Child Development, 3/e by Robert Feldman Chapter 7 Social and Personality Development in Infancy Created by Barbara H. Bratsch

What sort of emotional lives do infants have? What sort of mental lives do infants have? What is attachment in infancy, and how does it relate to the future social competence of individuals? What roles do other people play in infants’ social development? What sorts of individual differences do infants display? Is day care beneficial or harmful to infants?

Universals in Facial Expressions In every culture, infants show similar facial expressions relating to basic emotions. The degree of emotional expressiveness varies between infants.

Differential emotions theory suggests that emotional expressions not only reflect emotional experiences, but also help regulate emotions themselves

Stranger anxiety is the caution and wariness that infants display when encountering an unfamiliar person Separation anxiety is the distress displayed by infants when a customary care provider departs

Social smile is the response to other individuals Social referencing is the intentional search for information about others’ feelings to help explain the meaning of uncertain circumstances and events Self-awareness is the knowledge that one exists separately from the rest of the world and begins around 12 months old

Theory of Mind – children’s knowledge and beliefs about their mental world Empathy – an emotional response that corresponds to the feelings of another person

Forging Relationships Attachment is the positive emotional bond that develops between a child and particular individual Konrad Lorenz first labeled imprinting as attachment that occurred between him and newborn goslings Harry Harlow’s experiments with monkeys indicated attachment to cloth monkeys vs. wire monkeys bearing food Mary Ainsworth developed the Ainsworth Strange Situation test consisting of a sequence of staged episodes that illustrate the strength of attachment between a child and mother

Patterns of Attachment Secure attachment – children use the mother as home base and become upset when she leaves and seek her instantly when she returns Avoidant attachment – children do not seek proximity to mother, are not distressed when she leaves and do not usually seek her out when she returns Ambivalent attachment – a combination of positive and negative reactions to mother Disorganized-disoriented attachment – inconsistent and often contradictory behavior, such as approaching mother when she returns but not looking at her

Mothers vs. Fathers and Attachment Mothers tend to be more involved in feeding and nurturing and fathers tend to spend more time playing with children

Infant Interactions Mutual regulation model – infants and parents learn to communicate emotional states to one another and respond appropriately Reciprocal socialization – a process in which infants’ behaviors invite further responses from caregivers or other infants, which in turn brings about further responses from the infants

Infant Interactions

enduring characteristics Personality The assortment of enduring characteristics that differentiate one individual from another

Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development – how individuals come to understand themselves and the meaning of others’ behavior and their own Trust vs. Mistrust – infants develop a sense of trust and mistrust, largely depending on how well their needs are met by their caregivers Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt – Toddlers (aged 18 months to 3 years) develop independence and autonomy if they are allowed the freedom to explore or come to feel shame and self-doubt if they are restricted or overprotected

Temperament Patterns of arousal and emotionality that are consistent and enduring characteristics of an individual

Categorizing Temperament Easy babies have a positive disposition. They are curious, have regular bodily functions, are adaptable, and have moderate to high intensity of emotions. About 40% of babies are easy babies. Difficult babies have more negative moods, slower to adapt, tend to withdraw in new situations and make up about 10% of all infants. Slow-to-warm babies are inactive and calm in their environment. They generally are negative and withdraw in new situations. Approximately 15% of infants are slow-to warm. 35% of infants are a combination

Goodness of Fit development is dependent upon the degree of match between children’s temperament and the nature and demands of the environment in which they are being raised.

Gender – the sense of being male or female Male infants tend to be fussier and more active than females Female infants tend to sleep less disturbed than males

Infant child care