Module 48 Developing Through the Life Span

Permissive

Is a parenting style that is characterized by having few and inconsistent rules and a relaxed attitude to parenting that is more like a friend than a parent

Attachment

An emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation.

Critical Period

An optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development.

How does day care affect children (include the footprint in the brain). Use the example of the Romanian children to support these facts.

When families were abandoned in Romania and given to government run caregivers they were deprived of their healthy attachment with at least one adult. They had lower intelligence scores and double the anxiety symptoms compared to regular children.

Avoidant Attachment

child may avoid parents and not trust them; does not seek much comfort from them; shows no preference between parent and stranger; have difficulty with intimacy and invest little emotion in relationships; insecure

Stranger Anxiety

is a form of fear that children experience when exposed to people unfamiliar to them

Golden hamsters experiment on pg 493, demonstrates what regarding abuse?

If repeatedly threatened and attacked while young, normally placid golden hamsters grow up to be cowards when caged with same-sized hamsters, or bullies when caged with weaker ones. Such animals show changes in the brain chemical serotonin, which calms aggressive impulses.

Insecure Attachment

Marked by either by anxiety or avoidance of trusting relationships. They are less likely to explore their surroundings; they may even cling to their mother. When she leaves, they either cry loudly and remain upset or seem indifferent (no interest) to her departure and return.

Social Deprivation

Refers to the combination of factors that prevent a person from having easy and frequent access to the many different aspects of their culture and society.

Summarize Mary Ainsworth's strange situation experiment/results

She observed mother infant pairs at home during their first six months. Later she observed the 1-year-old infants in a strange situation. Such research has shown that about 60 percent of infants display secure attachment. In their mother's presence they play comfortably, happily exploring in their new environment. When she leaves they become distressed; when she returns, they seek contact with her. Mary Ainsworth concluded that the strange situation could be used to identify the child's type of attachment has been criticized on the grounds that it identifies only the type of attachment to the mother.

Parental Neglect and how affects children's attachment

They feel drawn, frightened and even speechless at times. They are less likely to become attached to their parent

Neglectful

They give little attention or respect to the person

Authoritarian

Is a person who expects other people, especially subordinates, to automatically obey them without question. (Not Negotiable, MUST OBEY)

Describe how children's self concepts developed.

By the end of childhood at about age 12, most children have developed a self-concept; and understanding and assessment of who they are. We can capitalize on what she/he can do, letting her behavior provide clues to the beginnings of her self-awareness.

The Wild Child "Genie"

For 13 years Genie had been living a life of isolation, raised in a bedroom, she was described as a feral child. At 13 she was the size of a 6 year old and has never been able to understand language or sleep. Genie was trapped in a bedroom by her father. With extreme neglect, and how she was a teenager she would never be able to learn language.

Summarize Harry and Margaret Harlow's experiment/results with the monkeys

Harry and Margaret raised monkeys with two artificial mothers, one a bare wire cylinder with a wooden head and an attached feeding bottle, the other a cylinder with no bottle but covered with foam rubber and wrapped with terry cloth. The Harlows' discovered that the infants preferred contact with the comfortable cloth mother, even while feeding from the nourishing mother.

Erik Erikson basic trust stage of development (pg. 492) emphasizes the attachment between the infant and caregiver. Summarize the outcome of the child having developed a healthy attachment and the effects of not developing a healthy attachment to the caregiver.

He theorized that infants blessed with sensitive, loving caregivers form a lifelong attitude of trust rather than fear. Researchers now believe that our early attachments form the foundation for our adult relationships and our comfort with affection and intimacy.

Summarize Konrad Lorenz's experiment/results with his geese (imprinting)

In his experiment, Lorenz divided eggs laid by a greylag goose into two groups. One of the groups was hatched by their mother and immediately began following her around. The second group was hatched in an incubator which were born with Lorenz as their "mother". Even if Lorenz placed the goslings in a box, so that both groups were separated from their mother or himself, they would reliably separate towards their mother or toward Lorenz, depending to what they were first exposed to. Conclusion: Lorenz found that geese follow the first moving object they see, during a 12-17 hour critical period after hatching.

Secure attachment

In their mother's presence they play comfortably, happily exploring their new environment. When she leaves, they become distressed. When she returns they seek contact with her.

Authoritative (Democratic)

Is a parenting style that is child-centered, in that parents closely interact with their children, while maintaining high expectations for behavior and performance, as well as a firm adherence to schedules and discipline. (Negotiable)

A dutch research studied 100 difficult temperament 6-9 month babies (pg. 491) what did we learn from this study? Did the children remain difficult temperament? What did they do?

The Dutch researchers assigned 6-9 month old babies to a experimental group in which mothers received personal training in sensitive responding and another group to a control group which did not have any personal training. At the 12 months of age, 68 percent of the infants in the experimental group were rated 68% securely attached, and the control only at 28% attached. No, all the children did not remain at the same temperament as before, the babies who were in the experimental group started to change temperamentally, the control group had less of a change.

Imprinting

The process by which certain animals form strong attachments during an early-life critical period . (ONLY ANIMALS)