Chapter 6: Socioemotional Development in Infancy

emotion

feeling, or affect, that can involve physiological arousal, conscious experience, and behavioral expression

primary emotions

Emotions that are present in humans and other animals and emerge early in life; examples are joy, anger, sadness, fear, and disgust.

self-conscious emotions

Emotions that require self-awareness, especially consciousness and a sense of "me"; examples include jealousy, empathy, and embarrassment.

basic cry

A rhythmic pattern usually consisting of a cry, a briefer silence, a shorter inspiratory whistle that is higher pitched than the main cry, and then a brief rest before the next cry.

anger cry

A variation of the basic cry, with more excess air forced through the vocal cords.

pain cry

A sudden appearance of a long, initial loud cry without preliminary moaning, followed by breath holding.

reflexive smile

A smile that does not occur in response to external stimuli. It happens during the month after birth, usually during sleep.

social smile

a smile in response to an external stimulus, which, early in development, typically is a face

stranger anxiety

An infant's fear and wariness of strangers; it tends to appear in the second half of the first year of life.

seperation protest

an infant's distressed crying when the caregiver leaves

temperament

involves individual differences in behavioral styles, emotions, and characteristic ways of responding

easy child

A child who is generally in a positive mood, quickly establishes regular routines in infancy, and adapts easily to new experiences.

difficult child

A child who tends to react negatively and cry frequently, engages in irregular daily routines, and is slow to accept change.

slow-to-warm-up child

a child who has a low activity level, is somewhat negative, and displays a low intensity of mood

goodness of fit

refers to the match between a child's temperament and the environmental demands with which the child must cope

social referencing

reading emotional cues in others to help determine how to act in a particular situation

attachment

a close emotional bond between two people

Strange Situation

an observational measure of infant attachment that requires the infant to move through a series of introductions, separations, and reunions with the caregiver and an adult stranger in a prescribed order

securely attached babies

babies who use the caregiver as a secure base from which to explore the environment

insecure avoidant babies

babies who show insecurity by avoiding the caregiver

insecure resistant babies

Babies who often cling to the caregiver, then resist the caregiver by fighting against the closeness, perhaps by kicking or pushing away.

insecure disorganized babies

babies who show insecurity by being disorganized and disoriented

developmental cascade model

involves connections across domains over time that influence developmental pathways and outcomes

recipricol socialization

socialization that is bidirectional; children socialize parents, just as parents socialize children

scaffolding

practice in which parents time interactions so that infants experience turn taking with the parents