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