Key terms

agents of socialization – факторы (средства, посредники) социализации

scaffolding – поддержка

attachment – привязанность, преданность

carry forward into – переходить непосредственно в

infantile autism – младенческий аутизм

overemphasized – придавать чрезмерное значение

acknowledge – сознавать, признавать, допускать, выражать признательность

nurturant caregiver – тот, кто ухаживает, воспитывает

day care centers – центры дневного ухода (медицинская помощь)

means of communication – средства общения

disgust – отвращение, недовольство, раздражение

social smile – осознанная улыбка

Most children grow up in a family. Hence, families are important agents of socialization for children.

The current view is that socialization is reciprocal: parents socialize children and, in turn, are socialized by them. Scaffolding may help children learn social rules such as taking one's turn.

The family is composed of various subsystems. Mother-infant and mother-father exemplify dyadic interactions; however, polyadic interactions are also common.

Attachment to the caregiver intensifies at about 6-7 months. Attachment relationships carry forward into other relationships. Some developmentalists believe that the role of attachment is overemphasized. They believe that genetics, temperament, and diverse social agents and contexts are more important to a child's social competence than attachment theorists acknowledge.

Over time, the father's role has changed. Contemporary fathers may be active, nurturant caregivers. Attachment between father and infant occurs at the same time as attachment between mother and infant.

More children are in day care today than at any other time in history. Infants may begin receiving day care at 1 or 2 years of age or earlier. For some infants, these are positive experiences, for others negative experiences. In day care centers that are university based or staffed, the programs for infants and young children are good, and the infants do not differ in attachment behavior from infants reared at home by their mothers.

An important consideration is the fit between the temperament of an infant and the temperament of the parents.

Emotions serve three functions: (a) survival, (b) regulation, and (c) communication. Emotion are the first means of communication between infants and parents and serve to coordinate their interactions. Emotions begin to develop during infancy. Interest, distress, and disgust are present at birth, a social smile appears at about 4-6 weeks, anger, surprise, and sadness emerge at about 3-4 months, fear is displayed at about 5-7 months, shame and shyness emerge at about 6-8 months, and contempt and guilt appear at about 2 years of age. Developmentalists support the idea that caregivers should respond immediately to a crying infant during the first year of life. Infants use reflexive and social smiles to communicate affect.

A sense of self and independence becomes a central theme during the second year of life. The process of separation-individuation has a critical development of the first three years, when the child acquires individual characteristics.

This period often has such problems and disorders as: child abuse and infantile autism. Sexual abuse of children is now recognized as a more widespread problem than was believed in the past.

Infantile autism is a severe disorder that first appears in infancy. It involves an inability to relate to people, speech problems, and upsets over changes in routine or environment. Autism seems to involve some form of organic brain and genetic dysfunction.