Exam #2 Emotions

Question 1

facial expressions

Answer 1

powerful tool for expressing emotions
evolutionary roots for communication
young neonates are able to imitate adult facial expressions of basic emotions:
happiness, fear, anger, disgust, sadness and surprise

Question 2

positive emotions

Answer 2

smile
first month = reflex response
2-3motnhs = social smiles to people - first emotional mielston
7th moth = familiar people, encourage interaction and bonding

Question 3

happiness

Answer 3

by 2nd month - product of child controlling event

Question 4

laughing

Answer 4

by 3rd and 4th month - during activities
about 12 months - unexpected events
2nd year - own behavior, trying to elicit laugh from others

Question 5

negative emotions

Answer 5

undifferentiated distress early in life
generalized distress
- newborns: hunger, pain, over-stimulation

Question 6

anger

Answer 6

early instances - restraint, loss of an interesting toy, absence of caregiver
increases with age
effective at getting attention

Question 7

sadness

Answer 7

first few months - seen in response to pain
less common than anger
- more common in the disturbed parent-child relationship
- extreme separation: Romanian orphans

Question 8

fear and distress

Answer 8

fear - develops with motor capabilities, using social referencing
6 months to 2 years = fear of strangers
- fear response to unfamiliar adults
- emerges at 6-7 months and peaks 8-10 months, declines over 2nd year
- intensity varies by child, culture and experience

Question 9

separation anxiety

Answer 9

fear of being away from caregiver
- appears at 1 year and peaks between 13-15 months
- declines during preschool years
- intensity varies by culture, individual child, and experience (attachment relationship)

Question 10

self-conscious emotions

Answer 10

embarrassment, pride, guilt, and shame
- self-awareness, awareness of reactions of others
embarrassment - 15-24 months old
pride, guilt and shame don’t happen until 3 years at earliest

Question 11

disgust

Answer 11

facial display at birth
adult-like stimuli - not evident until 3 years
- will eat almost anything
- no aversion to human waste products
relatively sudden onset
- biologically timed
- requires learning (varies by culture)

Question 12

emotional regulation

Answer 12

• adjust emotional state or comfort level
• vary level of intensity
• enable us to achieve a goal
• control emotions

Question 13

infant emotional control

Answer 13

• limited capacity
• get attention: depend on caregiver for soothing

Question 14

early childhood emotional control

Answer 14

language allows communication with caregiver
develop new strategies - distractions, shift activity
emotional outbursts decrease
- parents encourage children to “use words”

Question 15

middle-late childhood

Answer 15

develop strategies by age 10
social support - seek out friends
distraction
redefine situation
problem-solving

Question 16

influences on emotional regulation

Answer 16

cultural differences
- american are described as “emotionally explosive” other countries emphasize emotional regulation more
temperament
- early emerging individual differences
parent-child interaction
- parents talk to children directly

Question 17

EQ

Answer 17

Abilities key to competent social functioning
Predicts how people do in life (better than IQ)
Motivate oneself
Persistence
Impulse control
Delay gratification
Identify own feelings
Identify others’ feelings
Regulate mood
Regulate emotions
Empathy

Question 18

delayed gratification/ impulse control - Mishcel

Answer 18

• marshmallow test
• children most effective at delay of gratification task re-direct their attention by talking to themselves, signing or making up games

Question 19

temperament overview

Answer 19

individual differences in behavior functioning
emerge early
biologically based
somewhat stable over time
basis for more complex personality characteristics

Question 20

NY longitudinal study of temperament (chess and thomas)

Answer 20

• first major study of temperament as reactionary to behaviorism
• detailed clinical interivews with mothes from birth on 141 participants

Question 21

Chess and thomas: identified 9 dimensions of temperament

Answer 21

Mood - predominant quality, positive or negative
Approach/withdrawal - response to novelty, bold vs shy
Adaptability - response to environmental changes, roll with the punches vs slow to acclimate
Intensity - the strength of emotional reactions, extreme highs, and lows vs mellow
Rhythm - regularity of biological cycles, predictable vs unpredictable
Persistence - response to challenges and obstacles, give up vs keeps at it
Threshold- sensitivity to stimulation, notice vs don’t notice small changes
Activity - the proportion of time active vs inactive, can’t sit still vs physically calm
Distractibility - ability to focus attention, notice every distraction vs extreme concentration

Question 22

temperament type: easy 40%

Answer 22

Positive mood
regular/rhythmic in body functions
Adaptable
Reactions mild to moderate intensity

Question 23

temperament type: difficult 10%

Answer 23

negative mood
active
irregular/rhytmic
unadaptable
withdraw from novelty
very intense emotional relations

Question 24

temperament type: slow to warm up 15%

Answer 24

withdraw from novelty
slow to adatp
reactions mild to moderate intensity
low in activity

Question 25

average 35%

Answer 25

not particularly high or low on any dimensions

Question 26

Chess and Thomas criticisms

Answer 26

“halo” effects - observers’ earlier perceptions of the subjects may have influenced their subsequent ratings
- parent interviews primary method of data collection: social desirability bias, negative bias

Question 27

Kagan’s theory

Answer 27

Outgoing and shy are primary ends of spectrum
Examine how children response to novelty - using novel mobile and measuring levels of distress
Low reactive - low motor activity, low fretting
Distressed - low motor activity, high fretting
Aroused - high motor activity, low fretting
High reactive - high motor activity, high fretting

Question 28

current measuring temperament

Answer 28

Parent questionnaires
laboratory/observational measures
Physiological measures - hearth rate, cortisol and brain activity