Chapter 6
Attachment
emotional tie to a specific person or persons
exists across time and space infants tend to form attachments with primary caregivers
Attachment
Bowlbys early work
Early infancyorientation without discrimination.(2-4 mos)
Orients to any attending adult Little discrimination among caregiving adults
Become distressed when caregiver leaves (bond across time and space)
Ainsworths work
Strange situation (page 193, Table 6.1) Stranger anxietysignals attachment Separation anxietysignals attachment
Secure Attachment
Mother return: infant seeks contact; cling tightly; allows mother to comfort and soothe Majority of infants show secure attachment
Attachment Status
Ainsworths work
Attachment Status
Insecure Avoidant Attachment
No preference for mother (avoids or shows equal preference for mother and stranger)
Mother leaves infants undisturbed;
Ainsworths work
Attachment Status
Insecure Resistant\ Ambivalent Attachment
Exaggerated stranger and separation anxiety Exaggerated need to maintain proximal contact with mother Some resistant to mothers attempts to soothe Some passive with mothers attempts to console Some variable in response (cycles of calm and anger) Variable in status
Ainsworths work
Attachment Status Parental quality and attachment (sensitive responsiveness)
Secure Attachment
Timely response Appropriate response
Ainsworths work
Insecure Attachments
tense
irritable unresponsive; little interest
mechanical handling
scheduled vs. demand feeding
Fussy or difficult infants associated with higher levels of irritability-- tend to develop insecure attachments with mothers who have low levels of social support
Model tends to be bidirectional with infant characteristics interacting with caregiver characteristics to yield the attachment status
Uninsured
Family conflict Low maternal mental health Unsafe neighborhood
Eriksons first psychosocial stage: Trust vs. Mistrust caregivers who establish a sensitive responsiveness
are likely to develop a sense of trust
infant comes to learn that differential cries relate to differential outcomes Infant develops a sense of contingency between behaviors and outcomesa sense of agency
Temperament
The reactivity of the infant to the environment
Genetics plays a significant role in temperament Temperament is measured across nine dimensions (Table 6.5, pg 204)
Activity level, rhythmicity, intensity of reaction, etc. Profile based on levels of each dimension
Temperament
Temperament Constellations:
Easy: generally positive; stable rhythm of movement, sleep adapts to new situations, smiles Slow-to-Warm-Up: slow to adapt to new situations; mildly negative response; more intense reactions than Easy babies but less than difficult babies Difficult: intense negative reactions to new situations; slow to adapt; irregular patterns of sleeping and activity overall;
Temperament
Based on an interaction of genetics and interactions with the environment
Balance between temperament and environment determines outcomes
Temperament
Scarr:
Passive: infants environment is frequently based on biological parents so, genetic tendency is reinforced by the environment Parents who accommodate to their infants temperament tend to have more successful outcomes
Emotions
In the first 12 months of life, infants tend to respond differentially and more sensitively to expressed emotions by caregiver
Fear, anger, sadness, interest, joy resulted in differential responses to the visual cliff Infants reference the reactions of caregivers as cues for their own reactions From very early on, infants tend to respond to distress cries from other infants
Emotions
Toddlers:
Sense of self as independent entity leads to:
Sensorimotor Play
Distraction and diversion tend to work best with toddlers Conflicts tend to be based on possession of objects or turns at some desired activity Possession is ownership (similar to dog rules)