UNIT 4

Emotions
Emotions are influenced by-
biological foundations- Regions of the brain that develop for emotions-
brain stem, hippocampus, and amygdala.
cognitive processes- Cognitive processes also influence perception and
processing of emotions- Social relationships and cultural embeddedness
provide diverse emotional experiences.

Emotional Regulation
Effectively managing arousal to adapt to circumstances and to reach a
goal. This ability is linked to gradual maturation of frontal regions of the
cerebral cortex.
Emotional Regulation can influence whether biological and experiential
factors are linked to developmental outcomes. Eg- Gene x Environment
interaction, the short version of serotonin transporter gene is linked to
risk of depression when individuals experience stressful environments.

Ineffective emotional regulation- lower levels of executive function,

difficulty succeeding in school, lower levels of moral development,
failure to cope with stress and difficulty in peer relations.

Parents- depending on how they talk with their children about emotions,
2 types-
- emotional coaching- monitors their children’s emotions, helps
navigate negative emotions, labelling emotions, coach on how to
deal effectively with emotions.
- emotion-dismissing approach- deny, ignore or change negative e.
Emotional intelligence- social and emotional competence. This
involves perceiving and expressing emotions accurately, understanding
emotion and emotional knowledge, using feelings to facilitate thought,
and manage emotions effectively.
Becoming emotionally competent involves-
Awareness of emotional state, detecting others emotions, using
vocabulary to term emotions, empathy and sympathy
Adaptively coping with negative emotions, awareness of emotional
expression in relationships, coping with stress

Most Dysregulated emotions- anger

Development of Emotions:
INFANCY
Primary Emotions- those emotions that are present in humans and other
animals, appear in the first 6 months of development
7 primary emotions- Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Disgust, Surprise,
Interest
Development of- Cry, Smile, Fear

Cry: and its Types

- Basic cry- pattern: cry-brief silence- whistle (high pitch)- rest-cry.
Hunger is main problem
- Anger cry- variation of basic cry, loud, harsh, like shouting
- Pain cry- initial breath holding- loud cry long

Smile: and its Types

- Reflexive Smile- usually during sleep
- Social Smile- response to external stimulus. (response to caregiver)

Fear: and its types

- Stranger Anxiety- fear and wariness of strangers (emerges
gradually) at 6 months and by 9 months more intense fear.
- Separation anxiety- fear of being separated from caregiver.
Studies- parents reward crying, Ainsworth- do not respond
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Self-conscious emotions- occur after 18 months when sense of self
develops. Eg- jealousy, empathy, pride, shame, guilt etc.

Expressing emotions- influenced by parents’ repose to child’s behaviour

Understanding emotions- there is an increase in- understanding
emotions, certain situations, facial expressions, specific emotions.
2-4yrs- cause and consequence of feelings
4-5 years- increased ability to reflect on emotions.

MIDDLE AND LATE CHILDHOOD

Regulating Emotions- important for social competence and is an
important part of self-regulation and executive function. Person can
supress or hide negative emotional reactions and have genuine empathy
or use self-initiated strategies to redirect feelings.
Dose-response effect- stress coping strategy. The more sever the
disaster (dose) the worse the adaptation and adjustment (response)
following the event.
Helping children deal with stress-
Reassure them of their safety and security, encourage discussion on
disturbing/confusing feelings, help the child make sense, protect from
re-exposure of traumatic experiences.

ADOLESCENCE
Fluctuations- Teens going through emotional highs and lows. They
reported more extreme + fleeting emotions than the parents.

ADULTHOOD AND AGING

Changes in creating life styles that are emotionally satisfying,
predictable and manageable depending on occupation, life partner etc.
Difference in gender response to stressors. Men- fight/flight (become
aggressive, withdraw, drink) Women- tend and befriend (seek aliances,
friends)

Fluctuations reduce. There is ‘adaptive integration of emotional

experience into satisfying daily life and successful relationships with
other’.

Aging Brain and emotions- reduced physiological arousal in aging

amygdala and ANS. Reduction in subcortical activation.

Socio-emotional Selectivity Theory.

Laura Carstensen- Older adults become more selective about their
activities and relationships to maintain social and emotional well-being.
They spend more time with familiar individuals which whom they have
rewarding relationships (and gain emotional satisfaction) like family
members. They deliberately withdraw from those who they don’t know
well. This maximizes positive emotional experiences and minimizes
emotional risks. Older adults systematically condense their social
network. Types of goals to achieve
- Knowledge-related goals- starts high in the early years, peaks in
adolescence and declines in middle and late adulthood.
- Emotion-related goals- high in infancy-E. Childhood, declines in
M-c and increases in middle and late adulthood.

TEMPERAMENT
An individual’s behavioural style and characteristic way of responding.
Chess and Thomas Classification
- Easy Child – positive mood, quickly establishes regular routines in
infancy, adapts easily to new experiences.
- Difficult Child- negative, cries frequently, engages in irregular
daily routines, slow to accept change.
- Slow-to-Warm-up Child- low activity level, somewhat negative,
low intensity of mood
Children who had an easy temperament at 3-5 adjusted well as adults.

Kagan classification
Shy, subdued, timid, sociable, extraverted, bold child. He sees shyness
with strangers as ‘inhibition to the unfamiliar’

Rothbart and Bates Classification

- Extraversion/surgency- approach, pleasure, activity, smiling,
laugher. (Kagan’s uninhibited children)
- Negative affectivity- fear, frustration, sadness, discomfort.
Children get easily distressed and cry often (Kagan’s inhibited
children)
- Effortful control- attentional focusing and shifting, inhibitory
control, perceptual sensitivity, low-intensity pleasure.

Development and Temperament

Behavioural inhibition at 3 years was linked to shyness at 7
Many aspects of a child’s environment can encourage or discourage the
persistence of temperament characteristics.

Goodness of Fit is the match between a child’s temperament and the

environmental demands they must cope with. When a chid is prone to
distress, they frequently cry and are irritable. They parents may respond
by ignoring or trying to force the child to behave.
Differential susceptibility model and Biological sensitivity to Context
Model-
According to these models certain characteristics like temperament can
make them more susceptible to optimal growth. Jay Belsky said that
intervention programmes might try to target these children who are
vulnerable to difficulty in adverse conditions because of the greater cost
effectiveness involved in there being likely to flourish when given a
chance of lot of care and support. These models offer a new perspective
on negative temperament characteristics (???????????)

SELF AND IDENTITY

Personality- enduring personal characteristics of individuals. It
encompasses self and identity.

INFANCY
Self-recognition- being attentive and positive towards ones mirror
image. 2nd year- being able to recognize oneself in the mirror
Self-understanding- Individuals cognitive representation of self.
Self-awareness- Sense of ‘me’ and references made to self.

EARLY CHILDHOOD
Self-understanding- not limited to visual recognition. Has 5 features-
i. Confusion of self, mind & body- see themselves as part of the
body.
ii. Concrete descriptions- they see themselves in concrete terms.
iii. Physical descriptions- distinguish themselves through physical
and material attributes.
iv. Active descriptions- Central component- They describe
themselves in terms of activities like play.
v. Unrealistic positive overestimations- Self-evaluations are
unrealistically positive, overestimations- ‘I am never scared.’
 Understanding Other-
4-5 years they perceive psychological traits. ‘My teacher is nice’
They gain an understanding that people don’t always give accurate
reports of their beliefs. Children are socially sensitive and perceptive,
suggesting that parents/teachers can help them navigate the social world
by how they interact with the children.

MIDDLE AND LATE CHILDHOOD

Self-understanding- 5 more
a. Psychological Characteristics and Traits- increase psychological
attribution and descriptions.
b. Social Descriptions- Children include social aspects like references
to social groups in self-description.
c. Social Comparison- see themselves in comparison to others.
d. Real and Ideal self- Children distinguish their actual competencies
from ideal goals they aspire.
e. Realistic- self-evaluation becomes realistic (maybe due to social
comparison and perspective taking)
Understanding Others
- Perspective taking- determining whether children will develop
prosocial/anti-social attitudes and behaviours.
- Executive function- sees- cognitive inhibition (controlling ones
thoughts to consider another person's perspective) cognitive
flexibility (seeing situations differently)

ADOLESCENCE
Self-Understanding
 Abstract and idealistic thinking- Adolescents use abstract and
idealistic labels “I am indecisive, and don’t know who I am”
 Self-consciousness- they are preoccupied with self-understanding-
seen in egocentrism.
  Contradictions within the self- they differentiate themselves from
their multiple roles and relationships and have a sense of
contradiction and differentiated selves.
 Fluctuating Self- Teen continues to be seen by instability until they
construct a more unified theory of self.
 Real and ideal self- teens imagine what they might become or
afraid of becoming.
 Self-integration- self-understanding becomes integrative with the
disparate parts of the self-more systematically pieced together.

Understanding others
In-depth perspective taking- egocentric viewpoint.
Adolescent girls engage in more social perspective taking than boys and
also experience more empathic distress.
Relational aggression found through low levels of perspective taking.

ADULTHOOD
Self-awareness- the degree to which a young adult is aware of their
psychological strengths and weaknesses.
Possible selves- See themselves in what they would like/might be. As
they get older, they describe less selves and see themselves in realistic
ways.

Self-esteem- Self-worth or self-image

Self-concept- Domain-specific evaluations of self.

Consequences of low self-esteem:

• obesity, anxiety, depression, suicide, delinquency lower life
satisfaction
Strategies for Increasing Self-Esteem
 • identify the causes of low self- esteem and the domains of
competence important to the self
• provide emotional support and opportunities for social approval
• take responsibility for one’s own self-esteem
• achieve goals
• develop effective coping strategies

Identity
Composed through- word, political view, religious view, relationships,
achievement.

Erikson- Identity vs Confusion

Filling the gap between childhood security and adult autonomy.
Exploration of choices.

• Narrative approach - Contemporary way of examining identity

changes in depth
• Narrative identity - “refers to the stories people construct and tell
about themselves to define who they are for themselves and others.
Beginning in adolescence and young adulthood, our narrative
identities are the stories we live by”

Marcia’s View
According to Marcia, identity is formed through a process of exploration
and commitment to various aspects of oneself, such as values, beliefs,
and goals.

Marcia proposed four identity statuses:

1. Identity diffusion: Individuals in this status have not yet explored or

committed to any particular aspect of their identity. They may feel lost,
confused, or uncertain about who they are.
2. Identity foreclosure: Individuals have made a commitment to an
identity without fully exploring other options. They may adopt their
parents' or society's expectations without considering alternatives.

3. Identity moratorium: Individuals are actively exploring different

aspects of their identity but have not yet made a firm commitment. They
may be experimenting with different beliefs, values, and goals.

4. Identity achievement: Individuals in this status have fully explored

various aspects of their identity and have made a firm commitment.
They have a clear sense of who they are and what they stand for.

GENDER
Gender- characteristics of people as males and females.
Gender roles- sets of expectations of a particular gender.
Gender typing- acquisition of traditional masculine/feminine roles
Gender Spectrum- idea that there are many gender identities.
Gender Schema- organizes the world in terms of female and male.

CHILDHOOD

ADOLESCENCE
Gender Intensification hypothesis- psychological and behavioural
differences between boys and girls becomes greater now and there is
increased pressure to conform to traditional gender roles.
Boys and girls who engaged in extreme gender-typed had low levels of
school engagement.

ADULTHOOD AND AGEING

Gender and Communication
 - Rapport talk- language of conversation. Establishing a connection
and negotiating relationships
- Report talk- give information

Women’s development- Women prefer rapport talk and value

relationships and nurturing connections
Men’s Development- Male roles are contradictory and inconsistent.
They experience stress when they violate men’s roles and are harmed
when they act according to men’s roles (aggression, unhealthy behavior,
lack of emotional connect…)

Play- a pleasurable activity that is engaged in for its own sake.

Sensorimotor play- behavior that infants get pleasure from exercising
sensorimotor schemes.
Practice Play- repetition of behavior when new skills are learned or
physical mastery and coordination of skills are required for games/sports
Symbolic Play- when child transforms aspects of the physical
environment into symbols.
Social Play- interaction with peers during preschool years
Constructive Play- sensorimotor and practice play with symbolic
representation. This occurs in self-regulated creation of a solution.
Games- activities for pleasure with rules and competition.

Behavior
Prosocial behavior- voluntary behavior to help others
Altruism- acting out of concern with no expectation for reward.

Nature and Nurture both contribute. Cultural variations exist.

Aggression
Instrumental Aggression- Behaviours used for achieving a goal
(common in early childhood) It surfaces during social play.
Men- found to be more aggressive with over aggression (direct physical)
Women- relational/social aggression- damaging relationships,
reputations

Influences of Aggression
- Temperament
- Parental Behaviour
- Stressful home-environment
- Witnessing violent model
- Media culture and aggression

Fearfulness- exists.

Moral Development- changes in thoughts, feelings and behaviors

regarding standards of right and wrong.
The intrapersonal dimension is how a person manages themselves when
they are alone or not interacting with others. The interpersonal
dimension is how a person manages their interactions with others,
including resolving conflicts.

Moral Thought

Piaget
Heteronomous morality is the first stage of moral development that
children go through, typically between the ages of 4 and 7. During this
stage, children believe that rules and justice are unchangeable and come
from outside sources. They also believe in immanent justice, which
means that if a rule is broken, punishment will be given immediately.
In contrast, during the later stage of moral development, called
autonomous morality, children become aware that rules and laws are
created by people. They begin to understand that the intentions behind
an action are important in determining whether it is right or wrong, and
that consequences alone are not enough to judge the morality of an
action. This stage typically occurs after the age of 10.

Kohlberg’s Theory
Moral reasoning is the way people think about what is right and wrong
and how they learn and use moral rules.

Levels of Moral Reasoning-

- Preconventional- moral reasoning based on external rewards and
punishments. (to avoid punishment and gain reward.
a. Heteronomous Morality
b. Individualism, Instrumental Purpose and Exchange

- Conventional- laws and rules are upheld simply because they are
laws and rules. (to play the good citizen)
a. Mutual Interpersonal Expectations, Relationships and
Interpersonal Conformity
b. Social Systems in Morality

- Postconventional- reasoning based on personal moral standards.

(references to universal ethical principles to protect all people)
a. Social contract or Utility and Individual Rights
b. Universal Ethical Principles
Criticism of kohlberg’s theory
-Research not supported
-Western emphasis on individual rights, harm and justice
-Early research conducted only on male subjects

Moral Perspectives
Justice Perspective- A moral perspective that focuses on the rights of
the individual.
Care Perspective- The moral perspective of Carol Gilligan; views
people in terms of their connectedness with others and emphasizes
interpersonal communication, relationships with others, and concern for
others.

Social Cognitive Theory of Morality

Emphasizes a distinction between an individuals moral competence and
moral performance. Bandura also stresses that moral development is the
combination of social and cognitive factors involving self-control.

Moral Feeling
Ego ideal, Superego
Conscience- punishes the child for behaviours disapproved by the
parents, making the child feel guilty and worthless.
Empathy- reacting to another’s feelings with an emotional response that
is like the other’s feelings.