Colloquium

Mira Nencheva, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychology, Stanford University
Title: The dynamics of affect in early development
Abstract: Our earliest affective experiences are highly dynamic and often seem unpredictable. A toddler might giggle at one moment, and then cry and throw broccoli the next. And yet, our emotions come to unfold in consistent ways that enable us to navigate our emotional words with relative ease in adulthood. I examine the basic cognitive mechanisms that support emotion development by looking at how infants’ first affective experiences unfold over time, alongside other communicative signals, such as language. Specifically, I will show evidence that infants track the temporal patterns of their caregivers’ affect, and that consistent affective and linguistic cues play a critical role in this process. This research demonstrates that affect and language are deeply intertwined in children’s real-world experiences, from their moment-to-moment dynamics to their multi-year developmental trajectories. I will conclude by discussing how a framework that centers everyday experiences across timescales may be useful for supporting the development of emotion, language, and well-being.