Lifespan - Emotions & Social Rships throughout lifespan

Socioemotional selectivity theory (Carstensen)

-Motivation ←→ perception of time left in life

-lifespan theory of motivation (i.e., for friendships)

-perceive unlimited time → knowledge-seeking = primary motivator for fships (prefer friends who provide info that may be useful in future)

-perceive time as limited → emotional closeness

• more selective about friends

• prefer fships that evoke +ive feelings, avoid ones that evoke –ive feelings

First signs of attachment (and when)

~6 months

6-8 mo: social referencing (reference caregivers for how to act in ambiguous/unfamiliar situations) + separation anxiety begins (separation anxiety peak = 14-18 months)

8-10 mo: stranger anxiety begins (8-10 mo), declines at 2 yo

Early secure attachment with caregivers → (academic outcomes)

-better cognitive skills (higher IQ)

-academic achievement (3rd/4thG)

-academic motivation, engagement

Link btwn Attachment & Low SES

-Low-SES children ←→ insecure attachment w/ caregivers d/t risk factors associated with low SES (e.g., poor parental education, drug use, father absence)

-Esp. dismissive attachment (D is overrepresented in low-SES moms, especially low-SES adolescent moms)

Early separation (hospitalization) from mom was most detrimental for what age?

-Babies separated after 7 mo showed: lots of stranger anxiety, not soothed; clung excessively to moms, sleep/appetite disturbances

-babies younger than 7 mo showed little distress, adjusted quickly

When do the primary emotions develop/show (and what are they?

0-1.5 yo is limited to primary emotions

-after birth: content/distressed, interest

-6 mo: 6 primary emotions (anger, disgust, sad, fear, joy, surprise)

• 5-7 mo: can discriminate happy/sad in others (facial emotion recognition)

When do the Secondary emotions develop/show (and what are they)?

Secondary emotions = self-conscious emotions, from developing self-awareness

1.5-2yo: 3 Es (Envy, Embarrassment, Empathy)

2.5-3yo: Shame, Guilt, and Pride

Babies’ preferences for facial emotions

-prefer happy emotions <7mo

-7-12 months: fear bias, increased attention to fearful facial expressions (maybe bc learning it)

Around what age do infants develop an understanding of affective facial expressions?

~1-1.5 yo (10-18 mo)

**12mo infants expect person to show happy after receiving a toy, and sad/anger after fighting over toy

Age-related changes in + vs. – emotions (btwn 20s-60s, and 70s+)

Btwn 20s to mid-60s:

• fewer –ive emotions

• more +ive emotions (or stable)

Older adults: inconsistent findings (depends on health status)

• initial study: –ive emotions stable, fewer +ive emotions

• after controlling for health impairment in one study, same trend as 20s-60s (decreasing –ive, increasing +ive)

Positivity effect in older adult memory recall

positivity effect = older adults tend to prefer, attend to, and remember more +ive info than YA

-recall more memories that are +ive

-possibly explained by socioemotional selectivity theory (d/t perceiving limited time left in life, older adults more motivated by emotionally gratifying experiences)

Instrumental vs. hostile aggression

Instrumental aggression – (aka proactive aggression) goal-oriented, planned, to get something you want/need (e.g., money, status)

Hostile aggression – reactive, meant to inflict pain, stems from anger

Dominant aggression type in kids <4 yo

Physical instrumental aggression

-evident by 1yo

*peaks at 2 yo (boys are also noticeably more aggressive than girls at age 2)

e.g., grab mom’s hair to get toy

Social Information Processing Model (Crick and Dodge)

-theory for why some children develop chronic aggressive bx

-response to provocation involves 6 steps (aggression = processing bias/deficits)

-explains how ppl encode, interpret, and respond to social situations

• Encoding of cues: tendency to focus on potentially hostile aspects

• Interpretation of cues: hostile attribution bias

• Clarification of Goals: retaliation = the goal (for aggressive children)

• Response search: identify few options for responding, most are aggressive

• Response decision: choose aggressive response bc believe it has favorable outcomes

• Behavioral enactment

APA Task Force 2015 on effect of violent videogames on aggressive bx in teens/YA

*Violent videogames DO contribute to aggressive/violent bx in teens/YA (after controlling for other aggression risk factors)

-need to be cautious about generalizing to others (females, children <10, BIPOC)

Culture of Honor (what is it, reasons why)

-more prevalent in US South

-aggressive response to threats to one’s honor, great concern around status/reputation

→ greater homicide rates (from arguments involving threats to honor)

Greater acceptance of violence in South is attributed to:

• warmer temp, greater poverty

• hx of slavery

• herding-based economy in 17th/18th centuries (livelihood can be lost instantaneously)

White men in Southern US states are more likely than white men in North to react to insults with

-greater anger

-greater cortisol/testosterone increase

-report using violence in response to threats (to self/family/property)

-criticize men who don’t respond with violence to these threats

3 types of non-social play, 3 types of social play

Nonsocial play:

-unoccupied play (aimless, no apparent goal)

-solitary play

-onlooker play (observing other children play, may talk to those kids)

Social play:

-parallel play (next to other, shares toys, doesn’t interact)

-associative play (interacts, but no shared goals)

-cooperative play (plays to achieve common goal)

-decreases with age: solitary and parallel play

Selman’s 5 developmental levels of understanding “friendship”

Level 0: Momentary Playmates (~3-6 yo):

• friends = kids they currently play with, kids who live nearby

Level 1: One-Way Assistance (~5-9 yo):

• friends are benefits

• friends = kids who do nice things for them

• no thought about what they contribute to the fship

Level 2: Two-Way, Fair Weather Cooperation (~7-12 yo):

• fairness and reciprocation (rigid), tit for tat

• ‘if I do s.t. nice for them, they should for me’, otherwise friendship may end

Level 3: Intimate, Mutually Shared Relationships (~8-15)

• friends = share secrets, do things bc you genuinely care about them

• likely to feel betrayed if best friend chooses to spend time with someone else

Level 4: Mature Friendship (12+):

• value emotional closeness, accept differences btwn self/friend

• less likely to feel threatened by other fships

Unpopular kids (rejected-aggressive, rejected-withdrawn, neglected)

-Rejected-aggressive: hyperactive, impulsive, often in conflict, difficulty regulating emotions, interpret hostile intent

-Rejected-withdrawn: submissive, passive, high social anxiety

-Neglected: low interaction with any peers, rarely have disruptive bx, usually well-adjusted

Type of peer status (unpopular kid) most likely to have worst outcomes

Rejected children:

-greater loneliness, lower self-esteem

-less likely than neglected kids to experience improved peer status with setting changes

Three-Component Model of Successful Aging

(successful aging = bio-psycho-social-functioning health)

1. reduce disease/disability risk

2. maintain high physical/cognitive functioning

3. actively engage with life (connected to others, involved in activities)

***3 factors are hierarchical:

-absence of disease → necessary for good cognitive/physical functioning → necessary for active engagement with life

-people have some control over the 3 factors through diet, exercise, lifestyle

Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC) model

-focuses on adapting to aging by minimizing age-related decline (e.g., processing speed) + maximizing age-related gains (e.g., knowledge/wisdom) through:

• Selection = narrowing down goals/what’s actually important

• Optimization = acquiring or strengthening the skills needed to achieve selected goals and activities

• Compensation = obtain assistance to achieve selected goals and activities.