Children and Their Development
Fifth Canadian Edition
Chapter 10
Emotional Development
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Chapter 10: Emotional Development
Module 10.1 - Emerging Emotions
Module 10.2 - Temperament
Module 10.3 - Attachment
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10.1 Emerging Emotions
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The Function of Emotions
Experiencing and Expressing Emotions
Recognizing and Using Others’ Emotions
Regulating Emotions
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10.1 The Function of Emotions
• Emotions are useful because they help people adapt to
their environments
• Fear leads to avoiding danger
• Happiness strengthens relationships
• Disgust keeps people away from things that make them ill
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10.1 Experiencing and Expressing
Emotions (1 of 2)
• Basic emotions: universal, consist of subjective feeling,
physiological change, and overt behaviour
– e.g., interest, disgust, sadness, and fear
• At about 2-3 months, social smiles appear in response to
other people
• Stranger wariness appears around 6 months
• Self-conscious (complex) emotions such as pride, guilt,
embarrassment, appear later
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10.1 Experiencing and Expressing
Emotions (2 of 2)
• By age 9, most children experience relief and regret
appropriately
• Children experience various emotions in response to
situations and events
– e.g., fear can be elicited in different ways, depending on
a child’s age
• Cultures differ in events that trigger emotions, and in the
extent to which emotional expression is encouraged
– e.g., in many Asian countries, emotional restraint is
highly valued
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10.1 Recognizing and Using Others’
Emotions
• By 4-6 months, infants can identify facial expressions
associated with different emotions
– Social referencing: In unfamiliar or ambiguous
environment, infants rely on caregivers for cues to
interpret situation
• During elementary school, children understand that people
can have mixed feelings
• Children learn display rules for their cultural context
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10.1 Regulating Emotions
• Regulation of emotions begins in infancy
– e.g., infants will look away when they encounter
something frightening or confusing; infants will also
move closer to a parent for protection and comfort
• As children get older, they regulate their own emotions
(often using mental strategies) and rely less on others
• Some children regulate their emotions better than others,
and those who do not, tend to have problems interacting
with peers and have adjustment problems
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10.2 Temperament
• What Is Temperament?
• Hereditary and Environmental Contributions to
Temperament
• Stability of Temperament
• Temperament and Other Aspects of Development
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10.2 What Is Temperament?
• Temperament: Behavioural styles that are fairly stable
across situations and are biologically based
• Thomas and Chess identified 3 patterns based on
observations and parental interviews:
– easy,
– difficult, and
– slow-to-warm-up
• Nine dimensions (e.g., activity level, persistence)
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10.2 Hereditary and Environmental
Contributions to Temperament
• Twin studies show heredity influence: identical twins are
more alike in most aspects of temperament than fraternal
twins
• Impact of heredity depends on temperamental dimension
and child’s age
• Environment also contributes:
– Temperament is affected by parents’ behaviour
– Genetic effects can be amplified
– Temperament may make some children particularly
susceptible to environmental influences
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10.2 Stability of Temperament
• Temperament is moderately stable through infancy and
becomes more stable in the preschool years
• When inhibited toddlers are adults, they respond more
strongly to unfamiliar stimuli
• Inhibited children more likely to be introverted adults
• Research also reveals many instances where temperament
is not related to adult personality
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10.2 Temperament and Other Aspects
of Development
• Various aspects of temperament are related to school
success, peer interactions, compliance with parents, and
depression
• Influence of temperament depends on environmental
influences (children who resist control are less likely to have
behaviour problems when mothers exert appropriate
control)
• Children with positive temperaments are less affected by
life stressors
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10.3 Attachment
• The Growth of Attachment
• The Quality of Attachment
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10.3 The Growth of Attachment
• Attachment: Enduring social-emotional relationship
between infant and parent
• Relies upon infant’s growing perceptual and cognitive skills
• By about 7 months, infants in Western societies have
identified a single attachment figure
• Usually first attach to mothers, then to fathers
• Prefer to play with fathers, but prefer mothers for comfort;
these differences have become smaller
• Indigenous fathers’ involvement showed challenges due to
the disruption of “colonial interventions”, requiring culturally
sensitive approach to overcoming difficulties in relationships
with their children
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10.3 The Quality of Attachment (1 of 5)
• Ainsworth’s Strange Situation task
– Baby is put through a series of situations
▪ Parent present/absent
▪ Stranger present/absent
– In each situation, baby’s reactions are measured to test
quality of attachment
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The Strange Situation
Figure 10.2 Steps in the “Strange Situation.”
Source: Courtesy of David Corcoran and Everett Waters
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10.3 The Quality of Attachment (2 of 5)
• Secure
– May be upset when parent leaves, but stops crying on
return
• Avoidant
– Not upset when parent leaves, ignores parent on return
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10.3 The Quality of Attachment (3 of 5)
• Resistant
– Upset when parent leaves, angry and inconsolable on
return
• Disorganized
– Confused when parent leaves, still confused on return
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10.3 The Quality of Attachment (4 of 5)
• Secure attachment is the most common form worldwide,
but the percentage of infants in the different categories of
insecure attachment differs substantially across cultures
• Secure attachment leads to positive social relationships,
due to the establishment of trust
• Predictable, responsive parenting is necessary for secure
attachment
• Infant needs a consistent internal working model
– Must understand their relationship to parents
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10.3 The Quality of Attachment (5 of 5)
• When questioned about attachment relationships, adults
may be classified as secure, dismissive, or preoccupied
• Secure adults are more likely to provide sensitive
caregiving and, in turn, have securely attached infants
• Self-awareness seems to be an important factor in
intergenerational attachment
• Training can help mothers respond more effectively to their
baby’s needs
• Childcare does not affect quality of attachment, except
when poor-quality child care is added to the effects of
maternal insensitivity and lack of responsiveness
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