Socioemotional Development in Infants and Toddlers

Chapter 6

Attachment
emotional tie to a specific person or persons
exists across time and space infants tend to form attachments with primary caregivers

Attachment
Bowlbys early work
Early infancyorientation without discrimination.(2-4 mos)
Orients to any attending adult Little discrimination among caregiving adults

Middle infancyorientation with discrimination (6-8 mos)

Gazing preference for primary caregivers Responds differentially to primary caregivers

Bowlbys Early Work on Attachment

Late infancy early toddlerhoodsafe-base attachment (6-12 mos)
Actively seek to be near caregivers Seek proximal contact

Become distressed when caregiver leaves (bond across time and space)

Toddlerhoodgoal corrected partnerships

Recognize motives of caregivers Toddler adjusts behaviors to needs and motives of caregivers

Ainsworths work
Strange situation (page 193, Table 6.1) Stranger anxietysignals attachment Separation anxietysignals attachment
Secure Attachment
Mother return: infant seeks contact; cling tightly; allows mother to comfort and soothe Majority of infants show secure attachment

Attachment Status

Ainsworths work
Attachment Status
Insecure Avoidant Attachment

No preference for mother (avoids or shows equal preference for mother and stranger)
Mother leaves infants undisturbed;

Continue playing with stranger

Ainsworths work
Attachment Status
Insecure Resistant\ Ambivalent Attachment
Exaggerated stranger and separation anxiety Exaggerated need to maintain proximal contact with mother Some resistant to mothers attempts to soothe Some passive with mothers attempts to console Some variable in response (cycles of calm and anger) Variable in status

Ainsworths work
Attachment Status Parental quality and attachment (sensitive responsiveness)
Secure Attachment
Timely response Appropriate response

Insecure disorganized or disoriented Attachments

abusive parents or parents who suffered abuse themselves

Ainsworths work
Insecure Attachments

indifferent parentingresponse only when necessary or when the parent is impacted

indulgent parentingover stimulating; intrusive;

unresponsive parentingneglectful
Mothers of insecurely attached infants

tense
irritable unresponsive; little interest

mechanical handling
scheduled vs. demand feeding

Infant Characteristics, Caregiver Characteristics and Attachments

Easy Infants--associated with greater frequency of secure attachments
Special needsassociated with insecure attachments

Fussy or difficult infants associated with higher levels of irritability-- tend to develop insecure attachments with mothers who have low levels of social support
Model tends to be bidirectional with infant characteristics interacting with caregiver characteristics to yield the attachment status

Infant Characteristics, Caregiver Characteristics and Attachments

Fathers role in attachment:
fathers roles tend to reflect mothers roles in relationships with attachment statuses

Child care and caregiver attachment:

with quality child care, no difference in attachment given caregiver is responsive in sensitive and timely ways when with infant

Infant Characteristics, Caregiver Characteristics and Attachments

NICHDChild Care Report (2006):
Quality of out of home child care related to:
Family income, education, parenting style Higher quality out of home child care related to higher levels of cognitive and social development Effect sizes range from moderate to small

Attachment and Developmental Outcomes

Long-term outcomes:
securely attached infants tend to have some early advantage over other attachment statuses; higher quality care later in childhood and adolescence can overcome early attachment challenges;

Social Risk and Childrens Health Outcomes

Larson, et al. (2008)
High School education or less
Family income <200% federal poverty level Single parent household Minority racial/ethnic group

Uninsured
Family conflict Low maternal mental health Unsafe neighborhood

Social Risk and Childrens Health Outcomes

Larson, et al. findings:
Overall, family income, minority status, & maternal mental health independently predicted poorer health status As the number of social risk factors increased the childs health status decreased Mechanism of effect is likely related to cumulative higher levels of stress as number of risks increase

Eriksons first psychosocial stage: Trust vs. Mistrust

Two tasks:
establish sense that the environment is going to meet basic needs in a timely and appropriate manner establish sense that the self is an active agent in ones own outcomes

Eriksons first psychosocial stage: Trust vs. Mistrust caregivers who establish a sensitive responsiveness
are likely to develop a sense of trust
infant comes to learn that differential cries relate to differential outcomes Infant develops a sense of contingency between behaviors and outcomesa sense of agency

Eriksons 2nd psychosocial stage: Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt

Toddler seeks to assert preferences beyond simple needs (e.g. particular type of food rather than simply hunger) Caregivers can provide choices of acceptable options to establish a sense of autonomy
Caregivers who are not sensitive to and provide opportunities for toddlers to exercise some preference can create doubt within the toddler

Temperament
The reactivity of the infant to the environment
Genetics plays a significant role in temperament Temperament is measured across nine dimensions (Table 6.5, pg 204)
Activity level, rhythmicity, intensity of reaction, etc. Profile based on levels of each dimension

Temperament
Temperament Constellations:
Easy: generally positive; stable rhythm of movement, sleep adapts to new situations, smiles Slow-to-Warm-Up: slow to adapt to new situations; mildly negative response; more intense reactions than Easy babies but less than difficult babies Difficult: intense negative reactions to new situations; slow to adapt; irregular patterns of sleeping and activity overall;

Temperament
Based on an interaction of genetics and interactions with the environment
Balance between temperament and environment determines outcomes

Temperament
Scarr:
Passive: infants environment is frequently based on biological parents so, genetic tendency is reinforced by the environment Parents who accommodate to their infants temperament tend to have more successful outcomes

Emotions
In the first 12 months of life, infants tend to respond differentially and more sensitively to expressed emotions by caregiver
Fear, anger, sadness, interest, joy resulted in differential responses to the visual cliff Infants reference the reactions of caregivers as cues for their own reactions From very early on, infants tend to respond to distress cries from other infants

Emotions
Toddlers:
Sense of self as independent entity leads to:

Self conscious emotions

Expanded emotional repertoire Guilt, embarrassed, pride
Comparison of ones own behaviors to some standard is linked to cognitive and social development

Infant and Toddler Play

Infant Play
Mutual gazefirst awareness of the other

Sensorimotor Play

Focus is on interactions with motion and objects in the environment

Some level of novelty is preferred

Repetition of actions is frequent Toys over which infants can assert control tend to be preferred and build a sense of agency (Bandura, 1977; c.f. Erikson, trustmistrust)

Infant and Toddler Play

Toddler Play
With language, mobility, and cognitive development, toddlers move to more socially mediated play Coordinated imitationtend to repeat others actions Early toddler play remains focused on motion and objects (e.g. block stacking) As maturation occurs, more social role play begins;

Infant and Toddler Play

Toddler Play
More advanced levels of social play (negotiating roles, changing roles) tend to be related to more lasting friendships across childhood Conflicts arise!

Distraction and diversion tend to work best with toddlers Conflicts tend to be based on possession of objects or turns at some desired activity Possession is ownership (similar to dog rules)

Infant and Toddler Play

Toddler Play
As language and symbolic thought improve, toddlers begin make-believe play Imaginary roles and substitution of one object for another (shoe becomes a truck) occurs Children can appear to be much more cognitively advanced in play with peers than alone.