DL - Social-Emotional Development: Infancy and Childhood Lesson
Learning Targets:
- Describe the formation of attachment bonds between caregivers and infants.
- Discuss the methods psychologists use to study attachment variations and summarize their findings.
- Analyze the impact of adversity on the social development of children.
- Explain how children's self-concepts begin and evolve over time.
- Compare and contrast parenting styles.
Courtesy of the AP psychology course and exam description, effective fall 2024. (n.d.). Links to an external site.
Understanding Social Development and Behavior in Psychology
Social development plays a crucial role in shaping behavior and mental processes, as explained by the ecological systems theory in psychology. This theory examines how the social environment influences an individual's development through five key systems. The microsystem refers to groups that directly interact with the individual, such as family and peers, impacting behaviors on a personal level. The mesosystem explores the connections and interactions between different groups within the microsystem, like how family relationships can affect school experiences. The exosystem includes external factors indirectly impacting one's life, such as a parent's job affecting a child's well-being. Moving outwards, the macrosystem encompasses cultural events and societal norms shaping individuals and those around them, illustrating how cultural values influence behavior. Lastly, the chronosystem focuses on the current life stage of an individual, recognizing the evolving nature of behaviors and mental processes over time. Understanding these systems provides valuable insight into the intricate relationship between social development and behavior within psychology.
Infancy and Childhood: Social Development
Social development begins on day one, with the first touch being between mother and child. All mammals need warmth and contact to flourish and survive. These interactions are especially essential to development and well-being. Developmental psychologists have identified critical periods in our lives in which development must be healthy or we will not continue to develop properly.
Most babies are social creatures developing an intense attachment to their caregivers from birth. They prefer familiar faces and voices, coo and gurgle when given a caregiver's attention. Infants can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar languages by four and a half months. After about eight months, they begin to develop object permanence and become curious. For example, when a baby is separated from its caregiver, it may cry and show signs of distress, indicating separation anxiety. Similarly, when faced with a stranger, the baby may exhibit stranger anxiety by clinging to the caregiver for comfort and security.
Understanding Caregiver-Infant Attachment Bonds Formation
Psychologist Harry Harlow conducted groundbreaking studies on attachment, highlighting the significance of touch in forming secure emotional bonds between caregivers and infants. Through experiments with baby rhesus monkeys separated at birth from their mothers, Harlow replaced the maternal figure with two surrogate mothers - a wire mother providing nourishment and a cloth mother offering tactile comfort. Surprisingly, the monkeys displayed a clear preference for the soft, comforting touch of the cloth mother rather than the source of sustenance. These studies fundamentally shifted the approach to caring for infants in various settings, emphasizing the essential role of touch and emotional connection in early development.
Please take a moment to view this presentation for more information on Harry Harlow's attachment studies.
Development of Caregiver-Infant Attachment Bonds
Konrad Lorenz is renowned for his research on how animals form attachments through a process called imprinting. Imprinting, a virtually permanent learning process, occurs when animals become genetically predisposed to respond to sensory stimuli that imprint them on their caregivers. Lorenz conducted an experiment with baby geese, ensuring he was the first moving object they saw after hatching. As a result, the geese imprinted on Lorenz as their caregiver and followed him around as if he were their mother. This instinctual behavior helps keep young animals close to their caregivers for protection. Beyond imprinting, animals like goslings, ducklings, and chicks have a critical period shortly after hatching, during which imprinting occurs. This critical period emphasizes the importance of familiarity in forming attachments among animals. In contrast, children do not imprint but instead form attachments during a less precisely defined sensitive period to individuals they know. Children develop fondness through mere exposure to familiar individuals and surroundings.
Exploring Attachment Differences: Insights from Psychologist Mary Ainsworth
In 1979, psychologist Mary Ainsworth conducted a pioneering study, The Strange Situation, to investigate the various attachment attachments infants form with their caregivers. By observing children aged 1-2 years in an unfamiliar room with their mother and a stranger, Ainsworth aimed to understand the development of stranger or separation anxiety in young children. Throughout the study, she carefully monitored the children's reactions during the different phases of the experiment: when the mother left, when they were alone with the stranger, and upon the mother's return. Ainsworth's research led her to identify three primary attachment styles, shedding light on the intricate dynamics of early childhood relationships.
Read more about each attachment type below:
| Insecure/Avoidant Attachment | Secure Attachment | Disorganized Attachment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Separation Anxiety | Not distressed or upset when mom leaves. | Play comfortably and happily explore their new environment in the mother's presence. When she leaves, they become distressed. | Show no consistent behavior during separations and reunions. |
| Stranger Anxiety | Will interact and play with stranger whether or not mom is present. | Avoidant of the stranger while mom is gone, but will interact with them while she is there. | Show no consistent behavior during separations and reunions. |
| Behavior when reunited with the mother | Indifferent to mom's return | Seek contact with the mother when she returns. | Show no consistent behavior during separations and reunions. |
Exploring Different Parenting Styles
Developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind's longitudinal study on parenting styles revealed how upbringing influences our quest for independence and conflict resolution skills. Parenting styles are often categorized by the control parents exert over their children. These styles are a blend of parental responsiveness and demands placed on children. The four parenting styles identified are authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful. Each style impacts how children navigate challenges and develop skills for autonomy in various ways.
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