Psychology 111 class 7

Social Development

Temperament

Basic emotional style that appears early in development and is largely genetic in origin

• Shows at an early age and is heritable

1956- New York Longitudinal Study

• Designed to explore how temperament influenced adjustment

• Aimed to investigate and identify different types of infant temperament

9 Temperament Traits

1. A child’s level of activity

2. The adaptability to daily routines

3. Their response to new situations

4. Their mood

5. The intensity of their reactions

6. Their sensitivity to what’s going on around them

7. How quickly they adapt to changes

8. How distractible and persistent they are when engaging in an activity

Temperament “types”

• Easy

• Difficult

• Slow to warm up

• Average

Easy (40%)

Of the participants in the study, 40 % of babies were categorized as easy

They had:

• Positive mood

• Regularity in bodily functions

• Easy to adapt to sleeping schedules and try new foods

Difficult (10%)

They had:

• Harder time to adapt to changes

• Difficultly in bodily functions

Slow-to-warm-up (15%) Shy

Babies under this category:

• Took a while to adapt to new stimuli and everything in general

Average (remaining 35%)

These babies had mixtures of temperaments

• Most times it was easy to adapt, other times it was more difficult

Longitudinal profiles later in childhood

They helped make prediction of child’s temperament later in life

Nature vs Nurture?

• Are babies temperament a result of nature or by how they are nurtured

“Goodness-of-fit” model

“Child development outcomes will be optimized when environment is sensitively adapted to child’s temperamental characteristics…”(Thomas & Chess)

• Matching child with teacher with same temperament will benefit child

What is attachment?

The strong emotional connection we share with those to whom we feel closest to

• Infants form attachment to caregiver(s)

Why do infants become attached?

Harlow & Zimmerman

• They wondered if attachment formed because of feeding

Harlos & Zimmerman Study

Research with infant rhesus monkeys (1959)

• Wondered if rhesus monkeys formed attachment to those who fed them or gave them attention

• Monkey placed in a cage with 2 surrogate moms

  • The monkey spent more time with cloth monkey (gave them comfort) rather than the one that was feeding it (wire monkey) even when scared

Results:

• Feeding is not the only basis for attachment

Ethology (Lorenzo)

Imprinting (Ethology)

• Lorenzo study the idea of imprinting by study baby goslings

• He noticed that when they first hatched they would follow the first thing they saw

Relating to humans

• This founding led to a hypothesis that infant babies need early physical contact with their mother to develop a strong bond

Bowlby’s Ethological Theory of Attachment

Is a psychological theory that explains how humans form emotional bonds with their caregivers

He looked at how attachment was formed

• Ethology

• Psychoanalysis

  • Attachment determines actions/relationship later in life

How is infant attachment assessed?

Strange Situation Procedure

• Series of separations and reunions

  • They would separate and reunite moms from their babies to see how they would react when left and when reunited

Strange Situation Procedure

1. Secure

2. Insecure-avoidant

3. Insecure-anxious

4. Disorganized

Strange Situation Procedure (secure)

60% of US infants

• Developed because parents were consistent in helping their baby in their time of need

Strange Situation Procedure (insecure-avoidant & insecure-anxious)

Parents came to help their baby only half the time- they were inconsistent with help time

This developed:

• Insecure-avoidant (15-20% of US infants)

  • When parent comes to help, the baby avoids parent since they know they can’t depend on them

• Insecure-anxious (15-20% of US infants)

  • Babies would go to parent, not avoid them, but still unsure of the situation and would they console themselves rather than look to parent for comfort

Strange Situation Procedure (disorganized)

5-10% of US infants

They were categorized as the confusing group

• When mom came back into the room, “reunion”, they exhibited scared reaction

  • This might be a result of the baby experiencing early trauma such as domestic violence

Influences on Secure Attachment

Quality of Care

• This plays a important role in developing a secure attachment. Their has to be a good quality of care coming from not only the parent but other adults the baby interacts with

  • Caregiver sensitivity

Benefits of secure attachment

Secure attachment may benefit the child because they are able to be more open to other people and interact with them more frequently

• Preschool

• Beyond