Dev_Psych_2_3

Chapter 2: Infancy : 

Chapter 2: Infancy Module 2.3 Social and Personality Development in Infancy

Looking Ahead : 

Looking Ahead Do infants experience emotions? What sort of mental lives do infants have? What is attachment in infancy and how does it affect a person’s future social competence? What roles do other people play in infants’ social development? What individual differences distinguish one infant from another? How does non-parental child care impact infants? 128

DEVELOPING THE ROOTS OF SOCIABILITY : 

DEVELOPING THE ROOTS OF SOCIABILITY

Basic Familiar Expressions : 

Basic Familiar Expressions Remarkably similar across the most diverse cultures Nonverbal encoding fairly consistent among people of all ages 129

Facial Expression of Emotions : 

Facial Expression of Emotions Important nonverbal communication tool used in everyday social interactions

Match Making! : 

Match Making!

Slide 7: 

Match Making! (cont.)

Who IS that strange person, anyway? : 

Who IS that strange person, anyway? Stranger anxiety Memory developsability to recognize familiar people emergesabililty to anticipate and predict events increasesappearance of unknown person causes fear Common around 6 months Significant difference among infants and situations 130

Separation Anxiety : 

Separation Anxiety

Separation Anxiety : 

Separation Anxiety Distress displayed by infants when a customary care provider departs 131

Separation Anxiety : 

Separation Anxiety Universal across cultures Begins about 7-8 months; peaks around 14 months Largely attributable to same reasons as stranger anxiety 131

A Closer Look…Stranger Anxiety : 

A Closer Look…Stranger Anxiety

Smiling : 

Smiling Earliest smiles: little meaning 6 to 9 weeks: Begin reliable smiling Smile first relatively indiscriminate then selective 18 months: Social smiling more frequent toward humans than nonhuman objects End of 2nd year: Use smiling purposefully Show sensitivity to emotional expressions of others 131

Decoding Others’ Facial and Vocal Expressions : 

Decoding Others’ Facial and Vocal Expressions Imitative abilities early in life may pave way for nonverbal decoding Infants interpret others’ facial and vocal expressions that carry meaning In first 6 to 8 weeks By 4 months 132

If you’re happy and she knows it… : 

If you’re happy and she knows it… Social referencing First occurs around 8-9 months Intentional search for cues Aids in understanding others’ behavior in context 132

Do infants really know who they are? : 

Do infants really know who they are?

Development of Self-Awareness : 

Development of Self-Awareness Roots of self-awareness Begin to grow around 12 months Influenced by cultural upbringing Research Rouge spot Average awareness begins 17 to 24 months Complicated tasks requests Awareness of inabilities around 23-24 months 133

Just Think About That! : 

Just Think About That! Theory of mind Knowledge and beliefs how mind works and influences behavior Child explanations used to explain how others think 133

How does a theory of mind develop? : 

How does a theory of mind develop? See other people as compliant agents Begin to understand causality and intentionality Demonstrate rudiments of empathy Begin to use deception to fool others 133

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply REVIEW Infants appear to express and to experience emotions, and their emotions broaden in range to reflect increasingly complex emotional states. 134

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply REVIEW The ability to decode the nonverbal facial and vocal expressions of others develops early in infants. Infants develop self-awareness, the knowledge that they exist separately from the rest of the world, after about 12 months of age and by the age of 2, children have developed the rudiments of a theory of mind. 134

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply APPLY Why would the sad or flat emotional expressiveness of a depressed parent be hard on an infant? How might it be counteracted? 134

FORMING RELATIONSHIPS : 

FORMING RELATIONSHIPS

Understanding Attachment : 

Understanding Attachment Earliest animal research suggests attachment based on biologically determined factors Lorenz imprinted goslings Harlow contact-seeking monkeys 135

Understanding Attachment : 

Understanding Attachment Earliest human research suggests attachment based on needs for safety and security Bowlby: Attachment provides home base through qualitatively unique relationship with individual who best provides safety As children become more independent, they progressively roam further away from their secure base 135

How Strange! : 

How Strange! Ainsworth Strange Situation Widely used experimental technique to measure attachment Sequence of staged episodes that illustrate strength of attachment between child and (typically) mother 135

Do all infants attach? : 

Do all infants attach? Reactions to Strange Situation vary considerably One-year-olds typically show one of four major patterns (See Table 2-9 for summary) 135

Table 2-9 : 

Table 2-9

And then there were four… : 

And then there were four… Recent expansion of Ainsworth work suggests fourth category: disorganized-disoriented Inconsistent, contradictory, and confused behavior May be least securely attached 136

Does the quality of attachment have significant consequences for later life relationships? : 

Does the quality of attachment have significant consequences for later life relationships? Yes Securely attached 1- year-old males show fewer psychological difficulties at older ages Securely attached infants are more socially and emotionally competent later and more positively viewed Adult romantic relationships are associated with attachment style developed during infancy But Children who do not have a secure attachment style during infancy do not invariably experience difficulties later in life Children with a secure attachment at age 1 do not always have good adjustment later in life 136

What roles do parents play in producing attachment? : 

What roles do parents play in producing attachment? Mothers Sensitivity to their infants’ needs and desires is hallmark of mothers of securely attached infants Aware of moods and feelings Responsive in face-to-face interactions Feeds “on demand” Demonstrates warmth and affection Responds rapidly and positively to cues 136

What roles do parents play in producing attachment? : 

What roles do parents play in producing attachment? Fathers Expressions of nurturance, warmth, affection, support, and concern are extremely important to infant emotional and social well-being 137

Cultural Differences : 

Cultural Differences Differences in ways fathers and mothers play with their children occur in many US families and in very diverse cultures How then does culture affect attachment? 137

Developmental Diversity : 

Developmental Diversity Does attachment differ across cultures? Research findings suggest human attachment is not as culturally universal as Bowlby predicted Certain attachment patterns seem more likely among infants of particular cultures: Germany Israel and Japan China and Canada 137

Which conclusion is “Right”? : 

Which conclusion is “Right”?

Feldman’s Conclusions : 

Feldman’s Conclusions Attachment is viewed as susceptible to cultural norms and expectations Cross-cultural and within-cultural differences reflect nature of measure employed and expectations of various cultures 137

Feldman’s Conclusions : 

Feldman’s Conclusions Attachment should be viewed as a general tendency, that varies in way it is expressed according to how actively caregivers in a society seek to instill independence in their children Secure attachment, as defined by the Western-oriented Strange Situation, is seen earliest in cultures that promote independence, but may be delayed in societies in which independence is less important cultural value 137

Hey Baby, Baby! : 

Hey Baby, Baby! Babies react positively to presence of peers from early in life and engage in rudimentary forms of social interaction Infants’ sociability is expressed in several ways Earliest months of life Nine- to twelve-month-olds 137

“Expert” Infants : 

“Expert” Infants With age, infants begin to imitate each other Impart information and skills from “experts” infant peers May be inborn skill 138

Mirror, mirror, in the brain… : 

Mirror, mirror, in the brain… Mirror neurons Fire not only when an individual enacts particular behavior, but also when individual simply observes another organism carrying out same behavior Help infants understand others’ actions and to develop theory of mind Dysfunction may be related to some developmental disorders 138

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply REVIEW Attachment, the positive emotional bond between an infant and a significant individual, affects a person’s later social competence as an adult. 138

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply REVIEW Infants and the persons with whom they interact engage in reciprocal socialization as they mutually adjust to one another’s interactions. Infants react differently to other children than to inanimate objects, and gradually they engage in increasing amounts of peer social interaction. 138

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply APPLY In what sort of society might an avoidant attachment style be encouraged by cultural attitudes toward child rearing? In such a society, would characterizing the infant’s consistent avoidance of its mother as anger be an accurate interpretation? 138

DIFFERENCES AMONG INFANTS : 

DIFFERENCES AMONG INFANTS

Characteristics That Make Infants Unique : 

Characteristics That Make Infants Unique Personality Sum total of enduring characteristics differentiating one individual from another From birth onward, infants begin to show unique, stable traits and behaviors that ultimately lead to their development as distinct, special individuals 139

What were YOU like? : 

What were YOU like?

Erikson: Psychosocial Development : 

Erikson: Psychosocial Development Early experiences responsible for shaping key aspects of personalities Stage 1: trust versus mistrust Trust = sense of hope and success Mistrust = sense of harsh, unfriendly world Stage 2: autonomy-versus-shame-and-doubt stage Autonomy = sense of independence Shame and doubt = sense of self-doubt and unhappiness 139

Another View: Temperament and Stabilities in Infant Behavior : 

Another View: Temperament and Stabilities in Infant Behavior What is temperament?

How does temperament apply to infants? : 

How does temperament apply to infants? Temperament Refers to how children behave, as opposed to what they do or why they do it Displays as differences in general disposition from birth, largely due initially to genetic factors Tends to be fairly stable well into adolescence Is not fixed and unchangeable and can be modified by childrearing practices 139

Dimensions of Temperament : 

Dimensions of Temperament Activity level Irritability 140

Categorizing Temperament : 

Categorizing Temperament Babies can be described according to one of several temperament profiles: Easy babies Difficult babies Slow-to-warm up babies Inconsistently categorized babies Thomas and Chess, 1980 140

Does temperament matter? : 

Does temperament matter?

True or false? : 

True or false? Behavior exhibited by girls and boys is interpreted in very different ways by adults.

How is this difference manifested? : 

How is this difference manifested? Parent-child play patterns Different styles of activity and interaction from parents Parental gender-based interpretation of child behavior 142

Gender Differences : 

Gender Differences Adults view behavior of children through lens of gender All cultures prescribe gender roles for males and females These roles differ greatly between cultures Considerable amount of disagreement over extent and causes of gender differences Differences between male and female infants, are generally minor 142

Gender Roles : 

Gender Roles Gender differences emerge with age By age 1: Able to distinguish between males and females Girls prefer to play with dolls or stuffed animals, while boys seek out blocks and trucks By age 2: Boys behave more independently and less compliantly than girls May be reinforced by parental choices or by levels hormonal levels 142

And so… : 

And so… Differences in behavior between boys and girls begin in infancy and future continue throughout childhood (and beyond) Although gender differences have complex causes, representing some combination of innate, biologically related factors and environmental factors These differences play profound role in social and emotional development of infants 142

Family Life in 21st Century : 

Family Life in 21st Century Number of single-parent families has increased dramatically in last two decades Average size of families is shrinking Despite overall decline, half million births to teenage women, the vast majority of whom are unmarried Close to 50 percent of children under age of 3 are cared for by other adults while their parents work, and more than half of mothers of infants work outside home One in three US children lives in low income households 142

From Research to Practice : 

From Research to Practice How Does Infant Care Affect Later Development? 143

Good news, bad news! : 

Good news, bad news! Good news: Direct benefits High-quality child care outside home produces only minor differences Good news: Indirect benefits Children in lower income households and those whose mothers are single may benefit Bad news: Infants less secure when in low-quality child care Children who spend long hours lower have ability to work independently Children who spend ten or more hours a week in group child care for a year or more have an increased probability of being disruptive in class 144

How would you... : 

How would you... Advise a new parent about research-based, potential effects of child care on their newborn? Identify a quality child care center in your own town or city?

Becoming an Informed Consumer of Development Choosing the Right Infant Care Provider : 

Becoming an Informed Consumer of Development Choosing the Right Infant Care Provider The American Psychological Association suggests that parents consider these questions in choosing a program: Are there enough providers? Are group sizes manageable? Has the center complied with all governmental regulations, and is it licensed? Do the people providing the care seem to like what they are doing? 144

Becoming an Informed Consumer of Development Choosing the Right Infant Care Provider : 

Becoming an Informed Consumer of Development Choosing the Right Infant Care Provider The American Psychological Association suggests that parents consider these questions in choosing a program: What do the caregivers do during the day? Are the children safe and clean? What training do the providers have in caring for children? Is the environment happy and cheerful? 144

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply REVIEW According to Erikson, during infancy individuals move from the trust-versus-mistrust stage of psychosocial development to the autonomy-versus-shame-and-guilt stage. Temperament encompasses enduring levels of arousal and emotionality that are characteristic of an individual. Gender differences become more pronounced as infants age. 145

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply REVIEW Child care outside of the home can have neutral, positive, or negative effects on the social development of children, depending largely on its quality. 145

Review and Apply : 

Review and Apply APPLY If you were introducing a bill in Congress regarding the minimum licensing requirements for child care centers, what would you emphasize? 145