Chapter 10 - Emotional Development Flashcards
What is temperament?
Made up by behavioural styles which are fairly stable across situations and are biologically based
When are differences in emotion and style of behaviour evident?
In the first few weeks after birth and are important throughout life
What patterns of temperament did Thomas and Chess identify?
- “Easy” babies: Most common; usually happy and cheerful; tended to adjust well to new situations; had regular routines for eating, sleeping, and toileting
- “Difficult” babies: Less common; unhappy; were irregular in their eating and sleeping; often responded intensely to unfamiliar situations
- “Slow-to-warm-up” babies: Often unhappy; not upset by unfamiliar situations
What do researchers want to determine rather than emphasizing creating different categories of infants?
The different dimensions that underlie temperament
What is surgency/extraversion?
The extent to which a child is generally happy, active, vocal, and regularly seeks interesting stimulation
What does negative affect refer to?
The extent to which a child is angry, fearful, frustrated, shy, and not easily soothed
What is effortful control?
The extent to which a child can focus attention, as not readily distracted, and can inhibit responses
What do most theories about temperament agree on?
Both heredity and experience
What else does the impact of heredity depend on?
The temperamental dimension and the child’s age
What seems to reflect environmental influences?
Laughing often, being generally happy, and often expressing pleasure
How do infants develop if when mothers are abrupt in dealing with them and lack confidence?
More often develop intense, difficult temperaments
What is DRD4 linked to?
Behaviours that make up temperament (e.g., novelty, seeking, fearlessness)
What is the Fels longitudinal project?
A study of many aspects of physical and psychological development from infancy
- Found that fearful preschoolers tended to be inhibited as older children and adolescents
In many aspects, what does temperament resemble?
Personality
What do extroverted individuals tend to be like?
Affectionate, prefer the company of others, and like being active
What do introverted individuals tend to be like?
More reserved, enjoy solitude, and prefer a more sedate pace
What does extroversion look like?
A blend of the temperamental dimension of positive affect and activity level; and longitudinal studies find that inhibited children are more likely as adults to be introverted than extroverted
Why should be not expect children’s temperament to be consistently related to their personality as adults?
Temperament changes as children develop, depending on their experiences
What was one of the goals of Thomas and Chess’s New York Longitudinal Study?
To discover temperamental features of infants that would predict later psychological adjustment
What else was found when looking for links between temperament and outcomes of development?
- Persistent children are likely to succeed in school, whereas active and distractible children are less likely to succeed
- Shy, inhibited children often have difficulty interacting with their peers and often do not cope effectively with problems
- Anxious, fearful children are more likely to comply with a parent’s rules and requests, even when the parent is not present
- Children who are frequently angry or fearful are more prone to depression
- Children who are capable of greater effortful control and school-age children, are less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD
What dimensions did observers score children’s behaviour on?
- Inhibition: The extent to which children avoided the experimenter
- Concerned expression: The extent to which children displayed obvious concern for the injured experimenter or mother
- Helpful behaviour: The extent to which children acted in ways apparently aimed at reducing distress
What does the influence of temperament often depend on?
The environment in which children develop
What is the link between temperament and behaviour problems?
Infants and toddlers who temperamentally resist control - those who are difficult to mange, who are often unresponsive, and who are sometimes impulsive - tend to be prone to behaviour problems, particularly aggression, when they are older
When are young adolescents likely to do if they experience many life stressors?
More likely to drink, smoke, and use drugs
What are young adolescents who are temperamentally cheerful less likely to have/do?
Less affected by life stressors and consequently are less likely to drink, smoke, or use drugs
