Chapter 6: Social and Emotional Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood
Chapter 6: Social and Emotional Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood
Objectives
After this chapter, you should be able to:
- Classify types of temperament.
- Discuss the roles of culture and gender in socialization.
- Describe the sequence of emotional development during the first two years.
- Compare different theories of attachment and attachment styles.
- Explain Erikson’s stage of trust versus mistrust.
- Contrast child care options for families.
Introduction
While temperament is determined by genetics and emotions develop through maturation, the early interactions we have with the adults that care for us as infants and toddlers are very important for healthy emotional development. Let’s examine some of the important interactions and milestones in social and emotional development during the first two years of life.
Temperament
Perhaps you have spent time with a number of infants. How were they alike? How did they differ? How do you compare with your siblings or other children you have known well? You may have noticed that some seemed to be in a better mood than others and that some were more sensitive to noise or more easily distracted than others. These differences may be attributed to temperament. Temperament is the innate characteristics of the infant, including mood, activity level, and emotional reactivity, noticeable soon after birth.
In a 1956 landmark study, Chess and Thomas (1996) evaluated 141 children’s temperament based on parental interviews. Referred to as the New York Longitudinal Study, infants were assessed on 10 dimensions of temperament including:
- activity level
- rhythmicity (regularity of biological functions)
- approach/withdrawal (how children deal with new things)
- adaptability to situations
- intensity of reactions
- threshold of responsiveness (how intense a stimulus has to be for the child to react)
- quality of mood
- distractibility
- attention span
- persistence
Based on the infants’ behavioral profiles, they were categorized into three general types of temperament:
Table 6.1 – Types of Temperament
|
Type |
Percentage |
Description |
|
Easy |
40% |
|
|
Difficult |
10% |
|
|
Slow-to-warm-up |
15% |
|
As can be seen the percentages do not equal 100% as some children were not able to be placed neatly into one of the categories. Think about how each type of child should be approached to improve interactions with them. An easy child requires less intervention, but still has needs that must not be overlooked. A slow-to-warm-up child may need to be given advance warning if new people or situations are going to be introduced. A child with a difficult temperament may need to be given extra time to burn off their energy.
A caregiver’s ability to work well and accurately read the child will enjoy a goodness- of-fit, meaning their styles match and communication and interaction can flow. Parents who recognize each child’s temperament and accept it, will nurture more effective interactions with the child and encourage mor