:05:40.571 Ethan overcomes his shyness and takes the risk. 00:05:40.571 --> 00:05:46.444 Once he's comfortable with the stranger, they 00:05:46.444 --> 00:05:50.204 continue with the next part of the study. 00:05:50.204 --> 00:05:56.765 Researchers wanted to find out how children 00:05:56.765 --> 00:06:01.541 react to unpredictable situations. And the 00:06:01.541 --> 00:06:04.143 toy robot is certainly unpredictable with 00:06:04.143 --> 00:06:09.525 its' noises and sudden movements. 00:06:09.525 --> 00:06:14.448 The robot proves too much for Ethan, 00:06:14.448 --> 00:06:19.643 even with his mother by his side. 00:06:30.612 --> 00:06:32.296 For the next part of the study, Ethan 00:06:32.296 --> 00:06:36.536 is tested on a set of stairs to see if he's a risk taker. 00:06:36.536 --> 00:06:44.673 The researcher demonstrates and invites 00:06:44.673 --> 00:06:53.659 Ethan to try. But Ethan is a cautious little boy. 00:06:59.333 --> 00:07:04.326 One foot and then the other. He gets 00:07:04.326 --> 00:07:08.505 over the hurdle in his own way. And boldened 00:07:08.505 --> 00:07:16.913 by his success he does it again. Upon reflection, 00:07:16.913 --> 00:07:24.556 he turns to his mother. He wants her to recognize 00:07:24.556 --> 00:07:31.236 how big a risk he took. 24 month Raphael, who's 00:07:31.236 --> 00:07:36.979 the same age as Ethan reacts differently. He's 00:07:36.979 --> 00:07:41.674 a child who likes to take risks. 00:07:41.674 --> 00:07:44.902 But when the robot arrives, he's not such 00:07:44.902 --> 00:07:51.825 a hero. Unpredictable situations which he 00:07:51.825 --> 00:07:57.112 has no control over terrify him. 00:07:57.112 --> 00:07:59.933 35 month Abby has a totally different 00:07:59.933 --> 00:08:03.085 temperament. She takes charge of the situation 00:08:03.085 --> 00:08:04.947 and even gives instructions to the 00:08:04.947 --> 00:08:09.902 researcher before leaping off the stairs. 00:08:09.902 --> 00:08:12.204 When the robot appears, Abby is intrigued 00:08:12.204 --> 00:08:15.572 but only up to a point. She needs to hold onto 00:08:15.572 --> 00:08:19.204 the researcher for courage. The final part of this 00:08:19.204 --> 00:08:21.949 study shows that the amount of risk a child 00:08:21.949 --> 00:08:25.734 takes depends on their individual temperament. 00:08:25.734 --> 00:08:27.962 And as researchers gather all the findings of this 00:08:27.962 --> 00:08:30.903 long term study, they expect to find that children 00:08:30.903 --> 00:08:33.704 who are at the temperamental extremes at 4 months 00:08:33.704 --> 00:08:36.765 will demonstrate the same tendencies at 9 months 00:08:36.765 --> 00:08:41.642 and 24 months. But does early temperament seal 00:08:41.642 --> 00:08:44.826 the baby human's emotional fate? Will their childhood 00:08:44.826 --> 00:08:47.642 temperament govern their behavior for life?