Unit 9- Infant and Child Development

Question 1

Who is Erik Erikson

Answer 1

Erik Erikson (1902-1994) a German born psychoanalysis was part of Freud’s inner circle in Vienna until he fled the threat of Nazism to the United States in 1933. His broad personal and professional experience led him to modify and extend Freudian theory by emphasising the influence of society on personality development.
Fashioning after Freud’s psychosexual theory, he developed his own theory of development-psychosocial theory. Within his psychosocial theory of development Erikson establish six basic concepts which he used as a guide in his theory.

Question 2

What is Psychosocial development?

Answer 2

Erik Erikson (1963), stated that human life as an individual experiences it, is produced by the interaction and modification of the three systems which are the Biological, Psychological and Social system

Question 3

Biological system

Answer 3

Genetics, Skeletal System, Motor Function, Functionality of Nervous System, Digestion, Waste Elimination, Circulatory System, Sexual Reproduction, Endocrine System, Function of Sensory Systems (Visual, Olfactory, Tactile, Auditory, Gustatory), Environmental Toxins, Environmental Resources (Nutrition & Sunlight), Accidents & Diseases

Question 4

Psychological system

Answer 4

Perception, Learning, Memory, Judgement, Reasoning, Problem Solving, Language Skills, Symbolic Abilities, Self Awareness

Question 5

Social system

Answer 5

Interpersonal Relationships, Social Roles, Rituals Cultural Beliefs, Social Expectations, Communication Patterns, Political & Religious Ideologies, Patterns of Intolerance and Discrimination, Historical Events, Economic Circumstances (Prosperity, Poverty, War or Peace), Age-Graded Expectations.

Question 6

Five stages in Attachment

Answer 6

1. Birth to 3 months - Infant uses sucking, rooting, grasping, smiling, gazing, cuddling, crying, and visual tracking to maintain closeness with caregivers.
2. 3 to 6 months - An infant is more responsive to familiar figures than to strangers.
3. 6 to 9 months - An infant seeks physical proximity and contact with objects of attachment.
4. 9 t o 12 months- Infant forms internal mental representation of object of attachment, including expectations about the caregiver’s typical responses to signals of distress. (concept of object permanence)
5. 12 months+- Child uses a variety of behaviours to influence the behaviour of the object of attachment in ways that will satisfy needs for safety and closeness.

Question 7

Four general factors come into play in producing the kind of sensitivity that underlies secure attachment:

Answer 7

• Cultural and sub-cultural differences
• The caregiver’s personal life story
• Contemporary factors and
• Characteristics of the infant.

Question 8

Six Phases in the development of sensorimotor causality

Answer 8

Phase -Approximate-Age-Characteristic Example
Reflexes -From birth- Reflexive responses to specific stimuli- Grasp reflexes
First habits -From 2 weeks -Use of reflexive responses to explore new stimuli- Grasp rattle
Circular reactions -From 4th month -Use of familiar actions to achieve new goals-Grasp rattle and make banging noise on table
Coordination of means and ends.- From 8th month- Deliberate use of actions to achieve new goals -Grasp rattle and shake to play with dog
Experimentation with new means-From 11th month- Modifications of actions to reach goals Use rattle to bang a drum
Insight- From 18th months-Mental recombination of means and ends- Use rattle and string to make a new toy