Dr. Linda A. Camras This is Me

Education

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1. 1. Infancy Archives

   www.infancyarchives.com/conten - [Cached]

   Published on: 11/9/2006   Last Visited: 10/28/2007

   Linda A. Camras Department of Psychology, DePaul University

2. 2. Dr. Koop- TV Can Influence Babies: Study

   www.drkoop.com/template.asp?pa - [Cached]

   Published on: 1/21/2003   Last Visited: 1/21/2003

   "The impact of television is often underestimated," Dr. Linda Camras, professor of psychology at DePaul University, tells the newspaper. But she adds, "I wouldn't be concerned that your infant will be polluted by watching Jenny Jones over your shoulder."

3. 3. 'Goo, gaa, grr?'

   www.apa.org/monitor/mar03/goog - [Cached]

   Published on: 3/3/2003   Last Visited: 12/25/2003

   Linda Camras DePaul University
   ...
   DePaul University psychologist Linda Camras, PhD, is one of those who believe that the use of the term "angry" to describe infants before the age of six months can be misleading.
   
   Infants often use "angry" facial expressions in situations that aren't at all similar to those that make adults angry, she says, so using general terms such as "distress" to describe their emotions is more appropriate than using "anger."
   
   "Up until toward the end of the first year, it really makes more sense to say that babies are upset or unhappy, rather than that they're specifically angry," says Camras. A term like "upset" indicates that the infant is experiencing a negative emotion, she explains; "anger" assumes, perhaps incorrectly, that the infant's emotions are as well-differentiated as those of adults.
   ...
   However, infants in different cultures may express their emotions differently, says Camras, although the evidence remains inconclusive.
   
   For example, Camras and her collaborators have found that Chinese infants appear to be less emotionally reactive than Japanese and American infants. In studies published in Emotion (Vol. 2, No. 2) and Developmental Psychology (Vol. 34, No. 4), Camras and her collaborators reported that Chinese infants are slower to smile and slower to cry, and that it is harder for adult observers to tell when they are surprised.
   
   The cause of those differences is unclear. Perhaps it has something to do with the traditional emphasis on emotional restraint in China, versus the emphasis on self-expression in the United States, says Camras.
   
   "We're not quite sure which of the parents, whether American or Chinese, are acting in a way that shifts the baby," she explains.
   ...
   Another study by Camras and her collaborators, published in Emotion (Vol. 2, No. 2), suggests that infants rarely make facial expressions of surprise when they see an unexpected event.