Psychological Development Flashcards
Attachment
the close emotional bond shared between an infant and their primary caregiver; also, the tendency to seek emotionally supportive relationships in adulthood
Factors to attachment
- Universal to all humans
- has a biological basis
- separation anxiety is an indication that attachment has been formed
- an inborn behaviour
Insecure Avoidant Attachment (Group A)
the infant does not seek closeness or contact with the caregiver and treats them like a stranger
Secure Attachment (Group B)
the infant uses the caregiver as a safe base from which to venture out and explore an unfamiliar environment, but shows distress and decreases exploration when the caregiver departs
Insecure Resistant Attachment (Group C)
The infant appears anxious even when their caregiver is near. When the caregiver returns, the infant approaches them, cries to be picked up then fights to be free
Assimilation
the process of taking in new information and fitting it into and making it part of a pre existing mental idea about objects or experiences
Accomodation
involves changing a pre existing mental idea in order to fit new information.
Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years)
Infants explore and learn about the work primarily through their senses and motor (Movement) They learn the concept of object permanence which is the understanding that objects will exist when if they cannot be seen, heard or touched
Pre-operational stage (2-7 years)
They become increasingly able to mentally represent objects and experiences that is to think about and imagine something in their own mind.
Shows:
Symbolic thinking, egocentrism, animism, centration, reversibility.
Symbolic Thinking
the ability to use symbols such as word and pictures to represent objects that are not physically present
Egocentrism
the tendency to perceive the world solely from one’s point of view
Animism
the belief that everything that exists has some kind of consciousness
Centration
the cognitive ability to focus on only one quality or feature of an object or event at a time
Reversibility
the ability to mentally follow a sequence of events or line of reasoning back to its starting point
Concrete operational stage (7-12)
a mental operation that involves the abolition accurately imagine the consequences of something happening without it needing to actually happen
Shows:
Conservation
Conservation
The understanding that when certain properties of an object can remain the same even when its appearance changesb
Formal operational stage (12+)
More complex thought processes are evident and their thinking becomes increasingly sophisticated.
Shows:
- Abstract thinking
Abstract thinking
a way of thinking that does not rely on being able to see, visualise, experience or manipulate in order to understand something
Three examples of behaviours that shows a child has formed an emotional attachment
- Crying to attract the caregivers attention
- Crying when being put down
- Following the caregiver
Purpose of the Strange Situation Test
To test and measure the quality of infants attachment to their primary caregiver.
The Aim of the study on Rhesus monkeys
To investigate the factors influencing the development of attachment of infant monkeys to their mothers
The results of the rhesus monkeys (original)
Regardless of which surrogate provided the nourishment, the monkeys would seek comfort within the cloth covered surrogate. The monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth surrogate.
The conclusion of the Study (Rhesus Monkey Original)
It was concluded that ‘contact comfort’ which was provided by the softness of the cloth was more important than the feeding formation of an infants attachment to its mother.
The aim of the study on social isolation
To investigate the effect social isolation has on emotional and social development
Results on social isolation study
When experimental monkeys were released, they experienced shock.. and they would self harm themselves, and they also didn’t know how to interact with others.
3 Months: Reversible
6 Months: Reversible but took longer
12 Months: Never recovered from the damage
Conclusion on Social Isolation Study
It was concluded that periods of isolation in infancy can have huge effects on social and emotional development. The longer the period, the more severe the behaviour and the less likely to be reversed.
