Socioemotional Development in Infancy Chapter 6

EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT Basic emotions, such as happiness, interest, surprise, fear, anger, sadness, and disgust, are directly inferred from facial expressions. An emotion or affect that can involve physiological arousal, conscious experience, or behavioral expression

What is the emotional state of this baby What is the emotional state of this baby? Carroll Izard’s MAX System can be used to code

Emotions emerge in sequence Social smile Evoked by the stimulus of the human face First appears between 4 and 6 weeks Anger, surprise, sadness First appears around 3 to 4 months in response to active stimuli. Shame: 6 to 8 months Contempt: 2 years

Negative Emotions Anger is expressed during the first months when babies cry in response to unpleasant experiences (4-6 months). Expressions of sadness are usually less frequent than anger. Fear rises during the second half of the first year. cause and effect stranger anxiety

Why is this baby crying? Could be out of anger, pain, or unknown reasons

Can babies imitate emotions? (Meltzoff)

Understanding and Responding to the Emotions of Others Emotion Contagion (birth) Social referencing (~1 year) Infant relies on a trusted person's emotional reaction in an uncertain situation. By toddlerhood, children use emotional signals to infer others’ internal states and guide their own actions.

Emergence of Self-Conscious Emotions At the end of the second year (18-24 months) Child needs to have a self-concept Injury to or enhancement of the sense of self Embarassment, guilt, envy, pride Helps children to acquire values of society

Beginnings of Emotional Self-Regulation Emotional self-regulation refers to the strategies used to adjust emotional states to a comfortable level of intensity. Infants have only limited capacity to regulate their emotional states. By the end of the first year, babies’ ability to move around permits them to regulate feelings more effectively by approaching or retreating from various stimuli.

End of lecture 1

TEMPERAMENT AND DEVELOPMENT stable individual differences in quality and intensity of emotional reaction, activity level, attention, and emotional self-regulation. New York Longitudinal Study (Thomas & Chess, 1956) indicates Temperament predicts adjustment. Parenting can modify emotional styles.

Structure of Temperament Easy child (40%) Quickly establishes regular routines in infancy, is generally cheerful, and adapts easily to new experiences Difficult child (10%) Irregular in daily routines, is slow to accept new experiences, and tends to react negatively and intensely Slow-to-warm-up child (15%) Inactive, shows mild reactions to stimuli, is negative, and adjusts slowly to new experiences

Measuring Temperament Assessed through Parent interviews and questionnaires Behavior ratings by medical professionals or caregivers Direct researcher observation Physiological measures supplement these techniques. Heart rate, hormone levels, and EEG waves in the frontal cortex differentiate children with inhibited and uninhibited temperamental styles.

Genetic Influences Twin studies reveal that identicals are more similar than fraternals. About half the individual differences among us can be traced to differences in our genetic make-up. Ethnic and sex differences in early temperament exist, implying a role for heredity.

Environmental Influences Differences in temperament are encouraged by cultural beliefs and practice. Parents encourage infant sons to be physically active and daughters to seek help and closeness. When one child in a family is viewed as easy, another is perceived as difficult.

Temperament and Child Rearing: The Goodness-of-Fit Model Goodness-of-fit is an effective match between child-rearing environments and a child’s temperament, leading to healthy adjustment. Difficult infants are less likely than easy babies to receive sensitive care.

Goodness-of-fit: person X environment interaction Irritable Baby Parenting: Unstable Stable Baby: More Fussy Less Fussy Parent: Poor coping Good coping Toddler: Negative Happy Fussy Calm

Personality Development Erikson Basic trust versus mistrust Dilemma is resolved positively if caregiving is sympathetic and loving. Erikson Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt Resolved positively if parents provide suitable guidance and appropriate choices

Personality Development Development of the Self Emergence of the I-Self and the Me-Self I-self—the sense of self as subject, or agent, who is separate from but acts on other objects and people. me-self—a reflective observer that considers the self an object of knowledge and evaluation (during 2nd year). Development of the me-self permits toddlers to compare themselves to other people. Self-awareness is accompanied by empathy

Watson, 1972: “The Game”

What about completely obeys you? What is a relationship like in which the other person completely ignores you? What about completely obeys you?

Emergence of Self-Control Self-control is the capacity to resist an impulse to engage in socially disapproved behavior. The first signs of self-control appear as compliance—voluntary obedience to adult requests and commands.

ATTACHMENT THEORY

Harry Harlow & Rhesus Monkeys

Attachment theory Emotional bonds between people have adaptive significance, develop through an interactional history, and influence personality development History: Spitz and WWII orphans; Harry Harlow and rhesus monkeys; Lorenz and his ducks; Genie and deprivation; sabre-tooth tigers Bowlby: Attachment, Separation, and Loss The nature of emotional bond between the infant and the caregiver

John Bowlby: Self and other as a secure base http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/attachment/

Young infants need caregivers for contact, security, and distress resolution Separation anxiety: distress when left alone Distress when strangers or other threats are around Social referencing Categories of infant caregiver relationships can be described from how children depend on and act within relationships

Development of Attachment Preattachment phase (birth to 6 weeks) Signals such as smiling and crying bring the baby into close contact. “Attachment-in-the-making” phase (6 weeks to 6-8 months) Respond differently to a familiar caregiver than to a stranger

Development of Attachment “Clearcut” attachment (6 to 8 months to 18 months to 2 years) Attachment to caregiver is evident. Separation anxiety: Upset at the departure of a familiar caregiver Caregivers provide secure base from which they can explore.

Mary Ainsworth: Self, sensitivity, and security Strange Situation Measures attachment between 1 and 2 years Involves short separations from and reunions with the parent

Patterns in Infancy: Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Insecure-Avoidant (A): No distress or proximity-seeking, no distinction between mother and stranger, “Detached” Secure (B): Distress resolved, proximity-seeking Insecure-Resistant (C): Distress not resolved, ambivalent proximity-seeking, “Clingy babies” Insecure-Disorganised (D): Dazed, confused, and fearful (e.g., maltreated toddlers)

Maasi in africa: Attachment theory is cross-cultural

Development of Attachment Formation of a reciprocal relationship (18 months to 2 years and on) Separation anxiety decreases.

Cultural Variations German infants show more avoidant attachment. German parents encourage infants to be independent. German infants show more avoidant attachment. Japanese mothers rarely leave babies in the care of strange people. Japanese infants display more resistant attachment responses.

Quality of Caregiving Secure infants’ mothers respond promptly to infants, are positive, and handle babies tenderly. Insecure infants’ mothers dislike contact, handle them awkwardly, and are insensitive. Avoidant infants receive caregiving that is overstimulating and intrusive. Child abuse and neglect are associated with all three forms of insecure attachment. Quality of Daycare (Howe & Jacobs, 1995): Well trained stable staff, small group size/high adult:child ratio, structured day, high emphasis on interaction

Attachment in context Parental work status does not predict attachment Emotional adjustment of the parent (e.g., family stress and conflict) is important Quality of non-parental care is important Relationship quality becomes internalizes and influences later adult and romantic relationships AAI: Dismissing, Autonomous, Preoccupied