Zimmermann Laura K, Stansbury Kathy
Psychology Department, 1460 University Drive, Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA 22601, USA.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2004 Sep;29(8):973-82. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2003.09.003.
The current study investigated the temperamental dispositions of 53 three-year-old children (27 males, 26 females) and their behavioral and physiological responses to a stranger approach situation. Results indicated that elevations in cortisol were predicted by the child's level of shyness (with both shy and bold children showing elevations), better emotion regulation, and attendance at daycare which was believed to measure habituation to interactions with unknown adults in a playroom setting. In addition, the majority of children, both shy and bold, had cortisol levels that had begun to recover by fifteen minutes after the initial assessment. This suggests that the major concern for inhibited children is not weak regulation, but rather more frequent activation of the HPA system in response to novelty and a perceptual framework that expects fear.
本研究调查了53名三岁儿童（27名男性，26名女性）的气质倾向，以及他们对陌生人接近情境的行为和生理反应。结果表明，儿童的害羞程度（害羞和大胆的儿童都有升高）、更好的情绪调节能力以及日托出勤率可预测皮质醇水平的升高，日托出勤率被认为可衡量在游戏室环境中与陌生成年人互动的习惯化程度。此外，大多数儿童，无论是害羞的还是大胆的，在初次评估后15分钟时皮质醇水平已开始恢复。这表明，内向儿童的主要问题不是调节能力弱，而是在面对新奇事物和预期恐惧的感知框架时，下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）系统更频繁地被激活。
