Emotional Development Notes

Emotional reactions begin in infancy and form the basis of personality, influencing how individuals interact with the world and form relationships.

Emotional development is influenced by:
- Biology: Genetic predispositions and neurological factors.
- Cognition: How children interpret events and understand their own and others' emotions.
- Experiences: Interactions with caregivers and significant life events.

Emotions are expressive:
- They communicate internal states to others.
Emotions are functional:
- Guide own behaviors by signaling what to approach or avoid.
- Motivate others' behaviors: Emotional expressions can influence how others respond.

Emotions are relatively undifferentiated at birth:
- Attraction to pleasant, novel, and complex stimuli.
- Withdrawal from unpleasant stimuli. Infants display basic comfort or distress.

Happiness: Evident through smiles and laughter, emerges early in infancy.
Fear: Typically appears around 6-8 months in response to specific stimuli.
Stranger anxiety: Fear of unfamiliar people, common in the latter half of the first year.
Separation anxiety: Distress when separated from primary caregivers.
Anger: Expressed as frustration or irritation.
Sadness: Response to pain, frustration, or loss.

Self-regulation: The ability to adjust emotions to comfortable levels to achieve goals.
Limited early on: Infants have little capacity to manage their emotional responses.
Dependence on caregivers: Rely on caregivers to soothe and regulate their emotions.

Self-regulation improves due to:
- Brain development: Maturation of the prefrontal cortex enhances regulatory abilities.
- Increased mobility: Allows greater control over the environment and emotional experiences.
- Social referencing @ 8 months: Infants look to caregivers for cues on how to respond to unfamiliar situations.
- Language @ 18 months: Provides tools for expressing and managing emotions.
- Transitional objects @ 24 months: Provide comfort and security during times of stress (e.g., blankets, stuffed animals).
Stress elicits an inflammatory response that can affect brain development, potentially impairing emotional regulation.

Self-conscious emotions @18 months:
- Involve injury to or enhancement of self (Shame, Guilt, Pride).
Function of caregivers’ feedback: How caregivers respond influences the development of these emotions.

Aware of own emotional states (vocabulary): Children begin to label their feelings.
Understand the causes of emotions: Recognize what triggers emotions in themselves and others.
View self as capable of regulating emotions: Develop a sense of control over their emotional experiences.
Detect and respond to other’s emotions: Empathy and emotional understanding improve.
Aware of the need to regulate emotions: Understand that managing emotions is important in social interactions.

Stable individual differences in the quality and intensity of emotional/behavioral reactivity as well as self-regulation.

Temperament is moderately heritable: Genetic factors play a role in temperament.
Temperament can be modified with experience: Parenting and environment can shape temperament.
More stable after infancy/toddlerhood: Temperament becomes more consistent over time.
Predicts later adjustment: Early temperament can influence future psychological outcomes.

Extraversion: active, sociable, sensation-seeking
Negative affectivity: fear, frustration, sadness, discomfort
Effortful control: keep emotions from becoming excessive; attention focusing, inhibitory control, perceptual sensitivity, and low-intensity pleasure
Emphasize multidimensional nature of temperament.

No single type of temperament is inherently good or bad.
Goodness-of-fit: Match between temperament and environment promotes healthy development.

Freud
- Oral stage: Focus on oral gratification.
- Anal Stage: Focus on toilet training and control.
Erikson
- Trust vs. Mistrust: Infant's basic needs being met by caregiver
- Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt: Developing a sense of independence.
Emphasized the role of early parent-child interactions in children’s mental health.

Secure base: Caregiver provides a sense of security, allowing exploration.
Proximity = safety: Staying close to the caregiver provides comfort and protection.
Internal working model:
- The world is a safe, predictable place.
- Other people are trustworthy, benevolent.
- I am competent and worthy of love.

Pre-attachment (0-6 weeks): Indiscriminate social responsiveness.
Attachment-in-the-making (6 weeks-6 months): Preference for familiar caregivers.
Clear-cut attachment (6 months-18 months): Separation anxiety and secure base behavior.
Most infants have multiple attachment figures by the age of 2.

Secure (60%): Infants use caregiver as a secure base, show distress at separation, and seek comfort upon reunion.
Insecure
- Avoidant (15%): Infants show little distress at separation and avoid contact upon reunion.
- Resistant (10%): Infants show great distress at separation and ambivalence upon reunion.
Strange Situation: Examine infants’ behavior with caregiver, at separation from caregiver, and upon reunion with caregiver to assess attachment style.

Over time
- Secure attachments tend to remain stable.
- Insecure attachments can change due to life circumstances.
Across generations (Main): Parents’ attachment styles influence