Skip to main content

Affective Development

  • Reference work entry
  • 1105 Accesses

Definition

Affective development pertains to the emergence of the emotional capacity to experience, recognize, and express a range of emotions and to adequately respond to emotional cues in others. Emotions such as happiness or fear are defined as subjective reactions to experience that are associated with physiological and behavioral changes. Emotional functioning comprises several aspects, including the inducement and elicitation of internal physiological states, the physiological pathways that mediate these internal states, the emotional expressions, and the perception of affect. Overt manifestations of affective expressions and responses include facial expressions, voice, postures, and movements. Affective development is intertwined with the development of social skills, and this psychosocial combination reflects one’s distinctive personality and tendencies when responding to others, engaging in social interactions, and adapting to the interpersonal world (Saarni, Campos, Camras, &...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   1,799.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References and Readings

  • Baranek, G. T. (1999). Autism during infancy: A retrospective video analysis of sensory-motor and social behaviors at 9–12 months of age. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29(3), 213–224.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S. (1995). Mindblindness: An essay on autism and theory of mind. The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., Leslie, A. M., & Frith, U. (1985). Does the autistic-child have a theory of mind. Cognition, 21(1), 37–46.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bauminger, N., Solomon, M., Aviezer, A., Heung, K., Gazit, L., Brown, J., et al. (2008). Children with autism and their friends: A multidimensional study of friendship in high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36(2), 135–150.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Billstedt, E., Gillberg, I. C., & Gillberg, C. (2011). Aspects of quality of life in adults diagnosed with autism in childhood. A population-based study. Autism, 15(1), 7–20.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Braverman, M., Fein, D., Lucci, D., & Waterhouse, L. (1989). Affect comprehension in children with pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19(2), 301–316.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brian, J., Bryson, S. E., Garon, N., Roberts, W., Smith, I. M., Szatmari, P., et al. (2008). Clinical assessment of autism in high-risk 18-month-olds. Autism, 12(5), 433–456.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bryson, S. E., Zwaigenbaum, L., Brian, J., Roberts, W., Szatmari, P., Rombough, V., et al. (2007). A prospective case series of high-risk infants who developed autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37(1), 12–24.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Capps, L., Kasari, C., Yirmiya, N., & Sigman, M. (1993). Parental perception of emotional expressiveness in children with autism. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61(3), 475–484.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Capps, L., Yirmiya, N., & Sigman, M. (1992). Understanding of simple and complex emotions in nonretarded-children with autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 33(7), 1169–1182.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, P. J., & Gibson, M. G. (2000). Recognition of posed and genuine facial expressions of emotion in paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109(3), 445–450.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, G., Rogers, S., Munson, J., Smith, M., Winter, J., Greenson, J., et al. (2010). Randomized, controlled trial of an intervention for toddlers with autism: The early start Denver model. Pediatrics, 125(1), E17–E23.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dyck, M. J., Ferguson, K., & Shochet, I. M. (2001). Do autism spectrum disorders differ from each other and from non-spectrum disorders on emotion recognition tests? European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 10(2), 105–116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, J., Pattison, P. E., Jackson, H. J., & Wales, R. J. (2001). Facial affect and affective prosody recognition in first-episode schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 48(2–3), 235–253.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, R. (2007). Parent-infant synchrony: Biological foundations and developmental outcomes. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(6), 340–345.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, R., Greenbaum, C. W., & Yirmiya, N. (1999). Mother-infant affect synchrony as an antecedent of the emergence of self-control. Developmental Psychology, 35(1), 223–231.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Golan, O., Baron-Cohen, S., & Golan, Y. (2008). The ‘Reading the Mind in Films’ task [child version]: Complex emotion and mental state recognition in children with and without autism spectrum conditions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(8), 1534–1541.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Golan, O., Baron-Cohen, S., & Hill, J. (2006). The Cambridge Mindreading (CAM) face-voice battery: Testing complex emotion recognition in adults with and without Asperger syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(2), 169–183.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Happé, F. (1994). An advanced test of theory of mind – Understanding of story characters thoughts and feelings by able autistic, mentally-handicapped, and normal-children and adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24(2), 129–154.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Happé, F., & Frith, U. (2006). The weak coherence account: Detail-focused cognitive style in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(1), 5–25.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hobson, R. P. (1986). The autistic child’s appraisal of expressions of emotion – a further study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 27(5), 671–680.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hobson, R. P. (1993). Understanding persons: The role of affect. In S. Baron-Cohen, H. Tager-Flusberg, & D. J. Cohen (Eds.), Understanding other minds: Perspectives from autism (pp. 204–224). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobson, R. P., Ouston, J., & Lee, A. (1989). Naming emotion in faces and voices – Abilities and disabilities in autism and mental-retardation. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 7, 237–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howlin, P., Goode, S., Hutton, J., & Rutter, M. (2004). Adult outcome for children with autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45(2), 212–229.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jaedicke, S., Storoschuk, S., & Lord, C. (1994). Subjective experience and causes of affect in high-functioning children and adolescents with autism. Development and Psychopathology, 6(2), 273–284.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaffe, J., Beebe, B., Feldstein, S., Crown, C. L., & Jasnow, M. D. (2001). Rhythms of dialogue in infancy: Coordinated timing in development – Introduction. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 66(2), vii–viii, 1–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, L. (1943). Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child, 2, 217–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasari, C., Chamberlain, B., & Bauminger, N. (2001). Social emotions and social relationships in autism: Can children with autism compensate? In J. Burack, T. Charman, N. Yirmiya, & P. Zelazo (Eds.), Perspectives on development in autism (pp. 309–323). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasari, C., Sigman, M. D., Baumgartner, P., & Stipek, D. J. (1993). Pride and mastery in children with autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 34(3), 353–362.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasari, C., Sigman, M., Mundy, P., & Yirmiya, N. (1990). Affective sharing in the context of joint attention interactions of normal, autistic, and mentally-retarded children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 20(1), 87–100.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kogan, N., & Carter, A. S. (1996). Mother-infant reengagement following the still-face: The role of maternal emotional availability in infant affect regulation. Infant Behavior & Development, 19(3), 359–370.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landa, R. J., Holman, K. C., O’Neill, A. H., & Stuart, E. A. (2010). Intervention targeting development of socially synchronous engagement in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52(1), 13–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, H., Rutter, M., Howlin, P., Rios, P., Leconteur, A., Evered, C., et al. (1989). Recognition and expression of emotional cues by autistic and normal adults. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 30(6), 865–877.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maestro, S., Muratori, F., Cesari, A., Cavallaro, M. C., Paziente, A., Pecini, C., et al. (2005). Course of autism signs in the first year of life. Psychopathology, 38(1), 26–31.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Osterling, J. A., Dawson, G., & Munson, J. A. (2002). Early recognition of 1-year-old infants with autism spectrum disorder versus mental retardation. Development and Psychopathology, 14(2), 239–251.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ozonoff, S., Iosif, A. M., Baguio, F., Cook, I. C., Hill, M. M., Hutman, T., et al. (2010). A prospective study of the emergence of early behavioral signs of autism. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(3), 256–266.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ozonoff, S., Pennington, B. F., & Rogers, S. J. (1990). Are there emotion perception deficits in young autistic-children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 31(3), 343–361.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ricks, D. M., & Wing, L. (1975). Language, communication, and use of symbols in normal and autistic-children. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 5(3), 191–221.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rozga, A., Hutman, T., Young, G. S., Rogers, S. J., Ozonoff, S., Dapretto, M., et al. (2011). Behavioral profiles of affected and unaffected siblings of children with autism: Contribution of measures of mother-infant interaction and nonverbal communication. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41, 287–301.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saarni, C., Campos, J. J., Camras, L. A., & Witherington, D. (2006). Emotional development: Action, communication, and understanding. In W. Damon, R. M. Lerner, & N. Eisenberg (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (6th ed., pp. 226–299). New York: John Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sigman, M., & Capps, L. (1997). Development of social and emotional understanding. In Children with autism: A developmental perspective (pp. 34–60). London: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stern, D. (1985). The interpersonal world of the infant: A view from psychoanalysis and developmental psychology. Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trevarthen, C. (1993). The self born in intersubjectivity: An infant communicating. In U. Neisser (Ed.), The perceived self: Ecological and interpersonal sources of self-knowledge (pp. 121–173). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tronick, E. Z. (1989). Emotions and emotional communication in infants. American Psychologist, 44(2), 112–119.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van lancker, D., Cornelius, C., & Kreiman, J. (1989). Recognition of emotional-prosodic meanings in speech by autistic, schizophrenic, and normal-children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 5(2–3), 207–226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weinberg, M. K., & Tronick, E. Z. (1996). Infant affective reactions to the resumption of maternal interaction after the still-face. Child Development, 67(3), 905–914.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yirmiya, N., Kasari, C., Sigman, M., & Mundy, P. (1989). Facial expressions of affect in autistic, mentally-retarded and normal-children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 30(5), 725–735.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yirmiya, N., & Sigman, M. (1991). High functioning individuals with autism – Diagnosis, empirical-findings, and theoretical issues. Clinical Psychology Review, 11(6), 669–683.

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, G. S., Merin, N., Rogers, S. J., & Ozonoff, S. (2009). Gaze behavior and affect at 6 months: Predicting clinical outcomes and language development in typically developing infants and infants at risk for autism. Developmental Science, 12(5), 798–814.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zaja, R. H., & Rojahn, J. (2008). Facial emotion recognition in intellectual disabilities. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 21(5), 441–444.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zwaigenbaum, L., Bryson, S., Lord, C., Rogers, S., Carter, A., Carver, L., et al. (2009). Clinical assessment and management of toddlers with suspected autism spectrum disorder: Insights from studies of high-risk infants [Review]. Pediatrics, 123(5), 1383–1391.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zwaigenbaum, L., Bryson, S., Rogers, T., Roberts, W., Brian, J., & Szatmari, P. (2005). Behavioral manifestations of autism in the first year of life. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 23(2–3), 143–152.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nurit Yirmiya .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this entry

Cite this entry

Yirmiya, N., Seidman, I. (2013). Affective Development. In: Volkmar, F.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_1718

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_1718

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1697-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1698-3

  • eBook Packages: Behavioral Science

Publish with us

Policies and ethics