Developmental

Developmental

1. Explanations

   • Learning theory
     • Classical Conditioning - Association
     • Operant Conditioning - Reinforcement
     • Social Learning theory
   • Bowlby's
     • Says that babies have an innate drive to attach to their care givers and are even born with some characteristics called social releasers
     • Says that there is a sensitive period of the first 2 1/2 years where the child has to attach or it will become harder for them to attach to any one. (critical period)
     • The baby has only one main attachment and that is a working model for the child so that they can us it for future relationships

2. Secure and insecure attachments:

   • Ainsworth et al stranger situation
     • Children with their mothers are in a strange environment where they are been observed for what type of attachment the child has
     • First a stranger comes in, the mother leaves the child with the stranger (stranger tries to interact with the child), mother returns. The child's reaction was recorded in every section and then put into one of three categories.
       • Secure attachment
       • Insecure-avoidant attachment
       • Insecure-resistant attachment
     • The researchers all new what each attachment was meant to look like when they where looking at the children
   • Cultural Variations
     • As most of the research was done in america and therefore have the american values of the best attachment, this means that they are not taking into account the fact that other culture might value the avoidant or resistant type of attachment and therefore value that as a secure attachment.

3. Disruption of attachment

   • Deprivation
     • Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis
       • This where where it is thought that if the child cannot form a stable relationship with the mother (primary care giver) then the child would have difficulty forming relationships. Therefore for at risk of behavioural disorders
       • 44 juvenile thieves: 88 children (5 to 16) where sent to a clinic, where 44 where there because of stealing and from there Bowlby identified as 16 of them being 'affectionless pyhchopaths'. the other children where fine and Bowlby had interviewed the children and parents about childhood
         • Bowlby found that 85% of the 44 thieves that where 'affectionless pyhchopaths' had experienced 'early and prolonged sparations form their mothers'
   • Privation
     • Hodges and Tizard: 65 children where obsirved in an institution and they had been in form 4 months, where the care givers were not allowed to form attachments with the children (early privation)
       • Adopted children did form close attachments and good relationships, and this does not happen with the other children. However outside the family setting both groups of children do seek adult attention and approval, and are not very successful in there peer relationships
     • Genie: 13 years old found strapped to a potty chair could not speak and could not walk well she also looking like a 6 or 7 year old
     • Czech twins: where found at the age of 7 with rickets (due to been in a cubord or celler at the time) and poor speech and can not walk well. This was done by there stepmother

4. Day Care

   • There if a need for consistency of care and care providers, and good quality stimulation for the child
   • Individual differences on how the child would respond
   • Aggressiveness
     • NICHD study in america
     • EPPE study in UK
   • social development in day care