A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development, 7 th edition John W. Santrock Chapter 10 – Emotional Development and Attachment Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Exploring Emotion Emotion Feeling, or affect, that occurs in a state or an interaction that is important to a person, especially to his/her well-being Positive emotions include enthusiasm, joy, and love Negative emotions include anxiety, anger, guilt, and sadness Emotions influenced by biological foundations and a person’s experience Social relationships provide setting for development of emotions Cultural variations characterize emotional development Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Exploring Emotion Emotional regulation consists of effectively managing arousal to adapt to circumstances and to reach a goal Arousal involves a state of alertness or activation Regulation of emotion gradually shifts from external sources to self-initiated, internal sources Children improve use of cognitive strategies to regulate emotion, modulate arousal, manage situations to minimize negative emotion, cope with stress Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Exploring Emotion Emotion-coaching parents: Monitor child’s emotions, view negative emotions as a teaching opportunity, assist them in labeling emotions, and coach on how to effectively deal with emotions Better able to self-soothe, more effective in regulating negative affect, focus attention better, fewer behavioral problems Emotion-dismissing parents: Deny, ignore, or change negative emotions Linked with poor emotional regulation Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Exploring Emotion Emotional competence involves: Awareness of one’s emotional states Detecting others’ emotions Using vocabulary of emotion in socially and culturally appropriate ways Having empathic and sympathetic sensitivity to others’ experiences Adaptively coping with negative emotions Awareness that emotional expression plays a role in relationships Viewing oneself overall as feeling the way one wants to feel Linked to effective management of resilience, and more positive relationships Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Development of Emotion Primary emotions Present in humans and other animals Appear in the first 6 months of life Surprise, interest, joy, anger, sadness, fear, and disgust What do you think? Are these the primary or first emotions with which we start? Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Development of Emotion Cries and smiles are among babies’ first form of emotional communication Basic cry Anger cry Pain cry Parents can distinguish various cries of their own infant better than those of other babies Smiling Reflexive smile – does not occur in response to external stimuli Social smile – occurs in response to external stimuli Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Development of Emotion Stranger anxiety Fear and wariness of strangers Emerges gradually, appearing at about 6 months of age Most frequent expression of infant fear Separation protest Crying when caregiver leaves Typically displayed by 7-8 months of age Peaks at about months Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Development of Emotion Infants develop ability to inhibit, or minimize, the intensity and duration of emotional reactions Suck thumb to self-soothe Caregivers help soothe emotions Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Development of Emotion Watson emphasized that parents rewarded crying and increased its incidence Ainsworth and Bowlby stress that you cannot respond too much to an infant’s crying in first year of life Some developmentalists suggest that responding to a crying infant increases a sense of trust and secure attachment Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Development of Emotion Children develop increased understanding of emotion during early childhood Between 2-4 years, children increase the number of terms used to describe emotions Learn about causes and consequences of emotions Between 4-5 years, children show increased ability to reflect on emotions Same event can elicit different emotions in different people Growing awareness of need to manage emotions to meet social standards Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Development of Emotion Emotional regulation is fundamental to the development of social competence Important component of self-regulation or executive function Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Development of Emotion Learning how to cope with stress is an important aspect of children’s lives With age, children able to more accurately appraise a stressful situation and determine how much control they have over it Older children generate more coping alternatives to stressful conditions and make greater use of cognitive coping strategies By age 10, most children are able to use cognitive strategies to cope with stress Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Development of Emotion Adolescents are not constantly in a state of emotional turmoil, or “storm or stress” Emotional highs and lows do increase during early adolescence Intensity of emotions may seem out of proportion to events that elicit them Emotional mood swings may be due to not knowing how to adequately express their feelings Girls are especially vulnerable to depression in adolescence Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Development of Emotion Adults adapt more effectively with emotional intelligence Skilled at perceiving and expressing emotions, understanding emotion, using feelings to facilitate thought, and managing emotion effectively Women and men differ in experience of emotion and response to stress Women are more vulnerable to social stressors, in romance, family, and work More likely to become depressed in stressful events Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Development of Emotion Men are more likely to respond in a fight or flight manner when facing stress Become aggressive, withdraw from social contact, or drink alcohol When women experience stress, they engage in a tend and befriend pattern Seeking social alliances with others, especially friends Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Development of Emotion Older adults report experiencing more positive emotion and less negative emotion than younger adults Positive emotion increased with age at an accelerating rate Older adults may experience less extreme joy, but have more contentment when connected in positive ways with friends and family React less strongly to negative circumstances, better at ignoring irrelevant negative information, and remember more positive than negative information Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Temperament Individual differences in behavioral styles, emotions, and characteristic ways of responding How quickly emotion is shown, how strong it is, how long it lasts, and how soon it fades away Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Temperament Chess and Thomas’ classifications: Easy child – positive mood, quickly establishes regular routines, adapts easily to new experiences Difficult child – reacts negatively and cries frequently, irregular daily routines, slow to accept change Slow-to-warm-up child – low activity level, somewhat negative, low intensity of mood 40% are easy children, 10% are difficult children, 15% are slow-to-warm-up Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Attachment and Love Social referencing Reading emotional cues in others to help determine how to act in a specific situation A mother’s facial expression influences how an infant will explore an unfamiliar environment Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Attachment and Love Attachment Close emotional bond between two people Freud - infants attach to person/object that provides oral satisfaction Harlow - contact comfort is crucial element in developing attachment Erikson - trust vs. mistrust stage emphasizes the role of physical comfort Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Attachment and Love Stages of attachment: Phase 1 (Birth-2 months) Infants attach to human figures – strangers, siblings, and parents alike Phase 3 (2-7 months) Attachment focused on one figure, usually the primary caregiver, as baby learns to distinguish familiar from unfamiliar people Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Attachment and Love Stages of attachment (continued): Phase 3 (7-24 months) Specific attachments develop and with increased locomotion, infants seek out contact Phase 4 (24 months on) Children become aware of others’ feelings, goals, and plans, and take these into account when forming actions Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Attachment and Love Strange Situation Observational measure of infant attachment in which the infant experiences a series of introductions, separations, and reunions with caregiver and an adult stranger in prescribed order Securely attached children Insecure avoidant children Insecure ambivalent children Insecure disorganized children Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Attachment and Love Ainsworth - secure attachment forms a foundation for important psychological development later in life Few studies address attachment to mother and father separately Consistent positive caregiving over a number of years is an important part in connecting early attachment with child’s functioning later in life Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Attachment and Love Secure attachment in adolescence facilitates social competence and well-being Reflected in self-esteem, emotional adjustment, and physical health Most consistent outcomes of secure attachment include positive peer relations and emotional regulation Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Attachment and Love Romantic partners fulfill some of the same needs for adults as parents do for their children Adults count on romantic partners to be a secure base to return to and obtain comfort and security in stressful times Young adults who were securely attached in romantic relationships were more likely to describe early relationships with parents as securely attached Sleeper Effect Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Attachment and Love Older adults have fewer attachment relationships than younger adults With increasing age, attachment anxiety decreases In late adulthood, attachment security is associated with psychological and physical well-being Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Attachment and Love Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love Passion – physical and sexual attraction Intimacy – emotional feelings of warmth, closeness, and sharing Commitment – cognitive appraisal of relationship and intent to maintain relationship in the face of problems Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014