Jealousy: Character Flaw or Health Emotion?

A Scientific Paradox

Mom! What about me!

One look says it all as this tyke's mother coos to a realistic-looking baby doll during an experiment. Dr. Sybil Hart’s ongoing research on the brain activity of infants and toddlers shows babies as young as six months exhibit a unique pattern of responses as they compete for mom’s attention. Hart’s findings point to the controversial position that jealousy may be an inborn biologically-based trait, rather than a character flaw that emerges later in development.

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Photos by Kenny Braun

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Sybil Hart, earned her Ph.D. from Tufts University in 1995, and is the C.R. Hutcheson Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and associate dean of research for Texas Tech’s College of Human Sciences. Hart's research includes the development of early relationships and emotional and cognitive functioning in light of infant temperament, maternal characteristics, cultural influences, and nutrition and has been featured in Newsweek, the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, and Infancy, the official journal of the International Society on Infant Studies.

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