Psychological Conflicts Affecting Infant And Toddler Personality

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According to Erikson’s psychosocial theory, there are two psychological conflicts that affect infant and toddler personality. The first psychological conflict within the first year is basic trust versus mistrust. A trusting infant is able to see and explore the world with open arms. On the other hand, the mistrustful infant can’t count on the kindness of others and ultimately withdrawals herself from other people. The second psychological conflict which affects toddlers is autonomy versus shame and doubt. Within this psychological conflict the children who are given the right guidance and reasonable choices are seen to develop a sense of impulse control. If a child grows up with a parent who is depressed, then the child is more likely to develop physical and emotional problems. “Parental depression can interfere with effective parenting and seriously impair children’s development. Genetic makeup increases the risk of depressive …show more content…

190). Temperament implies a genetic foundation for individual differences in personality. One study from Jerome Kagan explained the development of shyness and sociability in infants into childhood and adulthood. According to Kagan, extremely shy or sociable children inherit a physiology that biases them toward a particular temperamental style. Differences in the arousal of the amygdala play a role in the different temperaments. Also, there are few neurobiological responses known to be mediated by the amygdala that distinguish shyness and sociability. One neurobiological response is heart rate. Shy children’s heart rate is much higher than those of sociable children. In shy children, there is a higher amount in saliva concentrations of cortisol. Lastly, in shy children there is a higher rate of pupil dilation, rise of blood pressure, and cooling of fingertips when faced with

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