infants begin to demonstrate self-control by their awareness of, and compliance to, caregivers’ simple requests (Kaler & Kopp, 1990).
Although toddlers are known for asserting their autonomy, such as by saying no and not complying with a caregiver’s directive, compliance is much more common (Kochanska, 2000). Paradoxically, when parents encourage autonomous, exploratory, behavior, their children are more likely to show compliance to parental instructions in toddlerhood through early childhood (Laurin & Joussemet, 2017). Secure attachment relationships and warm parenting are associated with effortful control, likely as securely attached infants feel comfortable exploring their environment, which promotes autonomy (Pallini et al., 2018). Toddlers’ capacities for self-control improve rapidly. For example, delay of gratification tasks suggest that between 18 and 36 months, toddlers become better able to control their impulses and wait before eating a treat or playing with a toy (Białecka-Pikul, Byczewska-Konieczny, Kosno, Białek, & Stępień-Nycz, 2018; Cheng, Lu, Archer, & Wang, 2018).
Infants make great strides in socioemotional development over the first 2 years of life, as summarized in Table 6.3. Infants’ advances in emotional expression and regulation represent the interaction of biological predispositions, such as inborn capacities for basic emotions and temperament, and experienc—particularly parent–child interactions—the contexts in which they are raised, and the goodness of fit between infants’ needs and what their contexts provide. Infants’ gains in emotional and social development and a growing sense of self form a socioemotional foundation for the physical and cognitive changes that they will experience in the early childhood years.
Thinking in Context 6.5
1 Provide examples of how a Western emphasis on autonomy and independence might influence infants’ and toddlers’ sense of self, such as self-awareness, self-recognition, self-concept, and/or self-control.
2 How might non-Western cultural views that emphasize collectivism and interdependence influence infants’ and toddlers’ developing sense of self? Provide examples.
3 Compare Western and non-Western influences on infants’ and toddlers’ sense of self.
Apply Your Knowledge
A friendly lab assistant escorts 12-month-old Cassie and her mother into a research playroom containing special mirrors and hidden equipment to videotape their interactions. After providing instructions, the lab assistant leaves the mother and Cassie alone, beginning a short procedure to study the security of their attachment relationship. A female stranger enters the room to play with Cassie. Soon after, the mother leaves and Cassie is alone with the stranger. The mother returns briefly, then leaves again; finally, the stranger leaves the room and Cassie is left alone. During each short separation from her mother, Cassie cries and wails. Surprised and disturbed to find Cassie so upset, her mother returns almost immediately. She cannot soothe Cassie, who alternates between clinging to her mother and pushing her away angrily, crying all the time.
“Is Cassie upset today?” asks the lab assistant.
“No, she’s always this way,” her mother smiled softly, “My Cassie is quite a handful. She’s what my mother calls spirited. She’s unpredictable and strong-willed. She’ll eat and nap when she’s ready—and that changes all the time. My mother says I was the same way. I love my little girl, but sometimes I look forward to her growing up.”
What was this procedure intended to study? How? Why?
What might Cassie’s behavior indicate about her security of attachment relationship to her mother and her emotional development? Why?
What do we know about the stability of infant attachment? What is the likelihood that these observations will influence Cassie’s attachment in childhood? Adulthood?
Comment on the goodness of fit between Cassie’s temperament and the parenting.
Laboratory methods such as this are intended to place participants, infants, under distress. The parent’s behavior is the source of that distress, and the procedure also is distressful to parents. From your perspective, what do researchers learn from such research? Should researchers use procedures that elicit distress from children and parents? If you were a parent to an infant, would you be willing to participate in such an experiment?
Descriptions of Images and Figures
Back to Figure
Graph 1: Fed on cloth mother
Two sets of data are plotted: One is labeled cloth mother. The other is labeled wire mother. The mean hours per day feeding based on age are listed here. Values are approximations.
Cloth mother:
Age 1 to 5 days: 16 hours
Age 6 to 10 days: 18 hours
Age 11 to 15 days: 19 hours
Age 16 to 20 days: 20 hours
Age 21 to 25 days: 19 hours
Wire mother:
Age 1 to 5 days: 1 hour
Age 6 to 10 days: 1 hour
Age 11 to 15 days: 1 hour
Age 16 to 20 days: 0.5 hour
Age 21 to 25 days: 0 hours
Graph 2: Fed on wire mother
Two sets of data are plotted: One is labeled cloth mother. The other is labeled wire mother. The mean hours per day feeding based on age are listed here. Values are approximations.
Cloth mother:
Age 1 to 5 days: 7 hours
Age 6 to 10 days: 8 hours
Age 11 to 15 days: 11.5 hours
Age 16 to 20 days: 17 hours
Age 21 to 25 days: 17 hours
Wire mother:
Age 1 to 5 days: 2 hours
Age 6 to 10 days: 1 hour
Age 11 to 15 days: 2 hours
Age 16 to 20 days: 2 hours
Age 21 to 25 days: 2 hours
Photo of infant monkey feeding. The monkey is standing on the cloth mother but leaning over to the wire mother to feed.
Back to Figure
For each country, three values are listed: (1) the percentage of anxious/avoidant, (2) the percentage of anxious/resistant, and (3) the percentage of secure attachment.
Germany: 35.3, 8.6, 56.6
Israel:
