Chapter 6: Socioemotional Development in Little People Flashcards
Emotion
Feeling, or affect, that occurs when a person is in a state or interaction that is important to him or her
Emotions play important roles in:
- Communication with others
- Behavioral organization
Emotions play important roles in:
- Communication with others
- Behavioral organization
Biological and environmental influences:
- Certain brain regions play a role in emotions (brain stem, hippocampus, amygdala)
- Emotion-linked interchanges provide the foundation for the infant’s developing
Continued:
- Social relationships provide the setting for the development of a rich variety of emotions
- Relationships and culture provide diversity in emotional experiences
Early emotions
- Primary emotions
- Self-conscious emotions
Primary emotions
Present in humans and other animals and emerge early in life
Self-conscious emotions
Require self-awareness, especially consciousness and a sense of “me”
Emotional expression and social relationships:
- Crying
- Smiling
- Fear
Crying
- Basic cry
- Anger cry
- Pain cry
Basic cry
Rhythmic pattern usually consisting of:
- a cry
- briefer silence
- shorter inspiratory whistle that is higher pitched than the main cry
- brief rest before the next cry
Anger cry
Variation of the basic cry, with more excess air forced through the vocal cords
Pain cry
Sudden long, initial loud cry followed by breath holding
Smiling
- Reflexive smile
- Social smile
Reflexive smile
Smile that does not occur in response to external stimui
Social smile
In response to an external stimulus
Fear
- Stranger anxiety
- Separation protest
Stranger anxiety
Fear and wariness of strangers
Separation protest
Distressed crying when the caregiver leaves
Emotional regulation and coping
- Caregivers’ actions and contexts can influence emotional regulations
- Soothing a crying infant helps infants develop a sense of trust and secure attachment to the caregiver
Temperament
Individual differences in behavioral styles, emotions, and characteristic ways of responding
Describing and classifying temperament
Chess and Thomas’ classification
Chess and Thomas’ classification
- Easy child
- Difficult child
- Slow-to-warm-up child
Easy child
Generally in a positive mood
- Quickly establishes regular routines in infancy
- Adapts easily to new experiences
Difficult child
React negatively and cries frequently
- Engages in irregular daily routines
- Slow to accept change
Slow-to-warm-up child
Low activity level
- Somewhat negative
- Displays a low intensity of mood
Rothbart and Bates’ classification
- Extraversion/surgency
- Negative affectivity
- Effortful control
Biological foundations and experience
- Biological influences
1. Contemporary view-Temperament is a biologically based but evolving aspect of behavior - Gender, culture, and temperament
1. Parents may react differently to an infant’s temperament depending on gender
2. Cultural differences in temperament were linked to parents attitude and behaviors
Biological foundations and experience
- Biological influences
1. Contemporary view-Temperament is a biologically based but evolving aspect of behavior - Gender, culture, and temperament
1. Parents may react differently to an infant’s temperament depending on gender
2. Cultural differences in temperament were linked to parents attitude and behaviors
Goodness of fit
Match between a child’s temperament and the environmental demands the child must cope with
Personality Development
- Trust
- Developing sense of self
- Independence
1. Autonomy versus shame and doubt
Social Orientation (Understanding)
face-to-face play
- Locomotion
- Intention and goal-directed behavior
Social referencing
Reading emotional cues in others to help determine how to act in a particular situation
-Infants’ social sophistication and insight
Attachment
Close emotional bond between two people
Freud (Attachment)
Infants become attached to the person that provides oral satisfaction
Harlow (Attachment)
Contact comfort preferred over food
Erikson (Attachment)
Trust arises from physical comfort and sensitive care
Four phases of Attachment (Bowlby)
- Attachment to human figures
- Focus on one figure
- Specific attachments develop
- Become aware of others’ feelings
Strange situation
Observational measure of infant attachment
Requires the infant to move through a series of:
- Introductions
- Separations
- Reunions with the caregiver and an adult stranger in a prescribed order
Securely attached babies
Use the caregiver as a secure base from which to explore the environment
Insecure avoidant babies
Avoiding the caregiver
Insecure resistant babies
Cling to the caregiver, then resist the caregiver by fighting against the closeness
Insecure disorganized babies
Being disorganized and disoriented
Interpreting differences in attachment
Developmental cascade model
Developmental cascade model
Involves connections across domains over time that influence developmental pathways and outcomes
Caregiving Styles and Attachment
Maternal sensitivity linked to secure attachment
Caregivers of insecurely attached infants tend to be:
- Rejecting
- Inconsistent
- Abusive
Developmental Social Neuroscience and Attachment
Connections of attachment and the brain involve:
- Neuroanatomy of the brain
- Neurotransmitters
- Hormones
Continued
Important role in maternal attachment behavior
- Prefrontal cortex
- Subcortical regions of the amygdala
- Hypothalamus
Continued
Role of hormones and neurotransmitters
-Emphasized the importance of oxytocin and vasopressin
Social Contexts
Family
Child care
Family
- Constellation of subsystems
- Transition to parenthood
Transition to parenthood
- Infant care competes with parents’ other interests
- Overall increase in marital satisfaction
Reciprocal Socialization
Bidirectional:
Children socialize parents, just as parents socialize children
Scaffolding
Parents time interactions so that infants experience turn taking
Managing and guiding infants’ behavior
- Being proactive and childproofing the environment
- Engaging in corrective methods
Maternal and paternal caregiving
- Maternal interactions center on child-care activities like feeding, changing diapers, and bathing
- Paternal interactions tend to be play-centered
Child care
Parental leave
Variations in child care
Factors that influence the effects are:
- Age of child
- Type of child care
- Quality of the program
Strategies parents can follow:
- Quality of parenting is a key factor in child’s development
- Monitor child’s development
- Take some time to find the best child care
