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limbs (or stay<strong>in</strong>g calm) <strong>in</strong> response topopp<strong>in</strong>g balloons. <strong>The</strong> high-reactive babieswere not misanthropes <strong>in</strong> the mak<strong>in</strong>g;they were simply sensitive to theirenvironments.Indeed, the sensitivity <strong>of</strong> these children’snervous systems seems to bel<strong>in</strong>ked not only to notic<strong>in</strong>g scary th<strong>in</strong>gs,but to notic<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> general. High-reactivechildren pay what one psychologistcalls “alert attention” to people andth<strong>in</strong>gs. <strong>The</strong>y literally use more eyemovements than others to <strong>com</strong>parechoices before mak<strong>in</strong>g a decision. It’s asif they process more deeply—sometimesconsciously, sometimes not—the<strong>in</strong>formation they take <strong>in</strong> about theworld. In one early series <strong>of</strong> studies,Kagan asked a group <strong>of</strong> first-graders toplay a visual match<strong>in</strong>g game. Eachchild was shown a picture <strong>of</strong> a teddybear sitt<strong>in</strong>g on a chair, alongside six301/929

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