Module 10

Question 1

Describe the historical context that gave rise to attachment theory.

Answer 1

In the 1940s and 1950s, behaviourism was in its prime. Early behaviourists believed that the earliest attachments between a parent and their child was merely a means for the child to obtain food, relieve their thirst, and avoid pain.

Early behaviourists also worried about the impacts of giving children too much attention. For example, a famous quote by John Watson states, “When you are tempted to pet your child, remember that mother love is a dangerous instrument.”

Question 2

_________ (1905-1981) was one of the first psychologists to ask these important questions about the importance of love and nurturing. He is best known for his controversial experiments involving rhesus monkeys

Answer 2

Harry Harlow

Question 3

Describe the Harlow Monkey studies.

Answer 3

Harlow conducted experiments in which he manipulated which type of “mother” (i.e., a wire mother or a cloth mother) provided the infant rhesus monkeys with food. He measured the time the monkeys spent on each mother, as well as their reactions to frightening stimuli.

His result demonstrated that the infant monkeys preferred spending time on the cloth mother, even when it did not provide them with food. Harlow argued that the infant monkeys needed the comfort provided by the cloth mother, and that this emotional security enabled them to safely explore their cage.

Question 4

_____________ (1907-1990) is considered the father of attachment theory.

Answer 4

John Bowlby

Question 5

Define attachment.

Answer 5

Attachment is an enduring emotional bond with a specific person, that first forms in the parent-child relationship.

The quality of attachment varies based on our experiences in our relationships.

Question 6

According to Bowlby’s attachment theory, children are _____________ to develop attachment to their mothers (caregivers in England were most often mothers in Bowlby’s day).

Answer 6

biologically predisposed

Question 7

Bowlby argued that attachment is evolutionary advantageous. Why?

Answer 7

Because it increases the chance of survival. In other words, all children come into the world ready to develop an attachment because it promotes survival.

Question 8

When does Bowlby argue that attachment develops?

Answer 8

Within the first year of life. More specifically, Bowlby argued that attachment to a primary caregiver is best developed during a sensitive period of 6-24 months old.

Question 9

Bowlby argued that infants instinctively look to their caregiver to form a ___________.

Answer 9

secure base.

That is, the presence of a trusted caregiver provides infants with a sense of security that enables them to safely explore their environment.

Remember the visual cliff study from Module 9? This is also a great example of an infant who feels safe with their caregiver and is able to explore the environment around them.

Question 10

Bowlby proposed the idea of an “internal working model”. What is this model?

Answer 10

a mental representation of ourselves and relationships constructed based on experiences with caregivers.

Our internal working model:

provides information on the self, the attachment figure, and what to expect from relationships in general.

is formed early in life (during infancy) and goes on to influence our relationships with others throughout our lives.

For example, Baby X may form an internal working model that tells them “people are caring, sensitive, supportive, reliable sources of support and love”. In contrast, Baby Z may form an internal working model that tells them “people are unreliable and can’t be trusted to provide consistent support and love”. Based on these different internal working models, Baby X and Baby Z would grow up expecting different things from their relationships, and thus would behave differently in the context of relationships.

Question 11

Whose work builds on Bowlby’s attachment theory and proposes different attachment styles?

Answer 11

Mary Ainsworth (1913-1999). She started her research career as part of Bowlby’s research team.

Question 12

What is Ainsworth’s seminal contribution to the field of developmental psychology?

Answer 12

The Strange Situation task, which she developed in order to identify the attachment styles of infants.

Question 13

What is the Strange Situation task designed to do/measure?

Answer 13

The strange situation task is specifically designed to heighten infants’ need for the caregiver. The idea here is that by observing how infants respond to “strange situations”, researchers can classify their attachment style.

Question 14

Explain the steps of The Strange Situation task.

Answer 14

1) The caregiver and the infant play in a room with age-appropriate toys. While nothing strange is happening yet, this part is informative by demonstrating the extent to which the infant uses the parent as a secure base.

2) A stranger enters the room and eventually tries to interact with the infant. The caregiver then leaves the infant alone in the room with the stranger. In this section, the researchers are interested to see how the infant reacts to separations from the caregiver.

3) The caregiver returns and the stranger leaves. Here, the researchers are interested to see how the infant reacted to the reunion with the caregiver.

4) Once again, the caregiver will leave and the stranger will re-enter the room. This time, the stranger attempts to comfort the infant.

5) Finally, the caregiver returns for good and the infant’s reaction is observed once more.

Question 15

According to Bowlby, what is the main purpose of attachment?

a) It keeps the caregiver close

b) It encourages learning about the world without fear

c) It facilitates co-regulation

d) All of these reflect the main purposes of attachment

Answer 15

d) All of these reflect the main purposes of attachment

Question 16

Mary Ainsworth concluded that the quality of infant attachments can be determined by looking at:

a) Infant reactions to separations from the caregiver and the infant’s use of the caregiver as a secure base

b) Infant smiling directed at the caregiver and caregiver nonverbal communication toward the infant

c) Mutual verbal and nonverbal communication between the infant and the caregiver

d) The infant’s use of the caregiver as a secure base and smiling versus crying in the presence of the caregiver

Answer 16

a) Infant reactions to separations from the caregiver and the infant’s use of the caregiver as a secure base

Question 17

What are the parental and infant characteristics of a SECURE attachment style.

Answer 17

PARENT =
Caregiver sensitivity is #1 predictor which means:
Respond promptly to infant’s cues – they are dependable

Consistently available and responsive in appropriate ways

Engage in frequent positive exchanges

Attuned to the needs of their child. This means they are good at figuring out their needs when they are upset.

INFANT:
Receives both comfort and confidence from presence of caregiver.
Becomes confident of caregiver’s protection
Based on the parent’s responsiveness, they learn that their needs are respected and valued

(infant in video - Lisa - distressed when their caregiver leaves, but are quickly comforted upon their return.)

Question 18

What are the parental and infant characteristics of INSECURE-AVOIDANT attachment style.

Answer 18

PARENT:
Unavailable and responds insensitively
Tends to ignore, ridicule, or focus attention away from the child

INFANT:
Becomes avoidant of caregiver in times of stress because the caregiver is not willing or able to provide comfort.
Learns that caregiver is not willing/able to provide comfort.

(infant in video - Destiny - does not outwardly show upset when caregiver leaves and does not seek comfort from the caregiver upon return )

Question 19

What are the parental and infant characteristics of INSECURE-AMBIVALENT attachment style.

Answer 19

PARENT:
Response to infant is unpredictable and inconsistent
Often anxious, overwhelmed caregivers
Tend to be indifferent and emotionally unavailable

INFANT
Learns that caregiver is unpredictable
Learns to exaggerate needs to get a response
When upset, they often approach caregiver but refuse to be comforted

(infant in video - becomes upset during the separation, but seems to resist being comforted by the caregiver)

Question 20

What are the parental and infant characteristics of INSECURE-DISORGANIZED attachment style?

Answer 20

PARENT:
Have often suffered trauma in their own attachment histories
Correlated with interfering, rejecting, neglectful, frightening, abusive behaviour

INFANT:
Shows fear, confusion, lacks coping strategies
Infants may be fearful or confused by their caregivers

(no video - but infants with disorganized attachment show inconsistent behaviours in the Strange Situation. This means that sometimes they seem resistant, other times avoidant, and even sometimes secure.)

Question 21

What is the number one predictor of secure attachment?

Answer 21

Caretaker sensitivity .

Question 22

Approximately what percent of children in North America can be classified as securely attached?

Answer 22

60%

Question 23

Approximately what percent of children in North America are classified as having avoidant attachment?

Answer 23

15%

Question 24

Approximately what percent of children in North America are classified as having ambivalent attachment.

Answer 24

10%

Question 25

Ambivalent attachment is also sometimes referred to as ________ attachment.

Answer 25

resistant

Question 26

Approximately what percent of children in North America are classified as having disorganized attachment.

Answer 26

15%

Question 27

What benefits does secure attachment have both in early childhood and later in development?

Answer 27

EARLY DEVELOPMENT:
12-month-olds who are securely attached:
Show more enjoyment of physical contact
Less fussy/difficult
Better able to use caregiver as secure base to explore and learn from the environment

LATER OUTCOMES:
Healthier reactions to stress
More likely to have academic success
Less anxiety, depression, delinquency and aggression

Healthier relationships:
Generally stronger social skills
Peer and romantic relationships

Question 28

Why is secure attachment associated with healthier adjustment for children?

Answer 28

1) Internal working model - When children experience their caregivers as reliable, supportive, and trustworthy, they learn to expect other relationships to be the same. Ie: having an internal working model that relationships are safe and others are sensitive to our needs would shape our expectations and behaviours in peer and romantic relationships much differently than if we had an internal working model that relationships are unsafe and others are insensitive to our needs. Believing that we are worthy of love (because this was our experience as a child) goes a long way in shaping our relationships throughout the life course.

2) Neurodevelopment - Researchers assessed attachment security at 15 month olds in a sample of 33 children. Attachment security was assessed using the Attachment Q-Sort, an observer-rated attachment measure that demonstrates convergent validity with the Strange Situation. These children then completed structural magnetic resonance imaging at 10-11 years old to examine brain development. They found that secure attachment predicted larger grey matter volume in several areas of the brain associated with social, cognitive, and emotional functioning (e.g., the bilateral superior temporal sulci, right superior temporal gyrus, right temporo-parietal junction, and the bilateral precentral gyri). Thus, early attachment experiences in early childhood may shape brain development.

Question 29

How do we measure attachment in adulthood?

Answer 29

In adulthood, our early attachments are rooted in our perceptions of our childhood experiences.

The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI, originally developed by George, Kaplan, and Main, 1984) is one way in which we can assess attachment styles in adulthood. For example, this could be used to help us understand the links between parental attachment and their child’s attachment.

The AAI is a retrospective interview in which adults are asked questions about their childhood. For example, what do they remember about their caregiver relationships, how they felt about separations, etc.

Question 30

Like the Strange Situation, the AAI has what four categories of attachment styles. Adult responses are coded into the following categories based on the quality of discourse, congruence, and content of the interview. What is an example of an incongruent response?

Answer 30

If a participant describes their relationship with their mother as “loving” but they report memories of being severely punished for not doing their homework, this would be coded as incongruent.

Question 31

What are the AA1’s 4 categories of attachment style?

Answer 31

1) Secure - Autonomous: Describe their attachment relationships in a coherent and congruent manner, with evidence of valuing their attachment relationships. They are non-defensive and present both favorable and unfavorable memories.

2) Insecure - Dismissing: Characterized by a dismissal of attachment relationships. They tend to minimize negative aspects, and tend to contradict their positive memories.

3) Insecure - Preoccupied: Characterized by a continuing preoccupation with their early attachment relationships. They have angry or ambivalent representations of the past.

4) Insecure - Unresolved: Characterized by unresolved trauma or abuse in early attachment relationships.

Question 32

How do these adult attachment styles correspond with infant attachment styles?

Answer 32

Autonomous Adult = Secure Child

Dismissing Adult = Avoidant Child

Preoccupied Adult = Ambivalent/Resistant Child

Unresolved Adult = Disorganized Child

Question 33

True or False?

The attachment styles of the parent are associated with the attachment styles of their own children.

Answer 33

True.

Importantly, while there is a positive correlation between parent and infant attachment, this link is far from perfect. Early experiences are not necessarily our destiny. Understanding the “transmission gap” between parent and infant attachment continues to be an active area of developmental psychology. This may be one mechanism through which trauma can be intergenerational. Ie: Indeed, we find that rates of insecure attachment are much higher among children who grow up in poverty, as their caregivers are more likely to have insecure attachments themselves.

Question 34

Give an example of how one’s attachment style may influence future generations?

Answer 34

Imagine Gloria who grows up with parents who abuse alcohol. Her parents are not sensitive to her needs, and she experiences them as frightening and rejecting. Gloria may grow up to have an unresolved attachment style, which then influences her own relationship with her children. Because she has no model for what a healthy attachment relationship should look like, she struggles to meet the needs of her own child, thereby influencing attachment in a subsequent generation.

Question 35

Does attachment change?

Answer 35

While attachment is thought to be relatively stable over the life course (especially if the environment does not change), it can change based on our experiences.

Question 36

How can attachment change?

Answer 36

1) Improving attachment security - If the caregiver’s situation improves (e.g., intervention, change in life circumstances), this may enable the caregiver to improve their ability to respond sensitively to the child’s needs. For example, attachment-focused therapy is a particularly common intervention with foster and adopted children, who may have had disrupted attachment experiences.

2) When attachment security declines - attachment security can also become insecure. For example, consider a securely attached child who has a parent who develops a depressive episode. Due to their mental illness, their parent may no longer be able to respond to their needs sensitively.

Question 37

True or False?

Children with depressed mothers are at risk for weakened brain development.

Answer 37

True.

Early brain development depends on “serve and return” interactions between babies and parents. If depression interferes, connections in the brain may not form the way they should.

Question 38

Go back and do matching activity in Module 10.2.

Question 39

Early attachment experiences influence development throughout the life course. In particular, ________ attachment is associated with better childhood adjustment. While adult attachment corresponds with infant attachment, these attachment styles can change depending on our __________________.

Answer 39

secure

experiences.

Question 40

Compared to children with insecure attachment, securely attached children are more likely to develop:

Positive peer relationships

Appropriate emotional expression

Positive dating relationships

All of the these outcomes are associated with secure attachment

Answer 40

All of the these outcomes are associated with secure attachment

Question 41

Mekell is a single father, raising his 10-month-old daughter alone. While his own childhood attachment experiences were quite negative, he brushes these off and generally tries to ignore these memories. Nonetheless, his attachment experiences influence his behaviours with his daughter. Given the correlation between parent-child attachment, which combination is most likely to occur for Mekell and his daughter?

a) Autonomous adult, secure child

b) Dismissing adult, avoidant child

c) Dismissing adult, resistant child

d) Preoccupied adult, avoidant child

Answer 41

b) Dismissing adult, avoidant child

Question 42

Before developing a self-concept, infants need to develop an understanding of the self. What does this mean?

Answer 42

They must be able to recognize and differentiate themselves from others.

Question 43

There is some disagreement in the literature about when the self is differentiated – this is because infants’ abilities vary depending on how they are tested. What are 2 ways this is tested?

Answer 43

1) The Rouge Test - At 18 months, infants can pass the Rouge Test. This test is named after makeup “rouge” (also known as blush). Putting red lipstick on their nose and having them look in the mirror. Passing the test is an indicator of self-awareness.

2) Pictures - By 20 months, infants start to recognize photos of themselves. By 30 months, they are very good at recognizing themselves in photos.

Question 44

Development of the self also corresponds with the “terrible twos”. By saying “no” (common during this phase), what are children doing?

Answer 44

Children are asserting their autonomy and recognizing that their wants and perspectives are different from another’s.

Question 45

How can parents help children develop their sense of self faster?

Answer 45

When children have parents who help them with narrative building, they tend to develop their sense of self faster. For example, parents who ask children what they think about things and how they feel are also helping them to develop their sense of self.

Question 46

Once self-awareness has been established, children begin developing their ____________.

Answer 46

self-concept.

Question 47

How would preschoolers describe themselves?

Answer 47

Children in preschool tend to focus on the concrete attributes of themselves. This includes physical attributes, abilities, social relationships, and what they own. For example, a preschooler may respond to the above question by saying their gender, a sport they like to play, and that they just received a new toy.

Preschoolers generally do not compare themselves to other children. Because of this, they tend to overestimate their own abilities.

Question 48

How would elementary schoolers describe themselves?

Answer 48

In elementary school, children engage in more social comparison. That is, they understand their own strengths and weaknesses relative to others.

They stop focusing so much on physical attributes and instead consider higher-order concepts to describe themselves. They also place a greater emphasis on social relationships. For example, a 10-year-old might describe themselves as “smart”, “good at sports”, or “having lots of friends”.

Question 49

How would high-schoolers describe themselves?

Answer 49

In early adolescence, children begin to feel conflict about opposing attributes of themselves. For example, they may start to realize that they act differently in different situations. With development, adolescents reconcile this conflict by realizing that everyone is different in different contexts, including themselves.

Adolescents also begin to unify separate traits into higher-order descriptors. For example “being a good friend” might include things like “I support my friends”, “I’m trustworthy”, and “I’m there for my friends”.

They focus more on abstract qualities of the self–including attitudes, personality traits, and beliefs–and are more future oriented. For example, an adolescent may say “I’m funny and want to be a comedian when I’m done school”.

Question 50

What are 3 key theories of adolescent identity development?

Answer 50

1) Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development

2) David Elkind (based on Piaget)

3) James Marcia

Question 51

Describe Erik Erikson’s theory of Adolescent Identity Development.

Answer 51

All of the stages in Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development are marked by specific conflicts that one must resolve in order to proceed to the next stage of development (otherwise the person will continue to struggle with this conflict).

In adolescence, Erikson believed that conflict focused on Identity vs. Role Confusion. In other words, the key developmental task of adolescence is for youth to figure out who they are and what their identity is, now that they are no longer children.

While Erikson’s theory is certainly more of a historical perspective, it emphasizes the importance of self-identity among adolescents.

Question 52

Describe David Elkind’s theory of Adolescent Identity Development.

Answer 52

Developmental psychologist David Elkind introduced two ideas related to adolescent identity development, which are based on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. These two attributes are especially true in early adolescence:

1) Adolescent Egocentrism - the self-absorption that marks an adolescent’s search for self-identity. Early adolescents become very self-focused. Not only are they thinking about themselves all of the time, they also believe that everyone else is thinking about them all of the time! The adolescent tendency of feeling like they are being watched all of the time is referred to as an imaginary audience.

2) Personal fable - the adolescent tendency to believe that all of their experiences are unique in their identity development. This is the idea that no one else has ever gone through what they are going through (this is the quintessential moment of teenage angst).

Question 53

Describe James Marcia’s theory of Adolescent Identity Development.

Answer 53

• different categories of identity formation

-originally applied to career development, but is now used widely across social and academic domains.

-individuals can be high or low on commitment and crisis. “Crisis” = a period of active exploration.

Question 54

What does Marcia call low committment + low crisis?

Answer 54

Diffusion: A passive acceptance without a clear identity.
These individuals are just “hanging out” when it comes to identity development. They aren’t trying new things but aren’t committed to anything either.

Question 55

What does Marcia call low committment + high crisis?

Answer 55

Moratorium: Actively exploring roles.

For example, this might be a high school senior who wants to be a vet one week, a nurse the next week, and a teacher the week after that. They’re not really sure who they want to be but they’re working on it.

Question 56

What does Marcia call high commitment + low crisis?

Answer 56

Foreclosure: A passive acceptance of identity.

For example, a teen comes from a long line of mechanics. They are told from a young age that they too will become a mechanic and run the family business. The teen hasn’t thought about this and has accepted the identity.

Question 57

What does Marcia call high commitment + high crisis?

Answer 57

Achievement: Has explored and achieved identity on their own.

These individuals tend to be more mature and motivated than others.

For example, a first-year University student might try a bunch of different classes before deciding on their major.

Question 58

Asha is a 15-month-old infant. While watching her mother get dressed one morning, her mother reaches down and puts some makeup on her nose. According to the Rouge Test, what is Asha most likely to do when she looks in the mirror?

a) Point at the baby in the mirror, because she doesn’t understand that it is herself

b) Wipe the makeup off, because she has developed an understanding of the self

c) Point at the baby in the mirror, because she is laughing at herself

d) Cry, because this demonstrates an insecure attachment relationship

Answer 58

a) Point at the baby in the mirror, because she doesn’t understand that it is herself

Question 59

Mr. K is a high school guidance counsellor. He actively encourages his students to try different courses and extracurriculars to figure out what they like and don’t like, before they commit to a long-term goal. What category of Marica’s identity development theory are Mr. K’s students most likely to be in?

a) Foreclosure

b) Diffusion

c) Moratorium

d) Achievement

Answer 59

c) Moratorium

Question 60

Define self-esteem.

Answer 60

Our evaluations of our own worth and abilities.

Question 61

What is the difference between self-esteem and self-concept?

Answer 61

Self-esteem = how we FEEL about ourselves,

Self-concept = how we THINK about ourselves

Question 62

What does self-esteem look like in preschoolers?

Answer 62

Self-esteem develops early in life. Even preschoolers have a sense of how they feel about themselves, but they tend to be overly positive.

Preschoolers often believe they can do anything, and have completely unrealistic views of their abilities. In other words, preschoolers have unrealistic evaluations of themselves.

Question 63

What does self-esteem look like in school aged children?

Answer 63

Once in grade school, children start to engage in social comparison and gain a better understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses. This starts to make self-esteem more realistic.

Note that realistic self-esteem is the key here. Individuals who develop an overly positive or overly negative self-esteem are more likely to develop psychosocial difficulties. Thus, the goal of healthy self-esteem development is to recognize both strengths and weaknesses.

Even from a young age, children understand that self-esteem is positively associated with success. For example, children as young as 5 years old understand that children who like themselves do better in school and have more friends.

Question 64

Even from a young age, children understand that self-esteem is positively associated with success. For example, children as young as ________ years old understand that children who like themselves do better in school and have more friends.

Answer 64

5

Question 65

How is childhood self-esteem measured?

Answer 65

1) a global indicator

2) as a set of components.

For example, academic, social, athletic, behavioural, and physical appearance components of self-esteem are all separable components. A child might have high academic and social self-esteem, but low athletic self-esteem.

Question 66

One of the most common ways to measure self-esteem in childhood is using the ________________.

Answer 66

Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985, 2012).

While this is a self-report measure, the questions have been designed in a way to help minimize socially-desirable responding (a major issue in self-esteem research).

Question 67

What is a major issue in self-esteem research?

Answer 67

Socially-desirable responding.

Question 68

How does the Self-Perception Profile for Children minimize socially-desirable responding?

Answer 68

Rather than the standard “true/false” response option, this style of question aims to legitimize either response (sort of true for me/really true for me). This helps researchers to obtain more accurate self-perceptions, rather than socially-desirable responses.

Question 69

What is one of the main factors that promote self-esteem?

Answer 69

Approval and support from others.

This includes approval and support from parents, although parents should be realistic in their evaluations (e.g., everyone has strengths and weaknesses).

As children develop, they rely less on their parents and more on their peers for approval and support. In adolescence, children start to internalize these views of the self, moving them towards a reliance on self-approval.

Question 70

Besides approval/support from others, what other factors affect self-esteem?

Answer 70

1) Physical Appearance - Those who are physically attractive tend to report higher self-esteem than those who are not.

2) Relationships - Building a secure attachment relationship and having high quality peer relationships helps promote healthy self-esteem.

3) Minority Status - Being in a minority group (e.g., ethnic minority, lower socioeconomic status) in school is associated with decreased self-esteem.

4) Personality - Children who are more outgoing tend to have more positive social interactions, which in turn promotes self-esteem. In contrast, children who have high emotionality are more likely to have emotional outbursts with peers, which can decrease self-esteem.

5) Gender - Boys tend to have higher self-esteem than girls. However, this gender difference does vary depending on what factors you’re looking at. Girls tend to focus more on appearance and social aspects of self-esteem, whereas competence and conduct are more important for boys’ self-esteem.

Question 71

A “healthy” self-esteem often gets misconstrued as “very high” self-esteem. Remember that a healthy self-esteem means having _______________________.

Answer 71

a realistic appreciation of our worth and abilities.

Question 72

What is the praise paradox?

Answer 72

The praise paradox begins when adults feel the need to “fix” children’s low self-esteem. Indeed, in Western cultures, 87% of adults report that children need praise in order to feel good about themselves.

While praise has many forms, adults often give person praise (“you’re so smart!”) and not effort praise (“you worked really hard on that!”). This praise also tends to be inflated (“you are an incredible artist!”).

Question 73

Why do “person praise” and “inflated praise” backfire?

Answer 73

Because they reinforce the idea that children need to be doing “amazingly well” all of the time. Thus, children increase their self-validation goals, meaning that they act primarily to gain self-esteem or avoid losing it.

Children with high self-validation goals tend to avoid challenging tasks because failures are interpreted as the result of their own worthlessness. Over time, this contributes to low self-esteem.

Question 74

How can parents avoid the praise paradox?

Answer 74

Focus on process praise (e.g., “you’re working hard at the violin this week!”) and uninflated praise (e.g., “you made a beautiful drawing”).

Adults also play an important role in helping children to develop healthy self-esteem through more indirect means. For example, helping children to develop new skills (e.g., teaching a teenager how to drive) and developing healthy relationships all contribute to self-esteem development.

Question 75

Which of the following children is most likely to have the highest self-esteem?

a) Chase, a 10-year-old who is a minority student at his school

b) Molly, an outgoing 3-year-old

c) Kesha, a 12-year-old whose parents praise her all of the time

d) Cheng-lei, a 8-year-old who is good at soccer

Answer 75

b) Molly, an outgoing 3-year-old

Question 76

According to research on the Praise Paradox:

Person praise can reduce a child’s self-esteem

Many adults in Western society use praise to promote self-esteem development

Effort praise can bolster a child’s self-esteem

All of the above are true

Answer 76

All of the above are true

Question 77

Flip to see a summary of Module 10.

Answer 77

Attachment is the emotional bond between an infant and their caregiver. It is evolutionary advantageous and lays the foundation for all future relationships.

There are 4 attachment styles that can be assessed in infancy using the Strange Situation. These attachment styles are relatively stable (but can change) and influence parents’ interactions with their own children.

Infants must first develop self-awareness before they can develop a self-concept. Identity development is particularly salient during adolescence.

Self-esteem develops along with self-concept. Healthy self-esteem includes an understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses, and is associated with positive outcomes throughout the life course.

Question 78

Based on what we learned in this module, how do you think such a young child being separated from their parent would impact child development?

Answer 78

From CBC article:

-negatively influence the development of their brains, biasing them towards anxiety and fear, and compromising their cognitive development as well.

• brain is forced to grow up too fast - accelerate the development of those systems that are meant to defend the brain and the rest of the body against stressors

-parents insulate the children from stresses while their brains mature. Children with a reliable parental presence “don’t release the stress hormones that can compromise the development of the brain, When you remove the children from this particular context, when that buffering is no longer available, the children are actually left to fend for themselves biologically.

-You accelerate the connections between the amygdala and the rest of the brain, so that now the system becomes hypersensitive to stress at an age when it should normally be protected from such activity by the care of the parents

-One important example of a part of the brain influenced in this way is the amygdala. It’s a structure deep in the brain that plays an important role in regulating emotional response, fear, and anxiety. According to Meaney, it’s “ground zero” for the stress response, and childhood deprivation changes the way it connects to the rest of the brain.

-This early maturation makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. For a child who’s suddenly bereft of parents, survival could well depend on them being more cautious, fearful and anxious. However this sets a pattern of elevated stress for a lifetime.

-Those children tend to grow up into adults who are hypersensitive to threat. They respond to circumstances which are relatively benign as if they are dangerous.

-Risks include: mental health, metabolic disorders (diabetes, obesity), cardio problems (disease, stroke), inflammatory conditions (arthritis), Alzheimers. For girls the stress can drive the early onset of puberty which increases risk of endocrine disorders and possibly even breast cancer.