Erikson's Life Span Development Theory: A Case Study

The secure babies used their mothers as a base to explore and as a protective safe haven. They were upset when the caregivers left but when they returned, they brought safety to the baby. Babies who had an avoidant attachment, didn’t want their caregiver upon return to the room. The caregivers for these babies may have been unresponsive to their signals of distress. Some babies were also classified as having resistant attachments, and tried kicking or arching their backs when comforted by the caregiver.

Absence of love, physical, and cognitive stimulation, could result in children’s delays and unhealthy attachments. As caregivers, it is important to demonstrate high levels of physical contact (love) and stimulation of all senses to promote healthy development. The care and supervision of infants differ

Secured attachment is extremely important in the developmental stages of an infant. Secure attachment is when an infant feels distressed when they are separated from their caregivers and feels happy when their caregiver returns. Research from this article suggests that, when an infant does not receive the comfort they need from their caregiver for secure attachments, it can have a negative impact on their behaviour later on in their childhood and throughout life. Infants who have secured attachments tend to develop stronger self-esteem as they grow older, they also tend to be more independent and successful in socialising. Those children are also less likely to experience less depression and anxiety.

And if this did not work, caregivers were made to understand that sometimes an infant’s cries cannot be soothed and that the best course of action is to walk away, calm down and then return. If they were having difficulty calming down, they were to call a friend or family member to talk through their frustrations. They were also told that crying does not always indicate that something is wrong. It is a normal part of a child’s development and does cause any physical pain to the child. And most importantly they were reminded never to shake the baby (Bechtel et al,

They don’t cry to manipulate – they may learn to as a toddler, but definitely not as a newborn baby, which is the stage this book covers. Your newborn baby’s cry is designed to make you feel stressed! If it didn’t then you wouldn’t attend to the baby’s needs as quickly. Sometimes Dads have a hard time adapting to breast-feeding.

It’s the infant’s way of saying that they missed their mom and everything is okay now that she’s back. A positive aspect of having secure attachment is that children interact positively with their peers, have better friendships and fewer conflicts. Avoidant attachment occurs in about

Thus, suggesting that caregiver relationships are crucial to children’s psychological and physical survival. As infants are unable to verbalize their thoughts, crying is used as a means of communication and interaction between the infant and caregiver. Caring for an Infant

Insecure attachment is “characterized by fear, anxiety, anger, or indifference.” (Berger 2014, pg.193). An infant becomes insecurely attached to his caregiver when the child has learned that there are no positive effects to emotional expressions. For example, when a caregiver allows the child to “cry it out” and is unresponsive to the child’s needs, the child will learn that his needs will not be fulfilled by others. This results in the child not being able to develop any emotional awareness and might feel emotionally detached from his caregiver.

babies are Asocial in that many types of stimuli, both non-social and social, produce a favourable reaction such as a smile. • 6 weeks – 7 months – Indiscriminate Attachment – most babies respond equally to any caregiver and they get upset when the caregiver no longer interacts with them. From 3 months they will smile more at familiar faces and can be easily comforted by a regular care giver. • 7 -9 months - Specific attachment- babies will look to a particular person for security, comfort and protection, it will show fear of a stranger and unhappiness when separated from the special person. Some babies would show stranger fear and separation anxiety much more than

In addition, some infants are classified as disorganized/disoriented with regard to attachment as they are not able to settle in to a single, organized attachment pattern when in distress. Instead, they become disoriented or resort to conflicting behavioral strategies. Attachments are not characteristic of either the caregivers or infants. It is the relationship bonds overtime between emotion and behaviors as infant and caregiver interact, particularly when infant needs for comfort are of concern. Sense of trust develops when a baby’s needs are responded to.

Attachment in early life is a fundamental aspect of child development and the establishment of intimate and reciprocal relationships with caregivers. Shaffer & Kipp (2007) define attachment as ‘a close emotional relationship between two persons, characterized by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity’. Contrary to the original view of infant attachment as a ‘secondary drive’ of the dependency on caregivers for physiological needs, such as hunger; Bowlby (1969, 1973) proposed that all infants are born with an innate bias to form an attachment to a primary attachment figure to whom they can seek comfort, or a ‘secure base’ during stressful circumstances. It is proposed by Ainsworth (1967) that parental sensitivity is crucial to shaping the security and development of the initial infant-parent attachment relationship, however the phenomenon of attachment requires both infants and caregivers to contribute in the formation of the attachment bond. Ultimately, the quality of attachment in early life shapes both the social and emotional

This test observed patterns in the infants’ experiences of separation and reunion with their mother, and their reaction to a stranger, in order to evaluate the type of attachment relationship the infant shared with their mother (Ainsworth, 1978). Ainsworth found a significant consistency between the mothers’ interactive styles and the reactions of the infants. The results of this test led Ainsworth to classify the behaviours into three main categories. She identified the infants to have secure attachment, or one of two forms of insecure attachment, avoidant or ambivalent (Music,

A human baby is born with poorly developed sight and is unable to move. As a consequence to this he is vulnerable and is completely dependent on a carer for survival (Winston, 2003). To improve the chances of survival, the baby is born with pre-programmed and automatic behaviour which are prompted by environmental factors (Bergen, 2008). Bowlby theorised that when a young child feels distressed, frightened or confused, attachment behaviour is triggered and this serves to bring the child closer to their mother* who provides the desired comfort, care and protection (Bowlby,

The experiment was done in a room with a one way glass to observe the infant. Different situations were given to the infant to determine the infant’s attachment style, the mother of the infant would leave the room and the infant would be left with the experimenter or the experimenter would leave the room and leave the mother and infant alone. How the infant reacts to the situation is used to determine the attachment style of the infant. Infants with secure attachment style would be distressed every time the mother would leave, the infant avoids the stranger when the mother leaves and when the mother returns the infant becomes happier. Infants with ambivalent attachment attachment style get distressed whenever the mother leaves, and avoids the stranger when left alone.

The life span of an individual goes through developmental stages in life, from conception to death. The majority of the stages we pass are biological, socio-economical and psychological birth rights. This essay will focus on the two stages, drawn from the eight stages of Erikson Theory, namely: Trust vs Mistrust and Generativity vs Stagnation. The essay will further discuss authoritative parenting and attachment styles. The eight stages which a healthy person should undergo from infancy to late adulthood, are built on the success of mastering the previous stage.