1. Review the Brief Chapter Summary.
2. Answer and submit the Learning Objectives. Write the question and then the answer.
3. Complete and submit the Learning Activity. Write the question and then the answer.
BRIEF CHAPTER SUMMARY
Erikson's psychosocial theory, which builds on Freud's psychoanalytic theory, provides an overview of the emotional
and social tasks of infancy and toddlerhood. For Erikson, trust and autonomy grow out of warm, supportive parenting
in the first year, followed by reasonable expectations for impulse control during the second year.
Emotions play an important role in the organization of relationships with caregivers, exploration of the
environment, and discovery of the self. Infants' ability to express basic emotions, such as happiness, anger, sadness,
and fear, and respond to the emotions of others expands over the first year. As toddlers become more self-aware, selfconscious
emotions, such as shame, embarrassment, and pride, begin to emerge. Emotional self-regulation improves
as a result of brain maturation, gains in cognition and language, and sensitive child rearing.
Children's unique temperaments, or styles of emotional responding, are already apparent in early infancy.
Heredity influences early temperament, but child-rearing and other experiences determine whether a child's
temperament is sustained or modified over time. The goodness-of-fit model helps explain the bidirectional
relationship between children's temperaments and parents' child-rearing styles.
Ethological theory is the most widely accepted view of the development of attachmentÑthe strong affectionate
tie that develops between infants and caregivers. According to this perspective, attachment evolved over the history of
our species to promote survival. Research shows that responding promptly, consistently, and appropriately to infant
signals supports secure attachment, whereas insensitive caregiving is linked to attachment insecurity. Because
children and parents are embedded in larger contexts, family circumstances and cultural factors influence attachment
patterns. ParentsÕ internal working modelsÑtheir view of their own attachment experiencesÑalso play a role. Infants
form attachment bonds not only with their mothers but also with other familiar people, including fathers, and siblings.
When grandparents serve as primary caregivers for children, strong attachment ties develop between them.
Though limited, peer sociability is already present in the first two years, and it is fostered by the early
caregiver-child bond. Continuity of caregiving seems to play a role in the relationship between early attachment
security or insecurity and later development.
Once self-awareness develops over the first and second year, it supports a diverse array of social and emotional
achievements. Empathy, the ability to categorize the self, compliance, and self-control are all by-products of toddlersÕ
emerging sense of self.
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
7.1 Discuss the first two stages of EriksonÕs psychosocial theory, noting the personality changes that take place at
each stage. (pp. 252-253)
7.2 Describe the development of basic emotions, including happiness, anger, sadness, and fear, over the first year,
noting the adaptive function of each. (pp. 253-256)
7.3 Summarize changes that occur during the first two years in understanding othersÕ emotions. (pp. 256-257)
7.4 Discuss the nature of self-conscious emotions, explaining why they emerge during the second year and
indicating their role in development. (pp. 257-258)
7.5 Trace the development of emotional self-regulation during the first two years. (pp. 258-259)
7.6 Discuss the three underlying components of temperament, and identify three types of children described by
Thomas and Chess. (pp. 260-261)
7.7 Explain how temperament is measured. (p. 262)
7.8 Summarize the role of heredity and environment in the stability of temperament, including the goodness-of-fit
model. (pp. 262-267)
7.9 Describe the unique features of ethological theory of attachment. (pp. 268-270)
7.10 Describe the Strange Situation and the Attachment Q-sort procedures for measuring attachment, and cite the
four patterns of attachment assessed by the Strange Situation. (pp. 270-272)
7.11 Discuss the factors that affect attachment security. (pp. 273-276)
7.12 Discuss infantsÕ formation of multiple attachments, and indicate how attachment paves the way for early peer
sociability. (pp. 276-281)
7.13 Describe and interpret the relationship between secure attachment in infancy and cognitive, emotional, and
social competence in childhood. (pp. 281-283)
7.14 Trace the emergence of self-awareness in infancy and toddlerhood, along with the emotional and social
capacities it supports. (pp. 283-287)
LEARNING ACTIVITY 7.4 Examining Student Temperament (pp. 260-267)
Visit the Keirsey Temperament and Character website, http://www.keirsey.com, and complete the online
personality questionnaire. After completing the questionnaire, answer the following questions:
1. What did the questionnaire reveal about your temperament?
2. Do you agree with the results? Based on the results and on research in the text, explain how your temperament may have affected, and been affected by, relationships with parents and caregivers.
3. Next, click on Parenting and Temperament. What problems can arise when parent and child have different temperaments?