Emotions, Emotion Regulation/Temperament, Attachment, Parenting Discussion

what are the 6 basic emotions

joy, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise

3 elements of emotion

1. subjective feeling

2. physiological change

3. over behavior

subjective feeling

how the emotion feels to you

physiological change

physical response, (ex. sweating, heart rate, muscle tension)

overt behavior

ex. facial expressions, tone of voice, actions

why do we have emotions

• signal to the person experiencing the emotion the state of her relation to the environment

• signal to other people the motivational and emotional state of the person experiencing the emotion

• help people adapt to environment

• survive and function socially

emotions in infants at birth

pleasure and distress, general emotions, respond to things like hunger, comfort, pain, or overstimulation

emotions in infants around 9 months

• more basic emotions (including happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and surprise)

• easier to recognize by adults via facial expressions

emotions in infants around 18 months to 2 years

• complex or self conscious emotions emerge

• shame, guilty, envy, pride, embarrassment (require self-awareness)

  • children need to recognize themselves as separate individuals and understand social expectations before they can experience these emotions

negative emotions

• adaptvie

• stranger wariness

• separation anxiety

stranger wariness

refers to the discomfort or fear infants show around unfamiliar people; helpful because encourages infants to stay close to familiar caregivers instead of approaching potential threats

separation anxiety

• happens when infants or young children become distressed when a caregiver leaves

• shows strong attachment bond and motivates children to maintain proximity to caregivers who provide safety, comfort, adn support

Complex emotions

• adaptive

• shame, guilty, envy, embarrassment, pride

• self consciousness —> require awareness of self and an understanding of social rules and expectations

• depends on how individuals think others see them

emotional and social understanding

• still face paradigm

• mimicry in newborns

• imitation

• empathy in neo nates

begins before infants talk or intentionally communicate

still face paradigm

• helps us understand infants’ expectations about people

• infants expect people (unlike objects) to respond emotionally

• emotional interaction something infants expect early in life

empathy in neo nates

• not just reacting to loud sounds, empathy is peer and species specific

• one infant’s distress triggers distress in another (early form of empathy)

• responded most to other cries, and infants of same age

mimicry in newborns

• newborns can match simple behaviors

• infants can link what they see in others to their own movements

• allow infants to engage socially before they have language

• ex. sticking tongue out if they see an adult do it

imitation

• infants use imitation to learn about social interaction, communication, and later skills (ex. language and play)

• imitation helps infants understand others as similar as themselves

Batja Mesquita reading

mesquita argues that emotions are shaped by culture. Emotions are not just inside individuals but are created through the relationships and social expectations

what is emotion regulation

how people manage their emotions, including which emotions they have, when they experience them, and how they express them.

• not just about controlling negative emotions

• also about managing positive emotions so they don’t become overwhelming

• emotions are not automatic or unavoidable

• multiple opportunities for regulation because they involve thoughts, attention, and behavior

the marshmallow task

• way researchers study self control and emotion regulation in children

• task: child given choice between one treat now, and two treats later if they wait

• successful waiting depends less on willpower and more on strategy

• children who distract themselves, look away, or think about something else tend to wait longer

James Gross process model of emotion regulation

• situation

• attention

• appraisal

• response

situation (James Gross)

any internal or external event that has the potential to trigger an emotion.

• situation selection/modification

• antecedent focused

attention (James Gross)

not every situation leads to an emotional response because we do not attend to everything equally

• attentional deplyoment

• assessment of event

appraisal (James Gross)

how we interpret or make meaning of the situation. ex. thoughts like “this is a threat” or “this is not a big deal” (role in shaping which emotion we feel and how intense it is)

• assessment of event

• cognitive reappraisal

response (James Gross)

includes the emotional experience itself, changes in the body, and outward behavior, such as facial expressions or actions

• response focused

• suppression

• happens late in the emotion process, after the emotional response has already been activated

cognitive consequences of suppression

• task 1: participants asked to watch, reappraise, or suppress their emotional responses while viewing emotional material

• people who suppressed their emotions performed worse on a verbal memory task compared to those who simply watched or used reappraisal