The Development of Social Relations - Fundamentals of Psychology 2 - Lecture 3

Unit 1: Developmental Psychology The Development of Social Relations Spring 2010 Lecture 3

Learning outcomes On completion of the module you will be able to: Demonstrate an understanding of empirical research and theories in: Developmental Psychology Abnormal Psychology Cognitive Psychology Demonstrate an ability to present, explain and summarise information.

The module team Module Lecturers Simon Bignell : Room N208; Telephone: 01332 593043; email: s.bignell@derby.ac.uk (Module Leader) Anna Maria DiBetta : Room N208; Telephone: 01332 593080; email: a.di-betta@derby.ac.uk Lovemore Nyatanga: Room N204a; Telephone: 01332 593057; email: l.nyatanga@derby.ac.uk Module Seminar Leaders Above plus the following Post-Graduate Teaching Assistants Atiya Kamal : Room N302; email: a.kamal@derby.ac.uk Lauren Kelly : Room N302; email: l.kelly2@derby.ac.uk

Recommended textbooks Passer, M, Smith, R., Holt, N., Bremmer, A., Sutherland, E. and Vliek, M. (2008). Psychology: The science of mind and behaviour , London: McGraw Hill. Chapter 13 and 14 Additional / Alternative texts: Unit 1: Developmental Psychology: Siegler, R, DeLoache, J.S. & Eisenberg, N. (2006) How Children Develop (2nd Ed.) NY: Worth.

Components of the module Unit 1: Developmental Psychology: Cognitive development (SB) The development of social relations (SB) The development of the self (SB )

Coursework Assessment is 100 percent coursework. The deadline for the coursework is Friday 7th May 2010 . The submission will be electronic. The submission method is to be advised. You will submit a single portfolio of three articles (500 words maximum each) in Word (.doc) format.

Coursework (…continued) One article on each of the units from the module: Developmental Psychology Abnormal Psychology Cognitive Psychology You select the exact topics!

Coursework (…continued) The articles submitted will be aimed at an educated audience and so clear explanation will be required of scientific concepts, terms and the rationale behind each topic. The articles must focus on empirical work from published research and show clearly how this research links with existing theory on a specific subject from the module.

Coursework (…continued) Links will be provided on the module web pages to example articles from popular science publications, which students should use as a guideline (e.g. New Scientist , The Psychologist ). Tips : Keep it mainstream; choose well; focus on a single study or paper; give equal attention to each article; read the example publications; be succinct; a short report.

The Development of Social Relations Lifespan Approach What are social relations? Gender Roles Social Norms Social-Emotional Development Bowlby’s Attachment Theory Ainsworth’s Strange Situation The Consequences of Early Social Relations

We are social beings. People like and love, and dislike and hate. They help one another and hurt one another. Social relations take many forms. What are Social Relations?

‘ What Mum Knows’ 4 years of age – Mummy can do any thing! 8 years of age – My mum knows a lot! 12 years of age – My mother doesn’t really know quite everything! 14 years of age – Naturally, Mother doesn’t know that either! 16 years of age – Mother? She’s hopelessly old-fashioned!

‘ What Mum Knows’ 18 years of age – That old woman? She’s way out of date! 25 years of age – Well, she might know a little bit about it! 35 years of age – Before we decide, let’s get Mum’s opinion! 45 years of age – Wonder what Mum would have thought about it! 65 years of age – Wish I could talk it over with Mum!

Gender Roles Expectations for how males and females should think, feel, and act. Starting from the moment of birth, with blue blankets for boys and pink ones for girls, most parents and other adults provide environments that differ in important respects according to gender. Boy’s World: action figures, sports collectibles, Tonka trucks Girl’s World: Barbie, baby dolls, play kitchens, jewellery, cosmetics

Social Role: Consists of a Set of Norms That Characterises How People in a Given Social Position Ought to Behave. Social roles of “college student”, “professor”, “police officer”, and “spouse” carry different sets of behaviour expectations. Social Norms

Social-Emotional Development Newborns are capable of displaying basic emotional states. Sense of self emerges at around 18 months of age. Begin to display pride, shame, and guilt at around age 2. Emotional Regulation : the processes by which we evaluate and modify our emotional reactions.

Social-Emotional Development Temperament : a biologically based general style of reacting emotionally and behaviourally to the environment. An individual’s behavioral style or characteristic way of responding. Three clusters of temperament. Easy Difficult Slow-to-warm-up Thomas & Chess (1977)

The Attachment Process Imprinting: a sudden, biologically primed form of attachment. In humans infancy is a sensitive but not critical period for attachment.

The Attachment Process Developmental psychologists once thought that infants develop intense attachments to caregivers primarily because caregivers satisfy the infant's need for food. Harry Harlow , in experiments to study learning in monkeys, found otherwise. His studies demonstrated the importance of "contact comfort" in infants. What matters? Nourishment or contact Choose between two surrogate “mothers”. Cold wire mother versus warm cloth mother. Infants preferred cloth mother across situations. Contact comfort is critical to attachment.

Bowlby John Bowlby proposed attachment theory , which is influenced by ethological theory and posits that children are biologically predisposed to develop attachments with caregivers as a means of increasing the chances of their own survival.

Bowlby Secure base is Bowlby’s term for an attachment figure’s presence that provides an infant or toddler with a sense of security that makes it possible for the infant to explore the environment Mary Ainsworth, Bowlby’s student, extended and tested his ideas

Bowlby’s Four Phases of Attachment Preattachment phase (birth to 6 weeks) The infant produces innate signals that bring others to his or her side and is comforted by the interaction that follows. Attachment-in-the-making (6 weeks to 6-8 months) The phase in which infants begin to respond preferentially to familiar people.

Bowlby’s Four Phases of Attachment Clear-cut attachment (between 6-8 months and 1½-2 years) Characterised by the infant’s actively seeking contact with their regular caregivers and typically showing separation protest or distress when the caregiver departs. Reciprocal relationships (from 1½ or 2 years on) Involves children taking an active role in developing working partnerships with their caregivers.

The Strange Situation Ainsworth developed a laboratory procedure called “The Strange Situation” to assess infants’ attachment to their primary caregivers. In this procedure, the child is exposed to seven episodes, including two separations and reunions with the caregiver and interactions with a stranger when alone and when the caregiver is in the room. Using this procedure, Ainsworth identified three main attachment categories. VIDEO

Attachment Categories Secure Attachment is a pattern of attachment in which an infant or child has a high-quality, relatively unambivalent relationship with his or her attachment figure. In the Strange Situation , a securely attached infant, for example, may be upset when the caregiver leaves but may be happy to see the caregiver return, recovering quickly from any distress. When children are securely attached, they can use caregivers as a secure base for exploration. About two-thirds of middle class children are securely attached.

Attachment Categories Insecure/resistant (or ambivalent) attachment is a pattern in which infants or young children (about 15% of middle class children) are clingy and stay close to their caregiver rather than explore the environment In the Strange Situation , insecure/resistant infants tend to become very upset when the caregiver leaves them alone in the room, and are not readily comforted by strangers When the caregiver returns, they are not easily comforted and both seek comfort and resist efforts by the caregiver to comfort them

Attachment Categories Insecure/avoidant attachment is a type of insecure attachment in which infants or young children (about 20% of infants from middle-class families) seem somewhat indifferent toward their caregiver and may even avoid the caregiver. In the Strange Situation, these children seem indifferent toward their caregiver before the caregiver leaves the room and indifferent or avoidant when the caregiver returns. If these children become upset when left alone, they are as easily comforted by a stranger as by the caregiver.

Attachment Categories Because a small percentage of children did not fit into these categories, a fourth category, disorganised/disoriented attachment , was subsequently identified. Infants in this category seem to have no consistent way of coping with the stress of the Strange Situation. Their behaviour is often confused or even contradictory, and they often appear dazed or disoriented.

The Consequences of Early Social Relations Many investigators now believe that children’s early relationships with parents influence the nature of their interactions with others from infancy into adulthood, as well as their feelings about their own worth. Secure infants are better socially adjusted and have an increased capacity for compassion and altruism. Insecure infants have more behavioural problems.

The Consequences of Early Social Relations Children who were securely attached as infants seem to have closer, more harmonious relationships with peers than do insecurely attached children. Secure attachment in infancy also predicts positive peer and romantic relationships and emotional health in adolescence. Securely attached children also earn higher grades and are more involved in school than insecurely attached children.

The Consequences of Early Social Relations It is unclear, however, whether security of attachment in infancy has a direct effect on later development, or whether early security of attachment predicts children’s functioning because “good” parents remain “good” parents. It is likely that children’s development can be better predicted from the combination of both their early attachment status and the quality of subsequent parenting than from either factor alone.

Summary The development of social relations Lifespan Approach What are Social Relations? Gender Roles Social Norms Social-Emotional Development Bowlby’s Attachment Theory Ainsworth’s Strange Situation The Consequences of Early Social Relations

The Development of Social Relations - Fundamentals of Psychology 2 - Lecture 3

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to The Development of Social Relations - Fundamentals of Psychology 2 - Lecture 3 (20)

More from Simon Bignell (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

The Development of Social Relations - Fundamentals of Psychology 2 - Lecture 3