Chapter 10 part 1: emotion and temperament Flashcards
Infant Emotion
Studies show that infants have BASIC EMOTIONS
Set of emotions present at birth, that
develop during the first year, believed to be biologically programmed
Newborns can display emotions such as interest, disgust, distress, and contentment
2 to 7 months
babies begin to show anger, sadness, joy, surprise, and fear
Emotion regulation
Babies begin to regulate their emotions from birth
Ex: an overstimulated newborn turns away or sucks on a pacifier
Babies begin to learn the rules of
displaying emotions right away (which emotions are acceptable to show and which are not)
Emotion contagion
Tendency of emotional cue of one person to trigger similar emotion in
another
Studies show that infants respond to the emotions of others
Attunement
Emotional responsiveness
Social referencing
Using emotional cues to get information about environment in uncertain situations
About 7-10 months
Complex emotions
Self-conscious or self-evaluative emotions that depend on cognitive development and SOCIAL
REFERENCING
Embarrassment, shame, guilt, envy, and pride
2 years old
Temperament
A child’s “disposition”: tendency to react
Inherited personality traits present in early childhood
Thomas and Chess
9 dimensions of infant temperament
Child scores high, medium, or low on each dimension
Buss & Plomin
Activity level, sociability, emotionality
3 Temperamental Styles
Easy temperament
Difficult temperament
Slow-to-warm-up temperament
Interactionist Model for temperament: nature and nurture
Nature:
- Traits are innate
- Heritability of temperaments and personality
Nurture:
- Traits are reinforced, punished, frustrated, or channeled by the environment
Goodness of Fit
Degree to which a child’s temperament is compatible with his/her environment; parent-child temperament match
High G of Fit: high compatibility
Leads to better developmental outcomes
Poor G of Fit: low compatibility
Leads to poor developmental outcomes
