emotional development Flashcards
emotions
neural and physiological responses to the environment, subjective feelings, and cognitions related to those feelings, and the desire to take action
James-Lange theory of emotion
physiologival arousal causes emotion, modern theories do not agree
discrete emotions theory
a theory in which emotions are viewed as innate, each emotion has distinct bodily facial reactions, evolutionary influence
functionalist perspective
a theory argues that basic function of emotions is to promote action towards achieving a goal, evolutionary meaning, adaptive functions
structural theories/differential theory
stages of emotion: elicitors, receptors, states, expressions, experience
like learning theories – conditioning, basic emotions are innate, secondary emotions are learned
what are some basic emotions?
happiness, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise
when is happiness first expressed?
between 3-8 weeks
social smiles
smiles directed at people, emerge around 3rd month
separation anxiety
distress when separated from individuals to whome they are emotionally attached, emerges around 7-8 months
self-conscious emotions
relate to our sense of self-consciousness and other reactions, do not emerge until 2-3 years of age
facial action coding system
method of measuring emotion via facial expressions, voice, etc.
when do infants recognize emotion via facial expression?
about 3 months
when do infants associate toys with emotion?
16-18 months
social referencing
use of parent or another adult’s facial expression or vocal cues to decide how to deal with a novel/ambiguous situation, use at around 12 months!
emotional intelligence
ability to cognitively process information about emotions and guide thought/behavior
when do children begin to understand false emotions?
3-5 years
display rules
informal norms about when, where, and how much one should show/surpress emotion, large development between 4-8, dependent on culture and gender
major emotional milestones
age 3 - realization of false emotions, identify happy situations
age 4 - identify sad situations
age 5 - development of identifying emotions, growing understanding of display rules
age 7 - self-conscious emotions emerge
emotional regulation
conscious/unconscious processes used to monitor and modulate emotional experiences, related to academic and social success
co-regulation
caregiver provides needed comfort or distraction to help child reduce distress
self-comforting behavior
repetitive actions that regulate arousal by providing mildly positive physical sensations
self-distraction
looking away from upsetting stimuli in order to regulate arousal, increases with cognitive ability
self-distraction
looking away from upsetting stimuli in order to regulate arousal, increases cognitive ability
social competence
ability to achieve personal goals in social interactions while maintaining positive relationships with others, related to bullying, school performance, etc.
how do parents influence emotional development?
primary teachers of emotion, low support tends to lead to low social competence, positive emotions in the home influence high emotional skills, dismissal of emotions vs. support!
emotional socialization
direct/indirect influence of parents on children’s standards, values, thinking, and feeling, the influence of culture
emotion coaching
discussions to teach children how to cope with and properly express emotion, related to use of emotion language and social competence
temperament
individual differences in emotion, activity level, and attention across contexts and present from infancy, tend to describe innate characteristics
three proposed categories of temperament:
easy babies, difficult babies, slow-to-warm babies
how is temperament viewed now?
within-person approach, every child has some level of each dimension of temperament
temperament dimensions:
fear, distress/anger/frustration, attention span, activity level, smiling and laughter
determinants of temperament:
- genetic component
- environmental influence, cultural norms
- behavior of parents, passive gene-environment interaction
Mary Rothbart and temperament
six dimensions, measured with questionairres, relativelt stable
goodness of fit
degree to which an individual’s temperament is compatible with the demands of their environment
differential susceptibility
same temperament characteristic puts some children at high risk for negative outcomes with harsh home environments causes them to blossom in a positive home environments (orchids vs. dandelions)
