Chapter – 6 Socioemotional Development in Infancy

Feelings or affects that occur when a person is in a state or an interaction that is important to him or her, especially to his/her well-being are known as:

b. emotions.

Which of the following statements about emotions is not true?

c. The ability to regulate emotions is present at birth.

Which of the following is an important role played by emotions during infancy?

b. Communication

Especially in infancy, emotions play important roles in:

d. behavioral organization.

The infant’s ability to regulate emotions is tied to:

a. the gradual maturation of the frontal regions of the cerebral cortex.

Which of the following statements about emotions is FALSE?

d. Embeddedness in relationships prevents diversity in emotional experiences.

Emotions that are present in humans and animals and that appear in the first 6 months of the human infant’s development are known as:

c. primary emotions.

Which of the following is NOT a primary emotion?

d. Pride

Makiko feels ashamed when her friend comes over for a play-date and teases her about wearing night-time diapers. This is an example of _____ emotions.

c. other-conscious

Which of the following is an "other-conscious" emotion?

b. Pride

Which of the following statements about self-conscious emotions is true?

d. They involve the emotional reactions of others when they are generated.

Experts on infant socioemotional development, such as Jerome Kagan, conclude that _____ makes it unlikely that emotions which require thought can be experienced in the first year.

b. the structural immaturity of the infant brain

What is the opinion of experts on infant socioemotional development, such as Jerome Kagan, on the infant’s capacity to display emotions like guilt, pride, despair, shame, empathy, and jealousy in the first year?

a. The structural immaturity of the infant brain makes it unlikely that such emotions can be experienced in the first year.

_____ emotions are present in humans and other animals.

c. Primary

_____ emotions appear in the first 6 months of the human infant’s development.

a. Primary

Five-month-old Caitlyn demonstrates surprise when an unexpected event occurs. This is a demonstration of a _____ emotion.

d. Primary

Mario brings his mother his favorite teddy bear to comfort her when she has had a bad day at work. This demonstrates a _____ emotion.

b. Self-conscious

Most of the _____ emotions occur for the first time at some point in the second half of the first year through the second year .

d. self-conscious

When one-month-old Mai is sleeping, it often looks like she is smiling. This is an example of a _____ smile.

b. reflexive

Which of the following terms is used to describe the mutually regulated interactions between parents and infants?

d. Synchronous

Which of the following statements is NOT true of crying?

d. Newborns respond with positive facial expressions when they hear other newborns cry.

Two-month-old Trey is crying loudly. It is a sudden long, initial loud cry followed by breath holding. This type of cry indicates that Trey is:

a. experiencing pain.

Babies have three types of cries. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

b. The hunger cry

Which of the following is true of social smiling?

d. The external stimulus is typically a face, in the case of young infants.

Three-month-old Zoey looks up at her mother and smiles. Researchers call this type of smiling:

b. social smiling.

Nakita is 18 months old, and she has a tendency to cry when strangers come near her. She is displaying one of a baby’s earliest emotions, _____.

a. fear

Researchers have found that infant _____ is linked to guilt, empathy, and low aggression at 6 to 7 years of age.

c. fear

The most frequent expression of an infant’s fear involves:

c. stranger anxiety.

The fear of strangers peaks:

b. toward the end of the first year of life.

Researchers have found that infant fear is linked to all of the following at 6 to 7 years of age EXCEPT:

c. high aggression.

In which of the following situations will 9-month-old Lucy show the LEAST stranger anxiety?

b. When she meets another 9-month-old baby at her home

Infants show _____ when they are in familiar settings.

c. less stranger anxiety

Separation protest is characterized by:

c. crying when the caregiver leaves.

Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding separation protests?

c. It is initially displayed by infants at approximately 10 to 12 months.

Infancy experts Mary Ainsworth and John Bowlby stress that _____ is an important ingredient in developing a strong bond between the infant and caregiver.

a. a quick, comforting response to the infant’s cries

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

b. Temperament

"Easy," "difficult," and "slow-to-warm-up" are three basic types of _____ identified by psychiatrists Alexander Chess and Stella Thomas.

d. temperament

When Josh was dropped off at preschool on the very first day of class, he was quite upset. He cried for a long time and would not play with the other children. According to psychiatrists Alexander Chess and Stella Thomas, what type of temperament does Josh have?

c. Difficult

Sakura isn’t a particularly active child, and he tends to be wary of new situations and people. Although he doesn’t cry, he dislikes dealing with novel situations. According to Thomas & Chess, he would be classified as:

c. slow-to-warm-up child.

In their longitudinal investigation, Chess and Thomas found that _____ percent of the children they studied could be classified as easy.

c. 40

Betty and Allen’s child, Cara, is usually in a pleasant mood. She has a regular routine but can readily adapt to changes. According to Chess and Thomas, Cara would be classified as an:

b. easy child.

Jerome Kagan’s classification of temperament focuses on:

a. inhibition to the unfamiliar.

Mary Rothbart and John Bates believe that infant temperament falls into which of the following categories?

b. Extraversion/surgency, negative affectivity, and effortful control

According to Rothbart and Bates’ new classifications of temperament, in which category would Kagan’s uninhibited children fit into?

c. Extraversion/surgency

The recent focus on _____ emphasizes that individuals can engage in a more cognitive, flexible approach to stressful circumstances.

d. effortful control

According to Jerome Kagan, temperament:

a. is the result of inherited physiological characteristics; however, temperament can be modified to some degree by the environment.

In North America, parents tend to prefer children with a(n) _____ temperament, whereas in China, a(n) _____ temperament is more highly valued.

a. active; inhibited

48. An inhibited temperament has been associated with all of the following EXCEPT:

a. low thyroxine levels.

_____ refers to the match between a child’s temperament and the environmental demands the child must cope with.

c. Goodness of fit

Monsena is an independent and adventurous child who likes to explore new places in her environment. However, her mother is overprotective and forbids

Monsena from going to the backyard or garden in their house. Developmental psychologists would say that a discussion of this discrepancy concerns: a. goodness of fit.

Which of the following would Erik Erikson be MOST likely to recommend about soothing a crying infant?

b. Pick up the baby and soothe him/her so that a healthy sense of trust develops.

Researchers have had mothers put a dot of rouge on the noses of babies and place the babies in front of mirrors to see their reaction. These researchers are studying the concept of:

d. sense of self.

Eight-month-old Michael is placed in front of a mirror with a spot of rouge on his nose. Michael will MOST likely:

d. crawl away from the mirror, because he does not recognize his own reflection in the mirror.

Twenty-four-month-old Tyler is placed in front of a mirror with a spot of rouge on his nose. Tyler will MOST likely:

a. touch his own nose to wipe off the spot.

Erik Erikson describes the second stage of personality development as the stage of _____ versus shame and doubt.

c. autonomy

What types of behaviors in caregivers create a sense of shame and doubt in children?

a. Overprotectiveness and criticism

Tara holds her 2-month-old daughter, Sonia, close to her, makes eye contact, and smiles and sings softly to her. Tara is engaging in:

a. face-to-face play.

By 2 to 3 months of age, most infants expect people to react positively when the infants initiate a behavior, such as a smile or a vocalization. This finding has been discovered using a method called the:

c. still-face paradigm

Which of the following observations about social orientation of infants is FALSE?

d. Infants’ affect-displays during the still-face paradigm are not linked to secure attachment during infancy.

Juan has been showing marked increase in his imitative and reciprocal play; he goes around imitating nonverbal actions like jumping and running. Juan is probably:

d. between 18 and 24 months old.

Which concept helps the infant to understand that other people have intentions?

b. Joint attention

What is the term used to describe "reading" emotional cues in others to help determine how to act in a particular situation?

a. Social referencing

Researchers are discovering that infants are more socially sophisticated and insightful at younger ages than previously envisioned. In which aspect is this sophistication and insight reflected?

a. In infants’ perceptions of others’ actions as intentionally motivated and goal-directed

Quimby, age 15 months, looks to her mother to see if she should be afraid of the stranger who has come to her home. Quimby relaxes when she sees her mother smiling and speaking to the stranger in a calm voice. Quimby is engaging in:

c. social referencing.

According to Freud, infants become attached to the person or object:

c. that provides oral satisfaction.

What is the significant finding of Harlow’s experiments on monkeys reared by surrogate mothers?

c. Contact comfort is the crucial element in the attachment process.

According to Erikson, _____ are keys to establishing a basic trust in infants.

a. physical comfort and sensitive care

During phase 1 of John Bowlby’s conceptualization of attachment, what is MOST likely to occur?

d. An infant is likely to exhibit smiling or crying in response to strangers, siblings, or parents.

According to John Bowlby, at what age do infants/children begin to take into consideration the feelings of others before acting?

d. From 24 months on

Which of the following characterizes phase 1 of Bowlby’s model of attachment?

a. Infants instinctively direct their attachment to human figures.

In which of the following phases of Bowlby’s model of attachment does attachment become focused on one figure, usually the primary caregiver?

c. Phase 2

According to Bowlby’s conceptualization of attachment, how long does phase 1 last?

b. From birth to 2 months

According to Bowlby’s conceptualization of attachment, which of the following occurs during phase 3?

d. With increased locomotor skills, babies actively seek contact with regular caregivers, such as the mother or father.

According to Bowlby’s conceptualization of attachment, which of the following is the time period for phase 3?

c. From 7 to 24 months

According to Bowlby’s conceptualization of attachment, what is the time period of phase 2?

a. From 2 to 7 months

Anthony is just starting to crawl and has taken to following his mother around the house. He also lifts his arms up to her when he wants to be picked up. According to Bowlby’s conceptualization of attachment, which phase is Anthony currently in?

d. Phase 3

John Bowlby argued that infants develop a(n)_____ model of attachment.

b. internal working

According to John Bowlby, an infant’s internal working model of attachment includes a simple mental model of the caregiver, their relationship, and:

b. the self as deserving of nurturant care.

The Strange Situation is an observational measure of infant attachment developed by Mary Ainsworth. It requires the infant to:

b. move through a series of introductions, separations, and reunions with his/her mother and a stranger.

When put on the floor to play, baby Elaine cries as if she wants to be held. When her mother picks her up, though, Elaine pushes away with both arms and turns her head away. Mary Ainsworth would say that Elaine is:

c. insecure resistant.

In the Strange Situation, Latoya basically ignored her mother, was not upset when she left the room, and did not seek her out when she returned. Mary Ainsworth would most likely classify Latoya as:

b. insecure avoidant.

In the Strange Situation, Jermaine used his mother as a "safe base" as he actively explored the playroom. Mary Ainsworth would most likely classify Jermaine as:

a. securely attached.

According to critics, the Strange Situation might not be able to capture important differences among infants because:

d. as a measure of attachment, it may be culturally biased.

In the Strange Situation, Quentin cries mildly when his caregiver departs. However, he is happy upon reunion, and then, continues to explore once the caregiver has returned. He would be classified as _____.

a. securely attached

Diego is in the Strange Situation with his caregiver; he explores the room and examines the toys that have been placed in it. He uses the caregiver as a secure base from which to explore the room. He would be classified as _____.

c. securely attached

Austin is in the Strange Situation and shows strong patterns of avoidance and resistance. He also displays extreme fearfulness around the caregiver. He would be classified as _____.

d. disorganized

Parker is in the Strange Situation, he shows little interaction with his caregiver. He isn’t distressed upon separation and does not reestablish contact upon reunion. He would be classified as _____.

b. insecure avoidant

Insecure avoidant babies show:

b. insecurity by avoiding the caregiver.

Natalie is in the Strange Situation, and she clings anxiously to her caregiver. She does not explore the playroom. She would most likely be classified as _____.

c. insecure resistant

Which of the following babies would appear disoriented in the Strange Situation conducted by Mary Ainsworth?

c. Clara who is an insecure disorganized baby

Tempest is in the Strange Situation and appears dazed, confused, and fearful. She would most likely be classified as _____.

b. insecure disorganized

Mariposa is in the Strange Situation; she moves freely away from her mother but keeps track of where she is through periodic glances. She would most likely be classified as _____.

c. securely attached

In the Strange Situation, Cameron did not explore the playroom, clung to his mother when she was in the room, and was very upset when she left the room. When she returned, he appeared to be ambivalent—

both wanting to be comforted by his mother, but pushing her away when she attempted to do so. Mary Ainsworth would most likely classify Cameron as: c. insecure resistant.

Jeremy is a securely attached infant; Jason is classified as an insecure infant. Which of the following statements about later functioning for these children is TRUE? d. Jeremy is more likely than Jason to have high self-confidence.

…

Shoko responds positively to being picked up by others, and when put back down, freely moves away to play. She would most likely be classified as _____.

a. securely attached

According to Mary Ainsworth, a(n) _____ infant avoids the mother or is ambivalent toward her, fears strangers, and is upset by minor, everyday separations.

b. insecurely attached

The _____ model involves connections across domains over time that influences developmental pathways and outcomes.

d. developmental cascade

_____ can include connections between a wide range of biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes, and also can involve social contexts such as families, peers, schools, and culture.

b. Developmental cascades

Jerome Kagan and other developmentalists stress that _____ play(s) more important roles in a child’s social competence than the attachment theorists, such as Bowlby and Ainsworth, are willing to acknowledge.

a. the child’s genetic characteristics and temperament

Recent studies find that a disorganized attachment style developed in infancy only when infants had the short version of the serotonin transporter gene—5-HTTLPR. This gene-environment interaction only occurred when:

b. mothers showed a low level of responsiveness toward their infants.

Blanca rarely holds her baby Joey and tends to respond to his needs in an angry, irritable fashion. It is most likely that Joey will develop a(n) _____ with his mother.

b. insecure avoidant attachment

Carrie is a 19-year-old single mother. She often feels overwhelmed and depressed about her situation and frequently neglects her 8-month-old son and his needs. On several occasions, she has slapped his hand when he reaches for her cell phone. Carrie’s baby is most likely to develop a(n) _____ with her.

b. insecure disorganized attachment

_____, a mammalian hormone that also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain, is released during breast feeding and by contact and warmth.

b. Oxytocin

_____ refers to a collection of neurons in the forebrain that are involved in pleasure.

a. Nucleus accumbens

Which of the following is a neuropeptide hormone that is important in the formation of the maternal-infant bond?

a. Vasopressin

The _____ mandated a paid 14-week maternity leave in 1992.

c. European Union

When people become parents through pregnancy, adoption, or step-parenting, they face _____ and must adapt.

c. disequilibrium

Which of the following is a characteristic of reciprocal socialization?

a. It is bidirectional.

When a mother plays peek a boo with her baby she moves from covering baby and saying "peek a boo" to covering her own eyes and saying it. This illustrates:

b. scaffolding.

The behaviors of mothers and infants involve substantial interconnection, mutual regulation, and synchronization. This temporal coordination of social behavior is termed _____.

d. parent infant synchrony

Which of the following is the best description of scaffolding?

a. Parents time interactions in such a way that the infant experiences turn-taking with the parents.

Of the following, which would be a good example of scaffolding?

c. A game of peek-a-boo

A mother hands her baby a rattle, saying, "Here you are." She then gently takes the rattle away, smiling and saying, "Thank you." She does this repeatedly, letting the baby keep the rattle for several seconds each time and encouraging the baby to offer the rattle.

Eventually, the baby takes the rattle, holds it for a few seconds, and then holds it out to her mother and smiles. This is an example of: b. scaffolding.

Mary often plays the game peek-a-boo with her baby. Initially, Mary covers her baby and then removes the cover, registering "surprise" at the baby’s reappearance. After a time, her baby does the covering and uncovering. This is an example of:

b. scaffolding.

Which of the following statements regarding paternal caregiving is FALSE?

d. Paternal interactions usually center on child-care activities, such as feeding, changing diapers, bathing.

The research on fathers as caregivers indicates that fathers:

d. interact with their babies in different ways than mothers do, regardless of which parent is the primary caregiver.

Which of the following BEST exemplifies the difference between how mothers and fathers interact with their children?

b. Fathers are more physical with their children.

Fathers engage in more _____ than mothers do.

c. rough-and-tumble play

The United States currently allows up to _____ weeks of _____ leave for caring for a newborn.

a. 12; unpaid

One study of 2- and 3-year-old children revealed that an increase in the number of child-care arrangements the children experienced is linked to an:

b. increase in behavioral problems.

What is the main difference between most child-care policies available in the United States and in Sweden?

a. Level of inclusion of the father

Which of the following statements about child care and socioeconomic status is TRUE?

b. Children are more likely to experience poor quality child care if their parents have few resources.

The longitudinal study conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in 1991 concluded that:

d. children who were given high-quality child care performed better on cognitive and language tasks,

The results of the study conducted by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in 1991 indicate that:

b. the influence of families and parenting is not weakened by extensive use of day care.

_____ has been the most consistent predictor of a secure attachment.

b. Parental sensitivity

Baby Pilar is crying. Her crying is characterized by the sudden appearance of loud crying without preliminary moaning, followed by breath holding. Identify this type of cry.

Answer: Pain cry

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

Answer: reflexive smile

A temperament classification, according to Alexander Chess and Stella Thomas that includes children who (a) are low in activity level, (b) are somewhat negative, and (c) display a low intensity of mood.

Answer: Slow-to-warm-up

A temperament dimension, according to Mary Rothbart and John Bates, which includes positive anticipation, impulsivity, activity level, and sensation seeking.

Answer: Extraversion/surgency

The match between a child’s temperament and the environmental demands with which the child must cope.

Answer: Goodness of fit

This theorist suggested that the primary "task" for infants was to develop a sense of trust in others.

Answer: Erik Erikson

"Reading" emotional cues in others to help determine how to act in a particular situation.

Answer: Social referencing

This ethological psychiatrist believes that both infants and their primary caregivers are biologically predisposed to form attachments.

Answer: John Bowlby

An attachment classification that is characterized by the infant’s behaviors in the Strange Situation. These infants engage in little interaction with the caregiver, are not upset when the caregiver leaves the room, and do not reestablish contact with the caregiver upon reunion.

Answer: Insecure avoidant babies

This is a form of reciprocal socialization in which parents time interactions in such a way that the infant experiences turn-taking with parents.

Answer: Scaffolding

Distinguish between primary emotions and self-conscious or other-conscious emotions. Give an example of each type of emotion. Answer: Primary emotions are emotions that are present in humans and animals; these emotions appear in the first 6 months of the human infant’s development.

Self-conscious or other-conscious emotions require self-awareness that involves consciousness and a sense of "me." Examples of primary emotions include surprise, fear, joy, anger, disgust, and sadness. Examples of self-conscious emotions include embarrassment, shame, guilt, and pride.

List the three types of cries that have been identified in babies.

Answer: Babies have at least three types of cries: Basic cry, Pain cry, Anger cry

Distinguish between reflexive and social smiles. Answer: A reflexive smile does not occur in response to external stimuli; it occurs during the first month after birth,

usually when the infant is asleep. A social smile, however, occurs in response to an external stimulus, such as a face, typically in early development. Social smiling may occur as early as 2 months of age.

What is stranger anxiety, and when does it develop? What is separation protest, and when does it peak? Answer: Stranger anxiety is when an infant shows a fear and wariness of strangers. It first appears at about 6 months and

continues to escalate through the infant’s first birthday. Separation protest is an infant’s expression of distress over being separated from its caregiver. It peaks at about 15 months of age among U.S. infants.

Describe the emotional regulation and coping that infants develop over the initial years. Answer: During the first year of life, the infant gradually develops an ability to inhibit, or minimize, the intensity and duration of emotional reactions. The caregivers’ actions influence the infant’s

neurobiological regulation of emotions. By soothing the infant, caregivers help infants to modulate their emotion and reduce the level of stress hormones. Later in infancy, when they become aroused, infants sometimes redirect their attention or distract themselves in order to reduce their arousal.

By 2 years of age, toddlers can use language to define their feeling states and the context that is upsetting them.Contexts can influence emotional regulation.

Infants are often affected by fatigue, hunger, time of day, which people are around them, and where they are. Infants must learn to adapt to different contexts that require emotional regulation.

… What is temperament? Answer: Temperament involves individual differences in behavioral styles, emotions, and characteristic ways of responding.

With regard to its link to emotion, temperament refers to individual differences in how quickly the emotion is shown, how strong it is, how long it lasts, and how quickly it fades away.

… List & describe the three types of temperament as classified by Alexander Chess and Stella Thomas. Provide examples of how a baby with each type might respond to meeting a new person in a new situation. Answer: Psychiatrists Alexander Chess and Stella Thomas identified three basic types, or…

clusters, of temperament: Easy: An easy child is generally in a positive mood, quickly establishes regular routines in infancy, and adapts easily to new experiences. Difficult: A difficult child reacts negatively and cries frequently, engages in irregular daily routines, and is slow to accept change….

Slow-to-warm-up: A slow-to-warm-up child has a low activity level, is somewhat negative, and displays a low intensity of mood. In their longitudinal investigation, ….

Chess and Thomas found that 40 percent of the children they studied could be classified as easy, 10 percent as difficult, and 15 percent as slow to warm up. Thirty-five percent did not fit any of the three patterns.

… Briefly describe the four phases of attachment as identified by John Bowlby. Answer: According to Bowlby, attachment does not emerge suddenly but rather develops in a series of

phases, moving from a baby’s general preference for human beings to a partnership with primary caregivers. Following are four such phases based on Bowlby’s conceptualization of attachment:Phase 1: Infants instinctively direct their attachment to any, all human figures….

Phase 2: Attachment becomes focused on one figure, usually the primary caregiver, as the baby gradually learns to distinguish familiar from unfamiliar people.Phase 3: Specific attachments develop, and …

babies actively seek contact with regular caregivers.Phase 4: Children become aware of others’ feelings, goals, and plans and begin to take these into account in forming their own actions.

… Describe the three main types of insecurely attached infants. Answer: (a) Insecure avoidant babies exhibit insecurity by avoiding the caregiver. (b) Insecure resistant babies often cling to the caregiver and then

resist him/her by fighting against closeness, perhaps by kicking or pushing away. (c) Insecure disorganized babies exhibit insecurity by being disorganized and disoriented. In strange situations, these babies may appear dazed and confused.

… Describe the Strange Situation. What is an important criticism of this method? Answer: The Strange Situation is 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 the prescribed order. Some critics believe that the isolated, controlled events of the setting might not necessarily reflect what would happen if infants were observed with their caregiver in a natural environment.

… Explain reciprocal socialization and scaffolding.

Answer: Reciprocal socialization is socialization that is bidirectional. Children socialize their parents, and parents socialize their children. Scaffolding is parental behavior that supports children’s efforts, allowing them to be more skillful than they would be if they were to rely on only their own abilities.