Emotion Regulation
Within a few weeks of birth:
- Infants show emotions like distress, disgust, contentment
- Then within a few month, more differentiated emotions fear, anger, and happiness
- Continue to grow w self conscious emotions (shame, guilt)
Functionalist - emotions have useful purposes. Help children organize response to a situation
Emotion regulation comes after the emotional experience
Emotions:
Internal Components:
- Neurobiological systems
- Subjective feelings
- Cognitive aspects
External Components
- Emotional expression
Emotion Regulation
Some parts can be automatic
Others can be deliberate
Individual or Social
Effect: Changing an emotion to promote with the ability to cope with the immediate situation while also serving ones long term interest and goals
Emotion Regulation 2
Infants have a limited capacity to self regulate emotions (stroking own cheek, sucking thumb) but usually expect caregivers to soothe them
Coregulation:
- back and forth process of coordinated interaction
- provides an opportunity for infants to learn self regulation
- More sensitive parents have better outcomes?
- More co-regulation in infancy led to better emotion regulation in childhood
Development of emotion regulation:
- Parental socialization
- Neurobiological maturation
- Emerging linguistic, cognitive, and social ability
Benefits of emotion regulation in childhood: - More socially competent
- Perform better in school