exam 3 lecture notes Flashcards
Syntax
The structure or grammatical rules of language
How words are combined into a sentence
Holophrases
one word sentence Combined with gesture to convey meaning “Juice” — “I want some juice!” “This is juice.” “I like juice.”
Telegraphic speech
Utterances that leave out the “little words” Includes content/open-class words Nouns, verbs Omits the function/closed-class words Of, the, a, and Begins with two-word utterances “See doggie!” Still seen with longer utterances “Daddy give me milk!”
Syntax : Development
- Production of more complex sentences begins around 2-2.5 years old
- Starting to put 4 or more words together
- “Look at me hit the ball.”
- Starting to put 4 or more words together
- Begin connecting ideas with “and” at ~3 years
- Most children use complex sentences by 4 yrs
-Linking main and subordinate clauses using “if”,
“because”, “until”, “while”, etc.
Syntax : Development
~5 years
Largely developed by ~5 years
Some development continues into school-age
Subject-verb agreement (They was/were)
Personal pronouns (He/Him went)
By 6-7 years, grammar generally adult-like
Young children
Collective speech
series of monologues
Lack of turn-taking; unrelated statements
By ~5 years of age
- narratives
- scaffolding
Narratives: description of events like story
Scaffolding: added structure to child speech and memory provided by parents
Emotions
More than just “feelings”
Emotions
- physiological factors
- subjective factors
- cognitve factors
- desire to take action
- Physiological factors Heart rate, respiration, hormones - Subjective feelings - Cognitive factors Factors that elicit or are associated with subjective feelings - Desire to take action Fight, Flight, or Freeze Escape, approach, or change people in the environment
Emotional Intelligence
- “Affective social competence”
- Abilities key to competent social functioning
Ability to motivate oneself
Willingness to persist when frustrated
Impulse control
Delaying gratification
Identify & understand feelings
Mood regulation
Emotion regulation in social interaction
Empathy with others’ emotions
Discrete Emotions
Darwinistic view of emotions
Each emotion is innate
Physiological, bodily, & facial coordination
Each is distinct and manifest early in life
Innate Systems + Experience
3 basic systems
Joy/pleasure Anger/frustration Wariness/fear - Born with primitive versions - Social experience refines emotions
Functionalist Approach
Basic function of emotion is to achieve a goal in a specific context
Fear —> Leave situation
—> Self-preservation
Emotional reactions affected by social goals
Thus highly subject to influence of others
Dynamic-SystemsTheory
- Not clear which emotions are distinct early on and which develop as a result of experience
- Repeated coordination of various systems interacting together —> new functions
- Applies to emotional, motor, cognitive, language, & other aspects of development
- Systems (perception, action, memory, language, attention, social interaction) coordinate
- For emotional development: biology, cognition, & experiences interact over time in an increasingly predicted way
Positive Emotions in Infancy
- weeks 3-8
- Very early emotions likely reflexive and/or responses to biological states
- -Often see smiles during REM in newborns
- weeks 3-8: begin to see smiles in social interaction s
- touching, voices etc.
- smiles directed at others
- may strengthen relationships and promote care
Positive Emotions in Infancy
- by 7 months
- smiles directed primarily at familiar people
- –Unfamiliar people may elicit fear response
- –Smiles elicit continued interactions w/ caregivers
- –Smiles often paired w/ excitement, playfulness
- –Makes caregivers feel special — strengthens bond
Positive Emotions in Infancy
- 3-4 months
- 10-12 months
- ~2 years
- 3-4 months: smile & laugh in a variety of situations
Tickling, blowing on skin, swinging in air, bath time - 10-12 months: enjoying unexpected things
- ~2 years: enjoy making others laugh
Begin “clowning around”
Negative Emotions in Infancy
- 2 months
- 4 months
- 6-7 months
- 1st negative emotions are responses to hunger/pain
- By 2 months: differentiate between anger/sadness
- By 4 months: wariness of unfamiliar objects/events
- By 6-7 months: fear of strangers appears
- Parental attachment
- Intensifies & lasts until ~2 yrs
Negative Emotions in Infancy
- by 4-8 months
- by age 1
- 2nd year
- By 4-8 months: anger differs from fear/sadness
- By age 1: child expresses anger, often towards other
- 2nd year: increased ability to control environment leads to increased anger when frustrated or when something is taken
- Sadness often seen in similar situations as anger
- Young kiddos separated from parents for long periods display intense & prolonged sadness
Self-conscious Emotions
Embarrassment, pride, shame, guilt
Emerge during 2nd year of life
- Increased understanding of self as distinct from others
- Increased knowledge of what is expected by others
Embarrassment
Emerges between 15-24 months Often seen when child is center of attention Eyes down Hang head Blush Hide face in hands
Pride
Emerges between 12-24 months
Often smiling at others when complete a goal or did something new
By 3 years, pride tied to performance level
Guilt
Feelings of remorse & regret about one’s behavior & desire to undo consequences
Emerges around 2-3 years
Often tied to levels of empathy
Shame
Feel exposed, often want to hide
Focus on self with lack of concern for others
Emerges around 2-3 years
Children can respond differentially with shame or guilt by age 2
Response depends on experiences & parenting
Guilt vs. Shame
Guilt
“You did a bad thing.”
Experience if parents explain consequences of actions
Teach need to repair relationship
Shame
“You are a bad boy/girl.”
Experience if parents humiliate child publicly
Communicate less respect/love even when disciplining
Guilt vs. Embarrassment
Guilt: Associated with activation in areas of the brain linked to perspective-taking, empathy, & negative emotion processing
embarrassment: Associated with activation in areas of the brain linked to conceptual knowledge and richness of social detail
Emotional Changes
- Causes of emotions change with development
- Basis for self-esteem & self-evaluation shifts
—-Change w/ cognitive development & experiences
e.g., Changes in sources of pride & happiness
Acceptance by peers becomes more important
Causes of fears change
Preschool years: imaginary fears
e.g., Fear of the dark, sharks in the bathtub
Middle childhood: reality-based fears
e.g., Academic achievement, health, safety
Emotional Changes
- anger
— children becomes less angry toward others as they learn to understand intention
Preschool — angry when harmed, regardless
Middle childhood — less angry when unintentional
Negative emotions may decrease in middle childhood, but increase in adolescence
Increase in frequency and intensity in adolescence
Associated decrease in positive emotion
Day-to-day emotional volatility greater in younger (
Emotions highly subject to environment
More negative emotions in high stress situations
War, divorce, parental fighting
Depression more common in adolescence
Less than 1-3% in childhood
15% or higher in adolescence
6% with major depression
3.2 million Canadians age 12-19
Major Depression
Almost every day: Depressed mood most of the time Reduced interest or pleasure in most activites Significant weight loss Insomnia or excessive sleeping Motor agitation & physical complaints Fatigue or loss of energy Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt Reduced ability to concentrate Recurrent thoughts of death
̣ From age 12-19: 5% of males, 12% of females
Depression
Consequences
Behavioral problems
Aggression; delinquency; stealing; substance abuse
Difficult relationships with peers
Suicide
In Canada, 24% of all deaths among 15-24 year olds
…11 people every day
…youth 3rd highest suicide rate in industrial world
Potential Causes of Depression
Heredity
- Often runs in families
- Prefrontal Cortex activity associated with higher emotional reactivity, negative emotion, & withdrawal
- Elevated hormone-based stress reactivity
- Likely both genetic & environmental
- –Reduced maternal sensitivity & engagement
Reduced family engagement & support
-Associated with higher levels of punishment
Chronic familial stress & conflict
Negative mindset
- World is cruel & unfair & can’t be changed
- Feelings of incompetence & worthlessness
- Excessive attention on negative causes
Poor emotional regulation & skills for positive social interactions
- Feeling like a victim
- Peer rejection
Likely interaction of variables
-Personal vulnerability & environmental stressors
Understanding Emotions - by 4-7 months - by ~7 months = by 8-12 months - by 12 months - by 14 months
By 4-7 months: Infants distinguish between happiness & surprise
By ~7 months: Infants begin to realize that emotions are meaningful
By 8-12 months: Infants can relate facial expressions to tone of voice
By 12 months: Children use mother’s tone of voice in decisions about how to interact with new objects
By 14 months: Social referencing information affects behaviours even an hour later
Beginning at 2 years, children can label
emotions in other people
- Continues to develop into late preschool years
- Recognize: happiness, anger/sadness, fear, surprise, disgust
- Not yet recognized: Pride, shame, guilt
Understanding emotionms
- causality important for understanding motives
Important for self-regulation & social competence
- Develops rapidly during preschool & elementary school years
- Preschoolers can understand that people feel emotions based on reminders of past events
- Increasing understanding allows children to better understand emotional complexities
Initiating, inhibiting or modulating:
Internal feeling states
- Subjective experience of emotion
Emotion-related cognition
- Thoughts about goals, desires, interpretation
Emotion-related physiological processes
- Heart rate, hormone regulation/reactivity
Emotion-related behavior
- Actions or facial expressions related to feelings
Emerges & develops across childhood
Self Regulation
- by 6 months
- between 1-2 years
Transition from caregiver regulation
Comfort when upset, soothing, distractions, etc.
By 6 months: begin early signs of self-regulation
Shift gaze from distressing situation
Self-soothe by stroking hair, playing with clothes, etc.
Between 1-2 years: avert attention from stimuli that is distressing
Distract themselves by looking away or elsewhere
self-regulation changes due to
- Increasing brain maturation
Frontal lobes - Shifts in adult expectations
Social Competence
Skills to develop & maintain positive peer relationships
- Inhibit inappropriate behaviors
- Delay gratification
- Control emotions & behavior
Better social interactions…
- Negotiate & plan strategies to settle conflicts
- Seek social support
Social Competence
Positively associated with academic performance
Pay better attention
Better behaved
More liked by teachers/peers
Liked school better than less regulated peers
temperament
Biologically-based aspects of emotional, motor, & attentional reactivity & self- regulation
Relatively consistent across situations & over time
Genetic basis
Neural development & hormonal responsiveness
- Influenced during prenatal period & early years of life
temperament Early classifications (e.g., Thomas & Chess, 1977)
Easy babies (40%) Easily adjust, establish routines, calmed, & cheerful
Difficult babies (10%) Slow to adjust to new experiences or be calmed, react negatively & intensely, irregular in routines
Slow-to-warm-up babies (15%)
Somewhat difficult at first, but become easier with repeated exposure to people, situations, objects, etc.
temperament
More recent research classifies temperament along 6 dimensions
Fearful distress/inhibition Irritable distress Attention span & persistence Activity level Positive affect/approach Rhythmicity
temperament
- characteristics are relatively
relatively stable over time
- Fearful traits in infancy are comparable in toddlerhood and parallel social anxiety at preschool
- Children who are positive in infancy are typical individuals who will be positive later in life
temperament plays an important role in
social adjustment
Long term effects of unregulated temperament:
Adolescence — difficulty getting along with peers; more likely to engage in illegal behaviors
Young adults — difficulty getting along with roommates; higher rates of unemployment
Adults — fewer friends & less social support
Level of compatibility between child temperament & environment raised in
- Difficult temperament better adjusted in supportive home with consistent parenting
Mismatch with punitive homes, rejecting parenting - Temperament & parenting style interact to affect child outcomes
Temperament & Genetics
Genetic links with…
Emotional reactivity Shyness Sociability Self-regulation Genes related to dopamine & neurotransmitters that affect attentional control Gene expression impacted by environment Parenting quality, chronic stress Genetic vulnerability most likely to be expressed in suboptimal environments
Emotional Development & Family
Related to sense of security & how child feels about themselves & others
More secure relationship with parents leads to more positive emotions, less social anxiety, less anger
Socialization
process though which children acquire values, & ways of thinking/feeling
Direct & indirect influences
1. Parental expression of emotion with their child & others
- model when and how to express emotion
- chi;d temperament can affect expression in home
2.Parental reactions to child expression of emotion
- reactions to negative emotions can impact emotional expressivity
- acknowledging emotions helps regulate arousal and express constructively
3.Discussions with children about emotion & regulation
- discussing emotions teaches children about:
- meaning of emotion s
- appropriate circumstances for expressing them
- consequences of expressing/not expressing
- emotional coaching
Attachment
An emotional bond with parent or caregiver that endures across time & space
Typically infant-parent, but could also be adult-adult
1930s-1940s
Children raised in orphanages & institutions showed deviant Bx
Highlighted the importance of social interactions early in life
Adequate physical care was not enough for healthy
Monkeys isolated from birth (~6 months) show
severe social disturbances & parenting styles
- Compulsive biting & rocking
- Avoidance of social interactions or communication
- As mothers, avoided or abused offspring
Supports theory that healthy social & emotional development is based on early social interactions with adults
Cloth Mother
Studies with Rhesus macaques in 1950s-70s (Harlow)
Macaques offered inanimate “mother” made of cloth or wire
Preference for cloth mother, even when wire mother held food
“Contact comfort”
Extended isolation (6 monts) lead to severe maladaptive Bx
May be buffered by peer interaction
Earlier exposure to social groups leads to normal social development
Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
Children are biologically predisposed to develop attachment with caregivers
Increases chances of own survival
Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
Secure base
- Presence of a consistent caregiver provides sense of security
- Caregiver provides…
- Source of safety when feeling insecure
- Comfort & pleasure
- Opportunity to explore environment
- Experience for gaining knowledge & developing general competence
Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
- preattachment
- attachment in the making
- clear-cut attachment
- reciprocal relationships
1) Preattachment — birth to 6 weeks
Infants produce innate signals to gain attention of caregiver
2) Attachment-in-the-making — 6 weeks to 6 mos.
Infants respond preferentially to familiar people
Expectations about caregiver interactions & responses
3) Clear-cut attachment — 6 months to 1.5 years
Infants actively seek contact with caregivers
Primary caregiver(s) typically serves as secure base
4) Reciprocal relationships — 1.5-2 yrs & older
Infant understands caregivers’ feelings, goals, & motives
Child’s role develops into working partnership w/ caregiver
Bowlby’s AttachmentTheory
Internal working model
Mental representation of the self, attachment figures, and relationships
Does relationship with caregiver provide needs & security?
Accessible & responsible caregivers
—> Expect gratifying relationships
Unavailable caregivers
—> Negative perception of relationships with others & themselves
Ainsworth’s AttachmentTheory
- Provided empirical support for & expansion of Bowlby’s theories
- Studied mother-infant interactions during explorations & interactions away from the mother
Key components of attachment:
- Extent to which an infant can use primary caregiver as secure base
- How infants react to brief separations from, and reunions with, caregiver
