Psychosocial Development

1
Psychosocial Development

• The first two years

2
Ethological Perspective

• Infants come into the world equipped with basic
  social predispositions (temperament) and skills
  which interact with their environmental
  surroundings and contribute to their development

3
The beginnings

• Social smile in response to another humans
  voice or face (6 weeks)
• Stranger wariness A fear of unfamiliar people
  (6 months)
• Separation anxiety A fear of being left by
  caregiver (8-18 months)
• Social referencing looking to trusted adults
  for cues on how to interpret new events (6
  months)

4
Self Awareness

• A persons sense of self as distinct from others
• stems out of an awareness of other people from
  9-15 months
• awareness of self emerges between 15-18 months
• fosters self-conscious emotions
• enables other-directed emotins

5
Temperament

• A set of innate tendencies that underlie and
  affect each persons interactions with
  people,situations, and events.

6
Dimensions of Temperament

• Activity level
• Rythmicity
• Approach-withdrawal
• Adaptability
• Intensity of reaction

• Threshold of responsiveness
• Quality of mood
• Distractibility
• Attention span

7
Goodness of Fit

• The degree to which a childs temperament matches
  the demands of his or her environment

8
Big 5 Personality Traits

• Extroversion
• Agreeableness
• Conscientiousness

• Neuroticism
• Openness

9
Synchrony

• Coordinated interaction between infant and parent
  (where one responds to the other)
• Evident is a high quality of connectedness
  between their actions and reactions

10
Attachment

• An enduring emotional connection between people
  that produces a desire for continual contact as
  well as feelings of distress during separation
• Infants and toddlers exhibit proximity-seeking
  behaviors and contact maintaining behaviors to
  ensure constant contact with caregiver.

11
Attachment

• Parents exhibit attachment behaviors such as
  keeping a close eye on the infant, responding
  affectionately and sensitively. They can also be
  observed partaking in proximity-seeking behaviors
  and contact-maintaining behaviors.

12
Ainsworths Attachment Patterns

• Secure attachment the caregiver-infant
  relationship provides comfort and confidence,
  evidenced by the infants attempts to be close to
  caregiver and readiness to explore
• Insecure attachment characterized by anxious
  clinging, resistance or indifference to caregiver