Socio-emotional Development in Infancy ©2008 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

Socio-emotional Development in Infancy

©2008 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

©2008 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

Attachment

What Is

Attachment?

Individual

Differences

Caregiving Styles

and Attachment

Classification

Attachment,

Temperament, and the

Wider Social World

Attachment

• A strong emotional bond to another person

Theories of Attachment

• Trust versus mistrust: Erikson’s first stage of development

– Infants experience world as either secure and comfortable or insecure and uncomfortable

– Continuity not guaranteed

How Do Emotions and Personality Develop in Infancy?

Theories of Attachment

• Freud: Infants become attached to person or object giving oral satisfaction

• Disproved by Harlow’s research: regardless of which mother fed monkeys, both preferred cloth mother contact

How Does Attachment Develop in Infancy?

What Is Attachment?• Harlow & Zimmerman

(1959) discovered that contact comfort, rather than food, is critical to the attachment process.

• Erikson (1968) believed that the first year is the key time frame for the development of attachment.

• Bowlby (1969) believed that the newborn is biologically equipped to elicit attachment behaviour from the primary caregiver.

©2008 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

Attachment

Harlow’s Results: Contact time with

wire and cloth surrogate mothers

24

0

6

12

18

21-251-56-10

11-1016-20

Age (days)

. . . ..

. . . ..

.

.

.

.

.

.....

Fed by wire motherFed by cloth mother

Hours per day spent with wire mother

Hours per day spent with cloth mother

Mea

n ho

urs

per

day

Fig. 8.5

Bowlby: The Development of Attachment

• Phase 1: Birth to 2 months – infants instinctively direct their attention to human figures.

• Phase 2: 2–7 months – attachment becomes focused on one figure, usually a primary caregiver.

• Phase 3: 7–24 months – specific attachments develop.

• Phase 4: 24 months on – a goal-directed partnership is formed in which children become aware of others’ feelings, goals, & plans.

©2008 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

Attachment

Measuring Attachment

• Ainsworth’s strange situation: measures infant’s attachment to caregiver

– Requires infant to move through a series of introductions, separations, and reunions

• Securely attached

• Insecure avoidant

How Does Attachment Develop in Infancy?

• Insecure resistant

• Insecure disorganized

The Significance of Attachment

• Some developmentalists believe secure attachment in first year provides important foundation for psychological development

How Does Attachment Develop in Infancy?

• Others believe too much emphasis is placed on attachment bond in infancy– Ignores diversity of

socializing agents and contexts

Caregiving Styles and Attachment Classification

How Does Attachment Develop in Infancy?

Baby attachment Caregiver behaviors

Securely attached Sensitive to signals, consistently available

Avoidant Unavailable, rejecting

Resistant Inconsistent responses

Disorganized Neglect, physical abuse

Caregiving Style and Attachment Classification

• Caregivers of securely attached babies are sensitive to their signals & are consistently available to respond to their infants’ needs.

• Caregivers of avoidant babies tend to be unavailable or rejecting, tending not to respond to their babies’ signals & having little physical contact with them.

• Caregivers of resistant babies sometimes respond to their babies’ needs & sometimes do not.

• Caregivers of disorganized babies often neglect or physically abuse their babies, & sometimes these caregivers suffer from depression.

©2008 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

Attachment

Attachment, Temperament, and Wider Social World

• Researchers recognize the importance of competent, nurturant caregivers in an infant’s development, but it is debated whether or not secure attachment is critical.

• Not all research reveals the power of infant attachment to predict subsequent development.

• Some researchers stress that genetic & temperament characteristics play more important roles in a child’s social competence.

• Cultural variations in attachment have been found.

©2008 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

Attachment

Fig. 8.6

30

0

10

40

50

60

70

20

JapanU.S. Germany

Per

cent

age

of in

fant

s

ResistantSecureAvoidant

Cross-Cultural Comparison of Attachment:

Ainsworth’s strange situation applied to infants in three countries

in 1988