The Social Infant

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The Social Infant

• Early Years Lecture 2

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Following this lecture (and after doing the
reading....)

• You should be able to
• identify what period infancy covers
• recognize why attachment is deemed so important
• critically evaluate Bowlbys theory and the
  Strange Situation method
• i.e., say what the strengths and weaknesses of
  the theory and method are

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Before we go any further...

• What is meant by infancy?
• No absolute definition
• but usually period between birth and first
  speech
• typically around 2 years

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Why study early socialization?

• It shapes peoples lives
• Impact on language development (Snow, 1977)

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Why study early socialization?

• It shapes peoples lives
• Impact on language development (Snow, 1977)
• Attachment influences
• - self-esteem
• - social competence
• - popularity
• (Elicker et al. 1992 Elicker Sroufe, 1994).

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Why study early socialization?

• It shapes peoples lives
• Impact on language development (Snow, 1977)
• Attachment influences
• - self-esteem
• - social competence
• - popularity
• (Elicker et al. 1992 Elicker Sroufe, 1994).
• Maternal deprivation hypothesis (Bowlby, 1953)
• - implications for childcare mental wellbeing.

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Short/Long term effects of maternal deprivation

• - reduction in intellectual development
• - half expected rate _at_ age 1
• - similar _at_ age 12 if left unchecked
• few communication skills gt distress
• hyperactivity/attention deficits
• desperate for attention
• - impaired social/emotional development

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Theories of early socialization

• Infants prefer mothers face from day 1
• human infants are highly adapted to relate to
  social stimuli the face gt familiar people
• other people are the key permanent objects to
  the infant

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Theories of early socialization

• Psychoananalytic theory (FreudErikson).
• early relationships determine later relationships
  mental health.
• mother-infant ties crucial for later
  relationships.
• Mothers role is
• unique, without parallel, established
  unalterably for a whole lifetime as the first and
  strongest love-object and as the prototype of all
  later love-relations (Freud, 1940).

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Theories of early socialization

• Psychoananalytic theory (FreudErikson).
• Trust versus Mistrust
• - to feed, comfort etc.
• - confident that Mum will return
• gaining the sense that there is some
  correspondence between your needs and your world
• Erikson, quoted in Evans (1967)

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Theories of early socialization

• Ethological theory (Bowlby).
• 1951 World Health Organization Report Child
  Care and the Growth of Love (pub. 1953).
• Mother love in infancy and childhood is as
  important for mental health as vitamins for
  physical health

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Theories of early socialization

• Ethological theory (Bowlby).
• Influenced by Lorenzs (1952) and Tinbergens
  (1951) ideas about instinct and imprinting
• - notion of critical period
• - protection from danger
• - support for exploration of the world
• - promote survival
• Bowlby highlighted 4 stages of relationship-format
  ion.

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Theories of early socialization

• Ethological theory (Bowlby).
• Four Stages
• 0-3 months - preattachment phase - innate
  communication techniques (e.g., crying, smiling,
  gazing) establish bond and encourage response
  from other humans.

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Theories of early socialization

• Ethological theory (Bowlby).
• Four Stages
• 0-3 months - preattachment phase - innate
  communication techniques (e.g., crying, smiling,
  gazing) establish bond and encourage response
  from other humans.
• 3-6 months - attachment-in-the-making. Infants
  discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar
  adults. Absence of distress when separated from
  Mum.

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Theories of early socialization

• Ethological theory (Bowlby).
• Four Stages
• 6-18/24 months - clear-cut attachment phase -
  marked by separation anxiety. Familiar adult
  secure exploration base. Onset of object
  permanence leads to..

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Theories of early socialization

• Ethological theory (Bowlby).
• Four Stages
• 6-18/24 months - clear-cut attachment phase -
  marked by separation anxiety. Familiar adult
  secure exploration base. Onset of object
  permanence leads to..
• 18-24 months - reciprocal relationship. Children
  begin to understand why Mum disappears and
  appreciate the fact that she is likely to return.
  Language allows children to exert an influence on
  Mums behaviour.

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What kind of theory is Bowlbys?

• Quantity or quality? Qualitative. Initial means
  of ensuring proximity (crying etc.) replaced by
  active movement of limbs. Language development
  also produces qualitative shift in relationship.

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What kind of theory is Bowlbys?

• Quantity or quality? Qualitative. Initial means
  of ensuring proximity (crying etc.) replaced by
  active movement of limbs. Language development
  also produces qualitative shift in relationship.
• Nature or nurture? Both. Interaction of innate,
  evolutionary adaptations and environmental inputs
  (role of contextual factors e.g., family home
  parent personality).
• Infants have genetic bias towards maintaining
  enhancing proximity to caregivers.
• Infants active participants

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What kind of theory is Bowlbys?

• Quantity or quality? Qualitative. Initial means
  of ensuring proximity (crying etc.) replaced by
  active movement of limbs. Language development
  also produces qualitative shift in relationship.
• Nature or nurture? Both. Interaction of innate,
  evolutionary adaptations and environmental inputs
  (role of contextual factors e.g., family home
  parent personality).
• Infants have genetic bias towards maintaining
  enhancing proximity to caregivers.
• Infants active participants
• What develops? Survival strategies learning
  (e.g., language) social norms.

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Why is Attachment theory dominant?

• Freud aimed to elicit information about childhood
  from adults. No controlled experiments (Freud
  relied on free-association and dream analysis).
  No observations of child behaviour in natural
  settings. Similar problems with Eriksons
  interpretations of behaviour.
• This makes their theories difficult to test.
  Science demands that theories should be testable
  and robust findings replicated.
• Credibility gap. Overemphasis on sexuality?
• No account of the underlying mechanism of
  development.

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Why is Attachment theory dominant?

• In contrast, Bowlby studied children-adult
  behaviour in natural settings.

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Why is Attachment theory dominant?

• In contrast, Bowlby studied children-adult
  behaviour in natural settings.
• Study of attachment employs experimental method -
  the Strange Situation (SS) - to measure level
  of attachment (e.g., Ainsworth et al., 1978).

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Why is Attachment theory dominant?

• In contrast, Bowlby studied children-adult
  behaviour in natural settings.
• Study of attachment employs experimental method -
  the Strange Situation (SS) - to measure level
  of attachment (e.g., Ainsworth et al., 1978).
• Strange Situation typically involves 8 (7)
  episodes.

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Why is Attachment theory dominant?

• In contrast, Bowlby studied children-adult
  behaviour in natural settings.
• Study of attachment employs experimental method -
  the Strange Situation (SS) - to measure level
  of attachment (e.g., Ainsworth et al., 1978).
• Strange Situation typically involves 8 (7)
  episodes.
• Assesses childs reaction to familiar and
  unfamiliar adults and separation-reunion with
  primary caregiver.

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The Strange Situation

• The aim of the SS is to identify the level of
  security infant has with mother (or primary
  caregiver).
• Rather than take a single measure, level of
  attachment can be gauged through the series of
  events or episodes.
• Infants security in Episode 1 baseline.
• Effect of stranger on security measured with and
  without mother present.
• Effect of isolation also assessed.

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The Strange Situation

• Episode
• 1
• 2
• (3)
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8

• Infant and mother together
• Stranger enters room
• (Mother, infant stranger together)
• Mother leaves room
• Infant-mother reunited
• Mother and stranger leave
• Stranger re-enters room
• Mother returns

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(taken from Messer Miller, 1999)
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The Strange Situation - Hypothesis

• In a healthy relationship, infant uses mother as
  a base to explore (i.e.,Episodes 1, 2, 5). Infant
  stressed during Episodes 4, 6, and 7.
• Most interest in Episodes 5 and 8 - the reunion
  episodes. How does the infant react?
• Behaviour leads to classification - 4 types.

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The Strange Situation

• The aim of the SS is to identify the level of
  security infant has with mother (or primary
  caregiver).
• Type A insecure-avoidant. Unhappy during
  separation, but do not respond particularly
  negative when stranger appears nor do they seek
  to re-establish close proximity with Mum on her
  return.

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The Strange Situation

• The aim of the SS is to identify the level of
  security infant has with mother (or primary
  caregiver).
• Type A insecure-avoidant. Unhappy during
  separation, but do not respond particularly
  negative when stranger appears nor do they seek
  to re-establish close proximity with Mum on her
  return.
• Type B secure. Happy if Mum is present to
  explore. Unhappy if Mum leaves the room and might
  show discomfort in the presence of stranger. Seek
  Mum out on her return and then settle down
  quickly.

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The Strange Situation

• The aim of the SS is to identify the level of
  security infant has with mother (or primary
  caregiver).
• Type A insecure-avoidant. Unhappy during
  separation, but do not respond particularly
  negative when stranger appears nor do they seek
  to re-establish close proximity with Mum on her
  return.
• Type B secure. Happy if Mum is present to
  explore. Unhappy if Mum leaves the room and might
  show discomfort in the presence of stranger. Seek
  Mum out on her return and then settle down
  quickly.
• Type C insecure-resistant. Combination of
  traits - seek contact one moment only to avoid
  contact when Mum returns (Ainsworth, Blehar,
  Waters, Wall, 1978).

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The Strange Situation

• The aim of the SS is to identify the level of
  security infant has with mother (or primary
  caregiver).
• Type A insecure-avoidant. Unhappy during
  separation, but do not respond particularly
  negative when stranger appears nor do they seek
  to re-establish close proximity with Mum on her
  return.
• Type B secure. Happy if Mum is present to
  explore. Unhappy if Mum leaves the room and might
  show discomfort in the presence of stranger. Seek
  Mum out on her return and then settle down
  quickly.
• Type C insecure-resistant. Combination of
  traits - seek contact one moment only to avoid
  contact when Mum returns (Ainsworth, Blehar,
  Waters, Wall, 1978).
• Type D disorganized. No consistent way of
  dealing with stressful situation (from Main
  Solomon, 1990).

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The Strange Situation

• Classification - USA middle class
• - Secure attachment (65) - Type B
• - Insecure-avoidant attachment (20) - Type A
• - Insecure-resistant attachment (10-15) - Type
  C
• - Disorganized/disoriented attachment (5-10) -
  Type D.

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The Strange Situation A valid measure?

• Bronfenbrenner (1973, p. 513)
• science of the strange behavior of children in
  strange situations with strange adults for the
  briefest possible periods of time

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The Strange Situation A valid measure?

• Cross-cultural variations
• - Takahashi (1986 1990). Greater of Resistant
  types in Japanese study.
• - Grossman et al., (1985). Greater of Avoidant
  types in German study.
• Different cultural emphasis? Do Germans encourage
  independence while Japanese parents value clingy
  (i.e., needy) behaviour?
• Undermines biological explanation - not universal.

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The Strange Situation A valid measure?

• Interpretation of strange situation behaviour.
• Original study only 26 infants. Adequate sample
  size?
• Why is Type B defined as normal?
• Does it measure attachment, or simply
  mother-infant relationship. What about fathers?
• Does it measure attachment or fear of strangers?
  (one is not necessarily the flip-side of the
  other).

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Predicting attachment

• What predicts secure attachment? Look for
  correlates.
• Opportunity to interact with one significant
  other (Spitz, 1946).
• Consistency of relationship. Swapping caregiver
  results in social dysfunctionality and emotional
  problems (Tizard Rees, 1975).
• Attributes of caregiver - touchy-feely or not?
  (Posada et al., 2002)
• Infant temperament - but not strongly tied.
• Family circumstances - single mothers/socio-econom
  ic status (Thompson, 1998).

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Predicting from attachment

• What does secure attachment predict? Look for
  correlates.
• Development of person permanence (Bell, 1970).
• Advanced tool use (Bretherton et al., 1979).
• Popularity and independence at age 4 (Scroufe,
  1983).
• Conversely,
• Disorganized/disoriented type predicts hostility
  and aggression (e.g., Lyons-Ruth, 1996).

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What of Attachment theory?

• Attachments determined by biological and cultural
  influences
• Detailed/complex model needed - Belsky (1984).

Marital relations
Social network
Developmental History
Child Characteristics
Personality
Parenting
Child Development
Work
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Early attachments - so what?

• Diagnostic tool for child psychiatrists
• see Goldberg (1991) in Slater Muir, 1999
• _at_ 3 yrs age - 7 insecure infants have clinical
  behavioural problems
• vs 2 secure infants
• i.e., insecure infants 3x more likely to develop
  behavioural problems

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Reading

• Essential
• Goldberg, S. (1991), in A. Slater D. Muir
  (eds.) (1999) - Blackwell Reader in Developmental
  Psychology.
• (take a copy only, or see Tutorial Solutions
  box)
• Alternatives
• Berk., L. E. (1997). Child Development. Chapter
  6.
• Bremner, J. G. (1991). Infancy. (Chapter 5).
• Cole, M., Cole, S. E. (1996). The development
  of children. New York Freeman Co. (Chapter 7)
• Eysenck, M. W. (2004). Psychology. (Chapter 17)
• Miller, P. (2002) - 4th Edition. Ch 2 (pp.
  120-128 134-144 146-152 157-163 293-296
  298-311).
• Smith, P. K., Cowie, H. (1991) - 2nd Edition.
  (Chapter 3).