Chapter 6:

Emotional and Social Development during the First Two Years

 Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
Erikson’s Stage Needed from Caregivers

• Responsiveness
Basic trust vs. mistrust
• Sympathetic, loving balance of
(first year)
care

• Suitable guidance and

Autonomy vs. shame and doubt reasonable choices
(second year) • Reasonable expectations for
impulse control
 Early Emotions
• Smile: from birth
Happiness • Social smile: 6–10 weeks
• Laughter: 3–4 months

• General distress: from birth

Anger and • Angry expressions: 4–6 months
sadness • Sadness: response to disrupted caregiver–infant
communication

• First fears: 6 months, keeps exploration in check;

Fear caregiver as secure base
• Stranger anxiety: most frequent expression of fear

Self • Guilt, shame, embarrassment, pride, envy: 18-24

Conscious months
Emotions • Require self-awareness
Image by Dustin Iskandar is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
 Temperament
• Temperament: Early-appearing, stable individual
differences in reactivity and self-regulation
Thomas & Chess
• Easy children (40%) have regular routines, are cheerful and
adaptable
• Difficult children (10%) are irregular in routines, reacts
negatively to change/new experiences
• Slow-to-warm-up children (15%) are generally mild, slow
to accept new experiences
Rothbart *Goodness of fit
• Reactivity (attention, activity, distress, positive affect)
• Self-Regulation/Effortful Control
 Attachment
• *Erikson - trust versus mistrust.
• Sensitive caregiving critical for attachment bond, synchrony
• Preattachment (birth – 6 wk)
• “Attachment in the making” (6 wk – 6-8 mo)
• “Clear cut” Attachment (6-8 mo – 18-24 mo), *separation anxiety/*stranger anxiety
• Reciprocal Relationship (18-24 mo +)
Attachment Pattern
Child’s behavior
Secure Upset when the caregiver leaves; happy when the
caregiver returns. Caregiver is secure base
• Strange Situation Avoidant Unaffected when the caregiver leaves; deliberately turn
away when caregiver returns
Ambivalent Hovers around the caregiver; angry when the caregiver
returns, not comforted when caregiver returns
Disorganized Contradictory responses; confused and afraid
 Self-Development
Self-concept - our image of ourselves,
our abilities and traits.
Self-awareness – develops 18 and 24
months
*Erikson - Autonomy versus shame and
doubt
Shift from external to self-control, self-
regulation
Leads to empathy, but also “toddler
negativism”
Image by Jen SFO-BCN is licensed under CC BY 2.0.