Page 91 - Understanding Psychology

1. Review the Vocabulary Why do infants construct schemas?
2. Visualize the Main Idea Using Piaget’s stages, create a time line that tracks the cognitive development of a child. See the example below.
Sensorimotor
Birth 1 year 2 years
• Child displays simple motor responses to sensory stimuli.
3. Recall Information What does it mean when people say children are egocentric?
4. Think Critically How might a child who displays avoidant attachment react when placed alone in a strange room?
5. Application Activity
Design your own test for object permanence. Use several objects and test a younger sibling, cousin, or your pet dog or cat to
see if they search for hidden objects. Describe the results of your experiment.
Strange Situation to measure attachment. In this technique, mothers and children underwent a series of episodes that sometimes involved the mother leaving and coming back into the room when a stranger was present and when a stranger was not present. From her research, she found there were three patterns of attach- ment in children: secure attachment, avoidant attachment, and resistant attachment. Psy- chologists have since identified a fourth attachment, called disorganized attachment.
How do children exhibit
attachment?
How do children show emotional attachment to their parents or caregivers?
Procedure
1. Observe a 1- or 2-year-old child with a par- ent or caregiver for signs of emotional attachment. A day care center, a pediatri- cian’s waiting room, or a play area in a shopping mall are good places to observe.
2. Watch for the following: How often does the child make contact with his or her par- ent? Does the child move away and explore? How does the child respond to unfamiliar people or objects?
Analysis
1. Did the child exhibit separation anxiety? What were the signs?
2. In a short paragraph, assess the emotional attachment of the child you observed.
See the Skills
Handbook, page 622, for an explanation of designing
an experiment.
Infants who demonstrate secure attach-
ment balance the need to explore and the
need to be close. They welcome the mother
back when she leaves and are free of anger. In
avoidant attachment, the infants avoid or
ignore the mother when she leaves and returns.
The infants with resistant attachment are not
upset when the mother leaves but reject her or
act angrily when she returns. The infants with dis-
organized attachment behave inconsistently. They
seem confused and act in contradictory ways. They
may not be upset when the mother leaves but then
they avoid her when she returns. This attachment seems to be the least secure attachment. (Mothers who
are sensitive and responsive tend to have securely attached infants. However, there is a complex interplay between care- givers and infants.)
Assessment
Chapter 3 / Infancy and Childhood 77
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