Part II

The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

Chapter Seven

Emotional Development
Theories About Infant
Psychosocial
The Development of Social Bonds
Conclusions in Theory and
Practices

Prepared by Madeleine Lacefield Tattoon, M.A.

The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

The interaction of infants emotions and their social
context is dynamic
This interplay is seen in a tiny baby smile at an
engaging face or a toddler flop to the floor, kicking
and screaming

Emotional Development in Infancy

Within the first two years, infants progress from
reactive pain and pleasure to complex patterns of
social awareness.
a period of life with high emotional
responsiveness

Emotional Development in Infancy

Specific Emotions

infants progress from pleasure and pain

happy and relaxed when fed, then drift off to sleep

cry when hurt or hungry, are tired or frightened or have colic

social smiles are evoked by a human face, normally evident

about 6 weeks after birth
anger is evident at 6 months

Emotional Development in Infancy

Specific Emotions

fully formed fear in response to some person, thing, or

situation emerges at about 9 months

stranger wariness infant no longer smiles at any friendly faces,

and cries if an unfamiliar person moves to close, too quickly
separation anxiety expressed in tears, dismay, or anger when a
familiar caregiver leaves

Emotional Development in Infancy

Specific Emotions

separation anxiety is normal at age 1

intensifies by age 2, and usually subsides after that
1-year-olds fear not just strangers but also anything
unexpected
emotions that emerge in the first month strengthen at about
age 1

Emotional Development in Infancy

Self Awareness

... emotional growth that has the infant realizing that his or
her body, mine,
and actions are separate from those
of other people
around age 1 an emerging sense of me and mine

self-recognition emerges at about 18 months

pretending and using first person pronouns
I, me, mine, myself, my

Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Psychoanalytic Theory

connects biosocial and psychosocial development

emphasizing the need for response maternal care

Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Freud: Oral and Anal Stages

the first year is the oral stage

the mouth is the young infants primary source of
gratification
the second year is the anal stage
the infants main pleasure comes from the anus
sensual pleasure of bowel movement the pleasure of
controlling
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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Erikson: Trust and Autonomy

first psychosocial crisis infants learn basic trust if the world is a

secure place where their basic needs (for food, comfort, attention,
etc.) are met
second stage crisis of psychosocial development toddlers either
succeed or fail in gaining a sense of self-rule over their own actions
and bodies

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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Behaviorism

emotions and personality are molded as parents reinforce or

punish the childs spontaneous behaviors
Infants experience social learning learning by observing
others

apparent in families from giggling to cursing much like their

parents

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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Cognitive Theory
holds that thoughts and values determine a persons
perspectives
early experiences are important
beliefs, perceptions and memories

infants use early relationships to develop a working model

a set of assumptions that the individual uses to organize
perceptions and experiences

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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Epigenetic Theory

holds that every human characteristic is strongly influenced by

each persons unique genotype inborn predispositions

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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Temperament

Inborn differences between one person and another in

emotions, activity, and self-control. Temperament is epigenetic,
originating in genes but affected by child-rearing practices.

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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

The Parents Role

infant temperament often changes with adult guidance

interaction between culture influences and inherited traits tend to
shape behavior
parents need to find a goodness of fit
goodness of fit is a similarity of temperament and values that
produces a smooth interaction between an individual and his or her
social context, including family, school, and community

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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Sociocultural Theory

human development occurs in a cultural context.

sociocultural theorists argue culture:
has a substantial influence on infants
has a major impact on infant-caregiver relationships, thus the
development of the infant

So the is question

How much influence does culture have?

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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Ethnotheories

ethnotheory

a theory that underlies the values and practices of a culture and

that becomes apparent through analysis and comparison of
those practices, although it is not usually apparent to the people
within the culture

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Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Proximal and Distal Parenting

proximal parenting

parenting practices that involve close physical contact with

the childs entire body, such as cradling and swinging

distal parenting

parenting practices that focus on the intellect more than the

body, such as talking with the baby and playing with an
object

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The Development of Social Bonds

Synchrony

is a coordinated interaction between caregiver and

infant, an exchange in which they respond to each other
with split-second timing

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The Development of Social Bonds

Attachment

according to Ainsworth, is an affectional tie that an

infant forms with the caregivera tie that binds them
together in space and endured over time

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The Development of Social Bonds

Secure and Insecure Attachment
secure attachment

relationships in which an infant obtains both comfort and

confidence from the presence of his or her caregiver

insecure-avoidant attachment

a pattern of attachment in which an infant avoids connection

with the caregiver, as when the infant seems not to care about
the caregivers presence, departure, or return

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The Development of Social Bonds

Secure and Insecure Attachment

insecure-resistant/ambivalent attachment

a pattern of attachment in which anxiety and uncertainty are

evident, as when an infant is very upset at separation from the
caregiver and both resists and seeks contact on reunion

disorganized attachment

a type of attachment that is marked by an infants inconsistent

reactions to the caregivers departure and return

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The Development of Social Bonds

Secure and Insecure Attachment

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The Development of Social Bonds

Measuring Attachment
strange situation

developed by Ainsworth
a laboratory procedure for measuring attachment by evoking
infants reaction to stress

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The Development of Social Bonds

Measuring Attachment

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The Development of Social Bonds

Insecure Attachment and Social Settings

infants shift in attachment status between one age and

another
most trouble children may be those who are classified as
type D (table 7.4)

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The Development of Social Bonds

Social Referencing

seeking information about how to react to an unfamiliar ambiguous

object or event by observing someone elses expressions and
reactionsthat other person becomes a social reference

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The Development of Social Bonds

Referencing Mothers

most social referencing occurs with mothers

infants heed their mothers wishes, expressed in tone and facial
expression

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The Development of Social Bonds

Referencing Fathers

increases in maternal employment have expanded the

social references available to infants
fathers now spend considerable time with their children

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The Development of Social Bonds

Infant Day Care

more than of all 1-year-olds in the U.S. are in regular scheduled

nonmaternal care
family day care

child care that occurs in another caregivers homeusually the caregiver

is paid at a lower rate than in center care, and usually one person shares
of several children of various ages
center day care
child care in a place especially designed for the purpose, where several
paid providers care for many children. Usually the children are grouped
by age, the day care center is licensed, and providers are trained and
certified in child development
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