How do two year olds develop
emotions, self-awareness,
temperament, & social bonds?
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Newborns = two emotions
◦ Distress & contentment
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Happiness = Social smile
◦ Occurs when seeing a face
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Anger = frustration
Sadness = withdrawal & stress
Social fear
◦ Stranger wariness
◦ Separation anxiety
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These changes gradually develop during the
first year.
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I am separate from others
Mirror rouge test
Me & mine
Generally develops during the second year
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Emotions become more sophisticated as the
cortex and memory develops
Stress can effect the parts of the brain related
to emotions
◦ Hypothalamus
◦ Amygdala
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Temperament = Genetic predispositions
◦ Shyness & aggression
◦ Whether these are expressed is based on
experience – culture, childrearing methods, etc.
◦ Harsh parenting combined with a negative
temperament can create antisocial, destructive
children.
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Personality traits = Learned
◦ Honesty and humility
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Adults who are extroverts, agreeable, and
positive = warmer, more competent parents.
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What emotions develop over the first year?
How can you tell when a child develops
self-awareness?
What causes emotions to become more
complex?
What parts of the brain are related to
emotions?
What type of parenting creates antisocial,
destructive children?
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Psychoanalytic
◦ Freud
◦ Erikson
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Behaviorism
Cognitive
Sociocultural
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Freud
Oral stage (1st. Yr.)
◦ E.g. Breast-feeding
◦ Oral fixation
 E.g. Fingernail biting, smoking, overeating
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Anal (2nd. Yr.)
◦ Bowels
◦ Self-controlled
 Anal personality
◦ Most people disagree with this idea
◦ Toilet training – Later age = less time
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Trust vs. mistrust
Autonomy
(independence &
self-rule) vs. shame
and doubt
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Emotions & personality
◦ Based on reinforcement & punishment by parents
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Social learning
◦ Albert Bandura
◦ Bobo doll experiment
◦ Children express emotions they see others do
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During what period of Freud’s Psychoanalytic
theory does toilet training occur?
If a child toilet trains later, will it take longer
to accomplish?
What question must a child resolve in
Erikson’s first stage?
What do the behaviorists assume creates a
personality?
What does social learning theory assume
creates emotions?
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Working models
◦ A set of assumptions that children use as a frame of
reference
◦ People are warm & friendly
◦ People can never be trusted
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Interpretation of experiences is most crucial
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Culture is most important
Proximal (close) parenting
◦ Much body contact
◦ Children become
 More compliant
 Less independent
 More separation & stranger anxiety
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Distal (far) parenting
◦ Less body contact
◦ Children become
 Less obedient
 More independent
 Less separation & stranger anxiety
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Attachment
◦ Proximity-seeking
 Following caregivers
◦ Contact maintaining
 Touching, snuggling, holding
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Social referencing
◦ Toddlers referring to parental emotions & actions to
evaluate a situation
 E.g. eating new foods
 Crossing the street
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Give an example of a working model a child
might develop?
What is the difference between proximal and
distal parenting?
◦ Which method would you use, and why?
◦ Give an example of social referencing a child might
use?