Chapter 11: Individual Differences in Emotionality Flashcards
Week 6: Individual Differences
big five personality traits
openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism. play a crucial role in shaping successful life outcomes, even in the face of adversity
neuroticism
involves the emotional tendencies of anxiety, hostility, and depression
extroversion
is defined by warmth and the tendency to experience and express positive emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, and excitement
agreeableness
includes trust and altruism and is associated with sympathy, love, and gratitude
conscientiousness
includes achievement-striving, self-discipline, and dutifulness
openness to experience
is associated with an attraction to fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, and ideas
little six model for children and youth
extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness, and activity
negative life events
both independent (uncontrollable) and dependent (influenced by individual actions), can bring about changes in personality
neurotic individuals
tend to exhibit a negative bias, reacting strongly to negative events and showing poor coping strategies. neuroimaging studies indicate dysregulated amygdala functioning in such individuals during emotion regulation
extroverted individuals
involves a bias towards positive appraisals, and individuals high in extraversion react more strongly to positive events
emotional changes over development
reveal a decrease in the intensity of both positive and negative emotions across elementary school years. adolescents experience a reduction in positive mood
dips in personality maturity
adolescence is marked by dips in personality maturity, known as the disruption hypothesis, showing declines in conscientiousness, openness, and emotional stability
types of gene-environment correlations
- active rGE
- evoactive rGE
active rGE
when individuals actively seek out or create environments that align with their genetically influenced preferences, traits, or abilities
evoactive rGE
when an individual’s genetically influenced traits elicit specific responses or reactions from others in their environment, like parents adjusting their parenting style based on a child’s temperament
secure attachment
associated with sensitive and intensive caregiving, allowing infants to expect parental availability during stress
avoidant attachment
linked to consistently insensitive caregiving, leading infants to minimize signs of distress as their emotions may be ignored
resistant (ambivalent) attachment
develops in the context of inconsistent caregiver sensitivity, with infants maximizing distress expression to elicit a response from parents
disorganized attachment
develops in a chaotic or frightening caregiving environment, where children lack a developed means to regulate painful emotions during attachment distress
cortisol
shows different patterns in infants categorized as insecure or disorganized compared to secure infants in distressing attachment contexts
adult attachment interview (AAI)
evaluates how individuals process and narrate their attachment-related memories, providing insight into their attachment patterns or strategies
adults attachment style classification
- autonomous (similar to secure)
- dismissing (similar to avoidant)
- preoccupied (similar to resistant)
higher risk of insecure attachment
children in disadvantaged settings, such as those living in poverty, experiencing abuse, or growing up in institutional care, are more likely to develop insecure or disorganized attachment styles
maltreatment as a potent risk factor
in a meta-analysis involving 4,792 children, CYR et al. found that maltreatment was a particularly strong predictor of insecure and disorganized attachment
multiple environmental risks
children facing multiple simultaneous risks showed attachment insecurity similar to maltreated children, emphasizing the impact of cumulative disadvantage
minimal genetic link in early attachment
early attachment patterns, such as secure or insecure, show little connection to genetics or child temperament
parental consistency across siblings
parents tend to respond similarly to all children, possibly supporting species-specific needs like cooperation
increased heritability in adolescence
genetic influence on attachment appears stronger in adolescence, possibly due to children’s traits affecting caregiving behavior over time
genetic influence on disorganized attachment
some studies suggest disorganized attachment may be more genetically influenced, with genes and early brain development linked to this attachment type
genetic influences on attachment
overall, genetics plays a limited role in early attachment but may be more relevant in adolescence and certain attachment types
biobehavioral synchronization
involves both behavioral and physiological alignment between parents and infants, strengthening their bond at both levels
interactional synchrony
the turn-taking interaction between parents and infants begins in pregnancy and continues through the first year, helping establish parent-infant synchronization
heart rhythm coordination
parent and infant heart rhythms begin to align
oxytocin release
emotional synchronization triggers oxytocin, a bonding hormone
parental mentalization
involves parents ability to understand and hold in mind the internal states of their children
maternal sensitivity
plays a crucial role in building the neural architecture that promotes social interaction, supporting children’s ability to think about other people
cognitive sensitivity
expands the idea of parental sensitivity to include consideration of a social partner’s knowledge and abilities during interactions involving joint goals
emotion language and mental state talk
parents shape children’s emotional experiences through emotional language and mental state talk, which involves discussing emotions, desires, and thoughts, this helps children understand their own emotions and those of others
socioemotional development
how children start to understand who they are, what they are feeling, and what to expect when interacting with others
intergenerational transmission of parenting styles
parenting styles can be passed down through generations. this cycle is influenced by partner choices
emotional contagion
both negative and positive emotional contagion can occur. young children may be particularly influenced by the emotional contagion that occurs in their families
multilevel perspective
is key to understanding children’s emotional development. while parents are a primary influence, other factors also play a role
macro influences
like socioeconomic status, neighborhood, and schools (distal factors)
primal factors
such as relationships with family and friends, which are closer to the child in time and space
social learning
siblings influence each other’s emotional development through social learning, where they learn to recognize, label, and express emotions
positve sibling relationships
promote emotional adjustment and resilience, especially for girls. siblings also affect each other’s empathy and behavior
differential parenting
can harm sibling bonds over time
emphatic interactions
increase empathy in both younger and older siblings, while younger siblings oppositional behavior can reduce aggression in older siblings
emotion regulation and cooperation-focused programs
have been effective in improving sibling relationships and promoting prosocial behavior
social cognition
peer interactions boost social cognition, helping kids understand emotions like mixed feelings
temperament
influences how others engage with us; positive kids attract more positive interactions
shared thinking and cooperation
healthy relationships depend on shared thinking and cooperation, which supports emotional growth
socioeconomic status (SES)
influences children’s emotional development through limited resources, stress, and unhealthy behaviors
