Developmental Psych Chap 12 Emotional Development and Temperament

What are basic or primary emotions present at birth?

Interest, distress, disgust, contentment.

What complex emotions emerge between 2-7 months?

Anger, sadness, joy, surprise, fear.

Why might basic emotional be biologically programmed?

They happen in the same ways cross-culturally

How can we interpret infants' emotions?

Through their facial expressions

What did Carol Izard's research on infants reveal?

Adults can identify infants' emotions, but negative emotions are harder to distinguish bewteen

When do complex emotions develop?

2 years +

What are self-conscious emotions?

Emotions such as embarrassment, shame, guilt, envy, and pride that develop in the second year.

What is necessary for the development of self-conscious emotions?

Recognition of self as a separate person and understanding others' expectations

- all about how others perceive us

- linked to parent evaluations of either praise or criticism depending on completing a task (hard puzzle)

What are emotional display rules?

Socially acceptable ways to express or suppress emotions that we learn Ex. how we always responding positively when asked how we are instead of with genuine emotion

Why doesn't it work well to punish children for tantrums?

The ability to regulate their emotions is just beyond their maturational capability

How do gender differences affect emotional regulation in infants?

Girls typically regulate negative emotions better than boys from a few months old

Infant strategies for emotional regulation

Rocking, chewing, moving away from upsetting stimulus seen at 1 years old, at 18-24 months try to control the upsetting stimuli (turning it off)

What is social referencing?

Using others' emotions as a guide for one's own reactions - adults engage in this too when we are unsure how to react

At what age do infants start to engage in social referencing?

By 9 months infants can be in tune with caregiver reactions

Study showing social referencing in infants based on mothers emotions

First day the mother acted happy, second the mother acted sad - the child played less, showed sad expressions and looked to the mother less when she acted sad

What do infants have to first undertand before they can recognise themself?

That they are seperate from their environment, which can be explored by physically interacting with the world or recognizing themselves in a mirror/video

Test of infants self recognition in videos

Found that 5-9 month olds stare longer at peers or adults who mimicked them themselves in a video - could show they already recognize themselves so they stare at what is new

OR that its they just find adults mimicking babies more interesting to look at/new

What is the Rouge Test used for?

To assess self-recognition in children - mother discreetly marks child's forehead with lipstick to see if they know to wipe it off in a mirror

At what age do children typically pass the Rouge Test?

Around 18-24 months.

What is the difference between present self and extended self?

Only being able to recognize oneself in real time vs able to recognize yourself as still you despite time passage

At what age could children recognize their extended self?

4/5 years old

What characterizes the self-concept of toddlers?

Categorical self, classifying along social dimensions like age and sex. Ex. I'm a girl and I'm three

How do preschoolers typically describe themselves?

With concrete and physical attributes, but some physiological awareness Ex. "I have a bike, I'm tall"

- used vignettes and choose which one best represents them

What is an example of a toddler's self-description?

I'm a girl, I'm 3, I'm Chinese.

What is an example of a preschooler's self-description?

I have a bike, I'm tall (i have a couch)

What do children learn to do based on others' emotions?

They change their behavior to avoid negative reactions.

What is the significance of parental reactions in emotional development?

Children show emotions like embarrassment and shame based on parental praise or criticism.

What is the role of emotional regulation in social behavior?

It helps children learn what emotions are socially acceptable to express.

What happens to children's ability to regulate emotional expression over time?

It takes time to master, and punishing tantrums may not be effective due to their developmental stage.

What does the ability to recognize oneself in a mirror indicate?

It shows the child has developed self-recognition.

What is the novelty effect in self-recognition studies?

Children may be more interested in adults mimicking them than in recognizing themselves.

What is a key factor in the development of self-concept in children?

Interactions with their environment and understanding their actions.

How do adolescents perceive their self?

The self in different environments, such as at school and at home, leading to different personas.

What defines adulthood in terms of self-perception?

An integrated sense of self with global traits across different domains.

How do children's drawings reflect cultural conceptions of the self?

Children draw themselves and their families, with individualistic cultures drawing themselves larger than parents, and collectivist cultures drawing themselves smaller.

What is self-esteem?

One's evaluation of their worth as a person, based on the assessment of qualities identified in self-concept.

What is the relationship between self-concept and self-esteem?

Self-concept must develop first before self-esteem can be established.

What characterizes high self-esteem?

Positive feelings about oneself, accepting both strengths and weaknesses.

What characterizes low self-esteem?

A negative view of oneself, focusing more on weaknesses than strengths.

How do young children typically rate their self-esteem?

They tend to rate themselves positively, often to the point of over-inflation.

At what age do children align their self-esteem more closely with others' perceptions?

Around age 8.

What is the Contingencies of Self-Worth scale?

A measure assessing seven sources of self-esteem, indicating that evaluations are important only if children care about those domains.

How do children prioritize their roles in self-evaluation?

They weigh their self-esteem based on how much they care about specific roles, such as being a friend or a student.

What is achievement motivation?

The innately human willingness to strive to succeed at challenging tasks, driven by intrinsic motivation

Examples of young children having a strong mastery motive

Insisting on doing things themselves even if it is really challenging

Three phases in our evaluations of success

Joy in mastery (under 2), Approval seeking (age 2), use of standards (age 5)

What is the Joy in Mastery phase?

Occurs under age 2, where children are happy to master challenges without seeking attention or being bothered by failures.

What is the Approval Seeking phase?

Around age 2, children seek recognition for successes and expect disapproval for failures

- already judging outcomes as successful or non successful

- seek positive reinforcement from reactions

What characterizes the Use of Standards phase?

Around age 5, children can independently judge their successes and failures, feeling real pride or shame.

What is the difference between stable and unstable causes in achievement attributions?

Stable causes are unchangeable factors that cannot change with time, while unstable causes can change in the future and give reason to try again

What are internal and external causes in achievement attributions?

Internal causes relate to oneself, while external causes relate to factors outside one's control.

Example of Stable x Internal cause for feeling insecure about university

I'm just not cut out for university (won't change, internal problem)

Example of Unstable x Internal cause for feeling insecure about university

I should have studied more (is changeable, an internal problem)

How do high self-esteem children attribute successes and failures?

They attribute successes to ability and failures to effort

- are adapative to continuing to try after failure

How do low self-esteem children attribute successes and failures?

They attribute successes to task difficulty and failures to luck.

What is Dweck's Learned Helplessness Theory?

It suggests that children start with a growth mindset and may transition to a fixed mindset, leading to learned helplessness (we stop trying)

What is a growth mindset?

The belief that one can learn anything, viewing failure as a learning opportunity

What is a fixed mindset?

The belief that abilities are static, leading to avoidance of challenges and giving up when frustrated - wanting to stay in comfort zone and don't seek out challenging situations

What is mastery orientation?

The tendency to persist in the face of failure, believing that effort can lead to success

What is learned helplessness orientation?

The belief that successes are due to luck and failures are due to lack of ability, leading to giving up in the face of failure believing they cannot do better

What is attribution retraining?

An intervention designed to help individuals see failure as due to lack of effort rather than ability

What is the impact of person praise versus process-oriented praise?

Person praise leads to performance goals, while process-oriented praise leads to learning goals - can help them learn that effort is what matters