Chapter 10: Emotional Development Flashcards
functions of emotions
- emotions are valuable because they help people adapt to their environment
- perform regulatory functions
- links brain systems together to form state of mind
- connects mind to another in interpersonal relationships
how fear is adaptive
- helps survival
- organizes your behaviour around an important goal—avoiding danger
how is happiness adaptive?
contributing stronger interpersonal relationships
how is disgust adaptive?
keeping people away from substances that might make them ill
7 basic emotions
happiness anger surprise interest disgust sadness fear
basic emotions consist of 3 elements
1) subjective feeling
- involved cognitive processes, such as appraisal of evaluation of meaning
2) physiological change
- endocrine, autonomic, cardiovascular changes
3) overt behaviour
- something you can see from the outside
4 steps to experiencing emotions
1) pay attention (get cue in brain)
2) appraise/arousal
- experience primary emotion (initial core feeling)
3) differentiation and categorical emotions
- past experiences start to tell us how we feel in certain situations
4) affect and mood
what is elaborative appraisal
- decide whether the information we are getting is good or bad
- informed on past experience with stimulus
- informed by present context
- informed about our expectations of what it will elicit in the future
what is arousal?
heart rate increases/decreases, body gets ready to act in some way
affect vs mood
AFFECT = way emotional states are revealed (certain facial expressions, looking down when sad, etc.), it is what you experience in the moment
MOOD= how you feel across different moments, and over time
_____ is the primary mode in which emotion is communicated
non-verbal behaviour
5 non-verbal behaviours
- facial expression
- eye gaze
- tone of voice
- bodily motion
- timing/intensity of response
development of emotions: Lewis
infants only express 2 basic emotions when born:
pleasure and distress
experiencing and expressing emotions: 2-3 months
happiness (earliest smile seem to be a reflex, not until 2-3 months it is more an emotion and intention of seeking interaction)
experiencing and expressing emotions: 4-6 months
anger
- one of the first negative emotions
- typically see it when take something away that they really want
experiencing and expressing emotions: 6 months
fear
- see stranger wariness, adaptive function, learn that people unfamiliar aren’t necessarily safe (helps protect them)
experiencing and expressing emotions: 8-9 months
all basic emotions: happiness, anger, fear, disgust, sadness, interest, surprise
experiencing and expressing emotions: 18-24 months
complex (self-conscious) emotions: pride, shame, guilt, and embarrassment
- self-conscious, when they are able to see themselves in mirror and detect it is themselves
- all of these emotions involve something relational (learn through social learning)
what are self-conscious emotions
involve feelings of success when standards or expectations are met, and feelings of failure when they are not. Depends on child having some understanding of self (occurs 15-18 months)
experiencing and expressing emotions: 7 years
regret
- do something and then wish they wouldn’t have
Newborns experience only 2 general emotions
pleasure
distress
when do we experience all basic emotions
8-9 months
social smiles first appear when?
2-3 months
- infants smile when see another person
when does negative emotion appear
4-6 months
- anger is first negative emotion
- emerges from generalized distress
when and what is stranger wariness?
about 6 months, infants become wary in presence of unfamiliar adult
- adaptive because emerges at same time that children begin to master creeping/crawling
cultural differences in emotional expression differ in terms of: (2)
- display rules
- events that trigger emotions
what does Siegal say about cultural differences in emotional expression?
though we can accurately categorize emotions across cultures and individuals, it does not mean that one person’s categorical emotion is the same as another’s.
at what age do infants begin to distinguish facial expressions associated with different emotions
4-6 months
- often match emotions to others
what is social referencing?
process by which a child looks to the facial expression and other nonverbal aspects of a parent’s signals to determine how to feel and response in an ambiguous situation
- Infants in unfamiliar/ambiguous environment often look at their caregiver, as if searching for cues to help them interpret the situation
social referencing at 12 months
children use this process to help direct their behaviour
social referencing at 18 months
children demonstrate preferences for certain kinds of emotional information
children understanding emotions in kindergarten
children understand that undesirable events often make a person feel angry/sad
understanding emotions in elementary school
children understand that people can have mixed feelings
what are display rules
culturally specific standards for appropriate expressions of emotion in a particular setting or with a particular person
- children can learn these
how do children learn display rules?
2 ways
- Social learning (parents reinforce behaviours)
- Positive rewarding familial relationships (in the moment and talking about previous experiences)
what does regulating of emotions begin?
Regulation of emotions begins in infancy, about 4-6 months’ infants use simple strategies to regulate emotions
24 month old regulating emotions
Regulation of emotions begins in infancy, about 4-6 months’ infants use simple strategies to regulate emotions
E.g. sadness is way to get mothers attention
regulating emotions as children get older
As children get older they begin to rely less on adults for support regulating emotions. They begin to use mental strategies and are able to match strategies to particular settings
____ is important part of emotion regulation
ATTENTION
- we can control emotions such as fear by diverting attention to other less emotional stimuli, thoughts, feelings
Emotion focus therapy: FEAR
need/action
need: safety/protection
action tendency: run, hide (etc.)
emotion focus therapy: SADNESS
need/action
need: comfort
action: get a hug
emotion focus therapy: ANGER
need/action
need: boundary
action: defend the boundary
what is temperament?
Pattern of emotion and behavioural styles that is evident in the first few weeks after life, is fairly stable across situations, and is biologically based
what is personality composed of?
temperament + experience
9 dimensions in Thomas and Chess Patterns of Temperament study
1) activity level
2) biological rhythmicity
3) approach/withdrawal
4) adaptability
5) intensity of reaction
6) quality of mood
7) persistence/attention span
8) distractibility
9) threshold of responsiveness
3 classifications used by Thomas and Chess to describe temperament
1) easy
2) difficult
3) slow-to-warm-up
“easy” children
Thomas and Chess- Temperament
calm, relaxed, happy and cheerful, predictable routines, and flexible (most common), adjust well to new situations
“Difficult” children
Thomas and Chess- Temperament
irritable, fussy, upset easily, unpredictable/irregular schedules, intense responses to new situations (2nd most common), hard to soothe
“Slow-to-warm-up” children
Thomas and Chess- Temperament
often unhappy, cautious and sometimes fussy, do not like new situations (not upset by unfamiliar situations), but warm up to new stimuli with repeated exposure
- Not as bothered by unfamiliar situations as fussy babies
activity level
Thomas and Chess-Temperament
level, tempo, and frequency of motor behaviour
biological rhythmicity
Thomas and Chess-Temperament
regularity of biological functions
- sleeping, feeding, elimination
approach/withdrawal
Thomas and Chess-Temperament
- nature of initial response to new stimuli
- food, people, toys
adaptability
Thomas and Chess-Temperament
ease with which child responds to new stimuli, or changes in situation
intensity of reaction
Thomas and Chess-Temperament
energy level of response, ranging from mild to strong, regardless of whether reaction is positive or negative
quality of mood
Thomas and Chess-Temperament
balance of pleasant, joyful, friendly behaviour compared to unpleasant, crying, unfriendly behaviour
persistence/attention span
Thomas and Chess-Temperament
continuation of an activity in spite of obstacles and length of time a particular activity is pursued
distractibility
Thomas and Chess-Temperament
effectivness of external stimuli in alternating the direction of ongoing behaviour
threshold of responsiveness
Thomas and Chess-Temperament
intensity level of stimulation necessary to evoke a response
Rothbart Three Dimensions
1) surgency/extraversion
2) negative affect
3) effortful control
- biologically, non-independent (overlap) dimensions
- tested, and should be present across different cultures
Surgency/Extraversion
Rothbart Three Dimensions
the extent to which a child is generally happy, active, vocal and regularly seeks interesting stimulation
Negative affect
Rothbart Three Dimensions
the extend to which a child is angry, fearful, frustrated, shy and not easily soothed
Effortful control
Rothbart Three Dimensions
the extent to which a child can focus attention, is not easily distracted and can inhibit responses
heredity influence temperament
- Identical twins are more alike than fraternal twins in most aspects of temperament
- Negative affect seems to be the most influenced by heredity (family members display higher levels of negative affect, you are more likely too as well)
- Bigger impact on temperament in childhood than infancy
environment influence temperament
- Infants are less emotional when parents are responsive
- Environment appears to be particularly important for positive emotions
DRD4 gene
- not a temperament gene
- linked to behaviours that make up temperament (e.g. novelty seeking, fearlessness)
nature X nurture
Temperament influences susceptibility to environmental influence
stability of temperament
- moderately stable through infancy, childhood and adolescence
- a predisposition, influenced by experience and opportunities
- linked to various developmental outcomes across time
- – School success, interactions with peers, ability to cope with problems, behaviour problems, mental health concerns, prosocial behaviour, etc.
**Temperament is important by not necessarily determinant
persistent vs active/distractible children
Persistent children less 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
more likely to comply with a parents rules and requests, even when parent is not present
children who are frequently angry/fearful more prone to
depression
Children who are capable of greater effortful control as 3-4 year olds have…
have higher scores on measures of working memory, and as school-aged children, are less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD
goodness of fit
Having a ‘good fit’ between child’s temperament and the environment in which they grow up is ideal for their development
implications of goodness of fit for parenting
- Babies who are quiet and shy benefit when parents actively stimulate them
- Babies who are active and outgoing do better when they are given the space to explore on their own
Conclusion: parent-child interactions are most successful when both parties adjust to the needs of the other
attachment: evolutionary context
According to evolutionary psychology, many human behaviours represent successful adaptation to the environment– -some behaviours have made it more likely that people will reproduce and pass on their genes to following generations. Our social nature is product of evolution
3 evolutionary psychologists
Konrad Lorenz: imprinting
Harry Harlow: isolation and internal deprivation of monkeys
attachment: evolutionary context in orphanages
Difficulty emotional development, slow social development
John Bowlby
Founding father of attachment theory
Attachment theory: what is attachment??
formation of an enduring, social-emotional relationship with responsive caregiver, more likely to survive
- Parent= secure base (in healthy relationship, child knows parent will always be there and respond to their needs)
evolutionary perspective of attachment theory
attachment facilitates children’s survival
Bowlby’s 4 stages of attachment development
1) Pre-attachment
2) attachment in the making
3) true attachment
4) reciprocal relationships
Pre-attachment occurs when?
Bowlby’s stages of attachment development
birth to 6-8 weeks
what is Pre-attachment stage?
- what occurs
- infant behaviours
(Bowlby’s stages of attachment development)
- Infants and parents recognize one another (e.g. smell, sound)
- maternal bonding
- Infant behaviours: crying, smiling, parent-directed eye gaze
- All to facilitate interactions between infant and parent
what is maternal bonding
- occurs during pre-attachment
- development of mother’s emotional attachment to child
- Facilitated by early contact (e.g. skin-to-skin)
- – Stabilizes heart and O2 levels, helps with pain management, and helps babies start to regulate their emotion
Attachment in the making stage occurs when??
Bowlby’s stages of attachment development
6-8 week to 6-8 month
What occurs during attachment in the making stage?
Bowlby’s stages of attachment development
Discriminate social responsiveness:
- social with strangers, but signs of bias towards familiar caregivers (laughing, soothing)
- i.e. social responses directed towards caregivers
what does True Attachment stage occur?
Bowlby’s stages of attachment development
6-8 month to 18 month
what occurs during true attachment stage?
Bowlby’s stages of attachment development
- attachment figures become “special” relative to others
- child’s secure, social-emotional base—trustworthy person
- cognitive development—internal working model
co-occurs with other changes:
- emotional response of fear strongly emerges (stranger danger & separation protest)
- physical development some physical independence
what is internal working model?
mental representation of attachment figure based on expectations of their availability and responsiveness
- a set of expectations about caregivers availability and responsiveness generally, and in times of stress
when do reciprocal relationships occur?
Bowlby’s stages of attachment development
18 months and on
what occurs during reciprocal relationships?
Bowlby’s stages of attachment development
- children’s cognitive and language development partnership
- children can initiate interactions, negotiate with attachment figure, understand attachment figures feelings/goals
Study of Infant-Parent attachment
Mary Ainsworth
- developed strange-situation procedure
strange-situation procedure
Infant-parent attachment
- patterns of behaviour displayed by infant upon separation and reunion with parent
separation from parent activated the attachment system
- separation from parent= emotionally stressful
- reunion with parent= emotionally calming
- looks at infant’s proximity seeking, ease with which they are soothed, rapidity of return of play
- information about mental representation of parent
8 steps to strange situation procedure
- shows the experimental room to mother and infant, then leaves the room
- infant is allowed to explore the playroom for 3 mins; mother watches does not participate
- stranger enters room and remains silent for 1 min, the talks to baby for 1 min, then approaches the baby. Mother leaves unobtrusively
- stranger does not play with the baby but attempts to comfort it if necessary
- after 3 mins, mother returns and greets and consoles baby
- when baby has returned to play, mother leaves again, this time saying “bye-bye” as she leaves
- stranger attempts to calm and play with baby
- after 3 mins the mother returns and stranger leaves
secure vs insecure attachment
secure: As adolescents tend to depend on parents for care and support
insecure: being angry with parents or deny being close to them
3 types insecure attachment
avoidant
resistant
disorganized
what is secure attachment?
- Promotes trust and confidence in other humans, leads to more skilled social interactions later in childhood
- When caregivers respond to infants predictably and appropriately
key features of secure attachment
- Explores room, plays with toys
- Misses parent during separations
- Often cries when left alone
- Prefers parent over stranger
- Actively greets parent
o e.g., seeking out physical contact - Settles and returns to play easily
- Characterizes 60-65% of North American babies
key features of insecure avoidant attachment
- Not distressed by separation from parent
- Likely avoids/ignores parent on reunion
(E.g., turns or moves away, leans away if picked up) - Little to no proximity seeking, distress, anger
- Appears unemotional in response to parent
- Stronger focus on toys/environment than parent
- Characterizes ~20% of North American babies
key features of insecure resistant attachment
- Baby may be wary/distressed pre-separation
(E.g., little play or interaction with environment) - Appears preoccupied with parent throughout
(E.g., seems angry with parent) - Not easily consoled by parent upon reunion
- May continue to focus on parent & cry
- Less likely to return to exploration/play
- Characterizes 10-15% of North American babies
key features of insecure disorganized attachment
Disorganized or disoriented behavior in presence of parent
- E.g., Freezing with trance-like expression & hands in the air
- E.g., Standing when parent returns, then huddling on floor
- E.g., Clinging to parent & crying, while leaning away and averting gaze
- Characterizes 5-10%
define attachment (deeper look)
attachment at its core is based on parental sensitivity and responsivity to the child’s signals, which allows for collaborative parent-child communication
- sensitive and attentive to child’s needs, able to ‘read’ mental/emotional states of child
- responsive to child’s needs, able to adjust own behaviour to meet needs of child, response is predictable
affect attunement
ability to “match” the child’s affective state
contingent communication gives rise to…
secure attachment and is characterized by a collaborative give-and-take of signals between the members of the pair
- attachment relationships develop from parent-child communication
what is parent-child synchrony
- harmonious, reciprocal, and mutually responsive interaction between parent & child
- Initially one-sided
- Facilitated by parent’s sensitivity and responsiveness
Contingent communication involves (2)
1) Parents ability to accurately interpret child’s signals
- i.e. to truly understand what the child needs
2) parents ability to respond in a timely and effective manner
4 functions of attachment
1) Maintain infant’s sense of security
- within attachment system, both infant and parent play role
- e.g. infant crying
2) Regulate infant’s affect and arousal
- arousal= ‘being alert’ emotionally and physically stressful
- emotion regulation vs dysregulation
3) communication/promote expression of feelings
- transactions between parent/child
4) a base for exploration
- developing a healthy independence
Parent: Secure attachment style
parent demonstrates high contingent communication
- emotionally available and attuned
- sensitive and attentive
- responsive
childrens internal working model of parent in SECURE attachment
trustworthy
Parent: insecure avoidant attachment style
parent demonstrates low contingent communication
- emotionally unavailable
- not perceptive
- rejecting
- unresponsive
- “deactivation” of attachment system
child’s internal working model of parent INSECURE AVOIDANT attachment
unavailable
Parent: Insecure resistant attachment style
parent demonstrates inconsistent contingent communication
- sometimes emotionally available
- sometimes sensitive and attentive
- sometimes responsive
- “overactivation” of attachment system
child’s internal working model of parent: insecure resistent
inconsistent
Parent: insecure disorganized attachment style
parent demonstrates disorganized communication
- expressed fear of child
- elicits fear in child
- disoriented
- approach and avoidance
child’s internal working model of parent: insecure disorganized
disorganized
parental touch: during play vs after surgery
- during play: mothers more affectionate than fathers; fathers are more stimulating (e.g quick touches) and proprioceptive (e.g. moving, orienting baby) than mothers
- after surgery: mothers touch children at higher rates than fathers; mothers more likely than fathers to embrace children
Cultural differences: parent-child attachment
- germany, korea, japen
cultural differences in caregiving influence attachment styles on the SSP
- Germany: fewer secure and more insecure-avoidant
- Korea: more secure, fewer insecure-avoidant
- Japan: more insecure-resistant, fewer insecure-avoidant
what remains true cross-culturally in parent-child attachment
- Caregiver sensitivity is associated with infant security
- “Secure base” = universal function of attachment
attachment relationships are (2)
developmental
contextual
developmental attachment relationships
may be different across lifespan (e.g. infancy vs adolescence) or in different relationships (e.g. parent-child vs romantic relationships)
contextual attachment relationships
may be influenced by broader contexts, such as life events (E.g. life-changing events), or socioeconomic factors
attachment style of a child is influenced by
- his/her parents attachment style
- his/her grandparents attachment style
- his/her great-grandparents attachment style (etc.)
Adult attachment interview
Adult Attachment Interview
Mary Main and Colleagues
- assessment of an individuals internal working models of attachment
Adult attachment interview questions target (2)
- memories related to attachment
- relationships with parents (past/present)
adult attachment interview types of questions asked
1) what was your early relationship with your mom/dad like?
2) when you were upset as a child, what did you do?
3) the first time you remember being separated from your parent, how did you/your parents respond?
4) were your parents ever threatening with you in any way?
5) did you ever feel rejected as a young child?
6) how do you think your experiences with your parents affected your adult personality/development?
4 parental models of attachment
1) secure/autonomous
2) dismissing
3) pre-occupied
4) unresolved/disorganized
secure/autonomous quality of disclosure
parental models of attachment
coherent, fluid, organized
leads to integration
secure/autonomous
parental models of attachment
- value of attachment relationships
- believe attachment relationships influenced personality
- objective and balanced descriptions of attachment relationships
- easily recall and discuss attachment relationships
- realistic view of parents and attachment experiences
- describe childhood experiences objectively and value the impact of their caregiver-child relationship on their development
dismissing- quality of disclosure
parental models of attachment
not coherent
dismissing
parental models of attachment
- dismiss value of attachment relationships
- normalizing of parents
- general memories of attachment experiences—lack detail
- distant of cut-off relationships from parents (Current)
- sometimes deny the value of childhood experiences and sometimes are unable to recall those experiences precisely, yet they often idealize their caregivers
preoccupied- quality of disclosure
parental models of attachment
not coherence
preoccupied
parental models of attachment
- preoccupied with parents and past attachment relationships
- idealize parents
- blame themselves for difficulties in attachment relationships
- exhibit anger or confusing about attachment relationships
- describe childhood experiences emotionally and often express anger or confusion regarding relationships with their caregivers
unresolved/disorganized quality of disclosure
parental models of attachment
lacking coherence, disorganized
unresolved/disorganized
parental models of attachment
during discussions of loss/trauma:
- lose track of what they were saying
- become silent
- abruptly switch topics
a person’s attachment style on the AAI is associated with
- their own attachment style as an infant on the SSP (modest correlation- attachment can change)
- attachment style of their infant on the SSP
prospective studies using AAI with pregnant women show…
parents AAI attachment style prior to giving birth can predict the infants attachment style on the SSP in ~70% of babies (generational transmission of internal working models)
