Erikson accept Freud's emphasis on the importance of the parent-infant relationship during feeing, but he expanded and enriched Freud's view. A healthy outcome in infancy depends on the quality of care giving, relieving discomfort promptly and sensitively, waiting patiently until the baby has had enough milk, and weaning when the infant shows less interest in break or bottle.
Erikson believed that many factors affected parental responsiveness such as personal happiness, current life conditions, and culturally valued child rearing practices.
(Berk, 2013, p. 143)
Basic Trust vs. Mistrust: Resolved positively. From as far back as I can remember about the relationship with my parents, I was also giving physical and psychological comfort. I believe positive the relationship I have with my mother even today showcases this trust.
Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt: Resolved positively. During my childhood I was extremely self-confident and given freedom to learn and grow. I have several videos that my father recorded of my in childhood and my parents made sure to guide me but never forced me to or punished me for exploring.
Upon speaking to my mother, she explained that I exhibited many of the basic emotions throughout childhood. My mother explained that I was typically very open and comfortable around strangers but used her and my father as a secure base and social reference for how to act in certain situations. I believe that I utilized my mother as a secure base/social reference all throughout high school, specifically in situations that were new or uncomfortble (new student orientation for school, or when I went to music camps in the summer).
Happiness, interest, surprise, fear, anger, sadness, and disgust are universal in humans and other primates and have a long evolutionary history of promoting survival.
Happiness: Smiles and laughter. Happiness binds parents and baby into a warm, supportive relationship that fosters the infant's developing competences.
Social smile: 6-10 weeks
Laughter: 3-4 months
Deliberate Smile: 8-10 months
Anger & Sadness: Babies respond with generalized distressed to hunger, changes in body temperature, and too much/little stimulation. Angry expressions increase with age. When caregiver-infant communication is seriously disrupted, infant sadness is common.
Fear: Expression rises starting in second-half of first year to 2 years old. Most frequent expression to fear is to unfamiliar adults, a response called stranger anxiety. Babies then use their familiar caregiver as a secure base as a place to return to emotional support in an unfamiliar environment.
(Berk, 2013, p.144-146 ).
My Development
Emotional Development
My Development
Early appearing, stable individual differences in reactivity and self-regulation. Reactivity refers to quickness and intensity of emotional arousal, attention, and motor activity. Self regulation refers to strategies that modify that reactivity.
Thomas and Chess's model classifies three types of children: the easy child, the difficult child, and the slow-to warm-up child.
Goodness-of-fit model: parenting practices that fit well with the child's temperament help children achieve more adaptive functioning.
(Berk, 2013, p. 148).
Temperament
My Development
Basic Emotions
Attachment
I believe that I had a secure attachment with mother and father: I utilized my parents as a secure base and when I was separated I would cry at times. If I did cry, I was likely crying because of parent was absent and I preferred my mother or father to the stranger. When my parents would return I would actively seek contact and my crying was reduce immediately
Attachment and Gender: My father was verbal and gentle and took on many characteristics of a maternal caregiver when my mother was at work. From the video's I've watched of me as a child interacting with my father he was likely to provide me with toys and talk vs the stimulating physical play which is common for fathers to provide.
Growing up I would have been considered an easy child (makes up 40% of children). I was able to quickly establish regular routines in infancy and was generally cheerful and adapted easily to new experiences.
I believe the goodness of fit, or the parenting practices provided by my parents for my temperament was good.
My Development
The infants emotional tie to the caregiver is an evolved response that promotes survival. However, the quality of the attachment varies from secure attachment, avoidant attachment, resistant attachment, and disorganized/disorientated attachment. The stability of this attachment also varies, but findings report that secure attachments are more likely to maintain their attached statuses vs. insecure babies.
(Berk, 2013, p. 152-153)
Infancy & Toddlerhood
