Week 18 Flashcards
Models
People who we learn to behave from
Social brain hypothesis
some animals like humans develop brains so large and metabolically demanding to meet cognitive needs of social living
social animals compete for interpersonal attention and resources
evolutionary growth of the brain is to provide an advantage to social creatures over others of their species
Inductive discipline
guiding behaviour introducing appropriate limits and setting up reasonable consequences while also explaining why
Involves highlighting to the child the consequences of their actions on others while disciplining others
Encourages the development of empathy and guilt
Authoritative parents
Highly demanding of their children and highly responsive
Unlikely to physically discipline their children
Likely to explain the reasons they have laid out for them
Set reasonable expectations and are good at communicating them
Focuses on the behaviour of a child rather than the child himself
Authoritarian parents
Highly demanding of their child, inflexible about deviations from expected behaviour
Always negative parents as in ‘nothing is good enough’
Less responsive to children’s needs
Discipline through threats and punishment and more likely to use physical punishment
Permissive parents
Few demands but highly responsive to those demands
Believe children learn best on their own and without structure imposed on them by adults
Doesn’t provide the child with a sense of how to work, try or, survive
Rejecting-neglectful parents
Disengaged from their children
not demanding or responsive
do not set limits for children, do not monitor their activities and may actively discourage them
Children feel ignored, lost and don’t know what to do
Children can develop failure to thrive syndrome where they can die
Goodness of fit
When a parent is able to understand their child and match their parenting style to the child’s need and temperament
It is important to expect things that are well within reach of children
Responsiveness is also important as the type of response helps a child determine right from wrong
Teaching
When the model engages in behaviour that is beneficial to the learner but not to oneself
The behaviour is only engaged in the presence of naive individuals
The learner must gain the skill faster this way than would happen otherwise
Imprinting
Form of rapid learning where the newborn organism forms a rapid and powerful bond
to its mother
The bond is long lasting and is a result of evolution
Why is imprinting advantageous
it is advantageous for mobile species to ensure the younglings remain close to its main source of nourishment and survival
Attachment
A variation of imprinting that humans follow
Infants view their primary caregivers as secure base
What are the four stages to form attachment?
Pre-attachment phase, attachment-in-the-making phase, clear-cut attachment, reciprocal relationship phase
What is the pre-attachment phase?
occurs form birth to 6 weeks
Infant remains close with the caregiver and relies on it
does not display signs of distress when left with someone else who is not their primary caregiver
What is the attachment-in-the-making phase?
From six weeks to six-eight months of age
Infants treat people differently, and show preference to familiar people
Infants become wary and nervous around unfamiliar people and surroundings
During this time, infants form expectations for their parent-child relationship
What is the clear-cut attachment phase?
occurs from six to eight months and ends around 18 months
Seeks comfort from their caregivers
Caregivers become a secure base for the infant
Infants may display separation anxiety and show extreme signs of distress when separated from their caregivers
What is the reciprocal relationship phase?
Infants become more comfortable being away from their caregivers as they become more mobile and competent with their actions
The relationship between the infant and caregiver becomes more reciprocal, relying on all parties to take an active role
What is contact comfort
The comfort that primate babies derive from close physical contact with something soft and warm
The need for comfort overpowers the need for nourishment
What are the four styles of attachment?
secure attachment, disorganized/disoriented attachment, insecure-resistant attachment, and insecure-avoidant attachment
What is secure attachment?
React positively to strangers when a caregiver is present
However becomes unhappy when caregiver leaves
Unlikely to be comforted by the stranger in the caregiver’s absence but becomes calm when the caregiver returns
The infant demonstrates secure base as the infant freely explores while using their caregiver as a base
What is disorganized/disoriented attachment?
infant does not react to the strange situation in a standard way
Behaviour is often contradictory
The infant may scream when the caregiver leave but remains silent when they return, or approach the caregiver without looking at them
They seem to want to approach the caregiver while simultaneously fearing the caregiver’s reactions
What is insecure-resistant attachment?
Infant feels uncomfortable in strange situations
They stay close to the caregiver from the start of the test appearing nervous throughout
Upset when their caregiver leaves but not comforted when he/she returns
Seek contact and comfort upon the caregiver’s return
Does not resume play but stays close to their caregiver and watch him or her
What is insecure-avoidant attachment?
Infants do not have a good relationship with their caregiver
Pays no attention to, or avoid their caregiver during the strange situation
Infant may not be upset while the caregiver is gone but if they are upset, they are easily comforted by the stranger
Unlikely to respond positively to the caregiver’s return and may avoid him or her entirely
What is a factor in the attachment bond?
The infant themselves, such as in the case of temperament
What is temperament?
The individual difference in the way infants respond to the environment, their environment, their emotionality, and their attentional reactivity
Temperament is evident from very early in infancy and may remain somewhat stable across development
How is temperament defined?
Through nine different traits: Activity level Rhythmicity Approach/Withdrawal Threshold of Responsiveness Intensity of reaction Attention span Distractibility Adaptability Quality of Mood
What is activity level?
Amount of movement made by the infants
What is rhythmicity?
Predicatability of the infant’s biological rhythms, such as sleep patterns or eating
What is approach/withdrawal?
How the infant responds to unfamiliar stimuli
What is threshold of responsiveness?
Intensity required from a stimulus to get a response from the infant
What is intensity of reaction?
Level at which the infant will respond to these stimuli
What is attention span?
Relative amount of time spent on an activity once it has begun
What is distractibility?
How much a new stimulus interrupts or alters the infant’s behaviours
What is adaptability?
How easily the infant adapts to changes in situation
What is quality of mood?
Relative amounts of happy or unhappy behaviour the infant exhibits
What are the three types of temperament?
The easy baby, the difficult baby, the slow-to-warm-up baby
What is the easy baby?
playful, exhibits regular biological rhythms, calm and adaptable
What is the difficult baby?
Infants who are irregular in their biological rhythms, slow to adjust to new circumstances, and can react with intense negativity to novel stimuli
What is the slow-to-warm-up baby?
Low activity level and can seem difficult at first, but eventually warms to people and situations after initially reacting to them mildly
Do all babies fit int the temperament categories?
No
How can temperament influence attachment?
It is harder to maintain a warm responsive parenting approach with a difficult baby
Parents can become frustrated when their babies are associated with being difficult
Internal working model
A representation based on the child’s experiences with their caregivers and used to make sense of the other relationships the child will participate in throughout life
Specifies whether the infant will expect others to treat him or her sensitively and lovingly
Also specifies whether the individual feels himself or herself to be worthy of love and acceptance
When do most infants form their gender identity?
Between the age of two to three, they also understand gender roles and have a belief in gender stereotypes
Children are also able to ascribe traits to each sex and will ascribe more positive traits to their own sex
Gender identity
One’s sense of being male or female; consists primarily of the acceptance of membership in a particular group of people: males or females
Gender roles
Culturally specific expectations as to the type of activities each gender should engage in, and the way people of that gender should think
Gender stereotypes
Beliefs about differences in personality traits, skills, cognitions, and behaviours of males and females
What are the roles of parents in gender roles?
Gender roles are placed on by a child’s parents
Parents often give their infants gender-appropriate toys
Parents also provide positive and negative responses to gender-appropriate and inappropriate behaviour
Children are treated differently in ways
What is cognitive sexual dimorphism?
Cognitive differences between males and females that are biological
For example: females are able to outperform males on verbal tests while males perform better on visuospatial tasks
What is behavioural sexual dimorphism?
Males and females produce different hormones that can affect behaviour and cognition
For example, injections of androgens were associated with increased aggression, sexual arousal, and spatial ability and a decrease in verbal ability
How are friendships between males and females different?
Friendships between females tend to be more intimate
Girls prefer to interact in pairs whereas boys prefer large groups
What are emotions?
Relatively brief displays of feelings made in response to environmental events having motivational significance, or in response to memories of such events
What role does emotion play in social development?
Plays a crucial role in social development and serves as an important mean of communicating
What kind of responses do emotions include?
Cognitive and physiological responses such as heart rate, perspiration, and how we interpret and appraise certain situations or stimuli
Emotions involve our drives and involves our behavioural component
What are feelings affected by?
Emotional cues from others
What are the two theories on how human emotions develop?
Discrete emotions theory and functional emotions theory
Discrete emotions theory
argues that emotions are innate and accompanied by distinct bodily and facial signals
Strong basis in evolutionary theory
Emotions are a product of our evolutionary history that aids us in survival from birth
According to the discrete emotions theory, how many basic emotions are present at birth?
four to ten
According to the discrete emotions theory, what are the criterion for a basic emotion
Universal within our species
They must facilitate a functional response to a specific, prototypical life event
They must be evident early in life
There should be an innate way of expressing the basic emotion
Each basic emotion has its own physiological basis
Functional emotions theory
Argues the purpose of emotion is to motivate interaction with the environment in order to accomplish goals
I.e.) Child may evoke emotional response when they lose a toy to get a replacement
According to functional emotions theory, are emotions innate?
No, they are flexible and influenced by factors and assembled in the moment
How do emotions develop in situations?
Whatever emotions work in a given situation is what develops because it was needed in that moment
Emotional control
emotional self-regulation
the ability to initiate, suppress, or modulate the components of emotion
it develops slowly and as a result of experience
the ability to regulate emotion develops from birth and onwards
Effortful control
The ability to perform an action other than the initially desired action
the ability to inhibit an automatic response and substitute a planned or intentional response instead
When is effortful control important?
in emotional regulation
What role does play play in development?
It helps children develop cognitive, physical, and social development
Why is play important?
It helps children learn to function effectively in groups, share, socialize, and to resolve conflicts with others
Children often pretend to fill adult roles when playing with others which allows them to practice adult behaviours, to behave flexibly in response to others, and refine their own behavioural strategies
Why is play considered evolutionarily important?
It helps with survival, and allows species time to practice and master skills that promote survival and reproductive success
When does peer interaction start to emerge?
around six months, where infants increase their vocalizations, smile, and touch others of the same age
When do infants start to develop friendships?
between 12 to 18 months
Friendship
A relationship between two people that is affirmed by each person, is based on mutual affection, and is voluntary rather than based on necessity
What kind of play do children have before the age of 4?
solitary play, or in parallel to their peers
what is homophily?
The tendency for children to choose friends based on factors that they tend to associate themselves with those similar to them
What qualities are important for friendship?
common ground activity, clear communication, exchange of information, ability to become a friend, and reciprocity in interactions
What is common ground activity?
children find activities they both do and enjoy
Why is clear communication important?
Children enjoy other children who listen to them and speak in a meaningful way about whatever activities they are engaged in
What is exchange of information?
Children exchanging information about themselves with others is also predictive of friendship, more so as children age
What is ability to become a friend?
Children who become friends are able to resolve the conflicts they have with one another quickly
What is reciprocity in interactions?
If one child does something positive, the other responds appropriately
Why are friends good for you?
Children without friends are more prone to experiencing loneliness and depression than children who have at least one friend
A friend also seems to protect from victimization by others
A strong supportive friendship can prevent children from experiencing the negative effects on self-perception that normally accompany problems with parents
Trust in friends is a strong predictor of adolescent self-esteem
Peer relationships are the most important socializing factor in our development
What kind of experience can a daycare provide?
positive or negative, when home and daycare experiences are poor, it can be challenging for development
Transgender
when one’s gender identity does not match with one’s assigned sex
Does not necessarily relate to sexual orientation
Transvesetites
Cross-dressers and are usually heterosexual
Psychology research
Evidence-based programs in school that have a role in police development
Bullying
A dynamic and social process
Bidirectional influence of aggressive children and their parents in the development of aggressive behaviour
What influences bullying?
An audience
What are the steps to emotional control?
at birth infants can turn their heads from aversive stimuli to calm themselves but would need help otherwise to regulate their emotions
by six months, they can gain the ability to soothe themselves when they wake from sleep, perhaps by rocking or sucking rather than crying for attention
by 12 months, only 50-70% of infants are capable of soothing themselves back to sleep
children learn to recognize emotion and reactions and begin to understand the social rules that govern the expression of emotion
