course material

1. “Infants seek social bonds, which they develop with one or
“Infants seek social bonds, which they develop with one or several people as long as the
caregivers are responsive and familiar. In the early months, synchrony begins: infants and
caregiver interact face to face, making split-second adjustments in their emotional
responses to each other. The still-face situation mentioned in the book reveals the
importance of facial expression to infants.Early responsiveness evolves into attachment, an
emotional bond that encourages toddlers to explore. Secure attachment allows learning to
progress; insecure infants are less confident and may develop emotional impairments. As
infants become more curious and as they encounter new toys, people, and events, they use
social referencing to learn whether such new things are fearsome or fun.Although mothers
are infants’ usual, and most social partners, the emotional connections evident in
synchrony, attachment, and social referencing, can also occur with fathers, other relatives,
and day-care providers. Instead of harming infants, as was once feared, non-maternal care
can enhance infants’ psychosocial development”.Mary Ainsworth developed an
experimental procedure know as the Strange Situation. She did this to observe the variety of
attachment forms that are exhibited between infants and their primary caregiver (for the
purposes of this discussion I’m going to refer to the primary caregiver as the mother).The
Strange Situation demonstrates different attachment styles which are based on the
interaction behaviors directed towards the mother when she returns to the room after
leaving the infant alone with someone the infant does not know. There are 4 things that the
researchers wanted to pay attention to when observing the baby’s behavior:Does the baby
seek out the mother when she returns and want to be near herDoes the baby maintain
contact with the mother after she returnsDoes the baby avoid the mother and avoid contact
with herWas the baby resistant to contact and comforting by the motherIn this video we
will observe a baby’s response when the mother returns to the room. Pay attention to the
child’s level of separation anxiety, her stranger anxiety, and her behavior when mom
returns to the room. The child’s behavior will give us many clues about the level of
attachment this child has with her mother.Mary Ainsworth originally identified 3 types of
attachment styles from her research, Secure attachment, Insecure Avoidant attachment, and
Insecure ambivalent or resistant attachment. Several years later Disorganized attachment
was added to the list.Secure attachment—Secure children feel confident that their mother
will be available to meet their needs. They use her as a safe base to explore the environment
and seek her comfort in times of distress (Main, & Cassidy, 1988).Insecure Avoidant—
insecure avoidant children do not focus on their mother when exploring a new

2. environment. They are very independent of mom, both physically and emotionally. They do
not seek her out when distressed.Insecure Ambivalent/Resistant—the infant has an
ambivalent behavioral style towards their mother. They may have clingy and dependent
behavior, but they might also reject the mother when she tries to interact with the
infant.Watch this Strange Situation VideoLinks to an external site. and post your thoughts
on what you watched.The Strange Situation – Mary AinsworthLinks to an external site.