Early Emotional Responses

Crying: the most immediate and important mechanism newborns have for communication.
Basic cry: a rhythmic pattern, often associated with hunger.
Angry cry: a variation of the basic cry, with more air forced through the vocal cords.
Pain cry: a long initial loud cry followed by breath holding.
Smiling: a key social signal
Reflexive smile: occurs in the first month and is not a response to external stimuli.
Social smile: a response to external stimuli such as faces, occurring as early as 4 to 6 weeks.
Anticipatory smile: infants smile at object and then gaze at adult while continuing to smile – 8 to 10 months

Infancy

Infants experience basic (primary) emotions within first year, as early as 6 months
Primary emotions include joy, anger, interest, sadness, fear, and disgust.
- Seen in humans and animals
- Have a universal component, similarity in display and understanding of basic emotions across cultures
  - Mediated by culture, language, contextual factors
  - cultural norms for when, where, to whom displayed; intensity
Emotions become more complex, increasingly social-based. Include self-conscious emotions such as pride, shame, jealousy, and embarrassment
- begin to appear around ~ 18 months
- exact timeline debated

Happiness:
- Social smile is evoked by the parent’s communication (6–10 weeks)
- Laughter reflects faster processing of information (3–4 months)
- Anticipatory smile (8- 10 months) – infants smile at an object and then gaze at adult
Anger and sadness:
- Angry reactions increase with intentional behavior
- Sadness often occurs when deprived of familiar caregiver
- Get agitated by “still face”
Fear:
- Fear is one of a baby’s earliest emotions, typically first appearing at about 6 months.
  - Abused, neglected infants show it much earlier.
- Stranger anxiety in response to unfamiliar adults, intense at 9-12 months
- Infants use the familiar caregiver as a secure base, distressed at being separated from the caregiver.
  - Occurs at 7 to 8 months and peaks at about 15 months.

Crying: the most immediate and important mechanism newborns have for communication.
Basic cry: a rhythmic pattern, often associated with hunger.
Angry cry: a variation of the basic cry, with more air forced through the vocal cords.
Pain cry: a long initial loud cry followed by breath holding.
Smiling: a key social signal
Reflexive smile: occurs in the first month and is not a response to external stimuli.
Social smile: a response to external stimuli such as faces, occurring as early as 4 to 6 weeks.
Anticipatory smile: infants smile at object and then gaze at adult while continuing to smile – 8 to 10 months

Infants experience basic (primary) emotions within first year, as early as 6 months
Primary emotions include joy, anger, interest, sadness, fear, and disgust.
- Seen in humans and animals
- Have a universal component, similarity in display and understanding of basic emotions across cultures
  - Mediated by culture, language, contextual factors
  - cultural norms for when, where, to whom displayed; intensity
Emotions become more complex, increasingly social-based. Include self-conscious emotions such as pride, shame, jealousy, and embarrassment
- begin to appear around ~ 18 months
- exact timeline debated

Happiness:
- Social smile is evoked by the parent’s communication (6–10 weeks)
- Laughter reflects faster processing of information (3–4 months)
- Anticipatory smile (8- 10 months) – infants smile at an object and then gaze at adult
Anger and sadness:
- Angry reactions increase with intentional behavior
- Sadness often occurs when deprived of familiar caregiver
- Get agitated by “still face”
Fear:
- Fear is one of a baby’s earliest emotions, typically first appearing at about 6 months.
  - Abused, neglected infants show it much earlier.
- Stranger anxiety in response to unfamiliar adults, intense at 9-12 months
- Infants use the familiar caregiver as a secure base, distressed at being separated from the caregiver.
  - Occurs at 7 to 8 months and peaks at about 15 months.