Social and personality development in infancy Grace Dalton, Emily Hahn, Rachel Pata

Do Babies have emotions???????

How infants experience emotions: Birth- infants are born with innate repertoire of emotional expressions 9-10 months- the structures that make up the limbic system begin to grow causing more emotions Infant’s facial expressions are the same across all cultures

Emotions in infants

Separation anxiety and stranger anxiety Develop at the end of the first year The distress displayed by infants when a customary care provider departs Stranger anxiety- the caution and weariness displayed by infants when encountering an unfamiliar person Infants show less anxiety with females than males Both represent positive cognitive advances and the growing social and emotional bonds

smiling Social smile-Smiling in response to other individuals 6-9 weeks, babies begin to smile at the sight of something that pleases them By the age of 18 months, infants smiles become more purposeful and communicate positive emotions

Decoding facial and vocal expressions Non-verbal decoding- determining the emotional states of others based on their facial and vocal expressions By 4 months, infants have begun to understand the emotions behind facial and vocal expressions

Social referencing Social referencing- the intentional search for information about others’ feelings to help explain the meaning of uncertain circumstances and events First occurs around 8 or 9 months Use facial expressions as clues Ex: An infant looks at someone sad and begins to feel sad

Self-awareness Self-awareness- knowledge of oneself Begins to grow at 12 months Not born with it A child’s cultural upbringing impacts the development of self-awareness

Theory of mind and empathy Theory of mind- knowledge and beliefs about how the mind works and how it affects behavior Empathy-an emotional response that corresponds to the feelings of another person Start showing signs of empathy at age 2

Forming relationships Attachment- the positive emotional bond that develops between a child and a particular individual Attachment is the most important aspect of social development

Ainsworth strange situation Ainsworth strange situation- a sequence of staged episodes that illustrate the strength of attachment between a child and his/her mother 8 step pattern 1) mother and baby enter the unfamiliar room 2) the mother sits down leaving the baby free to explore 3) an adult stranger enters and talks to the mom and then the baby 4) the mom leaves and the stranger stays 5) the mom returns greeting and comforting the baby and the stranger leaves 6) the mom departs leaving the baby alone 7) the stranger returns 8) the mother returns and the stranger leaves

Cont’d: The infants reactions to these vary depend on how attached they are 1 year olds typically show one of the 4 major patterns Secure attachment pattern- when a child is really attached to the mom and becomes upset when she leaves (2/3 of children) Avoidant attachment- a child isn’t extremely attached to the mother and is upset with her when she leaves and then comes back (20% of children) Ambivalent attachment pattern- a mix between positive and negative reactions to the mother (10-15 % of children) Disorganized-disoriented attachment- show inconsistent and contradicting responses. (least attached children) (5-10% of children)

Mothers and attachment Interactional synchrony- caregivers respond to infants appropriately and both caregiver and child match emotional states (produces secure attachment) Attachment depends on how mothers react to their infants emotional cues EX: if a baby cries and the mother picks it up immediately, it will produce a securely attached infant Mothers are more equipped to provide substance and care for their child Infants are more typically soothed by their mothers than their fathers

Infant interactions Mutual regulation model- infants and parents learn to communicate emotional states to one another and to respond appropriately A lot is learned through facial expressions Reciprocal socialization- infants behaviors invite further responses from parents and other caregivers which in turn bring about further responses from the infant

Infant-infant interaction

Cont’d A child’s level of sociability rises when they reach 9-12 months Exposure to other children helps them learn new behaviors and skills, especially social skills

Differences among infants From birth onward, infants begin to show unique, stable traits and behaviors that ultimately lead to their development as distinct, special individuals Erickson’s theory of psychosocial development- the theory that considers how individuals come to understand themselves and others (8 stages)

temperament Temperament- patterns of arousal and emotionality that represent consistent and enduring characteristics in an individual Refers to how children behave not why they behave a certain way Reflected in several dimensions of behavior: activity level (the degree of overall movement) and irritability (nature and quality of an infants mood)

Babies temperament Easy babies- have a positive disposition. Their body functions operate regularly and they are adaptable (40% of babies) Difficult babies- have more negative moods. They are slow to adapt to new situations and they withdraw (10% of babies) Slow-to-warm babies- inactive, showing relatively calm reactions to environment but their moods are negative and they withdraw from new situations adapting slowly. (15% of babies) 35% of babies show a variety of characteristics

Consequences of temperament Goodness-of-fit- the notion that development is dependent on the degree of match between the child’s temperament and the nature and demands of the environment of which they are being raised Temperament seems to be weakly related to infants attachment to caregivers A child’s temperament is also based off of how their parents react to their difficult behavior Cultural differences have a major impact on temperament

gender As infants age, gender differences become pronounced, mostly due to environmental influences Differences are accentuated by parental expectations and behaviors

Gender differences: Guys tend to be more active and fussier Boys sleep tends to be more disturbed At the age of 1 year, infants are able to distinguish the difference between males and females By age 2, boys tend to behave more independently less compliantly Girls at the age of 2 tend to behave less independently and are more compliant

Family life in the 21st century The number of single parent families has increased (3/4ths of people live with 2 parents) The average family size is shrinking (2.6 people per household) (2.8 in 1980) ½ million births to teenage women (mainly unmarried) More than half of mothers work now

Cont’d 1 in 3 children live in low income households In conclusion: these statistics suggest that many infants are being raised in situations in which many stressors are present

Child care More than 80% of infants are cared for by people other than their mothers in their first year of life High quality childcare outside of the home produces only minor differences than home care (can be beneficial for those in lower-income homes) Head start programs serve at risk children in impoverished areas: helps children solves problem better, pay better attention, and use language more effectively Low quality childcare will cause children to have a lower ability to work independently and have less effective time management skills

Questions?