Emotional Development in Infancy

1. Emotional Development in Infancy • Specific Emotions • At first there is pleasure and pain • Curiosity is evident • social smiles are evoked by a human face, normally evident about 6 weeks after birth • anger is evident at 6 months • Sadness is presented as withdrawal and an increased level of stress hormone.

2. Emotional Development in Infancy • Fear • fully formed fear in response to some person, thing, or situation emerges at about 9 months • stranger wariness… infant no longer smiles at any friendly faces, and cries if an unfamiliar person moves to close, too quickly • separation anxiety… expressed in tears, dismay, or anger when a familiar caregiver leaves

3. Emotional Development in Infancy • separation anxiety is normal at age 1 • intensifies by age 2, and usually subsides after that • 1-year-olds fear not just strangers but also anything unexpected • emotions that emerge in the first month strengthen at about age 1

4. Emotional Development • New emotions appear toward the end of the end year • Pride, shame, embarassment and guilt. • Need awareness of other people.

5. Emotional Development in Infancy • Self Awareness • ... emotional growth that has the infant realizing that his or her body, mine, and actions are separate from those of other people • around age 1 an emerging sense of “me” and “mine” • self-recognition emerges at about 18 months • pretending and using first person pronouns also emerges at that time. • I, me, mine, myself, my

6. Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development • Freud: Oral and Anal Stages • the first year is the oral stage • the mouth is the young infant’s primary source of gratification • the second year is the anal stage • the infant’s main pleasure comes from the anus… sensual pleasure of bowel movement… the psychological pleasure of controlling them.

7. Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development • Erikson: Trust and Autonomy • first psychosocial crisis (trust vs. mistrust)… infants learn basic trust if the world is a secure place where their basic needs (for food, comfort, attention, etc.) are met • second stage crisis of psychosocial development (autonomy vs. shame and doubt)… toddlers either succeed or fail in gaining a sense of self-rule over their own actions and bodies

8. Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development • Behaviorism • emotions and personality are molded as parents reinforce or punish the child’s spontaneous behaviors • Infants experience social learning… learning by observing others • apparent in families… from giggling to cursing… much like their parents

9. Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development • Cognitive Theory • holds that thoughts and values determine a person’s perspectives • early experiences are important • beliefs, perceptions and memories • infants use early relationships to develop a working model for future relationships. • a set of assumptions that the individual uses to organize perceptions and experiences

10. Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development • Epigenetic Theory • holds that every human characteristic is strongly influenced by each person’s unique genotype… inborn predispositions

11. Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development • Temperament • Inborn differences between one person and another in emotions, activity, and self-control. • Temperament is epigenetic, originating in genes but can be modified by experiences.

12. Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development • The Parents’ Role • infant temperament often changes with adult guidance • interaction between culture influences and inherited traits tend to shape behavior by early childhood. • parents need to find a goodness of fit • goodness of fit is a similarity of temperament and values that produces a smooth interaction between an individual and his or her social context, including family, school, and community

13. Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development • Sociocultural Theory • “…human development occurs in a cultural context.” • sociocultural theorists argue culture: • has a substantial influence on infants • has a major impact on infant-caregiver relationships, thus the development of the infant • So the is question… • How much influence does culture have?

14. Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development • Ethnotheories • ethnotheory • a theory that underlies the values and practices of a culture and that becomes apparent through analysis and comparison of those practices, although it is not usually apparent to the people within the culture

15. Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development • Proximal and Distal Parenting • proximal parenting • parenting practices that involve close physical contact with the child’s entire body, such as cradling and swinging • distal parenting • parenting practices that focus on the intellect more than the body, such as talking with the baby and playing with an object

16. The Development of Social Bonds • Synchrony • is a coordinated interaction between caregiver and infant • an exchange in which they respond to each other with split-second timing • Infants learn to read others emotions • Develop skills of social interaction • Adults echo infants emotions and try and make them more positive • Experience-expectant

17. The Development of Social Bonds • Attachment • A lasting emotional bond the one person has with another. • Forms in infancy • a tie that binds them together in space and endures over time • New, close relationships that arise later in life are influenced by this attachment.

18. The Development of Social Bonds • Secure and Insecure Attachment • secure attachment • relationships in which an infant obtains both comfort and confidence from the presence of his or her caregiver • insecure-avoidant attachment • a pattern of attachment in which an infant avoids connection with the caregiver, as when the infant seems not to care about the caregiver’s presence, departure, or return

19. The Development of Social Bonds • Secure and Insecure Attachment • insecure-resistant/ambivalent attachment • a pattern of attachment in which anxiety and uncertainty are evident, as when an infant is very upset at separation from the caregiver and both resists and seeks contact on reunion • disorganized attachment • a type of attachment that is marked by an infant’s inconsistent reactions to the caregiver’s departure and return

20. The Development of Social Bonds • Secure and Insecure Attachment

21. The Development of Social Bonds • Measuring Attachment • strange situation • developed by Ainsworth • a laboratory procedure for measuring attachment by evoking infants’ reaction to stress • Stranger and caregiver leave and enter playroom • Reaction to caregiver = attachment • Reaction to stranger = matter of temperament

22. The Development of Social Bonds • Measuring Attachment

23. The Development of Social Bonds • Insecure Attachment and Social Settings • infants shift in attachment status between one age and another • most troubled children may be those who are classified as type D (table 7.4)

24. The Development of Social Bonds • Social Referencing • seeking information about how to react to an unfamiliar ambiguous object or event by observing someone else’s expressions and reactions—that other person becomes a social reference

25. The Development of Social Bonds • Referencing Mothers • most social referencing occurs with mothers • infants heed their mother’s wishes, expressed in tone and facial expression • Mothers tend to be more comforting, protective and cautious.

26. The Development of Social Bonds • Referencing Fathers • increases in maternal employment have expanded the social references available to infants • fathers now spend considerable time with their children • Fathers tend to be more encouraging than mothers • More fun

27. The Development of Social Bonds • Infant Day Care • more than ½ of all 1-year-olds in the U.S. are in “regular scheduled” nonmaternal care • family day care • child care that occurs in another caregiver’s home—usually the caregiver is paid at a lower rate than in center care, and usually one person shares of several children of various ages • center day care • child care in a place especially designed for the purpose, where several paid providers care for many children. Usually the children are grouped by age, the day care center is licensed, and providers are trained and certified in child development