emotional development

Question 1

what are emotions?

Answer 1

combination of physiological and cognitive responses to experiences:
- neural response (amygdala activation, release of cortisol and adrenaline)
- physiological factors (heart racing, nausea)
- subjective feelings (recognition of danger, feeling of fear)
- emotional expression (eyes wide, eyebrows raised, mouth pulled back)
- urge to take action

Question 2

what is the discrete emotions theory? what evidence supports it?

Answer 2

• neurological and biological systems have evolved to allow humans to experience and express a set of innate, basic emotions that are key for survival/communication, and that are largely automatic
• basic emotions: happiness, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, surprise
• evidence: basic emotions are universal across cultures, and are present from infancy
• other emotions develop later and may be culturally specific

Question 3

what are the basic emotions, according to discrete emotions theory?

Answer 3

• happiness
• sadness
• fear
• anger
• disgust
• surprise

Question 4

according to the discrete emotions theory, how do non-basic emotions develop?

Answer 4

• non-basic emotions develop later than basic emotions and may be culturally specific
• they may be a variation in intensity of basic emotions (eg. high anger = rage; low anger = annoyance)
• they may be combinations of basic emotions (eg. anger + sadness = disappointment)

Question 5

how do we study emotions felt by infants?

Answer 5

systems of coding facial cues link particular muscle movements with particular emotions

Question 6

what are the two general emotional states present at birth?

Answer 6

1. positive: indicated by approach behaviour
2. negative/distress: indicated by crying or withdrawal behaviour

Question 7

in what general order do the basic emotions appear?

Answer 7

1. happiness (evoked by biological states from birth, social smile emerges at 2-3m, first laugh at 5m)
2. anger (first emerges at 4m, peaks at 2y)
3. fear (first emerges at 7m, fear of strangers and separation anxiety emerge at 8m but declines at 15m)
4. surprise, sadness (usually emerges with object permanence), and disgust (1st year)

Question 8

why do the “terrible twos” exist?

Answer 8

• at 24 months, infants peak in their tendency to react with anger
• declines after this age, due to a greater ability express oneself with language + improved emotional regulation skills
• as children get older, they are better able to understand whether an action was intentional or unintentional

Question 9

how does fear change with cognitive development?

Answer 9

• fear emerges at 7 months
• 8 months: fear of strangers + separation anxiety emerge
• 15 months: separation anxiety declines
• 3-5 years: fear imaginary creatures
• 7+ years: fear related to everyday situations

Question 10

what are self-conscious emotions? when do they emerge?

Answer 10

• self conscious emotions include guilt, shame, embarrassment, pride, and empathy
• emerge around 2 yrs
• emerge once a child has a sense of self separate from other people (rouge test, appears at 18m)
• emerge once children develop an appreciation of what adults expect of them

Question 11

how does culture influence experience of self-conscious emotions

Answer 11

• individualistic cultures are more likely to experience pride
• collectivist cultures are more likely to experience guilt and shame

Question 12

how do guilt and shame differ? how are they similar? at what age can they be distinguished from one another?

Answer 12

• both elicited by similar situations
• guilt: feelings of regret about one’s behaviour, with a desire to fix the consequences
• shame: self-focused feeling of personal behaviour, with a desire to hide
• guilt is generally healthier than shame
• can be distinguished at 2yrs

Question 13

how do parent’s reactions influence experiences of guilt and shame?

Answer 13

• if parent emphasizes the “badness” of the action, the child is more likely to feel guilt
• if parent emphasizes “badness” of the child, child is more likely to feel shame

Question 14

how does emotional recognition emerge in infancy?

Answer 14

• infants can identify adults’ emotions before they can identify their own
• 3 month olds can distinguish facial expressions of happiness, surprise, and anger
• 7 month olds can distinguish expressions of fear and sadness

Question 15

what is social referencing?

Answer 15

children’s use of parents’ facial expressions and tone of voice to decide how to deal with novel/ambiguous situations

Question 16

at what age to children develop a rudimentary ability to identify and label emotions in themselves and others?

Answer 16

3 years - initially label as “feeling good” vs “feeling bad”

Question 17

at what age do children understand mixed emotions?

Answer 17

5 years

Question 18

at what age do children begin to understand that a person’s facial expression does not necessarily match what they’re feeling?

Answer 18

5 years (i.e., understand fake emotions)

Question 19

what are display rules? why is it important for children to come to understand them?

Answer 19

• display rules: social norms about when, where, and how much one should show emotions, and which emotions are appropriate in a given context
• crucial for successful social interactions
• greater understanding of display rules -> greater understanding of fake emotions

Question 20

what is co-regulation?

Answer 20

• how parents regulate infants’ distress through soothing or distraction
• important, since infants cannot regulate their own emotions

Question 21

at what age do rudimentary emotion regulation skills emerge? what do they look like?

Answer 21

• 5 months
• self comforting behaviours (repetitive actions that create a positive sensation)
• self-distraction (looking away from the upsetting stimulus); becomes dominant in the first few years of life

Question 22

what are the more complex types of emotional regulation? when do they emerge?

Answer 22

• middle childhood (6-8yrs)
• cognitive strategies and problem solving

Question 23

what are the benefits of good emotion regulation skills?

Answer 23

• higher well-being
• more socially skilled, better liked, less at risk of being bullied
• do better in school
• improves motor development
• improves cognitive development

Question 24

how do adolescents’ experience of emotions differ from that of adults?

Answer 24

• teens experience higher frequencies of both negative and positive emotions
• intense moods last less long compared to adults

Question 25

how do teens’ emotions and behaviours change over the course of their adolescent years?

Answer 25

• happiness decreases
• sadness and anxiety increase, especially in girls
• anger increases, then decreases toward the end
• impulsivity increases during early adolescence, peaking in mid-late adolescence, then declining into adulthood

Question 26

why do teens take more risks?

Answer 26

increased impulsivity is related to…
1. changes in the limbic system: synaptogenesis of dopamine receptors leads to heightened reward processing; nucleus accumbens activation during reward anticipation -> more risk taking in daily life
2. changes in the prefrontal cortex: synaptic pruning and myelination in PFC continues until one’s mid-20s, meaning that the PFC is not fully developed until then, leading to difficulties with inhibition, impulse control and planning

• maturational imbalance between PFC and limbic system leads to more risk taking behaviour

Question 27

what is temperament?

Answer 27

• individual differences in emotion, self-regulation, activity level, and attention that are consistent over time and across contexts
• genetically based

Question 28

what is the type approach to temperament?

Answer 28

• divides infants into three categories: easy babies, difficult babies, and slow to warm up babies
• not widely accepted anymore: many children do not fit cleanly into these typologies

Question 29

what is the dimensional approach to temperament?

Answer 29

• assess temperament based on 5 key dimensions: smiling/laughter, distress/anger, fear, attention span, activity level
• assessed using direct observation + parent/teacher self-report

Question 30

can temperament change over time?

Answer 30

temperament is largely consistent over time, since it is genetically based, but some change is possible, especially when the child is younger. this reflects the role of caregivers in shaping emotional development

Question 31

in what two main ways do parents play a role in children’s emotional development?

Answer 31

1. parent’s expression of emotions (indirect); serves as a model of when and how to express emotions
2. parent’s reactions to children’s emotions (direct); eg: mirroring, emotional coaching

Question 32

what is mirroring? why is it important?

Answer 32

• example of direct influence on children’s emotional development
• behaviours in which a parent reflects the emotion of their child back to them through verbal and non-verbal cues
• characterized by warmth and quick response
• validates and normalizes a child’s emotions and helps the child identify and understand their emotions

Question 33

what is emotional coaching?

Answer 33

• example of direct influence on children’s emotional development
• involves the use of discussion and other forms of instruction to teach children how to cope with, regulate, and appropriately express emotions (culturally dependent)

Question 34

what is a supportive/sensitive emotional reaction? why is it important?

Answer 34

characterized by mirroring + emotional coaching; ideal way to react to children’s emotions
1. validates child’s emotions
2. helps child understand their emotions
3. fosters emotional regulation
4. associated with higher self-esteem
5. fosters social competence
6. associated with better academic performance

Question 35

what are the 4 types of parent reactions to children’s emotions?

Answer 35

1. supportive/sensitive (mirroring + emotional coaching)
2. dismissive (coaching but no mirroring)
3. over validating (mirroring but no coaching)
4. critical (no mirroring or coaching)