Unit 6

Question 1

psychoanalytic and ethological perspectives

Answer 1

• Influential in formulating hypotheses about infant
  social & personality development

Question 2

frueds psychosexual stages: oral

Answer 2

– Birth to two
– Infants derive satisfaction through the mouth
– Weaning process needs to be managed (no frustration or over-gratification)
– Fixation would manifest in oral behaviours (nail-biting & swearing)
– Emphasis on symbiotic relationship between mother & young infant

Question 3

eriksons psychosocial stages: trust vs mistrust

Answer 3

– Trust vs mistrust stage
– First two years
– Emphasized the importance of responding to the infant’s needs (comforting, food, affection etc.)
– Learns to trust the world or does not believe the social environment will meet needs

Question 4

bowlby and ainsworth attachment, theory, bond, reactive disorder

Answer 4

– Attachment theory
– Ability & need to form attachment early on is a genetic characteristic
– Affectional bond
– Emotional tie to an infant experienced by a parent
– Attachment
– Emotional tie to a parent experienced by an infant = security
– Reactive attachment disorder
– Prevents child from forming close social relationships
– Affected by time in Romanian orphanages

Question 5

attachment why it is important

Answer 5

• Most parents respond to their infants in ways that foster the development of a close relationship
• Both sides are important
• Parents’ bond to the child
• Child’s attachment to the parents

Question 6

attachment: synchrony

Answer 6

• Synchrony
• Mutual, interlocking pattern of attachment behaviours shared
  by parent & child
• Importance of the role of the father
• Father’s bond also dependent on synchrony
• Babies benefit from interactions with both parents

Question 7

bowlby 4 phases in establishing attachment: preattachment

Answer 7

Nonfocused orienting & signaling (0–2 mos)
– Uses an innate set of behaviour patterns to signal needs
– Proximity promoting behaviours (Ainsworth)
-attachment doesn’t exist

Question 8

bowlby 4 phases in establishing attachment: attachment in the making

Answer 8

• Focus on one or more figures (3 – 6
  mos)
  – Smiles more at familiar caregivers
  – Still uses proximity-promoting behaviours with many
  -beginning to form and social signals produced more for caregiver

Question 9

bowlby 4 phases in establishing attachment: clear cut attachment

Answer 9

Secure base behavior (6 – 7 mos)
– Proximity seeking behaviours (Ainsworth)
– Most important person used as a safe base for explorations
-stronger relationship based on negotiation
-attachment built in
-caregiver= secure base
-infant gets upset if caregiver leaves because the bond is strong

Question 10

bowlby 4 phases in establishing attachment: reciprocal relationship

Answer 10

• Internal model (24 mos & beyond)
  – Plays a role in later relationships with early caregivers and in other significant relationships

Question 11

stranger anxiety

Answer 11

– Discomfort, clinging to the mother, in presence of strangers

Question 12

separation anxiety

Answer 12

– Discomfort, crying when separated from attachment figure

Question 13

social referncing

Answer 13

– Infant’s use of others’ facial expressions as a guide to his or her own emotions

Question 14

Ainsworth quality of attachment: strange situation

Answer 14

1. Observer brings mother & baby into experimental room & leaves.
2. Mother sits in chair while baby explores.
3. Stranger comes in, is silent for a minute, talks to mother for a minute, then approaches baby. Mother leaves.
4. Stranger & baby are alone.
5. First reunion: Mother returns, greets, & comforts baby. After engaging baby in play, mother says “bye-bye” & leaves.
6. Second separation: Baby is alone.
7. Stranger enters & is alone with baby.
8. Second reunion: Mother enters, greets, & picks up baby. Stranger leaves.

Question 15

secure attachments: ainworth and characteristics

Answer 15

• More sensitive to infant’s needs
• Infant tends to be less fussy & enjoy physical contact

Question 16

insecure attachment: ainsworth

Answer 16

• Avoidant attachment
• Ambivalent (Resistant) attachment
• Disorganized/disoriented attachment

Question 17

stability of attachment classification

Answer 17

– Significant changes in relationships can change attachment pattern
– Bowlby - by 4 or 5, attachment pattern has been internalized
– Model tends to be imposed on other relationships (teachers or peers)

Question 18

factors influencing secure attachment

Answer 18

– Emotional Responsiveness
* Primary caregiver’s emotional availability & contingent responsiveness
– Marital Status & SES
* Higher educational background, socio-economic status, older parents, marital conflict
– Mental Health
* Depressed mothers who interact less = insecure attachments
* Most children with ASD are securely attached, but severity can increase difficulty

Question 19

quality of attachment

Answer 19

characteristics of securely attached kids
* More sociable & positive toward friends & siblings
* Less clingy & dependent on teachers
* Less aggressive & disruptive
* More empathetic & emotionally mature

Characteristics continue into adolescence & adulthood
– More socially skilled
– Have higher self-esteem
– Affects parenting behaviours
– Attachment relationship becomes the foundation for future social relationships

Question 20

personality

Answer 20

• Pattern of responding to people & objects in the environment

Question 21

temperament

Answer 21

• Early-appearing, stable individual differences in reactivity & self-regulation.
• Related to how well children deal with particular environments.

Question 22

easy child

Answer 22

(40%) quickly establishes routines,
cheerful, & adapts easily

Question 23

difficult child

Answer 23

(10%) irregular routines, slow to
adapt, & reacts negatively & intensely

Question 24

slow to warm up child

Answer 24

(15%) inactive, mild reactions, negative mood, & adjusts slowly

Question 25

insure attachments: avoidant

Answer 25

-does not pay attention to when caregiver returns or leaves

Question 26

insecure attachment: ambivalent (resistant)

Answer 26

becomes upset when caregiver leaves but unable to calm down when they are back

Question 27

insecure attachment: disorganized/ disoriented

Answer 27

-a mixture of behaviours
-ex- reaching for caregiver but wont look at them

Question 28

temperament dimensions

Answer 28

1. Activity level: The amount of energy and movement a person shows.
2. Approach/positive emotionality: How sociable and enthusiastic someone is in new situations.
3. Inhibition/withdrawal: Shyness or hesitation in unfamiliar environments.
4. Negative emotionality: The tendency to experience anger, irritability, or distress.
5. Effortful control: Ability to focus, regulate impulses, and persist with tasks.

Question 29

temperament genetical influences

Answer 29

• Heredity
  – Identical twins more alike in temperament than fraternal twins
• Neurological processes
  – Underlying physiological processes – Kagan
• Shyness
  – Differing thresholds for arousal
  – Dopamine and serotonin differences
  – Frontal lobe asymmetry
  – Cause or effect?

Question 30

environment influences on temperament: goodness of fit

Answer 30

Are neurological differences a cause or an effect of temperament?
– ‘Niche-Picking’
– Choose the experiences that reflect their temperaments
– Parents may also be able to increase or decrease inborn temperamental tendencies
– Goodness-of-fit
– Degree infant’s temperament is adaptable to environment, and vice
versa

Question 31

stability influence on temperament

Answer 31

• Long Term Stability:
  – Temperamental patterns in infancy tend to persist through childhood
  – Considerable consistency in measures of inhibition
  – More consistency after 2 yrs

Question 32

self-concept: subjective self

Answer 32

– Awareness of self as a separate person
– Intermodal perception
– By 8 to 12 months of age

Question 33

self-concept: objective self

Answer 33

– Self is defined by various categories (e.g. gender, shyness)
– Can label themselves by end of 2nd yr

Question 34

self-concept: self-recognition

Answer 34

put a dot on the a child’s nose. when a child looks into the mirror are the able to spot that the dot is on their nose or is on the mirror

Question 35

self-concept: emotional self, social referncing

Answer 35

– Begins when the baby learns to identify changes in emotions in others’ faces, at 2 – 3 months
– Becomes matched to own emotions
– Social referencing
– Near the end of the first year
– Use the caregiver’s emotions to guide their own feelings

Question 36

self-concept: intentions

Answer 36

– Aware that other people have separate intentions
or “internal mental states” (a mind of their own)
– 2 years

Question 37

self-concept: joint attention

Answer 37

– Attend to another person’s intentions and an object at the same time
– Related to later language, intellectual, behavioural, & emotional adjustment

Question 38

effectiveness of nonparental care

Answer 38

-By 2007, 70% of Canadian mothers with preschool children were working, up from 17% in 1967.
-The 2000 Employment Insurance Act extended parental leave, leading to more fathers taking time off and longer breastfeeding periods.
-Today, 54% of children under 5 receive non-parental care.
-High-quality, cognitively enriched daycare benefits cognitive development, particularly for children from low-income families, leading to lasting gains in IQ and school performance.
-However, attachment issues may arise with insensitive parenting and more than 10 hours of care. Low-quality daycare can have negative effects.

Question 39

difficulty of studying nonparental care

Answer 39

-Non-parental daycare is common in Canada, with most children cared for by non-relatives in unregulated settings.
-Licensed daycare centers are the second most prevalent.
-When a mother’s employment preferences align with her childcare decisions, it leads to less depression and more stable care.