Chapter 10: Emotional Development

Question 1

What is functionalist approach to emotion?

Answer 1

Emphasises that the broad function of emotions is to energise behaviour aimed at attaining personal goals.

Question 2

What is a social smile?

Answer 2

A social smile is a deliberate smile that appears around 6 to 8 weeks and is used to engage others, often in response to social stimuli like face-to-face interactions.

Question 3

What is a secure base in emotional development?

Answer 3

A secure base is a caregiver who provides emotional support and safety, allowing the infant to explore the environment and return for comfort when neede

Question 4

What are self-conscious emotions?

Answer 4

Self-conscious emotions, like guilt, shame, pride, and embarrassment, arise in the second year of life and involve self-evaluation and feelings about oneself.

Question 5

What is emotional self-regulation?

Answer 5

Emotional self-regulation is the ability to manage and respond to emotional experiences in an adaptive way, developing as children learn to cope with fear, anger, and other strong emotions.

Question 6

What is problem-centered coping?

Answer 6

A coping strategy where children assess the situation as changeable, identify the difficulty, and decide what action to take to resolve it.

Question 7

What is emotion-centered coping?

Answer 7

A coping strategy used when outcomes are beyond control, focusing on internal strategies like distraction or reinterpreting the situation to manage distress.

Question 8

What are emotional display rules?

Answer 8

Societal norms that dictate when, where, and how emotions should be expressed, teaching children to modify or restrain their emotional expressions based on the context.

Question 9

Social Referencing

Answer 9

The process by which toddlers look to others for emotional cues to evaluate their surroundings and guide their actions.

Question 10

Empathy

Answer 10

The ability to understand and share the feelings of others.
Involves both recognizing others’ emotions and experiencing those emotions vicariously.
Important for social relationships and guiding behavior, as it helps individuals respond to others’ feelings appropriately.

Question 11

Prosocial

Answer 11

Behaviors that are intended to benefit others, such as helping, sharing, or showing kindness.

Question 12

Sympathy

Answer 12

The feeling of concern or sorrow for another person’s misfortune, often accompanied by a desire to help.

Question 13

Temperament

Answer 13

The inherent personality traits and emotional responses that a person is born with, influencing their behavior and interactions with others.

Question 14

Effortful Control

Answer 14

The ability to regulate one’s emotions, behavior, and attention, particularly by suppressing impulses and engaging in goal-directed actions.

Question 15

What is the goodness-of-fit model?

Answer 15

The goodness-of-fit model refers to how well a child’s temperament matches the demands and expectations of their environment, especially in terms of parental expectations and caregiving styles. A good fit leads to positive development, while a poor fit may result in challenges in the child’s emotional and behavioral growth.

Question 16

What is attachment in the context of child development?

Answer 16

Attachment is the strong, affectionate bond that forms between infants and their caregivers, characterized by the infant’s pleasure and comfort in the caregiver’s presence, and seeking the caregiver for security during stress.

Question 17

What is the ethological theory of attachment?

Answer 17

The ethological theory, developed by John Bowlby, views attachment as an evolved behavior that promotes infant survival. It suggests that infants are born with innate behaviors (e.g., crying, smiling) that ensure caregivers stay nearby to provide safety and support, and that attachment develops through stages from birth onward.

Question 18

What is the internal working model?

Answer 18

The internal working model is a mental framework or set of beliefs about how relationships work, formed in early childhood based on attachment experiences with caregivers. It influences how individuals approach and interpret relationships throughout life.

Question 19

What is sensitive caregiving?

Answer 19

Sensitive caregiving refers to a parent’s ability to respond to their child’s needs in a timely, appropriate, and nurturing way. This includes recognizing cues, being emotionally available, and providing comfort, which fosters secure attachment between parent and child.

Question 20

What is interactional synchrony?

Answer 20

Interactional synchrony is the mutual coordination of actions, gestures, and emotions between a caregiver and child. It involves the caregiver matching the infant’s rhythms (e.g., facial expressions, vocalizations) and responding in a way that supports the child’s emotional needs, contributing to secure attachment.