Social & Emotional Development

Attachment

positive emotional bond between a child and particular individual

• developed through repetitive socialization

  • results in pleasure + comfort by these adults

Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment

• based on a biological basis for infant needs (safety, security, avoidance of predators)

• a strong parental relationship results in independence

What are the different attachment patterns?

• secure

• avoidant

• ambivalent

• disorganized-disoriented

Secure Attachment

• use mother as a safe base & are at ease in her presence

• when mother leaves, become upset but go to her when she returns

Avoidant Attachment

• do not seek proximity to their mother

• after mother leaves, avoid her when she returns → angered by her behavior

Ambivalent Attachment

• children display a combo of positive & negative reactions to their mothers

• child shows great distress when she leaves, but seek close contact & kick her

Disorganized-Disoriented

• children show inconsistent, contradictory behavior

• child may be lease securely attached

Attachment to Mothers

• mothers w/ securely attached infants = responsive

• over & under-responsive mothers = insecurely attached infants

• mothers react based on their own attachment style

• infants prefer to be soothed by mother

Attachment to Fathers

• provide them with: warmth, affection, support, concern

Parental Relationships

Infants can develop multiple attachment relationships

• an ongoing process throughout their lifetime

Mutual Regulation Model

• model in which infants + parents learn to communicate emotional states to one another & respond appropriately

  • ex) playing patty cake

Reciprocal Socialization

• infants’ behaviors invite further responses from parents & other caregivers, which results in a further response from infant

  • ex) playing peek-a-boo

Infants’ Sociability With Peers

• engage in forms of social interactions

  • able to react positively to the presence of peers

• sociability = laughing, smiling, vocalizing

  • sociability rises w/ age

• imitation can be inborn

Nonverbal Encoding

Emotions in Infancy

• nonverbal expression of emotion that is consistent across a person’s lifespan

Emotions Present at Birth

• interests

• distress

• disgust

Expressivity of Emotions

• differs across varying cultures

Experiencing Emotions

• infants may not understand the context of an emotion

• nonverbal infant expressions represent actual emotional experiences

• infants = born w/ innate emotional expressions

Stranger Anxiety

an outcome of cognitive development

• DEF: caution + wariness displayed by infants when encountering an unfamiliar person

  • 6 months → aware of who they know

  • more familiar w/ stranger, unlikely to have stranger anxiety

Separation Anxiety

an outcome of cognitive development

• distress displayed by infant when departing from caregiver

• UNIVERSAL in all cultures

Smiling

• 6-9 weeks → smile reliability at pleasing objects/people

  • first smile at anything, then become more selective

Social Smile

• smiling in response to other individuals

  • as they age, become more selective w/ smiles

Decoding Facial & Vocal Expressions

• able to discriminate vocal expressions of emotions at an earlier age than interpreting facial expressions

  • at four months, understand facial expressions and voice intonations relay emotions

Social Referencing

Intentional search for information about others’ feelings to help explain the meaning of uncertain circumstances & events

• helps infants understand the context in using a facial expressions

Explanations for Social Referencing

• observing others brings abt the emotion

• viewing others’ facial expression provides information

Theory of Mind

• knowledge & beliefs abt how the mind works and affects behaviors

  • growth in intentionality & causality

  • emerges at age 3-5

Empathy

• an emotional response that corresponds to the feelings of another person

  • demonstrated by age 2

Emotional Development in Middle Childhood

• able to understand emotions better & cope w/ highs + lows

• better at hiding their emotions from others & developing empathy

Emotional Development in Adolescence

• experience emotional highs & lows (negative emotions)

• extreme emotions that pass quickly

• activate amygdala + hippocampus

• emotional immaturity can impact judgement

Emotional Self-Regulation

ability to adjust emotions to a desired state & level of intensity

• ex) changing their thinking patterns (fixed V growth mindset)

• ex) suppressing an outward display of emotion

Personality

sum total of enduring characteristic that differentiate one individual to another

Temperament

• patterns of arousal and emotionality that represent consistent characteristics in an individual

• refers to child’s behavior

• depends on genetics

• parenting can modify temperament development

Dimensions of Temperament

• activity level

• approach withdrawal

• rythmicity

• distractibility

• quality of mood

• threshold of responsiveness

Easy Babies (40%)

• positive disposition

• curious

• emotions = moderate to low intensity

Difficult Babies (10%)

• have negative moods, withdraw from new situations

Slow-to-warm Babies (35%)

• inactive, relatively calm reactions w/ environment

• generally negative + withdraw from new situations

Goodness of Fit

development = dependent on how temperament demand needs are met through their environment

• can be impacted by culture

Behavioral Genetics Perspective

temperamental characteristics are inherited traits that are fairly stable during childhood & across a lifespan

• traits = responsible for personality

Trust V. Mistrust

infancy

• first relationships impact their perspective on life

Autonomy V Shame & Self-Doubt

1.5-3 years

• develop independence if allowed the freedom to explore

Initiative V. Guilt Stage

3-6 years

• children experience conflict between independence of actions & negative results of that actions

Industry V. Inferiority

6-12 years

• focus on efforts to attain competence in meeting the challenges by parents, peers, school etc