[DEV] CH6 Socioemotional Infancy Development

emotions

• feeling/affect that occurs when a person is in a state or an interaction that is important to him or her, especially to his/her well-being 

roles of emotions

• Communication with others

• Behavioral organization

• Influence infant’s social response and adaptive behavior 

• Either positive or negative 

Biological, Cognitive, and Environmental Influences

• Infant develop the ability to regulate their emotions -> tied to the gradual maturation of the frontal regions of the cerebral cortex that can exert control over other areas of the brain 

• Cognitive processes influence infant and children’s emotional development 

• Biological evolution has endowed human beings to be emotional but embeddedness in relationships and culture with others provides diversity in emotional experiences

early emotions

1. primary emotions

2. self-conscious emotions

3. other-conscious emotions

Structural immaturity of the infant brain makes it unlikely that emotions require thoughts

primary emotions

• present in humans and other animals,  6 months

self-conscious emotions

• self-awareness that involves consciousness and a sense of me 

other-conscious emotions

• involve the emotional reactions of others when they are generated

emotional expression and social relationships

• Ability of infants to communicate emotions permits coordinated interactions with their caregivers ad the beginning of an emotional bond between them 

• Modify their emotional expressions in response to their parents’ emotional expressions

crying

• Most important mechanism -> verifies that lungs have been filled 

• Information about health of the newborn’s central nervous system 

types

1. basic

2. anger

3. pain

basic cry

rhythmic pattern that usually consists of a cry, followed by a briefer silence, then a shorter whistle that is moe high pitched

anger cry

• excess air is forced thru vocal cords

pain cry

•  sudden long, initial loud cry followed by breath holding, no preliminary moaning is present 

smiling

• Key social signal and positive social interaction in developing a new social skill

types

1. reflexive

2. social

reflexive smile

•  does not occur in response to external stimuli and appears during the first month after birth, usually during sleep

social smile

response to external stimulus

fear

• stranger anxiety

• Separation protest

[fear] stranger anxiety

• infant shows a fear and wariness of strangers gradually 

  • Familiar > unfamiliar 

  • Child < adult strangers

[fear] separation protest

• crying when the caregiver leaves

attachment

close emotional bond between 2 people

Harlow’s Contact Comfort

• regardless of which mother fed them, the infant monkeys spent far more time with the cloth mother 

• Whether the mother provided comfort seemed to determine whether the monkeys associated the mother with security 

• Feeding is  not the crucial element in the attachment process and that contact comfort is important

Erik Erikson’s Trust vs. Mistrust

• Foundation for attachment and sets the stage for lifelong expectation that the world will be good 

John Bowlby’s Attachment Styles

• Importance of attachment in the first year and responsiveness of caregiver

• Maintains that both infants and caregivers are biologically predisposed to form attachments 

• Biologically equipped to elicit attachment behavior 

• Develops in a series of phases 

• Internal working model of attachment: simple mental model of the caregiver, their relationship, and the self as deserving of nurturant care

  • Influences the infant’s and subsequent responses to people 

1. Phase 1: birth to 2 months 

• Instinctively direct their attachment to human figures

2. Phase 2: 2-7 months 

• Attachment becomes focused on one figure

3. Phase 3: 7-24 months 

• Specific attachments develop

4. Phase 4: 24 months onwards

• Become aware of other’s feelings, goals, plans

Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

• Observational measure of infant attachment that takes about 20 mins in which the infant experiences a series of introductions, separations, and reunions with the caregiver and an adult stranger

• Degree to which caregiver’s presence provides infant with security

[Ainsworth] Types of Attachment

1. securely attached

2. insecure avoidant

3. insecure resistant

4. insecure disorganized

securely attached babies

• Use caregiver as secure base from which to explore environment 

• Protest mildly when caregiver leaves

• Infants reestablish positive interaction with her when she comes back

• Positive emotional health, high self-esteem, self-confidence, etc

insecure avoidant babies

• Avoiding caregiver 

• Engage in little interaction 

• Not distressed when she leaves room

• Do not establish contact when back

insecure resistant babies

• Cling to the caregiver and resist her by fighting against the closeness 

• Cries loudly

insecure disorganized babies

• Dazed, confused, and fearful 

• Strong patterns of avoidance and resistance

criticisms about attachment theory

1. is it a critical period?

2. biological factors aren’t considered enough

3. diverse socializing agents and contexts exist and these affect attachment

criticism 1: is it a critical period

• findings above show continuity: secure attachment in infancy predicts subsequent positive development 

• no continuity; other studies found that it did not predict attachment style at age 18 (parental divorce was the predictor for an insecure attachment style at 8)

• attachment style can change

• choices that we make that makes us veer a different way 

criticism 2: biological factors aren’t considered enough

• If early attachment (parenting) is not the sole predictor of later developmental outcomes, what possible explanations could there be?

• Kagan: temperament and biology

criticism 3:

• cultural value systems -> frequent secure attachment styles in Zambia 

• some encourage socializing with people

• other cultures don't facilitate these -> end up with secure attachment not being as predominant in these culture

Van Ryzain’s Developmental Cascade Model

• involves connections across domains over time that influence developmental pathways and outcomes 

• Wide range of biological, socioemotional processes and social contexts

• Secure attachment concept doesn’t consider certain biological factors

• Infants are highly resilient and adaptive

• Ignore diversity of socializing agents and contexts that exists in infant’s world

  • Culture’s value system can influence the nature of attachment

Caregiving Styles and Attachment

1. Securely attached babies; caregivers who are sensitive to signals and available to respond

2. Avoidant babies; unavailable, rejecting, little physical contact

3. resistant babies; inconsistently available,  not very affectionate, sometimes responsive

4. disorganized babies: neglectful, abusive, depressed

   • Caregivers’ interactions with infants influence whether infants are securely/insecurely attached to caregivers

Developmental Neuroscience and Attachment

• Examines connections between socioemotional processes, development, and brain

• role in maternal attachment: Prefrontal cortex, subcortical regions of amygdala, and hypothalamus 

hormones involved

• Oxytocin: likely influence on formation of infant-mother attachment 

• Dopamine; experience of pleasure and reward is linked to activation when mothers care for their infant and are exposed to their infant’s cues

emotions regulation and coping

• Develops an ability to inhibit or minimize the intensity and duration of emotional reactions

• Young infants with negative temperament used fewer attention regulation strategies and maternal sensitivity = adaptive emotion regulation 

• Contexts influence emotion regulation

temperament

• involves individual differences in behavioral styles, emotions, and characteristic ways of responding

  • Individual  differences in how quickly the emotion is shown, how strong it is how long it lasts, and how quickly it fades away

classifications of temperament

1. Chess and Thomas’ Classification

2. Kagan’s Behavioral Inhibition

3. Rothbart and Bate’s Classification

Chess and Thomas’ Classification

• Easy child; generally in a positive mood 

• Difficult child; reacts negatively and cries frequently

• slow-to-warm  up; low activity level

Kagan’s Behavioral Inhibition

• Focuses on the differences between a shy vs. sociable child

• React to many aspects of unfamiliarity with initial avoidance, distress, or subdued affect

• Inhibition shows considerable stability from infancy thru early childhood

Rothbart and Bate’s Classification

• Prior classifications of temperament haven’t included a key temperament style; effortful control (self regulation) 

• Characterize the structure of temperament; extraversion/surgency, negative affectivity and effortful control

  • Children shouldn’t be pigeonholed as having only one temperament

  • Children consists of multiple dimensions 

  • Control allows individual differences to emerge

classifications

• extraversion/surgency

• negative affectivity

• effortful control

extraversion'/surgency

•  includes approach, pleasure, activity, smiling, and laughter 

negative affectivity

• includes fear, frustration, sadness, and discomfort, easily distressed

effortful control

•  attentional focusing and shifting, inhibitory control, perceptual sensitivity, and low-intensity pleasure

Biological Foundations and Experience

• Inherit a physiology that biases them to have a particular type of temperament 

• Stresses that temperament has both a physiological and experiential basis

Biological Influences

• Inhibited temperament is associated with a unique physiological pattern that includes high and stable heart rate, hormone cortisol, high activity in the right frontal lobe of the brain 

• Excitability of the amygdala 

• Contemp view; temperament is biologically based but evolving aspect of behavior 

• Evolves as the child’s experiences are incorporated into a network of self-perceptions and behavioral preferences that characterize the child’s personality

Differential susceptibility model and the biological sensitivity to context model

• Emphasize the certain characteristics that render children more vulnerable to difficulty in adverse contexts and make them more susceptible to optimal growth in supportive conditions 

Gender, Culture, and Temperament

• Gender may be an important factor shaping the environmental context that influences temperament 

• Caregiver’s reaction to an infant’s temperament may depend on culture

• Linked to parental attitudes and behaviors

• Many aspects of a child’s environment can encourage or discourage the persistence of temperament characteristics

• Involves concept of goodness of fit 

Goodness of Fit and Parenting

• Goodness of fit; match between a child’s temperament and the environmental demands the child must cope with 

• Differential susceptibility model and the biological sensitivity to context model 

  • Emphasize the certain characteristics that render children more vulnerable to difficulty in adverse contexts and make them more susceptible to optimal growth in supportive conditions 

trust

Arises again at each successive stage of development and can have positive/negative outcomes

Developing Sense of Self

• mirror technique

• Refer to themselves by making statements such as me, big

• Label their internal experiences, monitor themselves, declare that things are theirs 

• Seem to consider another’s perspective when predicting their actions 

independency

• Autonomy builds as the infant’s mental and motor abilities develop

• Feel pride in these new accomplishments and want to do everything themselves

social orientation

• Young infants stare intently at faces and are attuned to the sounds of voices

• Adept at interpreting the meaning of facial expressions and voices

• Face to face play often begins to characterize caregiver=infant interactions 

  • Include vocalizations, touch and, gestures

locomotion

• Develop the ability to crawl, walk, and run, explore social world

• Allow infant to independently initiative social interchanges → develop skills

Intention, Goal-directed behavior, and meaningful interactions with Others

• Engaging in meaningful interactions with others

• Joint attention; occurs when the caregiver and infant focus on the same object

• Grasp social knowledge quickly

social referencing

• Describe reading emotional cues in others to help determine how to act in a particular situation 

infant’s social sophistication and insight

• More sophisticated 

• Infants’ perceptions of others’ actions

attachment

• close emotional bond between two people 

• Emphasize that infants become attached to the person or object that provides oral satisfaction

• sense of trust & comfort

family

• Constellation of subsystems: a complex whole made up of interrelated, interacting parts-defined in terms of generation, gender role 

the transition to parenthood

• Develop a strong attachment with their infant, but they also want to maintain strong attachments to their spouse and friends

reciprocal socialization

• Socialization that is bidirectional; children socialize parents just as parents socialize children

• align with epigenetic view

scaffholding

•  parents time interactions in such a way that the infant experiences turn taking with the parents 

  • Involves parental behavior that supports children’s efforts, allowing them to be more skillful than they would be if they had to rely only on their own abilities

managing and guiding infant’s behavior

• Attempt to reduce or eliminate undesirable behaviors

• Management process includes 

  • Being proactive and childproofing the environment so infants won’t encounter dangerous objects 

  • Engaging in corrective methods when infants engage in undesirable behaviors such as excessive fussing and crying 

maternal and paternal caregiving

• Full-time fathers have career focused wives who provide most of the family income

• Fathers have the ability to act as sensitively and responsively as mothers with their infants

• Involved caregivers with their infants, as AKA pygmy fathers 

• Maternal interactions center on child-care activities 

• Paternal interactions; include rough and tumble play

parental leave

Licensed child care, and uncounted millions of children are cared for by unlicensed babysitters

• only for a minimum time employed women

variations in child care

• Policy of paid leave for new parents

• Factors; effects of child care

  • Age of the child

  • Type of child care 

  • Quality of program 

• Where

  • Large centers with elaborate facilities and in private homes 

  • Commercial operations

  • Nonprofit centers

  • Professionals

variations of child care

• Infants and toddlers; family child care and informal care settings

• Older children; child care centers and preschool/early education programs 

• High-quality child care; involves providing children with a safe environment, alone time 

Assessment on Effects of Child Care on Children’s Development

1. quality of care

2. amount of time in childcare

• more than 30 hours = bad

  3. family and parenting influences

• Significant role in helping children to regulate their emotions 

• Consistent predictor of secure attachment with child-care experiences

Strategies in Child Care

1. recognize that the quality of your parenting is a key factor in your child’s development

2. monitor your child’s development

3. take some time to find the best child care