Early Psychosocial Development

Overview

This lecture explores early psychosocial development, focusing on personality, emotions, attachment, temperament, gender differences, socialization, and the effects of parenting, childcare, and abuse during the first three years of life.

Personality and Emotions in Early Childhood

Personality includes emotions, temperament, thoughts, and behaviors, making each person unique.
In psychosocial development, personality is closely linked to social relationships.
Emotions are subjective responses to experiences and are present even in infants, including sadness, joy, and fear.
Emotional expression is influenced by both culture and individual personality; some cultures may discourage certain emotions.
Infants express emotions through crying, which is their first response to the environment. There are four main types of cries: angry, hunger, pain, and frustration. Parents often learn to distinguish these cries.
Meeting a baby's needs when they cry (for hunger, pain, frustration, or anger) leads to more positive outcomes in adulthood. Research shows that responding to a baby's cries does not spoil them.
Babies' first smiles are involuntary and linked to subcortical brain activity. Social smiles, which occur after one month, are responses to human interaction and can be triggered by actions like tickling or playing.
Anticipatory smiling, where a baby smiles at an object and then at an adult, develops between 8 and 10 months and is considered an early form of communication.

Emotional Development and Self-Awareness

Self-awareness, or the realization that one's existence is separate from others, develops between 15 and 24 months.
Self-conscious emotions such as embarrassment and empathy emerge after self-awareness develops.
Self-evaluative emotions, including pride, guilt, and shame, appear after self-awareness and as children learn about socially acceptable behaviors, typically around 30 months of age.
Emotional development is linked to brain growth, with major shifts occurring in the first three years.
Altruistic behaviors, such as helping others without expecting a reward, and empathy (the ability to put oneself in another's place) begin to appear as social cognition develops.

Temperament and Goodness of Fit

Temperament is a biologically based tendency to respond to the environment in predictable ways. It is often described as easy, slow-to-warm-up, or difficult.
The "easy" temperament is characterized by happiness, adaptability, and positive responses to new experiences.
"Slow-to-warm-up" children are more reserved and cautious with new experiences but may become more comfortable over time.
"Difficult" temperament involves irritability, intense emotional responses, and difficulty adapting to change.
Goodness of fit refers to how well a child's temperament matches the demands of their environment. Adjustment is easier when there is a good match.
Temperament is influenced by physical, social, and cultural factors.

Attachment and Parenting Roles

Attachment is a reciprocal and enduring bond between child and caregiver, essential for developing trust.
Research, such as Harlow’s studies with rhesus monkeys, shows that comfort and contact are more important than food for attachment.
Fathers' involvement in caregiving has increased since the 1970s, especially as more women work outside the home. However, cultural differences exist in the level and type of father involvement.
Secure attachment is associated with better future relationships, greater vocabulary, and positive social development.
Attachment styles include secure, avoidant, resistant, and disorganized/disoriented, each reflecting different patterns of behavior in response to caregiver presence and absence.
Parental warmth and responsiveness, as well as the child’s temperament, influence attachment security.
Stranger anxiety and separation anxiety typically emerge after six months, peaking around eight to nine months, as children become distressed when separated from caregivers or approached by strangers.

Socialization and Gender Differences

Gender roles are learned from parents and shaped by social expectations and behaviors.
Parents influence gender socialization through activities, language, and modeling behaviors (e.g., boys may be encouraged to play with trucks, girls with dolls).
Boys often play more aggressively and use gender-stereotyped words, while girls may use words related to nurturing or appearance.
Children begin to recognize gender labels (e.g., "mommy" for female, "daddy" for male) early on.
Measurable gender differences in infancy are few, but girls are more likely to survive infancy, especially in cases of premature birth.

Erikson’s Stages in Early Childhood

Trust vs. Mistrust: In the first stage, infants develop a sense of trust when their needs are consistently met. If not, mistrust develops, leading to a view of the world as unfriendly.
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt: In the second stage, toddlers seek independence and self-control. Autonomy emerges from trust and self-awareness, while shame and doubt help children recognize the need for limits set by adults.
The virtue that emerges from this stage is willpower, as children assert their independence and learn to cope with frustration and boundaries.

Socialization Processes

Socialization is the process by which children learn habits, values, and behaviors needed to function in society.
Self-regulation involves controlling behavior and emotions, and conforming to caregiver standards even when caregivers are not present.
Compliance can be:
- Committed: following rules without reminders.
- Situational: following rules with prompts or reminders.
- Receptive cooperation: willingly cooperating with daily routines and expectations.
Internalization is when children adopt societal standards as their own, not just to please parents but because they understand what is accepted.
Developing self-regulation includes monitoring emotions, building willpower, and coping with frustration.
Feelings of guilt and shame help children refrain from unacceptable behavior, not just out of fear of punishment but because they recognize right from wrong.

Family, Siblings, and Peer Relationships

Secure attachment, mutual responsiveness between parent and child, and positive sibling relationships foster social skills and empathy.
Sibling interactions help children learn about social relationships outside the home, and constructive conflict can build empathy and problem-solving skills.
Children who spend more time with peers, such as in child care, tend to be more sociable and better at cooperative play.
Fathers and children can learn social skills by imitating each other and playing games, which can lead to more complex social interactions.

Childcare and Maternal Employment

High-quality child care, characterized by trained staff, low turnover, appropriate staff-to-child ratios, and stimulating activities, supports cognitive and social development.
Consistency in caregivers is important for young children to form secure relationships.
The effects of maternal employment on children vary. In disadvantaged families, maternal employment may have less negative impact, possibly due to increased family time or necessity.
High-quality child care can improve development, even when mothers work outside the home, by providing opportunities for social interaction and learning.

Child Abuse and Maltreatment

Types of child abuse include physical abuse, neglect (failure to meet basic needs), sexual abuse, and emotional maltreatment (rejection, isolation, lack of emotional support).
Risk factors for abuse include poverty, marital problems, stress, alcoholism, depression, postpartum depression, and lack of resources or community support.
Non-organic failure to thrive occurs when a child does not receive adequate nurturance or affection, leading to poor growth and development.
Shaken baby syndrome is a leading cause of death in child abuse cases in the U.S.
Community and cultural values that do not prioritize child welfare, as well as limited support services, contribute to the risk of abuse.
Foster care may be necessary for children removed from abusive environments.
Long-term effects of maltreatment can include a higher risk of becoming abusive as adults, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. However, some children show remarkable resilience, optimism, intelligence, and humor despite adversity.

Key Terms & Definitions

Personality: The unique pattern of emotions, temperament, thoughts, and behavior that defines an individual.
Temperament: Innate traits that influence how children respond to their environment, often categorized as easy, slow-to-warm-up, or difficult.
Attachment: The enduring emotional bond between a child and caregiver, crucial for healthy development.
Self-awareness: The understanding of oneself as a separate and distinct individual.
Socialization: The process of learning the values, habits, and behaviors necessary for participation in society.
Goodness of fit: The compatibility between a child's temperament and their environment, which affects adjustment and development.

Action Items / Next Steps

Read page 161 (Table 1) for psychosocial development from birth to 3 years.
Review the emotions chart on page 163.
Study Table 2 on page 166 for temperament types.
Read the section on Harlow’s rhesus monkey research.
Review attachment research on page 177 and self-concept on page 181.