Theories of Human Development (Test #3) Flashcards
What are the 4 things that Dubois stated affected someone with Developmental Language Disorder?
Education
Employment
Independent Living
Challenges and Strengths
What did Dubois find about a person with DLD and their education?
Young adults with DLD participate in higher education similarly to their peers, but they often rely on additional support (like extra time for exams).
They tend to leave school earlier and achieve lower qualifications compared to their peers.
Reading and writing skills play a crucial role in their academic success.
What did Dubois find about a person with DLD and their independent living?
Financial independence is harder for this group, with many needing continued support from family.
Social integration is a challenge, with lower levels of confidence and fewer close friendships, though some maintain strong prosocial behaviours like kindness.
What did Dubois find about a person with DLD and their Employment?
Employment rates for young adults with DLD are generally similar to their peers, but they often take lower-paying and less skilled jobs.
They face challenges in job searching and may have longer periods of unemployment.
What did Dubois find about a person with DLD and their Challenges and Strengths?
Young adults with DLD experience persistent challenges from childhood into adulthood.
However, they can achieve similar outcomes in certain areas with the right support and interventions.
What recommendations were given after the Dubois experiment/findings?
Further research is needed to understand what helps or hinders their success.
Professionals like speech-language pathologists should address not just language but broader life skills to support better outcomes
Attachment Theory (Bowlby)
Defined as the deep and enduring emotional bond connecting one person to another across time and space.
Infants are biologically predisposed to develop attachments with caregivers as a survival mechanism.
Influenced by ethology, psychoanalysis, and cognitive psychology
What is the Critical Period for Attachment
Bowlby proposed that there is a sensitive period during the early years (especially the first two years of life) for forming primary attachments.
Failure to form attachments during this time can lead to developmental deficits.
Internal Working Model
According to this idea, the quality of early interactions between children and their primary caregivers forms mental templates or representations of how relationships work. These models are deeply ingrained and shape the way individuals perceive themselves, others, and relationships throughout their lives
What are the 2 primary systems of Behavioral Systems in Attachment:
Attachment system
Exploratory system
What is the Attachment system
Activated when infants feel threatened or distressed, seeking comfort from caregivers.
Based on infant needs for safety and security
What is the Exploratory system
Encourages exploration when the infant feels safe, balancing the need for security and independence.
What is a secure base
The role of the caregiver is to provide a reliable foundation that encourages a child to explore the environment
Separation Anxiety
Distress exhibited by infants and young children when separated from their primary attachment figure
Monotropy
Bowlby’s assertion that infants form one primary attachment, typically with their mother or primary caregiver.
Lorenz’s Geese (1935)
Goslings imprint on the first moving object they see, usually their mother, highlighting biological predispositions for attachment.
Lorenz discovered that birds form strong bonds, or “imprints,” with the first moving thing they see after birth. In his study, he split chick and duck eggs between their species and others. Chicks raised with ducks followed the mother duck instead of their species, showing how imprinting influences behaviour.
Harlow’s Monkeys (1958)
Showed infant monkeys preferred comfort (cloth surrogate) over nourishment (wire surrogate), emphasizing the importance of caregiving and comfort in attachment
Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation (1970s)
Identified attachment styles (secure, avoidant, ambivalent, disorganized) through structured observations of infant-caregiver interactions during separations and reunions.
If the baby is secure the baby should reach for the mom and be easily comforted in the first reunion. int he second reunion the same thing should happen and the baby should be able to easily be comforted.
Secure Attachment
Infants explore freely while the caregiver is present.
Show distress when the caregiver leaves but are easily comforted upon their return.
View the caregiver as a “secure base” for exploration
Ex; A child confidently explores a park but regularly checks back with their caregiver for reassurance
Disorganized Attachment (added later by researchers)
Infants show a mix of behaviours, including fear, confusion, or freezing.
No consistent strategy for managing separation or reunion.
Linked to experiences of trauma, neglect, or abuse.
Ex; A child approaches the caregiver but stops abruptly, appears frozen, or displays contradictory behaviours like seeking comfort but avoiding eye contact.
What is the Impact of Maternal Sensitivity
Studies suggest that sensitive and responsive caregiving leads to secure attachment, while inconsistent or neglectful caregiving may result in insecure attachment styles
Attachment in Adulthood
Individuals with secure childhood attachments often show healthier relationships and better stress management in adulthood
Avoidant Attathcment
Child is not very explorative, emotionally distant
Mother is distant and not engaged
Child believes that their needs probably wont be met
Ambivalent Attatchment
Child is insecure, anxious and angry
Mother is inconsistent, sometimes sensitive, sometimes neglectful
Child cannot rely on their mother to meet their needs
What effects a Childs attachment?
Role of Parent-Child Interaction (Positive and Negative behaviours)
Importance of Routine
Responding to a Crying Baby
Reactive Attachment Disorder
A severe disruption in attachment, often resulting in a failure to thrive physically, emotionally, or socially.
Usually stems from neglect, abuse, or significant disruptions in caregiving
What is the Historical Example for reactive attachment disorder
During World War II, efforts to create a “perfect race” led to blonde-haired, blue-eyed babies being forcibly removed from their parents and placed in nurseries.
Despite being well-fed and cared for physically, these babies failed to thrive due to the lack of emotional attachment and caregiving.
Interactional synchrony
Interactional synchrony is the coordinated connection between a mother and her baby, where their emotions, behaviors, and even brain activity mirror each other.
The mother’s emotional expressions, tone of voice, and gestures are reflected in the baby’s responses
Helps with bonding, language development and emotional development
What did Ray & Heyes (2011) find about infants?
14 month olds will imitate each other’s behaviour
Enforced by “mirror neurons”
What did Hazan and Shaver (1987) define about Attachment and romantic relationships
Adult romantic relationships share features with early child-caregiver attachment patterns. Might mean the attachment style you have when you are a child is the one you will have in future relationships
Similar features:
Feel safe when present + responsive
Engage in close, bodily contact
Feel insecure when other is inaccessible
Share discoveries together
Mutual fascination/preoccupation
Baby talk
What does a secure attachment look like in a adult relationship?
Feel confident that partner will be there for them
What does a resistant/anxious attachment look like in a adult relationship?
Worry that they are not loved completely, angry/frustrated when needs not met
What does a avoidant attachment style look like in an adult relationship?
Appear not to care too much, avoid commitment/dependence
What did Zeifman & Hazan, 1997 find about adult relationships?
Adults seeking LT relationships look for:
Attentiveness
Warmth
Sensitivity
