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Erikson's Life Span Development Theory: A Case Study

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Introduction Attachment is the strong emotional and affectionate connection which forms between infant and caregiver within the second half of the child’s first year (Santrock, 2012). It is a behaviour system whereby regulation of emotional distress is performed. Attachment consist of active behaviours and signalling behaviours to stimulate close proximity with parent (Bell & Ainsworth, 1972). Hence, babies who desire constant regular contact have separation anxiety and distress when parents leave them temporarily. Examples of attachment include touching parent’s face. Life-span development theory The Erikson’s life-span development theory consists of eight stages, whereby each stage consists of a developmental task with a crisis confrontation. …show more content…

Hence, negative reinforcement is used to stop the crying. Another article assessed the infants after observing infants and their mothers in the Strange Situation at 12 months. Positive reinforcement was used to soothe crying infants. When the infant cries, only 5% of mothers picked up infants in the first crying episode while 31.2% used interactions (Grossmann,Spangler,Suess,&Unzner, 1985). The other 22.7% of mothers diverted infants, but were deemed ineffective. Hence, physical contact was most effective, with 34 of 49 mothers using it once and with immediate ceasing of crying once they are carried. Moreover, soothing crying infants are encouraged as infants go through phases such as protest, despair and detachment. Therefore, trust and warmth is lost in the parent when infants stop crying not because of distress elimination, but, due to loss of hope for comfort. This forms mistrust in infants, which reduces confidence and warmth. Moreover, as duration and frequency of the infant 's crying episodes were closely related to maternal responsiveness, infants whose mothers attended to their cry, cried lesser and shorter and lesser interventions were used to soothe the infant

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The secure babies used their mothers as a base to explore and as a protective safe haven. They were upset when the caregivers left but when they returned, they brought safety to the baby. Babies who had an avoidant attachment, didn’t want their caregiver upon return to the room. The caregivers for these babies may have been unresponsive to their signals of distress. Some babies were also classified as having resistant attachments, and tried kicking or arching their backs when comforted by the caregiver.

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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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995 Words | 4 Pages

It’s the infant’s way of saying that they missed their mom and everything is okay now that she’s back. A positive aspect of having secure attachment is that children interact positively with their peers, have better friendships and fewer conflicts. Avoidant attachment occurs in about

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800 Words | 4 Pages

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

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The babies were visited monthly and the carers were also observed and interviewed. A diary was also kept by the primary care giver (usually the mother) three measure were recorded. The first was stranger anxiety – the response to the arrival of a stranger, the second was separation anxiety – the distress levels when separated from the career and the degree of comfort upon their return and finally social referencing – the degree that the child looks at the carer to check how they should respond to something new (this is referred to as secure base). They discovered that a baby’s attachment follows in this sequence. • 0-6 weeks – Asocial –

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Absence of love, physical, and cognitive stimulation, could result in children’s delays and unhealthy attachments. As caregivers, it is important to demonstrate high levels of physical contact (love) and stimulation of all senses to promote healthy development. The care and supervision of infants differ

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H., Lyons-Ruth, K. (2005). Differential attachment responses of male and female infants to frightening maternal behavior: Tend or befriend versus fight or flight?. Infant Mental Health Journal, 26(1), 1-18. Taylor, S. E., Klein, L. C., Lewis, B. P., Gruenewald, T. L., Gurung, R. R., & Updegraff, J. A. (2000). Biobehavioral Responses to Stress in Women: Tend-and-Befriend, Not Fight-or-Flight.

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They don’t cry to manipulate – they may learn to as a toddler, but definitely not as a newborn baby, which is the stage this book covers. Your newborn baby’s cry is designed to make you feel stressed! If it didn’t then you wouldn’t attend to the baby’s needs as quickly. Sometimes Dads have a hard time adapting to breast-feeding.

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In addition, some infants are classified as disorganized/disoriented with regard to attachment as they are not able to settle in to a single, organized attachment pattern when in distress. Instead, they become disoriented or resort to conflicting behavioral strategies. Attachments are not characteristic of either the caregivers or infants. It is the relationship bonds overtime between emotion and behaviors as infant and caregiver interact, particularly when infant needs for comfort are of concern. Sense of trust develops when a baby’s needs are responded to.

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Babies naturally require a lot of attention which is more than just feeding them or enforcing good hygiene. Harry Harlow’s principle of “contact comfort” is something that has been ingrained in us since our infancy. Babies have no other way of communicating with us other than by crying. After you check all the baby’s vitals (such as if they are hungry, need a diaper change, etc.,) a good way to make a baby stop crying is if you cuddle, hold, kiss, or sing to the baby until the baby stops crying or until the baby falls asleep. A way to greet or comfort a loved one is also to hug them.

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A human baby is born with poorly developed sight and is unable to move. As a consequence to this he is vulnerable and is completely dependent on a carer for survival (Winston, 2003). To improve the chances of survival, the baby is born with pre-programmed and automatic behaviour which are prompted by environmental factors (Bergen, 2008). Bowlby theorised that when a young child feels distressed, frightened or confused, attachment behaviour is triggered and this serves to bring the child closer to their mother* who provides the desired comfort, care and protection (Bowlby,

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The experiment was done in a room with a one way glass to observe the infant. Different situations were given to the infant to determine the infant’s attachment style, the mother of the infant would leave the room and the infant would be left with the experimenter or the experimenter would leave the room and leave the mother and infant alone. How the infant reacts to the situation is used to determine the attachment style of the infant. Infants with secure attachment style would be distressed every time the mother would leave, the infant avoids the stranger when the mother leaves and when the mother returns the infant becomes happier. Infants with ambivalent attachment attachment style get distressed whenever the mother leaves, and avoids the stranger when left alone.

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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 suggests that the relationship infants have with their earliest caregivers (usually their mothers) the first two years shapes all their future relationships. Numerous research and studies in developmental psychology of infants show that the quality of infant attachment is vital in the shaping of our personality and how we deal with relationships. According to the attachment theory, infants communicate attachment behavior to get their mother’s attention or to be in her proximity. Attachment is one specific aspect of the relationship between a child and their caregiver having the purpose being to make a child feel safe, secure and protected. Secure attachment can be achieved by the caregiver quickly and consistently responding to the infant’s signals therefore they feel their needs are being met and fulfilled.

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1374 Words | 6 Pages

Insecure attachment is “characterized by fear, anxiety, anger, or indifference.” (Berger 2014, pg.193). An infant becomes insecurely attached to his caregiver when the child has learned that there are no positive effects to emotional expressions. For example, when a caregiver allows the child to “cry it out” and is unresponsive to the child’s needs, the child will learn that his needs will not be fulfilled by others. This results in the child not being able to develop any emotional awareness and might feel emotionally detached from his caregiver.

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