Chapter 6 Flashcards
feeling, or affect, that occurs when a person is in a state or an interaction that is important to him or her, especially to his or her well-being
emotions
Helps express joy, sadness, fear, interest, etc
communication with others
Shapes social
responses and adaptive
behavior as they interact with others in their world.
behavioral organization
Enthusiasm ➔ Joy ➔ Love
positive emotions
➔ Anxiety ➔ Anger ➔ Guilt ➔ Sadness
negative emotions
Apparent in the changes in a baby’s emotional capacities.
brain region such as brain stem, hippocampus, and mygdala play roles in emotions like distress excitement and rage
biological influence
develops gradually to regulate emotions and control responses.
frontal cortex
Affects infants’ and children’s emotional
development both immediately and over time.
● As children become older, cognitive strategies are developed for controlling their emotions, and they become more adept at modulating their emotional arousal.
Cognitive Processes
Evolution has made humans emotional, but relationships and culture provide emotional diversity.
● Caregivers influence emotional
development and coping with stress.
Biological & Cultural Interaction
Maltreatment/
Neglect/
Parental Depression
Negatively impacts emotional growth.
Helps infants recover
from stress more effectively
Sensitive Caregiving
Social both roles in distress, relationships provide the setting for the development of a rich variety of emotions.
Social Relationships
Causes distress in toddlers, leading to inhibited play.
Parental Conflict
Use humor to lighten the mood and manage conflicts.
➢ Well-Functioning Families
Cultural differences occur
emotional experiences. EXAMPLES:
❖ East Asian infants show less frequent and less intense
positive negative and emotions
compared to non-Latino White infants.
❖ Japanese parents focus on preventing
negative emotions in their children.
❖ Non-Latino White mothers typically
respond after
distress occurs and then help children cope.
Cultural Differences
A leading expert on infant emotional development which distinguishes between primary emotions and self-conscious emotions.
Michael Lewis
Present in humans and animals. ○ Appear within the first 6 months of life.
○ Include: ■ Surprise, interest, joy, anger, sadness, fear, and disgust.
primary emotions
Requires self-awareness that
involves consciousness and a sense of “me.”
○ Occur mostly between 6 months to 2 years.
○ Include: ■ Jealousy, empathy, embarrassment, pride, shame, guilt.
SELF-CONSCIOUS EMOTIONS
Important / additional notes
➔ Some experts on emotion call self-conscious emotions such as embarrassment, shame, guilt,
and pride
_______ because they involve the emotional reactions of others when they are generated.
➔ EXAMPLE: approval
Parental encourages
toddlers to feel pride after completing a task.
other-conscious emotions
Emotional expressions are important for infant-caregiver communication.
● Infants and caregivers modify emotional expressions in response to each other, creating mutually regulated interactions (reciprocal/ synchronous).
● Sensitive, responsive caregiving
contributes to emotional growth in infants. ➢ EXAMPLE: lower levels of fear with sensitive mothers.
EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION AND SOCIAL RELATIONSHIP
infants
detected their mothers’ stress, shown by an increased heart rate when reunited with them.
○ Correlation: The greater the
mother’s stress response, the more the baby’s heart rate increases.
MATERNAL STRESS AND BABY’S RESPONSE
The most important mechanism newborns have for communicating with their world.
crying
verifies that the baby’s lungs have filled with air.
● Cries provide information about the newborn’s central nervous system health.
the first cry
rhythmic pattern, associated with hunger. ◆ cry → briefer silence → shorter whistle (somewhat higher in pitch than the main cry) → brief rest → next cry
basic cry
➔ louder and more forceful, often due to frustration.
➔ variation of the basic cry — more excess air is forced through vocal cords.
anger cry
➔ sudden, loud, and intense, triggered by discomfort or pain.
pain cry
an important contributing interaction
to and social early
signal, social
emotional
communication. It plays a role in developing social skills.
smiling
➔ Does not occur in response to external stimuli
➔ Appears during
the first month after birth, usually during sleep.
reflexive smile
occurs in response to external stimuli, such as seeing a face.
➔ Occurs as early as 2 months of age.
social smile
two types of smiling
reflexive and social smile
One of a baby’s earliest emotions, which typically appears around 6 months and peaks around 18 months.
● However, abused or neglected infants may display fear as early as 3 months
fear
the most common form of infant fear, emerging gradually around 6 months and becoming more intense by 9 months, peaking at the end of the first year and decreasing thereafter.
Individual variations exist, and the occurrence of stranger anxiety also depends on the social context and characteristics of the stranger: ○ Infants feel less anxiety in familiar settings (e.g.,
less
anxiety meeting a stranger at home vs. in a research lab).
○ Infants are less fearful of child strangers than adult strangers, and friendly, smiling strangers elicit less fear compared to passive, unsmiling strangers
STRANGER ANXIETY
or crying when the caregiver leaves, is also an expression of fear in infants, typically starting around 7-8 months and peaking at about 15 months in the U.S.
SEPARATION PROTEST
Infants gradually develop the ability to inhibit or minimize emotional reactions during their first year. ➢ Initially, they primarily rely on caregivers
to help them
regulate soothing
emotions, techniques
using like
rocking or singing lullabies and sucking their thumb.
emotional regulation
Contexts Matter: Infants’ ability to regulate emotions is influenced by contextual factors such as fatigue, hunger,
time of day,
typically starting around 7-8 months and peaking at about 15 months in the U.S.
EMOTION REGULATION AND COPING the
environment, and the people around them.
● By the age of 2, toddlers can express and label their emotions, helping caregivers assist with emotional regulation.
EXAMPLE: “doggy scary”
CONTEXTUAL INFLUENCE
Research indicates that mothers are more likely than fathers to use soothing techniques like rocking and touching to calm crying infants.
MOTHERS VS FATHERS
involves individual differences in behavioral styles, emotions, and characteristic ways of responding
● predispositions toward emotional reactivity and self-regulation (Bates & Pettit, 2015)
temperament
involves variations in the speed and intensity with which an individual responds to situations with positive or negative emotions.
reactivity
involves
variations in the extent or effectiveness of an individual’s ability to control his or her emotions
self-regulation
a child who is generally in a positive mood, quickly establishes regular routines in infancy and adapts easily to new experiences.
CHESS AND THOMAS’ CLASSIFICATION
easy child
a child who tends to react negatively and cry frequently, engages in irregular daily routines, and is slow to accept change.
CHESS AND THOMAS’ CLASSIFICATION
difficult child
a child who has a low activity level, is somewhat negative, and displays a low intensity of mood.
CHESS AND THOMAS’ CLASSIFICATION
slow to warm up child
focuses on the differences between shy, timid children and sociable, bold children.
KAGAN’S BEHAVIORAL INHIBITION
Shyness with strangers (peers or adults) is a key feature of this temperament category, starting around 7 to 9 months of age.
● Characteristics of Inhibited Children: ○ react to unfamiliar situations with avoidance, distress, or subdued affect
INHIBITION TO THE UNFAMILIAR
Mary Rothbart and John Bates (2006) introduced a classification that includes______ as a key dimension of temperament.
effortful control (self-regulation)
The three broad dimensions of temperament are:
extraversion/surgency
negative affectivity
effortful control (self-regulation)
includes approach, pleasure, activity, smiling, and laughter
Extraversion/Surgency –
includes fear, frustration, sadness, and discomfort.
Negative Affectivity
involves attentional focusing, inhibitory control, perceptual sensitivity, and low-intensity pleasure.
Effortful Control (Self-Regulation)
Children can regulate their arousal and soothe themselves.
High effortful control
Children struggle to regulate arousal, becoming easily agitated and intensely emotional.
■ Low effortful control
Kagan (2002, 2010, 2013) argues that children inherit a ____ that biases them to have a particular type of temperament. However, through experience, they may learn to modify their temperament to some degree.
physiology
An ______ is linked to specific physiological patterns such as: ○ high and stable heart rate ○ high cortisol levels (stress hormone)
○ increased activity in the right frontal lobe of the brain.
● These patterns may be associated with the excitability of the amygdala, a brain structure involved in fear and inhibition.
inhibited temperament
Gender may influence how parents react to a child’s _____
temperament.
______ tend to be more responsive to the crying of irritable girls than to that of irritable boys (Crockenberg, 1986).
Mothers
Cultural context affects how temperament is ______and responded to.
Parental attitudes vary by _____
valued
culture.
A child’s _______ can encourage or discourage the persistence of certain temperament traits (Parade et al., 2018; Schumann et al., 2017).
environment
Children prone to distress (e.g., frequent crying or irritability) may prompt parents to either ignore the child’s distress or try to force them to _____.
● Solution → Research has shown that extra support and training for parents can improve interaction
“behave”
According to Erik Erikson (1968), the first
year of life is characterized by the ________ stage of development.
● Children who leave infancy with a sense of trust can still have their sense of mistrust activated at a later stage, perhaps if their parents are separated or divorced under conflictual circumstances.
trust
trust versus mistrust
Studying the development of a ______ in infancy is difficult mainly because infants cannot verbally express their thoughts and impressions. They also cannot understand complex instructions from researchers.
sense of self
One ingenious strategy to test infants’ visual self-recognition is the use of a _____
mirror technique.
Signs of______ began to appear among some infants when they were 15 to 18 months old. By the time they were 2 years old, most children recognized themselves in the mirror. In sum, infants begin to develop a self-understanding called self-recognition at approximately 18 months of age
self-recognition
Erikson describes the second stage of development as the stage of______ and doubt.
● Infants feel pride in new accomplishments and want to do everything themselves, whether the activity is flushing a toilet, pulling the wrapping off a package, or deciding what to eat.
independence
autonomy versus shame
Between 18 and 24 months of age, children markedly increase their imitative and reciprocal play, such as imitating nonverbal actions like jumping and running.
Social Orientation
The infant’s and toddler’s push for independence is also likely paced by locomotion skills development. Of further importance is locomotion’s motivational implications. Once infants can move into goal-directed pursuits, the rewards from these pursuits lead to further efforts to explore and develop skills.
Locomotion
Perceiving people as engaging in intentional and goal-directed behavior is an important social cognitive accomplishment that occurs toward the end of the first year. Also, engaging in meaningful interactions is an important aspect of infant development. Social referencing increases during the second year of life
Intention, Goal-Directed Behavior, and Meaningful Interactions with Others
is the term used to describe “reading” emotional cues in others to help determine how to act in a particular situation
Social Referencing
The more advanced social cognitive skills of infants likely influence their understanding and awareness of attachment to a caregiver
Infants’ Social Sophistication and Insight
A close emotional bond between two people.
attachment
_____ proposed that infants form attachments to the person or object
that satisfaction, provides oral typically the mother due to feeding.
Freud’s theory
John Bowlby (1969, 1989)
proposed that both infants and their caregivers
are ______ to form attachments. This innate drive is essential for the infant’s survival, as attachment behavior (crying, clinging, cooing, smiling) is designed to keep the primary caregiver nearby. ○ The long-term effect of these attachment behaviors is to increase the infant’s chances of survival.
biologically
predisposed
From birth to 2 months. Infants respond to all humans equally.
➔ Strangers, siblings, and parents are equally likely to elicit smiling or crying from the infant
phase 1
➔ From 2 to 7 months. Attachment focuses on one primary caregiver.
➔ The baby gradually learns to distinguish familiar from unfamiliar people.
phase 2
➔ From 7 to 24 months. Specific attachments develop.
➔ With increased locomotor skills, babies actively seek contact with regular caregivers
phase 3
➔ From 24 months on. Children become aware of others’ feelings, goals, and plans.
➔ They begin to take these into account in forming their own actions.
phase 4
Ainsworth created the Strange Situation, an observational measure of infant attachment that requires the infant to move through a series of introductions, separations, and reunions with the caregiver and an adult stranger in a prescribed order.
● Strange Situation
Babies use the caregiver as a secure base to explore the environment.
Securely attached babies
Babies who show insecurity by avoiding the caregiver. If contact is established, the infant usually leans away or looks away.
Insecure avoidant babies
Babies who often cling to the caregiver, then resist the caregiver by fighting against the closeness, perhaps by kicking or pushing away.
Insecure resistant babies
Babies who show insecurity by being disorganized and disoriented.
Insecure disorganized babies
Caregivers
are sensitive,
responsive, and consistently available.
Babies are actively involved in interaction and bonding.
Secure Attachment
Caregivers
are unavailable, rejecting, or irritable. ● Babies learn not to rely on them.
AVOIDANT
Caregivers are inconsistent in responding to needs.
● Leads to clingy but anxious behavior
RESISTANT (Ambivalent)
Caregivers may be neglectful, abusive, or depressed.
● Babies show fear, confusion, or erratic behavior.
DISORGANIZED
less spontaneity, financial constraints, and shift in priorities.
CHALLENGES OF PARENTHOOD
Lifestyle Changes
_____ functions as a constellation of subsystems, meaning it is a complex whole made up of interconnected parts, defined by generation, gender, and roles.
○ These subsystems influence one another ______
The family
reciprocally
Dual-career parents may worry about child care and its impact on their child.
CHALLENGES OF PARENTHOOD
Work-Family Balance
Marital Satisfaction and Relationship Changes
CHALLENGES OF PARENTHOOD
most couples enjoy a more positive marital relations before pregnancy
→ women often experience unmet expectations, as men contributed less than anticipated
CHALLENGES OF PARENTHOOD
Gender Differences in Adjustment
Socialization between parents and children is not a one-way process (Maccoby, 2015). Instead, it is reciprocal, meaning that children also influence their parents, not just the other way around. This mutual influence is sometimes called a transactional process (Kuczynski, Parkin, & Pitman, 2015; Sameroff, 2009, 2012).
Reciprocal Socialization
is when parents time interactions to help children more skillful
○ Examples → peek-a-boo; encouraging turn-taking in interactions
○ Benefits of _____: ■ increased helping behavior
■ enhanced cognitive skills
Scaffolding
Warmth and care help infants form secure attachments.
Sensitive Parenting
Parents guide behavior to reduce undesirable actions.
Behavior Management
Childproofing to prevent dangerous situations.
Corrective Methods → Address fussing, crying, and object-throwing.
○ Proactive Approach
Can be as sensitive and responsive as mothers.
● Low engagement is linked to more disruptive behavior and lower cognitive development in children.
● Both parents’ sensitivity impacts cognitive and language development.
FATHERS’ COMPETENCY IN INFANT CARE
focus on caregiving (feeding, bathing, diaper changing)
___ playfulness is linked to better emotional regulation at 4 years.
Mothers
engage in more rough-and-tumble play.
playfulness with 2-year-olds linked to better vocabulary at 4 years.
fathers
