The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

1. The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence by Kathleen Stassen Berger Seventh Edition Chapter 7 The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development Slides prepared by Kate Byerwalter, Ph.D., Grand Rapids Community College

2. What does “psychosocial” mean? • Psychosocial development is the combination of emotional and social development. • During infancy, interactions with sensitive, responsive caregivers foster psychosocial development.

3. The First Year At birth: distress and contentment Social smile appears around 6 weeks Anger (as early as 4 months) Fear Stranger wariness Separation anxiety Emotional Development in Infancy

4. Can anyone relate to this one? JOURNAL-COURIER / TIFFANY HERMON / THE IMAGE WORKS

5. The Second Year Fear and anger, laughing and crying become more discriminating New emotions appear: pride, shame, embarrassment, guilt These emotions require a sense of self Dot-of-rouge experiment Emotional Development in Infancy (cont.)

7. Self Awareness • The realization that one is a unique person separate from others • Emerges around 15-18 months • Measured by reaction to dot of rouge on face • Is the prerequisite for pride, guilt, shame, embarrassment, jealousy, empathy

8. Make it Real: Pride and Shame • Have you ever heard a caregiver “put down” a young child? Explain. • In what specific ways can caregivers foster a young child’s sense of pride? Make a list.

9. Pride and Shame • “It seems that building self-esteem results not from praising young children, but from enabling them to accomplish things that make them feel proud.” (Berger, 2005)

10. Theories about Caregiving There are several theories of how the interaction between caregiver and infant shapes the infant’s behavior, personality, and relationships with others.

11. Freud believed that conflicts during the oral and anal stages shaped the infant’s later personality. Example: Too strict toilet training may lead to an anal retentive personality. Psychoanalytic Theory

12. Erik Erikson’s First Two Psychosocial Stages • Trust vs. Mistrust: quality of care in the first year shapes the infant’s view of the consistency and predictability of the world • Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt = basic need to gain self-rule or feel ashamed that it doesn’t happen

13. Behaviorism Infant’s emotions and personality are molded as parents reinforce or punish child’s spontaneous behavior. Social referencing strengthens learning by observation.

14. Cognitive Theory Cognitive Theory states that infants form a concept of what to expect from people. The result is a working model, a set of assumptions about relationships. Example: An infant learns to expect that people can be trusted (or not).

15. Epigenetic Theory • Epigenetic theory holds that child-rearing practices shape inborn predispositions. • Example: A “naturally” fearful infant becomes less fearful in the context of a supportive parent who encourages bravery.

16. Temperament: An Example Of Epigenetic Theory • Temperamental traits originate in one’s genes, but are influenced by experience. • Examples: Infants differ in their reactions to new situations (fearful or bold); some infants cry easily, others seem “born tough”.

17. Temperament (cont.) CORROON AND COMPANY / MONKMEYER

18. Measuring Temperament • The NYLS relied on parent reports and direct observations to categorize infants as: • EASY (40%) • SLOW TO WARM UP (15%) • DIFFICULT (10%) • HARD TO CLASSIFY (35%)

19. Temperament and Caregiving • It is important to appreciate each child’s unique temperament. • Goodness of fit: the match between the child’s temperament and the environment • This is especially important for a child with a difficult temperament

21. Sociocultural Theory • Sociocultural theory places a strong emphasis on the role of the entire social context on infant development. • Ethnotheory states that child-rearing practices (e.g., co-sleeping or not) are embedded within each culture or ethnic group.

22. Make it Real: Ethnotheory • The text describes the reaction of Mayan parents to their 18-month-old son’s refusal to wear pants; this is contrasted to how Western parents might react. • After reading the passage, think about your own reaction. How much are your thoughts influenced by your culture?

23. Proximal and Distal Parenting • A study of West African and Greek parents found differences in infant-caregiver play. • West African mothers were more likely to use proximal parenting (keeping the infant physically near), whereas Greek parents used distal parenting (physically distant).

24. Proximal and Distal Parenting (cont). • The researchers found that proximal parenting at 3 months predicted more compliant behavior at 1½ yrs; whereas distal parenting predicted greater self-recognition (a sign of independence).

25. The Development of Social Bonds • Synchrony: coordinated interaction between caregiver and infant that starts the process of attachment MYRLEEN FERGUSON CATE / PHOTO EDIT

26. Early Emotional Responses • Interactions between caregiver and infant are crucial for emotional development (i.e., synchrony). • Still face technique = studying synchrony by assessing infant’s reaction when caregiver halts synchronous behavior…(infants don’t like it!).

27. Attachment • Attachment is a close emotional bond between infant and caregiver(s) that develops gradually over the first year of life.

28. Signs of Attachment • It is easy to know if a parent is attached to an infant (they pull out the wallet full of pictures, talk lovingly about the infant, etc.). • But how do we know how the infant feels about the parent?

29. Signs of Attachment • Infants show their desire to be with a caregiver through: • contact-maintaining behaviors (e.g., smile, hold on to person), and • proximity-seeking behaviors (e.g., crawl toward person).

30. Mary Ainsworth measured attachment through the “Strange Situation” Performed when infant is around 1 year old Results have correlated with child outcomes later in life Measuring Attachment

31. Measuring Attachment Strange Situation is a laboratory procedure assessing: Exploration of the toys Reaction to caregiver’s departure Reaction to caregiver’s return

33. Categories of Attachment • Secure Attachment = • Yes, explore toys • May cry upon caregiver leaving • Happy to see caregiver return • Long-term outcomes are positive (e.g., good social skills, well-liked, happy kids)

34. Categories of Attachment • Insecure-Resistant Attachment: • Little to noexploration of toys • Cry when caregiver leaves • Remainsupset (cry/anger) upon caregiver’s return • Long-term outcomes include dependence (especially for girls) or aggression (especially for boys)

35. Categories of Attachment • Insecure Avoidant Attachment • Yes, explores the toys • Doesn’tcry when caregiver turns • Avoids or ignores caregiver upon return

36. Attachment Categories • Disorganized Attachment • Infant demonstrates bizarre, inconsistent behavior toward the parent • Infants in this category may have been abused or neglected • Outcomes for them are often negative

38. Secure Attachment is Likely When: The parent is: sensitive to child’s needs responsive to signals engages in infant-caregiver play not overly stressed And when the infant is “easy”

39. Attachment Over Time • An infant can change attachment status over time, especially if the social setting changes. • Examples: divorce, abuse, remarriage • Overall, secure attachment in infancy is associated with positive outcomes later in life.

40. Make it Real: Attachment • Think of someone you know who has difficulty in relationships (could be you). How might early attachment experiences influenced his or her ability to form connections with others?

41. Looking to others for cues for how to feel, especially in a new situation Example: If a caregiver shows fear of a situation, the infant likely will too! This shows that emotions can be learned Social Referencing

42. Referencing Mothers • A study by Kochanska (2001) found that in general, infants and toddlers obey their mother’s requests, especially if the mother was convincing in her tone and choice of words. • (Yes, toddlers do have the ability to obey!)

43. Referencing Fathers • Fathers today spend considerable time with their children, and research is just beginning to document the importance of this relationship.

44. Make it real: Referencing Fathers • In what ways do you think fathers interact with infants differently than mothers?

45. Referencing Fathers (cont.) • Fathers tend to: • Be more encouraging of infant exploration • Engage in more physical, noisy, emotional play • Engage in teasing • Infants tend to: • Comply with father’s commands more often

46. Infant Day Care • As more infants spend time in nonparental care, the question of the effects of that care on child development continues to be debated. • The most comprehensive study to date is conducted by the NICHD Early Child Care Research Network

47. Types of Infant Day Care Family day care: children cared for in home of a paid caregiver Center day care: several paid providers care for children Our textbook author suggests that center care may be the best option, but even licensed centers vary in quality!

49. Some Results of the NICHD Study • Even 40 hours a week of infant child care had considerable less influence than the mother-infant relationship on child outcomes. • Secure attachment was just as likely among infants in center care as those raised at home.

50. More Results • Quality of child care is important. • How time is spent when the infant is home is important as well.