Lecture 17 Emotions Emotion Regulation and The Self PSYC355 Spring 2014 Emotion Emotion a motivational force or action tendency Subjective feelings and cognitions that elicit accompany Changes in physiology And over behavior What are you feeling baby Examine facial expressions Positive emotions Smiling social smiling laughing Negative emotions Distress anger sadness fear Fear of strangers separation anxiety Self Conscious Emotions Guilt Shame Embarrassment Pride The Role of Culture All cultures experience similar emotions Degree to which different emotions are expressed varies considerably Genetic Parents ideas about the usefulness of expressing Emotion in general Specific emotions Identifying Emotions in Others Recognition of different emotions in others Use other s emotions to guide behavior Social referencing Label emotions Understand situations that evoke emotions What to do with emotions tioning Identify and understand one s own and others feelings Regulate one s mood Regulate the expression of emotion in social interactions Empathize with others emotion Being able to motivate oneself and persist in the face of frustration Control impulses and delay gratification Is what you do with emotions important Emotional Intelligence set of abilities that contributes to competent social func Delay of gratification tasks Mischel Experimenter controlled tasks Child controlled tasks Amount of time children are able to delay predicts Social and cognitive competence 10 years later Coping skills later in life i e ability to deal with frustration Higher SAT scores in high school Less likely to smoke or do drugs high school and adult Higher education higher self esteem and better coping with stress at 27 years Emotional Self Regulation Emotional Self Regulation strategies we use to adjust our emotional state to a comfortable level of intensity so we can accomplish our goals 0 4 months parents do help 4 6 months infants reduce distress by averting gaze or using self soothing techniques 1 2 years infants attend to non distressing objects or people to distract them 3 4 years start to use cognitive strategies to regulate emotions Mid childhood adolescence peer influence helps manage negative emotions Transition to Self Regulation Use of Cognitive Strategies to Control Negative Emotions Emotion Regulation Social Competence maintaining positive relationships with others Emotional regulation predicts social competence Social Competence achieving one s personal goals in social interactions while also Temperament Temperament biologically based individual differences in emotional motor and at tentional reactivity and self regulation that demonstrate consistency across situations and sta bility over time Conducted pioneering longitudinal research on infant temperament NY Longitudinal Thomas Chess Model Study Parent report of 9 dimensions Activity level Distractibility Adaptability Reaction intensity Quality of mood Rhythmicity Approach withdrawal Attention span persistence Responsiveness threshold 3 classifications of babies Easy babies 40 Difficult babies 10 Slow to warm up babies 15 Combines overlapping dimensions from Thomas and Chess temperament model Dimensions fitting under 2 categories Rothbart Model Reactivity Activity level Attention span persistence Fearful distress Irritable distress Positive affect Self Regulation Effortful control The Self oneself Can include thoughts about Physical being Social roles Relationships Spiritual characteristic Internal characteristic The Developing Sense of Self Infancy Toddlerhood Early childhood Middle childhood Late childhood Early adolescence The Self refers to a conceptual system made up of one s thoughts and attitudes about Children s self conception changes greatly with age Social Comparison the process of comparing aspects of one s own psychological behavioral or physical functioning to that of others in order to evaluate oneself Higher order concepts objective relationships Abstract and concrete characteristics Context dependent Personal Fable a form of adolescent egocentrism that involves beliefs in the uniqueness of one s own feelings and thoughts Imaginary Audience the belief stemming from adolescent egocentrism that ev eryone else is focused on the adolescent s appearance and behavior Late adolescence Integrated and less determined by Identity in Adolescence Values Goals about the future As they approach adulthood adolescents must begin to develop a sense of personal iden tity that incorporates numerous aspects of self including Political and religious beliefs Their sexual identity Erik Erikson adolescence The crisis of identity versus identity confusion is the chief developmental task in Identity Confusion an incomplete and sometimes incoherent sense of self that of ten occurs in Erikson s stage of identity vs identity confusion Identity Foreclosure premature commitment to an identity without adequate con Negative Identity identity that stands in opposition to what is valued by people sideration of other options around the adolescent Identity Moratorium psychological moratorium a time out during which the adolescent is not expected to take an adult roles and can pursue activities that lead to self discovery James Marcia s Categories Four identity status categories 1 Identity Diffusion Status no firm commitments not making progress toward them 2 Foreclosure Status not engaged in any identity experimentation has established a vocational or ideological identity based on the choices or values of others 3 Moratorium Status in phase of experimentation with regard to occupational and ide 4 ological choices has not yet made a clear commitment to them Identity Achievement Status completed a period of exploration has achieved a coherent and consolidated identity based on personal decisions regarding occupation ide ology etc Identity Outcomes Individuals in identity diffusion and moratorium statuses tend to move into identity achievement status Individuals in foreclosed state often remain there Attaining identity achievement status is related to Social maturity Higher in achievement motivation Influences on Identity Formation controlling i e authoritarian More likely to have a foreclosed identity status if parents are overly protective or cold More likely to explore identity options if at least one parent encourages them Individual s own behavior and social and historical contexts are influential Lecture 18 Attachment What is attachment The nature and