CHAPTER 5

NOTES AND TEST

Entering the Social World

Trust and Attachment

Erikson’s Stages of Early Psychosocial Development

In his theory of psychosocial development, individuals face various crises at different phases in development.  In infancy the crisis is to establish a balanced between trust and mistrust of the world.

The Growth of Attachment

a.      Attachment is a very important relationship between infant and parent.   Many of the behaviors that contribute to the formation of attachment are biologically programmed.  Attachment develops over the first year of life gradually.

b.     There are four types of attachment

                                                              i.      -secure attachment – infants have complete trust in their mothers

                                                            ii.      -avoidance relationships – infants deal with the lack of trust by ignoring their mother

                                                          iii.      -resistant relationship – infants often seem angry with her

                                                         iv.      -disorganized relationship – infants seem to not understand their mother’s absence

c.     c.children who had a secure attachment during infancy interact with their peers more readily and more skillfully.  This type of attachment happens when caregivers respond sensitively and consistently to the infant’s needs.

Attachment, Work and Alternative Caregiving

A study of early child-care found no effects of the child-care experience on mother-infant attachment with one exception.  Mother’s who were less sensitive and responsive to their infants and placed them in low quality child care were more likely to have an infant with an insecure attachment.  High quality day care programs have a low child to caregiver ratio, a curriculum that is focused on education, and a very high level of communication between day care workers and parents.

Emerging Emotions

1.     Basic Emotions

a.      Included in basic emotions are happiness, anger, surprise, fear, disgust and sadness.  Those emotions emerge in the first few months of life.  They include facial expressions, subjective feelings, and physiological response.

b.     Positive emotions begin with the social smile at about 2 months and laughter at about 4 months.  Anger develops between 4 and 6 months of age.  Fear develops at about 6 months of age with stranger anxiety.

c.     Basic emotions are universal

2.     Complex Emotions

a.      Guilt, embarrassment, and pride emerge at about 18 to 24 months of age.  They develop after the child develops an understanding of the self.

b.     Complex emotions are not universal

3.     Recognizing and Using Other’s Emotions

a.      At 6 months of age infants are able to distinguish facial expressions and will match their emotions to those around them.

b.     They use the emotions of others in order to direct their behavior

Interacting with Others

1.     The Joys of Play

a.     The first real interaction with others start at about 12 to 15 months and they take the form of parallel play.  At about 2 years of age, cooperative play emerges, and make believe play is also common.  This type of play promotes cognitive development and represents a way in which children can examine frightening topics.

b.    Starting at age 2 children prefer to play with others of their own sex.

c.     Parents at this point can play with toddler’s at the same level or at a slightly more advanced level. Children at this age play more cooperatively with peers when parents are around to facilitate play.

2.     Learning to Cooperate

As children become older cooperation is more common.  They will cooperate if they are shown that cooperation is effective and if their peers respond to their cooperation with cooperation.  Cooperation is influenced  by societal values and is more common in cultures who regard it more highly than competition.

3.     Helping Others

a.      Prosocial behavior (helping, sharing) are more common in children who can take another’s perspective and can experience empathy

b.     Other factors that are important are contextual factors.  Usually children are more likely to help another when they feel responsible and competent, they are happy, and when little sacrifice is involved

c.     When parents use reasoning when they try to discipline their children, have children who have a greater sense of responsibility.  Parents who are altruistic themselves and praise their children for helping others are more likely to have children who are altruistic

Gender Roles and Gender Identity

1.     Images of Men and Women

Gender stereotypes – beliefs about males and females that are used to make inferences about a person, based on his or her gender.  Studies of sex differences have found that girls have greater verbal and mathematical skills, but boys have greater spatial skills.  Girls are more prone to social influences and boys are more aggressive.

2.     Gender Typing

a.     Parents usually treat sons and daughters in a similar way, except when it comes to gender-typed activities.  Fathers are more likely to treat sons and daughters differently, than mothers

b.    Peers also play an important role in gender typing by being critical of children who engage in cross-gender play.

c.     By the age of 2 or 3 a child is able to label themselves as a boy or a girl.  During the preschool years they come to an understanding that sex is stable, and between 4 and 7 years of age children develop gender constancy

d.    Children who understand gender stability are able to stereotype activities according to sex.  The gender schema theory says that children direct their behavior after they determine an activity is appropriate for girls of boys.

3.     Evolving Gender Roles

Today gender roles are changing.  Studies done on nontraditional families indicate that some components of gender stereotypes are more easily changed than others