attachment
refers to the close, emotional bond of affection that develop between infants and their caregivers
attachment and separation
-first few months: little attachment to anyone
-2-3 months old: smile and interact with mother, but little concern when handed around
-6-8 months old: begin to show preference for mother
separation anxiety
the mental distress seen in many infants when they are separated from the people with whom they have formed an attachment
imprinting
-natural bonding that appears to be innate and programmed genetically in certain animals
*Konrad Lorenz’s geese experiment
–must occur within first 32 hours of birth
–has consequences for short-term survival and long-term relationship building
Harry Harlow
In the 1950s, the general belief was that infants became attached to their mothers because she fed the infant
-mothers were reinforced from feeding
*Harlow’s monkey experiments called this into question
developmental stage
a period during which characteristics patterns of behavior are exhibited and certain capacities become established
stage theories assume:
- individuals must progress through specified stages in a particular order because each stage builds on the previous stage
- progress through these stages is strongly related to age
- there are major discontinuities between stages in typical behavior
Erik Erikson
3 stages = psychosocial
Eriksons psychosocial crisis
-personality is shaped by how individuals deal with these crises that involved transitions in important social relationships
-each crisis is a struggle between two opposing tendencies
–these antagonistic tendencies represent personality traits that people display in varying degrees over the remainder of their lives
*Erickson saw eight stages each with its own psychosocial crisis
John Bowlby
- psychoanalyst that believed that mental health and behavioral problems could be attributed to childhood
-his evolutionary theory of attachment suggests that children come into the world biologically preprogrammed to form attachments with others - attachment behaviors are instinctive and activated by any conditions that seem to threaten the achievement of proximity such as separation, insecurity, and fear
Mary Ainsworth
- showed that infant mother attachments vary in quality
– used the strange situation procedure - 3 categories of attachment:
1.secure
2. anxious ambivalent attachment
3. avoidant attachment
stranger situation
- children and mothers place in a room with a two way mirror and following situations were presented:
1. mother baby and experimenter
2. mother and baby alone
3. stranger joins baby and mother
4. mother leaves baby in stranger alone
5. mother returns in stranger leaves
6. mother leaves infant left completely alone
7. stranger returns
8. mother returns and stranger views
Jean Piaget
- began studying how children used their intelligence
-used his children as the basis of many of his theories
Piaget’s Stages of cognitive development
Sensorimotor stage - birth to two years
Preoperational stage - two to seven years
Concrete operational - stage 7 to 11 years
Formal operational stage - 12 and up
Sensorimotor Stage
The child begins to develop symbolic thought
Babies are stuck in the here and now world
–children begin to gain object permanence
Preoperational Stage
The child begins to develop ability to:
-represent objects with images and words
-language skills
-imagination
however, they lack conservation and exhibit egocentrism
centration
The tendency to focus on just one feature of a problem, neglecting other important aspects
egocentrism
Thinking is characterized by a limited ability to share another person’s viewpoint
* a feature of egocentrism is animalism the belief that all things are living
Concrete Operational Stage
The child understands reversibility
children can:
-sort objects
-classify objects
-understand conservation
*Children in the concrete operational stage and understand that if you reverse the action (pour water back into the same size cups), then the water amount remains the same
Formal Operational Stage
During this time people developed the ability to think about abstract concepts and logically test hypothesis
Five important higher level cognitive abilities form
- Hypothetical deductive reasoning
- Abstract thought
- Separating reality from possibility
- Combination logic
- Reflective thinking (metacognition)
Lev Vygotsky
Russian psychologist whose work has only recently been studied in the West
the basics: lev vygotsky
-Children’s cognitive development highly influenced by the social situations with adults
- culture influences cognitive development
- language plays key role in development
Lawrence Kohlbergs Stages in Moral Development
0-9 years old - in the two preconventional stages, moral behavior is determined by the concepts of punishment, reward, and reciprocity
10-15 years old - in the two conventional stages, moral behavior is consistent with doing what others believe to be right, upholding laws, and maintaining social order
Over 15 - in the two postconventional stages, the individual is the ultimate judge of moral behavior, based on its own conscience and universal moral principles rather than social norms
