Communication of smiling and laughter in mother-infant play: Research on emotion from a dynamic systems perspective

Abstract

In this chapter we present a summary of our recent work examining emotional development in infancy from a dynamic systems perspective. Our goal is to describe the studies that have evolved from our research group and to explain how these studies have been informed by dynamic systems thinking. Reviews of our dynamiC systems approach to emotional development can be found in the following works: Dickson, Fogel, and Messinger (forthcoming); Fogel and others (1992); Fogel, Nwokah, and Karns (1991); Fogel and Thelen (1987); and Messinger, Fogel, and Dickson (1997). Additional theoretical discussions of dYnamic systems approaches applied to emotion can be found in Camras (1992), Haviland and Kahlbaugh (1993), Lewis (1993), and Wolff (1987. We open this chapter with a theoretical overview, followed by a report on our work on the development of emotions related to the expressions of smiling and laughter during the first three years of life in the context of parentinfant play. Smiling is examined in the follOwing social contexts: during face-to-face mother-infant communication (from one to six months), during

The orbitofrontal–amygdala circuit and self-regulation of social–emotional behavior in autism

“…Because the conditions of the social environment continually change, behavioral self-regulation in response to the social world is an essential adaptive process for humans and for many non-human animals that begins very early in life (Cicchetti and Tucker, 1994). For example, studies of infants have illustrated the reciprocal sensitivity of parent-infant pairs to each other's variations in affect and responsiveness, and the effect of this sensitivity on the dialogic train of interactive behavior (Fogel et al, 1997;Trevarthen, 1979;Trevarthen and Hubley, 1978). Young children commonly rely on social referencing-identifying the adult's reaction to environmental events-to determine such things as the safety of a new situation and the best behavioral course to pursue.…”

’[A]s if She Defied the World in her Joyousness’: Rereading Darwin on Emotion and Emotional Development

“…Darwin's understanding of the functions of emotion was informed by his complex notion of the interplay of adaptation and chance factors in producing change -that variations provide the diversity from which natural selection for adaptedness occurs [Mayr, 2001]. Adaptation understood as a more relative, less predictable process can better account for the variations and idiosyncracies of individuals' emotional lives, and is compatible with current dynamic systems approaches to emotion [Fogel et al, 1997;Lewis, 1995;Lewis & Granic, 2000].…”

“…Contemporary emotion researchers have articulated a view of emotions as psychological processes involved in mobilizing an individual in her transactions with her environment [Campos et al, 1994;Ekman, 1992;Fogel, 2001;Frijda, 1986;Lazarus, 1991;Witherington et al, 2001], and as processes which help establish, maintain, and regulate a child's developing relations with other persons [Campos et al, 1994;Fogel et al, 1997;Trevarthen, 1984]. Lazarus [1991] contends that the proper unit of study for understanding emotion as a 'person-environment relationship' is an 'adaptational encounter ' (p. 29), an interactional episode with potential emotional salience.…”

“…The field of emotion research has made significant advances in considering the role of emotions in constructing the uniqueness of individuals and relationships [Fogel, 2001;Haviland-Jones, Boulifard & Magai, 2001;Stern, 1985], in appreciating the interactional contexts in which individuals' emotional lives are lived [e.g., Dunn, 1988Dunn, , 1995, and in developing approaches such as dynamic systems perspectives [Camras, 1992;Fogel et al, 1997;Lewis, 1995;Lewis & Granic, 2000] which have the potential to model diverse developmental pathways across the emotional lives of individuals.…”

Functions of Emotions for Parent–Child Relationships Within Dynamic Contexts: Introduction to the Special Issue

“…Likewise, a systems approach to understanding emotions may emphasize the multiple relational contexts within which emotions occur and the role of emotions in reflecting and contributing to processes of change within relationships (Fogel et al, 1997). Collectively, the authors of the articles in this issue address both the microanalytic investigation of interactions and the macroanalytic investigation of relationships.…”