Module 48: Infant Social Development

What did the Harlow discover in 1971 about attachment? What was surprising about their discovery?

He discovered infants feel attachment toward their caregiver. It shows the attachment is "love".

What role do parents play in attachment?

attachment is seen with to primary care giver (the parent)

stranger anxiety

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age

critical period

the limited time shortly after birth during which an organism must be exposed to certain experiences or influences if it is to develop properly

imprinting

the process by which certain animals form strong attachments during an early-life critical period

FRQ Name and describe the three types of infant temperaments.

(1 point) Easy: These babies are easygoing, cheerful, predictable, and placid. (1 point) Difficult: These babies are emotionally reactive, intense, irritable, and unpredictable. (1 point) Slow to warm up: These babies resist and withdraw from new people or situations.

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 not simply because parents gratify biological needs but, more important, because they are comfortable, familiar, and responsive. • Ducks and other animals have a more rigid attachment process, called imprinting, that occurs during a critical period.

48.1

How have psychologists studied attachment differences, and what have they learned about the effects of temperament and parenting? • Attachment has been studied in strange situation experiments, which show that some children are securely attached and others are insecurely attached. • Sensitive, responsive parents tend to have securely attached children. • 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. • Yet it's become clear that temperament—our characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity—also plays a huge role in how our attachment patterns form.

48.2

Does childhood neglect, abuse, or family disruption affect children's attachments? • Children are very resilient, but those who are moved repeatedly, severely neglected by their parents, or otherwise prevented from forming attachments by an early age may be at risk for attachment problems.

48.3

How does day care affect children? • Quality day care, with responsive adults interacting with children in a safe and stimulating environment, does not appear to harm children's thinking and language skills. • Some studies have linked extensive time in day care with increased aggressiveness and defiance, but other factors— the child's temperament, the parents' sensitivity, and the family's economic and educational levels and culture— also matter.

48.4

How do children's self-concepts develop? Self-concept, an understanding and evaluation of who we are, emerges gradually. • At 15 to 18 months, children recognize themselves in a mirror. • By school age, they can describe many of their own traits, and by ages 8 to 10 their self-image is stable.

48.5

What are three parenting styles, and how do children's traits relate to them? • Parenting styles—authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative—reflect varying degrees of control. • Children with high self-esteem tend to have authoritative parents and to be self-reliant and socially competent, but the direction of cause and effect in this relationship is not clear.

48.6

Name and describe Diana Baumrind's three parenting styles (3 points)

Authoritative parenting involves rules, responsibilities, and responsive. Authoritarian parenting involves rules, responsibilities, but are inflexible. Permissive parenting does not enforce rules nor set boundaries, but are responsive.

What role does genetics seem to have on our attachment?

Babies with only long alleles on a gene responsible for serotonin transport are more likely to develop severe attachment

Explain the results of Lorenz's studies in imprinting. Do humans imprint? If not, what do we do?

Once imprinting occurs, it cannot be reversed. Humans can imprint filial (to child), sexual, and limbically.

What has the research shown about the pros and cons of daycare?

Pros: structure, educated staff, social opportunities Cons: often sick, expensive, inconvenient - high quality day care: don't disrupt children attachment to parent - poor day care: boring and unresponsive to child's needs

Which of the following identifies the parenting style most likely to ground a teen who had missed a curfew—and to explain the rationale for doing so, after considering the teen's reasons? a. Authoritative b. Authoritarian c. Permissive d. Secure attachment e. Insecure attachment

a. Authoritative

Describe Erikson's theory of attachment. Be sure to include "basic trust"

all children with a secure attachment to their parents exhibit a sense of "basic trust" in life

self-concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"

attachment

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

In the attachment studies conducted with infant monkeys, what did the Harlows find? a. Nutrition was the most important factor in attachment. b. Contact comfort was the most important factor in attachment. c. The surrogate mother's appearance was the most important attachment factor. d. Monkeys were equally likely to become attached to either surrogate mother. e. The monkeys didn't form attachments to the surrogate mothers.

b. Contact comfort was the most important factor in attachment.

What do we call an optimal window of opportunity for proper development? a. Attachment b. The critical period c. The social period d. Imprinting e. Mere exposure

b. The critical period

An 18-month-old typically recognizes herself in a mirror. This self-awareness contributes to a. self-assurance. b. self-concept. c. self-esteem. d. self-actualization. e. self-determination.

b. self-concept.

Which of the following would be considered a sign of secure attachment in a 1-year-old? a. Showing no sign of stranger anxiety, whether the parent is present or not b. Paying no attention to a parent who returns after a brief separation c. Showing anger at the parent after a brief separation d. Becoming distressed when the parent leaves and seeking contact on return e. Not reacting to a parent leaving or returning after a brief separation

d. Becoming distressed when the parent leaves and seeking contact on return

Who identified secure and insecure attachment? a. Sigmund Freud b. Konrad Lorenz c. Jean Piaget d. Mary Ainsworth e. Jerome Kagan

d. Mary Ainsworth

At what age does our separation anxiety seem to peak? Why?

peaks between 10-18 months because of an imbalance of norepinephrine and serotonin

Discuss the consequences of deprivation of attachment.

poor social skills, coping, tantrums, clingy, withdrawn Children struggle to form healthy attachments to adults, they exhibit lower intelligence scores, their anxiety symptoms skyrocket, these children often bear lifelong scars from childhood neglect.

What is the difference secure attachment and insecure attachment?

secure attachment helps develop self-regulation to stress; insecure attachment tens to overreact to minor stressors