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Associate Professor Elaine Reece

Email elaine.reese@otago.ac.nz
Tel 64 3 479 8441
Visit Professor Reese's profile

Social Influences on Children's Development

One way that parents shape their children's learning and development is through their talk. Whether they are talking to children as they play, telling or reading them stories, or talking to them about the past or future, parents' conversation matters for children's development.

Children's Development Aided by Parents' Talk

Father reading to son in Assoc Prof Elaine Reese's Research LabI study the way that parents' talk creates change in children's language, narrative, memory, literacy, and self-understanding. I am especially interested in the role of parents' storytelling with their children. Parents' stories range from ready-made versions available in books to stories that they tell about their own lives and their children's lives. Both the quantity and the quality of these stories make a difference in children's development. The sheer quantity of words that parents use affects their children's language development. However, the quality of parents' speech is equally important. Parents who ask their children open-ended questions about their experiences, such as, “What was your favourite part of the zoo?” are encouraging their children to put their experiences into words. This practice helps children's language development but also enriches their memory development, their narrative skills, and even their reading acquisition.

Delving into the Emotional Aspects of Stories Creates a More Coherent and Positive Sense of Self in Children

Mother, Child, Aunty telling stories in Assoc Prof Elaine Reese's Research LabParents who delve into the emotional aspects of stories and past events, especially the negative aspects, also have children with a more coherent and more positive sense of self. Critically, there are differences between boys and girls in their narrative skills and self-understanding from a young age. We are finding that parents need to continue to help boys understand their emotions and past experiences into middle childhood, whereas girls are mastering these skills at a younger age.

The Importance of Early Emotional Relationships in Children's Learning

The basis for these effects of parental talk on children's development is grounded in the child's relationship with the parent from a young age. Those toddlers who are securely attached to their caregivers benefit more from their parents' talk, whereas children who are insecurely attached to their parents show fewer benefits from their parents' talk over early childhood. Thus, the early emotional relationship with the parent is essential in children's learning.

Storytelling in Early Childhood Evokes Earlier Memories as Adolescents

Father and teenage daughter participants in Assoc Prof Elaine Reese's Research walking across bridgeIn my lab, we are now assessing the outcomes of these early parent-child conversations as we follow the children in our longitudinal studies into adolescence. We are finding that children whose parents told elaborative stories with them in early childhood have earlier memories and stronger self-concepts as adolescents. We are extending these investigations to other cultures to explore whether Maori adolescents, who have the earliest memories of any culture studied, develop a coherent life story at a younger age than Chinese or European New Zealand adolescents, who tend to have later memories. Across cultures, we expect adolescents' life stories to be linked to their self-concept and to their psychological well-being.

Supported by

Marsden Fund of the Royal Society of New Zealand
National Institute of Child Health and Development
Foundation for Research in Science and Technology

Collaborators

Professor Robyn Fivush (Emory University)
Professor William Friedman (Oberlin College)
Professor Wendy Grolnick (Clark University)
Professor Harlene Hayne (University of Otago)
Associate Professor Qi Wang (Cornell University)
Dr Elizabeth Schaughency (University of Otago)
Dr Mele Taumoepeau (University of Otago)
Dr Catherine Haden (Loyola University)
Professor Peter Ornstein (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
Professor Lynne Baker-Ward (North Carolina State University)
Professor Patricia Bauer (Emory University)
Professor Marjorie Taylor (University of Oregon)

Other Affiliations

Leader of Education Domain, Growing Up in New Zealand
University of Auckland
School of Population Health
www.growingup.co.nz

Publications

Marshall, S., Rea, M., & Reese, E. (2024). Personality traits and narrative identity: Changes in mid-adolescence to emerging adulthood in relation to well-being. Journal of Research in Personality. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.jrp.2024.104545 Journal - Research Article

Reese, E. (2024). How stories change us: A developmental science of stories from fiction and real life. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 240p. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780197747902.001.0001 Authored Book - Research

Swearingen, I., Moros, S., Schaughency, E., & Reese, E. (2024). Quality of educator-toddler conversations varies across activity settings in centre-based ECEC. International Journal of Early Years Education. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/09669760.2024.2389826 Journal - Research Article

Russell, S., Bird, A. L., Waldie, K., Peterson, E., Morton, S. M. B., Atatoa Carr, P. E., Salmon, K., & Reese, E. (2024). From infancy to eight: How early maternal mental health, emotion reminiscing, and language shape children’s mental health. Development & Psychopathology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1017/S0954579424000919 Journal - Research Article

Peterson, E. R., Sharma, T., Bird, A., Henderson, A. M. E., Ramgopal, V., Reese, E., & Morton, S. M. B. (2024). How mothers talk to their children about failure, mistakes and setbacks is related to their children's fear of failure. British Journal of Educational Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/bjep.12685 Journal - Research Article

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