Relation of Young Children's Parasympathetic Reactivity During a Learning Task to Their Self‐Regulation and Early Academic Skills

• Published in: Mind, brain and education Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 43 - 52
• Main Authors: Clark, Caron A. C., Caddell, Kymberly
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-02-2023; Wiley
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Arousal; Child Behavior; Children; Emotional Response; Gender Differences; Heart rate; Human Body; Learning; Learning Activities; Metabolism; Parasympathetic nervous system; Physiology; Self Control; Skill Development; Student Reaction; Young Children
• ISSN: 1751-2271; 1751-228X
• DOI: 10.1111/mbe.12340

There is growing interest among educational researchers in using heart rate variability (HRV) as an index of children's capacity to regulate their physiological arousal. Links between HRV and young children's self‐regulation have, however, been inconsistent, and there is limited research on children's HRV in learning‐related contexts. HRV was collected from 86 children aged 3.41 to 5.83 years before, during, and after they engaged in a learning interaction with an examiner. Higher HRV during a pre‐learning episode and a larger drop in HRV during the learning interaction were associated with stronger behavioral performance on self‐regulation and early academic skill assessments. Children's capacity to modulate their HRV in response to learning opportunities may be linked to their broader self‐regulation and early academic skill development. Effects varied by episode and gender, underscoring a need for further research to rigorously evaluate the utility and generalizability of HRV in authentic educational settings.
LAY ABSTRACT
We examined young children's heart rate variability, a measure of physiological arousal, before, during and after engaging in a learning episode. Children generally showed a drop in heart rate variability, signaling increased arousal, during learning. Children with a larger reductions in heart rate variability during the interaction achieved higher scores on self‐regulation and early academic skill assessments, suggesting that children's capacity to modulate their arousal may be important in their acquisition of key early academic competencies.