Infancy Chapter 6

Socioemotional Development Emotions- feeling, or affect, that occurs when a person is in a state or an interaction that is important Positive or negative Biological but also embedded in relationships and culture .... Providing diversity in emotional experiences Primary - early on... Like joy, anger, sadness, fear Self-conscious - Self-Awareness, with a sense of 'me"....jealousy, empathy and embarrassment

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Infant communication of emotions Permits coordinated interactions with caregivers Beginning of emotional bond Mutually Regulated (reciprocal or synchronous) Parents change emotional expressions in response to infants Infants modify their emotional expression in response to parents

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Crying (most important communication) Basic Cry - Rhythmic pattern Anger Cry - Variation of the basic cry Pain Cry- Sudden long Smiling (key social signal) Reflexive - not in response to stimuli Social smile- in response to an external stimulus

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Fear - (typically appears around 6 months) But can appear as early as 3 months in abused or neglected infants Research - infant fear is linked to guild, empathy, and low aggression at 6-7 years of age.

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Stranger Anxiety (frequent expression of fear) Fear and wariness of strangers Usually about 6-12 months Less when in familiar setting Less fearful of child strangers Less fearful of friendly, outgoing, smiling strangers

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Separation Anxiety Fear of being separated from caregivers 6-12 months Separation protest - crying when the caregiver leaves

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Emotional Regulation- infant gradually develops an ability to inhibit, or minimize, the intensity and duration of emotional reactions Thumb sucking Caregivers soothing, such as rocking, lullabies, stroking Influencing infants' regulation of emotions Sooner the better

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Research - Spoiling cannot happen in first year. Parents should soothe a crying infant Helping infant develop a sense of trust and secure attachment to the caregiver

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Temperament-individual differences in behavioral styles, emotions, and characteristic ways of responding How quickly the emotion is shown, How strong it is How long it lasts, how quickly it fades away

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Temperament (Chess and Thomas' Classification) - moderately stable across childhood years. Easy child -generally positive, adapts easily Difficult child - generally negative, cries frequently, slow to accept change Slow-to-warm-up child- low activity level, somewhat negative, low intensity of mood

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Biological Foundations, Kagan...... Children inherit a particular type of temperament Through experience they may learn to modify their temperament to some degree

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Gender and Temperament Shapes environmental context that influences temperament Parental reactions may be different for boys vs girls Culture and Temperament May vary with parents from different groups Childs environment can encourage or discourage the persistence of temperament characteristics

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Goodness of Fit and Parenting- Refers to the match between a child's temperament and the environmental demands with which the child must cope Active child in quiet environment Slow to warm child in a new environment .... Can cause parenting challenges

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Parenting and the Child's Temperament" Attention to and respect for individuality Structuring the Child's environment Understanding 'difficult child' Be sensitive to the individual characteristics of the child Be flexible in responding to these characteristics Avoid apply negative label to the child (avoiding self- fulfilling prophecy)

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Personality Development Personality--the enduring personal characteristics of individuals Emotions and temperament form key aspects of personality Trust (Eriksons. Trust vs Mistrust) Developing Sense of Self. (Self recognition and self- awareness) Independence (autonomy vs. shame)

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Social Orientation Face-to-face play - linked to secure attachment Interaction with peers (18-24 months) - increase their imitative and reciprocal play

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Locomotion Influences exploration and expanding social world Allows more independent social interchanges The rewards from these pursuits lead to further efforts to explore and develop skills

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Social referencing Reading emotional cues in others to help determine how to act in a particular situation By end of second year... They tend to check with their mother before the act

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Attachment A close emotional bond between two people Securely attached babies-caregiver is a secure base to explore the environment Insecure avoidant babies-show insecurity by avoiding the caregiver (clinging anxiously or resisting, Insecure disorganized babies-show insecurity by begin disorganized and disoriented (dazed, confused, extreme fearful)- stronger avoidance and resistance

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships The Family Constellation of subsystems (Generational, Gender, Role) Father and child Mother and father Mother, father, child Etc. All with reciprocal influences

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships The Family Transition to Parenthood Disequilibrium and adaptation New family effects on attachments Other friends Careers Each other Own interests etc

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Reciprocal Socialization- mutual influence that parents and children exert on each other Socialization that is bidirectional Children socialize parents Parents socialize children

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Scaffolding- A type of Reciprocal Socialization Practice in which parents time interactions so that infants experience turn taking with parents Parental behavior support the child with positive reciprocal feedback Skill building Peek-a-boo, pat-a cake, etc

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Managing and Guiding Behavior To reduce or eliminate undesirable behaviors Includes, child-proofing the environment And corrective methods such as throwing objects, fussing, crying Diverting Attention, reasoning, ignoring, negotiating Harsh physical punishment can be harmful and progressive

Emotional Expression and Social Relationships Child Care (economic issues0 Quality child care can be achieved and seems to have few adverse effects on children. Safe environments, with age appropriate toys and activities Low caregiver-to child ratio Research - Higher-quality child care. Was linked with fewer problems in children