Study Guide: Child Psychology
EXAM 3 REVIEW
MAPPING THEORIES TO THEORISTS
* Attachment theory * John Bowlby * Children are biologically predisposed to develop attachments with caregivers as a means of increasing the chances of their own survival * 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 * Four Phases * Preattachment phase (birth – 6 weeks) * Infant produces innate signals (crying) that bring others to his or her side and is comforted by the interaction that follows (being picked up) * Attachment-in-the-making (6 weeks – 8 months) * The phase in which infants begin to respond preferentially to familiar people * Clear-cut attachment (6-8 months – 1.5-2 years) * Infant actively seeks contact with their regular caregivers and typically shows separation protest or distress when the caregiver departs * Stranger anxiety appears * Reciprocal relationships (1.5-2 years – on) * Children takes an active role in developing working partnerships with their caregivers * Internal Working Model of Attachment * The child develops a mental representation of the self, of attachment figures, and of relationships in general * This working model guides children’s interactions with caregivers and other people in infancy and at older ages * Operant Conditioning * B. F. Skinner * Research on the nature and function of reinforcement * Attention is the most powerful reinforcement * Intermittent Reinforcement is most powerful type of reinforcement * Behavior modification * Classical Conditioning * John Watson * Behaviorism * Children’s development determined by social environment
MAPPING THEORIES TO THEORISTS
* Attachment theory * John Bowlby * Children are biologically predisposed to develop attachments with caregivers as a means of increasing the chances of their own survival * 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 * Four Phases * Preattachment phase (birth – 6 weeks) * Infant produces innate signals (crying) that bring others to his or her side and is comforted by the interaction that follows (being picked up) * Attachment-in-the-making (6 weeks – 8 months) * The phase in which infants begin to respond preferentially to familiar people * Clear-cut attachment (6-8 months – 1.5-2 years) * Infant actively seeks contact with their regular caregivers and typically shows separation protest or distress when the caregiver departs * Stranger anxiety appears * Reciprocal relationships (1.5-2 years – on) * Children takes an active role in developing working partnerships with their caregivers * Internal Working Model of Attachment * The child develops a mental representation of the self, of attachment figures, and of relationships in general * This working model guides children’s interactions with caregivers and other people in infancy and at older ages * Operant Conditioning * B. F. Skinner * Research on the nature and function of reinforcement * Attention is the most powerful reinforcement * Intermittent Reinforcement is most powerful type of reinforcement * Behavior modification * Classical Conditioning * John Watson * Behaviorism * Children’s development determined by social environment