Chapter 7 Flashcards
Basic emotions (6)
- happiness
- sadness
- anger
- fear
- disgust
- surprise
3 elements of emotions
- subjective feeling
- physiological change (body temp, heart rate, muscle tensing, respiration)
- overt behaviour (emotional expression; observable reactions)
Complex/self-conscious emotions
- Shame
- Embarrassment
- Guilt
- Pride
- Envy
Expression of happiness in infants
- babies smile from birth
- social smile at 6-10 weeks
- laughter at 3-4 months (only w rly obvious stimuli at first)
- by 5-8 months infants learn to independently asses what is funny
Expression of anger and sadness in infants
- general distress can be expressed from birth
- anger: 4-6months
- sadness: response to disrupted caregiver-infant communication
Expression of fear in infants
- first fears develop 6 months - 1 year
- stranger anxiety is most common and develops around 6mo
Complex emotions in children
- appear between 8-12 months
- shame, embarrassment, guilt, pride, envy
- require self-awareness and adult instruction
Emotion recognition in infants
- 6-7 month olds can recognize different emotions
- infants often match own emotions to other’s emotions
- Social referencing: looking to trusted person for emotional cues
Regulating emotions
- begins in infancy, starts by physically blocking out stimulus (eg covering eyes or ears)
- develop better strategies around 4-6 months, continues to improve over 1st year
- requires effortful control!
- caregivers contribute to child’s self-regulation style
- prefrontal cortex plays a role
Facial expressions in infants
around 5-6 months, infants’ facial expressions change predictably and meaningfully in response to events
Attachment
enduring social-emotional relationship
Growth of attachment
- attachment elicits caregiving behaviours from adults
- by 6-7 months, infant has a single attachment figure (primary caregiver)
- there is attachment with other parent too, but they play different roles
Bowlby’s Ethological Theory
- theory that recognizes the infant’s emotional tie to caregiver as an evolved response that promotes survival
- most widely accepted view
- 4 phases: preattachment phase, attachment-in-the-making phase, clear-cut attachment phase, formation of a reciprocal relationship
Preattachment Phase
- first phase of Bowlby’s Ethological Theory
- birth to 6 weeks
- built-in signals help bring infants into close contact with other humans
- can recognize mother’s smell, voice, and face, but are not yet attached to her
“Attachment-in-the-making” Phase
- second phase of Bowlby’s Ethological Theory
- 6 weeks to 6-8 months
- respond differently to familiar caregiver vs stranger
- develop sense of trust
- do not protest when separated from caregiver
“Clear-cut” Attachment Phase
- third phase of Bowlby’s Ethological Theory
- 6-8 months to 18-24 months
- attachment to familiar caregiver
- separation anxiety (depends on situation and temperment, need to have mastered object permanence)
Formation of a Reciprocal Relationship
- fourth and final phase of Bowlby’s Ethological Theory
- 18-24 months and on
- understand factors influencing parent coming and going and predict return
- separation protest declines
- negotiation w caregiver (uses requests and persuasion to alter goals)
Strange Situation Experiment
- Mary Ainsworth
- 8 3-minute stages with infant in playroom with different combinations of caregiver and stranger or being left alone
- measures quality of attachment
Secure Attachment Style
- I’m ok, you’re ok
- 70%
- parent is connected and attuned to child’s emotional and physical needs
- when child grows up they can build meaningful and loving relationships and show empathy and trust
- SSE: shows distress when separated from mother, is avoidant of stranger unless accompanied by mother, is happy to see mother after experiment
Ambivalent Attachment Style
- I’m not ok, you’re ok
- 10-15%
- parent is inconsistent and sometimes intrusive
- when adult, they become anxious, insecure, unpredictable and erratic; have tendency to blame others, want intimacy but push people away
- SSE: intense distress when separated from mother, significant fear of stranger, approach mother but reject contact after separation
Avoidant Attachment Style
- I’m ok, you’re not ok
- 15%
- parent is unavailable or rejecting for long periods of time
- when adult they avoid closeness or emotional connection
- SSE: show no interest when separated from mother, play happily with stranger, ignore mother after separation
Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment Style
- I’m not ok, you’re not ok
- less than 15% or less than 4%
- parent ignores or is not able to see or meet child’s needs, parent behaviour is frightening or abusive
- when adult they are chaotic, insensitive, prone to outbursts, untrusting while craving security
- SSE: inconsistent behaviours
Secure vs insecure attachment findings
- secure children have higher-quality friendships and fewer conflicts
- secure children less likely to have behaviour problems
- 11 year olds that were secure as infants had better social skills
- probably a relationship between secure attachment and emotional intelligence
Onset of peer interactions
- begins around 6 months w nonsocial play (play alone or watch others)
- parallel play around 12 months (play next to others, pay attention to what they do)
- simple social play around 15-18 months (engage in similar activities, talk to each other, share toys)
- cooperative play around 24 months (imaginary scripts; games like hide and seek)