1. Infancy
Emotional & Social
Development

2. Emotional Development
Basic emotions are universal, suggesting evolutionarily adaptive
Emotions develop in a sequence:
Happiness (6-10 wks) promotes bonding (social smiling)
Anger (4-6 mo) allow infant to assert themselves
Fear (6-8 mo) keeps infants safe (stranger anxiety)
Social referencing (7-10 mo) fosters learning
But, do some infants have specific patterns of emotion?

3. Temperament
Stable individual differences in quality & intensity of emotional reactions, activity, & attention
Thomas & Chess( 1956)
Participants: 141 infants followed from early infancy to adulthood
Method: parents rated child on 9 dimensions
Type %
35% were not categorized!
Easy
40%
Difficult
10%
Slow-to-warm up
15%

4. Is it genetic or influenced by environment?
Is temperament stable?
Low to moderate stability
More stable after 2yrs
Is it genetic or influenced by environment?
Twin studies, cultural & gender differences provide strong support for genetics
Environment matters too: Goodness-of-fit Model
Parent’s
Genes
Infant’s
Environment
genes
Infant’s
Temperament

5. Erikson’s Psychosocial Lifespan Theory of Personality
Personality is an interaction between psychological (inner) maturation & societal demand
8 psychosocial stages of personality development
“Crisis” of opposing tendencies to be resolved
If successful, acquire personality “strength”
Epigenetic principle: sequence biologically fixed, but social context influences how crisis is resolved

6. Stages of Personality Development
0-18mo
18m-3y
3-6
6-12
12-21
21-30
30-65
65+
If trust & autonomy not acquired,
developmental problems later

7. Attachment Why do infants become attached to caregivers?
Early theories suggested feeding
Harlow & Zimmerman (1959) rhesus monkey studies suggested something else…

11. Ethological theory of attachment J. Bowlby
Promotes survival by keeping parent close
“Clear-cut attachment” (6-8 months to 18mo-2yrs): infants develop separation anxiety
Use caregiver as a secure base for exploration
An internal-working-model develops & is the foundation for future relationships
How do we measure attachment?

12. Strange Situation

13. Attachment Patterns Pattern Exploration/Alone/Return Secure attachment
Secure base/may cry/comforted
Avoidant
Ambivalent/not distressed/avoid
Resistant
Cling/distressed/angry or resist
Disorganized/disoriented
Some exploration/cry/confused
How common are these patterns?

14. Prevalence of attachment patterns