Lecture 1
1. Structure of the course
Major themes:
● Emotion regulation: theoretical models and the clinical perspective
● Emotion regulation across the lifespan: a developmental perspective
○ Socialisation and autobiographical memory
● Changing cognition
○ Moral development
○ Capita selecta
● Neuropsychological perspectives
● Mental health and low-intensity interventions
2. Three core theoretical models
A. Cognitive Triangle (from CBT)
B. Biopsychosocial model (biopsychosociaal model <3)
C. The process model of emotion regulation (ER)
a. Definition of emotion regulation
b. Five emotion regulation strategies
c. Emotion regulation in infancy
Definition of emotion regulation: “shaping which emotions one has, when one has them, and
how one experiences or expresses these emotions” → both conscious and unconscious processes
Core features:
1. Activation of a goal
2. Strategy: engagement to alter the emotion trajectory
3. Outcome: impact on emotion dynamics or modulation
3. Development of emotions
What about the ER strategies in infancy? → from process model of ER
● Situational factors: situational modification
○ Children / parents may change the situation (taking infant out of crib)
○ Moving away from something scary
○ By facial expressions and vocalisation (mostly between parent and child)
● Attentional deployment
○ Distracting the child to make the situation less emotionally charged
, ○ By looking away (covering the eyes); for older children or adults by focusing on other
thoughts
● Response modification
○ Changing the emotional reacting, e.g. withdrawing, self-soothing behaviours (sucking
thumb)
○ Suppression of certain emotions via display rules → role of culture regarding what is
‘normal’ and what is ‘allowed’
Emotion = whole-body phenomena with connections between different processes: physiological,
cognitive, behavioural.
● Facial expressions are indicators of underlying emotional states → inferred indicators /
appraisals
● Partly innate, partly learned
Two theoretical approaches of emotions:
1. Functionalist
a. Signalling/ communicating
b. Emotions are about our own appreciation of how the event relates to our personal
goals (e.g. security, food)
c. Emotion; Goal; Action
2. Differentiation
a. Physiological maturation
b. At birth: contentment, interest and distress
c. After 6 months: 6 basic emotions (5 + surprised)
d. After 18 months: more complex emotions
possible
e. Undifferentiated emotion: Contentment, distress,
interest: global state of positive well-being and a
negative emotional state of ‘not okay’
f. Differentiated emotion: Basic emotions (e.g.,
joy, sadness): After 6 mo. children can express 6
emotions
Complex emotions = Often combinations of basic emotions;
Thousands of possible combinations; Develop over time, (more)
dependent on opportunities from the environment.
● Embarrassment: realise that we stand out because we violated a social convention or simply
are receiving unwanted attention.
Concepts related to emotional development
● Recognizing emotions in others
, ○ From birth onwards: able to differentiate basic emotions in language, voice etc.
○ Social referencing: use emotional reactions of others as cues to interpret ambiguous
situations (e.g., scary toys, visual cliff)
● Emotional imitation and contagion
● Machiavellian emotions = emotions that are meant to influence others, as opposed to just
being a reflection of an internal state
○ Evolutionarily inclined to show machiavellian emotions to influence adults around
them?
● Negativity bias
○ From infancy strong tendency to respond more powerfully and consistently to
negative than to positive emotions;
○ Larger cost to ignore or misinterpret negative emotions;
○ Sensitive to distress, fear in others social referencing
Questions from a clinical perspective; “Phases” of emotional development:
Undifferentiated emotions
- How comfortable are you feeling (vitality)? measure of contentment, interest, distress
(primary interaction between emotion, cognition and behaviour)
Basic emotions
- Does someone have uncomplicated access to the six basic emotions? appropriate feeling of
joy, sadness, surprise, anger, fear and disgust?
Complex emotions
- Has someone had the ability/opportunity to develop complex emotions? to be able to feel
proud, empathic, shameful, guilty etc.?
, Keil F. Chapter 7
Emotional development:
● Emotions = transient states that correspond to physiological and cognitive processes
associated with certain feelings
● Newborns also show distinct emotions
○ Initially they show positive and negative states
○ 3 months: joy, surprise, distress
○ 4 months: anger
○ 6 months: fear
● Infants do not show the same complex range of emotions as older children and adults do. An
explanation for this is to consider how cognitive interpretations of goals, situations, and their
resolutions combine with basic emotions to create more complex emotions
○ Complex emotions: shame, guilt, embarrassment, pride, jealousy, envy, empathy
○ Often requires self-awareness (self-conscious emotions)
● Infants do seem to be sensitive to other’s emotions, they can distinguish basic emotions based
on tone of voice
○ Especially sensitive to negative emotions → such as a fear of anger to avoid danger
● Emotional contagion = rapid transmission of one individual’s emotion to others; emerges very
early on in human development
● Some emotions, most notably phobias, seem to be evolutionarily prepared to be associated
with certain stimuli (e.g. fear of snakes)
○ Culture may have a role in channelling and confirming this prepared response
1. Structure of the course
Major themes:
● Emotion regulation: theoretical models and the clinical perspective
● Emotion regulation across the lifespan: a developmental perspective
○ Socialisation and autobiographical memory
● Changing cognition
○ Moral development
○ Capita selecta
● Neuropsychological perspectives
● Mental health and low-intensity interventions
2. Three core theoretical models
A. Cognitive Triangle (from CBT)
B. Biopsychosocial model (biopsychosociaal model <3)
C. The process model of emotion regulation (ER)
a. Definition of emotion regulation
b. Five emotion regulation strategies
c. Emotion regulation in infancy
Definition of emotion regulation: “shaping which emotions one has, when one has them, and
how one experiences or expresses these emotions” → both conscious and unconscious processes
Core features:
1. Activation of a goal
2. Strategy: engagement to alter the emotion trajectory
3. Outcome: impact on emotion dynamics or modulation
3. Development of emotions
What about the ER strategies in infancy? → from process model of ER
● Situational factors: situational modification
○ Children / parents may change the situation (taking infant out of crib)
○ Moving away from something scary
○ By facial expressions and vocalisation (mostly between parent and child)
● Attentional deployment
○ Distracting the child to make the situation less emotionally charged
, ○ By looking away (covering the eyes); for older children or adults by focusing on other
thoughts
● Response modification
○ Changing the emotional reacting, e.g. withdrawing, self-soothing behaviours (sucking
thumb)
○ Suppression of certain emotions via display rules → role of culture regarding what is
‘normal’ and what is ‘allowed’
Emotion = whole-body phenomena with connections between different processes: physiological,
cognitive, behavioural.
● Facial expressions are indicators of underlying emotional states → inferred indicators /
appraisals
● Partly innate, partly learned
Two theoretical approaches of emotions:
1. Functionalist
a. Signalling/ communicating
b. Emotions are about our own appreciation of how the event relates to our personal
goals (e.g. security, food)
c. Emotion; Goal; Action
2. Differentiation
a. Physiological maturation
b. At birth: contentment, interest and distress
c. After 6 months: 6 basic emotions (5 + surprised)
d. After 18 months: more complex emotions
possible
e. Undifferentiated emotion: Contentment, distress,
interest: global state of positive well-being and a
negative emotional state of ‘not okay’
f. Differentiated emotion: Basic emotions (e.g.,
joy, sadness): After 6 mo. children can express 6
emotions
Complex emotions = Often combinations of basic emotions;
Thousands of possible combinations; Develop over time, (more)
dependent on opportunities from the environment.
● Embarrassment: realise that we stand out because we violated a social convention or simply
are receiving unwanted attention.
Concepts related to emotional development
● Recognizing emotions in others
, ○ From birth onwards: able to differentiate basic emotions in language, voice etc.
○ Social referencing: use emotional reactions of others as cues to interpret ambiguous
situations (e.g., scary toys, visual cliff)
● Emotional imitation and contagion
● Machiavellian emotions = emotions that are meant to influence others, as opposed to just
being a reflection of an internal state
○ Evolutionarily inclined to show machiavellian emotions to influence adults around
them?
● Negativity bias
○ From infancy strong tendency to respond more powerfully and consistently to
negative than to positive emotions;
○ Larger cost to ignore or misinterpret negative emotions;
○ Sensitive to distress, fear in others social referencing
Questions from a clinical perspective; “Phases” of emotional development:
Undifferentiated emotions
- How comfortable are you feeling (vitality)? measure of contentment, interest, distress
(primary interaction between emotion, cognition and behaviour)
Basic emotions
- Does someone have uncomplicated access to the six basic emotions? appropriate feeling of
joy, sadness, surprise, anger, fear and disgust?
Complex emotions
- Has someone had the ability/opportunity to develop complex emotions? to be able to feel
proud, empathic, shameful, guilty etc.?
, Keil F. Chapter 7
Emotional development:
● Emotions = transient states that correspond to physiological and cognitive processes
associated with certain feelings
● Newborns also show distinct emotions
○ Initially they show positive and negative states
○ 3 months: joy, surprise, distress
○ 4 months: anger
○ 6 months: fear
● Infants do not show the same complex range of emotions as older children and adults do. An
explanation for this is to consider how cognitive interpretations of goals, situations, and their
resolutions combine with basic emotions to create more complex emotions
○ Complex emotions: shame, guilt, embarrassment, pride, jealousy, envy, empathy
○ Often requires self-awareness (self-conscious emotions)
● Infants do seem to be sensitive to other’s emotions, they can distinguish basic emotions based
on tone of voice
○ Especially sensitive to negative emotions → such as a fear of anger to avoid danger
● Emotional contagion = rapid transmission of one individual’s emotion to others; emerges very
early on in human development
● Some emotions, most notably phobias, seem to be evolutionarily prepared to be associated
with certain stimuli (e.g. fear of snakes)
○ Culture may have a role in channelling and confirming this prepared response
