Kathleen Stassen Berger

Part II Chapter Seven

The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development
Emotional Development Theories About Infant Psychosocial The Development of Social Bonds Conclusions in Theory and
Prepared by Madeleine Lacefield Tattoon, M.A.
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Practices

The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

The interaction of infants emotions and their social context is dynamic This interplay is seen in a tiny baby smile at an engaging face or a toddler flop to the floor, kicking and screaming

Emotional Development in Infancy

Within the first two years, infants progress from reactive pain and pleasure to complex patterns of social awareness. a period of life with high emotional responsiveness

Emotional Development in Infancy

Specific Emotions
infants progress from pleasure and pain
happy and relaxed when fed, then drift off to sleep cry when hurt or hungry, are tired or frightened or have colic

social smiles are evoked by a human face, normally evident about 6 weeks after birth anger is evident at 6 months
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Emotional Development in Infancy

Specific Emotions
fully formed fear in response to some person, thing, or situation emerges at about 9 months
stranger wariness infant no longer smiles at any friendly faces, and cries if an unfamiliar person moves to close, too quickly separation anxiety expressed in tears, dismay, or anger when a familiar caregiver leaves
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Emotional Development in Infancy

Specific Emotions
separation anxiety is normal at age 1 intensifies by age 2, and usually subsides after that 1-year-olds fear not just strangers but also anything unexpected emotions that emerge in the first month strengthen at about age 1
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Emotional Development in Infancy Self Awareness

... emotional growth that has the infant realizing that his or her body, mine, and actions are separate from those of other people
around age 1 an emerging sense of me and mine

self-recognition emerges at about 18 months

pretending and using first person pronouns
I, me, mine, myself, my
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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Psychoanalytic Theory
connects biosocial and psychosocial development emphasizing the need for response maternal care

Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Freud: Oral and Anal Stages

the first year is the oral stage the mouth is the young infants primary source of gratification the second year is the anal stage the infants main pleasure comes from the anus sensual pleasure of bowel movement the pleasure of controlling
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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Erikson: Trust and Autonomy

first psychosocial crisis infants learn basic trust if the world is a secure place where their basic needs (for food, comfort, attention, etc.) are met second stage crisis of psychosocial development toddlers either succeed or fail in gaining a sense of self-rule over their own actions and bodies
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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Behaviorism
emotions and personality are molded as parents reinforce or punish the childs spontaneous behaviors Infants experience social learning learning by observing others
apparent in families from giggling to cursing much like their parents

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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Cognitive Theory holds that thoughts and values determine a persons perspectives
early experiences are important
beliefs, perceptions and memories

infants use early relationships to develop a working model

a set of assumptions that the individual uses to organize perceptions and experiences

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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Epigenetic Theory
holds that every human characteristic is strongly influenced by each persons unique genotype inborn predispositions

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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Temperament
Inborn differences between one person and another in emotions, activity, and self-control. Temperament is epigenetic, originating in genes but affected by child-rearing practices.

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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

The Parents Role

infant temperament often changes with adult guidance interaction between culture influences and inherited traits tend to shape behavior parents need to find a goodness of fit
goodness of fit is a similarity of temperament and values that produces a smooth interaction between an individual and his or her social context, including family, school, and community
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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Sociocultural Theory
human development occurs in a cultural context. sociocultural theorists argue culture: has a substantial influence on infants has a major impact on infant-caregiver relationships, thus the development of the infant

So the is question
How much influence does culture have?
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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Ethnotheories
ethnotheory
a theory that underlies the values and practices of a culture and that becomes apparent through analysis and comparison of those practices, although it is not usually apparent to the people within the culture

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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Proximal and Distal Parenting

proximal parenting
parenting practices that involve close physical contact with the childs entire body, such as cradling and swinging

distal parenting
parenting practices that focus on the intellect more than the body, such as talking with the baby and playing with an object

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The Development of Social Bonds

Synchrony

is a coordinated interaction between caregiver and infant, an exchange in which they respond to each other with split-second timing
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The Development of Social Bonds

Attachment
according to Ainsworth, is an affectional tie that an infant forms with the caregivera tie that binds them together in space and endured over time

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The Development of Social Bonds

Secure and Insecure Attachment

secure attachment
relationships in which an infant obtains both comfort and confidence from the presence of his or her caregiver

insecure-avoidant attachment
a pattern of attachment in which an infant avoids connection with the caregiver, as when the infant seems not to care about the caregivers presence, departure, or return

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The Development of Social Bonds

Secure and Insecure Attachment

insecure-resistant/ambivalent attachment
a pattern of attachment in which anxiety and uncertainty are evident, as when an infant is very upset at separation from the caregiver and both resists and seeks contact on reunion

disorganized attachment
a type of attachment that is marked by an infants inconsistent reactions to the caregivers departure and return
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The Development of Social Bonds

Secure and Insecure Attachment

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The Development of Social Bonds

Measuring Attachment
strange situation
developed by Ainsworth a laboratory procedure for measuring attachment by evoking infants reaction to stress

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The Development of Social Bonds

Measuring Attachment

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The Development of Social Bonds

Insecure Attachment and Social Settings
infants shift in attachment status between one age and another most trouble children may be those who are classified as type D (table 7.4)

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The Development of Social Bonds

Social Referencing
seeking information about how to react to an unfamiliar ambiguous object or event by observing someone elses expressions and reactionsthat other person becomes a social reference

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The Development of Social Bonds

Referencing Mothers
most social referencing occurs with mothers infants heed their mothers wishes, expressed in tone and facial expression

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The Development of Social Bonds

Referencing Fathers
increases in maternal employment have expanded the social references available to infants fathers now spend considerable time with their children

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The Development of Social Bonds

Infant Day Care
more than of all 1-year-olds in the U.S. are in regular scheduled nonmaternal care family day care
child care that occurs in another caregivers home usually the caregiver is paid at a lower rate than in center care, and usually one person shares of several children of various ages center day care child care in a place especially designed for the purpose, where several paid providers care for many children. Usually the children are grouped by age, the day care center is licensed, and providers are trained and certified in child development
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