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Erikson Attachment Theory

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Theories (Erikson & Attachment) According to Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, trust vs. mistrust, occurs in the first year of life. Erikson believed that the caregiver’s response to the infant’s cries help them develop a sense of trust, when the caregiver responds right away to the infant’s distress of crying or fussing (Mooney, 2000). Erikson believed that in the earliest years of life, mainly during infancy, patterns of trust or mistrust are formed that control, or at least influence, a person’s actions or interactions for the rest of life (Erikson, 1950). Bowlby hypothesized that children are born with a predisposition to be attached to caregivers and that children will organize their behavior and thinking in order to maintain those relationships (Bettmann, 2006). Thus, suggesting that caregiver relationships are crucial to children’s psychological and physical survival. As infants are unable to verbalize their thoughts, crying is used as a means of communication and interaction between the infant and caregiver. Caring for an Infant …show more content…

Infants will cry to begin interaction with the caregiver; when the caregiver responds properly, the crying will encourage attachment behaviors (Fannin and Hamblett, 2006). Cries may indicate that the baby is hungry, uncomfortable, lonely, in pain, overstimulated, or tired. Thus, caregivers must evaluate the nature of the cry for the meaning behind it. Cries, particularly those of the youngest infants, should be viewed as cries of distress (Schon and Silven, 2007), as newborns do not have the ability to soothe themselves when they are

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Attachment theory states that either secure or insecure bonds may form between infant and mother in the first several months of the infant’s life for the purposes of safety and security. The bond formed between infant and mother influences the quality of the relationships a child has throughout his or her life. One major reasoning of the attachment theory is that the parents are a sanctuary of safety throughout all of early childhood. Insecure attachments promote feelings of threat, rejection, and personal unworthiness. This can also be the explanation for the dream children stashing food away because of the possible threat that there,” will come a time when they will not be fed” (Smith 99).Unhealthy attachments not only lead to poor caregiver-child relationships, but can also cause a dysfunctional self-development, defective relationships, substance abuse problems, and educational difficulties.

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“It [suffering] immunized your body and your soul, and that was why she ignored us kids when we cried. ‘Fussing over children who cry only encourages them’, she told us. ‘That’s positive reinforcement for a negative behavior’” (Walls 28). Children, especially infants, cry as a means of communication.

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In the video “Bug life,” Oakley showed his emotions when he saw the bug; he had a big smile on his face, he seemed like he was very happy to see the bug. The HighScope Infant-Toddler Key Developmental Indicators (n.d) skill # 8 Emotions states that “Children express emotions.” Therefore, I conclude that Oakley demonstrated an emotion skill that is norm for his age in the video.

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Offence Analysis Having established the relevant background and demographic factors, the next part of the report will identify the predisposing factors which contributed to the development of Paul’s offending behaviour. Specifically, this report will begin to acknowledge the mechanisms between Paul’s childhood experiences and his sexual offending behaviour. Paul’s childhood experiences Relational experiences are significantly influenced by the quality of an attachment bond that is established in childhood, specifically between a child and their parent/primary caregiver (Marsa et al., 2004). According to the attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969), an attachment displays the bond between a child and their parent (primary

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2033 Words | 9 Pages

In time their language and vocabularies will form rapidly. Children often get their gramma in speech mixed up at times, for example when using a verb word such as kicked they are likely to say “kickeded the ball―. When it comes to social, emotional, moral and behavioural challenges babies start to be aware of their identities in regards to what and who they like and dislike. They build an intense and emotional bond with their parents or main carer, which then lengthens out of the family circle, this could include nursery staff or childminders. When a child engages with others outside of the family circle, it promotes the building of trust, which enables the child asking for help from a certain person and forms other social bonds with others, who deliver care to the child.

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Bowlby, Harlow, and Ainsworth each had unique positions on infant attachment and adult relationships. All three researchers pointed out that children become attached or unattached depending on the amount and type of love and affection they receive from birth. Each had a different way of creating their study. Harlow used baby monkeys taken from their mothers and replacing mom with either a metal or a terry cloth covered mom.

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Responsive Nurturing Care is when the caregiver pays close attention to what the child is signaling and then provides a response that meets the child’s needs. As a result the child will feel comfortable around the caregiver because its need are being met. Also they will continue to communicate with their caregivers and feel secure. The sense of being secured is significant for infants and young children. A secure bond between the infant and caregiver will let the child know and feel like it would always be safe and cared for when they go through emotions.

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And if this did not work, caregivers were made to understand that sometimes an infant’s cries cannot be soothed and that the best course of action is to walk away, calm down and then return. If they were having difficulty calming down, they were to call a friend or family member to talk through their frustrations. They were also told that crying does not always indicate that something is wrong. It is a normal part of a child’s development and does cause any physical pain to the child. And most importantly they were reminded never to shake the baby (Bechtel et al,

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Erikson was highly influenced by Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytical Theory of Development. Although, at first Freud was limited to childhood based on the phallic stage, Erikson focused on developing a lifespan theory. The eight stages are as followed: Trust vs. Mistrust (infancy): The basic and fundamental psychological task is for infants to develop a sense that their needs will be met by the outside world. Is their caregiver responsive, reliable, and willing to meet their needs? That basic trust is facilitated by a responsive caregiver once an infant gets hungry, injured, or needs to be changed.

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When children can start to communicate what they want and need and able to tell you how they are feeling, they have a feeling of accomplishment. This helps toddlers identify emotions. Lastly, it creates feelings of accomplishment. We see, as parents, that toddlers and babies are proud when they learn a new word or sign (aidenofthetower,

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How come my mother had been able to successfully soothe the baby, while I had tried my best and he had continued crying? Was the baby rejecting me? My mother may have sensed what was going on in my mind, and she began telling me stories of how I was a stubborn baby, and it seemed I cried for no reason (Hahn, 2016). She assured me that it was going to get better with time, that I was going to get the hang of it eventually and I would remember days such as these and laugh them off because of how I had gotten so worked up over what I can term as being essentially

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Attachment in early life is a fundamental aspect of child development and the establishment of intimate and reciprocal relationships with caregivers. Shaffer & Kipp (2007) define attachment as ‘a close emotional relationship between two persons, characterized by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity’. Contrary to the original view of infant attachment as a ‘secondary drive’ of the dependency on caregivers for physiological needs, such as hunger; Bowlby (1969, 1973) proposed that all infants are born with an innate bias to form an attachment to a primary attachment figure to whom they can seek comfort, or a ‘secure base’ during stressful circumstances. It is proposed by Ainsworth (1967) that parental sensitivity is crucial to shaping the security and development of the initial infant-parent attachment relationship, however the phenomenon of attachment requires both infants and caregivers to contribute in the formation of the attachment bond. Ultimately, the quality of attachment in early life shapes both the social and emotional

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The attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth is an essential key that explains many child-parent relationships and the influence it has on development. Attachment is a process that begins during infancy in an individual’s life and can have long lasting effects. Bowlby’s theory concluded that the bonds formed between a caregiver and a child during the early years were the blueprints for future relationships. Ainsworth’s “strange situation” experiments and numerous studies tested Bowlby’s original theory and expanded on it. This paper will provide an overview on the research that has been conducted on the effects of attachment patterns on an individual’s early and later development.

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The first year of a child’s life is spent communicating entirely through nonverbal means. Infants use every part of their bodies to convey their wants and needs as their parents and early childhood educators respond to meet them. Examples of this are reflexes, such as opening their mouths when hungry. Also, crying and whole body movements to demonstrate feelings. Another way that is interesting in infant nonverbal communication is allowing infants to play with each other.

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Biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes are all connected in the developmental task of a baby smiling at his or her mother’s touch. Biological processes produce changes in an individual’s physical nature. Cognitive processes bring changes to the individual’s thought, intelligence, and language. Socioemotional processes include changes in the individual’s relationships with other people, changes in emotions and changes in personality. For the baby, the biological process has to do with the physical touch by the mother and the baby’s

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