Emotion Expressions and Personality Integration in Infancy

Abstract

In this chapter, Dr. Buechler and I suggest some new ways of thinking about emotions in infancy. The concept of emotional development is considered too broad to treat as a single topic. The chapter discusses four developmental processes relating to the emotions and to infant development and infant well- being. The expressions of the emotions in infancy are seen as critical in personality integration and the development of infant-parent and other social relationships. The question of the predictive value of emotion response patterns in infancy is placed in perspective, in part by considering the value of studying emotions in infancy apart from the issue of continuity of infant emotion traits.