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How do cultural influences impact the development of personality
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During this week’s readings in the Handbook of Attachment, chapter 10 discussed the similarities and differences between attachment theory and temperament theory. The distinguishing difference is attachment is a basic human need for a close and intimate relationships between infants and their caregivers and how these relationships play a key role in overall development. Whereas, temperament theory addresses the individual differences in action styles, reactivity and regulation. These temperament dimensions are the core aspects of personality and are the results of dealings with the social environment not interactions and relationships developed with others. Knowing the differences between the two, I wanted to know how does culture effect temperament and attachment. Introduction It is our earliest interactions and connections that become a significant part of our lives, and that the internal working models that guide us through future relationships. Establishing attachment with caregivers is essential to …show more content…
What I took away from it is that attachment theory is the gradual gathering of the attachment relationship between a child and their caregiver over the first few years of their life- can will set the tone for the rest of their life. Whereas, temperament involves adaptions to reactivity or changes in stimulation and self-regulation- how one responds to various environmental demands. Temperament is determined by set points with in every child and are different from child to child. When you add culture to attachment and temperament, you can see the influence that it can play on the various outcomes of the child’s development of social-emotional skills, brain development, self-regulation skills, empathy development, and overall effect on general development as
Relationships are the building block for personality and are significant in children’s ability to grow into substantial individuals who can thrive in an often harsh world. Constructing lasting and fulfilling relationships is an integral part to development as the interpersonal bonds forged are not only highly sought after but also set the ground work for all upcoming expressive interactions. Relationships and attachment go hand in hand as attachment is the strong and lasting linkage established between a child and his or her caregiver. Moreover, attachment significantly influences a large capacity of ones make up as it these first relationships that teaches morals, builds self-esteem, and develops a support system. The pioneers of Attachment Theory realized early on that human beings are not solely influenced by drives but that the earliest bonds formed by children with their caregivers greatly impact their ability to forge lasting relationships later in life. John Bowlby was first to introduce this theory to the masses in the 1950’s, and later Mary Ainsworth conducted further research to expand on Bowlby’s theory which proclaims that attachment is a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings” (Bowlby, 1969, p. 194). The attachment bond theory by both Bowlby and Ainsworth focuses on the significance of the relationship between babies and their caretakers which research has suggested is accountable for influencing impending interactions, firming or injuring our capabilities to concentrate, being aware of our emotional states, self-soothing capabilities, and the capacity to be resilient in the face of hardship. Additionally, this research has provided a framework for assisting in describing these att...
The controversy in the relationship of infancies’ temperaments and maternal attachments are still debatable between temperament and attachment theorists down to our present day (De Wolff & Ijzendoorn, 1997). Temperament is termed as early projections of stable individual variations involving self regulation and reactivity that encompasses behaviors, emotions and attention (Boom, 1994). Attachment, on the other hand, is commonly known as having a bond that allows us to be comfortable with special people in our lives (Berk, 2006). According to Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess (1977), their research showed that the infant’s temperament is of intrinsic nature and how the process in developing of the child-adult interactions ultimately affects their attachment status (Coffman, Levitt, & Guacci-Franco, 1995). In addition, attachment theorists like Mary Ainsworth (1978) and John Bowlby (1969), however, suggested that maternal sensitivity and responsiveness from the caregiver mantles the infant’s temperament that is the determinant of attachment (Coffman et al., 1995). In this essay, considering the above mentioned, the essay will explore whether the antecedents on attachment are based on goodness of fit that consist of the infant’s in-born temperament and maternal perception caused by parenting style, or that it lies mainly from maternal sensitivity to the infant, and lastly, the association between infant’s temperament and maternal sensitivity and responsiveness.
Attachment theory could be considered one of the most important aspects of how we develop starting out as an infant. In the article “Can Attachment Theory Explain All Our Relationships” By: Bethany Saltman, she explains to us her personal experience and struggles raising her daughter, and her experience as a child and her own attachment. There are three types of attachment types, secure, avoidant, and resistant and the trouble with today is that only 60% of people are considered “secure”. There also subgroups that are called disorganization. Attachment will often pass generation to generation, so it is likely that if someone has an insecure attachment because of the way they were raised they will struggle to create a secure attachment for their own children. Although it can be reversed and changed with the
David Berkowitz, otherwise known as the “Son of Sam”, was notorious for his crimes committed between 1976 and 1977 that ended the lives of six innocent victims and wounded several others in New York (“David Berkowitz Biography”, n.d.). At first, police did not make a connection between the murders because there was nothing unusual about them; all the victims were shot with a 40 caliber gun, not fairly unusual during this time or place especially since the killings were over an extended period of time. Police finally made the connection when Berkowitz began to live behind notes that were meant to tantalize authorities since they had yet to catch him (“David Berkowitz| Son of Sam Killer,” 2015). Often times, the psychological structure of a human
There are also cultural differences in the four attachment theories and this is possibly based on different countries where infants are either separated more or less from their caregivers than in the United States (Broderick, P., & Blewitt, P., 2015). However, it is good to know that maternal sensitivity and attachment security has been successfully replicated across cultures so it seems as though with infancy that there are not too many cultural differences when it comes to these relationships (Broderick, P., & Blewitt, P., 2015). What needs to be kept in mind about cultural differences is the differences in context across cultures and how different meanings and connects can be
The attachment theory, presented by Mary Ainsworth in 1969 and emerged by John Bowlby suggests that the human infant has a need for a relationship with an adult caregiver, and without a subsequent, development can be negatively impacted (Hammonds 2012). Ainsworth proposes that the type of relationship and “attachment” an infant has with the caregiver, can impact the social development of the infant. As stated by Hammonds (2012), attachment between a mother and a child can have a great impact on the child 's future mental
Criticisms of attachment theory have come mainly from the feminist schools of thought since the theory has been used to argue that no woman with a young child should work outside the home or spend time away from her baby (Goodsell and Meldrum, 2010). Children’s experience and development also depend on what happens after early years, whether bad or good later in life may change a child’s emotional development, e.g. lack of basic needs, diet, education, stimulation such as play might affect a child’s development (Rutter, 1981). Differences in cultures have to be taken into consideration as well. A study by Schaffer and Emmerson (1964) provided contradictory evidence for Bowlby’s attachment theory. They noted attachment was more prominent at eight months, and afterwards children became attached to more than one person.
The first topic that came up in the interview relates to idea of attachment theory. Attachment theory explains the human’s way of relating to a caregiver and receives an attachment figures relating to the parent, and children. In addition, the concept explains the confidence and ability for a child to free explore their environment with a place to seek support, protection, and comfort in times of distress (Levy, Ellison, Scott, and Bernecker, 2010, p. 193). Within attachment theory explains different types of attachment styles that children experience during early childhood. These attachment styles affect the relationships they continue to build in adulthood. The best attachment style happens when the parent is attuned to the child during his or her early childhood called secure attachment (Reyes, 2010, p. 174). In order for complete secure attachment, the child needs to feel safe, seen, and soothed. Any relationship that deviates from this model represents the anxious or insecure attachment. This means that parents or caregivers are inconsistently responsive to the children. Children who have these parents are usually confused and insecure. Some children experience a dismissive attachment where they
Attachments are formed with parents; this contributes to give a sense of who we are and who we will become in later life. However where these attachments are broken the child needs to have a secure attachment established with an alternative adult care giver,...
We are all composed of basic traits and qualities, but it is the unique and enduring combination of these traits that make up our personality (Feldman & Feinman, 1947). The formation of our personality is heavily influenced by the relationship with our mother during our early childhood. To avoid misinterpretation, Bowlby (as cited in Hinde 1991) has clarified the term “mother” to be a primary caregiver who the infant becomes attached to. John Bowlby’s theory of attachment explains how the relationship or, attachment dynamic, has an effect on the way we interact with and understand the world as infants. This is known as the internal working model (IWM) and it includes how the infant understands the behavioural expectations of the world, their mother and themselves (Schore, 2000). An infant’s IWM are observed and categorised into three attachment styles known as secure, avoidant and ambivalent. This is done through Ainsworth 's strange situation procedure (SSP) (Behrens, Parker & Haltigan, 2011). As we grow older, and start to discover a sense of individuality, the maternal influences on
The attachment style that a child endures with their mother initially begins before the child is even born. In the mother’s womb, the infant becomes aware of their mother and father’s voices, where they begin to develop a bond with them and feel nurtured and comforted by the things they hear their parents sing and speak to them. According to Bowlby, the development of attachment takes place in four different phases and are reinforced as they grow older from the Preattachment (birth to age 6 weeks), attachment-in-the-making (age 6 weeks to 8 months), clear cut attachment (between 8 months to 1 ½ years of age) and the reciprocal relationship (from 1 ½ or 2 and on). As the child grows older, then begin to understand their parent’s feelings and motives and are able to organize their efforts and reciprocate the same i...
Attachment is described as the close emotional bond between two people and Attachment Theory (AT) generally concentrates on the early bonds in a person’s development as well as the effects that these bonds have on later socio-emotional development. While emphasis on attachment as an antecedent for future behavior and personality has decreased somewhat in recent years, it is interesting to note that the DSM IV-TR includes a “reactive attachment disorder” which it states is caused when extreme circumstances prevent proper attachment development.
Attachment is an emotional bond that is from one person to another. The attachment theory is a psychological, an evolutionary and an ethological theory that is concerned with relationships between humans, specifically between mother and infant. A young infant has to develop a relationship with at least one of their primary caregivers for them to develop socially and emotionally. Social competence is the condition that possesses the social, emotional and intellectual skills and behaviours, the infant needs these to success as a member of society. Many studies have been focused on the Western society, but there are many arguments to whether or not this can be applicable to other cultures, such as the poorer countries.
Cultural Attachment Attachment is defined as the “development of strong ties of affection as a result of interaction between an infant and a significant other” (McKinney 1518). In the film “Everybody loves… Babies”, several cultures portrayed attachment techniques specifically between infant and mother. The four different areas of culture portrayed in the movie are Africa, Mongolia, Japan, and the USA. Of course, every area of the world has different ways of living, and development, which has a major effects on the strength and development of bonding. The film particularly showed the attachment process starting from birth, and displayed the day to day living in these areas of the world.
Attachment is a topic that needs to educated to society. It’s really important that to know how to create attachments with our infants. I say that it needs to be educated because of their various cultures that don’t engage with their infants. I have also learned that some cultures are flexible and like to be educated. Always respecting the cultures but also educating the importance of attachment is something that the society can benefit from.