Question

George is very regular in sleep/wake patterns, is adaptable to new situations and is very sociable. His mother attends to his needs quickly, and loves to play with him, and emphasizes smiling and laughing a lot.

Mark is not adaptable to new situations, avoids new people, but is fairly regular in his sleep/wake patterns and is not irritable. His mother tends to leave him by himself and does not seek out interactions, as she really did not want a child.

Allan has very intense negative emotions, has lots of problems with his sleeping patterns, and is not adaptable. His mother tends to ignore him, but also gets very angry with him, and in her frustration hits him.  He finds this confusing and does not know how she will act from one day to the next. What differences in emotional expressions do you see in these children? What differences in attachment do you see in these children?

Answer 1

Alexander Thomas described three basic types of temperament - easy, slow to warm up, and difficult temperaments. George has the easy temperament, he adapts well to change, is sociable with people and has regular sleep/wake patterns. Mark's temperament is slow to warm up, he is not adapting well to new situations, not very sociable and has less regular sleep wake cycle than George. Allan has difficult temperament, children with difficult temperament are irritable, they don't like changes and their behavior is erratic

Mary Ainsworth, in her study, found  three types of attachment patterns - secure attachment, anxious-ambivalent attachment and avoidant attachment. George has a secure attachment to his mother, children who are securely attached are sociable and comfortable around strangers. Mark has anxious-ambivalent attachment, these children are upset when their mothers leave them, and they do not adapt easily to new situations. Allan has avoidant attachment, this is when the child does not feel upset when the mother leaves and avoids the mother when they return.