SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN INFANCY © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 7 EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT • Emotion: Feeling or affect of importance • • • • • Complex and varies in intensity Positive and negative; affects behaviors Biological influences Influenced by experiences and culture Influenced by one’s perceptions © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. EARLY EMOTIONS • Primary emotions: present in humans, animals • Appear in first 6 months of life; surprise, anger, joy, sadness, fear • Self-conscious emotions • Appear after age 18 months; embarrassment, jealousy, empathy, pride, share, guilt • Responses to reactions of others • Research controversy on jealousy in infants © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION AND SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS • Two emotional expressions in infant communication • Crying • Basic - Rhythmic, incited by hunger • Angry - Excess air in vocal cords • Pain - Louder, high pitched, sudden, longer • Smiling • Reflexive - Natural, occurs 1 month after birth • Social - Response to external stimuli © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. FEAR • Earliest emotion; appears about 6 months • Abused, neglected infants show it much earlier • Stranger anxiety: Fear, wariness of strangers • Intense from 9 to 12 months • Not shown by all; intensity affected by social context and stranger behavior/traits • Separation protest: Distress at being separated © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. FIGURE 7.3 - SEPARATION PROTEST IN FOUR CULTURES © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. EMOTIONAL REGULATION AND COPING • During first year: • • • • Gradual control of arousal to adapt, reach goal Self-soothing in early infancy Redirected attention, self-distraction later in infancy Language defines emotions by age 2 • Contexts affect emotional regulation • Caregiver responses matter, infant adapts © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. TEMPERAMENT • An individual’s behavioral style and characteristic way of emotionally responding. • Chess & Thomas: 3 basic types (clusters) • Easy child : Positive mood, easily adapts • Difficult child: Resists change, shows irregular behaviors, reacts negatively (cries) • Slow-to-warm child: Low mood intensity, low activity level, somewhat negative © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. TEMPERAMENT • Kegan’s behavioral inhibition • Extroverted, bold child • Shy, subdued, timid child • Inhibited to unfamiliar; shows anxiety, distress at about 7 to 9 months of age • Inhibition intensity varies • Considerable consistency into early childhood © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. TEMPERAMENT • Rothbart and Bates’ Classification • Extraversion/surgency - Positive, impulsive • Negative affectivity - Easily distressed • Kegan’s inhibited child fits here • Effortful control - Self-regulating, control varies © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS AND EXPERIENCE • Biological influences: • Physiological characteristics associated with different temperaments • Gender, culture, and temperament • Goodness of Fit and Parenting • Goodness of fit: Match between child’s temperament and environmental demands • Siblings differ in response to same parenting © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. PARENTING AND CHILD’S TEMPERAMENT • Attention to and respect for individuality • Structuring the child’s environment • The “difficult child” and packaged parenting programs • Flexible caregiver responses • Avoid “labeling” and self-fulfilling prophecy © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT • Personality: enduring characteristics of emotions and temperament • Erikson’s trust-versus-mistrust: • Infants experience world as either positive or negative outcomes; continuity not guaranteed • Sense of self: • real or imagined; motivating force in life • Self-recognition: about 18 months of age © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT • Trust • The first year of life is characterized by the trust versus mistrust stage of development • The developing sense of self • Separation and individualization process • Independence • Erikson’s 2 nd stage - Autonomy versus shame and doubt • Self-determination and pride or overcontrol creates shame and doubt © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. SOCIAL ORIENTATION/UNDERSTANDING • Infants motivated to understand the world • Social orientation - Perceptions, interpretations • Face-to-face play; still-face paradigm • Different responses to humans and objects; stronger, positive responses to humans • Locomotion (crawl, walk, run) independence; lessens social interactions • Context and caregiver have effects © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. INTENTION, GOAL-DIRECTED BEHAVIOR, AND COOPERATION • Important to cognitive development • Joint attention and gaze: Help understand others’ intentions • Social referencing: Ability to ‘read’ emotional cues of others • Affects infants’ perceptions of others © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ATTACHMENT AND ITS DEVELOPMENT • Attachment; close emotional bond • Freud • Attachment to source of oral satisfaction • Disproved by Harlow’s research: physical comfort preferred for security • Erikson: • First year is key for attachment, physical comfort plays role here © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ATTACHMENT AND ITS DEVELOPMENT • Bowlby - Ethological view - attachment is innate predisposition • Attachment: 4 phases of social cognition • Phase 1: birth to 2 months – draws to humans • Phase 2: 2 to 7 months– focus on one person • Phase 3: 7 to 24 months – actively seek regular contact with caregivers • Phase 4: From 24 months on– aware of others’ goals, feelings, actions © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN ATTACHMENT • Ainsworth’s Strange Situation • Measures attachment by observation • Infant experiences series of contexts • 3 reactions to new situation • Secure: Positive, confident exploration • Insecure-avoidant: Little interaction with caregiver, no distress • Insecure-resistant: Clings to caregiver • Insecure disorganized: Disoriented, dazed © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. THE STRANGE SITUATION THE FAMILY • Complex, constellation of subsystems • Reciprocal influences on each other • The transition to parenthood • New parents must adapt: time, finances, roles • Marital satisfaction decreases after birth • Parental cooperation has effect © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. THE FAMILY • Reciprocal socialization is bidirectional • Scaffolding: Positive parental behavior supports children’s efforts • Children’s skills increase • Support modified to suit children’s level of development • Mothers and fathers both competent caregivers, but behave differently • Fathers: more physical in play interactions © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. CHILD CARE • Child Care Policies Around the World • Five types of parental leave • • • • • Maternity leave Paternity leave Parental leave Child-rearing leave Family leave © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. CHILD CARE • Variations in child care • Type varies greatly: • • • • • Large centers/elaborate facilities, homes Commercial; nonprofit, churches, employers Professionals Mothers earning additional monies Quality matters • Low-income children: academic benefits • High quality linked to environment © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. CHILD CARE • Patterns of use • High reliance and early entry • Socioeconomic factors affect amount and type • Income level, education, marital status • Dependence on mother’s income • Quality affected by group size, caregiver-child ratio, caregiver (behavior, education, skills) © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. CHILD CARE • Amount of child care • High-quality care and fewer hours in care lead to positive outcomes • Family and parenting influences • Influence not weakened by extensive child care; parents have significant influence in children regulating emotions © 2013 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 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