Week 9: Emotional Development & Temperament Flashcards
How is emotions caused in humans?
A rapid appraisal of the personal significance of the situation, which prepares individuals for action.
How is emotional wellness critical to health?
Persistent psychological stress - manifested in anxiety, depressed mood, anger and irritability - is associated with a wide range of health impairments from infancy to adulthood
Are basic emotions universal in humans and other primates?
Yes, they have a long history of promoting survival ie. happiness, anger, sadness, surprise, fear, disgust, contempt
What function does happiness have in a baby’s life?
Happiness binds parent and child into a warm, supportive relationship that fosters infant’s emotional security and competence. During the early weeks, newborns smile when their needs are met (ie. feeling full). Between 6-10 weeks, parent evokes a broad grin, called “social smile”, which babies use to sustain pleasant interactions.
How do babies express anger?
Babies respond with generalised distress to a variety of unpleasant experiences (hunger, painful shots etc).
Does angry reactions increase with age?
Yes, because infants become capable of understanding intentional behaviour, and become better at identifying causes and consequences of events. They try to elicit desirable outcomes from caregivers.
What is stranger anxiety?
Infants and children expressing fear to unfamiliar adults.
What affects child’s expression of fear?
Temperament, attachment security and cultural differences in child rearing
Does fear decline with cognitive maturation?
Yes
What are self-conscious emotions?
A second, higher-order set of feelings, including guilt, shame, embarrassment, envy and pride. Involve enhancement of, or damage to one’s sense of self.
When does self-conscious emotion emerge?
At around 18-24 months when toddlers are firmly aware of the self as an independent, unique agent.
Does adolescence lead to the rise of self-conscious emotions?
Yes
How is the development of emotion regulation in infants?
By 4-6 months, babies are capable of shifting attention and engaging in self-soothing. More sensitive parents raise their babies to be less fussy, less fearful, and express more pleasant emotions. At around age 2 onwards, parents encourage self-awareness of internal states with language and mental representation.
How is the development of emotion regulation in early childhood?
With rapid gains in language ability, children can verbalise their feelings and actively control their feelings. Through conversations, parents guide the child to process their emotions and cope with distressing events with adaptive strategies.
How is the development of emotion regulation in adolescence?
Development increases in negative feelings and emotions tethered with negative self-evaluation. Coping strategies are either problem-focused coping or emotion-focused coping.
What is social referencing?
Relying on others’ emotional reaction to appraise an uncertain situation. Infants and young children look to their caregiver for ‘advice’ when faced with a difficult or uncertain situation and seek social cues to guide their own actions, and gather information about others’ intentions and preferences.
What is empathy?
The complex cognitive and affective capacity to detect different emotions in others; to take another’s emotional perspective; and to feel with that person or respond emotionally in a similar way
What promotes healthy development of empathy?
Secure emotional connections with the caregiver
What is empathy associated with?
Prosocial behaviours and altruism
What facilitates empathic concerns and feelings?
Schooling and responsive parenting styles
What factors influence the development of empathy?
- Theory of Mind development: Children’s social-cognitive understanding that other people’s mental states could be different
- Understanding the causes and consequences of events as relevant contexts of others’ emotions
- Verbal and non-verbal communication and language abilities
Milestones of emotional development (birth - 6 months) - Expression
Social smiles and laughter appear. More happiness when interacting with familiar others.
Milestones of emotional development (birth - 6 months) - Understanding
Detect caregiver’ emotions by matching the caregiver’s tone
Milestones of emotional development (7-12 months) - Expression
Anger and fear increase, begin to regulate emotions
Milestones of emotional development (7-12 months) - Understanding
Detect the meaning of other’s emotional signals. Engage in social referencing.
Milestones of emotional development (1-2 years) - Expression
Self conscious emotions emerge. Use language to assist with emotional regulation
Milestones of emotional development (1-2 years) - Understanding
Begins to appreciate other’s emotional reactions being different from their own. Displays empathy
Milestones of emotional development (3-6 years) - Expression
Self conscious emotions are clearly linked to self evaluation. Active strategies for emotional regulation.
Milestones of emotional development (3-6 years) - Understanding
Understanding causes, consequences, and behavioural signs of emotions. Empathy becomes more reflective.
Milestones of emotional development (7-11 years) - Expression
Self conscious emotions are integrated with inner standards. Choose between problem vs emotion focused coping.
Milestones of emotional development (7-11 years) - Understanding
Can reconcile conflicting cues. Aware of other’s mixed feelings. Increases in empathy.
What is temperament?
Early appearing, stable individual differences in reactivity and self-regulation. Believed to be the cornerstone of the adult personality.
What is reactivity?
Quickness and intensity of emotional arousal, attention and motor action
What is self-regulation?
Strategies that modify reactivity.
Characteristics of an easy child
Regular biological rhythms; generally happy and cheerful; adapts easily to new experiences.
Characteristics of a difficult child
Highly irritable; has irregular biological rhythms; slow to accept new experiences; and tends to react negatively and intensely; higher risk for adjustment problems
Characteristics of a slow to warm up child
Is inactive; shows mild, low-key reactions to environmental stimuli; reluctant/hesitant in new situations
Dimensions of temperament (reactivity: 5 & self-regulation: 1)
- Activity level
- Attention span
- Fearful distress
- Irritable distress
- Positive affect
- Effortful control
4 types of assessment of temperament
- Parent Interviews
- Laboratory Observations
- Physiological Measures
- fMRI brain imaging & EEG waves
How are parent interviews conducted?
Qualitative and quantitative assessments are integrated based on parents’ naturalistic interactions with the child and repeated observations at home
How are laboratory observations conducted?
Standardised, controlled procedure to expose the child to a set of novel objects and people and record behavioural and emotional responses.
What are the physiological differences between shy and sociable children under socially challenging situations?
- Heart Rate
- Cortisol Concentration
- Pupil dilation
- Blood pressure
- Cooling of fingertips
What does the Goodness of Fit Model propose?
That temperament and environment together can produce favourable developmental outcomes
