Chapter 10 Emotional Development 12 08 2014 Know the Functions of Emotions section particularly the functionalist approach to emotion and the different domains emotions are involved in e g cognitive processing social behavior The functionalist approach to emotion emphasizes that the broad function of emotions is to energize behavior aimed at attaining personal goals 1 Emotions arise from ongoing exchanges between the person and the environment 2 In this view emotions are central in all our endeavors cognitive processing social behavior and physical health o 1 Cognition Lead to learning essential for survival can impair learning o 2 Social Affect behavior of others regulate own behavior o 3 Health Influence well being growth stress related to diseases 1 Emotions and Cognitive Processing Emotional reactions can lead to learning that is essential for survival No Don t touch the fire or electrical outlet or stove etc OR get too close to the edge where can hurt self Don t have to experience to avoid danger The emotion cognition relationship is evident in the impact of anxiety on performance test talent show show tell emotions also powerfully affect memory fear of doctor after shot 2 Emotions and Social Behavior Children s emotional signals powerfully affect the behavior of others whose emotional reactions in turn regulate children s social behavior With age infants begin to initiate as well as respond to emotional expressions by the end of the first year babies become increasingly skilled at joint attention following the caregiver s line of regard 3 Emotions and Health Two childhood growth disorders resulting from emotional deprivation are nonorganic failure to thrive and psychosocial dwarfism Persistent psychological stress is associated with a variety of health difficulties from infancy to adulthood What is emotion Emotion rapid appraisal of personal significance of situations A feeling or affect that occurs when a person is in a state or an interaction that is important to him or her especially to his or her well being Feeling triggered because important to individual Functionalist Approach o Energize behavior Happiness leads us to approach a situation sadness to passively withdraw fear to actively move away and anger to overcome obstacles o Prepare for action An emotion expresses our readiness to establish maintain or change our relation to the environment on a matter of importance to us o Central to personal goals The functionalist approach to emotion emphasizes that the broad function of emotions is to energize behavior aimed at attaining personal goals Know the section including all key terms and developmental patterns if applicable in the Development of Emotional Expression section Same for Understanding and Responding to Emotions of Others Basic Emotions First Appearance of Basic Emotions Basic emotions happiness interest surprise fear anger sadness disgust are universal in humans and other primates have a long evolutionary history of promoting survival and can be directly inferred from facial expressions At first emotional expression is pretty limited Babies earliest emotional life consists mainly of two global arousal states attraction to pleasant stimulation and withdrawal from unpleasant stimulation Emerge early in life no introspection or self reflection is required By the middle of the first year emotional expressions are well organized and specific and they tell us a great deal about the infant s internal state Facial expressions offer most reliable cues of infant emotions It turns out that we have a pretty good sense of how babies are feeling bc facial expressions which are universally understood Facial expressions offer researchers the most reliable cues to infant emotions Across cultures interpret same emotions Cross cultural evidence reveals that people around the world associate photographs of different facial expressions with emotions in the same way 1 Happiness Smile from birth Social smile broad grin evoked by the stimulus of a human face 6 10 weeks 2 Fear o Changes in happiness display parallel the development of infant perceptual capacities especially sensitivity to visual patterns including the human face o In the early weeks babies smile when full during REM sleep and in response to gentle touches and sounds o By the end of the first month infants smile at dynamic eye catching sights o Seven week old LaDonna breaks into a broad grin at the sight of her father s face LaDonna is displaying a social smile o Like adults 10 to 12 month olds have several smiles which vary with context o At the end of the first year the smile becomes a deliberate social signal Laugh 3 to 4 months 3 to 4 months laughter appears reflecting faster processing of information and occurring at first in response to very active stimuli Babies smile and laugh when they achieve new skills displaying their delight in motor and cognitive mastery Infants express happiness first through smiling and later through laughter Fear rises during the second half of the first year for example older infants hesitate before playing with a new toy and newly crawling infants show fear of heights The most frequent expression of fear is stranger anxiety wariness in response to unfamiliar adults Stranger anxiety is not universal it depends on temperament past experiences with strangers and the current situation Occurs at 8 12 months In cultures that practice a collective caregiving system for example the Efe hunters and gatherers of Congo West Africa infants show little stranger anxiety A toddler s level of stranger anxiety is most likely affected by past experiences with strangers The rise in fear after age 6 months keeps newly mobile babies enthusiasm for exploration in check Unlike basic emotions which emerge early in life when no introspection or self reflection is required self conscious emotions emerge later in development Besides basic emotions humans are capable of a higher order set of feelings including shame embarrassment guilt envy and pride which are called self conscious emotions because each involves injury to or enhancement of our sense of self Self Conscious Emotions Self conscious emotions are a second higher order set of feelings that involve injury to or enhancement of the sense of self These emotions appear at the end of the second year as toddlers become firmly aware of the self as a separate unique individual Self conscious emotions require adult instruction in when to feel proud
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