Emotional, Cognitive And Psychosocial Devlopment Across The Lifespan Flashcards
Psychologist Carroll Izard studied babies’ faces and identi ed many signs of emotions. The most common expression he found was:
The most common expression he found was interest, followed by joy, anger and sadness. Over a two-year period, infants in the study became more active in having emotional relations with their parents
Why are emotions important?
As they assist people to develop and maintain relationships. Emotions can be positive: joy, love and enthusiasm. They can also be negative: anger, sadness and anxiety. The study of emotional development includes ascertaining the point in time at which people learn emotions, and how they deal with their emotions.
What is privation?
If attachment never occurs – that is, if a child never forms a close relationship with anyone.
Privation can cause permanent emotional damage.
Why is it important that children make strong, close and emotional bonds?
- helps people form relationships later in life with friends or lovers
What happens to an infants emotional development as they grow?
An attachment formed between child and caregiver is the first close emotional relationship a child has. Infants become attached to people who fulfill their needs for physical care and attention.
Infant: three months demonstrate attachment-like behaviours, such as smiling at familiar faces rather than strange ones
Infant: At six to eight months of age, infants begin to cry and hang on to their parents if they try to leave, and become more fearful when they see strangers. If infants become distressed at this age, they usually cannot be comforted by strangers; instead they seek comfort from the caregiver to whom they are attached
What was Harry Harlow’s theory of attachment?
He focused on attachment in rhesus monkeys. Initially he separated infant monkeys from their mothers at birth. During the process, Harlow found that when he placed the monkeys in individual cages that contained a blanket, the monkeys became attached to the blanket and got upset if it was taken away. These behaviours indicated to Harlow that attachment may be formed by means other than nourishment.
Harlow demonstrated that feeding and nourishment do not create attachment: contact comfort is more important.
What doe Mary Ainsworth study?
She studied the differences in the quality of attachment. Rather than using naturalistic observation techniques, Ainsworth created a laboratory testing technique known as the Strange Situation. The Strange Situation allowed Ainsworth to measure infant attachment by having infants experience a sequence of events, including separations and reunions with their mothers, and introductions to an adult stranger.
What is the strange situation?
A method used by Ainsworth to study the differences in quality of attachment between an infant and a caregiver
Type A: What is insecure avoidant attachment?
These infants rarely get upset when a stranger enters the room. They do not cling to their caregiver at any stage. They show no distress when their caregiver leaves the room and can ignore or avoid them when they return. These infants do become distressed when left alone; however, they can be comforted by either their caregiver or the stranger. Both adults are treated the same way by the infants.
Type B: What is secure attachment?
These infants will play happily when their caregiver is present, trusting that their caregiver will be there if they need them. These infants are very attached to their caregiver and will become distressed when their caregiver leaves. A stranger can comfort the infant, but is treated differently to the caregiver. When the caregiver returns, these infants will seek immediate contact and are delighted when they are reunited. In this instance, infants are distressed by the absence of the caregiver, not by being alone.
Type C: What is insecure resistant attachment?
These infants are more clingy, cry more and do not explore or play as much as Type A or B. They become extremely distressed when their caregiver leaves and resist any comfort from the stranger. These infants seek contact with the caregiver when reunited, but will not display joy during this time. Instead they will continue to be distressed, cry and will not play. These infants appear to be anxious and negative.
What was Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?
Piaget believed that cognitive development depends upon the interaction of the brain’s biological maturation with personal experiences. He proposed that all children go through four different cognitive stages sequentially, without missing any. He believed that these stages were the same for every child, regardless of their culture.
What is schemata?
It’s mental structures/frameworks that organise past experiences and provide an understanding of future experiences. As children grow, schemata become more complex in order to incorporate experiences or information that has been gathered
What is assimilation?
The process where new experiences are combined with existing schemata. For instance, when an infant experiences a new toy for the first time, they may put it in their mouth and suck on it. This behaviour demonstrates that the infant is trying to fit information about this new toy into their existing schema of sucking.
Accommodation occurs if:
If an infant or child discovers that new information does not fit into their schemata
