Chapter 9: Social and Emotional Development

Categorizing Temperament

Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess carried out a large-scale study known as the New York Longitudinal Study (1984), wherein they describe 3 profiles of temperament (1) Easy Babies (2) Difficult Babies (3) Slow-to-Warm Babies

Adult Personality: George Vaillant

Keeping the Meaning vs Rigidity • an important period in development occurs between the ages 45 and 55, in middle adulthood, when individuals experience - adults seek to extract the meaning from their lives by accepting the strengths and weaknesses of others - those who are rigid become increasingly isolated from others

Happiness in Late Adulthood: What is the Secret?

Three major approaches provide explanations as to how happiness is attained during late adulthood: (1) Disengagement Theory (2) Activity Theory (3) Continuity Theory

Openness

a level of curiosity about and interest in new experiences

Traits

enduring dimensions of personality characteristics along which people differ from person to person • people have many traits • Trait approaches offer an alternative to Erikson's stage theory and psychodynamic perspectives - trait approaches do not assume that some have given trait and others do not - Instead, they suggest that all individuals possess a trait to one degree or another, along a continuum

Interactional Synchrony

in which caregivers respond to infants appropriately and both caregiver and child match emotional states

Third Developmental Task: Ego Transcendence vs. Ego Preoccupation

in which elderly people must come to grips with the coming of death and understand that although death is inevitable, and probably not too far off, they have made contributions to society • If they can see the contributions to society that they have made in their own lives, they will experience ego transcendence • If not, they may become preoccupied with asking whether their lives had value and worth to society

Self-Awareness

knowledge of self • begin to grow around 12 months (1) Self-awareness occurs with frontal lobe development and myelination in the brain. (2) coincides with increases in the capacity to understand motives and reasons for others' behaviors (3) Assessment of infants' theory of mind can be made by examining their performance of the false belief task.

Mirror Neurons

neurons that fire not only when an individual enacts a particular behavior, but also when the individual simply observes another organism carrying out the same behavior • Mirror neurons may help infants to understand others' actions and to develop a theory of mind, their understanding of and beliefs concerning how the mind operate • Research on brain functioning shows activation of the inferior frontal gyrus both when an individual carries out a particular task and also when observing another individual carrying out the same task. • Dysfunction of mirror neurons may be related to the development of disorders involving theory of mind and autism, a psychological disorder involving significant emotional and linguistic problems

Table 9.1: Classification of Infant Attachment - Classification Criteria

slide 12 • Reactions to various aspects of Strange Situation vary considerably, depending on nature of their attachment to their mothers

Figure 9.3: Separation Anxiety

slide 25 • Separation anxiety, the distress displayed by infants when their usual care provider leaves their presence, is a universal phenomenon beginning at around the age of seven or eight months. It peaks at around the age of 14 months and then begins to decline. Does separation anxiety have survival value for humans?

Table 9.2: Dimensions of Temperament

slide 45

Erikson's Stages (1 of 2)

slide 47

Erikson's Stages (2 of 2)

slide 48

Figure 9.1: Monkey Mother's Matter

slide 9 • Harlow's research showed that monkeys preferred the terry- cloth, soft "mother" over the wire "monkey" that provided food.

Social Smile

smiling in reference to other individuals • 6-9 weeks • Over time, social smiles are selectively directed towards caregivers and others with whom infants are most familiar. • Smiling becomes a tool for communicating positive emotions, and as they age, children become more sensitive to the emotional expressions of others

Mutual Regulation Model

states that infants and parents learn to communicate emotional states to one another and to respond accordingly

Activity Theory

successful aging occurs when people maintain the interests, activities, and social interactions with which they were involved during middle age (1) Happiness and satisfaction with life are assumed to spring from a high level of involvement with the world. (2) When it is no longer possible to work, successful aging (according to activity theory) suggests that replacement activities be found. (3) Being involved in any activity just to remain active may not always contribute to happiness and satisfaction. (4) Some people are happier when they can slow down and only do those things that bring them the greatest satisfaction. • Early findings were consistent with disengagement theory, later research was not supportive. • And sometimes happier—than those who showed signs of disengagement. Furthermore, in many non-Western cultures, people remain engaged, active, and busy throughout old age, and the expectation is that people will remain actively involved in everyday life. • Specific nature and quality of the activities in which people engage are likely to be more critical than the mere quantity or frequency of their activities. • Some people view the ability to moderate their pace as one of the bounties of late adulthood. For them, a relatively inactive, and perhaps even solitary, existence is welcomed.

Continuity Theory

suggests that people simply need to maintain their desired level of involvement in society to maximize their sense of well-being and self-esteem • Regardless of activity level, most older adults experience positive emotions as frequently as younger individuals • Good physical and mental health is important in determining an overall sense of well-being • Highly active and social people will be happiest if they largely remain so. Those more retiring individuals, who enjoy solitude and solitary interests, will be happiest if they are free to pursue that level of sociability. • Old age can influence their happiness and satisfaction. Those who view late adulthood in terms of positive are apt to perceive themselves in a more positive light than those who view old age in a more pessimistic and unfavorable way.

Conscientiousness

tendencies to be organized and responsible

Emotional Self-Regulation

the capability to adjust one's emotions to a desired state and level of intensity • increases in adolescence • this ability requires both cognitive and physical effort • several strategies employed by adolescents to regulate emotional responses include: - cognitive reappraisal of events that lead to emotional reactions - suppression of troubling emotions > this is often employed in the service of making others feel better > this is an important social advance in this stage of development

Stranger Anxiety

the caution and wariness displayed by infants when encountering an unfamiliar person • common around 6 months • The same brain developments and cognitive advances that allow infants to respond so positively to those with whom they are familiar also mean they are able to recognize people who are unfamiliar • As infants try to anticipate and predict events in their world, the appearance of an unknown person can bring on fear

Neuroticism

the degree to which a person is moody, anxious, and self-critical

Separation Anxiety

the distress displayed by infants when a customary care provider departs • usually begins about 7 or 8 months and peaks at 14 months • largely attributable to the same cognitive skills as stranger anxiety

Social Referencing

the intentional search for cues/information to help explain the meaning of uncertain circumstances and events • first occurs in infants at about 8-9 months • infants make particular use of facial expressions in their social referencing • this ability is used to understand the meaning of others' behaviors within specific context • It is a fairly sophisticated social ability: Infants need it not only to understand the significance of others' behavior, by using such cues as their facial expressions, but also understand the meaning of those behaviors within the context of a specific situation. • Functions: - Aids in understanding others' behavior in context - Plays important role in helping infants experience own emotions - Helps in using others to understand meaning of ambiguous social situations

Goodness of Fit

the notion that development is dependent on the degree of match between children's temperament and the nature and demands of the environment in which they are being raised

Temperament

the pattern of arousal and emotionality that are consistent and enduring characteristics of an individual • Temperament refers to HOW children behave, as opposed to what they do or why they do it • Temperamental shows stability from infancy through adolescence • Differences in general disposition from birth, largely due initially to genetic factors • But environmental factors can modify temperament • Is not fixed and unchangeable and can be modified by childrearing practices • There are 9 dimensions to temperament. Some central dimensions include: - activity level: the degree of overall movement - Mood is another factors > nature and quality of mood > IRRITABILITY is particularly important, and reflects the fact that some infants are easygoing while others are easily disturbed.

Inconsistently Categorized Babies

the remaining 35% cannot be consistently categorized • These children show a variety of combinations of characteristics. For instance, one infant may have relatively sunny moods, but react negatively to new situations, or another may show little stability of any sort in terms of general temperament.

Personality

the sum total of the enduring characteristics that differentiate one individual from another • begins in infancy

First Developmental Task: Redefinition of Self vs. Preoccupation with Work Role

those in old age must redefine themselves in ways that do not relate to their work roles or occupations • There can be a difficult adjustment when people stop working • Values must be adjusted to place less emphasis on achievements related to working or professionalism (such as being a grandparent or a gardener)

The Big 5 Personality Traits: Mapping Personality

• 5 broad trait factors have been identified by researchers • These traits are seen as comprising personality at all stages of life, in a variety of populations across the globe (1) openness (2) conscientiousness (3) extraversion (4) agreeableness (5) neuroticism

Decoding Others' Facial and Vocal Expressions

• Imitative abilities early in life may pave way for nonverbal decoding • Infants interpret others' facial and vocal expressions that carry meaning • Infants seem to be able to discriminate vocal expressions of emotion at a slightly earlier age than they discriminate facial expressions. • Although relatively little attention has been given to infants' perception of vocal expressions, it does appear that they are able to discriminate happy and sad vocal expressions at the age of 5 months. In first 6-8 weeks: little attention paid to facial expressions due to limited visual precision By 4 months: understand underlying emotions tied to facial and vocal expressions of others By 5 months: discriminate happy and sad vocal expressions By 7 months: respond to appropriately matched vocal and facial expressions

"Expert" Infants

• Infants imitate each other more as they age • 14-month-year-olds imitate each other • Infants can learn new behaviors, skills, and abilities from exposure to other children • abilities learned from the "experts" are retained and later utilized to a remarkable degree - Recent evidence shows that even 6-week-old infants can perform delayed imitation of a novel stimulus to which they have earlier been exposed, such as an adult sticking the tongue out the side of the mouth • Based upon the discovery of a class of neurons in the brain, some developmentalists believe imitation is an inborn ability - mirror neurons

Emotional Development: Adolescence

• considered to be the most emotional stage of life • the instability of emotions in adolescence - stereotypes predict that this stage of life is the most emotional of all life stages - evidence does suggest that emotions do tend to be volatile in adolescence, especially at the beginning of this period (1) often have more rapid successions of emotional highs and lows (2) Younger adolescents report being less happy than in prior years. (3) mildly negative emotions as they move into this stage (4) more extreme responses than would be predicted to occur for other ages • Positives of "explosive" adolescent reactions include the fact that they often don't last long

Erikson's lifespan approach has been enormously influential

• it is generally supported by research • But not everyone passes through the stages in the order he posited

John Bowlby

• suggested that attachment had a biological basis based on an infant's needs for safety and security —their genetically determined motivation to avoid predators. As they develop, infants come to learn that their safety is best provided by a particular individual - since the mother provides safety and security, this attachment is different from others - having a strong, firm attachment provides a home base from which the child can gain independence (as children become more independent, they progressively roam further away from their home base)

Levinson's Final Season: The Winter of Life

• According to Daniel Levinson, people enter late adulthood after passing through a transition stage that typically occurs at about age 60 to 65 • During this transition, people begin to view themselves as entering late adulthood -- or, ultimately, as being "old." • People struggle with being "old," and often must face illness and death of friends and loved ones • With age, people come to realize that they are no longer on the center stage of life, but are increasingly playing bit parts. People must struggle with the loss of power, respect, and authority • Older people can serve as resources for younger people , and they may find themselves regarded as "venerated elders" where they are in a position to give advice • Old age brings freedom to do things for fun and entertainment, rather than because they are obligations

Emotions in Infancy: Do Infants Experience Emotional Highs and Lows?

• Across every culture, infants show similar facial expressions relating to basic emotions. • Darwin argued that humans and primates have an inborn, universal set of emotional expressions, a view consistent with today's evolutionary approach to development • Infants display similar kinds of emotions, but the degree of emotional expressivity varies from culture to culture • Stranger Anxiety and Separation Anxiety • Experiencing Emotions • By 6-9 weeks, babies exhibit the social smile • Infants are able to discriminate facial and vocal expressions of emotion early in infancy via nonverbal decoding abilities

The Stability of Hapiness Across the Lifespan

• Adults' sense of subjective well-being - general happiness, remains stable over the course of their lives • most have a "set point" for happiness (1) Most set points seem fairly high (2) This pattern seems consistent regardless of economic situation, or country of residence. (3) Some 30% of people in the United States rate themselves as "very happy." (4) African Americans rate themselves as "very happy" at only slightly lower rates than whites.

Stability of Personality

• Although there is some change in traits in childhood and adolescence relative to adulthood, they are mostly consistent across time - Big 5 traits are relatively stable past age 30 with some variations in specific traits • Perceptions of changes may be attributable to different behavioral manifestations of the same particular constellation of traits over developmental periods • Neuroticism, extroversion, and openness to experience decline somewhat from early adulthood through middle adulthood • Agreeableness and conscientiousness increase to a degree • Findings are consistent across cultures

Emotional Development: Preschoolers

• Around age 2: - Talk about feelings and engage in regulation strategies • Preschoolers: - Develop more effective strategies and sophisticated social skills, learn to better cope with negative emotions - Learn to use language to express wishes - Become increasingly able to negotiate with others - Roots of empathy - genuine experience of the emotions felt by others, grow as children's ability to monitor and regulate their emotional and cognitive responses increases - can hide their emotions from others - understand their own emotions better

Izard (MAX)

• At birth: - interest - distress - disgust • Over the next few months: - clues to other emotions emerge > According to research on what mothers see in their children's nonverbal behavior, almost all think that by the age of 1 month, their babies have expressed interest and joy. In addition, 84% of mothers think their infants have expressed anger, 75% surprise, 58% fear, and 34% sadness. • Kinds and degree of emotions expressed vary • Consistent with the work of the famous naturalist Charles Darwin, whose 1872 book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals argued that humans and primates have an inborn, universal set of emotional expressions—a view consistent with today's evolutionary approach to development.

Developmental Diversity: Does Attachment Differ Across Cultures?

• Cross-cultural studies confirm that there are differences in the proportions of infants who fall into the various attachment categories, and that subcultural differences also exist. • Recent approaches view attachment as not entirely biologically determined, but susceptible to cultural norms and expectations. • Secure attachment may be seen earlier in cultures that promote independence, and may be delayed in societies in which independence is less important.

Experiencing Emotions

• Developmentalists believe a true emotion has 3 components: (1) biological arousal (e.g., increases breathing rate or heartbeat), (2) cognitive component (e.g., awareness of feeling or anger), and (3) behavioral component (e.g., displaying that one feels unhappy by crying). • Emotional expressions have an adaptive function, permitting infants to express their needs nonverbally to caretakers before they have developed linguistic skills.

Warning Signs of Suicide

• Direct ("I wish I were dead") or indirect ("Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair soon") talk of harming self • School difficulties (e.g., missed classes, drop in grades) • Making arrangements as if preparing for a long trip • Writing a will • Changes in eating habits • General depression (e.g., sleep habits, lack of energy, uncommunicative) • Dramatic behavior changes • Preoccupation with death (e.g., art, music, conversation) For immediate help with a suicide-related problem, call: (800) 784-2433 or (800) 621-4000 national hotlines staffed with trained counselors

Smiling

• Earliest smiles: little meaning • 6 to 9 weeks - Reliable smiling begins - Smiles are first relatively indiscriminate, then selective • 18 months -Social smiling becomes more frequent toward humans than toward nonhuman objects • End of 2nd year -Use smiling purposefully -Show sensitivity to emotional expressions of others

Midlife Non-Crisis

• For the majority of people, transition to midlife is smooth and rewarding • Many middle-aged people find their careers have blossomed • They feel younger than they actually are • We may just pay more attention to the few who exhibit a midlife crisis.

Infants' Sociability with Their Peers

• From earliest months - Smile, laugh, and vocalize while looking at peers - Show more interest in peers or in the prescence of other infants than inanimate objects - Show preference for familiar peers • By 9 to 12 months - Present and accept toys, particularly to familiar others (from peers) - Play social games, such as peek-a-boo or crawl-and-chase - This extends to communication exchanges and interactions with others later in childhood and adulthood

Personality in Late Adulthood (slide 55)

• Fundamental continuity to personality • Profound social environmental changes throughout adulthood may produce fluctuations and changes in personality • Some discontinuities in development • Despite this general stability of basic personality traits, there is still the possibility of change over time. • What is important to a person at age 80 is not necessarily the same as what was important at age 40.

Critics point out drawbacks of Levinson's theory

• His theory is based on a very small sample of men • He later studied a group of women but, this, too, was a very small sample • He overstates the consistency and generality of his findings

Adult Personality: Roger Gould

• suggests that adults pass through a series of 7 stages associated with specific age periods - people in their late 30s and early 40s begin to feel a sense of urgency in terms of attaining life's goals -- this reality propels them to adulthood - little research supports his descriptions • 16 to 18: plan to leave home and terminate parental control • 18 to 22: leave the family and begin to reorient toward peers • 22 to 28: become independent and commit to career (and often spouse and children) • 29 to 34: question oneself and experience confusion; may become dissatisfied with marriage and career • 35 to 43: feel an urgent need to achieve life goals, becoming increasingly aware of the passage and limits of time; often realign life goals • 43 to 53: settle down at last, with acceptance of one's life • 53 to 60: grow more tolerant, accepting the past; become less negative and generally more mellow

Fathers engage in more rough-and-tumble play; mothers spend more time feeding and nurturing

(1) Little attention is paid to the potential contributions of fathers to the life of children. (2) Societal norms may relegate fathers to secondary childrearing roles. (3) Infants can form primary initial relationships with their fathers. (4) Fathers' expressions of nurturance, warmth, affection, support, and concern are extremely important to their children's emotional and social well-being. (5) Some psychological disorders, such as substance abuse and depression, have been found to be related more to fathers' than mothers' behavior.

Which theory best explains successful aging may depend on one's behavior prior to late adulthood

(1) Older adults experience positive emotions as frequently as younger individuals. (2) They also become more skilled in emotion regulation. (3) When determining well-being in late adulthood, one must also consider the influence of other factors • Good physical and mental health is important in determining an elderly person's sense of well-being. • Financial security and a sense of autonomy and independence also give one a significant advantage in later life.

Changing societal norms and current research show that some infants form strong initial attachments to their fathers and with multiple individuals simultaneously

(1) Paternal involvement may reduce certain disorders such as depression and substance abuse. (2) Children's emotional well-being is enhanced by fathers' expressions of nurturance, warmth, affection, support, and concern.

Mothers are most often the attachment figure

(1) They are sensitive to their infant's needs and desires is a hallmark of mothers of securely attached infants. (2) They are aware of the infant's moods and feelings. (3) They provide appropriate responses (face-to-face interactions). (4) Mothers whose communication involves interactional synchrony are more likely to produce secure attachment (5) There is substantial stability in attachment patterns from one generation to another. (6) Feeds "on demand" (7) Demonstrates warmth and affection (8) Responds rapidly and positively to cues • Way for mothers to produce insecurely attached infants, according to Ainsworth, is to ignore their behavioral cues, to behave inconsistently with them, and to ignore or reject their social efforts.

Theory of Mind and Autism

(1) They cannot understand what others are thinking, have a lack of connection to others, and avoid interpersonal situations. (2) Autism occurs in about 4 in 10,000 people, most frequently in males. (3) Individuals with autism have difficulties solving false belief problems at any age.

There are differences in attachment to mothers and fathers

(1) When stressed, infants tend to prefer their mothers. (2) Almost all fathers do contribute to childcare.

Midlife Crisis

a stage of uncertainty and indecision brought about by the realization that life is finite (1) This is a painful and tumultuous period of questioning. (2) Facing signs of physical aging, men may also discover that even the accomplishments they are proudest of brought them less satisfaction than expected. (3) Looking toward the past, they may seek to define what went wrong and look for ways to correct their past mistakes.

Ambivalent Attachment Pattern

a style of attachment in which children display a combination of positive and negative reactions to their mothers; • Initially, ambivalent children are in such close contact with the mother that they hardly explore their environment; • they show great distress when the mother leaves, but upon her return, they may simultaneously seek close contact but also hit and kick her

Avoidant Attachment Pattern

a style of attachment in which children do not seek proximity to the mother; • after the mother has left, they seem to avoid her • when she returns as if they are angered by her behavior

Disorganized-Disoriented Attachment Pattern

a style of attachment in which children show inconsistent, often contradictory, and confused behavior, such as approaching the mother when she returns but not looking at her, or seem initially calm and then suddenly break into angry weeping • their confusion suggests that they may be the least securely attached children of all • Reactive Attachment Disorder

Secure Attachment Pattern

a style of attachment in which children use mother as a home base and are at ease as long as she is present • explore independently, returning to her occasionally; • when she leaves, they may or may not become upset and go to her as soon as she returns and seek contact

Slow-to-Warm-Up Babies

are inactive, showing relatively calm reactions to their environment; their moods are generally negative, and they withdraw from new situations, adapting slowly • 15% of infants

Disengagement Theory

argues for a retreat in late adulthood whereby people mark a gradual withdrawal from the world on physical, psychological, and social levels. • Withdrawal is a mutual process and not necessarily negative (1) Early work suggested that people withdraw from the world and the world compels the elderly to withdraw (e.g., retirement) (2) People can become more reflective about their lives (3) People can become less constrained by social roles (4) People become more discerning about relationships, which can help them adjust to increasing frequency of serious illness and death among their peers (5) Disengagement is not an automatic, universal process for all people in late adulthood Levels • On a physical level, elderly people have lower energy levels and tend to slow down progressively. • Psychologically, they begin to withdraw from others, showing less interest in the world around them and spending more time looking inward. • On a social level, they engage in less interaction with others, in terms of both day-to-day, face-to-face encounters and participation in society as a whole. Older adults also become less involved and invested in the lives of others. Outcomes of disengagement are largely positive. • According to this view, the gradual withdrawal of people in late adulthood permits them to become more reflective about their own lives and less constrained by social roles - People can become more discerning in their social relationships, focusing on those who best meet their needs. Disengagement can be liberating. - Decreased emotional investment in others can be viewed as beneficial. By investing less emotional energy in their social relationships with others, people in late adulthood are better able to adjust to the increasing frequency of serious illness and death among their peers.

Reciprocal Socialization

Attachment further increased by this process by which infants' behaviors invite further responses from parents and other caregivers

Life Review

Erikson, Peck, and Levinson all suggest that a major characteristic of personality development in old age is looking backward wherein people examine and evaluate their lives

Do Infants Attach to Only One Parent?

Infants' social bonds extend beyond their parents, especially as they grow older • Most infants form their first primary relationship with one person • One-third have multiple relationships • By 18 months, most infants have formed multiple relationships • In sum, infants may develop attachments not only to their mothers, but to a variety of others.

Attachment

Positive emotional bond that develops between a child and a particular, special individual • Most important aspect of infant and social development - When children experience attachment to a given person, they feel pleasure when they are with them and feel comforted by their presence at times of distress. • Lorenz studied imprinting in animals • Freud suggested that attachment grew out of a mother's ability to satisfy a child's oral needs • Harlow showed contact comfort through his experiments • The earliest work on humans was carried out by John Bowlby • Based on Bowlby's work, Mary Ainsworth developed the Ainsworth Strange Situation

Nonverbal Encoding

a nonverbal expression of emotion • These consistencies have led researchers to conclude that we are born with the capacity to display basic emotions.

Second Developmental Task: Body Transcendence vs. Body Preoccupation

a period in which people must learn to cope with and move beyond changes in physical capabilities as a result of aging • If they do not cope well, they become preoccupied with physical deterioration, to the detriment of their personality development

Reactive Attachment Disorder

a psychological problem characterized by extreme problems in forming attachments to others • manifests usually when the child's development of attachments has been severely disrupted • In young children, it can be displayed in feeding difficulties, unresponsiveness to social overtures from others, and a general failure to thrive. • rare and typically the result of neglect or abuse

Ainsworth Strange Situation

a sequence of 8 staged episodes that illustrate the strength of attachment between a child and (typically) his or her mother • widely used experimental technique to measure attachment • The "strange situation" follows this general eight-step pattern: (1) The mother and baby enter an unfamiliar room; (2) the mother sits down, leaving the baby free to explore; (3) an adult stranger enters the room and converses first with the mother and then with the baby; (4) the mother exits the room, leaving the baby alone with the stranger; (5) the mother returns, greeting and comforting the baby, and the stranger leaves; (6) the mother departs again, leaving the baby alone; (7) the stranger returns; and (8) the mother returns and the stranger leaves (Ainsworth et al., 1978). • two-thirds of one-year-olds have the secure attachment pattern • 20% have the avoidant attachment pattern • about 10-15% have the ambivalent attachment pattern • a more recent expansion of Ainsworth's work suggests a fourth category: disorganized-disoriented attachment pattern • Attachment may have significant consequences for relationships at later stages in life • Reactive attachment disorder

Theory of Psychosocial Development

considers how individuals come to understand themselves and the meaning of others' - and their own - behavior • Erikson argues that personality is largely shaped by infants' experiences with other people • Built upon the psychodynamic perspective, this theory posits that changes occur throughout one's life in 8 distinct stages, beginning in infancy *pages 12 - 15*

Easy Babies

have a positive disposition; their bodily functions operate regularly and they are adaptable • 40% of infants (largest number) • They are generally positive, showing curiosity about new situations, and their emotions are moderate or low in intensity.

Difficult Babies

have negative moods and are slow to adapt to new situations; when confronted with a new situation, they tend to withdraw • 10% of infants

Agreeableness

how easygoing and helpful a person tends to be

Extraversion

how outgoing or shy a person is

Theory of Mind

knowledge and beliefs about how the mind works and how it influences behavior • Infant perspectives on the mental lives of self and others • Child explanations used to explain how others think • As capacity to understand intentionality and causality grows during infancy • See other people as compliant agents • Begin to understand causality and intentionality • Demonstrate rudiments of empathy • Begin to use deception to fool others

Depression

manifests as feelings of sadness or hopelessness for 2 or more weeks, and those who suffer with this condition stop doing normal activities • More than 25% of adolescents report feeling depressed • Almonst two-thirds of teenagers experience such feelings at some point • Only about 3% experience a major depression - a full-blown psychological disorder in which depression is severe and lingers for long periods • Group differences are reported in incidence rates: - girls have a higher incidence of depression than boys > the causes of this gender difference is not clear > little evidence points to hormones or genes as causes > social stress due to role strain of traditional stereotypes may be greater for girls > coping differences (with girls more likely to internalize stress) rather than mood differences may be an explanation - Ethnic differences are also seen in some groups > SOME studies show that african-american teens have a higher rate of depression than their white peers > native americans have higher rates of depression - severe, long-term depression is often related to biological factors > such as genetic inheritance for some individuals - Environmental and social factors are also causes of depression > death of loved one > depressed parent > unpopular > few close friends > experiencing rejection

Adult Personality: Daniel Levinsons

seasons of life theory • according to the seasons of life theory, the early 40s are a period of transition and crisis • studying men (no women), Levinson suggests that adult men pass through a series of stages beginning with early adulthood at age 20 and continuing into middle adulthood • the theme of early adulthood is focused on leaving the family and entering the adult world • between 40 and 45, people move into a period Levinson called the midlife transition - a time of questioning (1) They focus on the finite nature of life. (2) They question their assumptions. (3) They experience their first signs of aging. (4) They confront the knowledge that they will be unable to accomplish all their aims before they die. • This period of assessment may lead to a midlife crisis

Life Review and Reminiscence: The Common Theme of Adult Personality Development

• Life Review • According to Robert Butler, the life review is triggered by the increasing awareness that one will die • Reminiscence may even have cognitive benefits, improving memory in older people. By reflecting on the past, people activate a variety of memories about people and events in their lives. In turn, these memories may trigger other, related memories, and may bring back sights, sounds, and even smells of the past. • Benefits to a life review: (1) a better understanding of one's past (2) resolution of lingering problems and conflicts (3) a sense of sharing and mutuality with others (4) may improve memory (5) Overall, this process can provide continuity between past and present as well as increasing awareness of the contemporary world. (6) leads to insights into the past • A life review is not always positive: (1) People may become obsessed with the past (2) This may cause psychological dysfunction

The Consequences of Temperament: Does Temperament Matter?

• No temperament is inherently good or bad • Long-term adjustment depends on the goodness of fit - some temperamental styles are more adaptable than others > some DIFFICULT children are more likely to show behavior problems by school age than EASY children > a key determinant is the way parents react to the infant's behavior - culture also has a major influence on the consequences of a particular temperament

Personality in Late Adulthood: Robert Peck

• Personality development in elderly people is occupied by three major developmental tasks or challenges (1) Refdefinition of Self vs. Preoccupation with Work Role (2) Body Transcendence vs. Body Preoccupation (3) Ego Transcendence vs. Ego Preoccupation

Neurological Basis of Emotion

• The instability of emotions may be explained by the activation of brain organs. • Studies of the brain comparing adolescent and adult activation suggest that emotional responses may be especially pronounced during adolescence, which affects the rationality of adolescents' evaluations of challenges and their responses to said challenges. (1) The Amygdala (temporal lobe) provides a link between perception of a stimulus and later memory for this stimulus. (2) Neural paths connecting the amygdala, visual cortex, and hippocampus (involved in the storage of memories) lead to nearly instantaneous experiences of fear. (3) Only later is rational thought involved in the evaluation process of the situation.

Theory of Mind: Understanding What Others Are Thinking

• The roots of self-awareness begin to grow around 12 months • Infants have a theory of mind at a fairly early age • Children with autism find it difficult to relate to others due to language and emotional disorders

The Midlife Crisis: Reality or Myth?

• There is a general expectancy in the U.S. that the age of 40 represents an important psychological juncture • Despite widespread acceptance, the evidence for a midlife crisis does not exist (1) For the majority of people, the transition is relatively tranquil and smooth. (2) They view midlife as rewarding. (3) Many middle-aged people find their careers have blossomed, and are content with their lives. (4) Focus is on the present rather than the future as they seek to maximize their involvement with family, friends, and social groups. (5) Those who feel regret may be motivated to change direction, and those who do change their lives end up better off psychologically. (6) They feel younger than they actually are. (7) The popularity of the negative myth of midlife crisis may be due to the visibility and greater attention paid to the few who exhibit a midlife crisis.

Personality and the Interactions of Genetics and the Environment

• Traits related to temperament are not the only personality characteristics affected by heredity • Behavioral geneticists and evolutionary psychologists believe that combinations of inherited genes determine personality much the way that height or eye color are shaped by contributions of genes from ancestors - Evolutionary arguments posit that personality traits beneficial to survival and reproductive success are more likely to be maintained and passed on to subsequent generations • Studies of identical twins raised apart illustrate the importance of heredity in personality development - Some traits have strong genetic components (e.g., social potency, traditionalism) - Other traits have weak genetic components (e.g., achievement, social closeness) • Environmental influences also have significant effects on the consistency of traits throughout the lifespan - Environmental effects can reinforce inherited traits - Specific environmental factors (e.g., childrearing practices, peer interactions, and culture) also play a role • Other times, inherited traits influence the environment • As in most arenas of life, genetics and environment interact to influence personality • But temperament and traits are not destiny. Some individuals show little consistency in temperament from one age to another - Childrearing practices can alter temperamental predispositions

How does social referencing operate?

• Two explanations: (1) Observing someone else's facial expression brings about the emotion that the expression represents (2) Viewing another's facial expression simply provides information • Ask: Which view makes the most sense to you? Why? - Both explanations for social referencing have received some support in research studies. - Infants who reach the age when they are able to use social referencing become quite upset if they receive conflicting nonverbal messages from significant adults.

Young adults are happiest when their psychological needs—rather than their material needs—are met.

• Uplifts include being chosen for a new job, developing a deep relationship, and moving into their own home. • Unhappiest memories: They report being least satisfied when basic psychological needs are unfulfilled. • Culture defines the value of particular needs. • According to research on young adults, happiness usually is derived from feelings of independence, competence, self-esteem, or relating well to other people.

Suicide

• adolescent suicide rates have tripled in the last 30 years -- suicide is the third most common cause of death for people 15-24 year old - the current rate is 1 teenage suicide every 90 minutes - this may be an underestimate of the true number - cluster suicides can occur - more girls attempt suicide than boys, but more boys succeed > males tend to use more violent methods > there are estimates of as many as 200 attempts for every successful suicide - one reason for an increased rate is the increase in teenage stress -- but that is not the whole picture. Other factors include: (1) depression (2) social inhibition, perfectionism, high stress, and anxiety (3) family conflicts (4) history of abuse and/or neglect (5) drug and alcohol abuse