Week 14 Readings

Question 1

What are the three perspectives that interact to shape social and personality development in children, and how do they contribute?

Answer 1

The three perspectives are:

1. Social Context – Relationships provide security, guidance, and knowledge.
2. Biological Maturation – Supports the development of social and emotional competencies and underlies temperamental individuality.
3. Developing Representations – Children’s understanding of themselves and the social world shapes how they perceive and interact with others.

These three parts – relationships, growing bodies and brains, and self-understanding – are always working together to shape how children think, feel, and behave.

Question 2

Why is social and personality development best understood as a continuous interaction?

Answer 2

It reflects the dynamic interplay between social factors (e.g., relationships), biological maturation (e.g., temperamental individuality), and children’s evolving representations of self and the social world, which together shape psychological development.

Question 3

How do relationships and biological maturation contribute to a child’s development?

Answer 3

Relationships provide essential security, guidance, and knowledge, while biological maturation enables the growth of social and emotional competencies and influences temperament.

Question 4

Is attachment primarily a result of parents providing food or warmth?

Answer 4

No, psychologists believe attachment is biologically natural and not just a result of parents providing food or warmth.

Question 5

How can the interaction of social, biological, and representational aspects of development be seen in infants?

Answer 5

This interaction is seen in the strong emotional attachments that nearly all infants develop with their caregivers during the first year of life.

Question 6

Why do psychologists believe attachment is biologically natural?

Answer 6

Psychologists view attachment as natural, like learning to walk, because it has evolved to motivate children to stay close to caregivers, helping them gain learning, security, guidance, warmth, and affirmation—not just food or warmth.

Question 7

Do all infants feel equally secure in their emotional attachments to caregivers?

Answer 7

No, the sense of security in attachments varies. Infants become securely attached when caregivers respond sensitively, while inconsistent or neglectful care leads to insecure attachment.

Question 8

What causes insecure attachments in infants? What behaviors are seen in infants with insecure attachments?

Answer 8

Insecure attachments can result from inconsistent or neglectful care, which may not always stem from bad parenting but rather from challenging circumstances, like caregiver stress, fatigue, or emotional difficulties.

Insecurely attached infants may respond avoidantly, resistantly, or in a disorganized manner.

Question 9

How can researchers observe differences between securely- and insecurely-attached infants?

Answer 9

Researchers use the “Strange Situation,” where the caregiver briefly leaves the infant alone in a room and then returns. The infant’s response—welcoming, clinging, rejecting, or showing a mix of agitated reactions—reveals their level of attachment.

Question 10

What is the security of attachment?

Answer 10

An infant’s confidence in the sensitivity and responsiveness of a caregiver, especially when he or she is needed. Infants can be securely attached or insecurely attached.

Question 11

How does attachment security vary, and why is it important for development?

Answer 11

Infants can be securely or insecurely attached to different caregivers, such as mothers, fathers, and others. Secure attachment is crucial because it leads to stronger friendships, better emotional understanding, early conscience development, and more positive self-concepts compared to insecure attachment.

Question 12

What is authoritative parenting style?

Answer 12

A parenting style characterized by high (but reasonable) expectations for children’s behavior, good communication, warmth and nurturance, and the use of reasoning (rather than coercion) as preferred responses to children’s misbehavior.

Question 13

How do parent-child relationships change as children grow, and what type of parenting promotes healthy development?

Answer 13

As children mature, they become more independent, leading to potential conflict. Authoritative parenting—characterized by reasonable expectations, good communication, warmth, and reasoning—helps children develop competence, self-confidence, and better conflict resolution skills.

Question 14

What are the outcomes of different parenting styles on children?

Answer 14

Authoritative parenting supports positive development, while authoritarian, uninvolved, or permissive parenting styles can result in less constructive parent-child relationships and hinder children’s growth.

Question 15

Describe the expectations/control and warmth/responsiveness in each of the 4 parenting styles:

Low expectations/control and low warmth/responsiveness =

Low expectations/control and high warmth/responsiveness =

High expectations/control and low warmth/responsiveness =

High expectations/control and high warmth/responsiveness =

Answer 15

Low expectations/control and low warmth/responsiveness = uninvolved

Low expectations/control and high warmth/responsiveness = permissive

High expectations/control and low warmth/responsiveness = authoritarian

High expectations/control and high warmth/responsiveness = authoritative

Question 16

How do parental roles change as children grow, especially in adolescence?

Answer 16

As children grow, parents increasingly act as mediators, guiding their children’s interactions with peers and activities. In adolescence, the relationship shifts to coregulation, where both parents and the child recognize the child’s growing autonomy, and authority is balanced.

Question 17

What is the family stress model?

Answer 17

A description of the negative effects of family financial difficulty on child adjustment through the effects of economic stress on parents’ depressed mood, increased marital problems, and poor parenting.

Question 18

How do external conditions, like financial difficulties, affect family relationships?

Answer 18

According to the Family Stress Model, financial difficulties lead to parents’ depressed moods, which result in marital problems and poor parenting, contributing to poorer child adjustment.

Question 19

How does divorce impact children and family relationships?

Answer 19

Divorce often leads to economic stress, changes in parent-child relationships (with one parent as the primary custodian), and significant adjustments. While divorce is seen as a sad turning point, most children do not experience long-term adjustment problems.

Question 20

How do peer relationships contribute to a child’s social development?

Answer 20

Peer relationships help children develop essential social skills like initiating and maintaining interactions, managing conflict (e.g., turn-taking, compromise, bargaining), and coordinating actions and understanding with others.

Question 21

How do different types of play support a child’s development?

Answer 21

Play teaches various social skills: infants learn sharing, preschoolers engage in pretend play and collaboration, and primary school children join sports teams, learning teamwork, emotional support, and working toward common goals.

Question 22

What role do friendships play in a child’s life?

Answer 22

Friendships provide additional security and support, complementing the care and support children receive from their parents.

Question 23

How do peer relationships influence children, and what challenges do they present?

Answer 23

Peer relationships provide affirmation but can also lead to rejection, bullying, and conformity pressures. Peer rejection, especially due to aggression, can result in behavior problems, while social comparisons may lower self-esteem if children feel they don’t measure up.

Question 24

How do peer relationships evolve as children grow, particularly in adolescence?

Answer 24

As children age, peer relationships shift to focus on psychological intimacy, involving personal disclosure, vulnerability, and loyalty, which greatly impacts their self-concept and worldview.

Question 25

What is social referencing?

Answer 25

The process by which one individual consults another’s emotional expressions to determine how to evaluate and respond to circumstances that are ambiguous or uncertain.

Question 26

How do infants develop social understanding and respond to unfamiliar situations?

Answer 26

Before the end of their first year, infants begin to understand that others have different mental states, like perceptions and feelings, which influence behavior.

This is seen in social referencing, where infants look to their mother’s facial expressions to gauge how to respond to unfamiliar or uncertain situations. If the mother appears calm, the infant feels safe; if the mother appears fearful, the infant feels wary. This shows that infants learn to interpret emotions to navigate their environment.

Question 27

What is the theory of mind?

Answer 27

The human capacity to understand minds, a capacity that is made up of a collection of concepts (e.g., agent, intentionality) and processes (e.g., goal detection, imitation, empathy, perspective taking).

Question 28

How do infants’ understanding of others’ mental states differ from earlier beliefs about their egocentricity?

Answer 28

Contrary to the belief that infants are egocentric, they are aware early on that others have different mental states, which motivates them to figure out what others are feeling, intending, and thinking, and how these affect behavior.

Question 29

What is “theory of mind,” and how does it develop in children?

Answer 29

Theory of mind is the understanding that others have mental states (thoughts, beliefs, emotions) that can influence their behavior. Infants start developing a simple version of it, which grows rapidly as they understand intentions, mistaken beliefs, and hidden emotions.

Question 30

How do infants show their developing theory of mind?

Answer 30

At around 18 months, infants demonstrate their awareness of others’ intentions by completing tasks that adults fail to do, like putting a necklace into a cup, showing they understand the adult’s goal.

Question 31

How do young children develop social understanding and theory of mind?

Answer 31

Young children are sensitive observers, connecting emotional expressions, words, and behaviors to infer mental states. They also develop language skills, allowing them to talk about emotions and intentions, which helps them understand others’ feelings and thoughts.

Question 32

How does language development contribute to social understanding in children?

Answer 32

Growing language skills enable children to label and discuss mental states, such as “mad” or “wants,” and learn about them through conversations with parents about everyday experiences, like “Your sister was sad because she thought Daddy was coming home.”

Question 33

Are children biologically prepared to understand mental states?

Answer 33

Some scientists believe infants are biologically prepared to perceive people as having an internal mental life, which helps them interpret others’ behavior in terms of mental states.

Question 34

What is temperament

Answer 34

Early emerging differences in reactivity and self-regulation.

It forms the foundation for personality growth and interacts with life experiences to shape personality over time.

Question 35

What is goodness of fit?

Answer 35

The match or synchrony between a child’s temperament and characteristics of parental care that contributes to positive or negative personality development.

A good “fit” means that parents have accommodated to the child’s temperamental attributes, and this contributes to positive personality growth and better adjustment.

Question 36

How does the environment influence temperament and personality?

Answer 36

Temperament interacts with the environment, and the “goodness of fit” between a child’s temperament and their surroundings plays a key role in personality development. For example, an adventurous child whose parents enjoy outdoor activities may thrive in this environment, supporting their personality growth.

Question 37

What is the role of parental care in shaping temperament and personality?

Answer 37

Parental care levels affect temperamental dispositions and contribute to personality development, demonstrating the interplay between biological traits and environmental experiences.

Question 38

How does temperament change as children grow?

Answer 38

As children mature biologically, temperamental characteristics evolve. For instance, a newborn’s inability to control emotions gradually changes as brain-based capacities for self-regulation develop, leading to more stable temperamental traits over time.

Question 39

Can temperament influence personality changes over time?

Answer 39

Yes, temperament can influence personality changes.

For example, a newborn who cries frequently might not have a grumpy personality; with parental support and a sense of security, the child may become less prone to crying as they develop self-regulation skills.

Question 40

What other factors, besides temperament, contribute to personality development in children?

Answer 40

In addition to temperament, children’s self-concept, motivations, values, goals, coping styles, and sense of responsibility contribute to personality development. These qualities are influenced by both biological dispositions and experiences, especially in close relationships.

Question 41

What in conscience?

Answer 41

The cognitive, emotional, and social influences that cause young children to create and act consistently with internal standards of conduct.

Question 42

What is effortful control?

Answer 42

A temperament quality that enables children to be more successful in motivated self-regulation.

Question 43

What are gender schemas?

Answer 43

Organized beliefs and expectations about maleness and femaleness that guide children’s thinking about gender.

Question 44

What are some of the key developmental outcomes associated with social and emotional competence?

Answer 44

Key outcomes include the ability to engage in socially constructive actions (helping, caring, sharing), control aggressive impulses, live by moral values, develop a healthy sense of self, and achieve success in using personal talents.

Question 45

How does the development of conscience contribute to social and emotional competence?

Answer 45

Conscience, the foundation for moral development, emerges from the interaction of cognitive, emotional, and social influences. It develops as children create and act in line with internal standards of conduct, influenced by their experiences with parents, their temperament, and how parents reinforce behavioral expectations.

Question 46

How do children develop a “moral self” as part of their conscience development?

Answer 46

By the end of preschool, children develop a “moral self,” viewing themselves as people who want to do the right thing, feel guilty after misbehaving, and feel uncomfortable when others misbehave, helping them build social and emotional competence.

Question 47

How does the development of gender identity illustrate the interaction of social, biological, and representational influences?

Answer 47

Children learn about gender from parents, peers, and society, creating gender schemas that guide their understanding of maleness and femaleness. Puberty also contributes to their evolving sense of self and sexual identity.

Question 48

How does social and emotional competence develop over time?

Answer 48

Social and emotional competence grows through the interaction of social, biological, and representational influences, beginning in early childhood and continuing throughout adolescence and adulthood. Early influences are important but do not determine the entire trajectory of development.

Question 49

How does social and personality development continue throughout life?

Answer 49

Social and personality development continues throughout adolescence, adulthood, and into old age, shaped by changing social relationships, biological maturation and decline, and the individual’s ongoing representation of experience and self. These influences interact continuously to shape personal growth and identity across the lifespan.

Question 50

Which laboratory procedure, designed to assess attachment styles in children, involves exposing a child to separation from their caregiver followed by a reunification?

Answer 50

the Strange Situation

Question 51

Nick and Brenda are very attentive parents. They are encouraging and warm, yet they are firm with boundaries and make sure the rules of the house are clearly communicated. When their kids make mistakes, Nick and Brenda try to use them as learning experiences, even when punishment is administered. What kind of parenting style is this?

Answer 51

authoritative

Question 52

Which of the following activities is essential in helping a child learn the mutual, sometimes complex coordination of goals, actions, and understanding?

school.
play.
potty training.
having a sibling.
caring for a pet

Answer 52

play

Question 53

Jillian and her mom are playing on the swing set at the park. A man walks up to them. When Jillian sees her mother smile and speak warmly to the man Jillian relaxes. Jillian has used ______to evaluate this individual.

Answer 53

social referencing

Question 54

What is the origin of attachment theory and its key observations?

Answer 54

Attachment theory was developed by John Bowlby in the 1940s to understand the intense distress infants experience when separated from their parents.

Bowlby observed that infants go to great lengths to avoid separation and reestablish proximity, exhibiting behaviors such as crying, calling for parents, refusing to eat, or anxiously waiting for their return.

Bowlby suggested these behaviors serve an evolutionary function rather than being signs of immature defense mechanisms from observing this in a wide variety of mammalian species.

Question 55

What did Harlow’s research on contact comfort reveal about infant attachment?

Answer 55

Harlow’s research showed that infant attachment is not solely based on the satisfaction of basic needs, like hunger. In his studies with young monkeys, he found that they spent more time with a soft, cloth-covered surrogate mother than with a wire surrogate that provided food.

This demonstrated that infants form strong emotional bonds with caregivers due to the comfort and security provided by physical contact, not just the reduction of basic drives like hunger.

Question 56

What is a primary attachment figure?

Answer 56

Someone who functions as the primary safe haven and secure base for an individual.

In childhood, an individual’s attachment figure is often a parent. In adulthood, an individual’s attachment figure is often a romantic partner.

Question 57

How did Bowlby’s attachment theory explain infant behaviors in the context of evolutionary theory?

Answer 57

Bowlby argued that behaviors such as crying or seeking proximity to a caregiver are adaptive responses to separation. Since human infants, like other mammals, are helpless and unable to care for themselves, they depend on adult caregivers for survival. Over evolutionary history, infants who were able to stay close to caregivers for protection, care, and support had a greater chance of survival and reaching reproductive age.

Question 58

What is the attachment behavioral system?

Answer 58

A motivational system selected over the course of evolution to maintain proximity between a young child and his or her primary attachment figure.

Question 59

What are attachment behaviours?

Answer 59

Behaviors and signals that attract the attention of a primary attachment figure and function to prevent separation from that individual or to reestablish proximity to that individual (e.g., crying, clinging).

Question 60

What is Bowlby’s concept of the attachment behavioral system, and how does it function?

Answer 60

Bowlby described the attachment behavioral system as a motivational system shaped by natural selection to regulate proximity to a primary attachment figure.

Similar to a thermostat, it monitors the caregiver’s accessibility and adjusts behaviors to maintain a desirable level of closeness. If the caregiver is perceived as nearby and attentive, the child feels secure and explores the environment. If the caregiver is inaccessible, the child feels anxious and engages in attachment behaviors, like searching or vocalizing, to restore proximity. These behaviors persist until proximity is reestablished or the child gives up after prolonged separation.

Question 61

What are attachment patterns?

Answer 61

(also called “attachment styles” or “attachment orientations”) Individual differences in how securely (vs. insecurely) people think, feel, and behave in attachment relationships.

Question 62

What did Mary Ainsworth’s research reveal about individual differences in infant attachment?

Answer 62

Mary Ainsworth’s research, through the strange situation study, identified three primary attachment patterns in infants:

1. Secure (60%): Infants are upset when separated from their parents but seek comfort and are easily soothed upon reunion. These infants typically have responsive caregivers.
2. Anxious-resistant (20% or less): Infants are highly distressed during separation and show conflicting behaviors upon reunion, such as seeking comfort but also resisting it, often due to inconsistent caregiving.
3. Avoidant (20%): Infants show little visible stress during separation and avoid contact with the parent upon reunion, often linked to rejecting or insensitive caregiving.

Ainsworth’s work was significant for demonstrating how attachment behaviors are organized in novel settings, categorizing individual attachment differences, and linking these patterns to early caregiving experiences.

Question 63

Why was Mary Ainsworth’s work on attachment significant?

Answer 63

Mary Ainsworth’s work was significant for three key reasons:

1. She provided one of the first empirical demonstrations of how attachment behaviors are organized in unfamiliar contexts, using the strange situation experiment.
2. She developed the first empirical taxonomy of individual differences in infant attachment, identifying three patterns: secure, anxious-resistant, and anxious-avoidant.

3 .She demonstrated that these attachment patterns are linked to infant–parent interactions during the first year, with secure attachments associated with responsive caregiving and insecure attachments (anxious-resistant or avoidant) linked to inconsistent or insensitive caregiving.

Question 64

What factors influence whether children develop secure or insecure attachment patterns? Provide one example of longitudinal and experimental evidence.

Answer 64

The history of sensitive and responsive interactions between the caregiver and child plays a key role in shaping attachment patterns. Supportive caregiving during times of stress helps children regulate emotions, build confidence to explore their environment, and feel secure during stressful situations.

• Longitudinal Evidence: Grossmann et al. (1985) found that infants classified as secure at 12 months were more likely to have mothers who provided responsive care during the first year of life.
• Experimental Evidence: Van den Boom (1994) showed that an intervention to enhance maternal responsiveness led to mothers being more attentive, with their infants being more sociable and self-soothing. At 12 months, these infants were more likely to be securely attached.

Question 65

How do children’s attachment patterns influence their long-term adaptation?

Answer 65

Secure attachment patterns are linked to better adaptation over time. Securely attached children tend to have high-functioning relationships with peers, receive favorable evaluations from teachers, and show greater persistence and diligence in challenging tasks. In contrast, insecure-avoidant children are more likely to be seen as “bullies” and may struggle with building and maintaining friendships (Weinfield, Sroufe, Egeland, & Carlson, 2008).

Question 66

How do attachment processes extend into adulthood, according to Hazan and Shaver (1987)?

Answer 66

Hazan and Shaver (1987) proposed that the emotional bond in adult romantic relationships is influenced by the same attachment behavioral system that forms the bond between infants and caregivers. In both relationships, individuals:

1. Feel safe and secure in the other’s presence.
2. Seek the other during sickness, distress, or fear.
3. Use the other as a “secure base” for exploring the world.
4. Communicate in a unique language, such as “motherese” or “baby talk.”

Question 67

How does social media play a role in attachment processes, according to research?

Answer 67

Social media, such as Facebook, allows people to stay virtually connected to attachment figures despite physical distance, supporting attachment needs. Research by Oldmeadow, Quinn, and Kowert (2013) found that:

1. People often use Facebook to connect with others when experiencing negative emotions.
2. Anxiously attached individuals use Facebook more frequently and are more open on the platform.
3. Avoidantly attached individuals use Facebook less frequently and are less open on the site.

Question 68

Are people more likely to form relationships with partners who share similar attachment styles?

Answer 68

Yes, research suggests that people are more likely to end up with partners who share similar attachment styles. For example:

• Studies, such as Frazier et al. (1996), found that secure individuals tend to pair with secure partners, while insecure individuals often pair with insecure partners.
• McClure et al. (2010) demonstrated that in speed-dating contexts, people show greater interest in secure individuals over insecure ones.
• Hudson et al. (2012) found evidence that attachment styles can mutually influence and change over time in close relationships, suggesting a dynamic interplay between partners.

Question 69

How does attachment style influence the quality and stability of romantic relationships?

Answer 69

Research shows that individuals with secure attachment styles tend to have higher-quality and more stable relationships compared to insecure individuals. Specifically:

• Secure individuals are more likely to have satisfying relationships (Collins & Read, 1990).
• They are more likely to provide support to their distressed partners (Simpson, Rholes, & Nelligan, 1992).

In contrast, insecure individuals are more likely to experience relationship breakups (Feeney & Noller, 1992).

Question 70

How do early attachment experiences influence adult attachment styles and interpersonal functioning?

Answer 70

Early attachment experiences play an influential but probabilistic role in shaping adult attachment styles and interpersonal functioning. Key findings include:

Retrospective Studies: Secure adults often recall childhood experiences with parents as supportive, loving, and kind (Hazan & Shaver, 1987).

Longitudinal Evidence: Studies have shown prospective links between early attachment and adult outcomes:
- Maternal sensitivity across development predicts security at age 18 (Fraley et al., 2013).
- Attachment security in infancy predicts peer competence in early grades, which influences friendships at age 16, and later impacts emotional expression in romantic relationships during early adulthood (Simpson et al., 2007).

Probabilistic Nature: Early experiences provide a foundation but DO NOT DETERMINE later outcomes. Positive social development can result from corrective experiences, such as relationships with siblings, teachers, and close friends.

Cumulative Process: Security reflects a person’s overall attachment history rather than being fixed by early experiences alone.

Question 71

Wyatt, a 12-month-old baby, was upset when his mother left. When she returned, he crawled over to her and happily hugged her. He is displaying a(n) ______attachment to his mother.

Answer 71

secure

Question 72

Harry Harlow’s research revealed that young macaque monkeys were comforted by ______.

a) milk from a wire “mother”.
b) touch from the researchers.
c) playing with siblings.
d) a parent’s voice.
e) physical contact with soft cloth

Answer 72

e)

Question 73

When faced with a challenging task, secure children are most likely to do what?

a) ask for help.
b) persist.
c) find an easier task.
d) quit.
e) watch a caregiver solve it

Answer 73

b)

Question 74

What are the intrapersonal functions of emotions?

Answer 74

The effects of emotion to individuals that occur physically inside their bodies and psychologically inside their minds.

Question 75

What are the interpersonal functions of emotions?

Answer 75

The interpersonal functions of emotion refer to the effects of one’s emotion on others, or to the relationship between oneself and others.

Question 76

What are the social and cultural functions of emotions?

Answer 76

Society refers to a system of relationships between individuals and groups of individuals; culture refers to the meaning and information afforded to that system that is transmitted across generations.

Thus, the social and cultural functions of emotion refer to the effects that emotions have on the functioning and maintenance of societies and cultures.

Question 77

How do emotions function as rapid information-processing systems?

Answer 77

Emotions help humans act quickly with minimal thinking, allowing for rapid decision-making in situations like attack, defense, or care. They evolved to address recurring problems such as birth, battle, death, and seduction, aiding in survival.

Question 78

How did emotions evolve to aid survival?

Answer 78

Emotions evolved to help humans respond quickly and adaptively to threats and opportunities, without deep thinking, which could be life-threatening in urgent situations.

Question 79

Why is rational thinking not always ideal in certain situations?

Answer 79

In high-stress situations, rational thinking takes time, which could be deadly. Emotions allow for quick, instinctive actions, offering an immediate response to threats or opportunities.

Question 80

How do emotions prevent chaos in response to environmental stimuli?

Answer 80

Emotions activate certain systems and deactivate others to ensure coordinated responses without conflicting reactions, allowing for effective behavior.

Question 81

What happens to the body when we experience fear?

Answer 81

Fear activates changes like reduced saliva, blood flow to the lower body, expanded visual field, and increased air intake to prepare for flight.

Question 82

Do emotions always lead to action?

Answer 82

No, emotions prepare the body for action, but whether action occurs depends on factors like context, the emotion’s target, consequences, and past experiences.

Question 83

Are emotions the only determinant of behavior?

Answer 83

No, emotions are one of many determinants of behavior, though they play a significant role.

Question 84

How are emotions connected to memory?

Answer 84

Emotions serve as “neural glue” that links facts with the emotions felt at the time, making it easier to recall memories based on the emotional state experienced during them.

Question 85

How do emotions influence attitudes, values, and beliefs?

Answer 85

Emotions give meaning to attitudes, values, and beliefs, turning them from mere statements into something emotionally significant.

Question 86

How do emotions affect thinking processes?

Answer 86

Intense emotions can impair critical thinking, making it harder to think clearly, while a calm emotional state makes it easier to think critically.

Question 87

How do emotions motivate future behavior?

Answer 87

Emotions motivate future behavior by driving us to seek positive experiences (e.g., satisfaction, joy) and avoid negative ones (e.g., disgust), such as avoiding spoiled milk after feeling disgust.

Question 88

How do emotions influence social interactions?

Answer 88

Emotions influence social interactions by expressing feelings, intentions, and relationship dynamics through verbal and nonverbal cues (e.g., facial expressions, gestures), which help others respond appropriately and promote desired social behavior.

Question 89

How do facial expressions of emotion influence behavior?

Answer 89

Facial expressions convey psychological states and intentions, influencing observers’ actions.

Fearful faces prompt approach behaviors, while angry faces encourage avoidance.

Emotional displays can also evoke complementary responses, such as anger provoking fear and distress eliciting sympathy.

Question 90

What do emotional expressions reveal about relationships?

Answer 90

Emotional expressions, especially contempt and disgust, reveal the nature of relationships.

In married couples, expressions of contempt (by men) and disgust (by women) during intimate conversations have been linked to later marital dissatisfaction and divorce.

Question 91

What is social referencing, and how do facial expressions regulate social interaction in infants?

Answer 91

Social referencing is when infants seek information from others to clarify a situation and use that to guide their actions.

Research, such as the visual cliff study, shows that infants’ decisions (e.g., whether to cross a table) are influenced by their mothers’ facial expressions, with expressions of fear or anger leading to more hesitation, while joy and interest encourage action.

Similar studies demonstrate that infants are more inhibited by anger or disgust expressions and more likely to engage with objects when shown joyful expressions.

Question 92

What is one of the important functions of culture, and how does it contribute to social life?

Answer 92

Culture helps provide coordination and organization, enabling individuals and groups to navigate the complexities of social life. It maintains social order, prevents chaos, and offers a shared system of meaning and information that is passed across generations. This system allows groups to meet survival needs, pursue well-being, and derive meaning from life.

Question 93

How is the cultural transmission of emotions carried out, and what role do worldviews play?

Answer 93

Cultural transmission of emotions occurs through the development of worldviews, which include attitudes, values, beliefs, and norms related to emotions.

These worldviews provide guidelines for desirable emotions and regulate individual behaviors and interpersonal relationships. Cultural backgrounds inform individuals about which emotions are ideal and which are not. This transmission happens through interactions between childrearers and children and is also influenced by cultural products like books, movies, and advertisements.

Question 94

What are cultural display rules?

Answer 94

These are rules that are learned early in life that specify the management and modification of emotional expressions according to social circumstances. Cultural display rules can work in a number of different ways.

For example, they can require individuals to express emotions “as is” (i.e., as they feel them), to exaggerate their expressions to show more than what is actually felt, to tone down their expressions to show less than what is actually felt, to conceal their feelings by expressing something else, or to show nothing at all.

Question 95

Why are cultural norms about emotions important for society?

Answer 95

Cultural norms about emotions are essential for maintaining social order and group efficiency. They help regulate emotional reactions and behaviors, ensuring that individuals experience and express emotions in socially acceptable ways. By doing so, these norms reduce social complexity, prevent chaotic behaviors, and enable harmonious functioning within groups. Without cultural norms regulating emotions, individuals could behave unpredictably, making it difficult for societies to function and for humans to survive as a species.

Question 96

What are adolescents doing to regulate emotional challenges, and how are these developing throughout adolescence?

List the six strategies that adolescents may use.

Answer 96

1. Distraction
2. Relaxation
3. Rumination (thinking about it over and over again)
4. Reappraisal (thinking about it differently)
5. Expressive supression
6. Expressive enhancement

Those who use all of these at least some of the time are better regulated and have better mental health.

Question 97

The ______ function of emotion refers to an individual’s internal physiological and psychological emotional responses.

Answer 97

intrapersonal

Question 98

The ______ function of emotion refers to the effect of one person’s emotions on other people or on the relationship between people.

Answer 98

interpersonal

Question 99

Cultures develop “worldviews” of emotions. What do these worldviews teach members of that culture?

a) non-verbal emotion that can be expressed world-wide.
b) the universal emotions shared by all people.
c) how to behave emotionally with foreigners.
d) laws and regulations governing emotions.
e) the most desirable emotions and behaviors for that society

Answer 99

e)

Question 100

What are cultural display rules?

Answer 100

These are rules that are learned early in life that specify the management and modification of emotional expressions according to social circumstances. Cultural display rules can work in a number of different ways. For example, they can require individuals to express emotions “as is” (i.e., as they feel them), to exaggerate their expressions to show more than what is actually felt, to tone down their expressions to show less than what is actually felt, to conceal their feelings by expressing something else, or to show nothing at all.

Question 101

What is the Five Factor Model, or the “Big 5”?

Answer 101

It is a common model of personality.

Acronym is OCEAN:
- Openness to experience
- Conscientiousness
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Neuroticism

Question 102

Who;s research is regarded as one of the first experimental demonstrations of the importance of “contact comfort” in the establishment of infant-caregiver bonds? What did they do?

Answer 102

Harlow

Harlow did monkey studies that suggested the strong emotional bond that infants form with their primary caregivers is rooted in something more than whether the caregiver provides food.

Wire mother with bottle with milk
vs.
Cloth covered mother

where they tend to choose contact comfort with the cloth mother, regardless of the fact that the wire mother fed them

Question 103

In the Strange situation model, describe what would happen with the baby in each of these steps in a SECURE attachment:

Explore:
Stranger comes, parent leaves:
Stranger:
Reunion (Parent returns as stranger leaves):

Answer 103

Explore: Checks in with parent

Stranger comes, parent leaves: Shows some distress when parent leaves

Stranger: Avoids stranger

Reunion (Parent returns as stranger leaves): Seeks comfort

Question 104

In the Strange situation model, describe what would happen with the baby in each of these steps in an INSECURE AMBIVALENT/ANXIOUS/RESISTANT attachment:

Explore:
Stranger comes, parent leaves:
Stranger:
Reunion (Parent returns as stranger leaves):

Answer 104

Explore: Child clings to parent

Stranger comes, parent leaves: Very upset

Stranger: Quite fearful

Reunion (Parent returns as stranger leaves): Seeks comfort but then pushes away

Question 105

In the Strange situation model, describe what would happen with the baby in each of these steps in an INSECURE AVOIDANT attachment:

Explore:
Stranger comes, parent leaves:
Stranger:
Reunion (Parent returns as stranger leaves):

Answer 105

Explore: Oblivious to parent

Stranger comes, parent leaves: Not upset

Stranger: Unconcerned

Reunion (Parent returns as stranger leaves): Does not seek contact

Question 106

In the Strange situation model, describe what would happen with the baby in each of these steps in an DISORGANIZED (INSTABILITY) attachment:

Explore:
Stranger comes, parent leaves:
Stranger:
Reunion (Parent returns as stranger leaves):

Answer 106

Inconsistent and likely abusive experiences

Parents = source of fear AND comfort

Child wavers between wanting to be close vs. far away

Question 107

What percent of adults classify themselves as secure, avoidant, or anxious resistant. Out of these paragraphs, label each as one of the three, and provide the percentage.

1) I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others; I find it difficult to trust them completely, difficult to allow myself to depend on them. I am nervous when anyone gets too close, and often, others want me to be more intimate than I feel comfortable being.

2) I find it relatively easy to get close to others and am comfortable depending on them and having them depend on me. I don’t worry about being abandoned or about someone getting too close to me.

3) I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. I often worry that my partner doesn’t really love me or won’t want to stay with me. I want to get very close to my partner, and this sometimes scares people away

Answer 107

1) Avoidant - 20%

2) Secure - 60%

3) Anxious-resistant - 20%

Question 108

In the textbook section on whether or not early experiences influence adult attachment, the author notes that much of this research is based on retrospective recall from adults about their childhood

Questions you should ask yourself:
- Is this an experiment?
- Is this methodology open to bias?
- What might be a better way?

Answer 108

Answer other questions:

Last question: Longitudinal prospective work is now being done: E.g., Simpson, Collins, Tran, and Haydon (2007) found that attachment security, assessed in infancy in the strange situation, predicted peer competence in grades 1 to 3, which, in turn, predicted the quality of friendship relationships at age 16, which, in turn, predicted the expression of positive and negative emotions in their adult romantic relationships at ages 20 to 23.
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