Describe the basic emotion of anger, how it develops, and why angry reactions increase with age

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Basic emotions—happiness, interest, surprise, fear, anger, sadness, and disgust—are universal in humans and other primates. Although signs of some emotions are present at birth, babies' earliest emotional life consists of little more than two global arousal states: attraction to pleasant stimulation and withdrawal from unpleasant stimulation. Only gradually do emotions become clear, well-organized signals. Newborn babies respond with generalized distress to a variety of unpleasant experiences, including hunger, painful medical procedures, changes in body temperature, and too much or too little stimulation. From 4 to 6 months into the second year, angry expressions increase in frequency and intensity. Older infants also react with anger in a wider range of situations—when an interesting object or event is removed, an expected pleasant event does not occur, their arms are restrained, the caregiver leaves for a brief time, or they are put down for a nap. As infants become capable of intentional behavior, they want to control their own actions and the effect they produce. They are also more persistent about obtaining desired objects. Furthermore, older infants are better at identifying who caused them pain or removed a toy. The rise in anger is also adaptive. New motor capacities enable an angry infant to defend herself or overcome an obstacle. Finally, anger motivates caregivers to relieve the baby's distress and, in the case of separation, may discourage them from leaving again soon.