Emotional Development

Question 1

Emotions

Answer 1

Combination of physiological and cognitive response to thoughts or experiences
Changes in:
Neural responses
Physiological factors (e.g. heart rate, breathing rate, hormone levels)
Subjective feelings
Emotional expressions
Desire to take action (e.g. desire to escape, approach, or change people or things in the environment)

Question 2

Discrete Emotions Theory

Answer 2

Darwin
Neurological and biological systems have evolved to allow humans to experience and express set of basic emotions through adaptation to surroundings (from infancy)
Infants express set of recognizable, discrete emotions before they can be taught about them
Similar emotional facial expressions observed around the world (even in remote tribes)
Vocalizations of basic emotions recognizable across different cultural groups

Question 3

Functionalist Perspective

Answer 3

Individuals experience emotions in order to manage the relationship between themselves and the environment
Emotions are goal oriented and vary by social context
Exceptions occur when people realize they can fake emotions
Does not draw hard distinctions between emotions and their roots

Question 4

Six Basic Emotions

Answer 4

Happiness, fear, anger, sadness, surprise, disgust
Universal in all cultures
Each serves important survival and communication functions

Question 5

The Self Conscious Emotions

Answer 5

Require children have a sense of themselves as separate from others
Guilt, shame, jealousy, empathy, pride, embarrassment, etc

Question 6

Shyness

Answer 6

Fear, discomfort, and reticence when faced with new social situations and the potential for social evaluations
Conflict between high social approach and high social avoidance motivation

Question 7

Emotional Intelligence

Answer 7

Ability to cognitively process info about emotions and use that info to guide thoughts and behaviours
Essential for emotion regulation
Linked to positive outcomes

Question 8

Roots of Empathy (ROE)

Answer 8

Kindergarten through grade 8
Lessons on emotional understanding, empathy, problem solving, perspective taking, parenting, development, caring for others
Parent and infant ‘adopted’ by a class for these lessons
Increases prosocial behaviour, proactive behaviour
Less relational aggression
Did not change children’s own reports of empathy and perspective taking

Question 9

Display Rules

Answer 9

Social or cultural group’s informal norms about when, where, and how much one should show emotions
And when emotions should be masked

Question 10

Emotion Regulation

Answer 10

Conscious and unconscious processes used to both monitor and modulate emotional experiences and expressions
Develops gradually over childhood
Required for success in social interactions and academics

Question 11

Co-Regulation

Answer 11

Emotion regulation facilitated by interaction with a caregiver
Comfort, soothing
Distraction

Question 12

Self Comforting Behaviours

Answer 12

Repetitive actions that regulate arousal by providing mildly positive physical sensation (e.g. sucking fingers)
Decreases over the first year

Question 13

Self Distraction

Answer 13

Looking away from upsetting stimulus to regulate arousal
Increase use of self distraction and decrease self comforting as the first year progresses

Question 14

Self Control

Answer 14

Ability to inhibit negative behaviours or positive emotions
In second year and increasing with age
Marshmallow studies

Question 15

Social Competence

Answer 15

Set of skills that helps individual achieve personal goals in social interactions while maintaining positive relationships with others

Question 16

Emotion Socialization

Answer 16

Acquiring the values, standards, skills, knowledge, and behaviours that are regarded as appropriate in one’s culture

Question 17

Still-Face Paradigm

Answer 17

4 month olds
Control: play with child for 10 mins
Experimental: play with child for 2 mins, still face for 2 mins, alternate
Infants quickly became distressed when parent doesn’t express emotion

Question 18

Emotion Coaching

Answer 18

Parents discuss emotions and learning ways to cope with emotions and express them appropriately
Related to higher social competence and empathy and lower risks of depression

Question 19

Temperament

Answer 19

Individual differences in emotion,a activity level, and attention exhibited across contexts and present from infancy (genetically based)

Question 20

Easy Babies

Answer 20

Adjust readily to new situations, quickly establish daily routines, generally cheerful and easy to calm (40%)

Question 21

Difficult/Spirited Babies

Answer 21

Slow to adjust to new experiences, react negatively and intensely to novel stimuli, irregular in daily routines and bodily functions (10%)

Question 22

Slow To Warm Up Babies

Answer 22

Somewhat difficult at first but became easier over time with repeated contact with new objects, people, situations, fairly regular in routines (15%)

Question 23

Surgency

Answer 23

Tendency toward positive emotions, seeking stimulation, high activity levels
High surgency: lots of positive emotions, physically active, enjoys stimulation, initiates social activities

Question 24

Negative Affectivity

Answer 24

Tendency toward negative emotion and difficulty settling down when aroused
High negative affectivity: quick to discomfort/sadness, many fears/worries, frustrated/saddened when goals are interrupted, hard to soothe when upset

Question 25

Effortful Control

Answer 25

Ability to focus/shift attention, inhibit impulses, and cope with low intensity, complex, or new activities
High effortful control: resist temptations, can remain attentive and content in low stimulation environments, persevere through tough tasks, self soothe when distress (good self regulators)

Question 26

Differential Susceptibility

Answer 26

Same temperament characteristic that puts some children at high risk for negative outcomes when exposed to harsh environment also leads them to blossom when their home environments are positive

Question 27

Dandelions & Orchids

Answer 27

Dandelions: do well in all but the most high risk environments
Orchids: flourish under supportive conditions, struggle under difficult conditions

Question 28

Mental Health

Answer 28

Children’s sense of psychological well-being
Internally: emotions and stress levels
Externally: relationships with parents and friends

Question 29

Stress

Answer 29

Physiological reaction to some change or threat in the environment

Question 30

Toxic Stress

Answer 30

Chronic high levels of stress and lack supportive adults to mitigate effects
Results in long lasting structural and physiological changes to the brain

Question 31

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Answer 31

Traumatic childhood experiences linked to mental and physical health problems later in life
More ACEs led to greater stress, mental health issues, substance use
Consistent regardless of gender, race, education

Question 32

Mental Disorders

Answer 32

Chronic, negative emotional reactions to aspects of environment or to social relationships that affect daily life and may persist throughout childhood and adulthood

Question 33

Equifinality

Answer 33

Various factors can lead to same mental disorder

Question 34

Multifinality

Answer 34

Certain risk factors do not always lead to a disorder

Question 35

Depression

Answer 35

Sad or irritable mood along with physical and cognitive changes that affect ability to behave and interact in a normal way

Question 36

Anxiety Disorders

Answer 36

Inability to regulate the emotions fear and worry

Question 37

Treatment of Internalizing Mental Disorders

Answer 37

Drug therapy common for depression
CBT effective for both depression and anxiety

Question 38

Internalizing Mental Disorders

Answer 38

E.g. depression and anxiety
Involve internal emotional states
Difficult to identify and diagnose compared with behaviour disorders