LECTURE 7.docx

LECTURE 7 What are emotions? combination of physiological and cognitive responses to experiences Neural response Physiological factors Subjective feelings Emotional expression Urge to take action Home alone example of emotion neural response: Amygdala activation, release of cortisol and adren...

LECTURE 7 What are emotions? combination of physiological and cognitive responses to experiences Neural response Physiological factors Subjective feelings Emotional expression Urge to take action Home alone example of emotion neural response: Amygdala activation, release of cortisol and adrenaline Physiological factors: Heart racing, nausea Subjective feeling: Recognition of danger, feeling of fear Emotional expression: Eyes wide, eyebrows raised, mouth pulled back Urge for action: Lock the door, run away, defend home Discrete emotions theory neurological and biological systems have evolved to allow humans to experience a set of innate, basic emotions Basic emotions innate emotions that were important for survival and communication, and thus largely automatic Happiness Fear Anger Sadness Disgust Surprise Evidence for basic emotions basic emotions are universal across cultures Basic emotions are present from infancy Other emotions... develop later than basic emotions Or are not culturally universal They are: Variations in intensity of basic emotions high level anger = rage low level anger = annoyance Combinations of basic emotions anger + sadness = betrayal/disappointment How do we know what a baby is feeling? facial expressions Systems of coding facial cues have been developed to make interpretations of infants' emotions more objective Link particular facial expressions and facial muscle movements with particular emotions Happiness facial cues in infants smiling Raised cheeks Eyes squinting Anger facial cues in infants strongly furrowed brow that comes down in the centre Open square-shaped mouth Sometimes bared teeth Flared nostrils Infants experience of emotions at birth at birth, infants experience 2 general emotional states 2 general emotional states experienced by infants at birth 1. Positive: indicated by approach behaviour (smiling, looking in the direction of something) Negative/distress: indicated by crying or withdrawal behaviour What emotion emerges first in infants? happiness Happiness is adaptive because... motivates us to approach situations that are likely to increase chances of survival Happiness from birth smiles are reflexive and evoked by biological states Ie. Being satiated, during sleep Happiness at 2-3 months social smiles emerge - first smiles directed towards people Usually in interactions with parents Promote care from caregivers Foster bonding Happiness at 5 months- infant's first laugh What makes children smile and laugh changes with _____________ ____________________ cognitive development At 5 months old, laugh at bodily noises At 4 years old, laugh at jokes What emotion emerges second in infants? Anger Why is anger adaptive? it helps us defend ourselves against threats and to overcome obstacles to our goals When do infants begin to express anger? 4 months old Anger at 24 months peak in tendency to react with anger Tantrums in "terrible twos" Frequency of anger declines after this, likely due to: Greater ability to express self with language Improved emotion regulation skills As children age, they are better able to match anger to situation Ie. Angrier if hurtful action was intentional versus unintentional What emotion develops third in infants? Fear How is fear adaptive? motivates escape from danger or solicits protection from caregivers When do infants begin to express fear? 7 months old What in relation to fear begins to emerge at 8 months? 1. Fear of strangers Separation anxiety Separation anxiety begins to decline around 15 months old What scares children changes with ___________ _________________ cognitive development 3-5 years old: fear imaginary creatures 7+ years old: fears related to everyday situations When does separation anxiety emerge and then begin to decline? emerges at 8 months Declines around 15 months When do surprise, sadness and disgust emerge? all during the first year Surprise is adaptive because... awareness that the world is working contrary to expectations Is thus important for learning Sadness is adaptive because... elicits care and comfort from caregiver in reaction to a loss Depends on knowledge that they one had something, and now do not Emerges once object permanence has been acquired Usually in reaction to separation from parents Disgust is adaptive because... helps us avoid potential poisons/bacteria First expressions of disgust are often directed towards food What are the 2 requirements for the emergence of self-conscious emotions? 1. Child has a sense of self, separate from other people 2. Child has an appreciation of what adults expect of them When do self-conscious emotions emerge? around 18 months of age Once the child has a sense of self separate from other people Self-conscious emotions guilt, shame, embarrassment, pride, empathy When do guilt, shame, pride, embarrassment and empathy emerge? around 2 years of age These are the self-conscious emotions _______________ influences the frequency and type of self-conscious emotions that are most likely to be experienced culture Individualistic cultures: more likely to experience pride Collectivist cultures: more likely to experience guilt and shame Guilt versus shame guilt and shame = often elicited by similar situations but are distinct emotional reactions Generally, guilt is healthier than shame Guilt feelings of regret about one's behaviour associated with desire to "fix" the consequences of that behaviour "this thing i did was bad" Shame self-focused feeling of personal failure associated with desire to hide "i am bad" When can expressions of guilt and shame be distinguished? 2 years of age When 2 year olds play with a doll that has been rigged so that one leg falls off during play, they showed different reactions: Guilt: trying to fix the doll and quickly told adult about the "accident" Shame: didn't try to fix the doll, avoided the adult and delayed telling them about the "accident" What influences if a child experiences guilt vs shame? parental reactions to children's actions Child is more likely to feel guilt if parent emphasizes the badness of the action "you did a bad thing" Child is more likely to feel shame, if parent emphasizes the badness of the child "you're a bad boy/girl" 3 summary points of emotional development 1. Basic emotions are biologically based and have evolved to enable survival and communication 2. 6 universal basic emotions: happiness, anger, fear, sadness, surprise, disgust Emotions develop in a predictable sequence all basic emotions are present by end of the first year self-conscious emotions develop around 2 years old, once infant has a sense of self and appreciation of others' expectations of them When are all basic emotions present? at the end of the first year Identifying emotions in adult faces comes before... Identifying one's own emotions When does rudimentary recognition of others' emotions emerge? around 3 months old Can distinguish facial expressions of happiness, surprise and anger Habituated to pictures of happy faces, and then dishabituate when presented with a picture of a surprised face ___ month olds can distinguish expressions of fear and sadness 7 3 month olds can distinguish what facial expressions? What about 7 month olds? 3 month olds: happiness, surprise, anger 7 month olds: fear, sadness What enables social referencing? recognizing parents' emotions Social referencing Use of parents' facial expressions and tone of voice to decide how to deal with novel/ambiguous situations To figure out how they themselves are meant to feel/act Social referencing and visual cliff setup and stats have kids at a visual cliff with their parents on the other side Parent's facial expression matters 0% of infants cross if parent looks scared 75% of infants cross if parent looks happy Social referencing and visual cliff demonstrates that... 1. Children can distinguish between emotional expressions 2. Children can rely on parents' reactions to figure out how to react to a situation (social referencing) What is the first thing a kid does when they fall? Look up at their parents Gage their parent's reaction and mirror it If the parent freaks out, they are likely to cry If the parent stays calm, they stay relaxed Rudimentary ability to identify and label emotions in others and self emerges when? 3 years old At this age, will describe the feeling as "good" or "bad" Ability to label emotions improves over early childhood Understanding that people can experience more than one emotion happens when? 5 years old 3 year olds don't understand this Ie. When asked how ariel feels at the end of the little mermaid, 3 year olds say happy. 5 year olds say happy and sad (because she has to leave her family to be with the prince) Understanding that a person's facial expressions don't necessarily match what they're really feeling emerges when? 5 years old Study: understanding real versus fake emotions children hear story about child forgetting her favourite toy for a sleep over but that she doesn't want to show her true feelings 5 year olds know that the child will be sad but will show happiness on her face 3 years olds think the child will show sadness Improvement in understanding false emotions comes with a greater understanding of _____________ _______ display rules Display rules social norms about when, where and how much one should show emotions and which emotions are appropriate in a given context Crucial for successful social interactions Understanding false emotions allows children to... fake emotions themselves Will start to lie Emotion regulation set of conscious and unconscious processes used to manage emotional experiences and expressions Develops gradually during childhood Co-regulation helps in the development of... emotion regulation Co-regulation parents' regulate infants' distress through soothing or distraction Necessary because infants cannot regulate their own emotions Infants show rudimentary emotion regulation skills at what age? 5 months old What 2 rudimentary emotion regulation skills do infants show at 5 months old? 1. Self-comforting behaviours: repetitive actions that create a positive sensation (thumb-sucking) 2. Self-distraction: looking away from the upsetting stimulus These two things perfectly parallel what parents do in co-regulation Over course of first few years of life, children learn to rely more on ______ ____________ rather than ______ ____________ behaviours self-distraction Self-comforting Ie. Play as a distraction The marshmallow test The marshmallow test shows... kids engaging in different techniques of emotion regulation Distraction, mainly When do kids begin to reply on cognitive strategies and problem solving as forms of emotion regulation? 6-8 years old Examples of cognitive strategies and problem solving as forms of emotional regulation 1. Think about a situation in a different way 2. Tell themselves it will be ok 3. Address a conflict with a friend Children with good emotion regulation skills... 1. Have higher wellbeing 2. Are more socially skilled Are better liked by peers and teachers Poor regulation skills put kids at risk for bullying Do better in school 3 reasons why emotion regulation improves 1. Motor development greater ability to control bodily movements enables self-soothing and distraction in infancy Increased parental expectation that child should be able to manage their own emotional arousal children internalize this expectation and comply Cognitive development improved attention and inhibition enables better emotion regulation skills Study setup: are adolescents more moody? experience sampling method Adolescents and adults wore a pager that beeped at random times Had to report their mood when it beeped Study results: are adolescents more moody? 1. Adolescents report more frequent high-intensity emotions than adults (both more intense positive and negative emotions) 2. Intense moods last less long compared to adults Shows that adolescents are indeed more "moody" than adults Whose intense emotions dissipate more quickly: adults' or teens'? teens This is what makes them more "moody" Longitudinal study setup: emotional changes in adolescence adolescents rated emotions during each day of the school week for 3 weeks straight Didn't include the weekends Did this every 5 years Longitudinal study results: emotional changes in adolescence happiness decreases over adolescence Sadness and anxiety increase, especially for girls Anger increases and then decreases towards the end of adolescence Anger's trajectory throughout adolescence increases at beginning of adolescence Peaks around 15/16 Then decreases towards the end of adolescence In teen years, sadness and anxiety increase more for boys or girls? Girls 4 implications of emotional changes during teen years 1. Gender differences exist in emotional experience of adolescents 2. Increase in negative emotions during adolescence is normal 3. Struggles to cope with these changes can lead to the development of depression and anxiety disorders 4. Can be difficult to distinguish between normal changes in adolescent emotional experience versus mental health issues Risk taking in adolescents impulsivity increases during early adolescence Peaks in middle/late adolescence Declines in adulthood Found across cultures and historical time Motor vehicle deaths in 2016 - connection to impulsivity most motor vehicle deaths involve people from 16-24 years old Because of heightened impulsivity and risk-taking behaviours 2 important brain regions that explain why adolescents take more risks 2 important brain regions involved in decision-making: Limbic system Prefrontal cortex Limbic system: contribution to adolescent risk-taking reward processing in limbic system is heightened in adolescence Degree of nucleus accumbens activation during reward anticipation is positively correlated with self-reported risk-taking in daily life Prefrontal cortex: contribution to adolescent risk-taking synaptic pruning and myelination in prefrontal cortex until mid-20s Immature pfc is associated with difficulties with inhibition, impulse control, planning Limbic system is involved in... emotional and reward processing Prefrontal cortex is involved in… goal-directed behaviour, deliberation, inhibitory control Why is reward processing in limbic system heightened in adolescence? because of synaptogenesis of dopamine receptors Myelination thickening of myelin sheath surrounding axons which increases speed of neural signal transmission Summary of why adolescents take more risks: in one sentence adolescents take more risks because of a maturational imbalance between their limbic system and pfc. Limbic system matures fully at peak adolescence: why teens are so sensitive to reward, so emotional Pfc matures in second half of twenties: isn't able to fully regulate intense emotional reactivity How is risk taking a good things in teens? promotes independence by trying new things Emotional regulation summary (7 points) 1. Rudimentary emotional recognition begins in early infancy Emotional recognition enables social referencing Age 3: children begin to label emotions in others Age 5: children begin to understand that emotions can be mixed, and that emotional expressions don't necessarily match how someone actually feels Emotion regulation improves over the course of childhood initially rely on co-regulation, but beginning at 5 months are able to engage in some self-regulation Emotion regulation skills have massive consequences for children's psychological, social and academic wellbeing Adolescents are more emotional and take more risks that adults due to maturational imbalance in limbic and prefrontal brain areas Temperament individual differences in: Emotion Self-regulation Activity level Attention That are consistent over time and across contexts Why is temperament thought to be genetically based? present from infancy Temperament explains why kids show very different... reactions to the same situation Temperament in relation to personality temperament is the genetic, biological basis of personality Combines with environment to create personality Type approach to temperament 3 temperament types Easy babies Difficult babies Slow-to-warm-up babies Easy babies (type approach to temperament) adjust easily to new situations Quickly establish daily routines (like sleep and eating) Generally are cheerful in mood Easy to calm What percentage of babies are classed as easy? (type approach to temperament) 40% Difficult babies (type approach to temperament) slow to adjust to new experiences Tend to react negatively and intensely to novel stimuli and events Irregular in their daily routines and bodily functions Slow-to-warm-up babies (type approach to temperament) somewhat difficult at first become easier over time as they’ve repeated contact with new objects, people, situations What percentage of babies are slow-to-warm-up? (type approach to temperament) 15% What percentage of babies are difficult? (type approach to temperament) 10% Type approach to temperament only accounts for... 65% of babies Alternative to type approach to temperament dimensional approach to temperament Dimensional approach to temperament background many children don't fit into thomas et al.'s categories Prompted need for a dimensional, non-categorical approach 5 key dimensions: dimensional approach of temperament 1. Smiling and laughter 2. Distress (in infancy) / anger (in childhood) Fear Attention span Activity level 5 dimensions of temperament are assessed using... 1. Parent and/or teacher responses to questions assessing each dimension 2. Observing how kids react to lab tasks designed to assess each dimension Smiling and laughter (dimensional approach to temperament) positive emotional response to a change in a stimulus Distress (in infancy) / anger (in childhood) (dimensional approach to temperament) negative emotional response related to having an ongoing task interrupted or blocked Fear (dimensional approach to temperament) tendency to experience unease or nervousness to new situations Attention span (dimensional approach to temperament) attention to an object or task for an extended period of time Ie. How long does your baby look at toy mobile? Activity level (dimensional approach to temperament) rate and extent of gross motor body movements Ie. How much prompting does your baby need to induce movement? When in the bath, how often do they splash/kick? Consistency of temperament temperament is largely consistent/stable over time Generally if they're on the fearful side at 1, they will also be at 5 What does the consistency of temperament reflect? influence of genetics Identical twins have more similar temperaments than fraternal twins Is temperament completely unchanging? no, some change in temperament over time is possible Especially the younger the child is Reflects the role of caregivers in shaping the environment Implications of temperament the fact that there are changes in temperament means that... Children contribute to their own emotional development through their temperament Some children are easier to parent than others: eg. Children with "difficult" temperaments require more patience from parents Influence of family in emotion development is ____ Huge 2 main ways that parents play role in child's emotional development 1. Parent's expression of emotions/modelling indirect influence on emotional development Parent's reactions to children's emotions direct influence on emotional development Parents' emotional expression serves as a... model of when and how to express emotions A lack of emotional expression from parents causes children to... 1. Not express emotions learn to see emotions as "bad" 2. Struggle to identify and understand emotions in self and others because they haven't had a lot of practice Struggle with regulating intense emotions because their parents never modelled this process for them Parents' high expression of positive emotions causes children to... 1. Express more positive emotions themselves 2. Have higher wellbeing 3. Have better social skills Parents' high expression of negative emotions causes children to... 1. Experience and express more negative emotions themselves 2. Be less socially competent 3. Have poorer emotion regulation skills Parents' reactions to their children's emotions directly influence... children's emotional development\ 2 important parental reactions to children's emotions 1. Mirroring 2. Emotional coaching Mirroring behaviours in which a parent reflects the emotions of their child back to them Conveyed through verbal and non-verbal cues Has to be done quickly - within a few seconds of the behaviour's occurrence Mirroring is characterized by what quality? Warmth Examples of mirroring parent matching the smiling, open mouth of child Parent saying "you look really happy!" as a kid smiles Examples of mirroring negative emotions 1. Baby looks upset. Parent also furrows eyebrows and frowns 2. Child begins pouting over a change in family plans. The family won't be going to the park anymore. The parent says "you look sad. You have tears in your eyes and your face is turning red" 3. Child feels very anxious about an upcoming test. Parent says "you seem anxious about the test. I sometimes feel the same way when i have a big thing at work" Mirroring is important because... 1. Validates and normalizes the child's emotions 2. Helps the child identify and understand their emotions Very hard for child to understand their emotional experience if they don't have an adult mirroring them and putting their experience into word Symbolic way of saying "i see you" Still face paradigm setup lab procedure in which parent goes through repetitive sequence with their child in which they: 2 mins of play with infant 2 mins of "still face" (no reaction to the infant) Infant's reaction to still-face paradigm infants quickly become distressed in reaction to still-face This distress increases with each still-face "episode" Shows that infants are attuned to parents' emotions Distressed when parent doesn't react as expected How do infants deal with distress caused by still-face paradigm? self-distraction turn away from the parent Try to get the parent to engage wave their arms make noise Emotional coaching use of discussion and other forms of instruction to teach children how to cope with, regulate, and appropriately express emotions What is seen as appropriate for emotional coaching depends on... Culture Examples of emotional coaching "you seem anxious about the test. Let's walk through the first step that will get us going in the right direction" "i know you're frustrated that your sister took your toy without asking [this first part is mirroring], but it's not okay for you to pull her hair. That hurt her. Use your words instead to tell her that you're frustrated [emotional coaching]" Supportive/sensitive reaction is characterized by... mirroring and emotional coaching It's the ideal way to react to children's emotions What does the supportive/sensitive reaction do? validates the child's emotions Helps the child understand their emotions Fosters emotional regulation Associated with higher self esteem Fosters social competence Associated with better school performance Example of supportive/sensitive parental reaction mirroring + emotional coaching "you seem worried and upset about the test. I sometimes feel the same way when i have a big thing to do at work. Let's walk through the first step that can get us going in the right direction" Example of dismissive parental reaction emotional coaching but no mirroring "you're fine. There's no need to be nervous. You'll just study and it'll be ok" No validation, dismissive Example of critical parental reaction no mirroring or emotional coaching In an angry tone, "what's wrong with you? You always get like this before a test and then you do badly" Example of over-validating parental reaction mirroring but no emotional coaching Parent looks anxious. "omg the test is next week! You must be so nervous. You have so much material to study. Where do we even begin?" Implications of lack of effective parental emotional reaction children who grow up with parents that habitually don't show a supportive/sensitive reaction tend to be: Less emotionally competent Less socially competent 4 contributors to why parents react the way they do 1. Cultural differences Generational differences in norms for emotional expression Family reactions to emotions when parents themselves were children Parents' mood and emotions in the moment Cultural differences in parent's reactions to children's emotions emotional expression is more encouraged in independent versus interdependent cultures Reactions to specific emotions differ by culture Ie. Shame independent cultures will try to comfort feelings of shame interdependent cultures will turn this shame into a lesson: 'this shame will teach you to fit into the group' Summary of temperament and parental influence on emotions children contribute to their own emotional development through their temperament Temperament is largely determined by genetics, but environmental factors also play a role Parents influence children's emotional development indirectly through their own emotional expression and directly via their use of mirroring and emotional coaching lack of mirroring from a parent is very distressing to infants (still-face paradigm) How parents react to children's emotions has important consequences for their psychological, social and academic well-being Parents' emotional reactions are determined by many different social factors Differential susceptibility hypothesis some children are highly sensitive to both negative and positive environmental conditions "sensitive" temperament + negative home environment = negative outcomes "sensitive" temperament + position home environment = positive outcomes Dandelions and orchids some kids are dandelions, and others are orchids Dandelions: hardy and resilient they do well anywhere Orchids: very finicky require very specific conditions to thrive under perfect conditions, will do even better than dandelions under bad conditions, will do very poorly What percentage of children are "orchids"? 10-15% This number corresponds to the percentage of kids who are classified as "difficult" in the type classification system of temperament Children with more difficult/negative temperaments have... More behavioural problems if raised with low quality childcare (more than the low-negativity group) 2. But have the lowest levels of behavioural problems if raised with high quality childcare (better than the low-negativity group) Low negativity children Dandelions Predisposed to experience less stress High negativity children Orchids Predisposed to experience more stress Children with impulsive temperaments have higher levels of... alcohol abuse in adolescence if raised in harsh families But have the lowest levels of alcohol abuse if raised in positive family environments So, for high-impulsivity kids, the kind of parenting they receive really affects their outcomes Low-impulsivity kids are _____ affected by parenting less 2 implications of differential susceptibility 1. Children's temperament and the environment they grow up in jointly determine their outcomes 2. While all kids benefit most from sensitive parenting, it's particularly important for children that are more temperamentally sensitive to their environment