Psychology Of Childhood Flashcards
Temperament
Individual differences in emotion activity level and attention that’s re exhibited across context and present from infancy
Between person approach:
Easy child, difficult child, slow to warm child
Within person approach:
Fear child, distress/anger child, attention span, activity level, smiling/laughter child
Biological families
Not possible to disentangle effects of genetics and environmental factors
Genetically informative research
Twin design: monozygotic vs dizygotic twins, twins reared apart vs twins reared together
Adoption design: biological and adoptive parents, adoptive vs non adoptive families
Adoption design
Biological families have “genetic plus environmental” parents
Biological parents share genes but not environment with child
Adoptive parents share environment but not genes with child
Parent s and child resemblance
variation due to nature
variation due to nurture
If trait variation entirely due to nurture
-correlation strong for non adoptive and adoptive but not adopted apart children
If trait variation entirely due to nature
-correlation strong for non adoptive, adopted apart but not adoptive children
Adoption study limitations
Adoptees not randomly placed into families, get chosen
Adoption studies not generalise to population at large
Prenatal influences not considered eg biological mother smoking
Adoption (especially at birth) is unusual event
Twin design
- comparing resemblance allows for rough estimate of separate genetic and environmental contributions to trait
- assessed with correlation between pair of twins, separate correlations for MZ and DZ twins
- MZ resemblance 100%
- DZ resemblance 50%
Child temperament traits and significant genetic influence
Consistently found MZ more similar than DZ variety of temperament dimensions:
- emotionality
- shyness
- sociability
- attention/persistence
- approach
- adaptability
- distress
- positive affect and negative affect
Iimitation of twin design
Equal environments assumption; assume similar for fraternal and identical twins, MZ share more similar environments
Twin studies not generalise to population at large; twins more susceptible to prenatal trauma leading to mental retardation
MZ twins not 100% genetically identical; various biological mechanisms lead to genetic differences between MZ
Heritability
- proportion of variance in population attributable to genetic differences between people
- Estimate only applies to particular population living in particular environment at particular time
Twin study of child temperament
Lemerey chalfant 2013
301 MZ twins, 263 DZ same sex, 243 DZ opposite sex
parent telephone interview and home visits
Finding 1: effortful control, negative affect and extraversion show high heritability; 54%, 79%, 49%
Finding 2: home environments under genetic influence affect personality
pediatric approach
definition of temperament
general term referring to ‘how’ of behaviour…differs from ability … and motivation… concerns the way in which an individual behaves
pediatric approach
constituents of temperament
a.r.a-w.a.r.ir.mq.d.as
activity level regularity approach-withdrawal adaptability threshold of responsiveness intensity of reaction quality of mood distractibility attention span
pediatric approach
typology of children
easy child: regular, positive mood etc
difficult child: irregular, high activity level
slow to warm: low activity level, low intensity of mood
personality tradition approach
definition of temperament
temperament is set of inherited personality traits that appear in early life
two defining characteristics: traits genetic in origin and appear in infancy
personality tradition
constituents
emotionality
activity
sociability
individual differences approach
temperament definition
constitutionally based individual differences in emotional, motor, attentional reactivity and self regulation
temperamental characteristics seen to demonstrate consistency across situations and stability over time
individual differences approach
constituents
fd.id.as-p.a.p.r.a/a
fearful distress/inhibition irritable distress attention span and persistence activity level positive affect/approach rhythmicity agreeableness/adaptability
commonalities of the temperament approaches
- temperament refers to individual differences not normative characteristics
- refers to set of traits
- reflect behavioural tendencies that are pervasive across situations and show stability
- emphasis on biological underpinnings
- emerges early in life
disagreements of the temperament approaches
- differing boundaries for temperament
- differing constituents (excluding activity level and emotionality)
- relationship between temperament and personality construed differently
heritabiltiy of temperament
EAS traits
- strongest evidence for EAS traits
- MZ twins: 0.63 emotionality, 0.62 activity, 0.53 sociability
- DZ twins: 0.12 emotionality, -0.13 activity, -0.03 sociability
- as whole temperament is moderately influenced by genetic factors, estimate is similar across ages
- stability in temperament is mediated by genetic factors , environmental factors account for age-to-age change
clinical application of temperament
- temperament is a departure from the ‘tabula rasa’ concept
- introduced the ‘goodness of fit’ concept
- advocate of interactionist, idiographic approach
goodness/poorness of fit
-when child capacities, motivations and temperament are either adequate or inadequate to master the expectations, demands and opportunities of environment, if inadequate can lead to maladaptive functioning and distorted development
temperament and subsequent adjustment
prior 1992
- relationships generally moderate strength; prediction from infancy is weak
- difficult and active babies at increased risk for colic, sleep problems, excessive crying and abdominal pain
- temperament difficulty associated with both internalising and externalising problems
experiment: linking temperament to internalising and externalising problems
- ages 9, 11, 13, 15 from NZ
- tester rating of temperament (lack control, approach, sluggishness) used to predict problem behaviour via parent/teacher reports
- results: lack control is best predictor especially for externalising problems
temperament in context
- not meaningful without reference to social context
- ‘difficult’ temperament associated with poor outcome sin western cultures
- ‘difficult’ babies had evolutionary advantage in Masai environment under harsh drought conditions
What is attachment
Strong emotional bond that forms in the second half of first year between infant and caregiver
Visible signs: warm welcoming, big smile, active effort to make contact, touching caregiver face, holding onto parent leg in unusual situation
Psychoanalytic theory of attachment
Baby become attached to mothers breast, then mother herself as source of oral gratification
Focus on innate drives and pleasure seeking
Emphasis on inner needs/feelings and mother-infant interaction
Love of object through association with oral need-gratification
Ethnological theory of attachment
Biological adaptation of infant-mother attachment
-nutrition, protection, secure base for exploration
Evolutionary advantage: proximity means safe and fed
Roots in set of instinctual infant responses, respond to each other’s behaviours
Learning theory of attachment
Infants become attached to mother as she provides food (primary reinforcement) thus she becomes a secondary reinforcer
Attachment develops
What is monotrophy in relation to attachment
“Bias of child to attach himself especially to one person” bowlby 1969
With fathers, siblings, peers
What are key characteristics of attachment
Emotional intensity
Proximity maintenance
Specificity of attachment figure
Distress upon separation
Development of attachment
Pre attachment
Attachment in making (6weeks-6months):
Scaffolding by care givers vs co regulation:
Clear cut attachment (6months -18months):
Reciprocal relationships (18-24months)
Measuring attachment
Quality or security of attachment varies
‘Strange situation’ Ainsworth 1973
Observe mother infant interaction in home from birth to 54weeks
Observations of attachment security lab
Classification of security
Insecure avoidant: happy to explore, usually not distressed by separation or on reunion
Secure: base exploration, distressed or not by separation, on reunion actively approach carer and distress decrease
Ambivalent-resistant : clingy, distressed by separation, reunion anger and resistance to comfort
Disorganised: display greatest insecurity, on reunion show confused behaviour or dazed facial expression
Antecedents to attachment
relationship construct but implicated mothers individual differences in attachment security
Accessibility and responsiveness of attachment figures are held to determine attachment security
How might temperament make a difference
Children’s temperamental characteristics DO play role in attachment security (Vaughn)
infants more distressed by removal of dummy were more likely to form insecure attachments (Bell, Weller, Waldrop)
Maternal sensitivity and temperament experiment
- Intervention study of 100 irritable first born infants from low SES families and 50 controls
- 50 infants experienced interventions of 3x2 hour home visits between 6-9 months
- at 9 months intervention group mothers were more responsive, stimulating, visually attractive and controlling of infants behaviour
- infant temperament also changed to be more sociable, self soothing and exploration
Consequences of attachment
Attachment quality tends to be stable over time
Secure attachment leads to higher self esteem, self confidence, social competence, positive affect
social smile
- emerges between 6-12 weeks old
- different stimuli elicit different types of smiles
- audience effect: infants purposeful look towards mother, mothers attentive behaviour modulates infant smile, but child nto smile at toys
mother face recognition
- little exposure required for newborn infants to develop preferences to their mothers face to that of strangers
- 2-7 hour old infants observed for 72 hours, mother-stranger discrimination task carried out at 72 hours, preference fro mother increased the longer time spent looking at mothers face
emotion discrimination
Haviland & Lewica 1987
- mothers asked to display 3 emotions to 10 week old baby, happiness/sadness/anger
- facial expressions rated similarly for expressiveness and animation, infants discriminated each expression
- infants express and recognise expressions
are infants sensitive to meaning
- cause and effect relationships
- separation anxiety
- social referencing is test of infants sensitivity to meaning of emotional info
- adult express emotional stance towards object or event but not communicate directly with infant
- classic paradigm: visual cliff, 75% infants cross when mother display joy or interest
theories of emotion
discrete emotion theory
appraisal theory
constructionist theory
childhood anxiety
- most experience predictable pattern of fears throughout development
- mean age of onset is 11 years
- global prevalence of 3-17 year olds is 6%
- 30% heritable
anxiety in families
top down: children of parents with anxiety have increased risk of having anxiety disorders
-bottom up: parents of children with anxiety disorders have increased risk of havign disorder
parenting contribution to childhood anxiety
- learning experiences: vicarious learning and verbal info transfer
- parenting style/behaviour: overcontrol/protection, lack of warmth
- attachment and family functioning: co-parenting
indirect learning pathways
- direct experience
- verbal info
- vicarious learning
verbal info
- neg verbal info increases child anxious beliefs and behaviours, positive info has opposite effect
- emotional context of parental discourse predicts children socio-emotional cognitions and functioning
- fear relevent stimui: explicitly indicate threat, suggest threat by emphasis on vulnerability, promote/endorse avoidance, limit child opportunities
vicarious learning
- persistent fears develop following observations of others fearful responses
- social referencing: child response to fear provoking stimuli influenced by observed adult behaviour
maternal anxiety and stranger avoidance
murray derosnay 2008
mothers higher anxiety and less engaged and less encouraging at 10months led to increased in infant avoidance of stranger at 4 months
percy: systematic review
parent verbal info and child fear/anxiety
- 15 studies
- verba communication investigated in vignettes, childs past, while child engaged in activity
- features of communication: threat related, negativity, parental over control, positive, general
- increase in self reported fear beliefs in response to parent negative threat statements
- child of parents who elaborated threat related themes had higher anxiety symptoms
children with anxiety disorders
- anxious people had sig associations for: catastrophising, use of neg emotion words, positie feedback
- some types of verbal parent communication are associated wit child anxiety but mixed findings
pass 2017 and maternal anxiety and child school
- maternal info about starting school is naturally occurring and info transfer may be salient in early childhood
- children of mothers who expressed high negativity in descriptions of school were more likely to represent school in negative way
parenting styles
overcontrol/overprotective/lack of autonomy granting:
-excessive anxiety about happen to child, excessive regulation/monitoring behaviour with indication its needed
negativity/lack warmth
- lack of affection/involvement/support and increased rejection and hostility, reduced sensitivity/responsiveness to child signals
challenging parenting
-encourage child in playful way to exhibit risky behaviour, or behaviour that push his/her own limits or those in environment
parental overcontrol/over protection
give child message that world is dangerous and uncontrollable place
reduce likelihood of child developing sense of competence and mastery
parental negativity/lack of warmth
lead to child believing environment is hostile and threatening, outcomes will be negative, sense of low self-worth and competence
challenging parenting
- rough and tumble, teasing, letting child lose a game
- exposed to safe risk, enabling to be brave in unfamiliar situations, build confidence
- fathers challenging parenting important for anxiety prevention
mothers vs fathers
- different evolutionary roles in child rearing
- mothers specialise in internal care tasks
- fathers specialise in preparing for external world throuhg physical play, overcoming challenge and encourage independence
what influences peer relations/status
- tempermental traits
- familial influences eg attachment or parenting
- socio-emotional understanding eg social world
what are peers
playmates close in age
form of companionship, assitance and social opportunities
emergence of peer interaction
6 months, recognise peer as social partner: vocalising, looking, gestures
12-24 months: turn taking games and build preference for certain peers
-24 months peers come to be seen as preferred partners for social play
categorised play
parten 1932
unoccupied behaviour solitary play onlooking behaviour parallel play associative play cooperative play
as grow up spend more time in interactive and social categories (associative and cooperative)
play based assessment
phase 1: unstructured facilitation phase 2: structured facilitation phase 3: child-child interaction phase 4: parent-child interaction phase 5: motor play
observation of: cognition (attention span/limitation/category of play), communication (modalities/phonology/ oral motor), social-emotional (temperament/humour/interaction wiht peer and parent), sensorimotor (muscle tone/mobility in play)
functions of play and peer interaction
cog development: problem solving, exploration, communication
imagination an demotional development: socia roles and scripts
social competence: perspective taking and empathy
gender differences in play
Maccoby:
- peer contexts mediator in establishing gender sterotyped norms
- gender segregated play crucial in generating gender roles
rose & rudolph:
- boys prefer larger groups and engage in team games
- girsl more likely to desire closeness and dependency
- girls friendships more intimate, BUT more likely co-ruminate neg thoughts an dfeelings
- no gender differences in amount of conflict experiences
friendship - normative development
-friends at basic level are preferred play mates
-goals of friendships (Parker and Gottman):
coordinated play ages 3-6, peer group acceptance ages 7-8 and self disclosure and intimacy from adolescence
issues of research on friendship
- complex and tricky to measure
- having vs not having (quantity) is important of mutual and reciprocated friendships
- quality has variability in childs evaluations and theres positives and negatives to each friendship
- identity of friends eg similarity
establishing peer status an dpopularity
perceptions of popularity are rarely the same as ‘truw’ popularity
- true popularity is someone who engenders social preference from others
- child normally nominate attractive or best athlete
- popular children have both social preference and social impact
peer status groups
popular rejected (aggressive or withdrawn) controversial neglected average
-Banerjee found rejected children had more neg nominations but more social impact
consequences of peer status
- broad patterns of psychopathology and adjustment: internalising leads to depression and anxiety, externalising leads to conduct problems and aggressive behaviour
- impact on academic achievement
circle of friends
- inclusive approach to support children through elisting help of whole class or peer approach
- establish prerequisites: child, parent teacher interview
- whoe class meeting: focus child isnt present, establish group rules and enlist empathy
- initla meeting: introduce focus child, decide on strategies
- weekly meetings: adult facilitation
- evaluation is difficult as not suited to large scales
social understanding
- perspective taking: variance in childs abilities
- theory of mind: understanding beliefs can be false
development of social understanding
emotional understanding: knowledge of others’ desires and motives, know situation may upset or promote happiness
- self conscious awareness and knowledge of social rules: require understanding of social conventions/norms
- aged 5 can undertsand they shouldnt have said something but struglle to identify intention/consequential emotional states
advanced theory of mind game
-fauz pas task explores understanding of socio-contextual factors that surround social scenario
-understanding double buff requires understanding of beliefs and motives of others and their thinking
-second order beliefs ages 5-11
accepting different interpretations of same info
understanding sarcams, irony, double entendre humour
theory theory of social cog development
mental states are abstract and invisible and have been inferred
children try to figure out hwo others minds work, amek sense to assume they are same as you to start with and then mae model more complex
-its academic centric
simulation theory of social cog development
- dont need theory of mind as have their own mind and can imagine themselves in different situations
- get better at imagining others’ perspectives that differ from their own
- seems to be outcome of development not an influence
theory of mind mechanisms of social cog development
- innate modules of ToM reasoning
- to say its innate defers the developmental explanation
forms of knowledge
surface knowledge: children learn about interactive potential of social world as they do about physical world
complex info: require reasoning, from and caused by underlying mental states
social cognitive neuroscience
mirror neurons
- allow to directly understand meaning of actions and emotions of others by internally simulating them
- activated when observing an act or carrying it out
- fMRI show brain regions in socio-cog function
- neurons enable interaction which develops thinking
social info processing
- encoding of cues, interpretation fo cues, clarification of goals, response access or construction, response decision, behvaioural enactment
- this model implies cyclical reinforcement process
social understanding and peer relations
CAputi 2012
- 70 italien children ages 5-7
- theory of mind tasks and made most/least liked nominations
- teachers rated social skills and cooperative behaviour controlling fro receptive language skills
- peer status influenced by behaviour but behvaiour itself influenced by way think
social understanding and peer relations
banerjee, watling and caputi
-longitudinal data from 210 children
peer rejection inhibits social understanding (7-9 years old) and impaired social understanding predicts subsequent rejection (10-11 years)
-faux pas scores increase with age
-having toM could mean being more prosocial, no ToM means more aggressive
bullies
sutton, smith swettenham 1999
- bullies in comparison to other roles in the bully-victim dynamic
- measures children mental state, reasoning and emotional understanding
- bulies scored highest on social understanding
- victim not have worst scores which infers theres more to becoming a victim than poor social understanding
bullies social goas
smalley and banerjee 2014
social goals predicted bullying even after SIP biases and mental state reasoning have been takne into account
bullies motivated by social dominance
-maintained by actual or implied physical superiority in boys, and perceived socail status by girls
-social reasoning ability allow bullies to switch goals according to situation to limit neg consequences
autism
top down explanation: deficits in innate modules, small differences in biological charcateristics might dictate future social interactions
- bottom up: differences in identification with others, different developmental pathways due to differences in visual systems, inconsistencies in social experience
- child has trouble making eye contact, mimicking sounds and facial expressions, interacting socially etc
Vygotsky: socio-cultural perspective
-cog development takes placein social context
learning takes place with cultural tools eg objects, language, social structures
-knowledge in not symmetric: guided participation and scaffolding by more knowledge partners
-language guides thinking and acting
social interaction drives development
childs cultural development appears twice: at social level (between people) and then individual level (inside child)
natural collaboration
- starts between people, mesh actions with others and sustain shared meaning
- some cultures collaborate better than others
zone of proximal development
- circle for ‘what i can do alone’
- larger circle surroundng it for ‘what i can do with support’
- squre surrounding both is for ‘beyond my current reach’
- supportive structuring (help) and gradual fading as child learns to do action themselves
importance of reading comprehension
- learn to decode and to comprehend
- poor comprehenders have bad wokring memory, inferences and language awareness
whats language awareness
cog conrol to ‘refelct upon and manipulate structural features of language’
language ambiguity in in jokes
phonological lexical word compound syntactic metalinguistic pragmatic
joke city and riddles for improving comprehension
- training to search for ‘clue’ words in ambiguous texts will improve comprehension
- scaffolding through peer discussion: different interpretations embodied by different agents, reach shared understanding, positive emotional context
Vygotsky and education
language as socia tool to support complex abstract thinking
partners wiht different levels of skill
-inter to intra-psychological
-educatinal relevance: understanding mechanisms of group work
what happens in pre attachment
- crying, smiling, elicit caregiver behaviour
- preference for social stimuli
what happens in attachment in making
- visual recognition across room
- more social behaviour
- more discrimination between career and strangers
what happens during scaffolding of attachment
-importance of contingency
what happens during clear cut attachment
- specific figure is secure base for exploration
- separation distress and stranger anxiety
what happens during reciprocated attachment
- decline in separation distress
- ‘internal working model’ of self in relation to others
