The relation of ANS and HPA activation to infant anger and sadness response to goal blockage.

From the first months of life, individual differences have been found in infant response to the blockage of a desired goal (e.g., Kochanska, Tjebkes, & Forman, 1998; Lemerese & Dodge, 2000; Lewis, 2000; Saarni, Mumme, & Campos, 1998; Stifter & Grant, 1993). Our past work on infant response to goal blockage has involved a contingency learning situation (Alessandri, Sullivan, & Lewis, 1990; Lewis, Alessandri, & Sullivan, 1990; Lewis, Sullivan, Ramsay, & Alessandri, 1992; Sullivan, Lewis, & Alessandri, 1992). Infants learn that arm-pulling leads to an interesting event. After the contingency is learned, different types of goal blockages are introduced. One type of blockage involves an extinction procedure where the event no longer occurs regardless of infant arm-pulling. In response to this form of blockage, infants show anger and sadness as well as arm-pulling. Increases in arm-pulling are associated with increased anger, but not increased sadness (Lewis et al., 1990). That anger, but not sadness, is related to arm-pulling suggests that an angry expression and arm-pulling reflect infants’ attempt to reinstate the outcome and therefore their expectation of control over the event, while sadness may not. The type of blockage that involves the event continuing to occur independent of infant arm-pulling has been called a noncontingent blockage. When this condition is introduced, infants show increased anger, but not increased arm-pulling (Sullivan & Lewis, 2003). That what was a response-contingent event now occurs independent of arm-pulling serves to inform infants that they are no longer in control. Thus, anger, but not arm-pulling to this form of blockage supports the idea that anger in response to a blocked goal reflects infant expectation of control. On the other hand, sadness in response to goal blockage appears to reflect the absence of infant expectation of control. Past work suggests that adrenocortical activation to goal blockage is most likely to occur when there is the absence of perceived control to overcome the obstacle (Dickerson & Kemeny, 2004; Henry, 1992; Levine, Coe, & Wiener, 1989; Levine & Wiener, 1989). For example, animals who do not have the control to terminate aversive stimulation show considerably enhanced adrenocortical responses relative to yoked controls who do have the control, yet receive the same aversive stimulation (Levine et al., 1989). On the basis of such evidence, Henry (1992) proposed that, in the absence of perceived control, responses to goal blockage would involve adrenocortical activation. If sadness reflects the absence of control, sadness should be related to increases in cortisol response. We examined this possibility using two goal blockage situations with young infants (Lewis & Ramsay, 2005). For both blockages sadness was, while anger was not, related to cortisol response; infants showing greater sadness showed a higher cortisol response. Taken together these results suggest that sadness to goal blockage reflects the absence of infant expectation of control. Henry (1992) also proposed that, as a consequence of perceived control, responses to a blocked goal would be associated with autonomic activation reflecting the effort involved in attempting to overcome the obstacle. There would be no autonomic activation in absence of perceived control. Thus, in response to goal blockage, increases in anger should be related to autonomic activation, but unrelated to adrenocortical activation, whereas increases in sadness should be related to adrenocortical activation, but unrelated to autonomic activation. Henry’s view suggests that in response to goal blockage the pattern of high autonomic and low adrenocortical activation may be the more optimal physiological response, whereas the pattern of low autonomic and high adrenocortical activation may be a less optimal physiological response. It would appear that the lack of adrenocortical activation when infants show anger supports the view that anger may be more adaptive than sadness. The relation of high autonomic and low adrenocortical activation to anger over a blocked goal would add further support to the view that anger rather than sadness is a more adaptive response. Bauer, Quas, and Boyce (2002) reviewed work on differential patterns of autonomic and adrenocortical activation in relation to risk for behavioral problems. They suggested that the patterns of autonomic and adrenocortical activation may have important implications for psychopathology. They proposed that four groups of subjects be considered according to whether they showed (1) high autonomic and high adrenocortical activation, (2) low autonomic and low adrenocortical activation, (3) high autonomic and low adrenocortical activation, or (4) low autonomic and high adrenocortical activation. In contrast to Henry’s view, Bauer et al. suggested that more pathological functioning might be associated with the pattern of high autonomic and low adrenocortical activation as well as the pattern of low autonomic and high adrenocortical activation. These they contrasted with more balanced autonomic and adrenocortical activation. Pointing out that this and other possibilities have not been tested empirically in adults or children, they called for such investigation to determine how the autonomic and adrenocortical systems are coordinated in individual differences in emotional and behavioral functioning. To our knowledge, there has not been an examination in infants of the separate emotions of anger and sadness in response to goal blockage as they relate to both autonomic and adrenocortical activation. For example, Haley and Stansbury (2003) examined the relation of heart rate and cortisol only to a global measure of negative affect that did not distinguish the two emotions. In the present study, we examined anger and sadness to a blocked learned response in relation to heart rate and cortisol reactivity in a sample of 4-month-old infants. Consistent with Henry’s view, we expected anger to be associated with increased heart rate, but not cortisol and sadness to be associated with increased cortisol, but not heart rate. Four months was chosen as the sample age since in past work it has proved a good time to examine individual differences in infant anger and sadness responses to goal blockage (Lewis et al., 1990; Lewis & Ramsay, 2005; Sullivan & Lewis, 2003).