Psych Module 11

How do parent-infant attachment bonds form?

At about 8 months, soon after object permanence develops, children separated from their caregivers display stranger anxiety. Infants form attachments with caregivers who gratify biological needs but, more importantly, who are comfortable, familiar, and responsive. Many birds and other animals have a more rigid attachment process, called imprinting, that occurs during a critical period.

How have psychologists studied attachment differences, and what have they learned?

Attachment has been studied in strange situation experiments, which show that some children are securely attached and others are insecurely (anxiously or avoidantly) attached. Infants' differing attachment styles reflect both their individual temperament and the responsiveness of their parents and child-care providers. Adult relationships seem to reflect the attachment styles of early childhood, lending support to Erik Erikson's idea that basic trust is formed in infancy by our experiences with responsive caregivers.

What distinguishes imprinting from attachment?

Attachment is the normal process by which we form emotional ties with important others. Imprinting occurs only in certain animals that have a critical period very early in their developmental during which they must form their attachments, and they do so in an inflexible manner.

What outcomes are associated with each parenting style?

Authoritative parenting is associated with greater self-esteem, self-reliance, self-regulation, and social competence; authoritarian parenting with lower self-esteem, less social skill, and a brain that overreacts to mistakes; permissive parenting with greater aggression and immaturity; and negligent parenting with poor academic and social outcomes. However, correlation does not equal causation (it's possible that children with positive characteristics are more likely to bring out positive parenting methods).

What is autism spectrum disorder?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a disorder marked by social deficiencies and repetitive behaviors, with differing levels of severity. Children with ASD have an impaired theory of mind. By age eight, 1 in 68 U.S. children now gets diagnosed with ASD (though the reported rates vary by place). The increase in diagnoses has been offset by a decrease in the number of children with a "cognitive disability" or "learning disability." Genetic influences, abnormal brain development, and the prenatal environment-especially when altered by infection, drugs, or hormones-likely contribute to ASD.

In a series of experiments, the Harlows found that monkeys raised with artificial mothers tended, when afraid, to cling to their cloth mother, rather than to wire a mother holding the feeding bottle. Why was this finding important?

Before these studies, may psychologists believed that infants simply became attached to those who nourished them.

Label each of the following developmental phenomena (I-VI) with the correct cognitive developmental stage: (a) sensorimotor, (b) preoperational, (c) concrete operational, or (d) formal operational I. Thinking about abstract concepts, such as "freedom." II. Enjoying imaginary play (such as dress-up). III. Understanding that physical properties stay the same even when objects change form. IV. Having the ability to reverse math operations. V. Understanding that something is not gone for good when it disappears from sight, as when Mom "dissapears" behind the shower curtain. VI. Having difficulty taking another's point of view (as when blocking someone's view of the TV).

I. d, II. b, III. c, IV. c, V. a, VI. b.

From the perspectives of Piaget, Vygotsky, and today's researches, how does a child's mind develop?

In his theory of cognitive development, Jean Piaget proposed that children actively construct and modify their understanding of the world through the processes of assimilation and accommodation. They form schemas that help them organize their experiences. Progressing from the simplicity of the sensorimotor stage of the first two years, in which they develop object permanence, children move to more complex ways of thinking. In the preoperational stage (about 2 to about 6 or 7), they develop theory of mind. In preoperational stage, children are egocentric and unable to perform simple logical operations. By about age 7, they enter the concrete operational stage and are able to comprehend the principle of conservation. By age 12, children enter the formal operational stage and can reason systematically. Research supports the sequence Piaget proposed, but it also shows that young children are more capable, and their developmental more continuous, than he believed. Lev Vygotsky's studies of child development focused on the ways a child's mind grows by interacting with the social environment. In his view, parents and caretakers provide temporary scaffolds enabling children to step to higher levels of thinking.

Use Piaget's first three stages of cognitive development to explain why young children are not just miniature adults in the way they think?

Infants in Piaget's sensorimotor stage tend to be focused only on their own perceptions of the world and may, for example, be unaware that objects continue to exist when unseen. A child in the preoperational stage is still egocentric and incapable of appreciating simple logic, such as the reversibility of operations. A preteen in the concrete operational stage is beginning to think logically about concrete events but not about abstract concepts.

The biological growth process called _____________ explains why most children begin walking by about 12 to 15 months.

Maturation.

How does childhood neglect or abuse affect children's attachments?

Most children are resilient, but those who are abused or severely neglected by their caregivers, or otherwise prevented from forming attachments at an early age, may be at risk for attachment problems. Extreme trauma in childhood may alter the brain, affecting our stress responses or leaving epigenetic marks.

Object permanence, pretend play, conservation, and abstract logic are developmental milestones for which of Piaget's stages, respectively?

Object permanence for the sensorimotor stage, pretend play for the preoperational stage, conservation for the concrete operational stage, and abstract logic for the formal operational stage.

The four parenting styles may be described as "too hard, too soft, too uncaring, and just right." Which parenting styles goes with each of these descriptions, and how do children benefit from the "just right" style?

The authoritarian style would be described as too hard, the permissive style too soft, the negligent style too uncaring, and the authoritative style just right. Parents using the authoritative style tend to have children with high self-esteem, self-reliance, self-regulation, and social competence.

During infancy and childhood, how do the brain and motor skills develop?

The brain's nerve cells are sculpted by heredity and experience. As a child's brain develops, neural connections grow more numerous and complex. Experiences then trigger a pruning process, in which unused connections weaken and heavily used ones strengthen. Early childhood is an important period for shaping the brain, but thanks to its plasticity, our brain modifies itself in response to our learning throughout life. In childhood, complex motor skills-sitting, standing, walking-develop in a predictable sequence, though the timing of that sequence is a function of individual maturation and culture. For some skills, we seem to have a critical period. We have few or no conscious memories of events occurring before about age 4. This infantile amnesia occurs in part because major brain areas have not yet matured.

What are the four main parenting styles?

The main parenting styles are authoritarian (coercive), permissive (unrestaining), negligent (uninvolved), and authoritative (confrontive).

What does the theory of mind have to do with autism spectrum disorder?

Theory of mind focuses on our ability to understand our own and others' mental states. Those with autism spectrum disorder struggle with this ability.

Why can't we consciously recall learning to walk?

We consciously recall little from before age 4, in part because major brain areas have not yet matured.

Although Piaget's stage theory continues to inform our understanding of children's thinking, many researchers believe that a. Piaget's stages begin earlier and development is more continuous than he realized. b. children do not progress as rapidly as Piaget predicted. c. few children progress to the concrete operational stage. d. there is no way of testing much of Piaget's theoretical work.

a. Piaget's stages begin earlier and development is more continuous than he realized.

Stroke a newborn's cheek and the infant will root for a nipple. This illustrates a. a reflex. b. nurture. c. a preference. d. continuity.

a. a reflex

Which of the following is true of motor-skill development? a. It is determined solely by genetic factors. b. The sequence, but not the timing, is universal. c. The timing, but not the sequence, is universal. d. It is determined solely by environmental factors.

b. The sequence, but not the timing, is universal.

Between ages 3 and 6, the human brain experiences the greatest growth in the _____________ lobes, which enable rational planning and aid memory.

frontal.

An 8-month-old infant who reacts to a new babysitter by crying and clinging to his father's shoulder is showing ______________ _____________.

stranger anxiety.