Erikson and
Attachment in
Toddlerhood
DEP 2004 Human Development
Across the Lifespan
Dr. Erica Jordan
University of West Florida
 Stage 2:
Autonomy vs.
Shame and Doubt
 1 – 3 years
 Goal to obtain will—
healthy understanding that
we can intentionally cause
things to happen in the
world
Find a Partner and
Take a Few Minutes to…
1
Think about one of your parents or
another person who cared for you
when you were young?
2
How did you feel about this person
when you were a child?
3
How do you feel about this person
now?
What is an Attachment?

A strong, enduring, emotional bond

Transcends time, space, and death

Often begin to develop before birth for
expectant parents

Vary in quality and fall along a continuum of
security


Secure
Insecure
What Attachment is Not

Not a new style of parenting

Not attachment therapy

Not helicopter parenting or “martyr
mothering” (or fathering)

Not exclusively child-centered

Not indulgent or permissive parenting

Not only for mothers
Before Attachment Theory…

People took note of the special relationship that
mothers and young children seemed to share.

Psychoanalytic theorists and social learning theorists
concluded the relationship developed because of
feeding.
“Father Of Attachment Theory”

John Bowlby, a British psychiatrist, realized the feeding
explanation did not seem to tell the whole story. The
connection was about more than feeding.

Noticed boys in a home for troubled youth who had
disrupted, problematic relationships with their mothers
had difficulties later in life.

Harry Harlow (1958) found that infant monkeys sought
comfort in “mothers” that did not feed them. Instead,
they sought out “mothers” who provided contact
comfort.
Stages of
Attachment

Parents often begin the process of attachment
when they learn they will have a child.

Preattachment (Birth to about 2 months)

Attachment in the making (2 – 6 months)

True attachment (6 – 18 months)

Reciprocal relationships (18 months and up)
The Special Role of Fathers

Can also be attachment figures

Children can form multiple attachments

Joy is often important in father-child
relationships

Fathers also able to provide comfort in
times of distress
What Determines Quality of
Attachment

Parenting behaviors & mental health

Child’s temperament

Attachment contributes to an infant’s…
 Internal Working Model
 Infant’s understanding of how responsive
and dependable the caregiver is; thought
to influence close relationships throughout
the child’s life
Ainsworth’s Strange Situation
Test: Key Points of Interest

Exploration of toys

Social referencing

Separation distress

Ability to be soothed

Joy upon reunion & proximity seeking
behaviors

Ability to return to exploration of toys
Classifications of Attachment Quality
 Secure Attachment
 Avoidant Attachment
 Resistant Attachment
 Disorganized (disoriented) Attachment
Benefits to Children

Have fewer health problems

Have better emotion regulation and cortisol
balance

Are better prepared to explore the world
around them

Better peer relations in early childhood and
adolescence

Related to exploration in toddlerhood and IQ in
children

More positive romantic relationships and more
likely to have secure attachment relationships
with their own children
Internal Working Model

Attachment relationships set the stage for a
child’s social and emotional development

Becomes the framework for other
relationships and for regulating down
negative emotional states



Secure
Anxious/Ambivalent
Avoidant
Benefits to Parents and
Caregivers

Find it easier to meet their child’s needs

Makes discipline easier

Promotes a lasting positive relationship with
the child
The Impact of Work and
Childcare on Attachment
Quality

Best Practices:


Low teacher-child ratio



Low turnover!

Check with the National Association for
the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC) at www.naeyc.org to see if the
center is certified.
Trained, experienced staff with a
knowledge of child development
Stimulating environment
Effective partnership between parent and
childcare providers