Developmental Test: Chapter 9

Temperament: Quality of Mood

* Amount of friendly and pleasant behavior *High-Characteristically outgoing, friendly, takes pleasure in activities *Low- Characteristically unfriendly, expresses displeasure or dislike of many activities

Course of Attachment- how does attachment develop?

* Differentiation of self from environment, and people from objects *Recognition of and preference for stimulus attributes of mother (voice, smell, face) *concept of people permanence (object permanence) *specific expectations toward the mother *mother singled out as attachment figure *stranger/separation anxiety *social referencing *importance of walking/talking *Adoption and attachment

Psychodynamic Theory of Attachment:

* Freud *Infants invest psychic energy in the mother because she provides oral gratification *Return to the womb craving

What is Ainsworth's Strange Situation?

* consists of a sequence of staged episodes that illustrate the strength of attachment between a child and typically his or her mother.

Temperament: Persistence and Attention Span

*Ability to maintain an activity despite obstacles *High- Continues activity over time or until finished (a distractable but persistent child may be distracted but will return to activity later) *Low- gives up readily, short attention span

Dimensions of Temperament:

*Activity Level *Rythmicity *Adapatability *Approach-Withdrawal *Intensity of reaction *Threshold of Responsiveness *Quality of Mood *Distractibility *Persistence and Attention Span

Temperament: Distractibility

*Ease with which child can be interrupted or distracted from ongoing activity *High- Does not concentrate well, other events disrupt activity *Low- Can concentrate on ongoing activity despite interruptions or other activities.

Temperament: Intensity of Reaction

*How much energy a child puts into responding *High- reacts intensely- laughs and cries long and hard, resists with vigor *Low- reacts mildly, smiles rather than laughs, cries softly, passive resistance

Temperament: Threshold of responsiveness

*How strong external stimulation must be before a child responds *High-Does not smile, cry, or get frightened easily *Low- smiles readily, cries over minor events, is frightened easily

Biological Theory of Attachment

*LORENZ *Imprinting in Animals *An adaptive instinct that is triggered by the presence of sign stimuli during a critical period occurring just after birth; it has long term consequences *KLAUS AND KENNEL *Bonding- is the basis of future relationships *An instinctive attachment ellicited by the mother's voice, touch, and face during a sensitive period occurring just after birth

Imitation in infants

*Mirror neurons, fire when an individual enacts a behavior and observes the same behavior *activation of inferior frontal gyrus *theory of mind- understanding and beliefs on how mind operates

Behavioral Theory of attachment

*Operant conditioning- because the mother is often present when primary reinforcement occurs, she becomes a secondary reinforcer. Then she is wanted not for what she provides, but for her own sake *Classical conditioning- any salient stimulus that is constantly present in the infant's environment becomes a cue for ongoing behavior -removing this cue disrupts the infants behavior, infants become upset ^this is the theory that explains why children get attached to objects like blankets

Temperament: Rhythmicity

*Regularity of biological functions such as eating, sleeping, elimination, active periods *High- regular and predictable (has consistent feeding schedule) *Low- irregular and unpredictable (has varying sleep and waking schedule)

Temperament Types

*Slow to warm up- 15% *Easy- 40% *Difficult- 10% *Other- 35% *outcome based on goodness of fit between childs temperament and family environment

Temperament: Activity Level

*amount of motor activity *High activity- always on the go (wriggles while diaper is changed) *Low activity- doesnt move much (lies still during changing)

Infant Sociability

*babies react positively to the presence of peers *Infants socialize with familiar peers, sociabliity rises with age, can play peek-a-boo or chase *At 14 months, they begin to imitate each other

Development of the theory of mind:

*brain matures and myelination within the frontal lobes becomes more pronounced, children develop more emotional capacity involving self awareness *hormonal changes *HOWEVER- false beliefs

Temperament: Approach-Withdrawal

*characteristic response to a new situation *High- approaches new situation (accepts novel foods) *Low- hangs back or refuses to enter new situation (cries when a stranger comes near)

Cognitive Theory of attachment

*competence motivation *infants competence in communication is best expressed in their interactions with their mothers- they know how to dance *Other people are confusing and so infants grow wary of strangers

Middle Childhood- emotional control & Empathy

*coping with emotional highs and lows *hiding their emotions from others *children develop empathy

ambivalent attachment pattern

*display a combination of positive and negative reactions to their mothers *initially, ambivalent infants are in such close contact with their moms that they dont explore their environment. *anxious before mother leaves, distressed when she does leave *when she comes back they seek to be close to her but hit and kick in anger *10-15% of one year olds fall into this category *Inconsistent mothers

avoidant attachment pattern

*dont seek proximity with caregiver, dont maintain contact *dont seem distressed when mother leaves, they avoid her when she returns *20% of one year old children are in this category *rejecting, depressed, or unavailable mothers

Temperament: Adaptability

*ease with which child can change behavior to fit new situations *High-Readily adapts to change in schedule *Low- actively resists change in routine over continuing periods of time

infant emotions

*humans have an innate universal set of emotional expressions (joy, surprise, fear, sadness,distress, interest, disgust) *infants display same type of emotion, but in different degrees (chinese infants are less expressive)

disorganized-disoriented attachment pattern

*inconsistent, contradictory, confused behavior *may run to the mother when she returns, but not look at her, or seem initially calm and then break into angry weeping *may be the least securely attached children of all *5-10% of children *Abusive mothers

Day care and aggression-

*more time in daycare is associated with aggression, conflict with adults, and defiance EVEN WHEN quality of daycare is stable and maternal sensitivity are taken into account

Emotional Development- Adolescence

*most emotionally volatile period in the entire lifespan *

Mothers and Secure Attachment

*sensitivity to infants needs and desires *aware of childs moods, takes into account her childs feelings as they interact. *Responsive during face-to-face interactions, provides feeding "on demand", and is warm and affectionate *provides APPROPRIATE level of response *interactional synchrony- emotional states are matched *mothers spend more time caregiving *mothers play by talking or reading

Day care and Attachment-

*studies show either that day care before 12 months alone OR that early day care combined with less sensitive mothering can disrupt the development of a secure attachment relationship -disruption is worse with poor quality daycare and more time spent in daycare

secure attachment pattern

*use mother as home base, seem at ease in strange situation as long as mothers are present *explore independently, returning to her occasionally -most children fall into this category *seek proximity with caregiver, maintain contact if upset *Contingent responsiveness *parents who are well-educated, financially secure, and married

Attachment: Positive and Negative consequences

- boys who are securely attached at age 1 show fewer psychological difficulties later on than avoidant/ambivalent children -children who are securely attached as infants tend to be more socially and emotionally competent, and others view them more positively -adult romantic relationships are associated with the kind of attachment style developed during infancy

types of daycare

- other -childs home -day care or preschool -non relatives home -relatives home

Reactive Attachment Disorder

-a psychological problem characterized by extreme problems in forming attachments to others. Can be displayed in feeding difficulties, unresponsiveness to social overtures from others, and general failure to thrive -result of abuse or neglect

What are the Stages of Ainsworth's Strange Situation?

1) the mother and baby enter unfamiliar room 2)the mother sits down, leaving the baby free to explore 3)an adult stranger enters the room and converses first with mother and then baby 4)mother exits room, leaving baby alone with stranger 5) mother returns, greeting and comforting the baby, and the stranger leaves 6)mother departs again, leaving baby alone 7)stranger returns 8)mother returns and stranger leaves Reactions vary, based on attachment relationship

Reciprocal Relationships: Bowlby

18 months and older *act as true partners in the attachment relationship *can cope with separations better because they know caregiver will return

Bowlby's long term separations

3 stages: - protest -despair with "affect hunger" (hunger for maternal love) -Detachment

True Attachment: bowlby

6-8 months to 18 months -primary caregiver singled out as attachment figure (baby's stable emotional base) -mental representation of the caregiver as trustworthy, will be there to meet infants needs

Attachment in the making: bowlby

6-8 weeks to 6-8 months -babies behave differently in presence of primary caregiver

competence motivation

A theory of achievement motivation based on a person's feelings of personal competence. According to the theory competence motivation increases when a person successfully masters a task. This encourages the person to master more tasks.

When do stranger anxiety and separation anxiety develop?

At the end of the first year?

social smile

a babys response to another person rather than to nonhuman stimuli

slow to warm babies

babies who are inactive, showing relatively calm reactions to their environment, their moods are generally negative, and they withdraw from new situations adapting slowly. (15% of babies fall into this category)

easy babies

babies who have a positive disposition; their body functions operate regularly, and they are adaptable (40 % of babies fall into this category)

difficult babies

babies who have negative moods and are slow to adapt to new situations; when confronted with a new situation, they tend to withdraw. (10% of babies fall into this category)

Secure attachment at 1 year is related to what at 5 or 6 years?

better social skills, higher quality friendships, fewer behavior problems, less aggression, higher self esteem, empathy, mature & complex play, longer attention span

pre attachment: bowlby

birth to 6-8 weeks *innate behaviors that illicit caregiving behavior

what brings on stranger anxiety?

brain development and the increased cognitive abilities of infants play a role. As infants memory develops, they are able to distinguish between people they know and people they dont. Also, when infants begin trying to make sense of the world, they try to anticipate events and when something happens that they dont expect- they experience fear

What is attachment characterized by?

clinging, following, reaching, eye contact, vocalizing, smiling, and separation protest

Indiscriminate attachment

decreases throughout infancy, the child doesnt descriminate in who he or she attaches to

What is temperament outcome based on?

goodness of fit between childs temperament and family environment

Fathers and Secure Attachment

infants can form primary caregiving relationship with father *expressions of nurturance, warmth, etc are important to child development *substance abuse and depression are linked to fathers behavior *Fathers prefer physical play,

According to bowlby, what is attachment primarily based on?

infants need for safety and security, as they develop, infants come to learn that their safety is best provided by a particular individual--> they form a bond with this individual (mother, this relationship is different than bonds with father or other person).

nonverbal encoding

nonverbal expression of emotion

Temperament

patterns of arousal that are consistent and enduring, biologically based

Bowlby's Stages of Attachment-

pre-attachment attachment in the making true attachment Reciprocal relationships

stranger anxiety

the caution and wariness displayed by infants when encountering an unfamiliar person

separation anxiety

the distress displayed by infants when a customary care provider departs

social referencing

the intentional search for information about others' feelings to help make sense of uncertain circumstances and events *occurs around 8 months or 9 months

goodness of fit

the notion that development is dependent on the degree of match between children's temperament and the nature and demands of the environment in which they are being raised.

attachment

the positive emotional bond that develops between a child and a particular individual