208 research outputs found

    Maternal Distance Versus Symbiosis and Toddler-Mother Attachment During the Second Year of Life

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    This study was undertaken to relate individual differences along a Mahler-derived dimension of maternal distance-symbiosis to Ainsworth\u27s patterns of infant-mother attachment and to assess cross-sectionally the normative appearance of Mahler\u27s subphase of rapprochement (a restoring of close relations with the mother) in the middle of the second year of life. Sixty mother-toddler pairs, 20 each at the toddler ages of 12, 18, and 24 months evenly divided by sex, were observed in the Ainsworth and Wittig laboratory Strange Situation. Toddlers were classified according to the Ainsworth system into Group A (insecurely attached/ avoidant), Group B (securely attached), and Group C (insecurely attached/resistant). Mothers were assessed by a questionnaire constructed for the study and were also classified by their Strange- Situation and interview behavior into distance-tending (D), normally- oriented (N) , and symbiosis-tending (S) groups. The questionnaire, tested earlier with 56 mothers of toddlers, contained independent scales of distancing (D), normal orientation (N), and symbiosis (S) and D subscales of anger (D^) and aversion to contact (D^v). Results revealed that a low mean on the S scale differentiated mothers of Group-A from mothers of Group-B toddlers and mothers of insecurely attached from mothers of securely attached toddlers. A high mean on the D^v subscale distinguished mothers of insecurely attached from mothers of securely attached toddlers, D from N mothers, and non-N from N mothers. Indicators of rapprochement included reliable increases with toddler age group for looking at the mother in preseparation and the first reunion as well as significant changes with age group in the same episodes for the toddler\u27s involvement of the mother in play. The values for the latter behavior peaked at 18 months, manifesting significant linear and quadratic trends. Separation crying did not change reliably with age group but was subject to an age by sex interaction in the second separation. Sex differences were suggested by this and two other interactions of age with sex on relations with the mother. Results are discussed in relation to current research in infant social development

    The development of sex-congruent preference in infancy - a longitudinal study

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    Gender schematic processing theory suggests that children will use gender knowledge about themselves and others to make 'like me' judgements about others. They will use the behaviour of 'like me' others to create appropriate 'own-sex' schemas which will guide their behaviour. The research presented here examines this main premise of gender schematic processing theory. Because gender schematic processing posits a unitary source for the development of sex-typed behaviour i.e. the development of gender cognitions, the trajectory of development is presumed to be the same for boys and girls. This assumption is also examined in this thesis. The sex-typed preference of sixty infants at 3, 9, and 18 months was studied using measures of duration of attention to simultaneously-presented male/female pictures of peers, toys, and play activities. Self-recognition (thought to be an early manifestation of self-concept) was measured by observing mirror behaviour (rouge test) and through monitoring the infants' preferential looking to their own image paired with that of a same-age, same-sex peer. The infants' gender labelling ability was assessed at eighteen months, and demographic information was collected at each session. The infants showed self-recognition on both measures at eighteen months, but their poor performance at the gender labelling task suggested that their formal understanding of gender identity had not yet developed. The infants as a group did not show sex-typed preferences for attending to peers, or play activities, although same-sex preference was found for male infants in both areas. Despite an apparent lack of gender- related cohnitions, there was a significant sex-congruent preference for toys when the group of infants was tested at eighteen months. The trajectory of development of this sex-typed behaviour was different for male and female infants suggesting that the gender schematic processing model is not adequate in its present form to predict the ontogeny of sex-typed behaviour

    Investigation into the biological perturbations of prematurity

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    Social bonding and nurture kinship: compatibility between cultural and biological approaches

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    The current thesis aims to clarify some aspects of the relationship between biology and social bonds. The central task is to demonstrate that, despite clear problems of some past approaches claiming to represent biology, there is non-reductive compatibility between the perspective from cultural approaches documenting processes of social bonding in humans and the perspective from basic biological theory. In demonstrating this compatibility, the thesis also attempts to contribute to delineating the utility and limits of applying insights from biology to understanding aspects of human social behaviour, and to sociological study in general. The areas of social bonding and social relationships under focus are mainly at the level of individuals and primary social groups, rather than a structural-functional approach often employed in classical sociology of the family and comparative sociology. The thesis initially reviews recent cultural approaches to understanding social bonding, and notes the potential academic value of a clarification of the association between social kinship and physical ('related by blood') kinship. In reviewing biological theory on social bonding and social behaviour, it is argued that classic sociobiological interpretations of this biological theory are erroneous in some crucial respects, and a different interpretation is argued for. Evidence on processes mediating social bonding in social mammals and particularly in primates is reviewed. It is demonstrated that circumstantial, social and contextual 'cues' typically mediate the formation of primary social bonds in these species, not genealogical relationship per se, and that these findings are compatible with basic sociological theory. In the human case, it is demonstrated that the current interpretation of biological theory is also compatible with established disciplines closely associated with detailing mechanisms of social bonding (such as attachment theory). The consensus here is again that social bonds are mediated by various social and contextual cues rather than genealogical relationship per se. Contemporary cultural approaches to describing processes of social bonding are investigated and found to be also compatible with the present interpretation of biological theory. With this basic compatibility demonstrated, the possible implications for analyses of patterns of social bonding in human societies is discussed. Delineating the scope of the biological perspective underlines the importance of analysing sociological and cultural influences on patterns of social bonding, including historical, economic and political factors. This is illustrated with some examples

    Problems of communication and perception = Труды по психологии. Проблемы общения и восприятия

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    • P. Tulviste. On the origins of theoretic syllogistic reasoning in culture and in the child • P. Tulviste, A.Lapp. Could Margaret Mead's methods reveal animism in Manus children? A partial replication study in an European culture • T. Bасhmann. Cognitive contours: Overview and a preliminary theory • T. Bаchmann. Visual search and selective adaptation • J. Allik, M. Tepp. Spontaneous movement perception: Precision of the temporal discrimination depends on spatial separation. • M. Rauk, A. Luuk. Perceived visual direction of the brief test-flashes on the horizontal scale. • V.I. Кushpil, J. Allik, Yu.V. Alekseev, E.K. Veselоva, L.F. Petгоva, V.P. Smirnоv. Regularities of visual search in complex field • J. Valsiner, A. Tamm. Mother-infant interaction: A longitudinal study of behavioural interrelations • J. Valsiner, I. Tago, V. Lооlaid, K. Hauk. Maternal subjective culture: An experimental study of the post-partum cognitive phenomena • M. Kоtik. A method of diagnostics of a person's attitude towards an alarming event • П. Тульвисте. Опроисхождении теоретического силлогистического мышления в культуре и у ребенка (Резюме ) • П. Тульенсте, А. Лапп. Могли ли методики Маргарет Мид обнаружить анимистическое мышление у Мануских детей? Частичное повторное • Т. Бахман. Когнитивные контуры: Обзор и предварительная теория. (Резше) • Т. Бахман. Зрительный поиск и селективная адаптация. (Резюме) • D. Аялик, М. Тепп. Спонтанное восприятие движения: Точность временного различения зависит от пространственной удаленности. (Резюме) • М. Раук, А. Луук. Воспринятое направление кратковременных тестовых вспышек на горизонтальной шкале. (Резюме) • В. И. Кушпиль, Ю.К. Аллик, Ю.В. Алексеев, Е.К. Веселова , Л.Ф. Петрова, В.П. Смирнов. Закономерности зрительного поиска на слож • Я. Вальсинер, А. Тамм. Взаимодействие матери и ребенка: Лонгитудинальное исследование взаимосвязей в поведении. (Резюме ) • Я. Вальсинер, И. Таго, В. Лоолайд, К. Xаук . Материнская субъективная культура- Экспериментальное изучение послеродовых когнит (Резюме) • М. Котик. Метод диагностики отношения человека тревожной ситуации. (Резюме) • Contents. Содержаниеhttp://tartu.ester.ee/record=b1222889~S1*es

    Appalachia\u27s Children: The Challenge of Mental Health

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    This thoughtful, compassionate book makes a major contribution to our understanding of the Southern Appalachian child—his mental disorders and his adaptive strengths. Drawing upon his extensive fieldwork as a clinical child psychiatrist in Eastern Kentucky, Dr. Looff suggests means by which these children can be helped to bridge the gap between their subculture and the mainstream of American life today. The children described in this book, the author points out, are in a real sense not “all children.” Since no child grows up in a vacuum, the children of Eastern Kentucky cannot be understood apart from the historical, geographic, and socioeconomic characteristics of the area in which they grow. Knowledge of the children requires some knowledge of the lives of parent, teachers, and the many others upon whom they are dependent. That is to say, mental disorder—or mental health—is embedded in a social matrix. Dr. Looff therefore examines the milieu of these Southern Appalachian children, their future as adults, and how they can achieve their potential—whether in their native or an urban setting. In viewing the children within their own cultural framework, Dr. Looff shows how they develop toward mental health or psychopathology, suggesting supportive techniques that build upon the strengths inherent in each child. These strengths, he suggests, rise out of the same culture that burdens the child with handicaps. Dr. Looff’s position is one of guarded optimism, based on the successes of the techniques he has used and observed in seven years of work in Appalachian field clinics. Although he details instances of mental disorder in children, and instances of failure in family functioning, he notes at the same time family strengths and sees these strengths as sources of hope. Although this book is based on fieldwork techniques within a specific area and culture, it is paradigmatically suggestive of wider application. Dr. Looff demonstrates effectively and clearly the profound need for increased concern about what is happening to the rising generation—the children of Eastern Kentucky, the children of the Southern Appalachian region, and the children of the rural south. David H. Looff, a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, is an associate professor of child psychiatry at the University of Kentucky.https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_psychology/1000/thumbnail.jp

    Empathy and ego development: Foray in the development of affectivity

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    Parental support of cognitive development in infancy

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    This study examines the nature of parental involvement in the infants' play with objects (toys) and the effectiveness of the various forms of the parent's (mother's) intervention on the infant's cognitive growth. Assessment of the levels of the infants' cognitive competence were obtained through the administration of the Uzgiria and Hunt's "Infants Psychological Development Scales" which provided a formal measure of performance in various tasks that are related to specific areas of sensorimotor intelligence. Videotapes of 15-minute mother-infant play sessions in their homes, involving 6-, 9-, 12- and 15-month-old infants were quantified in terms of maternal and infant categories of behaviour that described variations in the involvement and complexity of the mothers' participation and the cognitive and social components of the infants' orientation to toys in an interpersonal context. Besides this cross-sectional method of data- collection, for each group, a quasi-longitudinal approach was adopted to trace the developmental changes of interpersonal play with objects across a period of three months. Analyses of maternal categories revealed quantitative and qualitative changes in maternal style of interaction as a function of the infant's age, as well as his level of cognitive abilities -relative to age peers. Mothers of 6-manth-olds were different from the mothers in the other groups in that they directed their infants' play into specific channels to an equal extent as their passive participation in the infants' spontaneous manipulative acts. All the other mothers adopted this latter 'enhancing' role to a greater extent than the former 'modifying' one. All mothers engaged in very little structured 'teaching' and very little 'assistance' of their infants. Analysis of the infants' data showed definite developmental changes in all forms of infants' orientation to objects in an interpersonal context. Cooperative play became noticeably more frequent and was more often infant-initiated after age 15 months. Rejection of play with the mother and lack of concentration on the play-task was characteristic of the 9-12 month-old infants. From the data, three conclusions were derived with respect to parental support and its effectiveness. Firstly, parents encourage autonomy and spontaneity in the infant since they 'enhance interaction' with the toys more than they 'modify' it. 'Modifying' is situation-specific in the sense that it increased when the infants' spontaneous manipulations were relatively infrequent, or when they were characterised by a low-level of cognitive complexity, or when the infant was less advanced than his peers on the sensorimotor intelligence scales. However, with age increases the mothers increased their demands from the infants by initiating more tasks for them to reciprocate. The second conclusion is that when the mothers 'modify' interaction they time their activities in accordance with the infants' ongoing behaviour thereby encouraging the infants' attention to the mother and increasing the likelihood of achieving the goal set by her. The third conclusion relates to the effectiveness of parental intervention. Infants whose age was above 9 months seemed to be more dependent on, and more affected by, their mothers' directive intervention. These findings are discussed in terms of the implication for child- rearing practices and pre-school education
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