Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

378 CHAPTER 9 Lifespan DevelopmentTemperamental Patterns Most babies canbe categorized into one of three broadtemperamental patterns. An “easy” babyis usually easy to soothe, calm, cheerful,and readily adjusts to new situations.“Slow-to-warm-up” babies tend to adaptto new situations and experiences veryslowly, but once they adapt, they’re fine.“Difficult” babies are more likely to beemotional, irritable, and fussy. Whichcategory do you think the baby shownabove fits? Why?Mary D. Salter Ainsworth (1913–1999)Although best known for developing the“Strange Situation technique” to measureattachment, Mary D. Salter Ainsworthmade many other contributions to developmentalpsychology. She originated theconcept of the secure base and was thefirst researcher in the United States tomake extensive, systematic, naturalisticobservations of mother–infant interactionsin their own homes. Her findings oftensurprised contemporary psychologists. Forexample, Ainsworth provided the first evidencedemonstrating the importance of thecaregiver’s responsiveness to the infant’sneeds (Bretherton & Main, 2000).Interest in infant temperament was triggered by a classic longitudinal studylaunched in the 1950s by psychiatrists Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess. Thefocus of the study was on how temperamental qualities influence adjustmentthroughout life. Chess and Thomas rated young infants on a variety of characteristics,such as activity level, mood, regularity in sleeping and eating, and attentionspan. They found that about two-thirds of the babies could be classified into one ofthree broad temperamental patterns: easy, difficult, and slow-to-warm-up. About athird of the infants were characterized as average babies because they did not fitneatly into one of these three categories (Thomas & Chess, 1977).Easy babies readily adapt to new experiences, generally display positive moodsand emotions, and have regular sleeping and eating patterns. Difficult babies tendto be intensely emotional, are irritable and fussy, and cry a lot. They also tend tohave irregular sleeping and eating patterns. Slow-to-warm-up babies have a lowactivity level, withdraw from new situations and people, and adapt to new experiencesvery gradually. After studying the same children from infancy throughchildhood, Thomas and Chess (1986) found that these broad patterns of temperamentalqualities are remarkably stable.Other temperamental patterns have been identified. For example, after decadesof research, Jerome Kagan (2004; Kagan & Snidman, 2004) has classified temperamentin terms of reactivity. High-reactive infants react intensely to new experiences,strangers, and novel objects. They tend to be tense, fearful, and inhibited. At theopposite pole are low-reactive infants, who tend to be calmer, uninhibited, andbolder. Sociable rather than shy, low-reactive infants are more likely to show interestthan fear when exposed to new people, experiences, and objects.Virtually all temperament researchers agree that individual differences in temperamenthave a genetic and biological basis (Kagan, 2004; Kagan & Fox, 2006;Rothbart & others, 2000). However, researchers also agree that environmentalexperiences can modify a child’s basic temperament (Pauli-Pott & others, 2004;Rothbart & Putnam, 2002). As Kagan (2004) points out, “Temperament is notdestiny. Many experiences will affect high and low reactive infants as they grow up.Parents who encourage a more sociable, bold persona and discourage timidity willhelp their high reactive children develop a less-inhibited profile.”Because cultural attitudes affect child-rearing practices, infant temperament canalso be affected by cultural beliefs. For example, cross-cultural studies of temperamenthave found that infants in the United States generally displayed more positiveemotion than Russian or Asian infants (Gartstein & others, 2003). One explanationis that U.S. parents tend to value and encourage expressions of positive emotions,such as smiling and laughing, in their babies. In contrast, parents in other cultures,including those of Russia and many Asian countries, place a lesser emphasis on theimportance of positive emotional expression. Thus, the development of temperamentalqualities is yet another example of the complex interaction among geneticand environmental factors.Attachment: Forming Emotional BondsDuring the first year of life, the emotional bond that forms between the infantand her caregivers, especially her parents, is called attachment. As conceptualizedby attachment theorist John Bowlby (1969, 1988) and psychologist MaryD. Salter Ainsworth (1979), attachment relationships serve important functionsthroughout infancy and, indeed, the lifespan. Ideally, the parent or caregiverfunctions as a secure base for the infant, providing a sense of comfort andsecurity—a safe haven from which the infant can explore and learn about the environment.According to attachment theory, an infant’s ability to thrive physicallyand psychologically depends in large part on the quality of attachment(Ainsworth & others, 1978).In studying attachment, psychologists have typically focused on the infant’s bondwith the mother, since the mother is often the infant’s primary caregiver. Still, it’s