Processing Affect 1

Question 1

What is the history of literature on infants affective capacities?

Answer 1

Little known about human infant’s affective capacities until the 1970s & 1980s = recognised
Intersubjective basis of attachment by Bowlby (1969) and Ainsworth (1978)

Long time = theorised that empathy has a role in development (Darwin, 1871). It is an emotional bridge between organism + the environment (Freud, 1938).

Idea that infants are socially sensitive = Infant sensory apparatus = highly receptive to stimuli from social world (i.e., social fittedness; MacFarlane, 1975) + Experience-expectant (Narvaez et al., 2013)

Question 2

What is affective communication?

Answer 2

Trevathen (1974) = 2-3mths babies. Mothers spoke with the children and videoed the interactions. Infants were leading the conversations = mothers were reacting to baby’s rhythm.

Question 3

Why are babies good at affective communication?

Answer 3

pre-equipped for dyadic co-ordinated interaction (Feldman & Eidelman, 2007) Babies = primed for social interaction.

Some level of contingency is likely to precede birth (Feldman, 2007) = synchrony of the heartbeats of the mother and child

Cross-cultural phenomenon (Borstein et al., 2015) = generalisability

Question 4

How many modes of interactions do babies have in affective communication? (trevathen, 1974)

Answer 4

2

Mode 1 = object
Mode 2 = people (more lively, significant)

Different modes = diff. interactions

Question 5

What is the importance of studies looking affective communication?

Answer 5

Emphasises the importance of synchrony and resonance. Identifies it happens very early on.

Suggests it might be the basis of communication bc non-verbal communication evidence shows a foundation for later skills.

Question 6

How is the parent socially fitted to communicate w/ their infant?

Answer 6

Parenting with a caregiving network = occurs unconsciously caused by plasticity in parent brain. This made prominent when a person become a parent.

Increase in empathy in the parental brain = good for synchrony + resonance

Adults reward centre (nucleus accumbens) becomes highly sensitive to stimuli from their infant = crying sound is a highly salient motivational signal + increase activity in the brain to act.

Question 7

What is intersubjectivity?

Answer 7

Infant’s ability to engage in dyadic, affectively charged exchanges and interactions with other people (i.e., “proto-conversations”; Trevarthen, 1979)

When two people connect and interact - effective communication.

Question 8

How do children learn how to self-regulate?

Answer 8

dyadic relationship = learn how to regulate

learn how to self-regulate through the relationship

Question 9

True or false

Synchrony can only be seen in humans

Answer 9

False - can be seen in animals e.g dolphins

Question 10

What is synchrony?

Answer 10

When connecting with a person = a shift in state of consciousness. From single to dyadic state of consciousness.

An overarching process that co-ordinates the
ongoing exchanges of sensory, hormonal, and
physiological stimuli between parent and child
social interactions…” (Feldman, 2007, p. 340)

motor activity
body sensation
emotion
cognition

Question 11

What happened in Paladino et al. (2010)

Answer 11

P = sitting in front of the screen + research is brushed face. Another person on the screen is being brushed in/out of synchrony w/ their face being brushed.

Findings:
When in synchrony, P feels similar/ close emotionally/ physically to the person on the screen. ‘like me’ effect.

Did it w/ babies = hours after birth like synchrony.

Question 12

What happened in Cirelli et al. (2014)?

Answer 12

Shows when synchrony w/ adult = more prosocial and likely to help them

No asynchronouns = no help

Question 13

What are relational fields?

Answer 13

attraction
splitting
re-forming

Question 14

What is reparation?

Answer 14

mismatch of meanings/ intentions
messiness = breaks in connections

Can parents have the ability to bring back the synchrony.

Question 15

What is the importance of reparation?

Answer 15

Can change a slightly fearful state into security = important to build other qualities e.g trust/ resilience

Question 16

What does research show about synchrony involving breaks and rests?

Answer 16

Synchrony = element of chaos + unpredictability (messiness)

Best functioning mother-infant dyads =
in synchrony ~28-34% of the time
(Harris & Waugh, 2002)

Question 17

Is messiness in relationships important?

Answer 17

Breaks are important and need to be sensitively supported bc individual needs to get out of connectivness but can increase states of fear shown through heart rate (e.g Haley et al., 2003)

Question 18

What are the different qualities of fear?

Answer 18

Sympathetic ANS = high energy intersubjective field of psychobiological attainment, rupture and interactive repair

Parasympathetic ANS = low energy intersubjective field of psychobiological attainment, rupture and interactive repair (deeper, profound fear)

Question 19

Name evidence about the repair of mistakes (messiness)

Answer 19

Repair of mistakes in face-to-face interactions with infants occurs= 3-5s (Tronick & Cohn, 1989)

Delay in interactive repair by the parent is linked to infant cortisol reactivity (Müller et al., 2015) = Self-comforting is positively related to cortisol reactivity = ineffective in making them secure.

– Maternal touch can lower an infant’s heart rate during arousal (Calkins & Hall, 2007)
– Parent engagement and infant expectations (Kogan & Carter, 1996)

Question 20

Why is co-regulation important?

Answer 20

Critical in child-caregiver = dyads given long term development of neural system
– Neocortical regions can alter limbic activity (Hariri et al., 2000)
– Immaturity is likely to heighten children’s
vulnerability to environmental influences. prefrontal cortex = regulate the amygdala and limbic system.

Question 21

What happened in Gee et al.’s study (2014) and how does it show co-regulation is important?

Answer 21

Children = presented w/ pictures of mother/ a stranger during fMRI scanning

Results:
Lower amygdala reactivity response = own Mother’s image when the child knowns the mother is next to them
Dampening effect = strength of parent-child relationship
Adolescence = not as affected as children.

Question 22

Describe emotional regulation

Answer 22

Parent emotionally available
shared affect affects stress reactivity
infant inoculation and growth

Question 23

What is the input of development?

Answer 23

Synchrony
intimacy, trust, security
coherence

Physiology & Emotion Regulation = Feldman et al. (1999)

Attachment = Isabella et al. (1989)

Social engagement = Cirelli et al. (2014)

Symbolism = Feldman & Greenbaum (1997

Question 24

What is the input of development?

Answer 24

Physiology & Emotion Regulation = Feldman et al. (1999)

Attachment = Isabella et al. (1989)

Social engagement = Cirelli et al. (2014)

Symbolism = Feldman & Greenbaum (1997

Question 25

Why is language important in synchrony?

Answer 25

parents use language to mirror internal state = Lieberman et al., 2007)
“Oh that was scary, wasn’t it?”
“You feel the pain in the song, don’t you honey?”
“You’re tired, you’ve had a busy day!”

Understanding = Enactment & verbal communication of affective themes
– Feeling and its portrayal
– Words come to symbolise experience

Question 26

True or false?

Synchrony is a directional process of reciprocity.

Answer 26

False - Synchrony is a relational process of reciprocity + being-with = Supports brain & body
- Implicit knowledge (Tronick & Beeghly, 2011)
–Self-formation (e.g., Emde, 1983)