Sheet1

The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

T he dynamic interaction of infants’ emotions and their social con- texts is the substance of this chapter. You have witnessed this interplay whenever you have seen a tiny baby smile at an engaging face or a toddler flop to the floor, kicking and screaming, after

being told “no.” I continue to be surprised by mothers and babies. As I sat on a crowded subway train, a young woman boarded with an

infant in one arm and a heavy shopping bag on the other. She tried to steady herself as the train started to move. I asked, “Can I help you?” Wordlessly she handed me . . . the baby. I began softly singing a children’s song. The baby was very quiet, keeping her eyes on her mother. That was a psycho- social moment for all three of us.

This chapter opens with a much longer psychosocial episode, the early development of a boy named Jacob. Then we trace infant emotions over the first two years. This discussion is followed by a review of the five theories first described in Chapter 2, with an overview of what each has to say about psychosocial development in infancy. This leads us into an exploration of research on caregiver–infant interaction, particularly synchrony, attachment, and social referencing—all pivotal to psychosocial development. We then consider the pros and cons of infant day care. The chapter ends with practi- cal suggestions regarding Jacob, whose story appears below.

7

179

CHAPTER OUTLINE

A CASE TO STUDY: Parents on Autopilot

c Emotional Development

Specific Emotions

Self-Awareness

c Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

Psychoanalytic Theory

Behaviorism

Cognitive Theory

Epigenetic Theory

Sociocultural Theory

A CASE TO STUDY: “Let’s Go to Grandma’s”

c The Development of Social Bonds

Synchrony

THINKING LIKE A SCIENTIST: The Still-Face Technique

Attachment

Social Referencing

Infant Day Care

c Conclusions in Theory and Practice

a case to study Parents on Autopilot

A father writes about his third child, Jacob:

[My wife, Rebecca, and I] were convinced that we were set. We

had surpassed our quota of 2.6 children and were ready to engage

parental autopilot. I had just begun a prestigious job and was

working 10–11 hours a day. The children would be fine. We hired

a nanny to watch Jacob during the day. As each of Jacob’s early

milestones passed, we felt that we had taken another step toward

our goal of having three normal children. We were on our way to

the perfect American family. Yet, somewhere back in our minds

we had some doubts. Jacob seemed different than the girls. He

had some unusual attributes. There were times when we would

be holding him and he would arch his back and scream so loud

that it was painful for us. [Jacob’s father, 1997, p. 59]

As an infant, Jacob did not relate to his parents (or to anyone

else). His parents paid little heed to his psychosocial difficul-

ties, focusing instead on physical development. They noted that

Jacob sat up and walked on schedule, and when they “had some

doubts,” they found excuses, telling themselves that “boys are

Emotional Development Within the first two years, infants progress from reactive pain and pleasure to complex patterns of social aware- ness (see Table 7.1). This is the period of life with “high emotional responsiveness” (Izard et al., 2002, p. 767), marked by speedy, uncensored reactions—crying, star- tling, laughing, raging—and, by toddlerhood, complex responses, from self-satisfied grins to mournful pouts.

Specific Emotions

At first there is pleasure and pain. Newborns look happy and relaxed when fed and drifting off to sleep. They cry when they are hurt or hungry, are tired or

frightened (as by a loud noise or a sudden loss of support), or have colic, the recur- rent bouts of uncontrollable crying and irritability that afflict about a third of all infants in the early months.

Soon, additional emotions become recognizable (Lavelli & Fogel, 2005). Curi- osity is increasingly evident as infants distinguish the unusual from the familiar (Kagan, 2002). Happiness is expressed by the social smile in response to a human face at about 6 weeks and by laughter at about 3 or 4 months. Parents elicit laugh- ter, and so do adept strangers. Among the Navajo, whoever brings forth that first laugh gives a feast to celebrate that the baby is becoming a person (Rogoff, 2003). Laughter builds as curiosity does, so that a typical 6-month-old not only discovers new things but also laughs loudly, with evident joy.

Anger is evident at 6 months, usually triggered by frustration. It is most appar- ent when infants are prevented from reaching a graspable object or moving as they wish (Plutchik, 2003). One-year-olds hate to be strapped in, caged in, closed in, or just held tight on someone’s lap when they want to explore. Anger in infancy is a healthy response to frustration, unlike sadness, which also appears in the first months. Sadness indicates withdrawal and is accompanied by an increase in the level of cortisol, a stress hormone (M. Lewis & D. Ramsay, 2005). Reliable hormone assays are more difficult with infants than with older people, so not all the hor- monal changes that accompany infant emotions are known. However, the fact that sadness brings stress suggests that sorrow is not a superficial emotion for infants.

social smile A smile evoked by a human face,

normally evident in infants about 6 weeks

after birth.

180 CHAPTER 7 ■ The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

different” or that Jacob’s language delays stemmed from the fact

that his nanny spoke little English. As time went on, however,

their excuses fell short. His father continues:

Jacob had become increasingly isolated [by age 2]. I’m not a psy-

chologist, but I believe that he just stopped trying. It was too

hard, perhaps too scary. He couldn’t figure out what was ex-

pected of him. The world had become too confusing, and so he

withdrew from it. He would seek out the comfort of quiet, dark

places and sit by himself. He would lose himself in the bright,

colorful images of cartoons and animated movies.

[Jacob’s father, 1997, p. 62]

Jacob was finally diagnosed at age 3 with “pervasive develop-

mental disorder.” This is a catchall diagnosis that can include

autism (discussed in Chapter 11). At the moment, you need to

know only that Jacob’s psychosocial potential was unappreciated.

His despairing parents were advised to consider residential

placement because Jacob would always need special care and,

with Jacob living elsewhere, they would not be constantly re-

minded of their “failure.” This recommendation did not take into

account the commitment that Jacob’s parents, like most parents,

felt toward their child.

Yet, despite their commitment, they had ignored signs of trou-

ble, overlooking their son’s sometimes violent reaction to being

held and his failure to talk. The absence of smiling, of social play,

and of imitation should have raised an alarm. The father’s use of

the word autopilot shows that he realized this in hindsight. Later

in this chapter, you will learn the outcome.

TABLE 7.1

AT ABOUT THIS TIME: Ages When Emotions Emerge

Age Emotional Expression

Birth Crying; contentment

6 weeks Social smile

3 months Laughter; curiosity

4 months Full, responsive smiles

4–8 months Anger

9–14 months Fear of social events (strangers, separation from caregiver)

12 months Fear of unexpected sights and sounds

18 months Self-awareness; pride; shame; embarrassment

Fully formed fear in response to some person, thing, or situation (not just dis- tress at a surprise) emerges at about 9 months and then rapidly becomes more fre- quent as well as more apparent (Kagan, 1998). Two fears are obvious:

■ Stranger wariness, when an infant no longer smiles at any friendly face, and cries if an unfamiliar person moves too close, too quickly

■ Separation anxiety, expressed in tears, dismay, or anger when a familiar caregiver leaves

Separation anxiety is normal at age 1, intensifies by age 2, and usually subsides after that. If it remains strong after age 3, it is considered an emotional disorder (Silverman & Dick-Niederhauser, 2004).

Many 1-year-olds fear not just strangers but also anything unexpected, from the flush of a toilet to the pop of a jack-in-the-box, from the sudden closing of elevator doors to the friendly approach of a dog. With repeated expe- riences and caregiver protection, older infants might themselves enjoy flushing the toilet (again and again) or calling the dog (crying if the dog does not come).

Many emotions that emerge in the first months of life take on new strength at about age 1 (Kagan, 2002). Throughout the second year and beyond, anger and fear typically become less frequent but more focused, targeted toward infuriating or terrifying experiences. Similarly, laughing and crying become louder and more discriminating.

New emotions appear toward the end of the second year: pride, shame, embarrassment, and guilt. These emotions require an awareness of other people. They emerge from family interactions, influenced by the culture (Eid & Diener, 2001). For example, pride is encouraged in North American toddlers (“You did it all by yourself”—even when that is

stranger wariness An infant’s expression of

concern—a quiet stare, clinging to a famil-

iar person, or sadness—when a stranger

appears.

separation anxiety An infant’s distress

when a familiar caregiver leaves; most

obvious between 9 and 14 months.

Emotional Development 181

Friendship Begins Emotions connect

friends to each other—these two 1-year-olds

as well as friends of any age. The shared

smiles indicate a strong social connection.

What will they do next?GE R

I E N

G B

E R

G /

T H

E I M

A G

E W

O R

K S

Stranger Wariness Becomes Santa Terror For toddlers, even a

friendly stranger is cause for alarm, especially if Mom’s protective

arms are withdrawn. The most frightening strangers are men who

are unusually dressed and who act as if they might take the child

away. Ironically, therefore, Santa Claus remains terrifying until

children are about 3 years old. JO U

R N

A L-

C O

U R

IE R

/ T

IF FA

N Y

H E R

M O

N /

T H

E I M

A G

E W

O R

K S

untrue), but Asian families discourage pride and cultivate modesty and shame (Rogoff, 2003).

Two-year-olds have many emotional reactions. They are taught which expres- sions of emotion are acceptable and which are not (Saarni et al., 2006). For exam- ple, if a toddler holds on tightly to his mother’s skirt and hides his face when a friendly but strange dog approaches, the mother could pick the child up or bend down to pet the dog. The mother’s response encourages fear or happiness when a dog next appears.

Self-Awareness

In addition to social interactions, another foundation for emotional growth is self- awareness, the infant’s realization that his or her body, mind, and actions are separate from those of other people (R. A. Thompson, 2006). At about age 1, an emerging sense of “me” and “mine” leads to a new consciousness of others. As one developmentalist explains:

With the emergence of consciousness in the second year of life, we see vast changes in both children’s emotional life and the nature of their social relation- ships. . . . The child can feel . . . self-conscious emotions, like pride at a job well done or shame over a failure.

[M. Lewis, 1997, p. 132]

Very young infants have no sense of self—at least, of self as some people define it. In fact, a prominent psychoanalyst, Margaret Mahler, theorized that for the first 4 months of life infants see themselves as part of their mothers. They “hatch” at about 5 months and spend the next several months developing a sense of them- selves as separate from their mothers (Mahler et al., 1975). The period from 15 to 18 months “is noteworthy for the emergence of the Me-self, the sense of self as the object of one’s knowledge” (Harter, 1998, p. 562).

In a classic experiment (M. Lewis & J. Brooks, 1978), babies aged 9–24 months looked into a mirror after a dot of rouge had been surreptitiously put on their noses. If the babies reacted by touching their noses, that meant they knew the mirror showed their own faces. None of the babies less than 12 months old re- acted as if they knew the mark was on them (they sometimes smiled and touched the dot on the “other” baby in the mirror). However, those between 15 and 24 months usually showed self-awareness, touching their own noses with curiosity and puzzlement.

Self-recognition usually emerges at about 18 months, at the same time as two other advances: pretending and using first-person pronouns (I, me, mine, myself, my). Some developmentalists connect self-recognition with self-understanding (e.g., Gallup et al., 2002), although “the interpretation of this seemingly simple task is plagued by controversy” (Nielsen et al., 2006, p. 166).

Pride and shame seem to be, at this phase, linked to the maturing self-concept, not necessarily to other people’s opinions. If someone tells a toddler, “You’re very smart,” the child may smile but usually already feels smart—and thus is already pleased and proud. Telling toddlers that they are smart, strong, or beautiful may even be unhelpful.

One longitudinal study found that positive comments from mothers to 2-year- olds did not lead to more pride or less shame by age 3 (Kelley et al., 2000). How- ever, certain negative comments (such as “You’re doing it all wrong”) diminished effort and increased shame. Neutral suggestions fostered a willingness to try new challenges. Toddlers’ self-esteem seems to result more from accomplishments than from praise.

self-awareness A person’s realization that

he or she is a distinct individual, with body,

mind, and actions that are separate from

those of other people.

182 CHAPTER 7 ■ The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

She Knows Herself This 18-month-old is

happy to see herself in her firefighter’s hel-

met. She is adjusting the helmet with her

hands on it, and that’s evidence that she un-

derstands what a mirror is. Note, however,

that she is not yet aware that a hat has a front

and a back.

LA U

R A

D W

IG H

T

Especially for Nurses and Pediatricians

Parents come to you concerned that their 1-

year-old hides her face and holds onto them

tightly whenever a stranger appears. What do

you tell them?

SUMMING UP

Newborns seem to have only two simple emotions, distress and contentment, which

are expressed by crying or looking happy. Very soon curiosity and obvious joy, with

social smiles and laughter, appear. By the second half of the first year, anger and fear are

increasingly evident, especially in reaction to social experiences, such as encountering

a stranger. In the second year, as infants become self-aware, they express emotions

connected to themselves, including pride, shame, and embarrassment, and emotions

about other people. Universal maturation makes these emotions possible at around 18

months, but context and learning affect their timing, frequency, and intensity. ■

Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development The five major theories described in Chapter 2 have somewhat different perspec- tives on the origin and significance of infants’ emotions.

Psychoanalytic Theory

Psychoanalytic theory connects biosocial and psychosocial development, empha- sizing the need for responsive maternal care. Both major psychoanalytic theorists, Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson, described two distinct early stages. Freud (1935, 1940/1964) wrote about the oral stage and the anal stage. Erikson (1963) called his first stages trust versus mistrust and autonomy versus shame and doubt.

Freud: Oral and Anal Stages

According to Freud (1935), psychological development in the first year of life is in the oral stage, so named because the mouth is the young infant’s primary source of gratification. In the second year, with the anal stage, the infant’s main pleasure comes from the anus—particularly from the sensual pleasure of bowel movements and, eventually, the psychological pleasure of controlling them.

Freud believed that both the oral and anal stages are fraught with potential conflicts that have long-term consequences. If a mother frustrates her infant’s urge to suck—weaning the infant too early, for example, or preventing the child from sucking on fingers or toes—the child may become distressed and anxious, eventually becoming an adult with an oral fixation. Such a person is stuck (fixated) at the oral stage and therefore eats, drinks, chews, bites, or talks excessively, in quest of the mouth-related pleasure denied in infancy.

Similarly, if toilet training is overly strict or if it begins before the infant is mature enough, parent–infant interaction may become locked into a conflict over the toddler’s refusal, or inability, to comply. The child becomes fixated and develops an anal personality—as an adult, seeking self-control with an unusually strong need for regularity in all aspects of life.

Erikson: Trust and Autonomy

According to Erikson, the first crisis of life is trust versus mistrust, when infants learn whether the world can be trusted to satisfy basic needs. Babies feel secure when food and comfort are provided with “consistency, continuity, and sameness of experience” (Erikson, 1963, p. 247). If social interaction inspires trust and se- curity, the child (and later the adult) will confidently explore the social world.

trust versus mistrust Erikson’s first psy-

chosocial crisis. Infants learn basic trust if

the world is a secure place where their

basic needs (for food, comfort, attention,

etc.) are met.

Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development 183

Especially for Nursing Mothers You have

heard that if you wean your child too early, he

or she will overeat or become an alcoholic. Is

it true?

The next crisis is called autonomy versus shame and doubt. Toddlers want autonomy (self-rule) over their own actions and bodies. If they fail to gain it, they feel ashamed of their actions and doubtful about their abilities.

Some cultures encourage independence and autonomy (as in the United States); in others (for example, China) “shame is a normative emotion that develops as parents use explicit shaming techniques” to encourage children’s loyalty and harmony within their families (Mascolo et al., 2003, p. 402). Westerners expect toddlers to go through the stubborn and defiant “terrible twos”; parents in many non- Western societies expect the opposite.

Like Freud, Erikson believed that problems arising in early infancy could last a lifetime, creating an adult who is suspicious and pessimistic (mistrusting) or who is easily shamed (insufficient autonomy). These traits could be destructive or not, depending on the norms and expecta- tions of the culture.

Behaviorism

From the perspective of behaviorism, emotions and personality are molded as par- ents reinforce or punish the child’s spontaneous behaviors. For example, if parents smile and pick up their infant at every glimmer of a grin, he or she will become a child—and later an adult—with a sunny disposition. The opposite is also true. Early behaviorists, especially John Watson, expressed this idea in very strong terms:

Failure to bring up a happy child, a well-adjusted child—assuming bodily health —falls squarely upon the parents’ shoulders. [By the time the child is 3] parents have already determined . . . [whether the child] is to grow into a happy person, wholesome and good-natured, whether he is to be a whining, complaining neurotic, an anger-driven, vindictive, over-bearing slave driver, or one whose every move in life is definitely controlled by fear.

[Watson, 1928, pp. 7, 45]

Later behaviorists noted that infants also experience social learning, which is learning by observing others, as in Albert Bandura’s experiment in which young children who had seen an adult punching a rubber Bobo clown treated the doll the same way (Bandura, 1977). Social learning is apparent in many families, when toddlers express emotions—from giggling to cursing—in much the same way their parents or older siblings do. A boy might develop a hot temper, for instance, if his father’s outbursts seem to win respect from his mother.

Both psychoanalytic and behaviorist theories emphasize parents. Freud thought that the mother was the young child’s first and most enduring “love object,” and behaviorists stress the power of a mother over her children. In retrospect, this focus seems too narrow. The other three theories reflect more recent research and the changing historical context.

Cognitive Theory

Cognitive theory holds that thoughts and values determine a person’s perspective. Early experiences are important because beliefs, perceptions, and memories make them so, not because they are buried in the unconscious (psychoanalytic theory) or burned into the brain’s patterns (behaviorism).

Infants use their early relationships to develop a working model, a set of as- sumptions that become a frame of reference that can be called on later in life (Bretherton & Munholland, 1999; R. A. Thompson & Raikes, 2003). It is called a

social learning Learning by observing others.

working model In cognitive theory, a set of

assumptions that the individual uses to

organize perceptions and experiences. For

example, a person might assume that other

people are trustworthy, and be surprised

when this model of human behavior seems

in error.

184 CHAPTER 7 ■ The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

A Mother’s Dilemma Infants are wonder-

fully curious, as this little boy demonstrates.

Parents, however, must guide as well as en-

courage the drive toward autonomy. Notice

this mother’s expression as she makes sure

her son does not crush or eat the flower.

J O

S E L

U IS

P E LE

A Z , IN

C . /

C O

R B

IS

autonomy versus shame and doubt

Erikson’s second crisis of psychosocial

development. Toddlers either succeed or

fail in gaining a sense of self-rule over their

own actions and bodies.

➤Response for Nurses and Pediatricians

(from page 182): Stranger wariness is normal

up to about 14 months. This baby’s behavior

actually sounds like secure attachment!

“model” because these early relationships form a prototype, or blueprint, for later relationships; it is called “working” because, while usable, it is not necessarily fixed or final.

For example, a 1-year-old girl might develop a working model, based on her par- ents’ inconsistent responses to her, that people are unpredictable. All her life she will apply that model whenever she meets a new person. Her childhood relation- ships will be insecure, and in adulthood she might be on guard against further disappointment. To use Piaget’s terminology, she has developed a cognitive schema to organize her perceptions. According to cognitive theory, a child’s interpretation of early experiences is crucial, not necessarily the experiences themselves (Schaffer, 2000).

The hopeful message of cognitive theory is that people can rethink and reorgan- ize their thoughts, developing new working models that are more positive than their original ones. Our mistrustful girl can learn to trust if her later experiences— such as marriage to a faithful and loving husband—provide a new model.

Epigenetic Theory

As you remember from Chapter 2, epigenetic theory holds that every human char- acteristic is strongly influenced by each person’s unique genotype. Thus, a child might be happy or anxious not because of early experiences (the three grand theo- ries) but because of inborn predispositions. DNA remains the same from concep- tion on, no matter how emotions are blocked (psychoanalytic theory), reinforced (behaviorism), or interpreted (cognitive theory).

Temperament

Among each person’s genetic predispositions are the traits of temperament, defined as “constitutionally based individual differences” in emotions, activity, and self-regulation (Rothbart & Bates, 2006, p. 100). “Constitutionally based” means that these traits originate with nature (genes) more than nurture.

The concept of temperament is similar to that of personality. Some researchers believe that the line between temperament and personality is unclear (e.g., Caspi & Shiner, 2006). Generally, however, personality traits (e.g., honesty and humility) are considered to be primarily learned, whereas temperamental traits (e.g., shy- ness and aggression) are considered to be primarily genetic. Although tempera- mental traits originate with the genes, the way these traits are expressed can be modified by experiences.

temperament Inborn differences between

one person and another in emotions, activ-

ity, and self-control. Temperament is

epigenetic, originating in genes but

affected by child-rearing practices.

Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development 185

C O

R R

O O

N A

N D

C O

M PA

N Y

/ M

O N

K M

E Y

E R

Twins They were born on the same day and

now are experiencing a wading pool for the

first time.

Observation Quiz (see answer, page 186):

Are these babies monozygotic or dizygotic

twins?

➤Response for Nursing Mothers (from

page 183): Freud thought so, but there is no

experimental evidence that weaning, even

when ill timed, has such dire long-term

effects.

In laboratory studies of temperament, some infants have experi- ences that might be frightening. Four-month-olds might see spinning mobiles or hear unusual sounds. Older babies might confront a noisy, moving robot or a clown who quickly moves close. At such experi- ences, some children laugh (and are classified as “easy”), some cry (“difficult”), and some are quiet (“slow to warm up”) (Fox et al., 2001; Kagan & Snidman, 2004).

The categories of “easy,” “difficult,” and “slow to warm up” come from a classic study called the New York Longitudinal Study (NYLS). Begun in the 1960s, the NYLS was the first among many studies to recognize that each newborn has distinct inborn traits. Although tem- perament begins in the brain, it is difficult to detect via brain scans, so most of the research uses parents’ reports and direct observation. In order to avoid merely reflecting the parents’ hopes and biases, researchers ask for specifics. As the NYLS researchers explain:

If a mother said that her child did not like his first solid food, we . . . were satisfied only when she gave a description such as “When I put the food into his mouth he cried loudly, twisted his head away, and let it drool out.”

[Chess et al., 1965, p. 26]

According to the NYLS, by 3 months, infants manifest nine temperamental traits that can be clustered into the three categories described above, with a fourth category of “hard to classify” infants:

■ Easy (40 percent) ■ Difficult (10 percent) ■ Slow to warm up (15 percent) ■ Hard to classify (35 percent)

Other researchers began by studying adult personality traits and came up with the “Big Five” (whose first letters form the easy-to-remember acronym OCEAN):

■ Openness: imaginative, curious, welcoming new experiences ■ Conscientiousness: organized, deliberate, conforming ■ Extroversion: outgoing, assertive, active ■ Agreeableness: kind, helpful, easygoing ■ Neuroticism: anxious, moody, self-critical

As is further explained in Chapter 22, the Big Five traits are found in many cultures, among people of all ages (McCrae & Costa, 2003). This universality adds to the evidence that some basic temperamental differences are innate, preceding child-rearing practices and cultural values (Rothbart et al., 2000). The Big Five are more complex than the easy/difficult/slow-to-warm-up classifications; but an infant high in agreeableness might be classified as easy, one high in neuroticism would be difficult, and one low in openness would be slow to warm up.

The Parents’ Role

Studies of temperament find that the traits found in the NYLS or described by the Big Five correspond to clusters of behaviors that appear early in life. Easy babies are happy and outgoing most of the time, adjusting quickly to almost any change. Difficult babies are the opposite: irregular, intense, unhappy, disturbed by every noise, and hard to distract—quite a handful. Slow-to-warm-up babies take their time to adapt to new people and experiences.

186 CHAPTER 7 ■ The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

Which Sister Has a Personality Problem?

Culture always affects the expression of tem-

perament. In Mongolia and many other Asian

countries, females are expected to display

shyness as a sign of respect to elders and

strangers. Consequently, if the younger of

these sisters is truly as shy as she seems, her

parents are less likely to be distressed about

her withdrawn behavior than the typical North

American parent would be. Conversely, they

may consider the relative boldness of her

older sister to be a serious problem.

LE O

N G

K A

T A

I /

M A

T E R

IA L

W O

R LD

➤Answer to Observation Quiz (from page

185): True tests of zygosity involve analysis of

blood type, although physical appearance

often provides some clues. Here such clues

are minimal: We cannot see differences in

sex, coloring, or hand formation—although

the shapes of the skulls seem different. The

best clue from this photo is personality.

Confronting their first experience in a wading

pool, these twins are showing such a differ-

ence on the approach–withdrawal dimension

of temperament that they are probably

dizygotic.

One longitudinal study (Fox et al., 2001) identified three distinct groups— positive (exuberant), negative, and inhibited (fearful)—at 4 months. (Many infants fit into none of these groups.) The researchers followed the children in each group, with laboratory measures, mothers’ reports, and brain scans at 9, 14, 24, and 48 months. Half were very stable in temperament, reacting the same way and having similar brain-wave patterns when confronted with frightening experiences all four times they were tested.

The other half changed their reaction to frightening experiences on at least one later assessment. Those who had been fearful at 4 months were most likely to change, and the exuberant infants were least likely to change (see Figure 7.1). That speaks to the influence of child rearing, since parents and other adults are likely to coax frightened children to be braver but usually encourage happy chil- dren to stay positive.

In response to such adult guidance, infant temperament often changes. In gen- eral, however, the interaction between cultural influences and inherited traits tends to shape behavior by early childhood (Rothbart & Bates, 2006). Traits that are present at age 3 often are still evident at age 26 (Caspi et al., 2003).

Whatever their child’s temperament, parents need to find a goodness of fit— that is, a temperamental adjustment that allows smooth infant–caregiver inter- action. With a good fit, parents of difficult children are able to build a close relationship; parents of exuberant, curious children learn to protect them from harm; parents of slow-to-warm-up children give them time to adjust.

In general, stubborn and anxious children (i.e., high in neuroticism) are more affected by their mother’s responsiveness than positive children are (Pauli-Pott et al., 2004). Ineffective or harsh parenting combined with a negative temperament creates antisocial, destructive children (Caspi et al., 2002). Some children natu- rally cope easily with life’s challenges, whereas “a shy child must control his or her fear and approach a stranger, and an impulsive child must constrain his or her de- sire and resist a temptation” (Derryberry et al., 2003, p. 1061).

The epigenetic perspective emphasizes that inherited differences in tempera- ment are affected by parental behavior (Kagan & Fox, 2006). Parents must first

goodness of fit A similarity of temperament

and values that produces a smooth inter-

action between an individual and his or her

social context, including family, school, and

community.

Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development 187

Fearful at 9, 14, 24,

and 48 months

42%

Positive

(every later time)

12%

Fearful (every

later time)

Variable (sometimes

positive, sometimes not)

Variable (sometimes fearful,

sometimes not)

44%

Positive at 9, 14, 24,

and 48 months

80%

Inhibited (fearful) at 4 months and . . . Positive (exuberant) at 4 months and . . .

Changes in Temperament Between Ages 4 Months and 4 Years

Source: Adapted from Fox et al., 2001.

15%

5%

FIGURE 7.1

Do Babies’ Temperaments Change? The

data suggest that fearful babies are not nec-

essarily fated to remain that way. Adults who

are reassuring and do not act frightened them-

selves can help children overcome an innate

fearfulness. Some fearful children do not

change, however, and it is not known whether

that’s because their parents are not suffi-

ciently reassuring (nurture) or because they

are temperamentally more fearful (nature).

Observation Quiz (see answer, page 188):

Out of 100 4-month-olds who react positively

to noises and other experiences, how many

are fearful at later times in early childhood?

Especially for Nurses and Pediatricians

Parents come to you with their fussy 3-

month-old. They say that they have read that

temperament is “fixed” before birth, and

they are worried that their child will always be

difficult. What do you tell them?

understand their child’s temperamental traits and then teach and guide the child so that those inborn traits are expressed constructively, not destructively.

Many developmentalists caution against too much emphasis on genes, espe- cially in infancy when observations of actual interactions suggest that the mother’s parenting style has more influence on the infant’s behavior than the infant’s temperament does (Roisman & Fraley, 2006). At the same time, it is important to remember that inborn temperament is evident in brain activity as well as in reactions from early infancy, and it influences behavior from childhood through old age (Kagan & Snidman, 2004). (Parenting styles and attitudes are discussed in Chapters 10 and 13.)

Sociocultural Theory

No one doubts that “human development occurs in a cultural context” (Kagitcibasi, 2003, p. 166). The crucial question is how much influence culture has. Sociocul- tural theorists argue that the influence is substantial, that the entire social and cultural context has a major impact on infant–caregiver relationships and thus on infant development.

Ethnotheories

An ethnotheory is a theory that is embedded in a particular culture or ethnic group (Dasen, 2003). Usually the group members are unaware that their theories underlie their customs. However, as you have already seen with breast-feeding and co-sleeping, many child-rearing practices are connected to ethnotheories (Greenfield et al., 2003).

This is true for emotional development as well. For example, if a culture’s ethno- theory includes the idea that ancestors are reincarnated in the younger generation, then “children are not expected to show respect for adults, but adults [are expected to show respect] for their reborn ancestors.” Such cultures favor indulgent child- rearing practices, with no harsh punishments. “Western people perceive [these cultures] as extremely lenient” (Dasen, 2003, pp. 149–150).

For example, we noted earlier that infants become angry when they are re- strained. Nonetheless, many European American parents force their protesting toddlers to sit in strollers, to ride in car seats, to stay in cribs and playpens or

188 CHAPTER 7 ■ The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

Learning to Worship This boy in Borneo has

learned that Allah is to be shown respect with

a covered head and bare feet. He already prays

five times a day as part of an ethnotheory that

includes concepts of life and death, male and

female, good and evil—just like everyone else

in the world, although the specifics vary

widely. R. IA

N L

LO Y

D /

M A

S T E R

FI LE

ethnotheory A theory that underlies the

values and practices of a culture and that

becomes apparent through analysis and

comparison of those practices, although it

is not usually apparent to the people

within the culture.

➤Answer to Observation Quiz (from

page 187): Out of 100 4-month-olds, 20 are

fearful at least occasionally later in childhood,

but only 5 are consistently fearful.

➤Response for Nurses and Pediatricians

(from page 187): It’s too soon to tell. Tempera-

ment is not truly “fixed” but variable, especially

in the first few months. Many “difficult” infants

become happy, successful adolescents and

adults.

Especially for Parents of Young Adults

U.S. culture includes the term empty nest,

signifying an ethnotheory about mothers

whose children live elsewhere. What cultural

values are expressed by that term?

Proximal and Distal Parenting

Another example of ethnotheory involves how much parents should hold their infants. Proximal parenting involves being physically close to a baby, often hold- ing and touching. Distal parenting involves keeping one’s distance, providing toys, feeding by putting finger food within reach, and talking face to face instead of handling. Those who are convinced that one of these is right are expressing an ethnotheory.

A longitudinal study comparing child rearing among the Nso people of Cameroon, West Africa, and among Greeks in Athens found marked differences in proximal and distal parenting (H. Keller et al., 2004). The researchers video- taped 78 mothers as they played with their 3-month-old infants. Coders (who did not know the study’s hypothesis) rated the play as either proximal (e.g., carrying,

Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development 189

a case to study “Let’s Go to Grandma’s”

The ethnotheory of Mayan parents includes the belief that chil-

dren should never be forced to comply with their parents’ wishes.

When 18-month-old Roberto did not want to wear a diaper, his

mother used a false promise, and then a distraction.

“Let’s put on your diaper . . . Let’s go to Grandma’s . . . We’re

going to do an errand.” This did not work, and the mother invited

Roberto to nurse, as she swiftly slipped the diaper on him with

the father’s assistance. The father announced, “It’s over.”

[Rogoff, 2003, p. 204]

Lack of compliance by toddlers is a problem for many West-

ern parents because their ethnotheory values independence, as

Erikson recognized in the name he gave his second stage, auton-

omy versus shame and doubt. Many Western parents battle with

their autonomy-seeking 1-year-olds when the child’s self-will

manifests itself in stubborn behavior. Yet the parents value inde-

pendence, so they inadvertently encourage that emotion.

For instance, if a child refuses to get dressed, parents some-

times force compliance by holding the child tight and pulling on

clothes as the child cries and kicks. Or, if the room is warm and

the child will stay inside, parents might give up and let the child

remain half-dressed. Note that, in both cases, one person wins and

the other loses, setting the emotional stage for another battle.

Roberto’s mother chose neither option, even with

increasing exasperation that the child was wiggling and not

standing to facilitate putting on his pants. Her voice softened as

Roberto became interested in the ball, and she increased the

stakes: “Do you want another toy?” They [father and mother]

continued to try to talk Roberto into cooperating, and handed

him various objects, which Roberto enjoyed. But still he stub-

bornly refused to cooperate with dressing. They left him alone

for a while. When his father asked if he was ready, Roberto

pouted “nono!”

After a bit, the mother told Roberto that she was leaving and

waved goodbye. “Are you going with me?” Roberto sat quietly

with a worried look. “Then put on your pants, put on your pants

to go up the hill.” Roberto stared into space, seeming to consider

the alternatives. His mother started to walk away, “OK then, I’m

going. Goodbye.” Roberto started to cry, and his father persuaded,

“Put on your pants then!” and his mother asked, “Are you going

with me?”

Roberto looked down worriedly, one arm outstretched in half

a take-me gesture. “Come on, then,” his mother offered the

pants and Roberto let his father lift him to a stand and cooper-

ated in putting his legs into the pants and in standing to have

them fastened. His mother did not intend to leave; instead she

suggested that Roberto dance for the audience. Roberto did a

baby version of a traditional dance. [Rogoff, 2003, p. 204]

This is an example of an ethnotheory that “elders protect and

guide rather than giving orders or dominating” (Rogoff, 2003,

p. 205). A second ethnotheory is apparent as well. Not only did

the parents avoid dominating, they also used deception.

If a European American mother threatened to leave and then

her child submitted, she probably would take him or her some-

where, because North American ethnotheory holds that false

threats lead children to doubt their parents. The bogeyman and

Santa Claus are less often invoked by today’s educated parents

than they were a few generations ago, more because of changed

ethnotheory than because of new science.

behind gates. If toddlers do not lie down quietly to allow diapers to be changed (and few do), some parents simply hold the protesting child still while diapering. Compare this to the approach used by Roberto’s parents, below.

proximal parenting Parenting practices that

involve close physical contact with the

child’s entire body, such as cradling and

swinging.

distal parenting Parenting practices that

focus on the intellect more than the body,

such as talking with the baby and playing

with an object.

swinging, caressing, exercising the child’s body) or distal (e.g., face-to-face talking) (see Table 7.2 and Research Design).

The Nso mothers were proximal parents, holding their babies all the time and almost never using objects. The Greek mothers were distal parents, using objects almost half the time and holding their babies less.

The researchers hypothesized that proximal parenting would result in toddlers who were less self-aware but more compliant—traits needed in an interdependent and cooperative society such as rural Cameroon. By contrast, distal parenting might result in toddlers who are self-aware but less obedient—traits needed in modern Athens, where independence, self-reliance, and competition are highly valued.

The predictions were accurate. At 18 months these children were tested on self- awareness (the rouge test) and compliance. The African toddlers didn’t recognize themselves in the mirror but obeyed; the opposite was true of the Greek children.

Replicating their own work, these researchers studied a dozen mother–infant pairs in Costa Rica, where play patterns and later toddler behavior were midway between those of the Nso and the Greeks. They then reanalyzed their original lon- gitudinal data, child by child. They found that proximal or distal play at 3 months was highly predictive of toddler behavior, even apart from culture. In other words, Greek mothers who, unlike most of their peers, were proximal parents had more obedient toddlers (H. Keller et al., 2004).

As this study suggested, every aspect of early emotional development interacts with cultural ideas of what is appropriate. For example, other research has found that separation anxiety is more evident in Japan than in Germany, because Japan- ese infants “have very few experiences with separation from the mother,” whereas in Germany “infants are frequently left alone outside of stores or supermarkets” while the mother shops (Saarni et al., 2006, p. 237). From the beginning of life, some emotions are dampened and others are fueled by family responses.

SUMMING UP

The five major theories differ in their explanations of the origins of early emotions and

personality. Psychoanalytic theory stresses the mother’s responses to the infant’s needs

for food and elimination (Freud) or for security and independence (Erikson). Behaviorism

also stresses caregiving—especially as parents reinforce the behaviors they want their

baby to learn or as they thoughtlessly teach unwanted behaviors.

Learning is also crucial in cognitive theory—not the moment-by-moment learning of

behaviorism, but the infant’s self-constructed concept, or working model. Epigenetic

190 CHAPTER 7 ■ The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

TABLE 7.2

Play Patterns in Rural Cameroon and Urban Greece

Amount of Time Spent in Play (percent)

Age of Babies Type of Play Nso, Cameroon Athens, Greece

3 months Held by mother 100 31

3 months Object play 3 40

Toddler Behavior Measured

18 months Self-recognition 3 68

18 months Compliance (without prompting) 72 2

Source: Adapted from Keller et al., 2004.

Research Design Scientists: A team of six from three

nations (Germany, Greece, Costa Rica).

Publication: Child Development (2004).

Participants: A total of 90 mothers

participated when their babies were 3

months old and again when they were

18 months old (32 from Cameroon,

46 from Greece, 12 from Costa Rica).

In Greece and Costa Rica, researchers

recruited mothers in hospitals. In

Cameroon, permission was first

sought from the local leader, and then

announcements were made among

local people.

Design: First, mothers played with their

3-month-olds, and that play was video-

taped and coded for particular behav-

iors. Fifteen months later, the toddlers’

self-recognition was assessed with the

rouge test, and compliance with preset

maternal commands was measured.

The mother’s frequency of eye contact

and body contact with the infant at 3

months was compared with the tod-

dler’s self-awareness and compliance at

18 months.

Major conclusion:Toddlers with proxi-

mal mothers were more obedient but

less self-aware; toddlers with distal

mothers tended to show the opposite

pattern.

Comment:This is one of the best com-

parison studies of child-rearing practices

in various cultures. Families differed in

income and urbanization; these variables

need to be explored in other research.

Especially for Parents of Toddlers Your

child refuses to stay in the car seat, spits out

disliked foods, and almost never does what

you say. What can you do?

➤Response for Parents of Young Adults

(from page 188): The implication is that human

mothers are like sad birds, bereft of their

fledglings, who have flown away. Chapter 22

details the accuracy of this ethnotheory.

theory begins with the inherited temperament and then describes how inborn tempera-

ment is shaped. Sociocultural theory also sees an interaction between nature and

nurture but emphasizes that the diversity of nurture explains much of the diversity of

emotions. According to sociocultural theory, child-rearing practices arise from ethnothe-

ories, unexpressed and implicit but very powerful. ■

The Development of Social Bonds All the theories of development agree that healthy human development depends on social connections, as you have already seen in the abnormal behavior of emo- tionally deprived Romanian orphans (Chapter 5), in the social exchanges required for language learning (Chapter 6), and in dozens of other examples. All the emo- tions already described elicit social reactions, and infants are happier and health- ier when others (especially their mothers) are nearby (Plutchik, 2003). Now we look closely at infant–caregiver bonds.

Synchrony

Synchrony is a coordinated interaction between caregiver and infant, an exchange in which they respond to each other with split-second timing. Synchrony has been described as the meshing of a finely tuned machine (Snow, 1984), an emotional “attunement” of an improvised musical duet (Stern, 1985), and a smoothly flowing “waltz” (Barnard & Martell, 1995).

Detailed research reveals the mutuality of the interaction: Adults rarely smile at newborns until the infant smiles at them, at which point adults grin broadly and talk animatedly (Lavelli & Fogal, 2005). Since each baby has a unique temperament, parents must be sensitive to their particular infant (Feldman & Eidelman, 2005). Via synchrony, infants learn to read other emotions and to develop the skills of social interaction, such as taking turns and paying attention.

Although infants imitate adults, synchrony usually begins with parents imitating infants (Lavelli & Fogal, 2005). If parents detect an emotion from an infant’s expression (easy to do, because infant facial expressions and body motions reflect uni- versally recognizable emotions), and if an infant sees a familiar face expressing that emotion, the infant learns to connect an internal state with an external expression (Rochat, 2001).

For example, suppose an infant is unhappy. An adult who mirrors the distress, and then tries to solve the problem, will teach the infant that although unhappiness is a negative emotion, it is a valid one, and it can be relieved. Obviously, if the adult’s reaction to unhappiness is always to feed the infant, that might teach a destructive lesson (food equals comfort re- gardless of the cause of the distress). But if an adult’s reponse is more nuanced (by differentiating hunger, pain, boredom, or fear, for instance, and by responding differently to each), then the infant will learn to perceive the varied reasons for unhappiness and the varied ways of responding to it.

One of the important discoveries regarding synchrony is that adults do not merely echo infant emotions; they try to make them more positive. Thus, when their babies seem angry, mothers tend to react not with anger but with surprise (Malatesta et al., 1989).

synchrony A coordinated, rapid, and smooth

exchange of responses between a care-

giver and an infant.

The Development of Social Bonds 191

Dance with Me Synchrony in action, with

each one’s hands, eyes, and open mouth

reflecting the other’s expression. The close

timing of synchrony has been compared to a

waltz—and these partners look as if they

never miss a beat.

M Y

R LE

E N

F E R

G U

S O

N C

A T E /

P H

O T O

E D

IT

still-face technique An experimental practice

in which an adult keeps his or her face un-

moving and expressionless in face-to-face

interaction with an infant.

Synchrony is experience-expectant, developing connections within the brain (Schore, 2001). For example, parents of triplets spend less time in synchrony with each of them than parents of single infants spend with their child (Feldman et al., 2004); perhaps for that reason, triplet cognition tends to be slightly delayed. Some mothers rarely play with their infants, and that slows down those children’s development (Huston & Aronson, 2005). Apparently, infant brains need social interaction to develop to their fullest. Babies usually elicit such interaction (as you have seen when a stranger makes faces to a baby in a public place), but some adults are too overwhelmed to play. In that case, the brain lacks an essential, expected stimulant.

Synchrony becomes more frequent and more elaborate as time goes on; a 6- month-old is a more responsive social partner than a 3-month-old. Parents and in- fants average about an hour a day in face-to-face play, although variations are apparent from baby to baby, from time period to time period, and from culture to culture (Baildam et al., 2000; Lee, 2000).

attachment According to Ainsworth, “an

affectional tie” that an infant forms with

the caregiver—a tie that binds them

together in space and endures over time.

192 CHAPTER 7 ■ The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

thinking like a scientist The Still-Face Technique

Is synchrony needed for normal development? If no one plays

with an infant, how will that infant develop? Experiments using

the still-face technique have addressed these questions

(Tronick, 1989; Tronick et al., 1978). An infant is placed facing

an adult, who plays with the baby while a video camera records

each partner’s reactions. Frame-by-frame comparison of the two

videotapes reveals the sequence. Typically, mothers synchronize

their responses to the infants’ movements, usually with exagger-

ated tone and expression, and babies reciprocate with smiles

and arm waving.

Then, on cue, the adult erases all facial expression and stares

with a “still face” for a minute or two. Not usually at 2 months,

but clearly at 6 months, babies are very upset by the still face,

especially from their parents (less so for strangers). Babies frown,

fuss, drool, look away, kick, cry, or suck their fingers.

Interestingly, babies are much more upset when parents

show a still face than when parents leave the room for a minute

or two (Rochat, 2001). From a psychological perspective, this is

healthy: It shows that “by 2 to 3 months of age, infants have

begun to expect that people will respond positively to their initia-

tives” (R. A. Thompson, 2006, p. 29). In one set of experiments,

infants became upset if someone had a still face for any reason—

to look at a wall, to look at someone else, or merely to look away

(Striano, 2004).

In another study, infants experienced not just one but two

episodes of a parent’s still face. The infants quickly readjusted

when their parent became responsive again if synchrony charac-

terized the parent–infant relationship. If the parent was typi-

cally unresponsive, however, infants stayed upset (with faster

heart rate and more fussing) even after the second still-face

episode ended (Haley & Stansbury, 2003).

Many research studies lead to the same conclusion: A parent’s

responsiveness to an infant aids development, measured not only

psychosocially but also biologically (with heart rate, weight gain,

and brain maturation) (Moore & Calkins, 2004). If a mother is

unresponsive to her infant (as usually happens with postpartum

depression; see Chapter 4), the father or another caregiver should

establish synchrony to help ensure normal development (Tronick

& Weinberg, 1997).

Attachment

Toward the end of the first year, face-to-face play almost disappears. Once infants can move around and explore, they are no longer content to stay in one spot and follow an adult’s facial expressions and vocalizations. Remember that, at about 12 months, most infants can walk and talk, which changes the rhythms of their social interaction (Jaffee et al., 2001). At this time a new type of connection, called attachment, replaces synchrony.

Attachment is a lasting emotional bond that one person has with another. Attachments form in infancy. According to attachment theory, new close relation- ships that arise later in life are influenced by these first attachments (R. A.

➤Response for Parents of Toddlers

(from page 190): Remember the origins of

the misbehavior—probably a combination of

your child’s inborn temperament and your

own distal parenting. Blended with your

ethnotheory, all contribute to the child’s being

stubborn and independent. Acceptance is

more warranted than anger.

Thompson & Raikes, 2003). In fact, adults’ attachment to their own parents, formed decades earlier, affects their relationships with their children. Humans learn in childhood how to relate to people, and those lessons echo lifelong (Gross- man et al., 2005; Sroufe et al., 2005).

When two people are attached, they respond to each other in particular ways. Infants show their attachment through proximity-seeking behaviors, such as approaching and following their caregivers, and through contact-maintaining behaviors, such as touching, snuggling, and holding. A securely attached toddler is curious and eager to explore but maintains contact by looking back at the caregiver.

Caregivers show attachment as well. They keep a watchful eye on their baby and respond sensitively to vocalizations, expressions, and gestures. For example, many mothers or fathers, awakening in the middle of the night, tiptoe to the crib to gaze fondly at their sleeping infant. During the day, many parents instinctively smooth their toddler’s hair or caress their child’s hand or cheek.

Over humanity’s evolutionary history, proximity-seeking and contact-maintaining behaviors contributed to the survival of the species (R. A. Thompson, 2006). Attachment keeps infants near their caregivers and keeps caregivers vigilant.

Secure and Insecure Attachment

The concept of attachment was originally developed by John Bowlby (1969, 1973, 1988), a British developmentalist influenced by both psychoanalytic theory and ethology. Inspired by Bowlby’s work, Mary Ainsworth, then a young American graduate student, studied the relationship between par- ents and infants in Uganda (Ainsworth, 1973).

Ainsworth discovered that virtually all infants develop special attachments to their caregivers. Some infants are more securely attached than others—an observation later confirmed by hundreds of other researchers studying in dozens of nations and cultures (Cassidy & Shaver, 1999; Grossman et al., 2005; Sroufe, 2005; R. A. Thompson, 2006).

Attachment is classified into four types, labeled A–D (see Table 7.3). Infants with secure attachment (type B) feel comfortable and confident, The infant derives comfort from being close to the caregiver, and that provides him or her the confidence to ex- plore. The caregiver becomes a base for exploration, giving the child the assurance to venture forth. A toddler might, for example,

The Development of Social Bonds 193 B

R A

N D

X P

IC T U

R E S

/ A

LA M

Y

R O

B E R

T W

. G

IN N

/ A

LA M

Y

Synchrony Father–infant play is often more

fun than mother–infant play. This father is

teaching his son important lessons about

manhood!

M IC

H A

E L

N E W

M A

N /

P H

O T O

E D

IT

secure attachment A relationship in which an

infant obtains both comfort and confidence

from the presence of his or her caregiver.

Learning Emotions Infants respond to

their parents’ expressions and actions. If the

moments shown here are typical, one young

man will be happy and outgoing and the

other will be sad and quiet.

Observation Quiz (see answer, page 194):

For the pair on the left, where are their feet?

scramble down from the caregiver’s lap to play with a toy but periodically look back, vocalize a few syllables, and return for a hug.

By contrast, insecure attachment (types A and C) is characterized by fear, anxi- ety, anger, or indifference. Insecurely attached children have less confidence. Some play without maintaining contact with the caregiver; this is insecure-avoidant attachment (type A). An insecurely attached child might instead be unwilling to leave the caregiver’s lap; this is insecure-resistant/ambivalent attachment (type C).

The fourth category (type D) is called disorganized attachment; it may have some elements of any of the other types, but it is clearly different from them. Type D infants may shift from hitting to kissing their mothers, from staring blankly to crying hysterically, from pinching themselves to freezing in place.

About two-thirds of all infants are securely attached (type B). Their mother’s presence gives them courage to explore. The father’s presence makes some infants even more confident. The caregiver’s departure may cause distress; the caregiver’s return elicits positive social contact (such as smiling or hugging) and then more playing. A balanced reaction—being concerned about the caregiver’s departure but not overwhelmed by it—reflects secure attachment.

Almost a third of all infants are insecure, appearing either indifferent (type A) or unduly anxious (type C). The remaining infants fit into none of these categories and are classified as disorganized (type D).

Measuring Attachment

Ainsworth (1973) developed a now-classic laboratory procedure, called the Strange Situation, to measure attachment. In a well-equipped playroom, an infant is closely observed for eight episodes, during which the infant is with the caregiver (usually the mother), with a stranger, with both, or alone.

First, the caregiver and child are together. Then every three minutes the stranger or the caregiver enters or leaves the playroom. Infants’ responses to the stress of caregiver departure and stranger presence indicate which type of attach- ment they have formed to their caregivers. For research purposes, observers are carefully trained and are certified when they are able to accurately differentiate types A, B, C, and D. The key aspects to focus on are the following:

■ Exploration of the toys. A securely attached toddler plays happily. ■ Reaction to the caregiver’s departure. A secure toddler misses the caregiver. ■ Reaction to the caregiver’s return. A secure toddler welcomes the caregiver.

insecure-avoidant attachment A pattern of

attachment in which an infant avoids con-

nection with the caregiver, as when the

infant seems not to care about the care-

giver’s presence, departure, or return.

insecure-resistant/ambivalent attachment

A pattern of attachment in which anxiety

and uncertainty are evident, as when an

infant is very upset at separation from the

caregiver and both resists and seeks con-

tact on reunion.

disorganized attachment A type of attach-

ment that is marked by an infant’s

inconsistent reactions to the caregiver’s

departure and return.

194 CHAPTER 7 ■ The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

TABLE 7.3

Patterns of Infant Attachment

Name of Toddlers in

Type Pattern In Play Room Mother Leaves Mother Returns Category (percent)

A

B

C

D

Insecure-avoidant

Secure

Insecure-resistant/

ambivalent

Disorganized

Child plays happily

Child plays happily

Child clings, is

preoccupied with

mother

Child is cautious

Child continues

playing

Child pauses, is

not as happy

Child is unhappy,

may stop playing

Child may stare or

yell; looks scared,

confused

Child ignores her

Child welcomes her,

returns to play

Child is angry, may

cry, hit mother, cling

Child acts oddly—

may freeze, scream,

hit self, throw things

10–20

50–70

10–20

5–10

Strange Situation A laboratory procedure

for measuring attachment by evoking

infants’ reactions to stress.

➤Answer to Observation Quiz (from

page 193): The father uses his legs and feet

to support his son at just the right distance

for a great fatherly game of foot-kissing.

[It is reactions to the caregiver that indicate attachment; reactions to strangers (whether tears or signs of interest) are a matter of temperament more than of affectional bond.]

Attachment is not always measured via the Strange Situation, which requires that infants be assessed one by one in a laboratory by carefully trained researchers. Sometimes attachment is measured via 90 questions to be sorted by parents about their children or via an extensive interview with parents about their relationships with their own parents. All these measures find a correlation between secure attachment and desirable personality traits and cognitive development. All also find that the type of attachment changes when circumstances (such as the re- sponsiveness of the mother) change. Many aspects of good parenting correlate with secure attachment (see Table 7.4).

The Development of Social Bonds 195

The Attachment Experiment In this episode

of the Strange Situation, Brian shows every

sign of secure attachment. (a) He explores the

playroom happily when his mother is present;

(b) he cries when she leaves; and (c) he is

readily comforted when she returns.

(a) (b) (c)

A LL

: C

O U

R T E S

Y O

F M

A R

Y A

IN S

W O

R T H

These family and infant characteristics influence

a child’s attachment status in the ways stated

here, but none fully determine it. For example,

parental sensitivity predicts only a modest

amount of the variation between secure and

insecure children. All these correlations have

been found in several studies, but none appear

in every study, because infant temperaments,

contexts, and cultures vary too much.

TABLE 7.4

Predictors of Attachment Type

Secure attachment (type B) is more likely if:

■ The parent is usually sensitive and responsive to the infant’s needs.

■ The infant–parent relationship is high in synchrony.

■ The infant’s temperament is “easy.”

■ The parents are not stressed about income, other children, or their marriage.

■ The parents have a working model of secure attachment to their own parents.

Insecure attachment is more likely if:

■ The parent mistreats the child. (Neglect increases type A; abuse increases C and D.)

■ The mother is mentally ill. (Paranoia increases type D; depression increases type C.)

■ The parents are highly stressed about income, other children, or their marriage. (Parental

stress increases types A and D.)

■ The parents are intrusive and controlling. (Parental domination increases type A.)

■ The parents are active alcoholics. (Alcoholic father increases type A; alcoholic mother

increases type D.)

■ The child’s temperament is “difficult.” (Difficult children tend to be type C.)

■ The child’s temperament is “slow to warm up.” (This correlates with type A.)

Insecure Attachment and Social Setting

Early researchers expected secure attachment to “predict all the outcomes rea- sonably expected from a well-functioning personality” (R. A. Thompson & Raikes, 2003, p. 708). But this turned out not to be the case. Securely attached infants are more likely to become secure toddlers, socially competent preschoolers, aca- demically skilled schoolchildren, and better parents (R. A. Thompson, 2006). However, the correlations are not large, and that makes prediction very tentative. Many children shift in attachment status between one age and another (NICHD, 2001; Seifer et al., 2004).

The most troubled children may be those who are classified as type D. If their disorganization makes them unable to develop an effective strategy for dealing with other people (even an avoidant or resistant strategy, type A or C), they may lash out. Sometimes they become hostile and aggressive, difficult for anyone else to relate to (Lyons-Ruth et al., 1999). (An unusually high percentage of the Romanian children who were adopted after age 2 were type D.)

Social Referencing

Infants seek to understand caregivers’ emotions. At about age 1, social referencing becomes evident when an infant looks to another person for clarification or infor- mation, much as someone might consult a dictionary or other “reference” work. A glance of reassurance or words of caution, an expression of alarm, pleasure, or dismay—each becomes a social guide, telling an infant how to react to an unfamil- iar situation.

After age 1, when infants reach the stage of active exploration (Piaget) and the crisis of autonomy versus shame and doubt (Erikson), the need to consult care- givers becomes urgent. Toddlers search for cues in gaze and facial expressions, pay

close attention to adults’ expressed emotions, and watch carefully to de- tect intentions behind other people’s actions (Baldwin, 2000).

Social referencing has many practical applications. Consider meal- time. Caregivers the world over smack their lips, pretend to taste, and say “yum-yum,” encouraging toddlers to eat and enjoy their first beets, liver, or spinach. For their part, toddlers become astute at reading expres- sions, insisting on the foods that the adults really like. Through this process, children in some cultures develop a taste for raw fish or curried goat or smelly cheese—foods that children in other cultures refuse.

Referencing Mothers

Most everyday instances of social referencing occur with mothers. In- fants usually heed their mother’s wishes, expressed in tone and facial ex- pression. This does not mean that infants are always obedient, especially in cultures where parents and children value independence. Not surpris- ingly, compliance has been the focus of study in the United States, where it often conflicts with independence.

For example, in one experiment, few toddlers obeyed their mother’s request (required by the researchers) to pick up dozens of toys that they had not scattered (Kochanska et al., 2001). Their refusal indicates some emotional maturity: Self-awareness had led to pride and autonomy. The

body language and expressions of some of the mothers implied that they did not really expect their children to obey.

These same toddlers were quite obedient when their mothers told them not to touch an attractive toy. The mothers used tone, expression, and words to make this prohibition clear. Because of social referencing, toddlers understood the

social referencing Seeking information about

how to react to an unfamiliar or ambiguous

object or event by observing someone

else’s expressions and reactions. That other

person becomes a social reference.

196 CHAPTER 7 ■ The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

Social Referencing Should I be happy or

scared to ride on a bicycle through the streets

of Osaka, Japan? Check with Mom to find out.

C O

R B

IS /

M IC

H A

E L

S .Y

A M

A S

H IT

A

Especially for Grandmothers A grand-

mother of an infant boy is troubled that the

baby’s father stays with him whenever the

mother is away. She says that men don’t know

how to care for infants, and she notes that he

sometimes plays a game in which he tosses

his son in the air and then catches him.

message. Even when the mothers were out of sight, half of the 14-month-olds and virtually all of the 22-month-olds obeyed. Most (80 percent) of the older toddlers seemed to agree with the mothers’ judgment (Kochanska et al., 2001).

Referencing Fathers

In North America, increases in maternal employment have expanded the social references available to infants. Fathers—once thought to be uninvolved with their infants (as was the case with Uncle Henry)—now spend considerable time with their children.

For example, the stereotype is that Latino fathers leave caregiving to their wives. However, a study of more than 1,000 Latino 9-month-olds found “fathers with moderate to high levels of engagement” (Cabrera et al., 2006. p. 1203). Although many possible correlates of father involvement (income, education, age) were analyzed, only one significant predictor of the level of engagement was found: how happy the father was with the infant’s mother. Happier husbands tend to be more involved fathers.

The social information that infants get from their fathers tends to be more en- couraging than that from mothers, who are more cautious and protective. When toddlers are about to explore, they often seek their father’s approval, expecting fun from their fathers and comfort from their mothers (Lamb, 2000; Parke, 1996).

In this, infants show social intelligence, because fathers play imaginative and exciting games. They move their infant’s legs and arms in imitation of walking, kicking, or climbing; or play “airplane,” zooming the baby through the air; or tap and tickle the baby’s stomach. Mothers caress, murmur, read, or sing soothingly; combine play with caretaking; and use standard sequences such as peek-a-boo and patty-cake. In short, fathers are generally more proximal, engaging in play that involves the infant’s whole body.

Infant Day Care

You have seen that social bonds are crucial for infants. How is this need affected by time spent with paid caregivers? More than half of all 1-year-olds in the United States are in “regularly scheduled” nonmaternal care, sometimes by relatives (usu- ally the father or grandmother) but often not (Loeb et al., 2004). Mothers usually prefer care by a relative because it is the least expensive, often free. However, family care varies in quality and availability. (If a mother is employed, chances are her husband and mother are as well.)

Family day care (children of various ages cared for in someone else’s home) is more often used for infants, and older children are more often in center day care (several paid caregivers in a place designed for young children). Quality varies in such places, with standards varying markedly from state to state as well as from nation to nation.

In the United States, most parents encounter a “mix of quality, price, type of care, and government subsidies” (Haskins, 2005, p. 168). Some center care is excellent (see Table 7.5), with adequate space, equipment, and trained providers (the ratio of adults to infants should be about 2:5), but it is hard to find. House- holds with higher incomes are more likely to use center care. In other nations, people of all incomes use center care, funded by the government.

The evidence is overwhelming that good preschool education (reviewed in Chapter 9) is beneficial for young children. Infant day care is more controversial (Waldfogel, 2006), but most developmentalists find that infants are not likely to be harmed by—and, in fact, can benefit from—professional day care (Brooks- Gunn et al., 2002; Lamb, 1998).

The Development of Social Bonds 197

family day care Child care that occurs in

another caregiver’s home. Usually the

caregiver is paid at a lower rate than in

center care, and usually one person cares

for several children of various ages.

center day care Child care in a place espe-

cially designed for the purpose, where

several paid providers care for many chil-

dren. Usually the children are grouped by

age, the day-care center is licensed, and

providers are trained and certified in child

development.

Up, Up, and Away! The vigorous play typical

of fathers is likely to help in the infant’s mas-

tery of motor skills and the development of

muscle control.

C H

R O

M O

S O

H M

/ S

O H

M /

P H

O T O

R E S

E A

R C

H E R

S , IN

C .

A longitudinal study has followed the development of more than 1,300 children from birth to age 11 (NICHD, 2005). The effects of various types of infant care on attachment was a major concern of the researchers, but most analyses of the data found that attachment to the mother is as secure among infants in center care as among infants cared for at home. Like other, smaller studies, this NICHD study confirms that infant day care, even for 40 hours a week before age 1, has much less influence on child development than does the warmth of the mother–infant relationship. Infant and child cognition, especially language learning, advance with center care (NICHD, 2005; see Research Design).

Good infant day care is expensive and scarce, however, because infants need individualized and affectionate attention, which are likely to be in short supply if a caregiver has many infants to care for and limited experience and training (Waldfogel, 2006). Probably for this reason, “disagreements about the wisdom (indeed, the morality) of nonmaternal child care for the very young remain” (NICHD, 2005, p. xiv).

No study finds that children of employed mothers suffer solely because their mothers are working. Many employed mothers make infant care their top priority. For example, time-use research finds that mothers who work full time outside the home spend almost as much time playing with their babies (141⁄2 hours a week) as do mothers without outside jobs (16 hours a week) (Huston & Aronson, 2005). Employed mothers spend half as much time on housework and almost no time on leisure. The study concludes:

There was no evidence that mothers’ time at work interfered with the quality of their relationship with their infants, the quality of the home environment, or children’s development. In fact, the results suggest the opposite. Mothers who spent more time at work provided slightly higher quality home environments.

[Huston & Aronson, 2005, p. 479]

Other research confirms that much depends on the quality of care, wherever it occurs and whoever provides it. According to the NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, early day care seems detrimental only when the mother is in-

Especially for Day-Care Providers A

mother who brings her child to you for day

care says that she knows she is harming her

baby but must work out of economic

necessity. What do you say?

198 CHAPTER 7 ■ The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

TABLE 7.5

High-Quality Day Care

High-quality day care during infancy has five essential characteristics:

1. Adequate attention to each infant. This means a low caregiver-to-infant ratio and, probably

even more important, a small group of infants. The ideal situation might be two reliable

caregivers for five infants. Infants need familiar, loving caregivers; continuity of care is very

important.

2. Encouragement of language and sensorimotor development. Infants should receive

extensive language exposure through games, songs, conversations, and positive talk of all

kinds, along with easily manipulated toys.

3. Attention to health and safety. Cleanliness routines (e.g., handwashing before meals),

accident prevention (e.g., no small objects that could be swallowed), and safe areas for

exploration (e.g., a clean, padded area for crawling and climbing) are good signs.

4. Well-trained and professional caregivers. Ideally, every caregiver should have a degree or

certificate in early-childhood education and should have worked with children for several

years. Turnover should be low, morale high, and enthusiasm evident. Good caregivers love

their children and their work.

5. Warm and responsive caregivers. Providers should engage the children in problem solving

and discussions, rather than giving instructions. Quiet, obedient children may be an

indication of unresponsive care.

For a more detailed evaluation of day care, see the checklist in NICHD, 2005.

Research Design Scientists: NICHD Early Child Care

Research Network, 30 developmental-

ists cooperating in a study sponsored

by the National Institute of Child Health

and Human Development (NICHD) .

Publication: Hundreds of research arti-

cles in every major child developmental

journal and a book, Child Care and Child

Development (2005), have been pub-

lished analyzing these data.

Participants:Total of 1,364 mother–

infant pairs, from 25 hospitals at 10 sites

throughout the United States. Partici-

pants were recruited within days after

birth. Participating mothers had to be

over 18, English-speaking, and healthy.

Design: Ongoing longitudinal study,

with many repeated measures from

birth to age 10, looking especially at

child-care arrangements and at social,

emotional, and cognitive development.

The data from this study have been

used for many purposes; here we focus

on correlations between infant care and

later development.

Major conclusions: Quality of maternal

care is more important than specifics of

care. Poor-quality day care, especially in

infancy, has some long-term negative

effects. Some researchers have found

that nonmaternal care for 40 or more

hours per week increases the risk of

later aggression.

Comment:This study is large, diverse,

and ongoing, and it continues to pro-

vide fascinating results. One strength is

that many regions within the United

States were sampled; one weakness is

that only one nation was studied.The

main drawback is that low-SES and im-

migrant mothers are not adequately

represented.

➤Response for Grandmothers (from

page 197): Fathers can be great caregivers,

and most mothers prefer that the father

provide care. It’s good for the baby and the

marriage. Being tossed in the air is great fun

(as long as the father is careful and a good

catcher!). A generation or two ago, mothers

seldom let fathers care for infants.

Fortunately, today’s mothers are less likely to

act as gatekeepers, shutting the fathers out.

sensitive and the infant spends more than 20 hours a week in a poor- quality program in which there are too few caregivers, with too little training) (NICHD, 2005).

Although the mother’s sensitivity is the best predictor of a child’s social skills, day care can have a significant effect, too. Some children, espe- cially boys, who receive extensive nonmaternal care are more quarrel- some and have more conflicts with their teachers than does the average student (NICHD, 2003).

The negative effects of poor care have also been found in a study in Israel of 758 infants. Those cared for at home by an attentive father or grandmother seemed to do very well, as did those in a high-quality day- care center. However, those cared for in a center with untrained care- givers and only one adult for five infants fared poorly (Sagi et al., 2002). Other studies also find that a 5:1 ratio of infants to adults is too high; 5:2 not only allows caregivers to provide better instruction and support but also makes children more cooperative (de Schipper et al., 2006).

Regarding home care, children whose primary caregiver is depressed fare worse than they would in center care (Loeb et al., 2004). Many studies find that out-of-home day care is better than in-home care if an infant’s family does not provide adequate stimulation and attention (Ramey et al., 2002; Votruba-Drzal et al., 2004).

Among the benefits of day care is the opportunity to learn to express emotions. When a toddler is temperamentally very shy or aggressive, he or she is less likely to remain so if caregivers and other children are available as social references (Fox et al., 2001; Zigler & Styfco, 2001). But no expert would say that all infants are better off either in day care or at home.

SUMMING UP

Infants seek social bonds, which they develop with one or several people. Synchrony

begins in the early months: Infants and caregivers interact face to face, making split-

second adjustments in their emotional responses to each other. Synchrony evolves into

attachment, an emotional bond with adult caregivers. Secure attachment allows learning

to progress; insecure infants are less confident and may develop emotional impairments.

As infants become more curious and as they encounter new toys, people, and events,

they use social referencing to learn whether such new things are fearsome or fun.

The emotional connections evident in synchrony, attachment, and social referencing

may occur with mothers, fathers, other relatives, and day-care providers. Instead of

harming infants, as was once feared, nonmaternal care sometimes enhances infants’

psychosocial development. The quality and continuity of child care matter more than

who provides it. ■

Conclusions in Theory and Practice You have seen in this chapter that the first two years are filled with psychosocial interactions, all of which result from genes, maturation, culture, and caregivers. Each of the five major theories seems plausible. No single theory stands out as the best.

All theorists agree that the first two years are crucial, with early emotional and social development influenced by the parents’ behavior, the quality of day care, cultural patterns, and inborn traits. It has not been proven whether one influence, such as a good day-care center, compensates for another, such as a depressed mother (although parental influence is always significant). Multicultural research

Especially for Potential Day-Care

Providers What are some of the benefits

and costs of opening and running a day-care

center?

Conclusions in Theory and Practice 199

Secure Attachment Kirstie and her 10-

month-old daughter Mia enjoy a moment of

synchrony in an infant day-care center spon-

sored by a family-friendly employer, General

Mills. High-quality day care and high-quality

home care are equally likely to foster secure

attachment between mother and infant.

A N

N H

E IS

E N

FE LT

/ A

P P

H O

T O

has identified a wide variety of practices in differ- ent societies. These discoveries imply that no one event (such as toilet training, in Freud’s theory) determines emotional health.

On the basis of what you have learned, you could safely advise parents to play with their in- fants; respond to their physical and emotional needs; let them explore; maintain a relationship; pay attention to them; and expect every toddler to be sometimes angry, sometimes proud, sometimes fearful. Parental actions and attitudes may or may not have a powerful impact on later development, but they certainly can make infants happier or sad- der. Parental attentiveness leads to synchrony, at- tachment, and social referencing, which are crucial to infant and toddler development.

Such generalities are not good enough for Jacob, or for all the other infants who show signs of malnutrition, delayed language, poor social skills, abnormal emotional development, insecure or disorganized attachment, or other deficits. In dealing with individual children who have prob- lems, we need to be more specific.

Jacob was 3 years old but not talking. Even in his first year, his psychosocial development was impaired. Looking at Table 7.6 on infant develop- ment, you can see that even at 3 months he was unusual in his reaction to familiar people. All in- fants need one or two people who are emotionally invested in them from the first days of life, and it is not clear that Jacob had anyone, including his nanny, who did not speak English, or his parents. There is no indication of synchrony or attachment.

Something had to be done, as the parents even- tually realized. They took Jacob for evaluation at a major teaching hospital. He was seen by at least

10 experts, none of whom said anything encouraging. The diagnosis was “pervasive developmental disorder,” which suggests serious brain abnormality.

Fortunately, Jacob’s parents then consulted a psychiatrist who specialized in chil- dren with psychosocial problems (Greenspan & Wieder, 2003). He showed them how to relate to Jacob, saying, “I am going to teach you how to play with your son.” They learned about “floor time,” four hours a day set aside to get on their son’s level and interact: Imitate him, act as if they are part of the game, put their faces and bodies in front of his, create synchrony even though Jacob did not initiate it.

The father reports:

We rebuilt Jacob’s connection to us and to the world—but on his terms. We were drilled to always follow his lead, to always build on his initiative. In a sense, we could only ask Jacob to join our world if we were willing to enter his. . . . He would drop rocks and we would catch them. He would want to put pennies in a bank and we would block the slot. He would want to run in a circle and we would get in his way.

I remember a cold fall day when I was putting lime on our lawn. He dipped his hand in the powder and let it slip through his fingers. He loved the way it

200 CHAPTER 7 ■ The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

TABLE 7.6

AT ABOUT THIS TIME: Infancy

Approximate Age Characteristic or Achievement

3 months Rolls over

Stays half-upright in stroller

Uses two eyes together

Grabs for object; if rattle in hand, can shake it

Makes cooing noises

Joyous recognition of familiar people

6 months Sits up, without adult support (but sometimes using arms)

Grabs and can grasp objects with whole hand

Smiles and laughs

Babbles, listens, and responds with facial expression

Tries to crawl (on belly, not yet on all fours)

Stands and bounces with support

(on someone’s lap, in a bouncer)

Begins to shows signs of anger, fear, attachment

12 months Stands without holding on

Crawls well

Takes a few unsteady steps

Uses fingers, including pincer grasp (thumb and forefingers)

Can feed self with fingers

Speaks a few words (mama, dada, baba)

Strong attachment to familiar caregivers

Apparent fear of strangers, of unexpected noises and events

18 months Walks well

Runs, but also falls

Tries to climb on furniture

Speaks 50–100 words; most are nouns

Begins toilet training

Likes to drop things, throw things, take things apart

Recognizes self in mirror

24 months Runs well

Climbs up (down is harder)

Uses simple tools (spoon, large marker)

Combines words (usually noun/verb,

sometimes noun/verb/noun)

Can use fingers to unscrew tops, open doors

Very interested in new experiences and new children

An Eventful Time This table lists aspects of

development that have been discussed in

Chapters 5, 6, and 7. Throughout infancy, tem-

perament and experience affect when and

how babies display the characteristics and

achievements listed here. The list is meant as

a rough guideline, not as a yardstick for indi-

cating a child’s progress in intelligence or any

other trait.

Emotional Development

1. Two emotions, contentment and distress, appear as soon as an infant is born. Anger emerges with restriction and frustration, between 4 and 8 months of age, and becomes stronger by age 1.

2. Reflexive fear is apparent in very young infants. However, fear of something specific, including fear of strangers and fear of sepa- ration, does not appear until toward the end of the first year.

3. In the second year, social awareness produces more selective fear, anger, and joy. As infants become increasingly self-aware at about 18 months, emotions—specifically, pride, shame, and affection—emerge that encourage an interface between the self and others.

Theories About Infant Psychosocial Development

4. According to all five major theories, caregiver behavior is espe- cially influential in the first two years. Freud stressed the mother’s impact on oral and anal pleasure; Erikson emphasized trust and autonomy.

5. Behaviorists focus on learning; parents teach their babies many things, including when to be fearful or joyful. Cognitive

theory holds that infants develop working models based on their experiences.

6. Epigenetic theory emphasizes temperament, a set of genetic traits whose expression is influenced by the environment. Parental practices inhibit and guide a child’s temperament, but they do not create it. Ideally, a good fit develops between the parents’ actions and the child’s personality.

7. The sociocultural approach notes the impact of social and cultural factors on the parent–infant relationship. Ethnotheories shape infant emotions and traits so that they fit well within the culture. Some cultures encourage proximal parenting (more physical touch); others promote distal parenting (more talk and object play).

The Development of Social Bonds

8. By 3 months, infants become more responsive and social, and synchrony begins. Synchrony involves moment-by-moment inter- action. Caregivers need to be responsive and sensitive. Infants are disturbed by a still face because they expect and need social interaction.

SUMMARY

felt. I took the lawn spreader and ran to the other part of our yard. He ran after me. I let him have one dip and ran across the yard again. He dipped, I ran, he dipped, I ran. We did this until I could no longer move my arms.

[Jacob’s father, 1997, p. 62]

Jacob’s case is obviously extreme, but many infants and parents have difficulty establishing synchrony. From the perspective of early psychosocial development, nothing could be more important than a connection like the one Jacob and his parents established.

In Jacob’s case it worked. He said his first word at age 3, and by age 5 . . . he speaks for days at a time. He talks from the moment he wakes up to the moment he falls asleep, as if he is making up for lost time. He wants to know everything. “How does a live chicken become an eating chicken? Why are microbes so small? Why do policemen wear badges? Why are dinosaurs extinct? What is French? [A question I often ask myself.] Why do ghosts glow in the dark?” He is not satisfied with answers that do not ring true or that do not satisfy his standards of clarity. He will keep on asking until he gets it. Rebecca and I have become expert definition providers. Just last week, we were faced with the ultimate challenge: “Dad,” he asked: “Is God real or not?” And then, just to make it a bit more chal- lenging, he added: “How do miracles happen?”

[Jacob’s father, 1997, p. 63]

Miracles do not always happen. Children with pervasive developmental disor- der usually require special care throughout childhood; Jacob may continue to need extra attention. Nevertheless, almost all infants, almost all the time, develop strong relationships with their close family members. The power of early psycho- social development is obvious to every developmentalist and, it is hoped, to every reader of this text.

Summary 201

➤Response for Potential Day-Care

Providers (from page 199): A high-quality

day-care center needs trained and responsive

adults and a clean, safe space—all of which

can be expensive and may mean that you

will have to charge higher fees than many

families can afford to pay. The main benefit

for you is knowing that you can make a major

contribution to the well-being of infants and

their families.

➤Response for Day-Care Providers

(from page 198): Reassure the mother that

you will keep her baby safe and will help to

develop the baby’s mind and social skills by

fostering synchrony and attachment. Also

tell her that the quality of mother–infant

interaction at home is more important than

anything else for psychosocial development;

mothers who are employed full time usually

have wonderful, secure relationships with

their infants. If the mother wishes, you can

discuss ways she can be a more responsive

mother.

7. Why would a mother and father choose not to care for their infant themselves, 24/7?

8. What are the advantages and disadvantages of three kinds of nonmaternal infant care: relatives, family day care, and center day care?

9. Attachments are said to be lifelong. Describe an adult who is insecurely attached.

10. How would psychosocial development be affected if an infant spent every day in a crowded day-care center—for example, a center with eight infants for every caregiver?

11. In terms of infant development, what are the differences be- tween employed and unemployed mothers?

1. How would a sensitive parent respond to an infant’s distress?

2. How do emotions in the second year of life differ from emotions in the first year?

3. What are similarities and differences in the two psychoanalytic theories of infancy?

4. How might synchrony affect the development of emotions in the first year?

5. What is an example of an ethnotheory of your culture that dif- fers from those of other cultures?

6. What are the similarities between epigenetic and sociocultural theories of infant emotions?

infant is available, observe a pair of lovers as they converse. Note the sequence and timing of every facial expression, sound, and gesture of both partners.

3. Telephone several day-care centers to try to assess the quality of care they provide. Ask about such factors as adult–child ratio, group size, and training for caregivers of children of various ages. Is there a minimum age? If so, why was that age chosen? Analyze the answers, using Table 7.5 as a guide.

1. One cultural factor influencing infant development is how infants are carried from place to place. Ask four mothers whose infants were born in each of the past four decades how they trans- ported them—front or back carriers, facing out or in, strollers or carriages, car seats or on mother’s laps, and so on. Why did they choose the mode(s) they chose? What are their opinions and yours on how that cultural practice might affect infants’ development?

2. Observe synchrony for three minutes. Ideally, ask the parent of an infant under 8 months of age to play with the infant. If no

KEY QUESTIONS

APPLICATIONS

202 CHAPTER 7 ■ The First Two Years: Psychosocial Development

social smile (p. 180) stranger wariness (p. 181) separation anxiety (p. 181) self-awareness (p. 182) trust versus mistrust (p. 183) autonomy versus shame and

doubt (p. 184) social learning (p. 184)

working model (p. 184) temperament (p. 185) goodness of fit (p. 187) ethnotheory (p. 188) proximal parenting (p. 189) distal parenting (p. 189) synchrony (p. 191) still-face technique (p. 192)

attachment (p. 192) secure attachment (p. 193) insecure-avoidant attachment

(p. 194) insecure-resistant/ambivalent

attachment (p. 194) disorganized attachment

(p. 194)

Strange Situation (p. 194) social referencing (p. 196) family day care (p. 197) center day care (p. 197)

KEY TERMS

9. Attachment, measured by the baby’s reaction to the caregiver’s presence, departure, and return in the Strange Situation, is crucial. Some infants seem indifferent (type A—insecure-avoidant) or overly dependent (type C—insecure-resistant/ambivalent), instead of secure (type B). Disorganized attachment (type D) is the most worrisome form.

10. Secure attachment provides encouragement for infant explo- ration. As they play, toddlers engage in social referencing, looking to other people’s facial expressions to detect what is fearsome and what is enjoyable.

11. Fathers are wonderful playmates for infants, who frequently consult them, as well as their mothers, as social references.

12. Day care for infants seems, on the whole, to be a positive experience, especially for cognitive development. Psychosocial characteristics, including secure attachment, are influenced more by the mother’s warmth than by the number of hours spent in nonmaternal care. Quality of care is crucial, no matter who pro- vides that care.

Conclusions in Theory and Practice

13. Experts debate exactly how critical early psychosocial devel- opment may be: Is it the essential foundation for all later growth or just one of many steps along the way? However, all infants need caregivers who are committed to them and are dedicated to encouraging each aspect of early development.

The First Two Years

PA R T I I

BIOSOCIAL

Body Changes Over the first two years, the body quadruples in weight and the brain

triples in weight. Connections between brain cells grow increasingly dense, with com-

plex neural networks of dendrites and axons. Neurons become coated with an insulat-

ing layer of myelin, sending messages faster and more efficiently, and the various

states—sleeping, waking, exploring—become more distinct. Experiences that are uni-

versal (experience-expectant) and culture-bound (experience-dependent) both aid brain

growth, partly by allowing pruning of unused connections between neurons.

Senses and Motor Skills Brain maturation underlies the development of all the

senses. Seeing, hearing, and mobility progress from reflexes to coordinated voluntary

actions, including focusing, grasping, and walking. Culture is evident in sensory and

motor development, as brain networks respond to the particulars of each infant’s life.

Public Health Infant health depends on immunization, parental practices (including

“back to sleep”), and nutrition (ideally, breast milk). Survival rates are much higher

today than they were even a few decades ago, yet in some regions of the world infant

growth is still stunted because of malnutrition.

COGNITIVE

Sensorimotor Intelligence and Information Processing As Piaget describes it, during

the first two years (sensorimotor intelligence) infants progress from knowing their world

through immediate sensory experiences to being able to “experiment” on that world

through actions and mental images. Information-processing theory stresses the links be-

tween input (sensory experiences) and output (perception). Infants develop affordances,

their own ideas regarding the possibilities offered by the objects and events of the world.

Recent research finds traces of memory at 3 months, object permanence at 4 months,

and deferred imitation at 9 months—all much younger ages than Piaget described.

Language Interaction with responsive adults exposes infants to the structure of com-

munication and thus language. By age 1, infants can usually speak a word or two; by

age 2, language has exploded, as toddlers talk in short sentences and add vocabulary

words each day. Language develops through reinforcement, neurological maturation,

and social motivation.

PSYCHOSOCIAL

Emotions and Theories Emotions develop from basic newborn reactions to complex,

self-conscious responses. Infants’ increasing self-awareness and independence are

shaped by parents, in a transition explained by Freud’s oral and anal stages, by Erikson’s

crises of trust versus mistrust and autonomy versus shame and doubt, by behaviorism

in the focus on parental responses, and by cognitive theory’s working models. Much of

basic temperament—and therefore personality—is inborn and apparent throughout life,

as epigenetic theory explains. Sociocultural theory stresses cultural norms, evident in

parents’ ethnotheories that guide them in raising their infants.

The Development of Social Bonds Early on, parents and infants respond to each

other by synchronizing their behavior in social play. Toward the end of the first year,

secure attachment between child and parent sets the stage for the child’s increasingly

independent exploration of the world. Insecure attachment—avoidant, resistant, or

disorganized—signifies a parent–child relationship that hinders infant learning. Infants

become active participants in social interactions. Fathers and day-care providers, as

well as mothers, encourage infants’ social confidence.

The Developing Person So Far:

The Play Years

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

T he years from age 2 to age 6 are often

called early childhood or the preschool

period. In this book we also call them the

play years. People of all ages play, of

course, but this is prime time. During early child-

hood, children spend most of their waking hours

discovering, creating, laughing, and imagining as

they acquire the skills they will need. They chase

each other and attempt new challenges (developing

their bodies); they play with sounds, words, and

ideas (developing their minds); they invent games

and dramatize fantasies (learning social skills and

moral rules).

Playfulness makes young children exasperating

as well as delightful. To them, growing up is a game,

and their enthusiasm for it seems unlimited—

whether they are quietly tracking a beetle through

the grass or riotously turning their bedroom into a

shambles. Their minds seem playful, too, when they

explain that “a bald man has a barefoot head” or

that “the sun shines so children can go outside to

play.”

If you expect young children to sit quietly or

think logically, you’ll be disappointed. But if you

enjoy play, then these children will bring you joy.

PA R T I I I

205

The Play Years: Biosocial Development

W hen you were 3 years old, I hope you wanted to fly like a bird, a plane, or Superman, and I hope someone kept you safe. Protection is needed, as well as appreciation of this period of development. Do you remember learning to skip or to write

your name? Three-year-olds try all these, but they shuffle instead of skip, and they forget letters of the alphabet. By age 6, they can skip, write, and much more, as long as they have had enough practice.

Thus, not only do children grow bigger and stronger, they also become more skilled at hundreds of tasks. These advances and the need to protect children against serious problems that sometimes occur, are themes of this chapter.

Body Changes Compared with cute and chubby 1-year-olds, 6-year-olds are grown up. As in infancy, the body and brain develop according to powerful epigenetic forces, biologically driven as well as socially guided, experience-expectant and experience-dependent (as explained in Chapter 5).

Growth Patterns

Just comparing a toddling 1-year-old and a cartwheeling 6-year-old makes some differences obvious. During the play years, children become slimmer as the lower body lengthens and baby fat turns to muscle. In fact, the body mass index (or BMI, the ratio of weight to height) is lower at age 5 than at any other age in the entire life span (Guillaume & Lissau, 2002). Gone are the protruding belly, round face, short limbs, and large head that characterize the toddler. The center of gravity moves from the breastbone to the belly button, enabling cartwheels and many other motor skills.

Increases in height and weight accompany these changes in proportions. Each year from age 2 through 6, well-nourished children add almost 3 inches (about 7 centimeters) and gain about 41⁄2 pounds (2 kilograms). By age 6, the average child in a developed nation weighs about 46 pounds (21 kilograms) and is 46 inches (117 centimeters) tall. (As my nephew David said at that point, “In numbers I am square now.”)

8

207

CHAPTER OUTLINE

c Body Changes

Growth Patterns

Eating Habits

c Brain Development

Speed of Thought

Connecting the Brain’s Hemispheres

Planning and Analyzing

Emotions and the Brain

Motor Skills

c Injuries and Abuse

Avoidable Injury

IN PERSON: “My Baby Swallowed Poison” Child Maltreatment

A CASE TO STUDY: A Series of Suspicious Events

A typical 6-year-old:

■ Is at least 31⁄2 feet tall (more than 100 centimeters) ■ Weighs between 40 and 50 pounds (between 18 and 22 kilograms) ■ Looks lean, not chubby (ages 5–6 are lowest in body fat) ■ Has adult-like body proportions (legs constitute about half the total height)

When many ethnic groups live together in the same developed nation, children of African descent tend to be tallest, followed by those of European descent, then Asians, and then Latinos. However, height differences within groups are greater than the average differences between groups. Body size is especially variable among children of African descent, because Africans are more genetically diverse than people from other continents (Goel et al., 2004).

Over the centuries, low-income families encouraged their children to eat, so that they would have a reserve of fat to protect them in times of famine. Now the same pattern has become destructive. In Brazil, for example, undernutrition caused two-thirds of all nutrition problems in 1975. By l997, overnutrition was the most common problem (Monteiro et al., 2004).

A detailed study of 2- to 4-year-olds in low-income families in New York City found many overweight children, with the proportion increasing as income fell (Nelson et al., 2004). Further, more 4-year-olds than 2-year-olds were overweight (27 percent compared with 14 percent), which suggests that eating habits, not

genes, were the cause. Overweight children were more likely to be of Hispanic (27 percent) or Asian (22 percent) descent than of African (14 percent) or European background (11 percent).

Such problems are not limited to New York City. Worldwide, an epidemic of adult heart disease and diabetes is spreading, and the major cause is the overfeeding of children (Gluckman & Hanson, 2006). It has been predicted that by 2020 more than 228 million adults worldwide will have diabetes (more in India than in any other nation) as a result of un- healthy eating habits acquired in childhood.

Eating Habits

Compared with infants, young children—especially modern children, who play outdoors less than their

parents or grandparents did—need far fewer calories per pound of body weight. Consequently, appetite decreases between ages 2 and 6. Instead of appreciating this natural development, many parents fret, threaten, and cajole their children into eating more than they should (“Eat all your dinner, and you can have ice cream”).

Nutritional Deficiencies

Although most children in developed nations consume enough calories, they do not always obtain adequate iron, zinc, and calcium. For example, consumption of calcium is lower than it was 20 years ago because children today drink less milk and more soda (Jahns et al., 2001). Another problem is sugar. Many cultures en- courage children to eat sweets, in birthday cake, holiday candy, desserts, and other treats. Yet sugar causes tooth decay, the most common disease of young children in developed nations (Lewit & Kerrebrock, 1998).

208 CHAPTER 8 ■ The Play Years: Biosocial Development

No Spilled Milk This girl is demonstrating

her mastery of the motor skills involved in

pouring milk, to the evident admiration of her

friend. The next skill will be drinking it—not a

foregone conclusion, given the lactose intol-

erance of some children and the small ap-

petites and notorious pickiness of children

this age.

Observation Quiz (see answer, page 211):

What three things can you see that indicate

that this attempt at pouring will probably be

successful?

LA U

R A

D W

IG H

T

Sweetened cereals and drinks that are advertised as containing 100 percent of a day’s vitamin requirements are a poor substitute for a balanced diet for many rea- sons besides their high sugar content. One is that some essential nutrients have probably not yet been identified, much less listed on food labels. Another is that fresh fruits and vegetables provide more than vitamins; they also provide other diet essentials, such as fiber and fat.

Just Right

Many young children are quite compulsive about daily routines, including meals. They insist on eating only certain foods, prepared and placed in a particular way. This rigidity, known as the “just right” or “just so” phenomenon, would be patholog- ical in adults but is normal and widespread among young children. For example:

Whereas parents may insist that the child eat his vegetables at dinner, the child may insist that the potatoes be placed only in a certain part of the plate and must not touch any other food; should the potatoes land outside of this area, the child may seem to experience a sense of near-contamination, setting off a tirade of fussiness for which many 2- and 3-year-olds are notorious.

[Evans et al., 1997]

Most young children’s food preferences and rituals are far from ideal. (One 3-year-old I know wanted to eat only cream cheese sandwiches on white bread; one 4-year-old, only fast-food chicken nuggets.) When 1,500 parents were surveyed about their 1- to 6-year-olds (Evans et al., 1997), over 75 percent reported that their children’s just-right phase peaked at about age 3, when the children:

■ Preferred to have things done in a particular order or in a certain way ■ Had a strong preference to wear (or not wear) certain clothes ■ Prepared for bedtime by engaging in a special activity, routine, or

ritual ■ Had strong preferences for certain foods

By age 6, this rigidity fades somewhat (see Figure 8.1). Another team of experts puts it this way: “Most, if not all, children exhibit normal age-dependent obsessive compulsive behaviors [which are] usually gone by middle childhood” (March et al., 2004, p. 216).

The best advice for parents is probably to be patient until the just- right obsession fades away. Insistence on a particular routine, a pre- ferred pair of shoes, or a favorite cup can usually be accommodated until the child gets a little older.

Overeating is another story. Almost no young child anywhere in the world, except in times of famine or war, is underfed during these years. Ideally, children would have only healthy foods to eat, a strategy that would protect their health lifelong (Gluckman & Hanson, 2006). Instead, at least in the United States, most children have several unhealthy snacks each day (Jahns et al., 2001).

SUMMING UP

During the play years, children grow steadily taller and proportionately thinner, with vari-

ations depending on genes, gender, nutrition, income, and other factors. Overweight

is more common than underweight. One reason is that adults encourage overeating.

Another is that young children usually have small appetites and picky habits but are

rewarded with foods that are high in calories yet low in nutrition. ■

Especially for Parents of Fussy Eaters

You prepare a variety of vegetables and fruits,

but your 4-year-old wants only French fries

and cake. What should you do?

Body Changes 209

Score on

“just right”

survey items

1 2 43

Age (in years)

5

3.5

3

2.5

2

1.5

1

Source: Evans et al., 1997.

FIGURE 8.1

Young Children’s Insistence on Routine

This chart shows the average scores of

children (who are rated by their parents) on

a survey indicating the child’s desire to have

certain things—including food selection and

preparation—done “just right.” Such strong

preferences for rigid routines tend to fade

by age 6.

Brain Development Brains grow rapidly even before birth. By age 2, not only have brains increased in size but also a great deal of pruning of dendrites has already occurred. The 2-year- old brain weighs 75 percent of what it will weigh in adulthood. (The major struc- tures of the brain are diagrammed in Appendix A, p. A-30.)

Since most of the brain is already present and functioning, what remains to develop after age 2? The most important parts! Those functions of the brain that make us most human are the ones that develop after infancy, enabling quicker, more coordinated, and more reflective thought (Kagan & Herschkowitz, 2005). Brain growth after infancy is a crucial difference between humans and other animals.

Speed of Thought

After infancy, continued proliferation of the communication pathways (dendrites and axons) results in some brain growth. However, most of the increase in brain weight (to 90 percent of adult weight by age 5) occurs because of myelination (Sampaio & Truwit, 2001). Myelin is a fatty coating on the axons that speeds signals between neurons, like insulation wrapped around electric wires to aid conduction.

The effects of myelination are most noticeable in early childhood (Nelson et al., 2006). Greater speed becomes pivotal when several thoughts must occur in rapid succession. By age 6 most children can listen and then answer, catch a ball and then throw it, write the alphabet in sequence, and so on.

Parents must still be patient when listening to young children talk, when help- ing them get dressed, or when watching them try to write their names. All these tasks are completed more slowly by 6-year-olds than by 16-year-olds. However, thanks to myelination, preschoolers are at least quicker than toddlers, who may take so long that they forget what they were doing before they finish.

Connecting the Brain’s Hemispheres

One part of the brain that grows and myelinates rapidly during the play years is the corpus callosum, a band of nerve fibers that connect the left and right sides of the brain (see Figure 8.2). Growth of the corpus callosum makes communication between the two brain hemispheres more efficient, allowing children to coordinate the two sides of the brain or body. Failure of the corpus callosum to develop normally may result in serious disorders, including autism (Diwadkar & Keshavan, 2006).

To understand the significance of coordination of the two brain hemispheres, you need to realize that the two sides of the body and brain are not identical. Each side specializes, so each is dominant for certain functions—a process called lateralization. Lateralization, or “sidedness,” is apparent not only in right- or left-handedness but also in the feet, eyes, ears, and the brain itself. Such special- ization is epigenetic, prompted by genes, prenatal hormones, and early experiences.

The Left-Handed Child

Infants and toddlers usually prefer one hand over the other for grabbing a spoon, a rattle, and so on. For centuries, parents who saw a preference for the left hand forced their children to be right-handed. Indeed, since most people are right- handed, the common assumption was that right-handedness was best. This bias is still evident in language. In English, a “left-handed compliment” is insincere, and no one wants to be “left back” or “out in left field.” In Latin, dexter (as in dexterity) means “right” and sinister means “left” (and also “evil”). Gauche, which in English means “socially awkward,” is the French word for “left.”

myelination The process by which axons

become coated with myelin, a fatty sub-

stance that speeds the transmission of

nerve impulses from neuron to neuron.

corpus callosum A long band of nerve fibers

that connect the left and right hemispheres

of the brain.

lateralization Literally, sidedness. The spe-

cialization in certain functions by each side

of the brain, with one side dominant for

each activity. The left side of the brain con-

trols the right side of the body, and vice

versa.

210 CHAPTER 8 ■ The Play Years: Biosocial Development

Especially for Early-Childhood Teachers

You know you should be patient, but you feel

your frustration rising when your young

charges dawdle on the walk to the playground

a block away. What should you do?

➤Response for Parents of Fussy Eaters

(from page 209): The nutritionally wise answer

would be to offer only fruits, vegetables, and

other nourishing, low-fat foods, counting on

the child’s eventual hunger to drive him or her

to eat them. However, centuries of cultural

custom make it almost impossible for parents

to be wise in such cases. Perhaps the best

you can do is to discuss the dilemma with a

nutritionist or pediatrician, who can advise you

about what to do for your particular child.

Customs, including taboos, also favor right-handed people. For example, in many Asian and African nations, only the left hand is used for wiping after defecation; it is a major insult to give someone anything with that “dirty” hand.

Developmentalists advise against trying to switch a child’s handedness, not only because this causes needless parent–child conflict but also because it might inter- fere with the natural and necessary process of lateralization. Left-handed adults tend to have thicker corpus callosa than others, which may enable better coordi- nation of both sides of the body (Cherbuin & Brinkman, 2006). A disproportion- ate number of artists, musicians, and sports stars are left-handed.

The Whole Brain

Through studies of people with brain damage as well as through brain imaging, neurologists have determined how the brain’s hemispheres specialize: The left half controls the right side of the body and contains the areas dedicated to logical reasoning, detailed analysis, and the basics of language; the right half controls the left side of the body and contains the areas dedicated to generalized emotional and creative impulses, including appreciation of most music, art, and poetry. Thus, the

Brain Development 211

Corpus callosum

(a)

(b)

FIGURE 8.2

Connections Two views of the corpus callosum, a band

of nerve fibers (axons) that convey information between

the two hemispheres of the brain. When developed, this

“connector” allows the person to coordinate functions

that are performed mainly by one hemisphere or the

other. (a) A view from between the hemispheres, looking

toward the right side of the brain. (b) A view from above,

with the gray matter removed in order to expose the

corpus callosum.

Especially for Left-Handed Adults If you

have a left-handed child (as you very well

might, since handedness is partly genetic), at

what age would you try to switch him or her?

➤Answer to Observation Quiz (from

page 208): The cup, the pitcher, and the

person. The cup has an unusually wide

opening; the pitcher is small and has a sturdy

handle; and the girl is using both hands and

giving her full concentration to the task.

left side notices details and the right side grasps the big picture—a distinction that should provide a clue in interpreting Figure 8.3.

No one (except severely brain-damaged people) is exclusively left- brained or right-brained. Every cognitive skill requires both sides of the brain, just as gross motor skills require both sides of the body (Hugdahl & Davidson, 2002). Because older children have more myelinated fibers in the corpus callosum to speed signals between the two hemispheres, better thinking and less clumsy actions are possible for them.

Planning and Analyzing

You learned in Chapter 5 that the prefrontal cortex (sometimes called the frontal cortex or frontal lobe) is an area in the very front part of the brain’s outer layer (the cortex), under the forehead. It “underlies

higher-order cognition, including planning and complex forms of goal-directed behavior” (Luciana, 2003, p. 163). The prefrontal cortex is crucial for humans; it is said to be the executive of the brain because all the other areas of the cortex are ruled by prefrontal decisions. For example, a person might feel anxious on meeting someone new, whose friendship may be valuable in the future. The prefrontal cortex can calculate and plan, not letting the anxious feelings prevent the acquaintance.

Maturation of the Prefrontal Cortex

The frontal lobe “shows the most prolonged period of postnatal development of any region of the human brain” (Johnson, 2005, p. 210), with dendrite density and myelination increasing throughout childhood and adolescence (Nelson et al., 2006). Several notable benefits of maturation of the prefrontal cortex occur from ages 2 to 6:

■ Sleep becomes more regular. ■ Emotions become more nuanced and responsive to specific stimuli. ■ Temper tantrums subside. ■ Uncontrollable laughter or tears become less common.

In one series of experiments, 3-year-olds consistently made a stunning mistake (Zelazo et al., 2003). The children were given a set of cards with clear outlines of trucks or flowers, some red and some blue. They were asked to “play the shape game,” putting trucks in one pile and flowers in another. Three-year-olds can do this correctly, as can some 2-year-olds and almost all older children.

Then the children were asked to “play the color game,” sorting the cards by color. Most of them failed at this task, sorting by shape instead. This study has been replicated in many nations, and 3-year- olds usually get stuck on their initial sorting pattern (Diamond & Kirkham, 2005). Most older children, even 4-year-olds, make the switch.

When this result was first obtained, experimenters wondered whether the children didn’t know their colors, so the scientists switched the order, first playing “the color game.” Most 3-year-olds did that correctly. Then, when they were asked to play “the shape game,” they still sorted by color. Even with a new set of cards, such as yellow or green rabbits or boats, they still tend to sort by the criterion (either color or shape) that was used in their first trial.

Researchers are looking into many possible explanations for this surprising result (Müller et al., 2006; Yerys & Munakata, 2006). All

212 CHAPTER 8 ■ The Play Years: Biosocial Development

FIGURE 8.3

Copy What You See Brain-damaged adults

were asked to copy the figure at the left in

each row. One person drew the middle set,

another the set at the right.

Observation Quiz (see answer, page 214):

Which set was drawn by someone with left-

side damage and which set by someone with

right-side damage?

No Writer’s Block The context is designed

to help this South African second-grader

concentrate on her schoolwork. Large, one-

person desks, uniforms, notebooks, and

sharp pencils are manageable for the brains

and skills of elementary school children, but

not yet for preschoolers.

M . M

E Y

E R

S FE

LD /

M A

S T E R

FI LE

agree, however, that something in the executive function of the brain must mature before children are able to switch from one way of sorting objects to another.

An everyday example is the game Simon Says, in which children are supposed to follow the leader only when his or her orders are preceded by the words “Simon says.” Thus when leaders touch their noses and say, “Simon says touch your nose,” children are supposed to touch their noses; but when leaders touch their noses and merely say, “Touch your nose,” no one is supposed to follow the example. Young children quickly lose at this game because they impulsively do what they see and are told to do. Older children are better at it because they can think before acting.

Maturation of the prefrontal cortex is also discussed in Chapters 5, 11, and 14.

Attention

A major function of the prefrontal cortex is to focus attention and thus to curb impul- siveness. A 3-year-old jumps from task to task and cannot be still, even in church or any other place that requires quiet. Similarly, younger children may want to play with a toy that another child has but lose interest by the time that toy becomes available.

The opposite of the impatient child is the child who plays with one toy for hours. Perseveration is the name for the tendency to persevere in, or stick to, one thought or action. Perseveration is evident in the card-sorting study and in young children’s tendency to repeat one phrase or question again and again or to throw a tantrum when their favorite TV show is interrupted. That tantrum itself may perseverate: The child’s crying may become uncontrollable and unstoppable, as if the child is stuck in that emotion.

Impulsiveness and perseveration are opposite behaviors with the same under- lying cause: immaturity of the prefrontal cortex. Over the play years, brain matura- tion (innate) and emotional regulation (learned) decrease both impulsiveness and perseveration. Children gradually become able to pay attention when necessary (de Haan & Johnson, 2003).

Emotions and the Brain

Now that we have looked at the brain structures involved in planning and analyzing, we turn to the limbic system, an area of the brain that is crucial in the expression and regulation of emotions. Both expression and regulation advance during the play years (more about that in Chapter 10). Three major parts of the limbic system are the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the hypothalamus.

The amygdala, a tiny structure deep in the brain (named after an almond, be- cause it is about that shape and size), registers emotions, both positive and negative, especially fear (Nelson et al., 2006). Increased activity of the amygdala is one reason some young children have terrifying nightmares or sudden terrors.

Fear can overwhelm the prefrontal cortex and disrupt a child’s ability to reason. If a child is scared of, say, a lion in the closet, an adult should open the closet door and tell the lion to go home, not laugh or insist that the fear is nonsense.

The amygdala responds to facial expressions (Vasa & Pine, 2004). This is part of social referencing, explained in Chapter 7. If a child sees a parent look terrified when a strange dog approaches, the child may also feel extreme fear, and if this recurs often enough, the child’s amygdala may become hypersensitive. If instead the parent conveys pleasure or curiosity about the dog, the child will probably overcome initial feelings of fear because of another structure in the brain’s limbic system, the hippocampus.

The hippocampus is located right next to the amygdala. It is a central proces- sor of memory, especially memory of locations. The hippocampus responds to the

perseveration The tendency to persevere in,

or stick to, one thought or action for a long

time.

amygdala A tiny brain structure that registers

emotions, particularly fear and anxiety.

Brain Development 213

➤Response for Early-Childhood

Teachers (from page 210): One solution is to

remind yourself that the children’s brains are

not yet myelinated enough to enable them to

quickly walk, talk, or even button their jackets.

Maturation has a major effect, as you will

observe if you can schedule excursions in

September and again in November. Progress,

while still slow, will be a few seconds faster

in November than it was in September.

➤Response for Left-handed Adults

(from page 211): Preferably never! Most

left-handed adults are quite proud of their

distinctiveness. Developmentalists now

recommend that natural dominance prevail.

However, if you still want your child to switch,

early childhood is too late, as brain lateraliza-

tion has begun. In the first weeks of life, you

might encourage right-handedness—but

don’t insist.

hippocampus A brain structure that is a

central processor of memory, especially

the memory of locations.

Especially for Brain Experts Why do

most neurologists think the limbic system is

an oversimplification?

anxieties of the amygdala with memory; it makes the child remember, for instance, that Mother petted a dog at a neighbor’s house.

Memories of location are fragile in early childhood because the hippocampus is still developing. Indeed, every type of memory has its own timetable (Nelson & Webb, 2003); for example, memory for context is less advanced than memory for content, and source memory (of when, where, and how a certain fact was learned) is hazy (Cycowicz et al., 2003). A preschool child might claim “No one told me that. I always knew it” or might remember that something happened but mis- remember who was involved.

The amygdala and the hippocampus are sometimes helpful, sometimes not, de- pending on how useful fear and memory are. Some children, because their amyg- dala and hippocampus are not well developed, might be fearless when they should remember past events and be cautious. When the amygdala is surgically removed from animals, they are fearless in situations that should scare them; cats will stroll nonchalantly along when monkeys are nearby, for instance—something no normal cat would do (Kolb & Whishaw, 2003).

A third part of the limbic system, the hypothalamus, responds to signals from the amygdala (arousing) and the hippocampus (usually dampening) to produce hormones that activate other parts of the brain and body (see Figure 8.4). Ideally, this occurs in moderation. If excessive stress hormones flood the brain, part of the hippocampus may be destroyed. Permanent deficits in learning and memory may result (Davis et al., 2003).

hypothalamus A brain area that responds to

the amygdala and the hippocampus to pro-

duce hormones that activate other parts of

the brain and body.

214 CHAPTER 8 ■ The Play Years: Biosocial Development

The HPA (Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Cortex) Axis

Hypothalamus

Brain

CORT CORT

ACTH

CRH

Pituitary gland

Amygdala Hippocampus

Adrenal cortex

Hypothalamus

Positive feedback loop

Negative feedback loop

Adrenal cortex

Pituitary

Source: Adapted from Davis et al., 2003, p. 183.

Hippocampus Amygdala

FIGURE 8.4

A Hormonal Feedback Loop This diagram simplifies a hormonal linkage, the HPA axis, involving the limbic system.

Both the hippocampus and the amygdala stimulate the hypothalamus to produce CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone),

which in turn signals the pituitary gland to produce ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone). ACTH then triggers the pro-

duction of CORT (glucocorticoids) by the adrenal cortex (the outer layers of the adrenal glands, atop the kidneys). The

initial reaction to something frightening may either build or disappear, depending on other factors, including memories,

and on how the various parts of the brain interpret that first alert from the amygdala. (Some other components of this

mechanism have been omitted for the sake of clarity.)

➤Answer to Observation Quiz (from

page 212): The middle set, with its careful

details, reflects damage to the right half of

the brain, where overall impressions are

formed. The person with left-brain damage

produced the drawings that were just an M

or a D, without the details of the tiny z’s and

rectangles. With a whole functioning brain,

people can see both “the forest and the

trees.”

➤Response for Brain Experts (from page

213): The more we discover about the brain,

the more complex we realize it is. Each part

has specific functions and is connected to

every other part.

Stressful experiences—meeting new friends, entering school, visiting a strange place—probably foster growth if the child has someone or something to moderate the stress. In an experiment, brain scans and tests of hormone levels measured stress in 4- to 6-year-olds after a fire alarm. Two weeks later, they were questioned about the event. Compared with less reactive children, those with higher stress reactions to the alarm remembered more with a friendly interviewer but less with a stern interviewer (Quas et al., 2004).

Other research also finds that preschoolers remember traumatic experiences better if the interviewer is a warm and attentive listener (Bruck et al., 2006). But stress should not be relentless, without long recovery, because developing brains are fragile; “prolonged physiological responses to stress and challenge put chil- dren at risk for a variety of problems in childhood, including physical and mental disorders, poor emotional regulation, and cognitive impairments” (Quas et al., 2004, p. 379).

Prolonged stress, with emotional and cognitive impairment, seemed to occur for the thousands of Romanian children in orphanages (see Chapter 5). When they saw pictures of happy, sad, frightened, and angry faces, their limbic systems were less reactive than were those of Romanian children living with their parents. The brains of the orphans were less lateralized, suggesting less specialized, less efficient thinking (Parker & Nelson, 2005).

Motor Skills

Maturation of the prefrontal cortex improves impulse control, while myelination of the corpus callosum and lateralization of the brain permits better coordination. No wonder children move with greater speed and grace as they age from 2 to 6, becoming better able to direct and refine their actions. (Table 8.1 lists approxi- mate ages for the acquisition of various motor skills.)

Brain Development 215

TABLE 8.1

AT ABOUT THIS TIME: Motor Skills at Ages 2–6*

Approx. Skill or Approx. Skill or Age Achievement Age Achievement

2 years Run for pleasure, without falling (but bumping into things)

Climb chairs, tables, beds, out of cribs

Walk up stairs

Feed self with spoon

Draw lines, spirals

3 years Kick and throw a ball

Jump with both feet off the floor

Pedal a tricycle

Copy simple shapes (e.g., circle, rectangle)

Walk downstairs

Climb ladders

4 years Catch a ball (not too small or thrown too fast)

Use scissors to cut

Hop on either foot

Feed self with fork

Dress self (no tiny buttons, no ties)

Copy most letters

Pour juice without spilling

Brush teeth

5 years Skip and gallop in rhythm

Clap, bang, sing in rhythm

Copy difficult shapes and letters (e.g., diamond shape,

letter S )

Climb trees, jump over things

Use knife to cut

Tie a bow

Throw a ball

Wash face, comb hair

6 years Draw and write with one hand

Write simple words

Scan a page of print, moving the eyes systematically in

the appropriate direction

Ride a bicycle

Do a cartwheel

Tie shoes

Catch a ball

*Context is crucial. (Many 6-year-olds cannot tie shoelaces because they have no shoes with laces.)

D IG

II TA

L V

IS IO

N /

P U

N C

H S

T O

C K

The Joy of Climbing Would you delight in

climbing on an unsteady rope swing, like

this 6-year-old in Japan (and almost all his

contemporaries worldwide)? Each age has

special sources of pleasure.

According to a study of middle-class and working-class children in Brazil, Kenya, and the United States (Tudge et al., 2006; see Research Design), young children spend the majority of their waking time in play, more than they spend in three other important activities (doing chores, learning lessons, or having conver- sations with adults) combined (see Figure 8.5). Mastery of gross and fine motor skills is one result of the extensive active play of young children.

Gross Motor Skills

Gross motor skills—which, as defined in Chapter 5, involve large body move- ments—improve dramatically. When you watch children play, you can see clumsy 2-year-olds who fall down and sometimes bump into each other, but you can also see 5-year-olds who are both skilled and graceful.

Most North American 5-year-olds can ride a tricycle; climb a ladder; pump a swing; and throw, catch, and kick a ball. Some can skate, ski, dive, and ride a bicycle—activities that demand balance as well as coordination. In some nations, 5-year-olds swim in oceans or climb cliffs. A combination of brain maturation, mo- tivation, and guided practice makes each of these skills possible.

Adults need to make sure children have safe space, time, and playmates; skills will follow. According to sociocultural theory, children learn best from peers who demonstrate whatever skills—from catching a ball to climbing a tree—the child is ready to try.

216 CHAPTER 8 ■ The Play Years: Biosocial Development

Source: Tudge et al., 2006.

65

60

55

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

Middle-

class

European

Americans

African

Americans

Brazilians Kenyans

Working-

class

Middle-

class

Working-

class

Middle-

class

Working-

class

Middle-

class

Working-

class

Percent

Time Spent by 3-Year-Olds in Various Activities Play

Activity Categories:

Lessons Work Conversation Other

FIGURE 8.5

Mostly Playing When researchers studied 3-year-olds in the United States, Brazil, and Kenya,

they found that, on average, the children spent more than half their time playing. Note the low

percentages of both middle- and working-class Brazilian children in the Lessons category, which

included all intentional efforts to teach children something. There is a cultural explanation: Unlike

parents in Kenya and the United States, most Brazilian parents believe that children this age

should not be in organized day care.

Research Design Scientists: Jonathan Tudge and others

(e.g., researchers in Brazil and Kenya).

Publication: Child Development (2006).

Participants: About 20 3-year-olds from

each of four ethnic groups: European

American and African American in

Greensboro, North Carolina; Luo in

Kisumu, Kenya; and European descent

in Porto Alegre, Brazil. On the basis of

parents’ education and occupation, half

the children in each group were from

middle-class families and half were

from working-class families.

Design: Children were observed for

20 hours each in their usual daytime

activities.The child wore a wireless

microphone; every 6 minutes, the

observer recorded what the child was

doing. Later the time was allocated

among five categories: Lessons (deliber-

ate attempts to impart information),

Work (household tasks), Play (activities

for enjoyment), Conversation (sustained

talk with adults about things not the

current focus of activity), and Other

(eating, bathing, sleeping).

Major conclusion: All eight groups

spent much more time playing than

doing anything else. Much larger differ-

ences were found in time spent in

lessons, work, and conversation.

Comment: Many features of good

research are evident in this study.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills, which involve small body movements (especially those of the hands and fingers), are harder to master. Pouring juice into a glass, cutting food with a knife and fork, and achieving anything more artful than a scribble with a pencil require muscular control, patience, and judgment that are beyond most 2-year-olds.

Many fine motor skills involve two hands and thus both sides of the brain: The fork stabs the meat while the knife cuts it; one hand steadies the paper while the other writes; tying shoes, buttoning shirts, pulling on socks, and zipping zippers require both hands. An immature corpus callosum and prefrontal cortex may be the underlying reason that shoelaces get knotted, paper gets ripped, and zippers get stuck. Short, stubby fingers and confusion about handedness add to the problem.

Artistic Expression

During the play years, children are imaginative, creative, and not yet self-critical. They love to express themselves, especially if their parents applaud, display their artwork, and otherwise communicate approval. It may be that the relative immatu- rity of the prefrontal cortex allows imagination free rein, without the social anxiety of older children, who might say “I can’t draw” or “I am horrible at dancing.”

All forms of artistic expression blossom during early childhood. Children love to dance around the room, build an elaborate tower of blocks, make music by pounding in rhythm, and put bright marks on shiny paper.

Children’s artwork reflects their unique perception and cognition. For example, researchers asked young children to draw a balloon and, later, a lollipop. To adults, the drawings were indistinguishable, but the children who made the drawings were quite insistent as to which was which (Bloom, 2000) (see Figure 8.6).

Especially for Immigrant Parents You

and your family eat with chopsticks at home,

but you want your children to feel comfortable

in Western culture. Should you change your

family’s eating customs?

Brain Development 217

B A

N A

N A

S T O

C K

/ P

IC T U

R E Q

U E S

T

Snip, Snip Cutting paper with scissors is a

hard, slow task for a 3-year-old, who is just

beginning to develop fine motor control.

Imagine wielding blunt “safety” scissors and

hoping that the paper will be sliced exactly

where you want it to be.

FIGURE 8.6

Which Is Which? The child who made these drawings

insisted that the one at top left was a lollipop and the

one at top right was a balloon (not vice versa) and that

the drawing at bottom left was the experimenter and

the one at bottom right was the child (not vice versa).

In every artistic domain, from dance to sculpture, maturation of brain and body is gradual and comes with practice. For example, when drawing the human figure, 2- to 3-year-olds usually draw a “tadpole”—a circle for a head with eyes and sometimes a smiling mouth, and then a line or two beneath to indicate the rest of the body. Gradually, children’s drawings of people evolve from tadpoles into more human forms.

Tadpoles are “strikingly characteristic” of children’s art (Cox, 1993); they are drawn universally, in all cultures. Similarly, children worldwide seek places to climb—on rocky hillsides, playground structures, and the dining room table— imagining as they play. They like challenges that they can meet.

SUMMING UP

The brain continues to mature during early childhood, with myelination in several crucial

areas. One is the corpus callosum, which connects the left and right sides of the brain

and therefore the right and left sides of the body. Increased myelination speeds up

actions and reactions. The prefrontal cortex enables impulse control, allowing children to

think before they act as well as to stop one action in order to begin another. As impul-

siveness and perseveration decrease, children become better able to learn. Several key

areas of the brain—including the amygdala, the hypothalamus, and the hippocampus—

make up the limbic system, which also matures from ages 2 to 6. The limbic system

aids emotional expression and control. Maturation of the brain leads to better control of

the body and hence to development of motor skills. ■

Injuries and Abuse Throughout this text, we have assumed that parents want to foster their children’s development and protect them from danger. That is true in the vast majority of families. Yet more children die of violence—either accidental or deliberate—than from any other cause.

In the United States, where accurate death records are kept, out of every 100,000 1- to 4-year-olds, 10.9 died accidentally, 2.5 died of cancer (the leading

218 CHAPTER 8 ■ The Play Years: Biosocial Development

No Ears? (a) Jalen was careful to include all

seven of her family members who were pres-

ent when she drew her picture. She tried to

be realistic—by, for example, portraying her

cousin, who was slumped on the couch, in a

horizontal position. (b) Elizabeth takes pride in

a more difficult task, drawing her family from

memory. All have belly buttons and big

smiles that reach their foreheads, but they

have no arms or hair. (c) By age 6, this Virginia

girl draws just one family member in detail—

nostrils and mustache included.

(a) (b) (c) (A ) N

IC O

LE V

IL LA

M O

R A

( B

) LA

U R

A D

W IG

H T ( C

) B

LE N

D I M

A G

E S

/ A

LA M

Y

fatal disease at this age), and 2.4 were murdered in 2003 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2006).

Young children are more vulnerable to injuries and abuse than are slightly older ones, partly because they are impulsive yet dependent on others, as we have just seen. Much of the harm to children can be prevented, and that is our primary reason for discussing this topic in detail.

Avoidable Injury

Worldwide, injuries cause millions of premature deaths among young adults as well as children: Not until age 40 does any disease overtake accidents as a cause of mortality. Among children, the 1- to 4-year-olds are most vulnerable to accidental death and injury (MMWR, September 3, 2004).

Age-related trends are apparent in the particular kinds of injuries. Teenagers and young adults are most often killed as passengers or drivers in motor-vehicle accidents. Falls are more often fatal for the very young (under 24 months) and very old (over 80 years) than for preschoolers. For preschoolers, fatal accidents are more likely to involve poison, fire, choking, or drowning.

Why do small children have so many accidents? Immaturity of the prefrontal cortex makes young children impulsive, so they plunge into dangerous places and activities (Zeedyk et al., 2002). Unlike infants, their motor skills allow them to run, leap, scramble, and grab in a flash. Their curiosity is boundless; their impulses are uninhibited.

Injury Control

As one team of experts notes, “Injuries are not unpredictable, unavoidable events. To a large extent, society chooses the injury rates it has” (Christoffel & Gallagher, 1999, p. 10). How could a society choose unnecessarily high rates of injury, pain, and lifelong damage? Injury prevention is no accident; it is a choice made by par- ents, by legislators, and by society as a whole.

To understand this, consider the implications of the terminology. The word acci- dent implies that an injury is a random, unpredictable event. If anyone is at fault, a careless parent or an accident-prone child might be blamed. This is called the “accident paradigm”; it implies that “injuries will occur despite our best efforts,” and it allows the general public to feel blameless (Benjamin, 2004, p. 521).

In response, experts now prefer the term injury control (or harm reduction) instead of accident prevention. Injury control implies that harm can be minimized if appropriate controls are in place. Minor mishaps are bound to occur, but the damage is reduced if a child falls on a safety surface instead of concrete, if a car seat protects the body in a crash, if a bicycle helmet cracks instead of a skull, if the swallowed pills come from a tiny bottle.

Only half as many 1- to 5-year-olds in the United States were fatally injured in 2005 as in 1985, thanks to laws that govern poisons, fires, and cars. But now the leading cause of unintentional death for children aged 1 to 5 is drowning in a swimming pool (Brenner et al., 2001). To prevent most such deaths, govern- ment officials need only require that any body of water near a home have a high fence around it.

A pool-fencing ordinance in southern California allowed one side of the enclo- sure to be the wall of a house, with a door that could be locked. This seemed rea- sonable to homeowners but not to pediatricians. The law protected trespassing children but not the family’s own children, who knew how to open those doors. After the law was passed, California child drownings did not decline (Morgenstern et al., 2000).

injury control/harm reduction Practices

that are aimed at anticipating, controlling,

and preventing dangerous activities; these

practices reflect the beliefs that accidents

are not random and that injuries can be

made less harmful if proper controls are in

place.

Injuries and Abuse 219

➤Response for Immigrant Parents (from

page 217): Children develop the motor skills

that they see and practice. They will soon

learn to use forks, spoons, and knives. Do

not abandon chopsticks completely, because

young children can learn several ways of

doing things, and the ability to eat with

chopsticks is a social asset.

Three Levels of Prevention

Injury prevention should begin long before any particular child, parent, or politician does something foolish or careless. Of the three levels of prevention described below, the one that is least noticed by individuals but most effective overall is the first level (Cohen et al., 2007).

■ In primary prevention, the overall situation is structured to make injuries less likely. Primary prevention fosters conditions that reduce everyone’s chance of injury, no matter what their circumstances.

■ Secondary prevention is more specific, averting harm to individuals in high-risk situations.

■ Tertiary prevention begins after an injury, limiting the damage it causes. Tertiary prevention saves lives and reduces the number and severity of per- manent disabilities.

To illustrate, the rate of pedestrian deaths in motor-vehicle accidents has steadily decreased in the past 20 years because of all three levels of prevention. How does each level contribute to this welcome decline?

Primary prevention includes sidewalks, speed bumps, pedestrian overpasses, brighter streetlights, and single-lane traffic circles (Retting et al., 2003; Tester et al., 2004). Cars have been redesigned (e.g., better headlights and brakes) and drivers’ skills improved (e.g., as a result of more frequent vision tests and stronger drunk-driving penalties).

Secondary prevention reduces the dangers in high-risk situations. For children this means requiring flashing lights on stopped school buses, employing school- crossing guards, refusing alcohol to teenagers, and insisting that young children walk with adults, who are more careful crossing streets. For the aged, this means longer red lights and well-marked crosswalks.

The distinction between primary prevention and secondary prevention is not clear-cut. In general, secondary prevention is more targeted, focusing on specific risk groups (e.g., young children) and proven dangers (e.g., walking to school) rather than on the overall culture, politics, or environment.

Finally, tertiary prevention reduces damage after accidents. Laws against hit- and-run driving, improved emergency-room procedures (e.g., faster action to re-

Especially for Urban Planners Describe

a neighborhood park that would benefit 2- to

5-year-olds.

primary prevention Actions that change

overall background conditions to prevent

some unwanted event or circumstance,

such as injury, disease, or abuse.

secondary prevention Actions that avert

harm in a high-risk situation, such as stop-

ping a car before it hits a pedestrian.

tertiary prevention Actions, such as imme-

diate and effective medical treatment, that

are taken after an adverse event such as

illness or injury occurs, and are aimed at

reducing the harm or preventing disability.

220 CHAPTER 8 ■ The Play Years: Biosocial Development

M A

N O

R P

H O

T O

G R

A P H

Y /

A LA

M Y

IN M

A G

IN E

M Y

R LE

E N

F E R

G U

S O

N C

A T E /

P H

O T O

E D

IT

(c)(b)(a)

And If He Falls . . . None of these children is

injured, so no tertiary prevention is needed.

Photos (b) and (c) both illustrate secondary

prevention. In photo (a), the metal climbing

equipment with large gaps and peeling paint

is hazardous. Primary prevention suggests

that this “attractive nuisance” be dismantled.

duce brain swelling), and more effective rehabilitation are examples of tertiary prevention. Speedy and well-trained ambulance teams may be the most important: If an injured person arrives at a hospital within the “golden hour” after an acci- dent, the chances of recovery are much better (Christoffel & Gallagher, 1999). In many European countries, tertiary prevention has involved redesigning the fronts of cars so that they are less destructive to pedestrians when accidents do occur (Retting et al., 2003).

Many measures at all three levels have been instituted, to good effect. In the United States, pedestrian deaths decreased from 8,842 in 1990 to 4,600 in 2004 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2006). Similar trends are found in almost every nation, for almost every fatal injury.

Injuries and Abuse 221 R

IC H

A R

D R

A N

S IE

R /

C O

R B

IS

A Safe Leap What makes this jump safe as

well as fun are the high fences on all sides of

the pool, the adequate depth of the water,

and the presence of at least one adult (taking

the picture).

“My Baby Swallowed Poison”

The first strategy that most people think of for preventing in-

jury to young children is parental education. However, public

health research finds that laws that apply to everyone are more

effective than education, especially if parents are not ready to

learn and change or are overwhelmed by the daily demands of

child care.

For example, the best time to convince parents to use an

infant seat in their car (which has saved thousands of young

lives) is before they bring their newborn home from the hospi-

tal. Voluntary use of car seats is much less common than man-

dated use.

As one expert explains: “Too often, we design our physical

environment for smart people who are highly motivated” (Baker,

2000). In real life, everyone has moments of foolish indifference.

At those moments, automatic safety measures save lives.

I know this firsthand. My daughter Bethany, at age 2, climbed

onto the kitchen counter to find, open, and swallow most of a

bottle of baby aspirin. Where was I? A few feet away, nursing our

second child and watching television. I did not notice what

Bethany was doing until I checked on her during a commercial.

What prevented serious injury? Laws limiting the number of

baby aspirin per container (primary prevention), my pediatrician

telling me on my first well-baby checkup to buy syrup of ipecac

(secondary prevention), and my phone call to Poison Control

(tertiary prevention). I told the stranger who answered the

phone, “My baby swallowed poison.” He calmly asked me ques-

tions and then told me to make Bethany swallow ipecac so

that she’d throw up the aspirin. I did and she did. I still blame

myself, but I am grateful for all three levels of prevention that

protected my child.

in person

Especially for Socially Aware Students

In the “In Person” feature below, how did

Kathleen Berger’s SES protect Bethany from

serious harm?

child maltreatment Intentional harm to or

avoidable endangerment of anyone under

18 years of age.

child abuse Deliberate action that is harmful

to a child’s physical, emotional, or sexual

well-being.

child neglect Failure to meet a child’s basic

physical, educational, or emotional needs.

Child Maltreatment

The next time you read news headlines about some horribly neglected or abused child, think of these words from a leading researcher in child maltreatment:

Make no mistake—those who abuse children are fully responsible for their actions. However, creating an information system that perpetuates the message that offenders are the only ones to blame may be misleading. . . . We all contribute to the conditions that allow perpetrators to succeed.

[Daro, 2002, p. 1133]

We all contribute in the sense that the causes of child maltreat- ment are multifaceted, involving not only the parents but also the maltreated children, the community, and the culture. For example, infants are most at risk of being maltreated if they themselves are difficult (fragile, needing frequent feeding, crying often) and if their

mothers are depressed and do not feel in control of their lives or their infants and if the family is under stress because of poverty (Bugental & Happaney, 2004).

Maltreatment Noticed and Defined

Noticing is the first step. Until about 1960, people thought child maltreatment was rare and usually consisted of a sudden attack by a disturbed stranger. Today, thanks to a pioneering study based on careful observation in one Boston hospital (Kempe & Kempe, 1978), we know better: Maltreatment is neither rare nor sud- den and the perpetrators are often the child’s own parents. That makes it much worse: Ongoing maltreatment, with no safe haven, is much more damaging to children than a single brief incident, however abusive (Manly et al., 2001).

With this recognition came a broader definition: Child maltreatment now refers to all intentional harm to, or avoidable endangerment of, anyone under 18 years of age. Thus, child maltreatment includes both child abuse, which is delib- erate action that is harmful to a child’s physical, emotional, or sexual well-being, and child neglect, which is failure to appropriately meet a child’s basic physical or emotional needs.

The more that researchers study child maltreatment, the more apparent the harmful effects of neglect become (Hildyard & Wolfe, 2002). As one team wrote, “Severe neglect occurring in the early childhood years has been found to be partic- ularly detrimental to successful adaptation” (Valentino et al., 2006, p. 483). How frequently does maltreatment occur? It is impossible to say. Not all cases of mal- treatment are noticed, not all that are noticed are reported, and not all that are reported are substantiated.

Reported maltreatment occurs when the authorities have been informed about the situation. Since 1993, the number of reported cases of maltreatment in the United States has ranged from 2.7 million to 3 million a year (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006). Cases of substantiated maltreatment are those that have been investigated and verified (see Figure 8.7). The number of substantiated cases in 2004 was 872,000 (one-fourth of which victimized 2- to 5-year-olds), or about 1 maltreated child in every 70 aged 2 to 5 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006). This 3-to-1 ratio of reported to substanti- ated cases can be attributed to three factors:

■ Each child is counted once, even if repeated maltreatment is reported. ■ Substantiation requires proof in the form of unmistakable injuries, serious mal-

nutrition, or a witness willing to testify. Such evidence is not always available. ■ A report may be false or deliberately misleading (less than 1 percent).

222 CHAPTER 8 ■ The Play Years: Biosocial Development

Nobody Watching? Madelyn Gorman

Toogood looks around to make sure no one

is watching before she slaps and shakes her

4-year-old daughter, Martha, who is in a car

seat inside the vehicle. A security camera

recorded this incident in an Indiana depart-

ment store parking lot. A week later, after the

videotape was repeatedly broadcast nation-

wide, Toogood was recognized and arrested.

The haunting question is: How much child

abuse takes place that is not witnessed?

M IS

H A

W A

K A

P O

LI C

E D

E PA

R T M

E N

T /

G E T T Y

I M

A G

E S

reported maltreatment Harm or endanger-

ment about which someone has notified

the authorities.

substantiated maltreatment Harm or

endangerment that has been reported,

investigated, and verified.

How often does maltreatment go unreported? According to a national, confi- dential survey of young adults in the United States, 1 in 4 had been physically abused (“slapped, hit, or kicked” by a parent or other adult caregiver) before sixth grade and 1 in 22 had been sexually abused (“touched or forced to touch someone else in a sexual way”) (Hussey et al., 2006; see Research Design).

One reason for these high rates may be that young adults were asked if they had ever been mistreated by someone who was caring for them, while most other sources report annual rates. The authors of this study think the rates they found are underestimates!

Warning Signs of Maltreatment

Often the first sign of maltreatment is delayed development, such as slow growth, immature communication, lack of curiosity, or unusual social interactions. All these difficulties may be evident even at age 1 (Valentino et al., 2006).

During the play years, a maltreated child may seem fearful, startled by noise, defensive and quick to attack, and confused between fantasy and reality. These may be symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a disorder first identified in combat veterans, then in adults who had experienced some emotional injury or shock (in reaction to a serious accident or violent crime, for example). It now seems evident in some maltreated children (De Bellis, 2001; Yehuda, 2006).

By school age, neglected children tend to be withdrawn and self-critical; abused children tend to be aggressive; neither is resilient to stress. At every age, maltreated children are less likely to have friends (Manly et al., 2001).

Table 8.2 lists signs of maltreatment, both neglect and abuse. None of these signs are proof, but whenever any of them occurs, it signifies trouble. Many nations, including the United States, now require professionals who deal with children (teachers, nurses, social workers, doctors, police officers) to report any suspected maltreatment. Not all professionals know when to be suspicious, however. For

Injuries and Abuse 223

16

15

14

13

12

11

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996

Year

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006 and previous years.

Number of cases

per 1,000 children

FIGURE 8.7

Rates of Substantiated Child Maltreatment, United States, 1990–2004 The number of reported

and substantiated cases of maltreatment of children under age 18 in the United States is too high,

but there is some good news: The rate has declined significantly from the peak in 1993.

Observation Quiz (see answer, page 225): The dot for 1999 is close to the bottom of the graph.

Does that mean it is close to zero?

Research Design Scientists: Jon Hussey and others at

the University of North Carolina.

Publication: Pediatrics (2006).

Participants:Total of 15,197 young

adults, interviewed at age 18–26 as part

of the third wave of a large longitudinal

study called Add Health, which began in

1995 with a representative sample of

over 20,000 U.S. adolescents.

Design: Participants were asked to

report, confidentially (via headphones

and a computer, a method that yields

more accurate answers than face-to-

face or written questions do), whether

their caregivers had ever maltreated

them. Questions were specific (e.g.,

“slapped, hit, or kicked”), and partici-

pants indicated how often the behavior

occurred (once, twice, or more).

Major conclusions: Maltreatment was

common: One in four had been physi-

cally abused. Each type of

maltreatment was associated with mul-

tiple health risks.

Comment: Although one would hope

that these rates are overestimates,

actual rates may be even higher, for

three reasons: (1) Young adults tend to

idealize their childhood; (2) the original

participants were all in high school and

had their parents’ permission to respond

to the survey; and (3) the participants in

this third wave of interviews were, on

average, more advantaged than those

who dropped out or could not be found.

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

A delayed reaction to a trauma or shock,

which may include hyperactivity and hyper-

vigilance, displaced anger, sleeplessness,

sudden terror or anxiety, and confusion

between fantasy and reality.

instance, child patients are reported for maltreatment three times more often in teaching hospitals (where ongoing education is part of the hospital’s mission) than in regular hospitals, where “child abuse and neglect are underidentified, under- diagnosed, and undercoded” (Rovi et al., 2004, p. 589). Would better reporting make a difference? It might have for a child known as B.V.

224 CHAPTER 8 ■ The Play Years: Biosocial Development

TABLE 8.2

Signs of Maltreatment in Children Aged 2 to 10

Injuries that do not fit an “accidental” explanation: bruises on both sides of the face or body;

burns with a clear line between burned and unburned skin; “falls” that result in cuts, not scrapes

Repeated injuries, especially broken bones not properly tended

Fantasy play, with dominant themes of violence or sexual knowledge

Slow physical growth, especially with unusual appetite or lack of appetite

Ongoing physical complaints, such as stomachaches, headaches, genital pain, sleepiness

Reluctance to talk, to play, or to move, especially if development is slow

No close friendships; hostility toward others; bullying of smaller children

Hypervigilance, with quick, impulsive reactions, such as cringing, startling, or hitting

Frequent absences from school, changes of address, or new caregivers

Expressions of fear rather than joy on seeing the caregiver

Source: Adapted from Scannapieco & Connell-Carrick, 2005.

a case to study A Series of Suspicious Events

Three million reported cases of maltreatment per year in the

United States seems like a huge number, yet most cases of neg-

lect are not reported. Consider one team’s report on a child in a

low-income family:

B.V., a 2-year-old male, was found lying face down in the bath-

tub by an 8-year-old sent to check on him. He had been placed

in the bathtub by his mother, who then went to the kitchen and

was absent for approximately 10 minutes. B.V. was transported

by ambulance to a local hospital. He was unresponsive and had a

rectal temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheit. After medical treat-

ment, the child’s breathing resumed, and he was transported to a

tertiary care hospital. B.V. remained in the pediatric intensive

care unit for 9 days with minimal brain function and no response

to any stimuli. He was then transferred to a standard hospital

room where he died 2 days later. The mother refused to have an

autopsy performed. Subsequently, the death certificate was

signed by an attending physician, and cause of death was pneu-

monia with anoxic brain injury as a result of near-drowning.

The CPS [Child Protective Services] worker advised B.V.’s

mother that 10 minutes was too long to leave a 2-year-old in the

bathtub unsupervised. B.V.’s mother replied that she had done it

many times before and that nothing had happened. Further ex-

amination of the medical chart revealed that prior to B.V.’s death,

he had a sibling who had experienced an apparent life-threaten-

ing event (previously termed a “near miss” sudden infant death

syndrome). The sibling was placed on cardiac and apnea (breath-

ing) monitors for 7 to 8 months. In addition, B.V. had been to the

children’s hospital approximately 2 weeks prior for a major injury

to his big toe. B.V.’s toe had been severed and required numerous

stitches. The mother stated that this incident was a result of the

4-year-old brother slamming the door on B.V.’s foot. Furthermore,

B.V. had been seen in a different local hospital for a finger frac-

ture the month before his death. None of the available reports

indicate the mother’s history of how the finger fracture occurred.

[Bonner et al., 1999, pp. 165–166]

No charges were filed in this death. The team notes:

This case illustrates chronic supervisory neglect. . . . The series

of suspicious events that preceded the death did not result in

protective or preventive services for the family.

[Bonner et al., 1999, p. 166]

This case is indeed a chilling example of “chronic supervisory

neglect.” Professionals who dealt with the family ignored many

medical signs that something was wrong—the sibling’s “near-

miss” SIDS, the fractured finger, and the severed toe. No mention

is made of language, emotions, or social skills, which probably

would have raised alarm as well.

Even after death, the neglect of neglect continued. No help

was provided for the 8-year-old who found his dying brother or

for the 4-year-old who reportedly severed the toddler’s toe.

These children were also at high risk of maltreatment. Indeed,

they had already been maltreated: Children are damaged by

chronic feelings of helplessness and danger (De Bellis, 2001).

Especially for Nurses While weighing a

4-year-old, you notice several bruises on the

child’s legs. When you ask about them, the

child says nothing and the parent says the

child bumps into things. What should you do?

➤Response for Urban Planners (from

page 220): The adult idea of a park— a large,

grassy open place—is not best for young

children. For them, you would design an

enclosed area, small enough and with

adequate seating to allow caregivers to

socialize while watching their children. The

playground surface would have to be

protective (since young children are clumsy),

with equipment that encouraged both gross

motor skills (such as climbing) and fine motor

skills (such as sandbox play). Swings are not

beneficial, since they do not develop many

motor skills. Teenagers and dogs should have

their own designated areas, far from the

youngest children.

Consequences of Maltreatment

The impact of any child-rearing practice is affected by the cultural context. Certain customs (such as circumcision, pierced ears, and spanking) are considered abuse in some cul- tures but not in others, and their actual effects on children vary accordingly. Children suffer if their parents seem not to love them according to their community’s standards for parental love.

Maltreatment compromises basic health in every way (Hussey et al., 2006). Abused and neglected children are more often injured, sick, and hospitalized for reasons not di- rectly related to their maltreatment (Kendall-Tackett, 2002).

Many neglectful parents do not enroll their children in day-care centers or schools that would teach them well. Visits to a park, to a zoo, to the grandparents’ home, or to a neighbor child’s house are infrequent, since social isolation is a result as well as a cause of child maltreatment. Maltreated children learn less and suffer more.

Although biological and academic handicaps are substantial, deficits are even more apparent in the child’s social skills. Maltreated children often regard other people as hostile and exploitative; hence, they are less friendly, more aggressive, and more isolated than other children. The longer their abuse continues and the earlier it started, the worse their peer relationships are (Manly et al., 2001; Scannapieco & Connell-Carrick, 2005).

A life-span perspective reveals that all these deficits can continue lifelong. Maltreated children and adolescents are often bullies or victims or both. Adults who were severely maltreated in childhood (physically, sexually, or emotionally) often use drugs or alcohol to numb their emotions; they often enter unsupportive relationships, become victims or aggressors, sabotage their own careers, eat too much or too little, and generally engage in self-destructive behavior (M. G. Smith & Fong, 2004). From a developmental perspective, the worst consequences result from chronic neglect, which is least likely to be reported.

Three Levels of Prevention, Again

Just as with injury control, there are three levels of prevention of maltreatment. The ultimate goal is to stop it before it begins. This is primary prevention; it focuses on the mesosystem and exosystem (see Chapter 1). Examples of primary- prevention conditions include stable neighborhoods; family cohesion; income equality; and measures that decrease financial instability, family isolation, and teenage parenthood.

Secondary prevention involves spotting the warning signs and intervening to keep a problematic situation from getting worse. For example, insecure attachment,

Abuse or Athletics? Four-year-old Budhia

Singh ran 40 miles in 7 hours with adult

marathoners. He says he likes to run, but his

mother (a widow who allowed his trainer to

“adopt” him because she could not feed

him) has charged the trainer with physical

abuse. The government of India has declared

that Singh cannot race again until he is fully

grown. If child, parent, and community approve

of some activity, can it still be maltreatment?

Injuries and Abuse 225

R E U

T E R

S /

S A

N J IB

M U

K H

E R

J E E

Physical abuse and neglect are most likely to be experienced

by children who:

■ Are under age 6 ■ Have two or more siblings ■ Have an unemployed or absent father ■ Have a mother who did not complete high school ■ Live in a poor, high-crime neighborhood

All these risk factors were present for B.V. If he had not been

poor, he might have had a private pediatrician, who might have

noticed the danger he was in. If his mother had had fewer chil-

dren and a supportive husband, she might have watched him

in the tub. A higher level of education might have helped her

understand how to cope. Neighbors and relatives might have

helped. Instead, B.V. died.

➤Answer to Observation Quiz (from

page 223): No. The number is actually 11.8

per 1,000. Note the little squiggle on the

graph’s vertical axis below the number 11.

This means that numbers between zero and

11 are not shown.

➤Response for Socially Aware Students

(from page 221): Preschoolers from families

at all income levels can have accidents, but

Kathleen Berger’s SES allowed her to have a

private pediatrician as well as the income to

buy ipecac “just in case.” She also had a

working phone and the education to know

about Poison Control.

Especially for the General Public You

are asked to give a donation to support a

billboard campaign against child abuse and

neglect. You plan to make charitable contribu-

tions totaling $100 this year. How much of

this amount should you contribute to the

billboard campaign?

especially of the disorganized type (described in Chapter 7), is a sign of a disrupted parent–child relationship. Someone needs to repair that interaction. Secondary prevention includes measures such as home visits by nurses or social workers, high-quality day care, and preventive medical treatment—all designed to help high-risk families.

Tertiary prevention includes everything intended to reduce the harm when mal- treatment has already occurred. Reporting and substantiating abuse are only the first steps. Action is needed. Someone must help the family or remove the child. If hospitalization is required, intervention should have begun much earlier. At that point, care is more expensive and hospitalization is longer than for other condi- tions (Rovi et al., 2004); in addition, lengthy hospitalization further damages the fragile parent–child bond.

Children fare better when they are secure in their environment, whether they live with their biological parents who have learned to provide good care, with a

Where’s Mom? Inside the shop, buying

something for her baby. In many European

towns, as here in Largs, Scotland, parents

consider it beneficial to let the baby wait out-

side and breathe fresh air rather than join

them inside. In the United States, parents

have been jailed for doing this. Can both cul-

tures be right?

226 CHAPTER 8 ■ The Play Years: Biosocial Development

The Same Event, A Thousand Miles Apart:

Fun with Grandpa Grandfathers, like those

shown here in Japan and India, often delight

their grandchildren. Sometimes, however, they

protect them—either in kinship care, when

parents are designated as neglectful, or as

secondary prevention before harm is evident.

P H

O T O

J A

PA N

/ A

LA M

Y

S T E V

E M

C C

U R

R Y

/ M

A G

N U

M

M IK

E B

O O

T H

/ A

LA M

Y

foster family, or with an adoptive family. Permanency planning involves efforts by authorities to find a home that will nurture the child until adulthood (Waddell et al., 2004).

In foster care, children are officially removed from their parents’ custody and entrusted to another adult who is paid to nurture them. In 2004 more than half a million children in the United States were in foster care. About half of them were in a special version of foster care called kinship care, in which a relative of the maltreated child becomes the foster caregiver (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2004). This estimate is for official kinship care; three times as many children are informally cared for primarily by relatives who are not their parents.

In the United States, most foster children are from low-income families; half are African American or Latino; and many have multiple physical, intellectual, and emotional problems (Pew Commission on Foster Care, 2004). Despite these prob- lems, children develop better in foster care (including kinship care) than with their original abusive families if a supervising agency screens foster families and provides ongoing financial and emotional support (Berrick, 1998).

However, many agencies are inadequate. One obvious failing is that many move children from one home to another for reasons that are unrelated to the child’s behavior or wishes. Foster children average three placements before finding a permanent home (Pew Commission on Foster Care, 2004).

Adoption is the preferred permanent option, but judges and biological parents are reluctant to release children for adoption, and some agencies reject all but “perfect” families—those headed by a heterosexual married couple who are middle class, and of the same ethnicity as the child, and in which the wife is not employed. Since a healthy permanency, not perfection, is the goal, most experts want adop- tion restrictions loosened, courts to act more quickly in the interests of the children, and permanent guardianship allowed if adoption is impossible.

SUMMING UP

As they move with more speed and agility, young children encounter new dangers,

becoming seriously injured more often than older children. Three levels of prevention

are needed. Laws and practices should be put in place to protect everyone (primary

Injuries and Abuse 227

permanency planning An effort by authori-

ties to find a long-term living situation that

will provide stability and support for a mal-

treated child. A goal is to avoid repeated

changes of caregiver or school, which can

be particularly harmful for the child.

foster care A legal, publicly supported plan in

which a maltreated child is removed from

the parents’ custody and entrusted to

another adult, who is paid to be the child’s

caregiver.

kinship care A form of foster care in which a

relative of a maltreated child becomes the

approved caregiver.

Tertiary Prevention Adoption has been

these children’s salvation, particularly for

9-year-old Leah, clinging to her mother. The

mother, Joan, has five adopted children.

Adoption is generally better than foster care

for maltreated children, because it is a perma-

nent, stable arrangement.ST E P H

A N

IE M

A Z E /

C O

R B

IS

➤Response for Nurses (from page 224):

Any suspicion of child maltreatment must be

reported, and these bruises are suspicious.

Someone in authority must find out what is

happening so that the parent as well as the

child can be helped.

228 CHAPTER 8 ■ The Play Years: Biosocial Development

7. Muscle control, practice, and brain maturation are also in- volved in the development of fine motor skills. Young children enjoy expressing themselves artistically, developing their motor skills as well as their self-expression.

Injuries and Abuse

8. Accidents are by far the leading cause of death for children, with 1- to 4-year-olds more likely to suffer a serious injury or pre- mature death than older children. Biology, culture, and commu- nity conditions combine to make some children more vulnerable.

9. Injury control occurs on many levels, including long before and immediately after each harmful incident, with primary, sec- ondary, and tertiary prevention. Laws seem more effective than educational campaigns. Close supervision is required to protect young children from their own eager, impulsive curiosity.

10. Child maltreatment typically results from ongoing abuse and neglect by a child’s own parents. Each year almost 3 million cases of child maltreatment are reported in the United States, almost 1 million of which are substantiated.

11. Health, learning, and social skills are all impeded by ongoing child abuse and neglect. Physical abuse is the most obvious form of maltreatment, but neglect is common and probably more harmful.

12. Foster care, including kinship care, is sometimes necessary. Permanency planning is needed because frequent changes are harmful to children. Primary and secondary prevention helps parents care for their children and reduces the need for tertiary prevention.

Body Changes

1. Children continue to gain weight and height during early child- hood. Many become quite picky eaters.

2. Culture, income, and family customs all affect children’s growth. Worldwide, an increasing number of children have unbal- anced diets, eating more fat and sugar and less iron and calcium than they need. Childhood obesity is increasingly common, be- cause children exercise less and snack more than children once did, laying the foundation for chronic adult illness.

Brain Development

3. Myelination is substantial during early childhood, speeding messages from one part of the brain to another. The corpus callo- sum becomes thicker and functions much better. The prefrontal cortex, known as the executive of the brain, is strengthened as well.

4. Brain changes enable more reflective, coordinated thought and memory; better planning; and quicker responses. Many brain functions are localized in one hemisphere of the brain. Left/right specialization is apparent in the brain as well as in the body.

5. The expression and regulation of emotions are fostered by sev- eral brain areas, including the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the hypothalamus. Abuse in childhood may cause an overactive amygdala and hippocampus, creating a flood of stress hormones that interfere with learning.

6. Gross motor skills continue to develop, so that clumsy 2-year- olds become 6-year-olds able to move their bodies in whatever ways their culture values and they themselves have practiced, as long as height and judgment are not required.

SUMMARY

myelination (p. 210) corpus callosum (p. 210) lateralization (p. 210) perseveration (p. 213) amygdala (p. 213) hippocampus (p. 213)

hypothalamus (p. 214) injury control/harm reduction

(p. 219) primary prevention (p. 220) secondary prevention (p. 220) tertiary prevention (p. 220)

child maltreatment (p. 222) child abuse (p. 222) child neglect (p. 222) reported maltreatment (p. 222) substantiated maltreatment

(p. 222)

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (p. 223)

permanency planning (p. 227) foster care (p. 227) kinship care (p. 227)

KEY TERMS

prevention); supervision, forethought, and protective measures should prevent mishaps

(secondary prevention); and when injury occurs, treatment should be quick and effective

and changes should be made to avoid repetition (tertiary prevention).

Each year, abuse or neglect is substantiated for almost a million children in the

United States. About 2 million other cases are reported but not substantiated, and mil-

lions more are not reported. Preventing maltreatment of all kinds is urgent but complex,

because the source is often the family system and the cultural context, not a deranged

stranger. Primary prevention includes changing the social context to ensure that parents

protect and love their children. Secondary prevention focuses on families at high risk—

the poor, the young, the drug-addicted. In tertiary prevention, the abused child is res-

cued before further damage occurs. ■

➤Response for the General Public (from

page 226): Maybe none of it. Educational

campaigns seldom change people’s habits

and thoughts, unless they have never

thought about an issue at all. If you want to

help prevent child abuse and neglect, you

might offer free babysitting to parents you

know who seem overwhelmed, or you might

volunteer for a community group that helps

troubled families.

Summary 229

1. Keep a food diary for 24 hours, writing down what you eat, how much, when, how, and why. Then think about nutrition and eating habits in early childhood. Do you see any evidence in your- self of imbalance (e.g., not enough fruits and vegetables, too much sugar or fat, not eating when you are hungry)? Did your food habits originate in early childhood, in adolescence, or at some other time?

2. Go to a playground or other place where young children play. Note the motor skills that the children demonstrate, including abilities and inabilities, and keep track of age and sex. What dif- ferences do you see among the children?

3. Ask several parents to describe each accidental injury of each of their children, particularly how it happened and what the con- sequences were. What primary, secondary, or tertiary prevention measures would have made a difference?

4. Think back on your childhood and the friends you had at that time. Was there any maltreatment? Considering what you have learned in this chapter, why or why not?

APPLICATIONS

6. What conditions are best for children to develop their motor skills?

7. What are the differences among the three kinds of prevention?

8. What are the arguments for and against laws to protect chil- dren from injury?

9. Why might neglect be worse than abuse?

10. What are the advantages and disadvantages of foster care?

11. What are the advantages and disadvantages of kinship care?

1. How are growth rates, body proportions, and motor skills re- lated during early childhood?

2. Does low family income tend to make young children eat more or less? Explain your answer.

3. What are the crucial aspects of brain growth that occur after age 2?

4. How do emotions, and their expression, originate in the brain?

5. Why do public health workers prefer to speak of “injury control” or “harm reduction” instead of accidents?

KEY QUESTIONS

PSY2012 Chapter 7

1. What are the first emotions to appear in infants? 2. What experiences trigger anger and sadness in infants? 3. Do traits of temperament endure or change as development continues? 4. According to Freud, what might happen if a baby’s oral needs are not met? 5. What is the difference between proximal and distal parenting?

Chapter 8

1. Why do many adults overfeed children? 2. Why are today’s children more at risk of obesity than children 50 years ago? 3. How does brain maturation affect impulsivity and perseveration? 4. What is primary prevention? What are some examples of primary prevention? 5. What is secondary prevention? What are some examples of secondary prevention?