what is the purpose of emotions
helps humans adapt to their environment
What are the functions of emotions
fear = protect us from danger
- fight or flight/freeze
-body reaction to false alarm (perception)
happiness = strengthen social relationships
-we will be more likely to engage in social conversation
disgust = prevent exposure to potential harm substance that can make us ill
What are the basic emotions
they are universal, subjectif feeling:
- Interest
- Disgust
- Sadness
- Fear
What are the early emotional milestones
2 to 3 months: babies start to smile in response to your smile
6 months: stranger wariness develops
later childhood : complex emotions appear
What is stranger wariness
fear of strangers
What are the complex emotions that children develop
embarrassment, pride, guilt
they are more related to self consciousness
more on experience and expressing emotions for kids 9 years and up
at 9 yrs , they experience relief and regret
children experience many emotions in response to situations . eg. fear
emotions and cultural influences
cultures can trigger emotions differently
emotional expression varies : eg. asian culture value emotional restraint aka keeping emotions in and not overly expressing them
recognition and use of emotion
4 to 6 months: is when you can start to identify facial expressions linked to emotions (social referencing)
in elementary school, kids understand that we experience mixed emotions
What is social referencing
Relying on caregiver cues to interpret unfamiliar situations.
Looking at surrounding peoples emotions to interpret your emotions.
Regulating emotions
- Before infants looked away when they encounter something frightening or confusing.
- they will also move closer to parent for protection and effort
- eventually they rely less on others and starts to regulate their own emotions
What is poor regulation of emotions linked to
Peer interaction challenges
Adjustment diffuclties
What is temperament
- behavioural styles that are fairly stable across situations
- they are also biologically based
What are the patterns of temperament
According to Thomas and Chess, the patterns were established based off 9 dimensions .
Easy
Difficult
Slow to warm up
- they looked at biological based behavioural styles and consistency across the situations :
Easy babies
Most common
- usually happy,
- cheerful,
- adjusted well in new situation,
- had regular routines for sleep, ear, toileting
Difficult babies
less common
- unhappy,
- irregular in routines (eating and sleeping)
- responded intensely to unfamiliar situation
Slow to warm up babies
also less common
- A bit like difficult babies (often unhappy) but they were not upset by unfamiliar situations
- they were only cautious with low activity level
Temperament and hereditary influences
twin studies : identical twins are more alike in most aspects of temperament than fraternal
genetic impact varies by dimension and age
Environmental contributions for temperament on genetics and biology
Parents behavior
genetic effects can be amplified
temperament can make children more environmentally susceptible
Stability of temperament
- moderately stable through infancy but it is more consistent in preschool
- inhibited toddlers are most likely to become introverts as adults (they respond more strongly to unfamiliar stimuli)
- However, research reveals that temperament is not related to adult personality
Children with positive temperamment
they tend to be less affected by life stressors
What is attachment
enduring social-emotional relationship between infant and parent
- relies upon the infant growing perceptual and cognitive skills
Western societal pattern
7 months : infants have identified a single attachment figure ( primary attachment figure)
- Usually first attach to mothers, then to fathers
- they prefer to play with fathers but prefer mothers for comfort
Indigenous fathers involvement in attachments
showed challenges due to the disruption of “colonial interventions”, requiring culturally sensitive approach to overcoming difficulties in relationships with their children
