Chapter Seven

The First Two Years:Psychosocial Development

PowerPoints prepared by Cathie Robertson, Grossmont College

Theories About Early Psychosocial Development

• Importance of parents and their contribution to emotional growth

• Connects biosocial and psychosocial development

Psychoanalytic Theory

Freud: Oral and Anal Stages

• Oral Stage—1st stage, where infant obtains pleasure through sucking and biting

• Anal Stage—2nd stage, where anus becomes main source of gratification, i.e., bowel movements and the control of them

• 1st Stage—Trust vs. Mistrust– basic needs need to be met with

consistency, continuity, and sameness

• 2nd Stage—Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt– basic desire to gain self-rule over their

own actions and bodies and to feel ashamed if it doesn’t happen

Erikson: Trust and Autonomy

Behaviorism

• Infant’s emotions and personality are molded as parents reinforce or punish child’s spontaneous behavior– social learning adds to personality

formation– social referencing strengthens learning

by observation

Cognitive Theory

• Individual’s thoughts and values determine perspective on the world

• Working model—set of assumptions used to organize perceptions and experiences

Epigenetic Theory• Each child is born with a genetic

predisposition to develop certain traits that affect emotional development

• Temperament—“constitutionally based individual differences in emotion, motor, and attentional reactivity and self-regulation.”– inhibited– uninhibited– epigenetic—though personality traits not

learned, environment affects their expression

Research on Temperament: Nine Characteristics

– activity level– rhythmicity– approach-withdrawal– adaptability– intensity of reaction– threshold of responsiveness– quality of mood– distractibility– attention span

Temperament and Caregiving

• Inhibited vs. Uninhibited– responsive care and encouragement can

help inhibited children become less so

• Match between parent and child– goodness of fit

Sociocultural Theory

• Emphasizes the many ways social context can have impact on infant-caregiver relationship

• If social context changes, child can change

Emotional Development in Infancy• In the first 2 years of emotional

development, infants progress from simple reactions to complex patterns of social awareness

The First Year

• Newborns’ first discernable emotions– distress– contentment

• Later emotions (after first weeks) – anger– fear, expressed clearly by stranger

wariness and separation anxiety

The Second Year

• Fear and anger typically decrease• Laughing, crying: more discriminating• New emotions appear

– pride– shame– embarrassment – guilt

Self-Awareness

• Foundation for emotional growth– realization of individual distinctions

• At about 5 months begin developing a sense of self apart from mother

• 15-18 months the “Me-self”– rouge experiment

Pride and Shame

• Self-awareness becomes linked with self-concept early on

• Negative comments more likely to lead to less pride or shame

• Own pride can be more compelling than parental approval

• Social connections help us understand human emotions

The Development of Social Bonds

Synchrony • Synchrony—coordinated interaction;

attunement• Helps infants learn to express own

feelings• Imitation is pivotal• Becomes more elaborate and more

frequent with time• Learning through play

– playful interactions by both partners– important for both to be responsive

• Enduring emotional connection– Proximity-seeking behaviors– Contact-maintaining behaviors

Attachment

• Bowlby and Ainsworth• Secure—relationship of trust and

confidence that provides comfort, assurance, and secure base

Secure and Insecure Attachment

• Insecure—relationship that is unpredictable or unstable– avoidant: one person tries to avoid any

connection with another– resistant/ambivalent: anxiety and

uncertainly keep one person clinging to another

Secure and Insecure Attachment, cont.

Measuring Attachment

• Strange Situation—lab procedure to measure attachment; observed are– exploration of the toys (caregiver present)– reaction to caregiver’s departure– reaction to caregiver’s return– disorganized behavior—neither secure nor

insecure attachment—marked by inconsistent behavior of caregiver and infant toward each other

Insecure Attachment as a Warning Sign

• Stressed mother (although not always an indicator)

• Mother too withdrawn• Inconsistent behavior of mother

(conflicting messages sent by her)• Insecure attachments repairable

Social Referencing

• Looking to others for cues

Referencing Mom

• Look to mother for comfort• Mother’s tone and expression can

become guide to how to react to unfamiliar or ambiguous event

• Fathers play more than mothers • Infants look to fathers for fun and

physical play• Physically active play with fathers may

contribute to development of social skills and emotional expression

• Physically active play with fathers helps children master motor skills and develop muscle control

Referencing Dad

Cultural Differences

• Fathers, single mothers, grandparents, and cultures with other family structures still provide needed referencing

• Father’s involvement – can benefit later development of child– raise mother’s self-confidence– and two parents working together are

better able to meet infant’s needs than either alone

Infant Day Care

• Almost all infants cared for by people other than parents part of the time

• Specifics vary from culture to culture

• The older the child and the more money the family has, the more likely possibility of day care

• Family day care• Center care• Day care generally beneficial• High-quality programs include

– adequate attention to each infant– encouragement of sensorimotor exploration

and language development– attention to health and safety– well-trained professional caregivers

Infant Day-Care

Infant Day Care, cont.

• Cognitive and biosocial development are more advanced by day care than at home

• Poor day care has detrimental effects

Conclusions in Theory and Practice

• No single theory stands out as best interpretation of developments during first 2 years

• Do not know the extent to which positive influence can compensate for negative one

Conclusions in Theory and Practice, cont.

• Parental attentiveness crucial to synchrony, attachment, and social referencing.

• In dealing with children with problems, need a practical rather than theoretical approach that focuses on their specific issues