Lecture 10: Processing Affect 2

Question 1

What is a newborn’s basic human right in the context of processing affect?

Answer 1

To feel safe and communicate, which is essential for emotional regulation and developing a healthy sense of self.

Question 2

What role does the “parent network” play in caregiving?

Answer 2

It activates instinctively, enhancing receptivity to infant cues and making parents more infant-oriented.

Question 3

How does modern living disrupt natural caregiving instincts?

Answer 3

Modern lifestyles often override instincts, leading to reduced synchrony and disrupted caregiver-infant interactions.

Question 4

What did the Still-Face Experiment (Tronick et al., 1978) demonstrate?

Answer 4

Infants are sensitive to social cues and expect interactions. When caregivers withdraw, infants show distress and attempt to re-engage.

Question 5

How does maternal depression affect communication with infants?

Answer 5

Depressed mothers often alter their gaze and responsiveness, creating unpredictable and erratic communication patterns.

Question 6

What is the impact of maternal depression on infants’ attention and behavior?

Answer 6

Infants show less external engagement, increased withdrawal, and signs of stress or depression, often linked to elevated norepinephrine levels.

Question 7

How does maternal depression affect breastfeeding and social practices?

Answer 7

Depressed mothers are less likely to breastfeed or engage in appropriate social-emotional practices, reducing bonding opportunities.

Question 8

What is the significance of synchrony in caregiver-infant interactions?

Answer 8

Synchrony promotes awareness, emotional regulation, and connectedness, but depressed mothers often take longer to establish synchrony.

Question 9

What are the consequences of unregulated interactions for infants?

Answer 9

They lead to distress, increased cortisol levels, and a failure to develop effective emotional regulation.

Question 10

What is hypoarousal in infants?

Answer 10

A state of reduced physiological activity caused by unregulated distress, often occurring when it feels unsafe to express emotions.

Question 11

What role does co-regulation play in emotional development?

Answer 11

Caregivers help keep an infant’s arousal within a manageable range, fostering trust and emotional resilience.

Question 12

How do early exchanges shape attachment?

Answer 12

Infants internalize early relational experiences, forming representations of caregivers that affect their ability to trust and feel safe.

Question 13

What did the Mirror Test (Amsterdam, 1972) measure?

Answer 13

Self-awareness, by observing whether infants recognize themselves in a mirror and attempt to remove a mark from their face.

Question 14

What cultural differences exist in self-awareness development?

Answer 14

Scottish infants show early mirror self-awareness but lack embodied awareness, whereas Zambian infants raised in “human nest” environments display greater embodied self-awareness.

Question 15

How does early mirror self-awareness relate to attachment?

Answer 15

Early recognition is associated with attachment insecurity, as the “individual agent” develops prematurely.

Question 16

What trends are observed in attachment security?

Answer 16

Modern caregiving practices correlate with increasing rates of insecure attachments.

Question 17

What is the significance of the ventral striatum (VS) in parenting?

Answer 17

It is activated by infant cues, such as smiles and cries, making caregiving rewarding, but its activity is reduced in depressed mothers.

Question 18

How does maternal depression affect infant sleep and stress?

Answer 18

Infants of depressed mothers often have disrupted sleep and elevated stress levels, linked to higher noradrenaline.

Question 19

Why is repair of “messiness” in synchrony important?

Answer 19

It reduces cortisol reactivity, builds trust, and prepares infants to handle stress positively.

Question 20

What long-term consequences can arise from disrupted affective communication?

Answer 20

It can lead to insecure attachment, withdrawal, and difficulties in emotional regulation and trust.

Question 21

How do early relational experiences affect the psyche?

Answer 21

They shape awareness of self and others, influencing long-term psychological development

Question 22

What are the benefits of traditional caregiving practices like the “human nest”?

Answer 22

They foster secure attachment, embodied self-awareness, and healthy emotional development

Question 23

What research method was used in the Still-Face Experiment (Tronick et al., 1978)?

Answer 23

Controlled observational study: Caregivers were instructed to interact normally and then withdraw responsiveness to observe infant reactions.

Question 24

What method was used in studies examining maternal depression and infant outcomes?

Answer 24

Mixed-methods:

• Self-report: Mothers reported depressive symptoms and caregiving practices.
• Controlled experiments: Observed maternal-infant synchrony and behavioral responses.
• Adjustments for confounding variables: Used statistical controls to account for alternative explanations.

Question 25

What research method was used to study synchrony in gaze and touch?

Answer 25

Experimental studies: Researchers measured latency and duration of synchrony in gaze and touch between depressed and non-depressed mothers and their infants.

Question 26

What research method was used to measure cortisol reactivity in infants?

Answer 26

Physiological measurement: Cortisol levels were assessed to understand stress responses in infants exposed to unregulated interactions.

Question 27

How was attachment security studied using fMRI?

Answer 27

Neuroimaging study: Examined the buffering effect of maternal presence on amygdala activity during stress tasks.

Question 28

What method was used in longitudinal studies on maternal depression and child development?

Answer 28

Longitudinal studies: Tracked mother-child pairs from infancy to adolescence (e.g., 18 months to 19 years) to examine the long-term effects of disrupted communication.

Question 29

How was self-awareness assessed in the cultural studies on caregiving practices?

Answer 29

Mirror Self-Recognition Test (Amsterdam, 1972): Used to measure individual self-awareness in infants by observing their reactions to a mark on their face while looking in a mirror.

Question 30

How was parental responsiveness and reward response studied?

Answer 30

Neuroimaging and behavioral studies: Examined brain activity (ventral striatum) in mothers in response to infant cues such as smiling or crying.

Question 31

How were social-emotional practices like breastfeeding and play examined in depressed mothers?

Answer 31

Observational studies and self-reports: Collected data on feeding, playtime, and other caregiving behaviors, with statistical controls for confounding variables.