Chapter 6.docx

**Chapter 6** **Social and Personality Development in Infancy** Psychologists use all the theoretical perspectives in the chapter on Theories of Development to formulate hypotheses about infant social and personality development. The two most influential perspectives on these issues are the psycho...

**Chapter 6** **Social and Personality Development in Infancy** Psychologists use all the theoretical perspectives in the chapter on Theories of Development to formulate hypotheses about infant social and personality development. The two most influential perspectives on these issues are the psychoanalytic and the ethological perspectives. **Psychoanalytic Perspectives** Freud proposed a series of psychosexual stages from birth through adolescence, where individuals satisfy basic drives differently. In the oral stage, from birth to age 2, infants find satisfaction through oral activities. Freud believed that the weaning process should be balanced to avoid over gratification or frustration of the infant's need to suck. Failure to do so could result in fixation at this stage, manifesting in oral behaviors like nail-biting and swearing in later life. Freud emphasized the symbiotic relationship between a mother and her infant, where the two behave as a unit. He believed that a balanced nursing and weaning process leads to the infant's development of attachment to and separation from the mother. Erikson expanded on Freud's view, stating that nursing and weaning are important but are just one aspect of the overall social environment. He proposed that during the first two years of life, an infant learns to trust the world or becomes cynical about it, a stage he termed "trust versus mistrust". A well-known study in developmental psychology by Harlow & Zimmerman (1959) supported Erikson's view over Freud's. In this study, infant monkeys separated from their mothers at birth were given two surrogate mothers: a wire mother with a nursing bottle and a soft terrycloth mother. The monkeys approached the wire mother only when hungry and preferred the cloth mother for comfort. Further studies with human infants suggested that infants' social relationships are not solely based on nursing or weaning practices. It suggests that emotional comfort, provided by the soft terrycloth surrogate mother in the study, was a crucial factor for the infant monkeys, often taking precedence over the basic physical need for nourishment provided by the wire mother. This underscores the significance of emotional care and bonding in early development, alongside physical care. **Ethological Perspectives** The ethological perspective posits that all animals, including humans, have inherent tendencies that significantly shape their development. This approach suggests that evolution has equipped infants with genes that predispose them to form emotional bonds with their caregivers, a concept known as attachment theory. Unlike psychoanalysts, ethologists believe that an infant's ability to form social relationships is largely impervious to environmental factors like parenting quality. However, they assert that the first two years of life represent a sensitive period for relationship formation. Infants who do not establish a close relationship with a caregiver by age 2 are considered at risk for future social and personality issues. **Research Report** **Adoption and Development** Adoptive parents often assume that with enough love and support, an adopted child will develop similarly to a biological child. However, factors like inherited temperament and personality traits can lead to differences. For example, shy parents may find it challenging to raise an outgoing child. It's also important for adoptive parents to consider the child's pre-adoption circumstances. Children adopted before 6 months of age, with no history of institutionalization or abuse, generally show similar attachment security, cognitive development, and social adjustment as non-adopted children. However, studies on Romanian orphans adopted by Canadian families in the early 1990s showed that those who had lived in Romanian orphanages for more than four months before adoption tended to have more psychological and motor-behavior problems than non-adopted children. These children had experienced extreme deprivation, understimulation, malnourishment, and minimal care. Therefore, the child's early experiences significantly impact their development. Lucy Le Mare and Karyn Audet continued their study on Romanian orphans (RO) adopted by Canadian families, assessing them at an average age of 17. Earlier findings showed considerable individual variability at age 10, with the group overall having lower than average IQs, academic achievement, and more difficulties with attention, learning, and peer relationships. Later analysis revealed that RO who lived in a Romanian orphanage for over 24 months before adoption had serious behavioral difficulties at twice the rate of the general population and compared to RO who spent less than two years in orphanages. UK researchers found similar adverse neurodevelopmental and mental health outcomes in RO adopted by UK families after spending more than 6 months in an institution. Positive adolescent-parent attachment relationships and open communication about adoption in adoptive homes were important factors in moderating long-term risk. Parents adopting high-risk children should be aware that these children, especially those adopted later, with histories of abuse or neglect, or who have lived in institutions for long periods, tend to have more cognitive, motor, and emotional problems and physical development delays than non-adopted children. Infants institutionalized for many months often lack attachment opportunities, putting them at risk of developing reactive attachment disorder, which impairs social relationship formation. These children can be irritable, difficult to comfort, rarely show positive emotions, and may experience extreme fear. However, adopted children generally fare better developmentally than their institutionalized peers. Raising high-risk children can be made more manageable with parent training. Adoptive parents should utilize any available training from adoption institutions or seek it in their community. If difficulties arise, they should seek help from a child-specializing social worker or psychologist. Therapists can assist with daily tasks like toilet training and teach strategies for managing behaviors reflecting severe emotional disturbance. Ethologists hypothesize that early emotional bonds significantly influence later social and personality development. According to John Bowlby, infants form different internal models of their relationships with parents and other key adults. These models, which begin to form late in the first year of life and become more complex over the next four or five years, include the child's confidence in the attachment figure's availability and reliability, expectations of affection or rejection, and assurance of the primary caregiver as a safe base for exploration. By age 5, most children have a clear internal model of the primary caregiver, a self-model, and a model of relationships. These models shape experiences, memory, and attention, leading children to notice and remember experiences that fit their models and overlook or forget those that don't. The models also affect behavior, with children tending to recreate familiar patterns in new relationships. This tendency continues into adulthood, leading ethologists to believe that poor communication between adult romantic partners may stem from maladaptive communication patterns developed with early caregivers. **Attachment** Despite the challenges of parenting such as constant diaper changes, food preparation, baths, and periods of extreme exhaustion, most parents successfully foster an attachment relationship with their infants. Attachment is an emotional bond where a person's sense of security is tied to the relationship. Research suggests that a child doesn't need to be biologically related to their parents to form such a bond. The development of attachment relationships relies on the quantity and quality of interactions between infants and parents. Understanding this attachment requires examining both the parents' bond to the child and the child's attachment to the parents. **The Parents' Attachment to the Infant** Immediate contact between a mother and infant after birth is not sufficient to form a stable long-term bond. What's crucial for bond formation is the opportunity for to develop a mutual pattern of attachment behaviors, known as synchrony. Synchrony is akin to a conversation where the baby signals need through crying or smiling, responds to being held by quieting or snuggling, and makes eye contact with the parents. The parents reciprocate by engaging with their own set of caregiving behaviors. The bond between a father and an infant, like that of a mother, relies more on the development of synchrony than on immediate post-birth contact. Fathers, like mothers, exhibit the same range of attachment behaviors, such as touching, talking to, and cuddling their babies in the early weeks. However, after the first few weeks, parental behaviors start to specialize. Fathers tend to spend more time playing with the baby, often involving physical roughhousing, while mothers spend more time in routine caregiving and engage more in talking to and smiling at the baby. These behavioral differences may have a neurobiological basis. When mothers interact with their infants, their bodies release oxytocin, a hormone associated with empathy, desire for physical closeness, and physical relaxation. Conversely, fathers' interaction with babies stimulates the release of vasopressin, a hormone linked to stimulatory contact, physical activity, and joint attention to objects. By 6 months, infants show distinct responses to their mothers and fathers. They gradually and subtly display positive emotional states, like smiling, when interacting with their mothers. In contrast, they express joy in short, intense bursts, such as laughing and wriggling, when interacting with their fathers. This doesn't indicate a preference for one parent over the other, but rather that infants recognize the behavioral differences between their parents. Some researchers argue that traditional measures of attachment behaviors, based on mother-infant interactions, may lead to incorrect conclusions about fathers being less involved or important. However, research shows that infants benefit greatly from interactions with both parents. Longitudinal studies have shown that infants whose fathers don't engage in typical father-infant play activities early on may be at risk of developing behavioral issues, like excessive aggressiveness, later in childhood. The study indicates that the timing and type of a father's involvement significantly affect the quality of father-child attachment. Specifically, when fathers participate in caregiving activities on workdays, it strengthens the attachment security. However, an excessive focus on play can diminish it. Interestingly, a balance of play and caregiving on non-workdays leads to higher attachment security. This underlines the importance of fathers being adaptable and adjusting their involvement based on the varying needs and circumstances of childcare. Research across various cultures shows that a father's involvement is beneficial for an infant's development. This involvement can take many forms and benefits not only the child by providing protection, resources, care, and role modeling, but also the father by reducing risk-taking and improving physical, mental, and sexual health, as well as enhancing the relationship with the mother. Thus, good fathering positively impacts the overall well-being of families. However, there can be challenges in building a strong father-child attachment and maintaining positive paternal involvement. These challenges may arise particularly in cultures where the father's role is seen as secondary or when the father's parenting skills development is disrupted due to various reasons such as oppression, violence, or forced separation (e.g., as with Indian Residential Schools in Canada). These factors can negatively affect the father's ability to be an involved parent. The participation of Canadian mothers in the workforce has been on the rise since the 1980s, and so has the involvement of fathers, particularly those born in Canada, in childcare activities. However, fathers still spend less time on childcare than mothers, with averages of 1.9 hours and 2.6 hours per day, respectively. Despite the increase in paternal involvement over the years, there remains a gap between the ideal level of involvement for optimal child development and the current reality of the father's role in child rearing. Progress is needed for fathers to transition from a supplementary role to a more active caregiving role that enhances child development. **The Infant's Attachment to the Parents** The baby's attachment to the parents develops gradually, based on the baby's ability to distinguish her parents from others. An infant can recognize her mother's voice even before birth. Within a few days after birth, the baby can also recognize her mother by sight and smell. Therefore, the cognitive basis for attachment is established within days of birth. **Establishing Attachment** Bowlby proposed that the development of an infant's attachment occurs in four phases. These phases unfold in a fixed order over the first 24 to 36 months of life and are heavily influenced by genes present in all healthy human infants. In each phase, the infant displays a unique set of behaviors and interaction patterns related to attachment. Bowlby's four phases of infant attachment development are: 1. Nonfocused Orienting and Signalling (Birth to 3 months): Infants display "proximity promoting" behaviors like crying, eye contact, clinging, and cuddling to signal their needs and attract attention. These signals are directed to everyone they interact with. 2. Focus on One or More Figures (3 to 6 months): Infants start directing their signals to a select few, typically those they spend most time with, and become less responsive to unfamiliar people. 3. Secure Base Behaviour (6 to 24 months): True attachment forms. Infants exhibit "proximity seeking" behaviors, like following and clinging to caregivers seen as "safe bases". These behaviors are mostly directed towards a primary caregiver. Some infants may show strong attachment to multiple caregivers but usually prefer one when under stress. 4. Internal Model (24 months and beyond): Children develop an internal model of the attachment relationship, allowing them to anticipate how their actions might affect their bonds with caregivers. This model influences later relationships with early caregivers and other significant relationships throughout life. **Attachment Behaviours** Once a child develops a clear attachment around 6 to 8 months of age, related behaviors like stranger anxiety and separation anxiety start to emerge. These behaviors, which are rare before 5 or 6 months, increase in frequency until about 12 to 16 months and then decrease. Stranger anxiety is expressed through behaviors like clinging to the mother when strangers are present. Separation anxiety is shown when infants cry or protest when separated from the primary caregiver. While research findings vary, it appears that fear of strangers emerges first, followed by separation anxiety, which lasts longer. This increase in fear and anxiety is observed in children from various cultures and in both home-reared and daycare children. Social referencing is another attachment behavior where infants use cues from the facial expressions and emotional tone of voice of their attachment figures to navigate new situations. For instance, when about to be examined by a healthcare provider, babies will first look at their parent's face to gauge their emotional expression. If the parent appears happy or pleased, the baby is more likely to accept a stranger with less resistance. Conversely, if the parent looks worried or scared, the baby will respond to those cues and react to the new situation with similar fear or concern. Social referencing also aids babies in learning to manage their emotions. For instance, an angry infant, upset due to the unavailability of a pleasurable activity, might use the caregiver's comforting expressions to transition to a more pleasant emotional state. Conversely, if a caregiver responds to the baby's anger with more anger, it could escalate the baby's own anger. Most developmentalists believe that the quality of emotional interaction between an infant and their caregivers plays a crucial role in the child's ability to regulate emotions like anger and frustration in later years. **Variations in Attachment Quality** Virtually all babies seem to go through the four phases of attachment first identified by Bowlby, but the quality of the attachments they form differs from one infant to the next. **Secure and Insecure Attachments** The Ainsworth's category system is a universally recognized method for assessing the quality of the first attachment relationship. It differentiates between secure attachment and two types of insecure attachment. The assessment is done using a procedure known as the Strange Situation. The Strange Situation is a laboratory procedure involving eight episodes, typically conducted with children aged 12 to 18 months. The child's reactions are observed in various situations including being with the mother, with the mother and a stranger, alone with the stranger, completely alone, and during reunions with the mother. Based on the child's reactions, particularly during the reunion episodes, Ainsworth identified three types of attachment: secure attachment, avoidant attachment, and ambivalent attachment. A fourth type, known as disorganized/disoriented attachment, was later added to include attachment reactions that do not fit into the other two insecure patterns. The crying of a child when separated from the mother is not a reliable indicator of the security of their attachment. Both securely and insecurely attached infants may or may not cry in such situations. The key is the overall pattern of the child's response to the Strange Situation, not a single response. Secure attachment is the most common pattern observed in studies across various countries. David Pederson and Greg Moran from the University of Western Ontario have improved the measurement of attachment. Instead of the laboratory-based Strange Situation, they observed mother-infant interactions in the more natural home environment. Both methods showed that in a secure relationship, mothers were more responsive to their infant's needs, and the infant was less fussy and enjoyed physical contact with the mother. **Stability of Attachment Classification** The security or insecurity of a child's attachment tends to remain consistent over many years when the child's family environment or life circumstances are relatively stable. However, major changes in a child's circumstances, such as parental divorce or relocation, can alter the security of the child's attachment, either from secure to insecure or vice versa, particularly if the change is perceived as a positive life event. A significant study tracked a group of middle-class white children from ages 1 to 21. Those whose attachment classification changed during this period had almost all experienced a major upheaval, such as the death of a parent, physical or sexual abuse, or a serious illness. Research also indicates that securely attached infants are at risk of becoming insecurely attached preschoolers if the level of domestic violence in their homes increases during their early years. The security of a child's attachment can change over time, which doesn't contradict the idea of attachment arising from an internal model. Bowlby proposed that for the first two or three years, a child's attachment pattern is somewhat a property of each specific relationship. For instance, some infants may be securely attached to one parent and insecurely attached to the other. The quality of each relationship determines the security of the child's attachment to that particular adult. If the relationship significantly changes, the attachment security may also change. However, by age 4 or 5, the internal model becomes more a property of the child, generalizes across relationships, and becomes more resistant to change. The child then tends to apply this model to new relationships, including those with teachers or peers. **Attachment And Autism Spectrum Disorders** Initially, influenced by Bowlby's attachment theory, developmentalists thought that autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), which impair an individual's social interaction abilities, resulted from a disrupted attachment process due to insensitive parenting. However, despite their synchrony challenges, most infants with ASDs are securely attached to their caregivers. Contemporary research suggests that ASDs have neurological origins. Therefore, today's developmental scientists believe that ASDs are caused by a combination of biological and environmental factors, not a flawed attachment process. Additionally, there is no evidence that vaccines increase a child's risk of developing autism spectrum disorders. Clinicians categorize Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) into three levels of severity. - **Level 1 ASD** children have limited or no language skills, display stereotypic behaviors, and have a narrow range of interests. Most also have intellectual disabilities. - **Level 2 ASD** children can communicate verbally to some extent and have mild cognitive impairment. They often struggle with perspective-taking and may repeat words or phrases inappropriately, limiting their conversational and social interaction abilities. - **Level 3 ASD** children possess age-appropriate language and cognitive skills. Their unusual behaviors become noticeable in preschool or kindergarten, such as intense focus on memorizing irrelevant information or engaging in obsessive-compulsive behaviors. By school age, their difficulty forming friendships becomes apparent. Treatments like intensive behavioral, social-skills, and play/interaction-based training can mitigate ASD symptoms and enhance cognitive, language, communication, and adaptive skills. These treatments are most effective when implemented early in life, are intensive (\>15 hours per week), and address multiple areas of functioning. Training parents to administer these treatments at home may also improve ASD symptoms. **Caregiver Characteristics and Attachment** Researchers have found that several characteristics of caregivers influence the attachment process. These characteristics include the caregivers' emotional and tactile responses to the infant, their marital status, and their mental health. **Emotional Responsiveness** Studies suggest that emotional availability (EA) from the primary caregiver is a key factor for secure parent-child attachment. An emotionally available caregiver can form an emotional bond with the infant. However, parents dealing with economic or emotional distress may be too preoccupied to invest emotionally in the parent-infant relationship, even if they can meet the child's physical needs. The Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project found that most mothers' EA towards their child remained relatively stable across infancy and toddlerhood. On the other hand, children's EA towards their mother was less stable but generally increased over time. There was also variability in EA levels between mother and child over time, often changing in response to changes in the other's EA level. **Tactile Responsiveness** Harlow's research highlighted the importance of social touch, such as gentle stroking, in the attachment process. This pleasant physical contact, particularly slow and gentle caresses, triggers a range of neurobiological and emotional responses. These responses are linked to the stimulation of specific skin receptors (C-tactile afferent fibres) that respond best to near-normal skin temperature and gentle touch. This stimulation leads to facial muscle movements associated with smiling, the release of neurotransmitters and hormones like oxytocin linked to pleasure and stress reduction, and the activation of emotional and social brain regions. These responses act as a "stress buffer", reducing the negative effects of social separation and rewarding renewed social contact, thereby reinforcing parent-child bonding. Conversely, lack of touch (as in neglect or rejection) or intense touch (as in physical abuse) can lead to long-term negative social, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental effects, especially if experienced early in life or for prolonged periods. A diagram of a pie chart Description automatically generated Contingent responsiveness, the ability of parents to be sensitive and respond appropriately to a child's cues, is a crucial component of secure attachment. Parents who exhibit this behavior, such as smiling when the baby smiles or picking up the baby when they cry, foster a secure attachment with their infants. Infants with such parents are more likely to be securely attached at 12 months and are less likely to show behavioral problems and emotional difficulties later in childhood. A low level of parental responsiveness contributes to insecure attachment. However, different types of insecure attachment are influenced by additional factors. - Avoidant attachment is more likely if the mother rejects the infant, regularly withdraws from contact, or is overly intrusive or stimulating. - Ambivalent attachment is more common when the primary caregiver is inconsistently or unreliably available. - Disorganized/disoriented attachment is especially likely in cases of child abuse or when a parent has unresolved trauma from their own childhood, such as abuse or early parental death. Each type of insecure attachment is thus associated with specific parental behaviors and circumstances. **Marital Status** Research indicates that infants with married parents are more likely to have secure attachment compared to those with cohabiting or single parents. However, this could be influenced by other factors associated with marital status, such as education level and economic status, as married parents typically have higher education and are less likely to be poor. Marital conflict also impacts attachment development. Infants as young as 6 months old, when exposed to parental arguments, particularly aggressive verbal exchanges, are more likely to show signs of emotional withdrawal. This emotional withdrawal disrupts the synchrony between the infant and caregiver, reducing the likelihood of developing a secure attachment. **Mental Health** Mental health issues, particularly depression, in caregivers are associated with the quality of attachment. Mothers with depressive symptoms may struggle to interpret and respond to key infant signals, such as crying. They also tend to engage in less social touching. Mothers experiencing anxiety and depression are more likely to perceive their infants as difficult or emotionally negative. Consequently, infants of mothers with depressive symptoms are at a higher risk of developing insecure attachments and future emotional problems. However, many depressed mothers are as sensitive and responsive to their babies' needs as non-depressed mothers. Infants of such depressed mothers are less likely to show long-term negative effects compared to those of less sensitive depressed mothers. In other words, when depressed mothers exhibit typical parenting behaviors, their emotional status doesn't seem to negatively impact their babies' development. Studies on mothers with panic disorder have shown that, like those with depression, these mothers exhibit behaviors that may disrupt synchrony. **Long-Term Consequences of Attachment Quality** Attachment theory suggests that early emotional relationships influence later ones. Research has explored the links between Ainsworth's attachment classification system and various behaviors in infants, children, adolescents, and adults. Numerous studies indicate that children who are securely attached to their mothers in infancy tend to be more sociable, positive towards friends and siblings, less dependent on teachers, less aggressive, more empathetic, and emotionally mature in school and other settings. Adolescents who were securely attached in infancy or classified as secure based on adolescent interviews are more socially skilled, have closer friendships, are often seen as leaders, and have higher self-esteem and better grades. Those with insecure attachments, especially avoidant attachments, have fewer positive friendships in adolescence and are more likely to engage in early and riskier sexual activity. The quality of attachment in infancy predicts sociability and relationship quality in adulthood. An adult's internal model of attachment influences their parenting behaviors. Securely attached parents tend to be more responsive and sensitive towards their children. Conversely, parents with insecure attachments in childhood are at a higher risk of forming insecure attachments with their children, especially without social support in adulthood. Research has found consistency across three generations (grandmothers, mothers, and infants) in attachment patterns. Parents with a history of insecure attachment are more likely to view their infants negatively and may lack confidence in their parenting abilities. Long-term studies suggest that the attachment relationship forms the basis for future social relationships. It is particularly critical to the relationship an individual develops with their own child. This supports the assumptions of both psychoanalysts and ethologists about the foundational role of attachment relationships. **Development in the Real World** Indigenous Canadians: Intergenerational Continuity and Change in Attachment Patterns Individuals who have developed a secure attachment during infancy can lose that attachment under extreme circumstances. This loss of attachment can occur on a broader scale, as seen in the case of colonization in Canada. Colonization, which began in the 1600s, led to the social, cultural, and geographic displacement of Indigenous peoples by European settlers. This caused widespread disruption of family and community bonds. An estimated 60% of Indigenous peoples were decimated due to contagious diseases brought by the European settlers. The remaining Indigenous peoples faced further upheaval due to government-sanctioned efforts to force them to adopt European cultural values, leading to a disconnection from their traditional ways of living. This cultural assimilation was reinforced through the relocation of Indigenous peoples onto remote reserves, placing an estimated 150,000 of their children into residential boarding schools, and creating a forced dependence on government support. The process was further exacerbated by the \'60s Scoop, which placed many Indigenous children into foster care and adopted them into non-Indigenous families. This historical context illustrates the profound impact of societal changes on attachment and community bonds. Children placed in residential schools were separated from trusted caregivers and exposed to abuse, grief, loss, and trauma. The school staff, acting as "surrogate" parents, failed to equip them with the necessary skills and emotional knowledge for raising their own children. This separation and trauma have had lasting negative effects on multiple generations of Indigenous people. Studies suggest that children who experience such adversities are more likely to form unhealthy attachment relationships with their own children, especially if they haven't resolved the associated emotional pain. The attempted assimilation process has led to generations of Indigenous children lacking opportunities to develop or maintain secure attachments to caregivers. Over time, social problems that further impair the attachment process have increased. This is particularly true for young mothers living in poverty, lacking resources and social support, enduring interpersonal and interfamilial conflict, and experiencing feelings of victimization, cultural confusion, guilt, anger, fear, and pain. These factors lead to the loss of effective childcare practices that traditionally fostered secure attachment in Indigenous children, such as role models and a consistent circle of primary caregivers including parents, family, and community members. The need to address the accumulated distress caused by the decimation of Indigenous communities, lands, and cultural identities is recognized. Despite differing parenting practices among Indigenous communities, establishing a positive emotional connection between caregivers and children is crucial. This involves both interventionist and preventive initiatives that consider the needs of the individual and the community in the healing process. Large-scale prevention measures on cultural, political, and socioeconomic levels are needed to support caregivers in breaking the cycle of impoverishment for current and future generations. On a personal level, culture-specific healing is needed to connect the emotional suffering of Indigenous parents and caregivers to the generational trauma of their past. Acknowledging and understanding past traumas can help parents and caregivers change how they nurture their children. With support, primary caregivers can develop secure attachments to their children through sensitive, responsive interactions. These interventions can be facilitated by building or repairing trusting relationships with family members and community allies, using a combination of counseling and therapy that involves Indigenous Elders for support. **Personality, Temperament, and Self-Concept** Psychologists use the term "personality" to describe patterns in how individuals, both children and adults, interact with others and their environment. These individual personality differences develop throughout childhood and adolescence and are based on a fundamental set of behavioral and emotional tendencies present at birth, commonly referred to as "temperament". **Dimensions of Temperament** Psychologists studying infant temperament have not yet agreed on a standard set of temperament dimensions. An early influential theory by Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess, known for their New York Longitudinal Study, proposed three temperament classifications that apply to about 75% of infants. The remaining 25% show combinations of these types. - **Easy Children (40% of infants)**: These children approach new events positively, have predictable sleeping and eating cycles, are generally happy, and adjust easily to change. - **Difficult Children (10% of infants)**: These children have irregular sleeping and eating cycles, show emotional negativity and irritability, and resist change. - **Slow-to-Warm-Up Children (15% of infants)**: These children display few intense reactions, either positive or negative, and appear nonresponsive to unfamiliar people. Some researchers study infant temperament from a trait perspective, viewing it as a function of the various characteristics an infant possesses. For instance, an infant with a high level of physical activity and emotional irritability would have a different temperamental profile than an infant with high activity and an easygoing nature. While there's no clear agreement on the key dimensions of temperament, a consensus has emerged over the past decade emphasizing five key dimensions: - **Activity Level**: A tendency to be active and vigorous, rather than passive or immobile. - **Approach/Positive Emotionality/Sociability**: A tendency to approach rather than avoid new people, situations, or objects, usually accompanied by positive emotion. - **Inhibition and Anxiety**: The opposite of approach, characterized by a tendency to respond with fear or withdrawal from new people, situations, or objects. - **Negative Emotionality/Irritability/Anger**: A tendency to respond with anger, fussiness, loudness, or irritability, and a low frustration threshold. This dimension aligns with Thomas and Chess's concept of the "difficult" child. - **Effortful Control/Task Persistence**: An ability to stay focused, manage attention, and persist with tasks. **Origins and Stability of Temperament** Differences in temperament appear early in life, even during the prenatal period. Research suggests that both nature and nurture contribute to individual differences in temperament. **Genetic and Epigenetic Factors** Research has shown that identical twins have more similar temperaments than fraternal twins, indicating a strong genetic influence. This was observed in studies where children's reactions to new toys and strangers were measured and compared between identical and fraternal twins. A recent study found that about half of the variation in human temperament can be attributed to 736 specific genes. These genes are involved in synaptic plasticity, learning, conditioning, stress reactivity, and neurotransmission. The expression of these genes is controlled by epigenetic mechanisms, which also play a role in temperament development. Prenatal exposure to adversities like poor nutrition, stress, toxicants, and substance use/psychotropic medication can lead to epigenetic changes that influence neural development and the child's temperament. Future research in epigenetics could potentially identify specific markers associated with different temperaments, which could help in preventing or reversing adverse epigenetic profiles. **Neurological Processes** Temperament theorists suggest that behavioral differences can be traced back to variations in physiological patterns, which are influenced by heredity. Studies have found that the genes controlling the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, which regulate the brain's response to new information and unusual situations, support this theory. This is particularly evident in shy children who tend to be overstimulated by such stimuli. Thus, the research suggests that shy children may process dopamine and serotonin differently. Another neurological factor associated with shyness is frontal lobe asymmetry. While most people's left and right frontal lobes respond similarly to new stimuli, shy infants show different responses in each hemisphere, with higher levels of arousal in the right hemisphere. This suggests that temperamental differences may be rooted in neurological processes. However, it's unclear whether these neurological differences cause temperament variations or are a result of them. Interestingly, shy infants who become more outgoing over their first four years of life also become less likely to exhibit this asymmetrical arousal pattern. **Interpersonal Milieu** Critics of neurological studies argue that it's unclear whether the observed neurological patterns are causes or effects of behavior. They suggest that behavior itself shapes the brain. For instance, shy children might develop different neurological patterns than outgoing children due to their behavior influencing the development and pruning of neural networks. This perspective aligns with findings that temperament and interpersonal interactions can reinforce inherent qualities. People, regardless of age, select their experiences based on their temperaments, a process known as "niche-picking". For instance, sociable children tend to seek social interactions, while children with lower activity levels might prefer sedentary activities like puzzles or board games. 1 A child's inherent temperamental tendencies can be influenced by parental behavior. A study found that the behavior of parents when their children were 4 years old could predict the children's level of shyness at age 7. Specifically, children of more controlling parents were likely to be more behaviorally inhibited at age 7 than at age 4. Interestingly, parents who accepted their child's inhibited temperament might help the child overcome shyness later in life more than parents who tried to make the child more outgoing. Parental behavior can also differentially affect infants with difficult temperaments. Compared to infants with easy temperaments, those with difficult temperaments are more susceptible to negative parenting but also benefit more from positive parenting. Experts suggest that parental influences may be most significant for children at the extremes of a temperamental continuum, meaning children who are extremely inhibited or difficult may be more responsive to parental influence than those who are moderately so. Parental behavior can amplify or moderate a child's inherent temperamental tendencies. A study found that more controlling parental behavior at age 4 predicted increased behavioral inhibition (shyness) in children at age 7. Interestingly, parents who accept their child's inhibited temperament might help the child overcome shyness later in life more than parents who try to make the child more outgoing. Parental behavior can also differentially affect infants with difficult temperaments. Compared to infants with easy temperaments, those with difficult temperaments are more susceptible to negative parenting but also benefit more from positive parenting. Parental influences may be most significant for children at the extremes of a temperamental continuum, meaning children who are extremely inhibited or difficult may be more responsive to parental influence than those who are moderately so. Developmentalists argue that the match between children's temperaments and their interpersonal environments influences how inborn temperamental characteristics are manifested later in life. For instance, if parents and caregivers of an irritable baby are good at tolerating his irritability and persist in establishing a synchronous relationship with him, then his irritability doesn't lead to the development of an insecure attachment or inhibit social adjustment. **Long-term Stability** Evidence suggests that certain aspects of temperament remain stable from infancy through adulthood. This is encouraging for parents of toddlers who display positive affectivity and disinhibition, as these traits have been linked to extroversion, well-being, and career success in adulthood. However, for parents of toddlers with more challenging temperaments, the situation can be different. Issues with peers, a behavior pattern moderately stable from infancy to childhood, are associated with traits like negative emotionality and low sociability. Research also shows consistency in inhibition across different ages. Children who exhibited high levels of crying and motor activity in response to new situations at 4 months old were still classified as highly inhibited at 8 years old. This trend continues into their teenage and early adult years. However, it's important to note that these are general trends and individual experiences can vary. **Self-Concept** In the early months of life, a baby is simultaneously forming an internal model of attachment and expressing her unique temperament, while also developing an internal model of self. Freud proposed that a sense of separateness from the mother is crucial for the infant to form a sense of self. Similarly, Piaget highlighted the importance of the infant's understanding of object permanence as a prerequisite for achieving self-permanence. These early aspects of self-development are still reflected in contemporary discussions about the emergence of self-awareness. (Lewis, 1990, 1991) Canadian studies have shown that an infant's ability to distinguish between objects develops earlier than the concept of object permanence. Specifically, an infant can start differentiating between objects and people at 2 months old (Legerstee, Pomerleau, Malcuit, & Feider, 1987). Furthermore, between 5 and 8 months of age, an infant can distinguish between images of herself, other infants, and dolls (Legerstee, Anderson, & Schaffer, 1998). **The Subjective Self** The child's initial task is to realize his separateness from others and the persistence of this separate self across time and space. This aspect of self-concept is referred to as the subjective or existential self, with the key realization being "I exist." This understanding stems from the child's daily interactions with objects and people, leading him to realize that he can influence things within the first two to three months of life (Thompson et al., 2011). For instance, a child learns that touching a mobile causes it to move, and crying elicits a response. Around this time, the social smile, a facial expression aimed at another person to provoke a response, emerges, although its frequency and duration vary significantly among babies (Levine, 2011; Washburn, 1929). Through this process, the baby distinguishes self from everything else, and a sense of "I" starts to form. By the time an infant reaches 8 to 12 months and has developed a comprehensive understanding of object permanence, the subjective self is fully formed. As the infant realizes that parents continue to exist even when not visible, he also begins to understand his separate existence and some degree of permanence. This is a preliminary step towards self-awareness. **The Objective Self** The toddler's second major task is to understand that she, like other objects in the world, has distinct properties (Thompson et al., 2011). Just as a ball has characteristics like roundness, the ability to roll, and a certain tactile sensation, the "self" also has attributes such as gender, size, a name, and traits like shyness, boldness, coordination, or clumsiness. This self-awareness is a key feature of the second aspect of identity, known as the objective or categorical self. Once self-awareness is achieved, the child begins to define herself by categorizing herself into various groups. Determining the exact moment when a child develops initial self-awareness, marking the formation of the objective self, is challenging. A common method involves using a mirror. Initially, the baby is placed in front of a mirror to observe her behavior. Most infants between 9 and 12 months old will interact with their own reflection in some way. After this free exploration, the experimenter discreetly places a spot of rouge on the baby's nose and lets her look in the mirror again. The key test of self-recognition, and thus self-awareness, is whether the baby reaches for the spot on her own nose instead of the reflection's nose. A classic study showed that few 9- to 12-month-old babies touched their own noses, but three-quarters of the 21-month-old babies demonstrated self-recognition. This finding has been confirmed in various other studies, including those conducted in Europe (Asendorpf, Warkentin, & Baudonnière, 1996; Lewis & Brooks, 1978). As toddlers develop self-awareness, they start to exhibit a sense of ownership, often expressing it as "Mine!" towards their toys or other valued items. They begin to identify themselves by name and, towards the end of their second year, start to identify themselves as boys or girls. Furthermore, they recognize their belonging to the "child" category. They also use categorical descriptors like "good" and "big" to describe themselves. For instance, a girl might refer to herself as a "good girl" when she follows her parent's instructions or a "big girl" when she accomplishes a task, such as using the toilet (Stipek, Gralinski, & Kopp, 1990). **The Emotional Self** The development of the emotional self in infants begins at 2 to 3 months of age when they start recognizing changes in others' facial expressions. Initially, they best discern emotions when they receive multi-channel information, such as seeing a facial expression and hearing the corresponding emotion in an adult's voice. Infants are better at understanding the emotional expressions of familiar faces than unfamiliar ones during these early weeks. By 5 to 7 months, infants start responding to single-channel information, like facial or vocal expressions alone, even from strangers. They also start distinguishing between various emotions like happiness, surprise, anger, fear, interest, and sadness. Towards the end of the first year, infants' understanding of others' emotions helps them anticipate others' actions and guide their own behavior. For example, they react to another infant's neutral facial expression by trying to elicit an emotional response. This behavior is similar to adults trying to make a baby smile and is observed in babies by 8 to 10 months of age. As infants' understanding of others' emotions grows, their expression of emotions also progresses. At birth, infants have distinct facial expressions for interest, pain, and disgust, with enjoyment expressions developing quickly. By 2 to 3 months, adults can distinguish expressions of anger and sadness in babies, with fear expressions appearing by 6 or 7 months. Around the same time, infants start smiling more at human faces than at dolls or inanimate objects, indicating early responsiveness to social signals in human faces. Over several months, an infant's emotional expressions and resulting behaviors become more complex. Infants who have formed an attachment to a caregiver in the first year use the caregiver's emotions as a guide for their own feelings. By this age, babies learn to self-soothe when their caregivers act predictably. For instance, a hungry baby calms down when she sees her caregiver preparing to feed her. By one year, infants expect adults to act beneficially towards others, possibly indicating early morality. By 17 months, infants expect adults to help those in need within their group, but view helping outsiders as optional. Around the middle of the second year, when a child starts recognizing themselves in the mirror, self-conscious emotions like embarrassment, pride, and shame start to emerge. **Awareness of the Intentions of Others** Developmentalists are interested in when an infant realizes that others have separate intentions or "internal mental states". Psychologist Barbara D'Entremont studied this by observing infants' reactions to an adult's gaze and finger-pointing. She found that infants between 3 and 6 months can follow another person's gaze, but this is more likely a response to an attention-getting cue than actual social communication. Another study found that 1-year-olds point to enhance social interaction, while 2-year-olds point to redirect another person's attention. This suggests an age-related shift in development where a 2-year-old child understands that others may not always pay attention to what she is focusing on, and she can redirect their attention by pointing. This ability to pay attention to another person's intentions and an object simultaneously, known as joint attention, is linked to later language, intellectual, behavioral, and emotional adjustment. Canadian theorists, including Jeremy Carpendale, Timothy Racine, and Ulrich Müller, proposed that joint attention is a key indicator of an infant's emerging understanding that others have separate mental states, or "minds of their own." Joint attention demonstrates the infant's appreciation of the importance of paying attention to another person's intentions. From this perspective, an infant begins to develop an understanding of mental states, goal-oriented behavior, and the social world primarily through social interactions with others, seemingly from birth. Both joint attention and secure emotional attachment have been linked to early mother-infant social interactions. **Effects of Nonparental Care** Over the past several decades, women's participation in the workforce has significantly increased in nearly all developed countries. This change has been particularly rapid and substantial in Canada. In 1967, only 17% of Canadian mothers with preschool children were part of the labor force. By 2015, this figure had risen to approximately 70%. Employment rates have increased for both single mothers and, more dramatically, for partnered mothers with children under 3 years of age. The passage discusses the evolution of parental leave policies in Canada and their impact on families, particularly those with young children. Here's a summary: - **Nearly 75%** of households with children under 6 have both parents working, leading to significant changes in child-care services. - In 2000, amendments to the Employment Insurance Act extended parental leave benefits, resulting in more parents taking time off to care for their infants. - This trend had a significant impact on fathers. By 2007, **55.2%** of fathers took leave for the birth or adoption of a child, a rise from **37.9%** in 2001. - Changes to Quebec's Parental Insurance Plan in 2006, which included higher benefits and no waiting period, led to a surge in paternal leave participation in Quebec, the highest in Canada and North America. - The latest changes to the EI parental benefits offer an option to extend parental leave up to **61 weeks**, though at a lower compensation level. These changes reflect a shift towards more balanced caregiving responsibilities in Canadian families. The passage discusses the Canadian government's initiatives to support Indigenous families and the disparities in parental leave durations between fathers and mothers. Here's a summary: - The Government of Canada has initiated access to quality child-care services for First Nations and Inuit parents who are starting a new job or participating in a training program. - These services are culturally appropriate, shaped by the cultures, languages, traditions, values, and customs of Indigenous Canadians. - The Indigenous Early Learning and Childcare Framework aims to empower young children with a strong sense of identity and provide educational opportunities and school readiness, leading to overall lifetime health and wellness. - Alberta's Kapawe'no First Nation Daycare Centre is an example of a licensed on-reserve daycare centre that has been established. - Despite these supports, fathers' leaves are typically shorter than mothers'---only about 33% of men took more than a month off before returning to work, while roughly 50% of mothers stayed with the baby for 1 to 2 years. This suggests a continued preference for Canadian mothers to spend considerable time with their infants and toddlers. The passage discusses the benefits of improved parental leave plans in Canada and the impact of nonparental care on children. Here's a summary: - Improved parental leave plans in Canada, particularly in Quebec, have contributed to a better work-family balance for both mothers and fathers. - These improvements have led to an increase in the number of Canadian mothers meeting the global breastfeeding standard set by public health organizations, including the World Health Organization. The proportion of mothers breastfeeding exclusively for at least six months increased by about 40% following the implementation of child-care reforms. - Despite these improvements, many children receive some form of nonparental care before their first birthday. More than half of Canadian children under the age of 4 are regularly cared for by someone other than a parent. - This raises a key question for psychologists: What is the impact of such nonparental care on infants and young children? **Difficulties in Studying Nonparental Care** The text discusses the complexity of studying the impact of nonparental care on infant development. It emphasizes that both nonparental and parental care are not single factors, but complex interactions of numerous variables. The term "nonparental care" encompasses a wide range of care arrangements in Canada, from infants cared for by grandparents at home to those enrolled in daycare centers. Factors such as the age at which infants enter these arrangements, the duration of their stay, the consistency of their caregiver, and the quality of care they receive, all vary widely. Therefore, research interpretation on this topic must consider these diverse issues. The text discusses the complexity of childcare arrangements in Canada, highlighting that many parents use a mix of different care options for their children. This can include family daycare (where children are cared for in someone else's home) and care by relatives. However, most research has focused on children in daycare centers, leaving a gap in understanding about children in family daycare or those cared for at home by non-parents. It's also unclear if these research findings are applicable to non-Western cultures. Thus, the childcare landscape is multifaceted and requires further study to fully comprehend its impact on child development. Nonparental care is a common practice in Canada, especially for infants and toddlers. The care is often provided outside the child's home by nonrelatives in home daycares (31%), regulated licensed daycare centers (33%), or by grandparents, other relatives, or nannies (28%). However, families who use nonparental care differ significantly from those who provide care at home, raising questions about the effects attributed to nonparental care. Mothers' attitudes towards their care arrangements also vary, with some preferring to stay at home while others are content with working. Studies suggest that children react more positively when their mothers are satisfied with their situations, whether working or staying at home. It has been found that when a mother's employment preference aligns with her decision, she tends to be less depressed and provides more stable care for her children. The text highlights that research on the impact of nonparental care versus parental care on children's development often oversimplifies the complexities involved. Many studies compare children in daycare to those reared at home, attributing any differences to the daycare experience. However, the reality is more nuanced, and clear answers remain elusive. On average, the differences between children in nonparental care and those reared at home are not significant. More importantly, the quality of care, characterized by warmth, affection, acceptance, and sensitivity, is found to be more crucial than the type of daycare arrangement. Despite mixed findings, it's generally agreed that high-quality care is associated with positive or neutral outcomes, while poor-quality care can be harmful to children. **Effects on Cognitive Development, Peer Relations, and Attachment** Evidence suggests that high-quality, cognitively enriched daycare positively impacts children's cognitive and language development. This effect is especially pronounced for children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, who exhibit significant, enduring improvements in IQ and school performance after attending enriched daycare during infancy and early childhood. Furthermore, most children, irrespective of their social backgrounds, derive some cognitive and language benefits from high-quality daycare. Research indicates that the impact of daycare on children's personalities can be complex. Studies from Canada and the U.S. have found a correlation between the number of hours spent in daycare and later behavioral problems at school age. However, this association is stronger when children are in low-quality daycare and spend more time with large groups of peers, leading to behaviors such as increased aggression and lower compliance with teachers and parents. While a child's aggressiveness can be influenced by many factors, including temperament and parental discipline, the role of daycare in this context is noteworthy and calls for caution. The question of whether an infant or toddler can develop secure attachments to their parents despite frequent separations is still debated. Until the mid-1980s, the consensus was that daycare had no negative impact on attachment. However, developmental psychologist Jay Belsky challenged this view, suggesting a complex link between daycare and attachment. His research indicated that insecure attachment could be exacerbated by factors such as more than 10 hours of care per week, multiple childcare arrangements, or exposure to low-quality daycare, especially when coupled with insensitive mothering. However, these findings were contradicted by studies in Israel and Australia. Belsky concluded that daycare's effects on attachment are not inevitable and depend on the broader familial, community, societal, and cultural context. **Development in the Real World** **Choosing a Daycare Centre** The text provides criteria for identifying high-quality daycare settings. It emphasizes that the "fit" between a child and the daycare is crucial. Some children adjust well in any care setting, while others may struggle even in the best environments. Therefore, parents can only judge the quality of a setting after their child has spent time there. Canadian child-care experts suggest considering the following characteristics for both center-and home-based daycare: - Low child-to-staff ratios - Caregivers who are warm, friendly, patient, capable, and trained in child development, first aid, and CPR - Stable, committed, experienced caregivers with low turnover rates - A variety of activities that support healthy development - Predictable but flexible daily routines - A relaxed, caring, stimulating, safe, clean, and tidy environment - Written program policies and plans - A variety of toys, equipment, and learning materials - Practices that support emotional growth and positive interaction - Space for active and quiet activities, indoor and outdoor play, and rest - Promotion of good hygiene and policies for sick children - Nutritious meals and snacks - Cultural sensitivity - Regular communication between parent and caregiver - Compatible child-rearing philosophy and goals with those of the parents - Mutual respect and trust - Access to community resources and supports. **List of Key Terms** **ambivalent attachment:** a pattern of attachment in which the infant shows little exploratory behaviour, is greatly upset when separated from the parent, and is not reassured by the parent's return or efforts to comfort him. **Attachment:** the emotional tie, experienced by an infant, to a parent from which the child derives security. **attachment theory**: the view that the ability and need to form an attachment relationship early in life are genetic characteristics of all human beings. **autism spectrum disorders (ASDs)**: disorders that impair an individual's ability to understand and engage in the give-and-take of social relationships. **avoidant attachment**: a pattern of attachment in which an infant avoids contact with the parent and shows no preference for the parent over other people. **contingent responsiveness**: being sensitive to the child's verbal and nonverbal cues and responding appropriately. **disorganized/disoriented attachment**: a pattern of attachment in which an infant seems confused or apprehensive and shows contradictory behaviour, such as moving toward the parent while looking away from him or her. **enriched daycare**: daycare that provides structured programming to build skills, such as literacy, numeracy, social, art, and physical skills. **goodness of fit**: the degree to which an infant's temperament is adaptable to his environment and vice versa. **joint attention**: when two people are focusing their attention on an object and each is aware that the other is attending to that same object. **niche-picking:** the process of selecting experiences based on temperament. **objective (categorical) self:** the toddler's understanding that she is defined by various categories, such as gender, or qualities, such as shyness. **Personality**: a pattern of responding to people and objects in the environment. **secure attachment**: a pattern of attachment in which an infant readily separates from the parent, seeks proximity when stressed, and uses the parent as a safe base for exploration. **separation anxiety**: expressions of discomfort, such as crying, when separated from an attachment figure. **social referencing**: infants' use of others' facial expressions as a guide to their own emotions. **social touch**: pleasant physical contact in a context of social interactions. **stranger anxiety**: expressions of discomfort, such as clinging to the mother, in the presence of strangers. **subjective self**: an infant's awareness that he is a separate person who endures through time and space and can act on the environment. **Synchrony**: a mutual, interlocking pattern of attachment behaviours shared by a parent and a child. **Temperament**: inborn predispositions, such as activity level, that form the foundations of personality.