PART TWO: THEORIES OF EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

MS V PARSONSVCE UNIT 1 PSYCHOLOGY 2012

Chapter 5: Theories of Psychological Development

Why so many theories?

This year we will cover the

following areas of

development:

Perceptual – Gibson

Emotional – Bowlby,

Ainsworth, Harlow

Cognitive - Piaget

Moral -Kohlberg

Psychosocial – Erikson

Psychological

Development

PerceptualGibson

EmotionalBowlby,

Ainsworth & Harlow

CognitivePiaget

MoralKohlberg

Psychosocial

Erikson

Emotional Development: Romanian Orphans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtQ4sPgNoEY

How important is the psychological bond ..or ATTACHMENT..between infants and their caregivers in emotional development ?

Definition of Attachment

An enduring emotional tie

to a special person,

characterized by a

tendency to seek and

maintain closeness,

especially during times of

stress.

Roots of Attachment Theory

• John Bowlby applied

ethology (the study of

behaviour) to infants

• Infant’s innate behaviors are

evolved responses which

promote survivalJohn Bowlby,

British psychiatrist (1907-1990)

Importance of Attachment

• Implications for infant's

sense of security

• Affects internal working

model

• Freud, Erikson,

Behaviorists described its

impact on development

Bowlby’s 4 Key Characteristics of Attachment

Proximity Maintenance-

desire to be near the caregiver.

Safe Haven-

the ability to be able to return to the

caregiver when scared.

Secure Base-

from which infant can explore

surrounding environment.

Separation distress-

anxiety when caregiver leaves

Bowlby’s Four Stages of Attachment

Pre attachment phase • Birth - 6 weeks

• Baby’s innate signals attract

caregiver

• Caregivers remain close by

when the baby responds

positively

Attachment in the Making

• 6 wks to 6-8 months

• Develops a sense of trust that

caregiver will respond when

signaled

• Infants respond more

positively to familiar caregiver

• Babies don't protest when

separated from parent

Clear-cut Attachment

• 6-8 months to 18-24 months

• Babies display separation

anxiety

• Babies protest when parent

leaves

Formation of Reciprocal Relationship

• 18 mo - 2yrs

• Toddlers increase their

understanding of symbols

and language improves

• Toddlers understand that

parents will return

Factors which Affect Attachment

• Opportunity for attachment

• Quality of caregiving

• respond promptly and

consistently

• interactional synchrony – the

sensitively tuned “emotional

dance”

• Infant characteristics

• infant's temperament, special

needs, prematurity, or illnesses

More Factors which Affect Attachment

• Family circumstances

• Stress can undermine

attachment

• Parents’ internal working models

• Parents’ own attachment

experiences

• Parents’ ability to accept their

past

Measuring the Quality of Attachment

• Mary Ainsworth researched

• Designed the “strange situation”

• A lab experiment with 8

different episodes of separation

and reunion

• Attached infant will:

• Use mother as a secure base

• Be soothed by the mother

during the reunion

Mary Ainsworth, American

Psycholgist (1913-199)

Secure attachment

• Uses caregiver as a secure

base

• May show distress at

separation, but the baby can

be soothed at reunion

• 60-65% of Australian children

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTsewNrHUHU

Insecure-Avoidant Attachment

• Unresponsive to parent

when she is present

• Not distressed by parting

• Avoids or slow to greet

parent on return

• 20% of Australian

children

Insecure-Resistant Attachment

• Infants remain close to

parents and not eager to

explore

• Distressed by separation

• During reunion, infants are

both clingy and resistant

• 12% of Australian children

Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment

• No coherent strategy

for handling

separations or

reunions

• Baby looks dazed and

confused

• 5-10% of Australian

children

How do the Different Perspectives view Attachment

Harlow’s Attachment Experiment

http://www.psychexchange.co.uk/videos/view/20978/

Harlow’s Experiments in Monkeys

Nonhuman primates can offer

tremendous insights into human

development.

Of all animals, apes and monkey are

the most closely related to humans

behaviorally, anatomically, and

physiologically.

Rhesus monkeys share over 90% of

their genes with those of humans.Harry Harlow,

American Psychologist (1905-1981)

Harlow discovered that baby monkeys deprived of their mothers (left) would transfer their affections to a cloth surrogate. When they needed to eat, they would scamper over to a milk-bearing wire mother, but then quickly return to cuddle with the softer surrogate.

Harry Harlow 1905-1981

RESULTS OF THE

EXPERIMENT All the rhesus

monkeys raised in isolation

were

Fearful

Easily frightened

Did not mate

Those artificially inseminated

became abusive mothers

Harry Harlow 1905-1981

Harlow used this bear

for the fear test. When

Harlow put this in the

cage with the isolated

monkeys, they were

afraid.

Harry Harlow 1905-1981

The typical response in

the fear test was to

cling to the cloth

mother. (not the wire

mother with the food)

Implications For The Human Socialization Process

Parental contact is absolutely

critical to infants’ psychosocial

well-being. Critical = absolutely

necessary….won’t happen

without it. Following WW II, psychologists

coined the term “anaclitic

depression” to describe the

clinical response of human

infants to prolonged maternal

separation.