Prof. Greg Francis 7/16/081EmotionsIIE 366: DevelopmentalPsychologyGreg FrancisLecture 23Chapter 10: EmotionalDevelopmentModule 10.1 Emerging EmotionsModule 10.2 TemperamentModule 10.3 AttachmentChildren and Their Development, 4/e by Robert Kail10.1 Emerging EmotionsThe Function of EmotionsExperiencing and ExpressingEmotionsRecognizing and Using Others’EmotionsRegulating Emotions10.1 The Function of Emotions Emotions are useful because they help peopleadapt to their environments Fear leads to avoiding danger Happiness strengthens relationships Disgust keeps people away from things thatmake them ill10.1 Experiencing andExpressing Emotions Basic emotions: universal and consist of subjectivefeeling, physiological change, and overt behavior As judged by adults Joy, anger, surprise, interest, disgust, sadness, andfear Pleasure and distress appear at birth Joy, sadness, and social smiles appear at around 2-3 months Anger appears at 4-6 months Fear appears at around 6 months (stranger wariness)10.1 Experiencing andExpressing Emotions Fear appears at around 6 months (stranger wariness)Prof. Greg Francis 7/16/08210.1 Experiencing andExpressing Emotions Self-conscious (complex) emotions such as pride, guilt,embarrassment appear at 18-24 months Feelings of success when standards or expectations are met Feelings of failure when they are not met Other emotions appear still later 7 year olds feel the emotion of regret but not of relief The situations when emotions are felt also change A preschool child would not be ashamed to defend someone who iswrongly accused of theft But a school-age child will feel bad if they do not do the “right thing” Fear of certain situations (dark, being alone, monsters) tend todisappear during the elementary school years10.1 Experiencing andExpressing Emotions Most basic and complex emotions are felt bychildren around the world However, cultures do differ in degree ofemotional expression Some Asian cultures favor emotional restraintrather than displays of emotions European American infants (11 months) cry andsmile more often than Chinese infants US preschoolers are more likely to express angerthan Japanese preschoolers10.1 Experiencing andExpressing Emotions Cultural differences: separation anxiety10.1 Experiencing andExpressing Emotions Complex emotions are also tied to differentevents across cultures A student singled out for getting the highest scoreon an exam» In the US feels pride» In some Asian cultures feels embarrassed Moral views on life also influence feelings andexpressions of anger Children raised in Buddhist countries tend to havefewer incidents of anger10.1 Recognizing and UsingOthers’ Emotions By 4-6 months, infants can identify facial expressionsassociated with different emotions Often match their own expressions to what they see It’s not perfect, even in adulthood http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/smiles/ Social referencing: in unfamiliar or ambiguousenvironments, infants look to parents for cues to interpretsituation 12 month olds avoid a novel toy that evokes a disgustexpression from the mother By kindergarten, children start to understand what kinds ofevent evoke different emotions And the role remembering events can have on emotions10.1 Recognizing and UsingOthers’ Emotions Children gradually learn display rules for their culture invarious settings Adults know that it is Ok to express sadness at a funeralbut not joy For children display rules often form around family andfriends Preschool children have better control of anger withprovoked by peers that they like compared to peers that theydo not like School age children are more like to express sadness andanger to parents than to peersProf. Greg Francis 7/16/08310.1 Regulating Emotions Regulation of emotions begins in infancy For example, infants will look away when theyencounter something frightening or confusing Toddlers quickly learn to evoke expressions thatget their mother’s attention With age, children develop even more effectivestrategies Children who don’t regulate their emotions tendto have problems with peers10.2 TemperamentWhat is Temperament?Hereditary and Environmental Contributions toTemperamentStability of TemperamentTemperament and Other Aspects of Development10.2 What is Temperament? Temperament: behavioral styles that are fairly stableacross situations and are biologically based Thomas and Chess identified 3 patterns: Easy: usually happy, adjust well to new situations, regularroutines for eating, sleeping (most common type) Difficult: unhappy, irregular routines, very unhappy inunfamiliar situations slow-to-warm-up: often unhappy, but not upset by unfamiliarsituations Categories are not used much any more10.2 What is Temperament? Three dimensions of Rothbart’s theory: surgency/extraversion: extent to which child is generally happy,active, vocal, and seeks stimulation negative affect: extent to which child is angry, fearful, frustrated, shy,not easily soothed effort control: extent to which child can focus attention, is not readilydistracted, can inhibit responses Cross-cultural studies suggest common properties oftemperament Russian and US mothers observe frequencies of behaviors in asimilar way» Gets excited with a new toy» Splashes in the bath» Calms down in within 5 minutes of being frustrated. Pattern of behaviors are used to judge temperament Implies a biological basis for temperament10.2 Hereditary andEnvironmental Contributions toTemperament Twin studies show genetic influence: identical twinsmore alike in most aspects of temperament thanfraternal twins Impact of heredity depends on temperamentaldimension and child’s age Stronger in childhood than in infancy Stronger for negative affect than other dimensions Environment plays an important role Infants more likely to develop intense, difficult temperamentswhen mothers are abrupt and lack confidence10.2 Stability of Temperament Temperament moderately stable through infancy,childhood, and adolescence Fearful preschoolers tend to be inhibited as older child andadolescent Inhibited children more likely to be introverted adults Research also reveals many instances wheretemperament is not related to adult personality Exposure to new environments (a group of