Emotional Development & Temperament Modules 9-2 & 9-3

Emotional Development Basic emotions are universal They include happiness, fear, anger, surprise, sadness, disgust, interest, etc. Facial expressions (also universal) are the most reliable cues

What is an emotion? Emotions are responses, including physiological responses Sense or experience of feeling Leads to expression, behavior; can be a motive Related to thoughts and beliefs as well as immediate experience

Functionalist view of Emotion What is their purpose? Emotions are means of communicating and play a role in relationships. They are also linked to an individual’s goals and motivation toward progress and overcoming obstacles. Subjective evaluation of good and bad; comparable to pain in the physical realm

Emotional Competence - Sarnii Awareness of emotional state Detecting other’s emotions Using emotional vocabulary appropriately Empathy and sympathy Realizing that inner emotional states do not always correspond to expression Awareness that emotional expression plays a large role in relationships Adaptively coping with negative emotions

What is emotional intelligence (EQ)? Gardners “interpersonal intelligence” Salovey & Mayer (1990): ability to perceive and express emotion accurately MSCEIT (2002) Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test Daniel Goleman (1995) Published a book, “Emotional Intelligence”

What is emotional intelligence (EQ)? Salovey & Mayer (1990): ability to perceive and express emotion accurately, including: taking perspective understanding the roles of emotion in relationships using feelings to facilitate thought managing emotions such as anger

Emotions Gone Awry . . . Are the basis for some mental disorders. Clinical depression Bipolar disorder Anxiety disorders Intermittent explosive disorder Antisocial personality disorder

Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Infant & Toddler Personality Basic Trust vs. Mistrust 1st year of life Quality of the caregiver’s behavior Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt 2nd year of life Reasonable expectations for impulse control

Emotional Development in Infancy Primary emotions Emerge early in life (first year) Are culturally universal Include Surprise Sadness Joy Fear Anger Disgust

Emotional Milestones Birth attraction & withdrawal 2-3 mos. Social smile, respond to facial expression 3-4 mos. Laugh at active stimuli 6-8 mos. Anger, fear, attachment 8-12 mos. Social referencing 18-30 mos. Self-conscious emotions (shame, guilt, pride)

Fear Appears in the 2nd half of the 1st year Intensifies & remains until 18+ months Stranger anxiety is the most frequent expression of fear Stranger & situational characteristics Separation protest also appears Partially depends upon temperament and experiences

Anger Appears about 6-8 months Generalized distress is present in young infants Anger in older babies may be in response to frustration

Social Referencing Reading others’ emotional cues to determine how to respond to a situation Infants become better at this in the second year of life We still do this as adults, e.g., panic, riots, looting, helping behavior

Regulation of Emotions Key dimension of development Ability increases with age & development Shifts from external to internal in infancy Individuals develop strategies for this With age children develop greater capacity to: Modulate arousal Select & manage situations Finding effective ways to cope with stress

Emotional Self-Regulation Strategies used to adjust one’s own emotional state to a comfortable level Young infants turn away, suck, are easily overwhelmed Ability to self-regulate increases with brain development, experience, ability to shift attention and to move Older infants distract themselves, leave the situation

Emotions and the Self Self-conscious emotions: Do not appear in animals May not be universal Require self-awareness Emerge later (1 ½ - 2 ½ years)

Self-conscious Emotions Include empathy, embarrassment, envy, pride, shame, guilt Involve injury to or enhancement of the sense of self Appear as the sense of self emerges Require adult instruction in when to feel proud, ashamed or guilty

Self-conscious Emotions Shame, pride & guilt Pride most often occurs in response to successful achievement Shame is a global response to a threat to the self, also other-directed; reflects inability Guilt is in response to specific failure, reflects culpability These emotions serve to regulate the child’s behavior

Emotional Development Self-conscious emotions By age 3, these are clearly linked to self-evaluation Parents should give feedback about performance, not the worth of the child. This causes intense self-conscious emotional experience.

Self-conscious emotions Beginning in early childhood, shame is associated with feelings of personal inadequacy, withdrawal and depression, anger and aggression. Underuse shame in our culture Guilt is related to good adjustment. Reasons for guilt or shame must be considered.

Emotional Development – Ages 2-4 Emotional vocabulary expands rapidly Come to understand causes, consequences, and behavioral signs of emotion Emphasize external factors Can predict what people will do based on emotion

Emotional Development – Ages 2-4 Small children do not deal well with conflicting cues (mixed emotions). Securely attached children are advanced in emotional understanding. Emotionally negative children experience more peer rejection.

Maternal Depression & Child Development Babies of depressed mothers are irritable and have attachment difficulties They sometimes withdraw into depression, or imitate parental anger They can become impulsive & antisocial They develop a negative world view, lack self-confidence, & perceive others as threatening

Middle & Late Childhood Increasing awareness of the need for emotional management ability to understand complex emotions tendency to take events, situation into account Improved ability to conceal negative emotions Use self-directed strategies to redirect feelings: distractions, denial, redirection

Gender Differences – Emotional Expression Elementary School Boys hide emotions like sadness more Girls hide disappointment Adolescence Girls feel more sadness, shame, guilt Boys deny their emotions

Adolescence Moodiness and extreme, but fleeting emotions 5th to 9th grade, 50% decrease in being “very happy” Environmental circumstances may be more important than hormones to this process

Emotions in Adulthood Older adults report: Fewer negative emotions Better emotional control More positive emotions More selective social relationships May have to do with the passage of time

Temperament Stable individual differences in quality and intensity of emotional reaction, activity level, attention, and emotional self-regulation New York Longitudinal Study (1956), Thomas & Chess, most comprehensive study of temperament to date 141 children followed from infancy into adulthood

Temperament NYLS findings Temperament is related to whether a person will experience psychological problems Parenting practices can modify children’s emotional styles considerably

Temperament - Dimensions Activity level Rhythmicity Distractibility Approach/withdrawal Adaptability Attention span/persistence Intensity of reaction Threshold of responsiveness Quality of mood

Temperament - Types Easy (40%) – quickly establish regular routines, generally cheerful, adapts well to new experiences Difficult (10%) – irregular, slow to accept new experiences, reacts negatively and intensely Slow-to-warm-up (15%) – mild reactions, adjusts slowly to new experience (35% not classified)

Measuring Temperament Parental interviews or questionnaires. Convenient Depth of knowledge Biased & subjective Behavior ratings by pediatricians, teachers, and others Observation

Is Temperament Biological? It is often believed to be biological. Identical twins have more similar temperaments than fraternal ones. There are consistent ethnic and sex differences. These may be explained by parenting differences as well as genetic differences.

Is Temperament Biological? However, it only has low to moderate stability from one developmental period to the next. Temperament develops with age. It can be modified by experiences, but not from one extreme to the other.

Temperament: Continuity with Adulthood Easy babies well adjusted in early adulthood Difficult babies have social problems Men – less education Women – marital problems Patterns of inhibition & emotional control also appear to persist

Temperament & Goodness-of-Fit Creation of child-rearing environments that recognize temperament and encourage adaptive functioning. Difficult children are at risk for adjustment problems because they withdraw and react negatively. Western parents tend to resort to angry, punitive discipline. The child responds with defiance/disobedience. Parents give in and model inconsistency.

Kagan’s Behavioral Inhibition Shy, subdued, timid child Vs. Sociable, bold, extraverted child Inhibition to the unfamiliar Begins about 7-9 months of age Shyness is considered a negative in American culture (social anxiety).

Biological Inhibition Pattern High, stable heartrate High cortisol levels High activity in right frontal lobes