Chapter 8: Emotional Development

 Attachment Theory- VideoVideo  John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth  Attachment- the emotional link that binds a person and a child together.  Closeness  Looking  Touching  Smiling  Listening  Talking  Bowlby (Video) Ainsworth Video(Video)Video

 A child becomes securely attached when the mother is available and able to meet the needs of the child in a responsive and appropriate manner.  The child learns that the caregiver will respond to vocalizations and will come to soothe and comfort the child.  The child explores freely in the presence of the mother. When the parent leaves the room the child cries and makes attempts to follow, when parent returns the child is soothed by being held by the parent

 Infants benefit from secure attachment with a caregiver  Attachment figures can be mother, father, other family members, or substitute caregiver  Attachment patterns are related to later personal and interpersonal competencies  Vitally important to normal development  Harlow’s Monkeys- Video 1 and Video 2Video 1 Video 2  Romanian orphanage research  Deficits in social skills  Poor motor development  Rocking behaviors

 Security  Less shy  Less inhibition in relationships  Achievement rates  Improved social relationships  Long term connections to adult relationships

 Attachment to specific people begins by age 6 or 7 months  Multiple attachments can be formed  Consistency of attachment figures is important  Emphasis is placed on the attachment relationship  How parent and child interact and respond to one another

 Have not formed attachment to any particular figure  Make no distinctions between parent and others  Reject the attention of parents and most people  When parents leave the room the children do not cry and there are no attempts to follow them

 These children are so dependent on their parents they won’t let them out of their sight at all  Experience parenting that is  Inconsistent  Insensitive  Rejecting  Needs are not met consistently by the caregiver

 Anxious/ ambivalent  The child is anxious in parental presence and upon reunification may hit or push the mother  A potential reflection of more inconsistent parenting  Needs are met on the mother’s terms  Anxious/ avoidant  The child shows little emotion when the mother is present or gone. Upon reunification the child may run away or not cling to the parent’s embrace  Disengaged mother  Needs are often not met by vocalizations  Disorganized/ disorientated  The child will cry during separation, but will avoid mother when she returns. The child may engage in self rocking or self hitting behavior  One study found that most of the mothers of these children had suffered major losses or other trauma shortly before or after the birth of the infant and had reacted by becoming severely depressed

 The child is set up in a room with their caregiver and some toys to explore.  A stranger walks in the room and ultimately tries to interact with the child  The mother then leaves the room leaving child with stranger  The stranger makes attempts to soothe the child  The mother returns and makes attempts to console the child  Video 1  Video 2  Video

 Video Part 1 Video Part 1  Video Part 2 Video Part 2  Video Part 3 Video Part 3  Video Part 4 Video Part 4  Video Part 5 Video Part 5  Video Part 6 Video Part 6

 Emotion  a response of the whole organism  physiological arousal  blushing  expressive behaviors  breaking things  conscious experience  mental experience of emotion

 Infants’ naturally occurring emotions

 Aggression  Temperament  Autonomy  Separation-Individuation  Self Reference  Self Esteem