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Jaramillo
Daniel Jaramillo
Professor Lacey
15 April 2013
Psychology
Toddler Language Skills vs. Anger
According to a study by Penn State psychologists, there is a
relationship between anger and early language skills developed in
children ages 2 to 4. The study consisted in evaluating childrens
responses to different situations where their levels frustration would be
put to test.

Although the study is compelling because it has a

straightforward structure reinforced with some evidence to make it

credible, it lacks participants and a more standardized way of
measuring anger.
The study was conducted as an experiment where participants
were surveyed on their reactions towards frustrating situation. These
situations consisted of creating a scenario by presenting each child
with a shiny gift-wrapped bag, closed with a ribbon. The kids were told
they had to wait sever long, boring minutes before they could open it.
Then the researchers would watch the childrens reaction. The
hypothesis stated that if a child has well-developed language skills,
they are less likely to loose control of the situation and resort to anger.
The independent variable is the situation in which the children are
placed that causes them to experience frustration. The dependent

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variable would be the levels of anger experienced by the children;
some may be way higher than others. The scientists enrolled children
from households with roughly the same level of income, above the
poverty line but below the national household average.

The study

lacked many aspects such as a standardized way of measuring anger.

Another issue is that one cannot generalize the statement made based
on a small study conducted on 120 children who were living in a
specific socio-economic area that does not relate to the rest of the
children who live different situations. There are many factors that could
influence the development of these children such as: having divorced
parents, having absent parents, living in a dangerous neighborhood,
and the living environment in general.
According to Jean Piagets theory of the stages of cognitive
development the first stage of development is called the sensory
motor stage, which goes from birth to nearly age 2. During this stage,
infants lack object permanence, which is the awareness that objects
continue to exist when not perceived (149). This may directly related
to the study made by Penn State University because young children in
the study are less likely to respond to the situation since they can be
easily distracted from the shiny gift box and start looking at something
else. The next stage of development is called the preoperational stage
and it goes from ages 2 to 7. In this stage object permanence is
present. This means that children in this stage are more likely to

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respond with anger and frustration towards the situation that they are
placed in. Children want to play with the object in front of them, but
they are not allowed to do so and there is no way of distracting them
from it. Attachment can also play a significant role in the study
because children will respond differently to the situation depending on
whether their parents are present or not. Children who are overly
attached will start crying as soon as the parent leaves that room. This
frustration may be confused with the apparent frustration of not being
able to play with the object in front of them.
Although the study lacks actual information, the article still
manages to transmit the general idea to the reader with good enough
information to back up the claims made. There is a clear procedure for
the experiment and it was easy to follow through the way in which the
study was conducted. Even though the reporter managed to make the
study look complete and structured, there are various flaws in the
actual conduction of the experiment, which are mostly covered by the
completeness of the article. It is also noticeable that the article was
directed to a general audience who does not necessarily have any
previous knowledge in the aspects of development.

The content is

easily understood and appealing to individuals with small children

since it portrays general situations that parents experience with their
children. The reporter also does a good job by adding actual quotes

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from the original study done in Penn State that adds extra credibility
and authority to the piece of writing.
To conclude, the article does a suitable job in reporting the study.
All of the needed aspects are present and the author uses various
sources of evidence from the original study to back up her statements.
As stated before, the original study lacks many parts such as more
subjects to be tested, more children from different backgrounds, more
attention to the subject of attachment, and a more standardized way of
measuring anger, which is not stated anywhere in the article. Although
it seems that the study was quite small, it is somewhat credible since it
is coming from a well know and reputable university. Adding to that,
the article is published in Time magazine, which is also a well-known
magazine that one would assume as a good source of information,
which is most likely to be verified before publishing.

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Works Cited
Myers,D.(2007).Psychology.(8thed.).NewYork,NewYork:WorthPublishers