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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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