Session 9: Development of Emotions and Social Skills in Infants & Toddlers. Trainer: Manju Nair

Session 9: Development of Emotions and Social Skills in Infants & Toddlers.Trainer: Manju Nair

Defining Emotions

Emotions are defined as a “complex set of behaviors produced in response to some external or internal event, or elicitor, that serve to motivate and direct thoughts and actions

(Bukato & Daehker, 2004, p, 381)

Emotions

Children;s reactions and show of emotions are related to:

1. Personality development.

2. Development of basic emotions.

3. Temperament development.

4. Development of attachment.

Basic Trust vs MistrustInfants depend on the quality of caregiving.

Trusting infants expect the world to be good and gratifying.

They feel confident about venturing out & exploring the world.

Mistrustful baby cannot count on people’s kindness and compassion.

They protect themselves by withdrawing from people and things around themselves.

Autonomy vs Shame & Doubt.Young children must be able to have opportunities to decide for themselves.

When caregivers provide children with suitable guidance and reasonable choices, self confidence emerges.

Parent/caregiver who is over and under controlling will affect child’s emotional development.

Child who is shamed will feel forced, shamed, and will doubt own ability to control impulses and act competently.

Basic trust and autonomy grows out of warm, sensitive caregiving and reasonable expectations for impulse control.

Development of Basic EmotionsPrimary emotions - appear in the first six months.

Surprise, interest, joy, anger, fear, & disgust.

Self conscious emotions require self awareness.

Jealousy, empathy, embarrassment, pride, shame & guilt.

Occur at some point in the second half of the first year.

Continues through second year.

Crying

Basic method for infants to communicate. There are three types of cries:

1. Basic [hungry] cry - vocalization pause, intake of air, pause,.....

2. Anger cry - stronger vocalization, pause, intake of air, pause.

3. Pain cry - longer vocalization, longer pause,.....

Smiling

There are two types of smiles:

1. Reflexive smile: a smile that does not occur in response to external stimuli [birth to six weeks].

2. Social smile: a smile that occurs in response to an external stimuli, appears between 6 to 10 weeks and later appears as exuberant laughter.

Fear

One of baby’s earliest emotions.

Appears at about 6 months.

Abused & neglected infants can show fear as early as 3 months.

Stranger anxiety is a form of fear: show of fear and wariness of strangers.

Anger & Sadness.

Newborns respond with distress to unpleasant experiences.

From 4 to 6 months and into the 2nd year: infants want to control own action and effects they produce. Loss of control evokes strong angry response.

Anger & Sadness

Sadness occurs when:

Infants are deprived of a familiar or loving caregiver.

Parent-infant interaction is seriously disrupted.

Self-Conscious Emotions

Appears at about 18 month.

Become aware of self as a separate, unique individual.

Show shame and embarrassment by lowering eyes, hanging their heads, & hiding their faces with hands.

Basic Emotions

Temperament

Temperament is a behavioral style.

Innate aspect of an individual’s personality.

Temperamental differences are present at birth.

Temperament characteristics explain how individuals with many stresses may do well while some with little or no stress may not, and some others may just have difficulty.

Temperament

3 basic types are identified:

The Easy Child

The Difficult Child

The Slow-to-warm-up Child

Temperaments

Easy child: A child whose temperament is such that he quickly establishes regular routines in infancy, is generally cheerful, and adapts easily to new experiences.

Difficult child: A child whose temperament is such that she is irregular in daily routines, is slow to accept new experiences, and tends to react negatively and intensely.

Slow to warm up child: A child whose temperament is such that he is inactive, shows mild, low-key reactions to environmental stimuli, is negative in mood, and adjusts slowly to new experiences.

Goodness to Fit Model

A goodness of fit model: good fit between child’s temperament and child rearing practices leads to favorable psychological development.

Social & Emotional DevelopmentEmotional communication

Understanding of self

Ability to manage one’s feelings.

Understanding and knowing other people’s relationships.

Interpersonal skills

Moral behavior

Social OrientationNewborns stare intently at faces and are attuned to sounds of human voices.

Face-to-face play begins at about 2 to 3 months of age.

Characterizes the caregiver infant interactions.

Focused social interactions of face to face play include vocalization, touch & gestures.

Frequency decreases after 7 months as infants become more mobile.

Interaction with peers increases considerably in the last half of 2nd year.

Intention, Goal-Directed Behavior & CooperationOccurs near end of 1st year.

Joint attention and gaze allow infants to understand other people have intentions.

To cooperate, children have to connect own intention with adult or peer’s intention, then interact with the adult or peer to reach a goal.

Social ReferencingInfants develop the ability to read the emotions of others near end of 1st year.

This ability; social referencing helps infants to read emotional cues in others and help to determine how to act in a particular situation.

Mother’s facial expression [smiling or fearful] influences whether infant will explore an unfamiliar environment.

In 2nd year, a child will check with his/her mother before he/she acts.

AttachmentAttachment is a close emotional bond between two people

There are five characteristics that define attachment.

1. Physical proximity seeking

2. Comfort.

3. Security.

4. Separation upset.

5. Reciprocity.

John Bowlby’s TheoryPreattachment phase [birth to 6 weeks]:

Infants instinctively direct their attachment to human figures.

Strangers, siblings, and parents are equally likely to elicit smiling or crying.

Attachment in the making pahse [6 weeks to 6-8 months]

Attachment becomes focused on one figure, as baby gradually learns to distinguish familiar from unfamiliar people.

John Bowlby’s TheoryClear-cut attachment phase [from 6 to 24 months].

Specific attachment develop

Babies display separation anxiety

Formation of reciprocal relationship [from 18 month on]

Children become aware of other’s feelings, goals, and plans, and begin to take these into account in forming their own actions.

Strange Situation

Was formulated to observe and assess quality of attachment between caregivers and children between the age of 9 and 18 months.

It was developed by Mary Ainsworth a developmental psychologist.

A series of introductions, separations, and reunions with caregiver and stranger were used in the experiments.

Attachment Theory: Mary AinsworthObserved how babies reacted when caregivers returned.

Discovered four types of attachment styles:

1. Secure

2. Avoidant

3. Resistant.

4. Disorganized-Disoriented.

They show how well the child will form relationships in adulthood.

Most are the result of the way the parents rear the child.

Types Attachment

Secure attachment: infants who use parents as a secure base from where to explore and when separated are easily comforted when the parent returns.

Avoidant attachment: insecure attachment characterized by infants who are usually not distressed by parental separation and avoid them on return.

Types of Attachment

Resistant attachment: insecure attachment where infants stay close to parent and fail to explore. When separated display angry resistant behavior when parent returns.

Disorganized/disoriented attachment: insecure attachment characterizing an infant who responds in a confused, contradictory fashion when reunited with parent.

Attachment theory helps us to shape the way we work with children

Children need to form secure attachments with their caregiver if their development is not to be hindered in the future.

Children need a secure base from which to explore the world around them.

Children can feel insecure with strangers and will become distressed.

Separation from parents is difficult for children.

Hello Daddy

Paternal involvement is an important indicator of attachment. After infancy children show equal attachment. Father’s more often provide playful stimulations than mothers do.

Attachment and later development: warm, sensitive environment are not just important in infancy and toddler-hood but crucial right through childhood and adolescence.

References.

http://www.simplypsychology.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/bowlby.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLrBrk9DXVk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Harlow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLrBrk9DXVk

Behavior ManagementLecturer: Manju Nair

Child Development in Infancy and

Toddlerhood, Lecture 9

Behavioral Management in infants and toddlers

• Regular observation.

• Checking against developmental checklists.

• Planning activities to develop pro-social behavior.

• Controlling elements in the environment.

• Encourage making friends and play.

Facilitation during the different stages

of attachment

Attachment Stage 1- Facilitating

Indiscriminate attachment

• Babies respond to most caring adults if needs are met promptly.

• Crying may persist even after babies get response because neurological system needs to register the change.

• Respond quickly to crying, try to differentiate the different cries, hold, cuddle and speak to the child.

Attachment Stage 1- Facilitating,

Indiscriminate attachment

• Individualize response to each individual infant.

• Provide reminders of home.

• Engage infants in repeated games, finger play and rhymes.

Attachment Stage 2- Facilitating, Discriminate

Attachment.• Continue to respond promptly to crying.

• Describe all that you are doing.

• Establish arrival and departure routine.

• Encourage use of security items.

• Consistent transition routines.

• Play peek-a-boo to show babies you do reappear.

Attachment Stage 3- Facilitating, Separation

Anxiety• Don’t push or encourage interaction

till the baby is ready.

• Give non- verbal cues that the new person is a friend and allow infant to stay close to a secure base.

• Explain the baby’s behavior to others.

Attachment Stage 4 - Facilitating , Stranger

Anxiety• Prepare child for new experience

especially going into a room full of strangers.

• Stay close.

• Always celebrate reunions!

• Develop home school partnership.

Handling Biting

• Investigative/exploratory biting: from infancy to about 14 months. To explore.

• Action/reaction biting: from 9 months to 20 months. To get a reaction.

• Purposeful biting: 18 month onwards. To change the outcome of a situation.

Handling Biting

• Prevention: by arranging the classroom into small nooks and crannies rather than having unbroken spaces.

• Anticipation: by observing when, where and how high instances of biting take place and avoiding such situations.

• Substitution: by using cooling teething rings etc.

Handling Biting.

• Supervising and Shadowing biters: if biting occurs three or more times a day, increase supervision or shadowing the biter.

• Teaching Children Social Interaction Skills: using limited amount of toys, delaying gratification, use of language for asking, trading toys, taking turns etc.

Aggression

• Aggression: behavior that injures or diminishes a person. There are different types of aggression

• Accidental aggression: when a child bumps into someone during play.

• Instrumental aggression: aimed at getting something you want.

• Hostile aggression: aimed at hurting someone.

• Relational aggression: designed to modify relations between peers or child and adults.

Aggression

• Aggression develops from watching parents, siblings, peers, and the media.

• Some aggression is normal in children under the age of three.

• The continuum of aggression: Indiscriminate aggression, Directed aggression, Limited aggressive responses, Verbal aggressive response, Regulated aggressive responses

Handling Aggression

• Set clear limits for the classroom.

• Teach social problem solving.

• Offer alternatives to aggressive behavior like grabbing.

• Help children communicate using words.

• Encourage cooperative behavior.

• Apply appropriate consequences where required.

Some Observational Checklist that can be

used .

Self Esteem Checklist

• Separates from primary caregiver.

• Develops a secure attachment relationship with teacher.

• Completes a task successfully.

• Makes activity choices without teacher’s help.

• Seeks other children to play with.

• Plays roles confidently in dramatic play.

• Stands up for own rights.

Emotional Development

• Releases stressful feelings in appropriate manner.

• Expresses anger in words rather than negative actions.

• Can be calmed in difficult or dangerous situations.

• Overcomes sad feelings in appropriate manner.

• Handles surprising situations with control.

• Shows fondness, affection, love toward others.

• Shows interest, attention in classroom activities.

• Smiles, seems happy much of the time.

References

• Beaty, J.J., 2010, Observing Development of the Young Child. Janice J. Beaty. New Jersey, Pearson Education Inc.

• Puckett B.M., Black J.K., Wittmer D.S., & Petersen S.H. (2009). The Young Child - Development From Prebirth Through Age Eight. New Jersey. Pearson Education, Inc.

• Rosenblight J.F., & Sims-Knight J.E. (1989). In the Beginning.

• Cole M, Cole S.R., & Lightfoot, C. [2005]. The Development of Children. New York, N.Y. Worth Publications.

References

• Albrecht, K. & Miller, G. [2001]. Infant & Toddler Development. Beltsville, MD. Gryphon House Inc.

• Berk, L.E., 2003. Child Development. USA. Pearson Education Inc.

Additional References

• Skill 1: Focus and self control.

• Skill 2: Perspective taking.

• Skill 3: Communicating.

• Skill 4: Making Connections.

• Skill 5: Critical Thinking.

• Skill 6: Taking on Challenges.

• Skill 7: Self-directed engaged learning.

Seven Essential Life Skills:- Ellen Galinsky, Mind in the

Making

Five Minds for the Future - Howard Gardner

• The Disciplined Mind

• The Synthesizing Mind

• The Creative Mind

• The Respectful Mind

• The Ethical Mind.