Emotional Development

Question 1

Feeling, or affect, that occurs when a person is in a state or an interaction that is important to him or her, especially to his or her well-being

Answer 1

Emotion

Question 2

In ** infancy**, emotions have two important roles:

Answer 2

1. Communication with others

Through emotions, infants communicate important aspects of their lives such as joy, sadness, interest, and fear

2. Behavioral organization

Emotions influence children’s social responses and adaptive behavior as they interact with others in their world

Question 3

Psychologists classify the broad range of emotions in many ways, but almost all classifications designate an emotion as either:

Answer 3

Positive or Negative

Question 4

Emotions are influenced by:

Answer 4

• Biological foundations
• Cognitive processes
• Person’s experiences

Question 5

_____ has endowed human beings with the capacity to be emotional, but _____ and _____ provide diversity in emotional experiences

Answer 5

• Biological evolution

Cultural embeddedness and relationships with others

Question 6

How is emotion adaptive?

Answer 6

• It helps individuals live more competent, enriching lives
• They can be regulated to not interfere with daily functioning and relationships

Question 7

• It consists of effectively managing arousal to adapt to circumstances and to reach a goal
• It is involved in many aspects of children’s and adolescents’ development

Answer 7

Emotion Regulation

Question 8

It involves a state of alertness or activation, which can reach levels that are too high for effective functioning.

Ex: Anger often requires regulation.

Answer 8

Arousal

Question 9

In infancy and early childhood, regulation of emotion gradually shifts from _____ to _____.

Answer 9

External sources to self-initiated, internal sources

Question 10

Emotion-coaching vs Emotion-dismissing

Answer 10

EMOTION COACHING

Parents monitor their children’s emotions, view their children’s negative emotions as opportunities for teaching, assist them in labeling emotions, and coach them in how to deal effectively with emotions

EMOTION DISMISSING

Parents view their role as to deny, ignore, or change negative emotions.

Question 11

• Emotions that are present in humans and other animals
• Emerge early in life, and are culturally universal;

Joy, anger, sadness, fear, and disgust

Answer 11

Primary Emotions

Question 12

Emotions that require consciousness and a sense of “me”;

Empathy, jealousy, embarrassment, pride, shame, and guilt

Answer 12

Self-conscious emotions

Question 13

When do self-conscious emotions emerge?

Answer 13

Most appear at some point after 18 months of age when a sense of self becomes consolidated in toddlers

Researchers debate about how early in the infant and toddler years these self-conscious emotions first appear and what their sequence is

Question 14

When do primary emotions appear?

Answer 14

Appear in the first 6 months of life

Question 15

It is the _______ of the infant brain that makes it unlikely that emotions requiring thought can be expressed during the first year

Answer 15

Structural immaturity

Question 16

How are emotional interactions between infants and caregivers mutually regulated and reciprocal?

Answer 16

• The ability of infants to communicate emotions permits coordinated interactions with their caregivers and the beginning of an emotional bond between them
• Infants also modify their emotional expressions in response to their parents’ emotional expressions, and vice versa

Question 17

Babies’ first forms of emotional communication:

Answer 17

1. Crying

Crying is the most important mechanism newborns have for communicating with their world.

2. Smiling

Smiling is critical as a means of developing a new social skill and is a key social signal

Question 18

A rhythmic pattern that usually consists of a cry, followed by a briefer silence, then a shorter high pitched inspiratory whistle, then another brief rest before the next cry.

Answer 18

Basic Cry

Usually incited because of hunger

Question 19

• A variation of the basic cry in which more excess air is forced through the vocal cords
• Loud and harsh; like shouting

Answer 19

Anger cry

Question 20

A sudden long, initial loud cry followed by breath holding; no preliminary moaning is present.

Answer 20

Pain cry

Usually aroused by high-intensity stimulus

Question 21

A smile that does not occur in response to external stimuli and appears during the first month after birth, usually during sleep

Answer 21

Reflexive smile

Question 22

A smile that occurs in response to an external stimulus, typically a face in the case of the young infant.

Answer 22

Social smile

Question 23

When does social smile first appear? Responding to?

Answer 23

As early as 4-6 weeks of age in response to caregiver’s voice

Question 24

One of a baby’s earliest emotions is fear, which typically first appears at about (a). _____ and peaks at about (b). _____. However, abused and neglected infants can show fear as early as (c). ______

Answer 24

(a). 6 months

(b). 18 months

(c). 3 months

Question 25

- The most frequent expression of an infant’s fear involves _____, in which an infant shows a **fear and wariness of strangers** - Emerges gradually—appears at **6 months**, intensifying at **9 months**

Answer 25

Stranger anxiety

Question 26

When do infants show **less stranger anxiety**?

Answer 26

Infants show less stranger anxiety when they are in **familiar settings**. It appears that when infants **feel secure**, they are less likely to show stranger anxiety.

Question 27

Infants experience fear of being **separated from their caregivers**. It is **crying** when caregiver leaves. - Initially displayed by infants at approximately **7 to 8 months** and peaks at about **15 months**

Answer 27

Separation protest

Question 28

During the first year of life, the infant gradually develops an ability to _____ the **intensity and duration of emotional reactions**

Answer 28

Inhibit/Minimize

Question 29

Before infants learn to self-soothe through **thumbsucking**, what do they depend on at first?

Answer 29

Infants mainly **depend on caregivers** to help them **soothe their emotions**

Question 30

What do infants do in order to **reduce their arousal**?

Answer 30

They **redirect their attention** or **distract themselves**

Question 31

By **2 years of age**, toddlers can use _____ to **define their feeling states** and the **context that is upsetting them**

Answer 31

Language

Question 32

_____ can influence emotion regulation. *Infants are often affected by fatigue, hunger, time of day, the people who are around them, and where they are.*

Answer 32

**Contexts** *Infants **must learn to adapt to different contexts** that require emotion regulation*

Question 33

Refers to **individual differences** in how quickly the emotion is shown, how strong it is, how long it lasts, and how soon it fades away

Answer 33

Temperament

Question 34

A child that is generally in a **positive mood**, quickly establishes **regular routines in infancy**, and adapts easily to new experiences

Answer 34

Easy Child

Question 35

A child that **reacts negatively** and **cries frequently**, engages in **irregular daily routines**, and is **slow to accept change**

Answer 35

Difficult child

Question 36

A child that has **low activity level**, is **somewhat negative**, and **displays a low intensity of mood**

Answer 36

Slow-to-warm-up child

Question 37

Beginning at about **7 to 9 months**, these children **react to many aspects of unfamiliarity** with **initial avoidance, distress, or subdued affect**

Answer 37

Inhibition to the unfamiliar

Question 38

- Often begins to characterize **caregiver-infant interactions** when the infant is about **2 to 3 months of age**. - Results in part from many **mothers’ motivation** to create a **positive emotional state** in their infants

Answer 38

Face-to-face play

Question 39

- Newly developed self-produced _____ allow the infant to **independently initiate social interchanges** on a more frequent basis - Consequently influences infant’s **push for independence**

Answer 39

Locomotor skills

Question 40

_____ and _____ help the infant to understand that **other people have intentions**

Answer 40

**Joint attention** - occurs when the caregiver and infant **focus on the same object or event**. **Gaze following**

Question 41

_____ with others also is a key aspect of effectively engaging with others in the social world

Answer 41

Cooperating

Question 42

The term used to describe **“reading” emotional cues** in others to help determine **how to act in a specific situation**.

Answer 42

**Social referencing** * The development of social referencing helps infants to **interpret ambiguous situations** more accurately*

Question 43

Attachment theories**

Answer 43

**Freud**: noted that infants become attached to the person or object that provides **oral satisfaction** **Erikson**: Physical comfort establishes trust **Bowlby**: **biologically equipped** to elicit attachment behavior

Question 44

Four Phases of Attachment:

Answer 44

**From birth to 2 months**: Infants instinctively direct their attachment to **human figures**. **From 2 months to 7 months**: Attachment becomes focused on **one figure, usually the primary caregiver**, as the baby gradually learns to distinguish familiar from unfamiliar people. **From 7 to 24 months:** **Specific attachments** develop **24 months onward**: Children **become aware of other people’s feelings** and take these into account

Question 45

- Use the caregiver as a secure base from which to explore the environment. - When the caregiver departs, infants might protest mildly, and when the caregiver returns these infants reestablish positive interaction with her, perhaps by smiling or climbing onto her lap.

Answer 45

Securely attached children

Question 46

- Show insecurity by avoiding the mother - engage in little interaction with the caregiver, are not distressed when she leaves the room, usually do not reestablish contact with her on her return, and may even turn their back on her

Answer 46

Insecure avoidant children

Question 47

- often cling to the caregiver and then resist her by fighting against the closeness, perhaps by kicking or pushing away. - When the caregiver leaves, they often cry loudly and push away if she tries to comfort them on her return, then want to be held again

Answer 47

Insecure resistant/ambivalent children

Question 48

- these babies might appear dazed, confused, and fearful - babies must show strong patterns of avoidance and resistance or display certain specified behaviors, such as extreme fearfulness around the caregiver

Answer 48

Insecure disorganized children

Question 49

Developmental Social Neuroscience and Attachment

Answer 49

In sum, it is likely that a number of brain regions, neurotransmitters, and hormones are involved in the development of infant-mother attachment. Key candidates for influencing this attachment are connections between the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hypothalamus; the nucleus accumbens; and the neuropeptide oxytocin and the neurotransmitter dopamine.