7.4 Theories of Infant Psychosocial Development

Consider again the theories discussed in Chapter 2. As you will see, theories lead to insight and applications that are relevant for the final topic of this chapter, infant day care.

Psychoanalytic Theory

Psychoanalytic theory connects biosocial and psychosocial development. Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson each described two distinct stages of early development, one in the first year and one beginning in the second.

According to Freud (1935, 1940/1964) the first year of life is the oral stage, so named because the mouth is the young infant’s primary source of gratification. In the second year, with the anal stage, pleasure comes from the anus—particularly from the sensual satisfaction of bowel movements and, eventually, the psychological pleasure of controlling them.

Freud believed that the oral and anal stages are fraught with potential conflicts. If a mother frustrates her infant’s urge to suck—weaning too early or too late, for example, or preventing the baby from sucking a thumb or a pacifier—that may later lead to an oral fixation. Such a person is stuck (fixated) at the oral stage, and therefore, as an adult, he or she eats, drinks, chews, bites, or talks excessively, still seeking the mouth-related pleasures of infancy.

All Together Now Toddlers in an employees’ day-care program at a flower farm in Colombia learn to use the potty on a schedule. Will this experience lead to later personality problems? Probably not.

REUTERS/JOSE MIGUEL GOMEZ/LANDOV

Similarly, if toilet training is overly strict or if it begins before the infant is mature enough, then the toddler’s refusal—or inability—to comply will clash with the wishes of the adult, who denies the infant normal anal pleasures. That may lead to an anal personality—an adult who seeks self-control, with an unusually strong need for regularity and cleanliness in all aspects of life. [Lifespan Link: Theory of toilet training was discussed in Chapter 2.]

According to Erikson, the first crisis of life is trust versus mistrust, when infants learn whether or not the world can be trusted to satisfy basic needs. Babies feel secure when food and comfort are provided with “consistency, continuity, and sameness of experience” (Erikson, 1963, p. 247). If social interaction inspires trust, the child (later the adult) confidently explores the social world.

The second crisis is autonomy versus shame and doubt, beginning at about 18 months, when self-awareness emerges. Toddlers want autonomy (self-rule) over their own actions and bodies. Without it, they feel ashamed and doubtful. Like Freud, Erikson believed that problems in early infancy could last a lifetime, creating adults who are suspicious and pessimistic (mistrusting) or easily shamed (lacking autonomy).

Erikson was aware of cultural variations. He knew that mistrust and shame could be destructive or not, depending on local norms and expectations. Westerners expect toddlers to go through the stubborn and defiant “terrible twos”; that is a sign of the urge for autonomy. Parents elsewhere expect toddlers to be docile and obedient, and “shame is a normative emotion that develops as parents use explicit shaming techniques” to encourage children’s loyalty and harmony within their families (Mascolo et al., 2003, p. 402).

Behaviorism

From the perspective of behaviorism, emotions and personality are molded as parents reinforce or punish a child. Behaviorists believe that parents who respond joyously to every glimmer of a grin will have children with a sunny disposition. The opposite is also true:

Later behaviorists recognized that infants’ behavior also has an element of social learning, as infants learn from other people. Albert Bandura conducted a famous experiment (Bandura, 1977) in which young children were frustrated by being told they could not play with some attractive toys. They were then left alone with a mallet and a rubber clown (Bobo) after seeing an adult hit Bobo. Both boys and girls pounded and kicked Bobo as the adult had done, indicating that they had learned from observation.

Hammering Bobo These images are stills from the film of Bandura’s original study of social learning, in which frustrated 4-year-olds imitated the behavior they had observed an adult perform. The children used the same weapon as the adult, with the same intent—whether that involved hitting the doll with a hammer, shooting it with a toy gun, or throwing a large ball at it.

COPYRIGHT ALBERT BANDURA

Since that experiment, developmentalists have demonstrated that social learning occurs throughout life (Morris et al., 2007; Rendell et al., 2011). Toddlers express emotions in various ways—from giggling to cursing—just as their parents or older siblings do.

For example, a boy might develop a hot temper if his father’s outbursts seem to win his mother’s respect; a girl might be coy, or passive-aggressive, if that is what she has seen at home. These examples are deliberately sexist: gender roles, in particular, are learned, according to social learning.

Parents often unwittingly encourage certain traits in their children. This is evident in the effects of proximal versus distal parenting, explained below.

OPPOSING PERSPECTIVES

Proximal and Distal Parenting

Should parents carry infants most of the time, or will that spoil them? Should babies have many toys, or will that make them too materialistic?

proximal parenting Caregiving practices that involve being physically close to the baby, with frequent holding and touching.

distal parenting Caregiving practices that involve remaining distant from the baby, providing toys, food, and face-to-face communication with minimal holding and touching.

Answers to these questions refer to the distinction between proximal parenting (being physically close to a baby, often holding and touching) and distal parenting (keeping some distance—providing toys, encouraging self-feeding, talking face to face instead of communicating by touch). Caregivers tend to behave in proximal or distal ways very early, when infants are only 2 months old (Kärtner et al., 2010). The cultural patterns that push parents to be proximal or distal also illustrate the importance of social learning—parents learn what to do with babies, and then the babies learn what their culture teaches.

The research finds notable variation in parenting approach (Keller et al., 2010). For example, in a longitudinal study (H. Keller et al., 2004) comparing child-rearing methods of the Nso people of Cameroon with those of Greeks in Athens, 78 mothers were videotaped playing with their 3-month-olds. Coders (who did not know the study’s hypothesis) counted frequency of proximal play (e.g., carrying, swinging, caressing, exercising the child’s body) and distal play (e.g., face-to-face talking) (see Table 7.3). The Nso mothers were proximal, holding their babies all the time and almost never using toys or bottles. The Greek mothers were more distal.

Especially for Statisticians Note the sizes of the samples: 78 mother–infant pairs in Cameroon and Greece. Are these samples large enough to draw conclusions?

Response for Statisticians: Probably not. These studies are reported here because the results were dramatic (see Table 73) and because the two studies pointed in the same direction. Nevertheless, replication by other researchers is needed.

Table : TABLE 7.3Infants in Rural Cameroon and Urban Greece

	Cameroon	Athens, Greece
I. Infant-mother play at 3 months
Percent of time held by mother	100%	31%
Percent of time playing with objects	3%	40%
II. Toddler behavior at 18 months
Self-recognition	3%	68%
Immediate compliance with request	72%	2%
Source: Adapted from Keller et al., 2004.

The researchers hypothesized that proximal parenting would result in toddlers who were less self-aware but more compliant—traits needed in an interdependent and cooperative society such as that of rural Cameroon. By contrast, distal parenting might produce children who were aware of their personal uniqueness but less obedient, as needed in cultures that value independence.

202

Especially for Pediatricians A mother complains that her toddler refuses to stay in the car seat, spits out disliked foods, and almost never does what she says. How should you respond?

Response for Pediatricians: Consider the origins of the misbehavior—probably a combination of the child’s inborn temperament and the mother’s distal parenting. Acceptance and consistent responses (e.g. avoiding disliked foods but always using the car seat) is more warranted than anger. Perhaps this mother is expressing hostility toward the child—a sign that intervention may be needed. Find out.

Her Personal Best How much time do you think the baby in the stroller spends cradled by his mother, with her sunglasses off, no words, just an expression of silent bliss?

TOM PRETTYMAN/PHOTO EDIT

The predictions were accurate. At 18 months, these same infants were tested on self-awareness (via the mirror/rouge test) and obedience to their parents. The average African toddler (proximal) didn’t recognize him- or herself in the mirror but were compliant; the opposite was true of the Greek toddlers (distal).

The researchers then reanalyzed all their data, child by child. They found that, even apart from culture, proximal or distal play at 3 months was highly predictive: Greek mothers who, unlike most of their peers, were proximal parents had more obedient toddlers. Further research in other nations confirmed these conclusions (Borke et al., 2007; Kärtner et al., 2011).

Cultural attitudes shape every aspect of infant care. Is independence valued over dependence? Is autonomy more important than compliance? Cultures differ because values differ. If toddlers are asked to put away toys that they did not use (a task measuring compliance), and they do so without protest, is that wonderful or disturbing?

Should you pick up your crying baby (proximal) or give her a pacifier (distal)? Should you breast-feed until age 2 or longer (proximal) or switch to bottle-feeding before 6 months (distal)? Of course, as detailed in Appendix A, many factors influence parental actions, and breast-feeding is only one example of parental behavior. But every parental response is influenced by whatever assumptions the culture holds.

Cognitive Theory

Cognitive theory holds that ideas, concepts and assumptions determine a person’s perspective. Early experiences are important because beliefs, perceptions, and memories make them so, not because they are buried in the unconscious (psychoanalytic theory) or burned into the brain’s patterns (behaviorism).

According to many cognitive theorists, early experiences help infants develop a working model, which is a set of assumptions that become a frame of reference for later life (Johnson et al., 2010). It is a “model” because early relationships form a prototype, or blueprint; it is “working” because, although it is used, it is not necessarily fixed or final.

Ideally, infants develop “a working model of the self as valued, loved, and competent” and “a working model of parents as emotionally available, loving, sensitive and supportive” (Harter, 2006, p. 519). However, reality does not always conform to this ideal. A 1-year-old girl might develop a model, based on her parents’ inconsistent responses to her, that people are unpredictable. She will continue to apply that model to everyone: Her childhood friendships will be insecure, and her adult relationships will be guarded.

The crucial idea, according to cognitive theory, is that an infant’s early experiences themselves are not necessarily pivotal, but the interpretation of those experiences is (Olson & Dweck, 2009). Children may misinterpret their experiences, or parents may offer inaccurate explanations, and these form ideas that affect later thinking and behavior.

In this way, working models formed in childhood echo lifelong. A hopeful message from cognitive theory is that people can rethink and reorganize their thoughts, developing new models. Our mistrustful girl might marry a faithful and loving man and gradually develop a new working model.

Humanism

Remember from Chapter 2 that Maslow described a hierarchy of needs (physiological, safety/security, love/belonging, success/esteem, and self-actualization), with the lower levels being prerequisites for higher ones. Infants begin at the first level: Their emotions serve to ensure that physiological needs are met. That’s why babies cry when they are hungry or hurt, as adults usually do not. Basic survival needs must be satisfied to enable the person to reach higher levels (Silton et al., 2011).

Humanism reminds us that caregivers also have needs and that their needs influence how they respond to infants. Self-actualized people (level 5) no longer demand their children’s love and respect, so they can guide an infant well even if the child is momentarily angry (as when getting the child immunized). But most young parents are at level 3 or 4, seeking love or respect. They may be troubled by “ghosts in the nursery” (first mentioned in Chapter 5 in the discussion of infant sleep). Their own babyhood experiences includes unmet needs, and their early distress interferes with their ability to nurture the next generation.

For example, while all experts endorse breast-feeding as the best way to meet infants’ physiological needs, many mothers quit breast-feeding after trying for a few days, and many fathers feel excluded if the mother spends most of her time and attention on nursing. This may puzzle the experts but not the humanist theorists, who realize that a parent’s needs may clash with the infant’s needs (Mulder & Johnson, 2010).

For example, one mother of a 1-year-old said:

This woman’s need for self-respect was overwhelming, causing her to stop breast-feeding in order to feel some confidence about her shape. Neither her husband’s love of her body nor her son’s need for breast milk helped because she was not past level 3 (love and belonging). Her “strange” body attacked her self-esteem (level 4).

Her personal needs may have been unmet since puberty (she says, “I’ve never loved my breasts”). She blames her husband for not understanding her feelings and her son who “couldn’t latch.” Since all babies learn to latch with time and help, this woman’s saying that her son couldn’t latch suggests something amiss in synchrony and attachment—unmet baby needs because of unmet mother needs.

By contrast, some parents understand their baby’s need for safety and security (level 2) even if they themselves are far beyond that stage. Kevin is an example.

Evolutionary Theory

Remember that evolutionary theory stresses two needs: survival and reproduction. Human brains are extraordinarily adept at those tasks. However, it takes about 20 years of maturation before the human brain is fully functioning. A child must be nourished, protected, and taught by adults much longer than offspring of any other species. Infant and parent emotions ensure this lengthy protection (Hrdy, 2009).

Infant emotions are part of the evolutionary mandate. All the reactions described in the first part of this chapter—from the hunger cry to the temper tantrum—can be seen from this perspective (Konner, 2010).

For example, newborns are extraordinarily dependent, unable to walk or talk or even sit up and feed themselves for months after birth. They must attract adult devotion—and they do. That first smile, the sound of infant laughter, and their role in synchrony are all powerfully attractive to adults—especially to parents.

Adults call their hairless, chinless, round-faced, small-limbed creatures “cute,” “handsome,” “beautiful,” “adorable,” and willingly spend hours carrying, feeding, changing, and cleaning them. Adaptation is evident: Men have the genetic potential to be caregivers, and grandparents have done it before, but specific survival demands dictate adaptation of such potential, turning busy adults into devoted caregivers.

If humans were motivated merely by financial reward, no one would have children. Yet evolution has created adults who find parenting worth every sacrifice. The costs are substantial: food (even breast milk requires the mother to eat more), diapers, clothes, furniture, medical bills, toys, and child care (whether paid or unpaid) are just a start. Before a child becomes independent, many parents have paid for a bigger home, for education, for vacations, and much more. These are just the financial costs; the emotional costs are even greater.

Reproductive nurturance depends on years of self-sacrificing investment, and humans have evolved to provide it. Hormones—specifically, oxytocin—do much more than trigger birth and promote breast-feeding; they increase the impulse to bond with others, especially one’s children. Both men and women have oxytocin in their blood and saliva, and this hormone continues to be produced as needed for caregiving (Feldman et al., 2011).

Evolutionary theory holds that, over human history, attachment, with proximity-seeking and contact-maintaining, promoted species survival by keeping toddlers near their caregivers and keeping caregivers vigilant. Infants fuss at still faces, they fear separation, and they laugh when adults play with them, all to sustain parent—child interdependence. We inherited these emotional reactions from our great-great-…grandparents, who would have died without them.

As explained in Chapter 4, human bonding is unlike that of goats and sheep—a mother does not need to nuzzle her newborn immediately. Bonding followed by synchrony and then attachment are greater and more durable for humans than for other animals. Toddlers attend to adult expressions (social referencing) to establish the relationships between self and others.

Evolutionary social scientists note that if mothers were the exclusive caregivers of each child until children were adults, a given woman could rear only one or two offspring—not enough for the species to survive. Instead, before the introduction of reliable birth control, the average interval between births for humans was two to four years. Humans birth children at relatively short intervals and raise them successfully because of allocare—the care of children by people other than the biological parents (Hrdy, 2009). Allocare is essential for Homo sapiens survival.

Compared with many other species, human mothers have evolved to let other people help with child care, and other people are usually eager to do so (Kachel et al., 2011). Throughout the centuries, the particular person to provide allocare has varied by culture and ecological conditions.

Often fathers helped but not always: Some men were far away, fighting, hunting, or seeking work; some had several wives and a dozen or more children. In those situations, other women (daughters, grandmothers, sisters, friends) and sometimes other men provided allocare (Hrdy, 2009).

Infant Day Care

Same Situation, Far Apart: Safekeeping Historically, grandmothers were sometimes crucial for child survival. Now, even though medical care has reduced child mortality, grandmothers still do their part to keep children safe, as shown by these two—in the eastern United States (top) and western China (bottom).

FABRICE TROMBERT PHOTOGRAPHY, INC./GETTY IMAGES
TOM SALYER/STOCK CONNECTION WORLDWIDE/NEWSCOM

Cultural variations in allocare are vast, and each theory just described can be used to justify or criticize certain variations. This makes infant day care a controversial topic. No theory directly endorses any particular position. Nonetheless, theories are made to be useful, so we will include some discussion about the day-care implications of various theories.

It is estimated that about 134 million babies will be born each year from 2010 to 2021 (United Nations, 2013). Most newborns will be cared for primarily or exclusively by their mothers, and then allocare will increase as the baby gets older. Fathers and grandmothers are usually the first nonmaternal caregivers; only about 15 percent of infants (birth to age 2) receive daily care from a nonrelative who is paid and trained to provide it.

Statistics on the precise incidence and consequences of various forms of infant care in each nation are difficult to find or interpret because “informal in-family arrangements speak to the ingenuity of parents trying to cope but bedevil child care statistics” (Leach, 2009, p. 44). Furthermore, patterns of infant care are part of a complex web of child rearing: It is difficult to connect any one particular pattern with one particular outcome.

Many people believe that the practices of their own family or culture are best and that other patterns harm either the infant or the mother. This is another example of the difference-equals-deficit error. Without evidence, assumptions flourish.

Center-based infant care is common in France, Israel, China, and Sweden, where it is heavily subsidized by the governments, and scarce in South Asia, Africa, and Latin America, where it is not. North America is in between these extremes, but variations from place to place are apparent. No matter where center day care is located, though, there are certain factors that indicate a high-quality day-care environment (see Table 7.4).

Involvement of relatives also varies. Worldwide, fathers increasingly take part in baby care. Most nations provide some paid leave for mothers; some also provide paid leave for fathers; and several nations provide paid family leave that can be taken by either parent or shared between them. The length of paid leave varies from a few days to about 15 months (see Figure 7.3).

A Changing World No one was offered maternity leave a century ago because the only jobs that mothers had were unregulated ones. Now, virtually every nation has a maternity leave policy, revised every decade or so. As of 2012 only Australia, Iceland, and Canada offered policies reflecting gender equality. That may be the next innovation in many nations.

Source: ILO Database on Conditions of Work and Employment Laws, 2011.
Note: In some cases, leave can be shared between parents or other family members.

When all the developed nations are considered, the United States is one of the few without paid leave. Note, however, practices do not necessarily align with policies. In many nations, parents have unregulated employment and take off only a day or two for birth, although national policy is more generous. The reverse is also true: some fathers and mothers hesitate to take allowed parental leave, because it may undercut their advancement.

Underlying every national policy and private practices are theories about what is best for infants. When nations mandate paid leave, the belief is that infants need maternal care and that employers should encourage such care to occur.

In the United States, marked variations are apparent by state and by employer, with some employers far more generous than the law requires. Federal policy mandates that a job be held for a parent who takes unpaid leave of up to 12 weeks unless the company has fewer than 50 employees. Almost no company pays for paternal leave, with one exception: The U.S. military allows 10 days of paid leave for fathers.

Same Situation, Far Apart: Instead of Mothers Casper, Wyoming (left), is on the opposite side of the earth from Dhaka, Bangladesh (right), but day care is needed in both places, as shown here.

AP PHOTO/STAR-TRIBUNE, SARAH BETH BARNETT
© DOLI AKTER/AGE FOTOSTOCK

In the United States, only 20 percent of infants are cared for exclusively by their mothers (i.e., no other relatives or babysitters are involved in baby care) throughout their first year. This is in contrast to Canada, which is similar to the United States in ethnic diversity but has lower rates of maternal employment: in the first year of life, 60 percent of Canadians are cared for only by their mothers (Babchishin, et al., 2013). Obviously, these differences are affected by culture more than by the universal psychosocial needs of babies and parents. Changes occur through economic and political pressures—which means that data on infant care in 2015 will differ from the numbers reported here.

One might hope that centuries of maternal care, paternal care, and allocare would provide clear conclusions about the best practices. Unfortunately, the evidence is mixed. In most nations and centuries, infants were more likely to survive if their grandmothers were nearby, especially during the time immediately after weaning (Sear & Mace, 2008). This is thought to have been because the grandmothers provided essential nourishment and protection.

However, in at least one community (northern Germany, 1720–1874), having a living grandmother, especially a paternal grandmother, had a negative effect on infant survival (Beise & Voland, 2002). The authors speculate that living with mothers-in-law (which was the norm) increased the stress on pregnant daughters-in-law and diminished expectant fathers’ protective devotion, which led to more frequent preterm births.

Evidence on the effects of early nonmaternal care suggests that national policies, cultural expectations, and family income are at least as significant as the actual hours in care and who provides it (Côté et al., 2013; Solheim et al., 2013).

No matter what form of care is chosen or what theory is endorsed, responsive, individualized care with stable caregivers seems best (Morrissey, 2009). Caregiver change is especially problematic for infants because each simple gesture or sound that a baby makes not only merits an encouraging response but also requires interpretation by someone who knows that particular baby well.

For example, “baba” could mean bottle, baby, blanket, banana, or some other word that does not even begin with b. This example is an easy one, but similar communication efforts—requiring individualized emotional responses—are evident throughout infancy. If you have any doubts, remember the importance of synchrony and the troubled lives of the Romanian orphans who received excellent care after adoption but not in their first year.

Some babies seem far more affected than others by the quality of their care (Phillips et al., 2011; Pluess & Belsky, 2009). In fact, if the home environment is poor—neglectful, hostile, unresponsive—then day care may be an improvement. The main concern is that some infants with extensive nonmaternal care will become more aggressive and hyperactive later on (Jacob, 2009; Babchishin et al., 2013). This seems particularly likely for unregulated care (i.e., care with no requirements as to infant-caregiver ratio and teacher training).

As one review explained: “This evidence now indicates that early nonparental care environments sometimes pose risks to young children and sometimes confer benefits” (Phillips et al., 2011). Differential sensitivity is evident: For genetic and familial reasons, the choice about how best to provide care for an infant varies from case to case.

Closely tied to the issue of infant day care is the issue of maternal employment. Until recent history it was assumed that mothers should stay home with their children. That is the recommendation of both psychoanalytic and behaviorist theory. That assumption has been challenged, partly by the idea that mothers have needs that merit attention (humanism) and by historical evidence that allocare was typical over the centuries (evolutionary theory).

A summary of the longitudinal outcomes of nonmaternal infant care finds “externalizing behavior is predicted from a constellation of variables in multiple contexts…and no study has found that children of employed mothers develop serious emotional or other problems solely because their mothers are working outside the home” (McCartney et al., 2010, pp. 1, 16).

Indeed, research from the United States indicates that children generally benefit if their mothers are employed (Goldberg et al., 2008). The most likely reasons are that maternal income reduces parental depression and increases family wealth, both of which correlate with happier and more successful children.

That is a comforting conclusion for employed mothers, but again, other interpretations are possible. It may be that the women who were able to find worthwhile work were also more capable of providing good infant care than women who were unemployed.

Marital relationships benefit from shared activities, so couples who rarely spend time together are likely to be less dedicated to each other. Sharing child care—with both partners together playing with the baby—seems to benefit all three; husbands who are active and involved fathers tend also to be devoted to their wives. Father involvement correlates with child happiness and success. The opposite is also true.

As you see, every study reflects many variables, just as every theory has a different perspective on infant care. Given that, and given divergent cultural assumptions, it is not surprising that researchers find mixed evidence on infant care and caregivers. Many factors are relevant: infant gender and temperament, family income and education, and especially the quality of care at home and elsewhere.

Thus, as is true of many topics in child development, questions remain. But one fact is without question: Each infant needs personal responsiveness—ideally from both mother and father, but another relative or even a nonrelative can suffice. Someone should serve as a partner in the synchrony duet, a base for secure attachment, and a social reference who encourages exploration. Then infant emotions and experiences—cries and laughter, fears and joys—will ensure that psychosocial development goes well.