Child Development: Temperament, Attachment, Self-Concept, Family, and Peer Relationships

Temperament

The innate traits that influence how one thinks, behaves, and reacts to the environment.

Determinants of Temperament

Factors that influence an individual's temperament, including genetics, environment, and parenting.

Measuring Temperament

Methods and tools used to assess an individual's temperament.

Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas

Researchers known for their work on temperament, identifying three groups of children based on temperament traits.

Mary Rothbart

A psychologist who proposed a model of temperament consisting of five different dimensions.

Behavioral Inhibition

A temperament trait characterized by shyness and fearfulness in new situations.

Goodness of Fit

The compatibility between a child's temperament and their environment, particularly parenting styles.

Inhibited Children

Children who display high levels of behavioral inhibition, often showing anxiety in unfamiliar situations.

Development of Psychopathology

The process through which psychological disorders develop, influenced by temperament and environmental factors.

Internalizing Symptoms

Psychological issues that are directed inward, such as anxiety and depression.

Externalizing Symptoms

Behavioral issues that are directed outward, such as aggression and hyperactivity.

Equifinality

The concept that different pathways can lead to the same outcome in development.

Multifinality

The concept that the same initial conditions can lead to different outcomes in development.

Attachment

The emotional bond that develops between a child and their caregiver.

Bucharest Early Intervention Program

A research study focused on the effects of institutionalization on child development and the benefits of foster care.

Caregiver-Child Attachment

The relationship and emotional bond formed between a caregiver and a child.

Misconceptions about Attachment

Common misunderstandings regarding attachment, such as the belief that quantity of time spent together is more important than quality.

Purpose of Bonding with Caregivers

To provide emotional security and a foundation for future relationships.

Harry Harlow's Theory

The theory that attachment is based on comfort and security, demonstrated through his experiments with rhesus monkeys.

Attachment Theory (Bowlby)

A psychological model that describes the dynamics of long-term relationships between humans, particularly between children and caregivers.

Secure Base

The concept in attachment theory that a caregiver provides a safe and secure environment for a child to explore the world.

Imprinting

A rapid learning process that occurs in certain animals, where they form attachments during a critical period.

Internal Working Model

A mental representation of self and others formed through early attachment experiences.

Strange Situation

A standardized procedure developed by Mary Ainsworth to assess attachment styles in children.

Ainsworth Attachment Categories

The classifications of attachment styles identified by Mary Ainsworth: secure, insecure-resistant, insecure-avoidant, and disorganized/disoriented.

Self Concept

An individual's perception of themselves, which begins to emerge in early childhood.

Rouge Test

A test used to assess self-recognition in children, typically emerging around 18 months of age.

Social Comparison

The process of evaluating oneself in relation to others, which influences self-concept.

Personal Fable

A belief held by adolescents that they are unique and that their experiences are not understood by others.

Imaginary Audience

The belief that others are as focused on an individual's behavior as they are themselves, common in adolescence.

Self Esteem

An individual's overall subjective evaluation of their worth.

Factors Influencing Self Esteem

Various elements such as family support, peer relationships, and cultural context that can affect a child's self-esteem.

Baumrind's Parenting Styles

A classification of parenting styles into four categories: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved.

Child Maltreatment

Abuse or neglect of a child, which can have severe consequences on their development.

Types of Maltreatment

Different forms of child maltreatment, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect.

Resilience

The ability to recover from adversity and adapt positively despite challenges.

Peer Relationships

The social connections and interactions that children have with their peers.

Determinants of Friendship

Factors that influence the formation and maintenance of friendships among children.

Effects of Friendship

The positive impacts that friendships can have on a child's emotional and social development.

Measurement of Peer Status

Methods used to assess a child's social standing among peers, often through sociometric techniques.

Role of Parents in Peer Relationships

The influence that parents have on their child's ability to form and maintain friendships.

moral

prosocial

immoral

antisocial

Helpers and hinderers experiment

results suggested that infants’ preference for prosocial characters and sense of right/wrong is evident in first year of life

Piaget’s heteronomous morality

Rules and duties to others regarded as unchangeable due to social and cognitive influence.

Rigid acceptance of authorities’ rules.

Younger than 7 yrs

Piaget’s autonomous morality

Rules based on social interaction

No longer accept blind obedience to authority (moral relativism)

Ages 11-12

Critiques of Piaget’s theory

Theory partially supported by research

Children can understand intentionality at younger ages

Kholberg’s theory of moral reasoning

develops over time through specific stages

Heinz dilemma

Used to assess moral reasoning

Preconventional level

self-centered, focused on getting rewards and avoiding punishment

emphasis on obedience to authorities

Conventional level

centered on social relationships, focused on compliance with social duties and laws

Postconventional level

centered on ideals, focus on moral principles

Very few people reach this stage

Antisocial behavior

disruptive, hostile, or aggressive behavior that violates social norms and harms or takes advantage of others

Physical aggression

kicking, hitting

Relational aggression

gossip, silent treatment

Proactive/instrumental aggression

obtain a goal, typically unemotional

Reactive aggression

response to others, emotionally driven

development of physical aggression

Can start in infancy, normative around 18 mo, increases until 2-3 yrs.

Mostly proactive

As language develops, physical aggression decreases

Development of relational aggression

Can start in preschool, increases in middle school (more importance on peer relations). Declines after adolescence, persists into adulthood

Which gender demographic is generally more aggressive?

Boys tend to engage in higher rates of physical aggression, and aggression overall.

Research is inconsistent regarding whether boys or girls engage in more relational aggression.

What predicts antisocial behavior?

Antisocial traits can be genetic:

Heredity strongest in early childhood and adulthood

Environment strongest in adolescence