Developmental and Social Psychology: Emotional Development and Attachment

Emotional Development: The process of learning to experience, express, and regulate emotions; influenced by biological, social, and environmental factors.
Attachment: A deep emotional bond, typically formed in infancy, that shapes emotional regulation, social interactions, and cognitive development.
Emotions: Complex psychological and physiological responses to stimuli. Basic emotions (e.g., happiness, fear) emerge early and have unique biological bases.
Decision-Making: Emotionality is necessary for good decision-making; individuals with impaired emotions often make inferior choices.

Cultural Display Rules: These govern the appropriateness of emotional expression across cultures. - Japan: Encourages socially engaging emotions like sympathy and guilt. - North America: Encourages socially disengaging emotions like pride and anger. - Specific Cultural Differences: Tahitians lack a word for "sadness," Eskimos do not recognize "anxiety," and Ecuadorians lack a word for "remorse."
Gender: Men and women feel emotions equally but express them differently (e.g., men often direct anger outward; women direct it inward). Women are typically more skilled at reading nonverbal cues.

Goleman's Theory: EQ (including empathy, self-control, and self-awareness) matters more for success than IQ and can be learned.
Mayer and Salovey (1997) Competencies: - Emotion perception and expression. - Emotional facilitation of thought. - Emotional understanding. - Emotion management.
Research Insights: - Aggressive/hostile individuals (Walz and Benson, 1996; Larkin et al., 2002) mislabel ambiguous or neutral expressions as negative. - Abused children (Pollak et al., 2000) over-identify anger, while neglected children struggle to differentiate negative emotions.

0-6 Months: Crying (at birth), Reflexive smile ( $1 \text{ month}$ ), Social smile ( $4\text{-}6 \text{ weeks}$ ), Primary emotions (joy, fear, disgust) emerge by $6 \text{ months}$ .
6-12 Months: Stranger anxiety emerges ( $6 \text{ months}$ ), Social referencing ( $6\text{-}9 \text{ months}$ ), and Separation protest begins ( $7\text{-}8 \text{ months}$ ).
13-18+ Months: Separation protest peaks ( $13\text{-}15 \text{ months}$ ), and Self-conscious emotions like pride and guilt emerge ( $18 \text{ months}$ ).
Childhood: Empathy develops by age $3\text{-}4$ . By age $10$ , most children use cognitive strategies (e.g., shifting thoughts) to regulate emotions.
Parenting Styles: "Emotion-coaching" parents use emotions as teaching opportunities, while "emotion-dismissing" parents ignore or deny negative emotions.

Temperament (Chess and Thomas): Innate characteristics of reactivity. - Easy ( $40\%$ ): Positive mood, adapts easily. - Difficult ( $10\%$ ): Negative reactions, high intensity, slow to adapt. - Slow to Warm Up ( $15\%$ ): Low intensity, cautious in new situations.
Attachment Theory (John Bowlby): Attachment is innate and biologically based for survival. Key concepts include the "Secure Base" for exploration and "Internal Working Models" for relationship beliefs.
Critical Period: First $2\text{-}3 \text{ years}$ of life are vital for forming strong attachments.

Experiment (Mary Ainsworth): A lab procedure for infants aged $12\text{-}18 \text{ months}$ to observe responses to separation and reunion.
Attachment Styles: - Secure (Type B): Uses caregiver as a secure base; easily comforted upon reunion. - Insecure-Avoidant (Type A): Little response to departure or return; avoids caregiver. - Insecure-Resistant/Ambivalent (Type C): Highly distressed by separation; seeks but resists comfort upon return. - Disorganized (Type D): Confused or fearful behavior; often associated with trauma or inconsistent care.