Chapter 6: Social & Personality Development Flashcards
In Harry Harlow’s experiment on infant rhesus monkey’s, what did he determine?
-the monkey’s preferred the cloth mother, indicating that affection or comfort or contact comfort was more important than food
What is contact comfort, as shown in the Harlow experiment?
-physical and emotional comfort from a caregiver
What is attachment?
-the emotional tie to a caregiver experienced by an infant, from which the infant derives security
What is the main proponent with attachment theory?
-the need to form an attachment relationship is a genetic characteristic of all human beings
What is the ethological perspective on attachment theory?
-we have an innate predisposition to form an emotional bond with a caregiver
What are internal models in attachment theory?
-mental representations individuals develop based on their early experience with their caregivers
When does the development of internal models start and become increasingly established by? What does it affect? (3)
-in 1st year
-established by age 5
-affects behavior in future relationships
When is the sensitive period for internal models and attachment theory?
-first 2 years
What did the study of Romanian orphans adopted by Canadian families look at? What did they find? (2)
-what happens if an infant does not form an attachment
-detached and lack of response to social cues
What is reactive attachment disorder defined as in the DSM?
-a trauma and stressor related condition of early childhood caused by social neglect and maltreatment, evident before age 5
What is the social stimulation hypothesis for attachment?
-infants become detached because they learn not to make social signals as they have learned that no one will respond to their signals
What is synchrony? Example? (2)
-mutual pattern of attachment behaviors shared by a parent and child
-if an infant cries, the parent holds them
What are Bowlby’s 4 phases in establishing attachment? (4)
- Non focused signaling (0-3 months)
- Focus on one or more figures (3-6 months)
- Secure base behavior (6-24 months)
- Internal model (24+ months)
What is non-focused signaling?
-innate set of behaviors to promote proximity and signal needs
What is Bowlby’s second stage which is focus on one or more figures?
-preference for familiar people or things, directs signals to fewer people
What is secure base behavior?
-1st true attachment type, typically a primary caregiver and this person is used as a safe base for exploring
What is the internal model stage?
-plays a role in later relationships
When do attachment related fears show up and what are some? (2)
-appear after 1st attachment which is 6-8 months of age and peak around 12-16 months
-stranger anxiety and separation anxiety
What is stranger anxiety?
-wary reaction to unfamiliar people
What is separation anxiety?
-fretful reaction when separated from attachment figure
What did Mary Ainsworth’s strange situation procedure measure?
-the attachment of infants
What three types of responsiveness are important for children’s attachment? (3)
-emotional
-tactile
-contingent
What is emotional responsiveness?
-very crucial, the primary caregiver must be able and willing to form a bond
What is tactile responsiveness?
-pleasant physical contact during social interactions associated with comfort and safety
What is contingent responsiveness?
-being sensitive to the child’s verbal and nonverbal cues and responding appropriately
What is personality defined as?
-a pattern of responding to people and objects in the environment
What is temperament defined as?
-born with predispositions such as activity level that form the foundations of personality
What are the 5 dimensions of temperament? (5)
-activity level
-approach/positive emotionality
-inhibition
-negative emotionality
-effortful control/task persistence
What is niche-picking?
-people choose experiences on the basis of temperament, they choose compatible experiences
What is goodness-of-fit?
-degree to which an infant’s temperament is adaptable to their environment
What is the subjective self?
-awareness that you are a separate person
What is the objective self?
-an understanding that we are defined by categories such as big kid or talkative
What is the emotional self?
-begins as baby identifies changes in emotional expressions around 2-3 months
