Description of Test: This coding assesses the strength of positive and negative emotion during each of the observed situations. (Easterbrooks, A., & Emde, R. N. (1983). The Hedonic Tone Scales. Unpublished manuscript, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver.)  To see the description of the Freeplay Procedure from the MALTS procedure document, move there. To see the form on which the data was recorded, click on the appropriate image below:

Variable Names:  Variable names from this database have the prefix V1HTF (from the Freeplay Hedonic Tone database). The Freeplay Hedonic Tone database includes 600 test subjects and 107 variables, and adds 6 composite scores and a comment field. Data were collected by viewing video tapes of the Freeplay Procedure at the 14 month home visit and recording positive and negative responses in incremental time intervals (30 second intervals). The variables include: Difficulty to Code Rating, Total Time (in seconds), Overall Mood Scale, Coder ID, Time (in seconds) till First Smile, Time (in seconds) till First Fret, Total Number of Frets, and a rating for positive and a rating for negative responses in up to 50 time intervals. Additionally, there are variables for the Start Time (in minutes and seconds) for the HTFRP14 data set, and 6 composite variables. Composite variables across both Bayley Hedonic Tone and Freeplay Hedonic Tone are documented under the Bayley Hedonic Tone page.  Move there to move to the complete list of variable names from this database.

Cleaning:  The data have been examined to ensure that the values of the variables are within range.

Composites:  There are 6 composite variables: V1HTFAVP, V1HTFAVN, V1HTFSDP, V1HTFSDN, V1HTFAVL, and V1HTFSDL.

V1HTFAVP:
    This variable is the average for the 50 positive ratings from the HTFRP14 database. If more than 6 items were missing in the data, the composite score was entered as missing.

V1HTFAVNL:
    This variable is the average for the 50 negative ratings from the HTFRP14 database. If more than 6 items were missing in the data, the composite score was entered as missing.

V1HTFSDP:
    This variable is the standard deviation of the 50 positive ratings for the HTFRP14 database. If more than 6 items were missing in the data, the composite score was entered as missing.

V1HTFSDN:
    This variable is the standard deviation of the 50 negative ratings for the HTFRP14 database. If more than 6 items were missing in the data, the composite score was entered as missing.

V1HTFAVL:
    This is a measure of the lability of the positive and negative responses. It was computed by first transforming the values of the variables, V1HTFRPP1-V1HTFRPP50 and V1HTFRPN1-V1HTFRPN50, from a scale of 1 to 4 into a scale of 0 to 3, and then adding the scores together. The resulting lability scores (50 for each data set) were then averaged to give an average lability score ranging from 0-6. The lability scores were not retained in the database. If more than 6 lability scores were missing in the data, the composite score was entered as missing.

V1HTFSDL:
    This variable is the standard deviation for the 50 lability scores for the HTFRP14 database. If more than 6 lability scores were missing in the data, the composite score was entered as missing.

Complete List of Variable Names: 

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Procedure Description:

Note: This coding is done from videotaped analysis of the child's face during the Freeplay portion of the Home Visit. The following procedure description is taken from the Freeplay description in the MALTS procedure document:

Free-play

This measure is assessed in the 14, 20, 24 and 36 month visits as well as the five year visit. The children are asked to go into a room with a door which the mother closed after joining the children. The examiners at 14, 20 and 24 month visits assembled twelve toys in a standardized array on the floor. Then the children and their mothers were called into the room. The mothers had been instructed not to label any of the toys for the children not to initiate any interaction with the twins. She could respond if approached by the children but interactions were to be kept to a minimum. Appreciation of standards as well as the twins methods of interacting with each other were assessed during this procedure. At ages 36 months, five and seven years, the children were given several vehicles animals and play school people to use in their free play. This measure at all ages was fifteen minutes in length.

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