Unit 6

Neural and physiological responses to the environment, subjective feelings, cognitions related to those feelings, and the desire to take action.

Basic emotions are innate and universal across all people. Emotional responses happen automatically, without requiring thought.

Emotions help drive actions toward goals and manage interactions with the environment. They often work subconsciously in both children and adults.

Happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, and disgust

Anger is an adaptive response to frustrating or threatening situations, serving as self-defense and motivation. It is present in infants, toddlers, preschoolers, young school-age children, and older children.

Smiling starts in infancy as a reflex and becomes social around three months, promoting bonding. Laughter emerges at three to four months during enjoyable activities, strengthening parent-child relationships. By five months, babies respond to humor, and in preschool, their sense of humor develops through language and understanding of people.

Babies start showing fear and recognizing it in others around 7 months. Fear of strangers appears by 8 months but is absent at 4 months. Separation anxiety, distress from being apart from loved ones, occurs across different ages and cultures.

Sadness is an adaptive emotion that helps attract attention and support from caregivers. It is present in infants, preschoolers, and young children.

Emotional reaction to a sudden, unexpected event that involves cognitive understanding

Disgust is shown by opening the mouth and sticking out the tongue. It likely has an evolutionary purpose, helping humans avoid poisons or harmful bacteria. It is partly learned from adult behavior and is present in infants, preschoolers, and older children.

Sense of self and awareness of others' reactions. Includes guilt, shame, embarrassment, and pride

Associated with empathy for others. Involves feelings of remorse and regret about one's behaviour.

Not related to concern about others; self-focus, personal failure.

Use of a parent’s or other adult’s facial expression or vocal cues to decide how to deal with novel, ambiguous, or possibly threatening situations

Cognitive processing and understanding one’s own emotions and emotions of others. High emotional intelligence = better emotional self-management; less aggressive behaviour, fewer mental health problems, better stress coping strategies.

Display rules are informal social norms that guide when, where, and how emotions should be shown, as well as when they should be hidden or replaced with other emotions. These rules improve as cognitive abilities develop.

Emotion regulation is the process of controlling which emotions we experience, when we experience them, and how we express and manage them in different situations.

Co-regulation is the process where a caregiver offers comfort or distraction to help a child calm down and reduce distress.

Self-comforting behaviors are repetitive actions that help regulate emotions by providing a mild, positive physical sensation.

Self-distraction involves looking away from an upsetting stimulus to manage emotional arousal. Improvements in this ability are partly due to the maturation of neurological systems.

Young - use behavioural strategies

Older - use cognitive strategies

The ability to achieve personal goals in social interactions while still maintaining positive relationships with others

An experiment where a caregiver first interacts normally with their infant, then suddenly shows a neutral, unresponsive face. The baby usually becomes upset, showing how important emotional responses and communication are in early development.

Children are less socially skilled if parents dismiss or criticize their emotions. Supportive parents help kids manage their emotions better. Being supportive when children are upset is more helpful than ignoring or criticizing them. Low parental support can lead to lower social skills.

Emotion coaching involves discussing and teaching children about emotions, how to cope with them, and how to express them appropriately. It helps children develop better social skills.

Refers to individual differences in emotion, activity level, and attention. It is consistent across situations and stable over time, present from infancy, genetically influenced, and shaped by the environment.

Easy babies- adapt quickly to new situations, establish regular routines, are generally cheerful, and are easy to calm. Difficult babies - are slow to adjust, react negatively and intensely, and have irregular routines. Slow-to-warm-up babies - are initially difficult but become easier with time and repeated exposure to new things.

How well a child’s temperament matches the demands and expectations of their environment.

Differential susceptibility is when a child's temperament makes them more vulnerable to negative outcomes in a harsh environment but helps them thrive in a positive one.

Equifinality - various causes can lead to same mental disorder Multifinality - certain risk factors don't always lead to a mental disorder

Rumination - focusing on negative emotions and the causes and consequences without engaging in efforts to improve the situation. Co-Rumination - extensively discussing and self-disclosing emotional problems with another person

Cultural Influence on Delay: Japanese children delayed gratification longer for food than for gifts, reflecting cultural practices that emphasize waiting before eating. Conversely, U.S. children delayed longer for gifts than for food, aligning with customs that encourage waiting to open presents.​

Role of Habit: These patterns suggest that habitual behaviors, shaped by cultural norms, play a significant role in children's self-control, beyond cognitive or social factors.

Understanding Self-Control: Recognizing the impact of culturally specific habits offers a new perspective on developing self-control and its link to positive life outcomes.

Educational and Parenting Practices: Incorporating culturally relevant habits into educational and parenting strategies may enhance children's ability to delay gratification and achieve long-term goals.

Higher physiological reactivity (cardiac vagal withdrawal) during social stress at age 3 predicts increased shyness at age 4.

This effect is specific to social contexts—physiological reactivity during nonsocial stress (like frustration) did not predict later shyness.

Early shyness did not predict later physiological changes, suggesting that biology precedes behavior.

Children's physiological responses to social stressors changed over time, while responses to nonsocial stressors remained stable.

The findings highlight the importance of context in understanding the biological underpinnings of shyness, suggesting that interventions should consider the specific environments in which children exhibit shy behaviors.​

Early identification of heightened physiological reactivity in social situations could inform strategies to support children at risk of developing persistent shyness.

Cultural values shape emotion: Tamang children reacted with shame, while Brahman and U.S. children showed more anger.

Emotion expression varied: Brahman children were more likely to suppress negative emotions.

Coping styles differed: U.S. children used more action-oriented coping, whereas Tamang and Brahman children used emotion-focused strategies.

Age influenced responses: Older children showed more nuanced emotional coping across cultures.

Cultural context matters: Emotional development and coping strategies are shaped by the values and expectations of a child’s culture. One-size-fits-all approaches to emotional education may not be effective across cultures.

Education and intervention should be culturally sensitive: Programs aimed at teaching emotional regulation should consider cultural norms about which emotions are appropriate to express and how.

Supports diversity in emotional expression: Understanding cultural differences can help teachers, clinicians, and caregivers better interpret children’s emotional behaviors and avoid mislabeling or misunderstanding them.

Highlights the role of socialization: The study emphasizes the importance of early cultural socialization in shaping how children manage emotions in challenging situations.