Social Development in Infants/Toddlers 2 Flashcards
attachment
the strong affectionate tie we have for special people in our lives that leads us to experience pleasure and joy when we interact with them and to be comforted by their nearness in times of stress
When does attachment emerge?
by the second half of the first year
What are the two primary problems with how the psychoanalytic and behaviorist approaches view attachment?
- attachment does not depend on hunger satisfaction
- little attention is paid to the infant’s characteristics, mainly just the caregiver’s contribution to the attachment relationship
ethological theory of attachment
infant’s emotional tie to the caregiver as an evolved response that promotes survival
preattachment phase
- birth to 6 weeks
- built-in signals help bring newborn babies into close contact with other humans who comfort them
- babies recognize their own mother’s smell, voice and face, but are not yet attached to her, since they don’t mind being left with an unfamiliar adult
“attachment in the making” phase
- 6 weeks to 6-8 months
- infants respond differently to a familiar caregiver than to a stranger
- develop a sense of trust–the expectation that the caregiver will respond when signaled
- still do not protest to being separated from their mother
“clear cut” attachment phase
- 6-8 months to 18 months-2 years
- babies are now clearly attached to a familiar caregiver and display separation anxiety
- infants have developed a clear understanding that the caregiver continues to exist when not in view
- infants protest the parent’s departure and try hard to maintain her presence
formation of a reciprocal relationship
- 18 months to 2 years and on
- toddlers begin to understand some of the factors that influence the parent’s coming and going and to predict her return
- separation protest declines
- children negotiate with the caregiver, using requests and persuasion to alter her goals
separation anxiety
babies becoming upset when their trusted caregiver leaves
When doe separation anxiety emerge? When does it increase?
- 6-8 months to 18 months-2 years
- 6-15 months
internal working model
- set of expectation about the availability of attachment figures, their likelihood of providing support during times of stress, and the self’s interaction with those figures
- becomes a vital part of personality, serving as a guide for all future close relationships
strange situation
- widely used laboratory technique for assessing the quality of attachment between 1 and 2 years of age
- Mary Ainsworth and her colleagues reasoned that securely attached infants and toddlers should use the parent as a secure base from which to explore in an unfamiliar playroom
- when the parent leaves an unfamiliar adult should be less comforting than the parent
- 8 short episodes in which brief separations from and reunions with the parent occur
secure attachment
- infants use the parents as a secure base
- when separated they may or may not cry, but if they do it is because the parent is absent and they prefer her to the stranger
- when the parent returns they actively seek contact and their crying is reduced immediately
- 60% of infants show this pattern
avoidant attachment
- infants seem unresponsive to the parent when she is present
- when she leaves they usually are not distressed
- react the the stranger in much the same way as to the parent
- during reunion they avoid or are are slow to greet the parent and when picked up the ofter fail to cling
- 15% of infants show this pattern
resistant attachment
- before separation these infants seek closeness to the parent and often fail to explore
- usually distressed when parents leave and on her return they combine clinginess with angry, resistive behavior, struggling when held and sometimes hitting and pushing
- may continue to cry after being picked up and cannot be comforted easily
- 10% of infants show this pattern
