Emotional development

why is fear an important emotion

orient you to potential threats and allocates resources to adapt for survival

developmental importance of fear

keeps you safe as a vulnerable child

why is disgust an important emotion

disease avoidance mechanism and prevents ingestion/engagement with pathogenic substances

developmental importance of disgust

reduces risk of exposure while immune system is developing

why is sadness an important emotion

causes us to avoid situation in the future and encourages reflection as well as social support

developmental importance of sadness

signals distress and facilitates emotional regulation

why is happiness an important emotion

buffers against stress, promotes social bonding, and things that make us happy typcially help us survive

developmental importance of happiness

strengthens attachment and supports learning 

emergence of emotion in childhood

1. fundamental

2. first order

3. primary

fundamental emotions

digest and fear

first order emotions

sadness and anger

primary emotions 

happiness and surprise 

which area of the brain is responsible for influencing the emergence of emotions

the development of the amygdala

all basic emotions can be expressed by

6 months

very young babies can only express

broad positive and negative states

the first clear sign of happiness is

smiling and begins with smiling in sleep around 1 month 

social smiles develop at

2-3 months but can appear as early as 6 weeks

children smile primarily at familiar people around

7 months

children delight at making others laugh at

age 2

1 negative emotion starts and finishes as what?

begins as generalized distress and becomes anger 

anger in infants develops at age

4-6 months

anger helps children develop

goal-directed behaviour as it is often the result of a goal not being met

explain angers development throughout toddlerhood and middle childhood

increases into toddlerhood and decreases around middle childhood thanks to better emotional regulation and communication

children begin to avoid unpleasant stimuli (disgust) around 

2.5 months 

evidence of sensitivity to contamination becomes present around

age 3 but may be cultural as a result of leaning about germs

infants develop a fear of strangers at

6-9 months

How do babies respond to strangers in the first few months of life?

infants begin not afraid of strangers but begin to smile less at strangers after a few months

certain fears decrease as a child learns to

differentiate between reality from fiction

maternal depression is strongly related to

infant fear devlopment

self consciousness develops at

18-24 months

children understand that unpleasant events make people sad or angry at

junior kindergarten

Between ages 3-10 children begin to understand that minds

trigger emotions without a specific event

by 6-8 children understand that emotions should

match what comes believes even if the reality is different 

young children do not understand that you can experience

more than 1 emotions at the same time

children can conceptualize 2 emotions by

ages 6-7 but only if they are the same valence (e.g. sad, angry)

children begin to understand mixed emotional states at

10+ years

display rules 

culturally specific rules on which emotions are appropriate to display 

emotional regulation requires

1. interprtation

2. labelling

3. categorization

babies can recognize emotions at

as early as 4 months and certainly by 6 months

social referencing

looking to caregiver for cues to interpret a situation that develops around 12-18 months

negativity bias 

giving more attention to, remember more, and be more affected by negative information or experiences than equally intense positive or neutral ones

In emotional regulation there are differences in ______across ages groups

motivation, strategy and effectiveness

Factors that influence emotional regulation

temperament

family context

physiological and emotional reactivity

in early months _____ is key to emotional regulation

co-regulation (regulation by others and eventually self-regulation)

throughout childhood strategies of self-regulation go from

behavioural to cognitive

explain moral socialization 

transgression committed against other → other child express distress → child recognizes and reacts to their aversive affect → harmful behaviour conditioned against

Emotional regulation in autistic children

1. struggle to recognize transgression when emotions are complex or stimulus is shorter

2. rely on co-regulation more

3. more avoidance based strategies