Life's First Feelings - Guiding Questions

1) Describe Tronick's findings concerning mother-infant interaction. What do the results of this and Spitz's historical footage demonstrate about the importance of adult interaction?

2)  What contribution has Izard made to the study of emotion?  What fundamental/universal emotions has he identified? How has he identified them (e.g., what method)?  Which emotions appear first, which later, and why?

3) What temperamental distinctions does Kagan make? What conclusions does he draw about the biological bases for, and stability of, temperament? Is biology destiny?

4) What does Campos find concerning the role of crawling (and biology) in the development of fear of heights?

5) How does Klinnert use the visual cliff apparatus? What conclusions does she draw about the effects of parents' facial expressions (social referencing) and the development of fears?

6) What are the social emotions?  According to Lewis (and others), what cognitive prerequisites are necessary before we experience these emotions? 

7) According to Yarrow and Waxler, how does empathy ("civilizing" emotion) develop? How do they study the development of empathy? According to their earlier studies, what contributes to individual differences in empathy?

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