Test 4 Study Guide

Test 4 Study Guide

Chapter 10

Attachment and Love – Attachment is a close emotional bond between two people.
Infancy and Childhood
Social Orientation/Understanding
Social Orientation
From early in their development, infants are captivated by the social world.
Face-to-face play often begins to characterize caregiver-infant interactions when the infant is about 2 to 3 months of age.
Infants respond differently to people than they do to objects, showing more positive emotion to people than inanimate objects, such as puppets.
Infants also learn about the social world through contexts other than face-to-face play with a caregiver, such as peer interaction.
Peer interaction and play improves considerably between 18 months and 24 months.
Locomotion
As infants develop the ability to crawl, walk, and run, they are able to explore and expand their social world.
Once infants have the ability to move in goal-directed pursuits, the reward from these pursuits leads to further efforts to explore and develop skills.
Intention, Goal-Directed Behavior, and Cooperation
Perceiving people as engaging in intentional and goal-directed behavior is an important social cognitive accomplishment, and this initially occurs toward the end of the first year.
Cooperation is dependent upon children connecting their own intentions with peer intentions and using this understanding in interacting with peers to reach a goal.
Social Referencing
Social referencing is the term used to describe “reading” emotional cues in others to help determine how to act in a specific situation.
Infants’ Social Sophistication and Insight
Researchers are discovering that infants are more socially sophisticated and insightful at younger ages than previously envisioned.
This social sophistication and insight is observable in their perceptions of others’ actions as intentionally motivated and goal-directed and their motivation to share and participate in that intentionality by their first birthday.
What is Attachment?

Freud theorized that infants become attached to the person or object that provides oral satisfaction. Harlow’s classic study rebuked this idea.
Harlow’s class monkey study clearly demonstrated that feeding is not the crucial element in the attachment process and that contact comfort is important.
Erikson theorized that physical comfort and sensitive care are key to establishing a basic trust in infants. This trust is the foundation for attachment and sets the stage for a lifelong expectation that the world will be a good and pleasant place to be.
Bowlby stresses the importance of attachment in the first year of life and the responsiveness of the caregiver. He stresses that both infants and its primary caregivers are biologically predisposed to form attachments.
Following are four phases of attachment development based on Bowlby’s conceptualization:
Phase 1 (from birth to 2 months): Infants instinctively direct their attachment to human figures.
Phase 2 (2 to 7 months): Attachment becomes focused on one figure, usually the primary caregiver, as the baby gradually learns to distinguish familiar form unfamiliar people.
Phase 3 (7 to 24 months): Specific attachments develop. With increased locomotor skills, babies actively seek contact with regular caregivers, such as the mother or father.
Phase 4 (24 months +): Children become aware of others’ feelings, goals, and plans and begin to take these into account in forming their own actions.
Recent research suggests that some of the characteristics of Bowlby’s phase 4, such as understanding the goals and intentions of the attachment figure, appear to be developing in phase 3 as attachment security is taking shape.
Bowlby argued that infants develop an internal working model of attachment, a simple mental model of the caregiver, their relationship, and the self as deserving of nurturant care.
This internal working model influences future relationships, emotion understanding, conscious development, and self-concept.
Individual Differences in Attachment

Ainsworth devised the Strange Situation as an observation measure of infant attachment.
In using the Strange Situation, researchers hope that their observations will provide information about the infant’s motivation to be near the caregiver and the degree to which the caregiver’s presence provides the infant with security and confidence.
Based on how babies respond in the Strange Situation, they are described as being securely attached or insecurely attached (in one of three ways) to the caregiver.
Securely attached babies use the caregiver as a secure base from which to explore the environment.
Insecure avoidant babies show insecurity by avoiding the mother.
Insecure resistant babies often cling to the caregiver and then resist her by fighting against the closeness.
Insecure disorganized babies are disorganized and disoriented.

Interpreting Differences in Attachment

Secure attachment in infancy provides an important foundation for psychological development later in life.
Early secure attachment is linked with positive outcomes during childhood and adolescence, although not all studies have found such continuity.
Attachment styles can be altered by subsequent experiences, especially maternal care and life stresses, interact to influence children’s later behavior and adjustment.
Caregiving Styles and Attachment

Securely attached infants have caregivers who are sensitive to their signals and are consistently available to respond to their infants’ needs.

Avoidant babies tend to have unavailable or rejecting parents.
Resistant babies tend to have inconsistent parents.
Disorganized babies often have parents that are neglectful or physically abusive.
Attachment in addulthood

Although relationships with romantic partners differ from those with parents, romantic partners fulfill some of the same needs for adults as parents do for their children.
Secure attachment to parents in childhood is predictive of secure attachment in adult relationships; however, stressful and disruptive experiences can lessen this link.
Secure attachment style – Security attached adults have positive views of relationships, find it easy to get close to others, and are not overly concerned with their romantic relationships.
Avoidant attachment style – Avoidant individuals are hesitant about getting involved in romantic relationships and once in a relationship tend to be distant.
Anxious attachment style – These individuals demand closeness, are less trusting, and are more emotional, jealous, and possessive.

Secure attachment in adulthood is linked with many positive outcomes such as longevity, providing support to those in distress, resiliency, mindfulness, emotional control, and experiencing trust and commitment in relationships.
Insecure attachment in adulthood is linked with some suboptimal outcomes, such as unwanted (yet consensual) sex and relationship problems.
Attachment categories are somewhat stable in adulthood, but adults do have the capacity to change their attachment thinking and behavior.
Romantic Love

Romantic love is also called passionate love, or eros.
It has strong components of sexuality and infatuation, and it often predominates in the early part of a love relationship.
Affectional Love

Affectionate love, also called companionate love, is the type of love that occurs when individuals desire to have the other person near and have a deep, caring affection for the person.
Passion and sexual intimacy are more important to young adults than older adults.
Affection and loyalty are more important to older adults.
At all ages, emotional security is ranked as the most important factor in love.
Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love

The triangular theory of love states that love has three main dimensions: passion, intimacy, and commitment.
Infatuation occurs when there is only passion.
Affectionate love is when intimacy and commitment are strong, but passion is lacking.
Fatuous love occurs when there is passion and commitment, but no intimacy.
If passion, intimacy, and commitment are all strong, the result is consummate love, the fullest type of love.
Falling Out of Love

Falling out of love may be painful, yet, beneficial if the relationship was harmful.
Being in love when the feelings are not returned can lead to many negative feelings.
Some people get taken advantage of in relationships.

Chapter 11

Self-Esteem and Self-Concept

•Self-esteem refers to global evaluations of the self; it also is labeled self-worth and self-image. Self-concept consists of domain-specific evaluations of the self.

1. Issues in Self-Esteem

•There may be a moderate correlation between self-esteem and school performance.

•Correlations between self-esteem and job performance vary greatly, and the actual relationship is unclear.

•Self-esteem is positively correlated with happiness.

•Self-esteem is negatively correlated with depression.

•Self-esteem is related to perceived physical appearance, from early childhood through middle age.

•Low self-esteem has been implicated in suicide attempts and anorexia nervosa.

•A recent longitudinal study found that self-esteem during adolescence was linked to adult adjustment and competence in adulthood.

•Most of the research on self-esteem is correlational rather than experimental.

2. Developmental Changes

•One recent cross-sectional study found that self-esteem decreased in adolescence, increased in the 20s, leveled off in the 30s, rose in the 50s and 60s, and then dropped in the 70s and 80s.

•In most age periods, males have higher self-esteem than females.

•Most (three fourths) adolescents have positive self-esteem, although some researchers have found that the self-esteem of girls drops across the elementary and middle school years.

•A current concern is that too many of today’s college students grew up receiving empty praise and as a consequence have inflated self-esteem. Now in college, they may have difficulty handling competition and criticism.

•Self-esteem can be increased in five ways:

Identification of the causes of low self-esteem and the domains of competence important to the self

Emotional support and social approval
Taking responsibility for one’s own self-esteem

Achievement
Coping

Chapter 12

BIOLOGICAL, SOCIAL, AND COGNITIVE INFLUENCES ON GENDER

Gender refers to the characteristics of people as females or males.
Gender role is a set of expectations that prescribe how females and males should act, think, and feel.
Gender typing is the process by which children acquire the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are considered appropriate for their gender in a particular culture.

A.Biological Influences

•The 23rd pair of chromosomes in humans are sex chromosomes that carry the genetic material that determines our sex. XX = male; XY = female

1.Hormones

Estrogens primarily influence the development of female physical sex characteristics, help regulate the menstrual cycle, and are produced in the ovaries.

Androgens primarily promote the development of male genitals and secondary sex characteristics and are produced in the adrenal glands in males and females and by the testes in males.
To explore the biological influences on gender, research has focused on individuals who have been exposed to unusual levels of the aforementioned sex hormones during development.

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH): Adrenal glands produce abnormally high levels of androgens in girls. Girls/women are generally less content with being a female and show a stronger desire in being male than non-CAH peers. They enjoy and engage in more “masculine” activities.

Androgen-insensitive males: Males without androgen receptors in their cells; thus, testosterone cannot affect the cells. If androgen insensitivity is complete, XY males’ bodies look female and they develop a female gender identity.

Pelvic field defect: Boys exposed to normal levels of testosterone prenatally, but usually castrated just after being born. These children develop a male gender identity even if they are raised as girls.

Identical twin with errant circumcision: One boy twin lost his penis and was surgically reassigned and raised as a girl. The “girl” never felt comfortable as a girl and eventually reassigned himself to be a male again. He committed suicide at age 38.

Although sex hormones alone do not determine behavior, researchers have found links between sex hormone levels and certain behavior.
Levels of testosterone are correlated with sexual behavior in boys during puberty.
Violent male criminals have above-average levels of testosterone.
Professional football players have higher levels of testosterone than ministers do.

B. Social Influences

1. Socialinfluences emphasize the impact of social experiences on psychological gender differences:

a. Social role theory

•According to Alice Eagly and others, psychological sex differences are caused by contrasting roles in society.

•In most cultures, women have less power and control fewer resources than men.

•As women adapted to roles with less power and status, they showed more cooperative, less dominant profiles than men.

b. Social cognitive theory of gender

•The Social Cognitive Theory of Gender proposes that children’s gender development proceeds through observation and imitation of adults, the media, and peers; and through the rewards and punishments that children receive for gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate behavior.

•Bronstein emphasizes that mothers and fathers often interact differently with sons and daughters:

Mothers’ socialization strategies typically emphasize more obedience and responsibility in daughters than in sons, along with more restrictions on their autonomy.

•Fathers’ socialization strategies typically involve paying more attention to sons than daughters and expending more effort in promoting their sons’ intellectual development.

•Children also learn about gender from observing other adults in the neighborhood and in the media.

•Peers reward and punish gender behavior.

C. Cognitive Influences

1.Gender Schema Theory

•Gender schema theory states that gender typing emerges as children gradually develop gender schemas of what is gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate in their culture.

•A gender schema is a mental framework that organizes the world in terms of male and female.

•Children are internally motivated to perceive the world and to act in accordance with their developing schemas.

Gender Similarities and Differences

•When looking at differences between the sexes, it is important to remember that the differences are averages (not all females versus all males).

•Even when differences are reported, considerable overlap exists between the sexes.

•The differences may be primarily caused by biological factors, sociocultural factors, or both.

1.Physical Similarities and Differences

•There are a variety of physical differences between men and women.

•Women have about twice the body fat of men.

•Males grow to be 10 percent taller than females.

•Males and females differ in their sex hormones.

•Females are less likely to develop physical or mental disorders.

•Males have higher levels of stress hormones, which cause faster clotting and higher blood pressure.

•Several differences have been found with respect to males’ and females’ brains:

Female brains are smaller but have more convolutions (folds) which means that there is more surface brain tissue in females than in males.

A part of the hypothalamus associated with sexual behavior is larger in males.

An area of the parietal lobe associated with visuospatial skills is larger in males.

When gender differences in the brain have been revealed, in many cases they have not been directly linked to psychological differences.
There are far more similarities than differences in the brains of females and males.

2.Cognitive Similarities and Differences

•Gender experts stress that the cognitive differences between females and males have been exaggerated.

•Most research finds that males are better atvisuospatial skills and females have better verbal abilities, although there is considerable overlap in scores.

•Recent studies have found no gender differences in math

•Females earn better grades and complete high school at a higher rate than boys.

3.Socioemotional Similarities and Differences

•Boys are more physically aggressive than girls, especially when provoked. The difference occurs in all cultures and appears very early in children’s development.

•When verbal aggression is considered, girls appear to be equal in aggression to boy, or perhaps even more aggressive.

•Relational aggression involves harming someone by manipulating a relationship and is more common in girls.

•Beginning in early adolescence, girls say they experience more sadness, shame, and guilt, and report more intense emotions, whereas boys are more likely to deny that they experience these emotions.

•Males show less self-regulation of emotions which can lead to behavioral problems.

Gender Controversy

Controversy continues about the extent of gender differences and what might cause them.

Some focus on the evolutionary foundation for gender differences.
Some focus on the social conditions that create gender differences.
JaneyShibley Hyde concludes that gender differences have been greatly exaggerated.

A recent meta-analysis by Hyde found that gender differences were either nonexistent or small in most areas, including math ability and communication.

Gender differences in physical aggression were moderate.

The largest differences occurred for motor skills, physical aggression, and sexuality.