emotional

• Securely attached infants feel content to explore a strange environment using their caregiver as a safe base. They show some distress when left by their caregiver, but are relatively easily comforted and show joy at reunion. They are wary of strangers and treat them differently to their caregiver.
• Insecure-avoidant children do not orient their behaviour towards the caregiver; they display little distress on separation and may avoid contact on reunion, they treat the stranger and the mother in much the same way.
• Insecure-resistant children are clingy, they are wary of strangers and highly distressed on separation however, and they may show conflicting behaviour on reunion; seeking and resisting their caregiver possibly showing signs of anger.
• Disorientated - these children display freezing or contradictory behaviours both when their parent leaves the room and upon their return.
• Bowlby refers to attachment as a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects a child to their primary caregiver.
• Bowlby linked the importance of social, emotional and cognitive development to the relationship the child had with their mother. He believed that children were biologically pre-programmed to form attachments and that infancy was a critical period for forming positive attachments. This led Bowlby to consider problems associated with early separation from the primary caregiver.
• Critics argue that Bowlby oversimplified his theory. Rutter argues that maternal deprivation in itself may not result in long-term problems. He suggests that privation is far more damaging. Privation happens when children have not had the opportunity to form attachments or have poor quality attachments caused by a lack of social or intellectual stimulation.
• Research by Schaffer and Emerson suggest that babies are most likely to form attachments to caregivers who respond effectively to their signals. This is not necessarily the person that spends the most time with them. This is referred to as sensitive responsiveness. The most important factor in forming attachments, therefore, is not the adult who feeds and changes the baby but the adult who plays and communicates with them.
• Babies need strong attachments in order to be emotionally and socially well developed. Children with good attachments are likely to have more confidence, higher self-esteem and are, therefore, less likely to show clinginess and demanding behaviour.
• Hazen and Shaver proposed that the reason adults experience different kinds of romantic relationships is because of their different experiences as infants. They found that adults with a secure attachment in infancy described their love experiences as happy, friendly, and trusting. They emphasised being able to accept their partner regardless of any faults and their relationships tended to be more enduring.
• deprivation = lack of denial of something considered to be a necessity
• privation= loss of absence or attribute that is normally present
• Attachments may not go smoothly because of

  • disability
  • post natal depression
  • emotional unavailability
• Self-concept includes everything we think about ourselves and includes our self-esteem, self-confidence, self-image
• Self-esteem involves self-confidence and self-acceptance and is shaped by what we think and feel about ourselves.
• Self-image is the mental picture, a personal view that an individual has of themselves. It includes the characteristics that a person would describe themselves as.
• emotional development = the way an individual begins to feel about and value themselves and other people
• infancy = inbuilt need to form attachments with their carer
• early childhood = begin to understand social roles and develop their self concept (sense of identity)
• adolescence = persons develops a clear sense of identity
• early and middle adulthood = individuals self- esteem is influenced by lifestyle e.g jon
• later adulthood = try to make sense of ones life - to cope with physical changes associated with ageing