unit 4 psych

Infancy: Social and Emotional Development

Overview

  • Source: Rathus/Rogerson, HDEV, Fifth Canadian Edition
  • Prepared by: Jennifer Potton-Roberts, Mohawk College
  • Publication Info: © 2024 Cengage Learning Canada, Inc.
  • Chapter Focus Areas:
    • Development of attachment in infancy
    • Effects of social deprivation, abuse, and neglect on attachment
    • Impact of child care on development
    • Emotional development of the infant
    • Personality development of the infant including self-concept, temperament, and sex differences

Learning Outcomes

  • Explore the evolution of attachment
  • Analyze the consequences of social deprivation and disorders on attachment
  • Evaluate the influence of child care practices
  • Describe the emotional maturation of infants
  • Understand personality formation in infants

Attachment: Bonds That Endure

  • Attachment Definition:

    • An enduring emotional bond between one animal or person and another (Ainsworth, 1989)
    • Vital for an infant’s survival (Bowlby, 1988)
    • Infants engage in behaviors such as crying, smiling, and clinging to encourage caregiver support.

  • Separation Anxiety:

    • Behaviors exhibited when contact with the caregiver is lost, including thrashing, fussing, crying, and whining.

  • Theoretical Perspectives on Attachment:

    • Psychoanalytic Theory:
    • Attributes attachment to oral gratification.
    • Learning Theories:
    • Suggest attachment results from care received (reinforcement).
    • Cognitive Theory:
    • Describes attachment as an innate biological need to ensure survival.

  • Secure Base Concept:

    • Caregivers provide a safe haven, which infants seek during stress (Thompson et al., 2022).

  • Indigenous Perspectives:

    • Cultural beliefs and practices on attachment may differ, extending relationships to additional caregivers.
    • Cultural Attachment Theory (Muir and Bohr, 2019):
    • Advocates for integrating Indigenous worldviews to prevent colonial narratives of family.

Caregiver as a Source of Contact Comfort

  • Harlow & Harlow (1966) Study:
    • Rhesus monkeys demonstrated a need for contact comfort as fundamental as food needs.

Ethological View of Attachment

  • Inborn Responses:

    • Attachment is an instinctive reaction to specific stimuli.
    • Social smiles emerge around 2-3 months, promoting survival by eliciting affection.

  • Critical Period for Attachment:

    • Imprinting occurs in nonhumans (Lorenz, 1962, 1981).
    • Bowlby (1980) posits a critical period for humans extending potentially months to years.

  • Caregiving Role:

    • Responsiveness from caregivers encourages attachment formation.

Stages of Attachment (Bowlby, 1980)

  1. Initial Pre-Attachment Phase:
    • Birth to about 6 weeks; characterized by indiscriminate attachment.
  2. Attachment-in-the-Making Phase:
    • 6 weeks to 6 months; preference for familiar figures starts to develop.
  3. Clear-Cut Attachment Phase:
    • 6-7 months to 18-24 months; marked by intensified dependence on primary caregiver.
  4. Formation of Reciprocal Relationships:
    • 18 months to 2 years+; awareness of factors predicting caregiver's return emerges.

Internal Working Model

  • Definition:

    • A set of beliefs regarding oneself, others, and interpersonal relationships formed through attachment experiences.

  • Consequences:

    • Inconsistent caregiving leads to feelings of unlovability; consistent caregivers nurture feelings of being lovable and competent.

  • Example:

    • Tronick’s “Still Face Experiment” illustrates effects of parental depression on attachment.

Patterns of Attachment (Ainsworth)

  • Strange-Situation Method:

    • Ainsworth's method involves observing infants in various separation and reunion scenarios with caregivers and strangers.

  • Types of Attachment:

  1. Secure Attachment:
    • Mild protest at departure, seeks interaction upon reunion, readily comforted by parents.
  2. Avoidant Attachment:
    • Least distressed at departure, plays independently, ignores parents at reunion.
  3. Anxious-Ambivalent Attachment:
    • Shows severe distress during separation and ambivalence at reunion, alternating between clinging and pushing away.
  4. Disorganized-Disoriented Attachment:
    • Displays confused behavior, dazed demeanor, contradictory actions (approaching while looking away).
  • Consequences of Attachment Styles:
    • Secure infants show more sociability and cooperation; insecure attachment linked to psychological issues by age 17.

Attachment and Quality of Care

  • Quality of Care Impact on Attachment:
    • Securely attached infants often have more affectionate, cooperative, and predictable caregivers.
    • Infants perceived as difficult are often met with less responsive caregiving.

The Involvement of Fathers

  • Changes in Father Involvement:

    • Fathers play more engaged roles today, particularly in play, than in caregiving routines like feeding and cleaning.

  • Father-Infant Interaction Effects:

    • Affectionate interactions bolstered attachment security.

Adoption and Attachment

  • Secure Attachment in Adopted Children:
    • Children, even adopted later, can still form secure attachments.
    • Lack of consistent caregiving, such as in orphanages, can lead to reactive attachment disorder characterized by disturbed social interactions.

Stability of Attachment and Prototype Hypothesis

  • Prototype Hypothesis:

    • Initial caregiver-child attachments serve as models for future relationships.

  • Persistence of Attachment Patterns:

    • Children retain attachment styles if caregiving conditions remain similar.

Effects of Social Deprivation on Attachment

  • Consequences of Social Isolation:
    • Children lacking social stimulation have difficulty in forming attachments.
    • Studies show that children reared in isolation exhibit severe social withdrawal and interpersonal struggles.

Child Maltreatment

  • Canadian Incidence Study (CIS):

    • Reports on child abuse and neglect; data gathering is difficult due to case secrecy.

  • Statistics on Maltreatment:

    • Reports indicate notable increases in abuse cases over time, including sexual violations and child pornography incidents between 2010 and 2017.

  • COVID-19 Impact:

    • Increased risks for children due to heightened family stresses and access to harmful environments.

  • Consequences of Child Abuse:

    • Impacts involved physical health, emotional difficulties, relational issues, and higher probabilities of delinquency and substance abuse.

Causes of Child Abuse

  • Factors Contributing to Abuse:
    • Include alcohol and drug abuse, socio-economic disparities, caregiver health issues, and lack of adequate support systems.

Treatment and Prevention of Child Abuse

  • Interventions Required:
    • Focus on strengthening parenting skills and providing comprehensive information on child abuse.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

  • Definition:

    • Marked by communication impairments, social interaction difficulties, and repetitive behaviors, evident typically by age three.

  • Prevalence Rates:

    • 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with ASD; it shows a higher prevalence in boys (4 to 5 times more).

  • Characteristics of ASD:

    • Communication issues, avoidance of eye contact, speech delays, and shunning affection.

Causes and Treatment of Autism

  • Risk Factors:

    • Includes low birth weight and advanced maternal age; high concordance rates in identical twins.

  • Neurological Factors:

    • Abnormal brain activity and neurochemical sensitivities linked to autism.

  • Treatment Approaches:

    • Focus on behavioral modification; individual instruction with drugs aimed at serotonin activity for self-injury and anxiety has shown effectiveness.

Child Care and Development

  • Child Care Statistics:

    • 54% of children aged 6 months to 5 years engage in non-parental care; quality of care is paramount for emotional development.

  • Benefits of Child Care:

    • Positive impacts include increased peer orientation, better social skills, and academic performance.

  • Concerns of Poor-Quality Care:

    • In some cases, higher aggression and disruptive behaviors can be observed in children from low-quality childcare environments.

Emotional Development

  • Emotion Definition:

    • A complex state encompassing physiological, situational, and cognitive components; emotions are more apparent by the end of the first year.

  • Basic Emotional States in Infants:

    • Positive attraction to pleasant stimuli and withdrawal from unpleasant stimuli.

  • Stranger Anxiety:

    • Begins at 6-9 months; involves recognition of unfamiliar faces leading to fear reactions, peaking at around 9-12 months.

Social Referencing and Emotional Regulation

  • Social Referencing:

    • Seeking information from caregivers on how to respond to novel situations expressed through facial expressions or tone.

  • Emotional Regulation Strategies:

    • Young children learn to control emotions through caregiver support, influencing later emotional competence.

Self-Concept Development

  • Awareness of Self:

    • Infants demonstrate recognition of self through mirror technique by 18 months, leading to concepts of sharing and cooperation.

  • Self-Conscious Emotions:

    • As children become self-aware, they begin to experience complex emotions (e.g., guilt, pride) associated with social expectations.

Psychoanalytic Views on Self-Concept

  • Separation and Individuation:
    • Mahler (1975) described these key processes in self-concept formation during infancy through toddler years.

Temperament in Infancy

  • Temperament Definition:

    • Stable patterns of emotional reactions and adaptability influenced by biology.

  • Types of Temperament (Thomas and Chess, 1989):

    • Easy: 40% of children; adaptable, regularity.
    • Difficult: 10%; irregular, issues adapting.
    • Slow to Warm Up: 15%; intermediate attributes between the two categories.

Environment and Temperament Development

  • Goodness of Fit Concept:
    • The degree of compatibility between a child’s temperament and parental responses significantly affects long-term outcomes.

Sex Differences in Development

  • Sex vs. Gender:

    • Sex is biologically classified; gender encompasses societal notions of masculinity and femininity.

  • Early Gender Socialization:

    • Distinct differences in preferences and play arise early, affected by adult reinforcement and societal expectations.

  • Influences of Caregiver Interactions:

    • Fathers and mothers exhibit different interaction styles influencing child behavior and attachment.