DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONS

1. DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONS Theoretical approaches: behaviourism social learning cognitive-development functionalist

2. Behaviourism: Watson: three innate emotions: fear (e.g. as response to loud noises, loss of support) rage (e.g. as response to restriction of body movements) love (e.g. as response to touching and caressing) Importance of classical conditioning Skinner: operant conditioning

3. Social learning: Modeling of emotions by others in specific situations Cognitive-developmental: Discrepancy theory: discrepancy from child’s schema Doesn’t really deal with emotions, only attention and curiosity

4. Functional: Emotions are central, adaptive forces for everything we do Emotions and cognitive processing: two-way street, they affect each other, not independent of each other What are the functions of emotions? Emotions are vital in interacting with our environment appraisal of situation, stimuli preparing for action

5. Emotions impact on: attention and perception learning memory physical and mental health self-efficacy social behaviour; emotional expression

6. Emotions and cognitive processing: positive emotions enhance cognitive processing, and cognitive functions that help the infant or child understand its environment produce positive emotions the reverse is true of negative emotions

7. Emotions and health: emotional deprivation leads to physical failure to thrive, dwarfism emotional deprivation causes stress stress leads to elevated blood pressure and heart rate, which can lead to heart disease stress depresses the immune response, leading to higher rates of infections and cancer stress diverts blood from the digestive system to brain and voluntary muscles, causing gastrointestinal problems, (e.g. colitis, constipation, diarrhea, ulcers, pain)

8. Emotions and health: (Cont’d) children who were emotionally deprived exhibited increased incidence of illness, learning and behaviour problems, poor concentration, poor impulse and anger control early intervention can lead to improvements children who were abused or rejected in early childhood showed, as adults, very elevated levels of C-reactive protein and fibrinogen, which are associated with cardiovascular disease and heart attacks and strokes maternal depression in infancy has profound effects, early intervention essential

9. Emotions and self-efficacy: contributes to the development of sense of self-awareness through the pleasure derived from some control of their environment (e.g. making a mobile move) Emotions and social behaviour: the child must learn how to regulate its emotions to adapt to their environment the child must learn the cultural rules for emotional expression and display

10. Development of emotional expression: Newborn: states of arousal (low, medium or high): pleasant or unpleasant (guessing game for caregivers)

11. Development of emotional expression: (Cont’d) Gradually, basic emotions emerge a little more clearly: “happiness” (pleasure, excitement) interest surprise fear anger sadness disgust: not as adults or older children understand it, but more a physiological reaction to certain stimuli, e.g. the smell of ammonia. Initially, no disgust toward dirt, or excretions, etc. These are learned later.

12. Expressions of contentment, happiness, delight: smiling to endogenous and exogenous stimuli then social smile (6-10 weeks, smiling at human faces) laughter (3-4 months)

13. Fear: more evident at 6-12 months. Two specific ones: stranger anxiety: not universal, depends on temperament, situation and stranger’s approach style when children reared by several people, little stranger anxiety is shown separation anxiety: related to onset of locomotion, keeps infants near caregiver or secure base, counterbalancing exploratory curiosity that could be harmful

14. Self-conscious emotions: 18-24 months shame guilt embarrassment envy pride Conditions: self-awareness and adult instruction. Differences between individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Internalized by school age.

15. Emotional self-regulation: mechanisms to avoid being totally engulfed in and controlled by emotions early on, emotions are very intense and overpowering, caretaker soothes and comforts, infant depends on this external regulation as brain develops so do child strategies to cope. (Also related to temperament) gradually, child learns to manage emotions, so they don’t interfere with child’s successful interactions with the environment ability to turn away, be distracted from overwhelming emotions

16. Emotional self-regulation: parents establish this process until child can take over as brain develops the capacity some specialized brain structures develop when parents intervene appropriately in the second year, language development further helps emotional self-regulation parental modeling and parental verbal guidance important mostly negative emotions studied early in life very dependent on adult regulation (soothing, hugging, explaining, etc.)

17. Around age 10, two strategies for emotional coping: Problem-centred coping: appraisal of situation and behavioural decision Emotion centred-coping: when nothing can be done, self-soothing strategies used

18. Emotional display rules: Culturally determined ways of expressing emotions: when, where and how large cultural variations parents generally reinforce positive emotions over negative ones by age 3, children capable of ‘masking’ negative emotions with positive ones

19. Perceiving the emotions of other people: before infants can decode facial expressions of emotion, they detect other cues: tone of voice, muscle tension when caregiver holds them, brusqueness or awkward movements or, in positive emotions, relaxed, self-assured movements, breathing patterns social referencing develops: looking at caregiver for cues to how to react

20. Emotional display rules: Culture dictates how, when and where it is appropriate to display emotions. Huge cultural variations. Parental selective reinforcement. Understanding others’ emotions: Empathy: detecting and vicariously feeling others’ emotions.

21. Understanding emotions: as cognition and language develop, children are better able to understand emotions very important role of adults, both modelling and explaining verbalization and acknowledgment of own and others’ emotions important for social interactions empathy: detect and ‘feel with’ another person’s emotion. Seems hard-wired, e.g. babies cry or get upset when they hear other babies crying. Leads to prosocial behaviour (helping others).

22. Understanding emotions: (Cont’d) individual differences in empathy capacity, related to emotional self-regulation depending on various factors (e.g. temperament, upbringing) some children will act in a helpful manner when feeling empathy of a negative emotion, while others will be overwhelmed themselves and not be helpful children with good emotional attachment to a parent are more empathetic

23. TEMPERAMENT: Inborn, stable characteristics of behaviour believed to be the foundation of personality inborn does not necessarily mean inherited or genetically transmitted Environmental influences: prenatal (intrauterine) perinatal extrauterine We don’t know if an infant’s temperament is totally hereditary, or partly hereditary and partly environmental (intrauterine)

24. TEMPERAMENT: (Cont’d) Not impossible to change (environment) E.g. placid, regular, easily irritated, adapts easily to change Measurement methods: frequent, long observations at home in the lab

25. TEMPERAMENT (Cont’d): Iffy measure: parents’ reports (biased, negative or positive) Newer measure: physiological reactions to stimuli, can be combined with lab or home observations Kagan Inhibited/uninhibited child Physiology vis à vis environmental changes Heart rate, blood pressure, pupil dilation, peripheral circulation

26. TEMPERAMENT (Cont’d): Cortisol secretion (stress) Mediated by limbic system (amygdala) Vagal tone (vagus nerve) controls heart rate. High vagal tone = stable heart rate: correlates with friendliness, empathy, prosocial behaviour, effective emotional regulation EEG in frontal lobes: mediates approach/ avoidance of people. Left cortex positive emotions, right cortex negative emotions Parental intervention crucial to help child face and deal with small stresses in a supportive manner Persistent inhibition correlates with social withdrawal, low self-esteem and loneliness

27. Thomas and Chess, research on temperament Identified the following independent characteristics: activity rhythmicity distractibility approach/withdrawal adaptability

28. Thomas and Chess: (Cont’d) attention span, persistence intensity of reaction threshold to respond mood

29. Three basic types: easy child (40%): generally happy, regular, adapts easily difficult (10%): irregular, negative, intense, slow to adapt slow-to-warm-up (15%): low activity, low key, negative moods 35% a combination Important environmental role difficult: associated with both anxious withdrawal and aggression in childhood slow-to-warm-up: associated with fearful and withdrawn behaviour in childhood

30. Rothbart’s Model: activity level positive affect persistence/attention span distress to novelty distress to frustration capacity for self-regulation

31. What can be predicted from a child’s temperament? cognitive development: correlates with persistence social behaviour: correlates with level of activity and shyness effortful control of emotions and impulsive actions: correlates with cooperation, moral maturity and prosocial behaviours

32. The Goodness of Fit Model: How good a fit is a child’s environment for his/her temperament? parents’ reactions to the child situation parents are in (positive or negative)

33. Development Of Attachment How do we learn to love? When do we learn to love? Where are affectional relationships rooted? Can we develop optimally without a primary, loving caretaker? How does separation from our main caretaker affect us when we are young? (i.e. daily, sporadic, long term, total) Are these effects reversible? Should mothers care for their infants exclusive of others?

34. Development Of Attachment (Cont’d) In pregnancy mother/baby symbiotic system “Parasitic”: Only foreign tissue not rejected by immune system Primates: 12 month gestational period Humans: 9 months, due to brain (head) size First three months extrauterine life = last three months intrauterine life in primates “Marsupial” mothering – unique situation for humans

35. Infant “misses the womb”: perfect temperature snugness continuous feeding hearing mom’s heartbeat swaying/rocking movements mom’s voice

36. First three months transitional period: Attachment has survival value: mother has to attach to infant to care for it Infant characteristics: cuteness helplessness reflexes (grasping, sucking, etc.) mutual gazing first hour post-partum At risk if premature or deformed or ill.

37. ATTACHMENT long lasting emotional-affectional bond proximity behaviours separation distress Early infant-caregiver attachment influences later relationships It has effects on both behaviour and on personality

38. Study of attachment started with institutionalized infants who showed severe developmental delays, listlessness, unresponsiveness, failure to thrive and even death without apparent physical causes. Root Cause: very limited human contact

39. Learning Or Behaviourist Model Drive-reduction: feeding Hunger: primary drive Maternal presence associated with satisfaction of hunger Love or attachment develops Operant conditioning model: reciprocal responsiveness between parent and child, reinforcing

40. Psychoanalytic approach: satisfaction of oral needs, oral stage, also centered on feeding Harlow: set out to prove both wrong Experiment with baby monkeys separated from mother Wire mother with bottle Terry cloth mother without bottle Contact-comfort Test: fearful stimulus Erikson, Sullivan: security basic need – trust - hope

41. How is security fostered? caretaker attuned to baby’s signals prompt, consistent and appropriate response one primary caretaker mother-infant pair have a “jump-start” during pregnancy

42. Mother-infant synchronies EEG during sleep mother’s voice/infant’s movements profound hormonal changes in mother during pregnancy maternal hormones reach infant via placenta and breast milk Infant active role through attachment behaviours

43. Other important newborn needs: Very frequent feeding (3 oz stomach capacity) Body contact, carrying Co-sleeping Stimulation ad lib Quick response to expression of needs (usually crying, but also restlessness, whimpering, agitation)

44. Infant characteristics that promote attachment reflexes: rooting, sucking, grasping eye contact responds to soothing smiles cute responds to voice eagerness to nurse, satisfaction shown cuddling in

45. Infant characteristics that prevent attachment low birth weight irritable hard to soothe unresponsive high pitch cry no eye contact sluggish, sleepy difficult temperament This shows the importance of pre and perinatal events, such as use of medication and other interventions

46. Risk characteristics of mothers stressful situation depression immaturity insecurity abused as a child unrealistic expectations inability to read baby’s signals

47. Risk characteristics of mothers unwanted pregnancy* awkward or businesslike handling of baby negative or resentful or rejecting Maternal risk characteristics are more important than infant’s for future outcomes. Importance of early interventions to show mothers how to care for difficult infants

48. Risk characteristics of mothers absent father* stress marital stress financial problems children too close in age no support or help, isolation

49. BOWLBY: Ethological Theory of Attachment Attachment is an innate system Infant develops internal working model (IWM) This model is a representation of the attachment figure (AF) and the behaviours associated with the AF The IWM interprets present situation and evaluates future action Its goal is security

50. This is evident when scared, tired or sick: return to the secure base: AF At 6-9 months infant starts to explore environment but returns to base frequently: like a leash Separation anxiety Stranger anxiety Related to onset of locomotion Intended to keep infant safe

51. Observed behaviour: attempts to maintain proximity to AF It’s a homeostatic system: external sensory system picks up cues from the environment: i.e. danger, alert Sensory system scans for AF

52. Triggers of security-seeking behaviour: perceived danger non-responsive AF Social referencing: AF reassures Secure based phenomenon: child explores near AF IWM is unconscious, lasts a lifetime As child matures, behaviours less obvious, only when in great danger or stress

53. Steps in loss of AF: protest despair detachments (seems OK) withdrawal

54. Recall: bonding head-start present at birth Klaus and Kennell research: Critical of hospital post-partum routines Mother/infant dyads, matches

55. Group 1: 1 hr. skin to skin contact within 2 hrs. after birth, 5 extra hrs. next 3 days Group 2: usual routine: brief contact post partum, visit at 12 hrs., infant brought every 4 hrs. to feed

56. Observations at 1 month: more soothing more “en face” more fondling, cuddling held baby closer At 1 year more holding and kissing more closeness At 2 years: better verbal communication

57. Led to “rooming in” practices in hospital K & K saw it as a sensitive period Humans flexible, can bond later Effects not noticeable after a few years But better start increases probability of continuing good relationship Maternal support important, breastfeeding

58. De Chateau Study (Sweden) manipulation: 15 min. contact and nursing within 15 min. of birth @ 36 hrs.: held baby more, particulalry baby boys @ 3 mo.: babies smile more, cry less, more “en face”, more kissing @ 1 yr. and 3 yrs. many positive outcomes, including better language development Similar studies in Guatemala, Brazil, Canada, better outcomes, including less abuse.

59. De Chateau Study (Sweden) (Cont’d) At 1 year: 26 measures held babies closer and more touched and caressed more more “positive” talk from mom babies rated higher n Gessell scales longer breastfeeding for boys fewer moms back to work later toilet training

60. De Chateau Study (Sweden) (Cont’d) At 3 years: less likely to report that time spent with baby after birth was not enough earlier language development (mom reports) more subsequent children

61. Guatemalan study: only 45’ skin to skin contact right after birth – same effects at 36 hrs. Canadian study (Kontos): Two independent variables: rooming-in (self-selected) early contact (vs. routine) (random) Strong main effects for both variables at 1 and 3 months Early contact and child abuse

62. Can we measure attachment? Mary Ainsworth: “Strange Situation” test Series of separations and reunions between mom and toddler Crucial behaviour: how child reacts upon being reunited with mom Basic classification: securely or insecurely attached Insecurely attached: three categories

63. Recent alternative: Q-Sort, parent or observer classifies child’s behaviour – 90 possible attachment behaviours Behavioural vs. self-report measure

64. AINSWORTH CLASSIFICATION Securely attached: Child quickly leaves mother and explores. If threatened or frightened returns to mom, easily consoled. When mom leaves, child may look worried, try to follow her, wait by the door, etc. or cry. At mom’s return positive greeting, easily soothed. Prefers mom to stranger

65. AINSWORTH CLASSIFICATION (Cont’d) Insecure avoidant/detached: Seem indifferent to mom, no change when she leaves, avoid or ignore mom upon her return, they do not hug her when she picks them up. No preference of mom over stranger

66. AINSWORTH CLASSIFICATION (Cont’d) Insecure resistant/ambivalent: Little exploration, clingy, wary of stranger. Very upset when mom leaves but not reassured when she returns. Both seeks and avoids contact, seems both glad and angry. Resists comforting from stranger, and are not easily soothed by mom.

67. AINSWORTH CLASSIFICATION (Cont’d) Disorganized-disoriented: Confusion, apprehension, dazed. Contradictory behaviour patterns simultaneously, i.e. going toward mom but turning head away, flat emotion There are cultural differences in incidence of the four types of attachment

68. Predictive validity of securely attached: mastery motivation longer attention span more positive affect confident in easy tool use task seeks mom’s help for difficult tasks autonomous exploration problem solving persistence

69. Predictive validity of securely attached: (Cont’d better social skills high on positive affect and low on negative affect empathy cooperation ego resilient high self-esteem

70. Maternal History of Attachment Transgenerational effects When AF remembered low in nurturance and competence: anxious patterns of relating Attribution to self: more likely to have negative effects Attribution to maternal personality: repetition less likely Foregiveness

71. Maternal classification according to her IWM (Mary Main): Secure/autonomous balanced: value attachments recognize importance of early experiences are objective in describing the positive and the negative understand own parents’ motivations likely to have securely attached kids

72. Maternal classification according to her IWM (Mary Main): (Cont’d) Dismissing or detached: minimize effects of early experience may idealize her parents, even deny negative childhood experiences emphasize own personal strengths likely to have avoidant infants

73. Maternal classification according to her IWM (Mary Main): (Cont’d) Preoccupied or enmeshed: remember inconsistent parenting may remember role-reversal still actively struggling with relationship with parents confused and ambivalent likely to have infants who are ambivalent

74. AF’s representation not necessarily accurate Maternal representation (IWM) predicts her and her baby’s attachment at one year Bad cycle CAN be broken: modeling more information different perspective

75. Consequences Of Separation Due To AF Employment Some important variables: age (under one year riskier) temperament (difficult temperament riskier) gender (boy riskier) other AF available number of hours at work (20/week upper limit) quality of home life

76. Several studies show that maternal absence affects boys more Also: maternal attitude toward employment, toward the sitter and toward herself

77. Effects of “other care”: Daycare centre: only about 15% 85% other arrangements Very heterogeneous, hard to study, so most studies done in daycare centres

78. Characteristics of good quality daycare: responsive caregivers contingent responses low ratio low staff turnover staff well trained (ECE) good physical facilities emphasis on socio-emotional growth Most U.S. and Canadian daycare centres not high quality. At issue: low pay for staff

79. Maternal Employment and Attachment Classification

80. Attachment to dads: Very recent research 20 min./day average more dads involved nowadays physical play, unusual games can be primary AF kids with involved dads have higher IQs child can be insecurely attached to mom but securely to dad paternal warmth and involvement positively correlated with cognitive, emotional and social competence

81. Changes in attachment: Secure can become insecure and v.v. E.g. divorce mom back to work death of AF illness new sibling Children flexible when young Attachment is not etched in stone in infancy or early childhood, but a good start increases chances of positive development