Unit 6 Flashcards
psychoanalytic and ethological perspectives
- Influential in formulating hypotheses about infant
social & personality development
frueds psychosexual stages: oral
– 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
eriksons psychosocial stages: trust vs mistrust
– 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
bowlby and ainsworth attachment, theory, bond, reactive disorder
– 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
attachment why it is important
- 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
attachment: synchrony
- 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
bowlby 4 phases in establishing attachment: preattachment
Nonfocused orienting & signaling (0–2 mos)
– Uses an innate set of behaviour patterns to signal needs
– Proximity promoting behaviours (Ainsworth)
-attachment doesn’t exist
bowlby 4 phases in establishing attachment: attachment in the making
- 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
bowlby 4 phases in establishing attachment: clear cut attachment
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
bowlby 4 phases in establishing attachment: reciprocal relationship
- Internal model (24 mos & beyond)
– Plays a role in later relationships with early caregivers and in other significant relationships
stranger anxiety
– Discomfort, clinging to the mother, in presence of strangers
separation anxiety
– Discomfort, crying when separated from attachment figure
social referncing
– Infant’s use of others’ facial expressions as a guide to his or her own emotions
Ainsworth quality of attachment: strange situation
- Observer brings mother & baby into experimental room & leaves.
- Mother sits in chair while baby explores.
- Stranger comes in, is silent for a minute, talks to mother for a minute, then approaches baby. Mother leaves.
- Stranger & baby are alone.
- First reunion: Mother returns, greets, & comforts baby. After engaging baby in play, mother says “bye-bye” & leaves.
- Second separation: Baby is alone.
- Stranger enters & is alone with baby.
- Second reunion: Mother enters, greets, & picks up baby. Stranger leaves.
secure attachments: ainworth and characteristics
- More sensitive to infant’s needs
- Infant tends to be less fussy & enjoy physical contact
insecure attachment: ainsworth
- Avoidant attachment
- Ambivalent (Resistant) attachment
- Disorganized/disoriented attachment
stability of attachment classification
– 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)
factors influencing secure attachment
– 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
quality of attachment
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
personality
- Pattern of responding to people & objects in the environment
temperament
- Early-appearing, stable individual differences in reactivity & self-regulation.
- Related to how well children deal with particular environments.
easy child
(40%) quickly establishes routines,
cheerful, & adapts easily
difficult child
(10%) irregular routines, slow to
adapt, & reacts negatively & intensely
slow to warm up child
(15%) inactive, mild reactions, negative mood, & adjusts slowly
insure attachments: avoidant
-does not pay attention to when caregiver returns or leaves
insecure attachment: ambivalent (resistant)
becomes upset when caregiver leaves but unable to calm down when they are back
insecure attachment: disorganized/ disoriented
-a mixture of behaviours
-ex- reaching for caregiver but wont look at them
temperament dimensions
- Activity level: The amount of energy and movement a person shows.
- Approach/positive emotionality: How sociable and enthusiastic someone is in new situations.
- Inhibition/withdrawal: Shyness or hesitation in unfamiliar environments.
- Negative emotionality: The tendency to experience anger, irritability, or distress.
- Effortful control: Ability to focus, regulate impulses, and persist with tasks.
temperament genetical influences
- 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?
environment influences on temperament: goodness of fit
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
stability influence on temperament
- Long Term Stability:
– Temperamental patterns in infancy tend to persist through childhood
– Considerable consistency in measures of inhibition
– More consistency after 2 yrs
self-concept: subjective self
– Awareness of self as a separate person
– Intermodal perception
– By 8 to 12 months of age
self-concept: objective self
– Self is defined by various categories (e.g. gender, shyness)
– Can label themselves by end of 2nd yr
self-concept: self-recognition
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
self-concept: emotional self, social referncing
– 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
self-concept: intentions
– Aware that other people have separate intentions
or “internal mental states” (a mind of their own)
– 2 years
self-concept: joint attention
– Attend to another person’s intentions and an object at the same time
– Related to later language, intellectual, behavioural, & emotional adjustment
effectiveness of nonparental care
-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.
difficulty of studying nonparental care
-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.
