Emotional Development across the Lifespan

409 Pages·2022·5.112 MB·English

by  Linda A. Camras

EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFESPAN

Emotional
Development
across the
Lifespan
Linda A. Camras
THE GUILFORD PRESS
New York  London
Copyright © 2022 The Guilford Press
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Printed in the United States of America
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Last digit is print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Camras, Linda A., author.
Title: Emotional development across the lifespan / Linda A. Camras.
Description: New York, NY : The Guilford Press, [2022] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022008649 | ISBN 9781462549764 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781462549771 (hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Emotions. | Emotions in children. | Child psychology. |
Developmental psychobiology. | Social work with children. | BISAC:
PSYCHOLOGY / Developmental / Child | SOCIAL SCIENCE / Social
Work
Classification: LCC BF531 .C2877 2022 | DDC 155.4/124—dc23/eng/20220330
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022008649
To my husband, Jerry, and my daughter, Justine,
both of whom inspired me—but in very different ways

Preface
After decades of neglect during the early and middle parts of the 20th
century, the importance of emotion in daily life is being increasingly
recognized both within and outside of academia. Since 2006, the Gallup
organization has conducted yearly polls of emotional well-being within the
United States and across the globe. Similarly, the UN-affiliated Organisa-
tion for Economic Co- operation and Development has included subjective
well-being among the measures it has tracked since 2010. Reflecting (and
perhaps inspiring) this increased interest, articles and books on emotion
and emotional development are proliferating within academia. Currently
there are three peer-reviewed journals devoted solely to emotion (Emotion,
Affective Science, and Emotion Review). A PsycInfo search using the term emo-
tional development yielded 553 entries for the 20 years between 1960 and
1980 but more than 5,000 entries for the last 20 years. Although this prolif-
eration of scholarly material is a welcome contribution to our knowledge, it
also can be overwhelming. Thus the present volume is intended to provide
an introduction to the ever-expanding universe of research on emotion and
emotional development across the lifespan.
As in any academic field, controversy abounds within the field of emo-
tion, particularly with regard to the nature of emotion itself. Somewhat sur-
prisingly, this controversy is rarely acknowledged within the developmental
literature. In fact, some developmentalists and clinicians may be unaware
that it exists. Yet understanding the fundamental nature of emotion is essen-
tial to our efforts both to understand its typical and atypical development
vii
viii Preface
and to design interventions that seek to foster children’s emotional well-
being. Thus this book begins with an overview of current emotion theories
extant in the adult literature, as well as models of emotional development.
Both here and throughout the book, I have made an attempt to present a
balanced exposition of scholars’ and researchers’ different views. However,
at the same time, current trends in the literature in favor of one position or
another will inevitably be discernable to the reader (possibly reflecting in
part my own personal leanings). Feel free to ignore these subtextual mes-
sages and take a deeper dive into the literature so as to decide for yourself.
References cited throughout each chapter will be a convenient place to start.
The role of theory in psychological research (indeed in any scientific
field) may itself be subject to debate. Within psychology, scholars largely
adhere (at least in principle) to the well-known axiom attributed to Kurt
Lewin, namely, that there is nothing so practical as a good theory. Yet much
research on emotional development has paid only lip service to this princi-
ple. Rather than seeking to test hypotheses derived from a particular theory
of emotional development, researchers may often identify a topic of interest
(e.g., emotion recognition, emotion regulation) and attempt to identify the
age at which it emerges, its different forms at different ages, and/or its ties
to possible precipitating or contextual factors (e.g., family background, par-
ent attitudes and behavior) or to socioemotional outcomes (e.g., emotional
or behavioral adjustment). Hypotheses are typically tested, but they are not
necessarily tied to an overarching theory. Still, the value of such research is
unquestionable. In fact, it raises questions regarding the necessity of having
a theory at all. As with many interesting questions, providing a definitive
answer is not the purpose of this book. Instead, my goal is to introduce
readers to the extensive literature on emotion and emotional development
within the field of psychology. Commensurate with the limitations inherent
in a short introductory text, coverage of each subject area is not comprehen-
sive. Again, readers are encouraged to explore further on their own.
Regarding organizational structure, authors of any developmental text
are confronted with the difficult choice of taking a topical or a chrono-
logical approach to their subject matter. Neither choice is ideal; topical
approaches make it more difficult to keep in mind the inextricable links
among different research areas (e.g., emotion expression, emotion social-
ization), whereas chronological approaches must impose artificial boundar-
ies upon a continuous lifespan. Furthermore, with the current emphasis
on longitudinal investigations, assignment of many studies to a single age
group is problematic. Perhaps to finesse this issue, the present volume takes
a hybrid approach. After an initial chapter devoted to theories, Chapters 2
Preface ix
through 6 cover a set of conventionally designated age periods, each with
a range of topics typically included in general descriptions of emotional
development. These include emotional expression and experience, tem-
perament, attachment, emotion socialization, emotion regulation, culture
and emotion, gender and emotion, neurobiological underpinnings, and
emotion understanding. Chapter 7 covers some specific emotions in more
depth, and Chapter 8 focuses on subject areas related to emotional adjust-
ment and maladjustment. Chapter 9 concludes with some final comments
and thoughts about future research.
I have attempted to institute a parallel structure within chapters such
that roughly equal space is allotted to the same set of subjects covered at
each age range. However, fully imposing such a structure would misrepre-
sent the state of the science, as some topics have been investigated most
thoroughly within a particular developmental period (e.g., attachment in
infancy). Therefore, readers can expect to find something of an imbalance
in the attention paid to certain subject areas across chapters. An additional
goal of this book is to introduce readers to various methodologies used in
developmental research. Thus readers will find many examples of studies
for which the participants, measures, and procedures are described in some
detail. At the same time, single studies—no matter how well conducted—can
never provide sufficient evidence for the validity of a proposed principle,
relationship, or conceptual model. Therefore, wherever possible, meta-
analyses (i.e., statistical analyses that combine results from multiple studies)
are presented in order to evaluate a body of research related to a particu-
lar question or issue. Admittedly, meta-analyses themselves may be subject
to criticism (e.g., regarding the criteria used to identify and select studies
included in the analysis). However, meta-analyses have emerged in recent
decades as an important step forward in allowing us to determine what we
can legitimately conclude based on the (often conflicting) findings of mul-
tiple studies on a single topic.
Although I have attempted to be comprehensive, I must extend my
apologies to the many excellent scholars whose work may not be represented
(or may appear oversimplified) in this introductory volume. In addition,
readers may find that some areas of potential interest have been neglected.
For example, the role of fathers in infants’ and children’s emotional devel-
opment is not specifically addressed. Unfortunately, recruiting fathers as
research participants remains difficult, even in this age of increasing gen-
der equality. In addition, emerging research on special groups such as the
LGBTQ community or particular ethnic groups will require more extensive
and careful attention than could be provided in this short text.