devt’l handouts, ch. 11 emotion and attachment
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Izard (1982; 1993): adult raters reliably see the same emotion on babies’ faces
Primary Emotions
birth: interest, disgust, contentment
2 ½ - 7 months: anger, sadness, joy, surprise, fear
Secondary Emotions
2nd year of life: embarrassment, shame, guilt, envy, pride
Require self-referencing, awareness of rules of conduct and standards
Lewis (1989): embarrassment does not emerge until self-recognition in a mirror (selfreferencing).
Emotional Self-Regulation:
- culturally mediated
- 7 months: North American mothers teach expression of positive emotions; Kenyan
mothers teach expression of contentment
- self-soothing: sucking, avoiding, rocking, chewing, distractions
- 2nd year: active suppression of temper, sadness
- children learn to use caregivers’ techniques on themselves
- learn to hide feelings by age 3
Recognizing Others’ Expressions:
- 3-month-olds respond to mother’s expression
- 8 –10 months old: monitor parents’ emotional reactions  social referencing
Emotional Attachment
 Bowlby (1969)
 Lorenz (1943): “kewpie doll” features
 Alley (1981): adults, children, girls at puberty all rate drawings of infants’ faces as
cuter
 endearing reflexive responses
 pattern of communication: synchronized routine predicts pleasantness of interactions
Hard-to-love babies:
 premature babies
 sick babies, drug-addicted babies
Hard-to-love caregivers:
 depressed caregiver


 insecure attachment
 match mother’s depression
caregivers who were neglected, abused
caregivers who did not want the baby
- babies more often hospitalized, lower grades, poorer peer relationships, more
irritable, adults problems
devt’l handouts, ch. 11 emotion and attachment
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Schaffer & Emerson, 1964:
4 Stages of Emotional Attachment
1)
asocial stage (0-6 weeks)
2)
indiscriminate attachments (6 wks – 6-7 mths)
3)
specific attachments (7-9 months)
4)
multiple attachments (by 18 months)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Theories of Attachment
1)
Psychoanalytic: oral stage; mothers satisfy oral desire through breast feeding 
creates bond between baby and mother
2)
Learning Theory:
feeding  positive responses from baby  caregiver affection
mother  pleasant sensations (secondary reinforcer)

Harlow & Zimmerman (1959):
-
separated baby monkeys from their mothers
-
reared with 2 artificial surrogate mothers: one terrycloth, one bare wire
-
all infants preferred soft mother regardless of which had food

responsiveness of infant to mother depends on:
i)
mother’s responsiveness
ii)
mother’s provision of stimulation
3)




Cognitive-Developmental Theory:
forming attachment depends on infant’s level of intellectual development
discrimination of familiar from unfamiliar
object permanence
7-9 months
4) Ethological Theory:
 attachment serves an adaptive purpose
 Lorenz (1937): - imprinting of chicks
- automatic, critical period
 Bowlby (1969): sucking, grasping, smiling, cooing, babbling; adults are biologically
wired to respond
devt’l handouts, ch. 11 emotion and attachment
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Individual Differences In Attachment Quality
Ainsworth et al (1978):
- strange situations test
-
4 types of attachment
1)
secure attachment (65% of 1 year-olds)
2)
resistant attachment (10%)
3)
avoidant attachment (20%)
4)
disorganized/disoriented attachment (5-10%)
Caregiving Hypothesis:
Securely attached
 responsive parents
Resistant
 inconsistent parents
Avoidant
 impatient, unresponsive parents, or overzealous
Disorganized/disoriented
 abusive, neglectful parents
Secure primary attachments at 12-18 months:
 better problem solvers at age 2
 more complex, creative play
 more popular
 by 3 ½, social leaders, sensitive to others, popular, more curious, self-directed, eager
to learn
 by 4-5, less dependent, more responsive to peers
 by 10-11, more friends, better peer relations
Ethologists:
 infants develop internal working models of how relationships work.
 learn that people are dependable or undependable, kind or cruel
Inevitable?
 secure relationships with some other person besides primary caregiver can offset
effects
 friendships
 peer relations in adolescence may better predict adult social outcomes
devt’l handouts, ch. 11 emotion and attachment
Extreme Social Deprivation:
 normal for first 3 months

by 6 months, seldom cry, coo, babble, rigid, unresponsive to handling, depressed,
disinterested

longer exposure  more profound, long lasting negative consequences

children who spent more than 4 years being handed from household to household
were more restless, disobedient, unpopular in elementary school; more troubled in
adolescence
Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis:
 Infants need love, attention, warmth from a single caregiver
 No evidence; as long as caregivers are responsive, children will be normal
Social Stimulation Hypothesis:
 institutions provide a monotonous sensory environment
 no one responds to their social signals
 need sustained interactions with sensitive responsive companions
Working Mothers:
 babies who spend a lot of time in alternative care are less likely to form secure
attachments (65% compared to 71%)
 depends on quality of alternative care!
Quality of Alternative Care:
1)
reasonable caregiver-to-child ratio (no more than 3 infants/caregiver; 4
toddlers/caregiver; 8 preschoolers/caregiver)
2)
caregivers who are warm, emotionally expressive, responsive to bids for attention
3)
low staff turnover
4)
curriculum with toys, games, activities
5)
administration that confers with parents
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