Human Development

Front 1

Spitz’s definition of development

Back 1

- The emergence of forms, functions, and behaviors that are the outcome of exchange b/w organism and
inner/outer environment.
- Onset progress of each stage of development depends on the maturation and stimulation of environment.

Front 2

**
Define:
Hallmark of Development

Back 2

René Spitz's research and writings were influenced by both attachment theory and
(Freudian) psychoanalytic theory. He believed that libidinal and aggressive drives were
developed, organized, and transformed within the earliest mother-infant dyad. "Maternal
deprivation" during this critical period of infancy would have lasting adverse effects on
not just the infant's physical well-being (i.e., high mortality & failure to thrive in
institutionalized infants), but the social and emotional development of the child as well.
Secure attachment was therefore the "hallmark" of healthy psychological development later in life.

Front 3

maturation

Back 3

biological
- developmental changes that are genetically predetermined

ex: toilet training a toddler

Front 4

epigenesis

Back 4

Idea that the environment affects the expression of the genetic code.
- If there is an early problem, it will continue to affect the personality.

ex: a baby developing mistrust early in life will continue to mistrust later in life

Front 5

critical time

Back 5

A sensitive time period in which a function will emerge. If it does not occur at that time, it will never happen.

ex: kitten temporarily blindfolded over one eye never developed binocular vision, even after blindfold was removed.

Front 6

Principle of Attachment Theory

Back 6

Emotional engagement is necessary presursor to healthy development

Front 7

Winnicot's emphasis on attachment

Back 7

a consistent caregiver is necessary to provide the baby with consistency and security, as well as forge an emotional bond

Front 8

Harlow's major observations & conclusions

Back 8

Monkey love derives from close bodily contact.
- Separation of babies from mothers led to emotional decline
- Total isolation --> apathy and abuse of own young in future.
Different isolation times affected ability to recover (3mos, 6mos, 1yr)

- Wire monkey vs cloth monkey: Even if the cloth monkey provided no food, it was preferred.

Front 9

Spitz's observations in South American orphanages

Back 9

Without love, babies got sick and died

Bears similiarity to "failure to thrive" syndrome

1 nurse : 8 babies
physical needs were met, but not emotional needs

- Babies suffered personality changes, did not develop, were more susceptible to disease
- Could recover if parents returned w/in 3 mos

Front 10

Bowlby's conclusions on attachment

Back 10

Traumatic separation can lead to emotional detachment:

Initial phase of protest --> passive grief (stop crying), dejection --> deeper emotional detachment

Signs of attachment= smile, security/confidence, curiosity

Front 11

Bowlby's conclusions on attachment

Back 11

Bowlby thought that much of the infant’s behavior (smiling, cuteness, etc.) evolved to
promote attachment to the mother. The implication is it is important for parents to fall in
love with a child and play out that love through their interactions with a child.

Infants are not tabula rasas (blank screens) but are programmed to interact as active agents in obtaining interactions with parents.

bonding vs. attachment:
- Bonding- concerned with the mother’s feelings for the child elicited by skin and eye contact.
- Attachment: the baby relying on the mother for security and need fulfillment.

The behaviors of the child which plays a role in attachment are the mechanisms (signal indicators) the baby uses to let the mother know how he feels and what he wants.
The primary signal is crying. The three types are hunger, pain, frustration, anger.

Those that reinforce attachment are smiling, cooing, looking. The adult voice can prompt these.

Attachment has a Darwinian role. Instinctual attachm

Front 12

Neurobiology:
infants are hard-wired to attach

Back 12

Primitive reflexes:
Moro – startle reflex, if you startle the restful baby he’ll throw arms and legs back
Grasp – stroke palm of hand, baby with grasp, disappears by the 4th month
Rooting – puckering of the lips in response to perioral stimulation

Attention to cues:
Breastmilk – babies will orient towards breastmilk from mother when compared to milk
from another woman.
Symmetry – will respond to vertical symmetry (masks).

Further differentiation of neurophysiological functions depends on an active process of stimulatory reinforcement from the external environment, such as people touching and stroking the infant.

Front 13

Smile response

Back 13

Occurs around 4-6 wks of age, the social smile is caused by the association of the
human face with relief from tension (the pain of hunger, in this case). Connects relief of
tension from feeding with human face. The baby will now smile at everyone with a
human face.

Front 14

Stranger reaction

Back 14

At 7-10 months, the baby now only smiles at mommy or daddy and responds negatively to strangers. This is stranger anxiety

Front 15

Separation anxiety

Back 15

At 12 months, the attachment to the caregivers is so strong that when those persons
leave her environment, she gets frightened. This is the first great fear in our lives. It
continues throughout our lives in different forms: fears about going to high school, fears
about leaving the parental home etc

Front 16

Relate the first four phases of attachment to the milestones of the smile
response, the stranger anxiety and the separation anxiety

Back 16

1. Limited discrimination (birth to 2 months)--infant expressions of preference limited to
olfaction/auditory realm.
Social smile
2. Discrimination w/ limited preference (2-7 months)
3. Preferred ("specific") attachment (7-12 months) Stranger anxiety
4. Secure base (12-18 months) Separation anxiety

Front 17

Ainsworth Strange Situation Procedure
(A.S.S.P.)

Back 17

1 year old infant exposed to brief separations/reunions with caretaker, assess response.

Secure response = distressed when mom leaves, happy when she returns

Anxious-ambivalent = anxious when mom leaves, resentful when she returns

Anxious-avoidant = anxious when mom leaves, ignores her when she returns

Front 18

ASSP defined two attachment types

Back 18

Secure and insecure

Insecure responses correlate to problems in adolescence.

Front 19

Significance of Tronick's work

Back 19

Look at ‘attunement’ (to baby’s needs – most parents are attuned 1/3rd, unattuned 1/3rd, disconnect repairable by good moms 1/3rd.

Successful repair -> positive emotions, effective coping (secure response).

Otherwise, helpless, no sense of mastery, issues with self-regulation (insecure response), continues through life.

Front 20

problems in attachment related to brain growth, neurotransmitters and
hormones

Back 20

Secure repair -> high dopamine, endogeneous opiods.
Synapse growth in prefrontal limbic and regions involved in self-regulation ability

Consistent failure to repair --> abnormal metabolism in temporal lobe (PET) (involved in social functioning)

Elevated cortisol levels after stress (lasted 24h for insecure vs 15min for secure infants)

structural changes may lead to psychiatric disorders later in life.

Front 21

Erikson's 2 polarities in the earliest task of development

Back 21

Trust vs. mistrust:
If the child has the experiences over time of a person caring, providing for and meeting its needs, then it will develop a feeling of trust and optimism
about the world. If the child does not have the experiences of having his needs met over time, his outlook will be gloomy, and that one cannot count on having one’s needs met.

Reattachment can be stimulated later in life, but requires more time. However, there is a point when it cannot be restimulated.