1.1 emotional development Flashcards
secure attachment
- balance between dependence + exploration
- caregiver: “secure base”
- shows distress and decreases exploration when caregiver is absent
- infant enthusiastic + seeks physical contact when caregiver returns
- infant feels safe and able to depend on caregiver
- 65%
insecure avoidant attachment
- doesn’t seek closeness/contact w caregiver + treats them like a stranger
- rarely cries
- ignores caregiver upon return
- may result from neglectful/abusive caregivers
-20%
insecure resistant attachment
- anxious even when caregiver near
- upset when separated
- when caregiver returns: infant approaches, cries to be picked up, then squirms/fights free
- results from caregivers who aren’t responsive to infants’ needs
- 12%
define emotion
a complex reaction pattern to a personally significant event or matter that involves a mixture of physiological responses, subjective feelings and expressive behaviours
define subjective feelings
inner, personal experience of emotion
define expressive behaviour
overt expressions of behaviour which communicate emotions
physiological responses
bodily changes such as increase in heart rate, blood pressure, RR, etc.
define attachment
formation of long-lasting emotional bond between 2 individuals
what’s attachment theory?
strength of an emotional bond between an infant and their primary caregiver
pioneers in attachment theory?
Harry Harlow
Mary Ainsworth
stranger anxiety?
distress/uneasiness experienced by young children when they are around people who are unfamiliar to them
what age does stranger anxiety begin?
Usually begins 8-9 months and typically lasts into the 2nd yr
what’s separation anxiety?
distress/uneasiness when away (or facing prospect of being away) from the person/people to whom they are attached
separation anxiety typical age?
common between 6-10 months but may be experienced in later years
Who identified disorganised attachment?
Mary Main, Judith Solomon
Characteristics of disorganised attachment?
- inconsistent/odd/contradictory behaviours during separation from and reunion w caregivers
- form of insecure attachment
- tend to respond to reunion w caregiver w fearful or odd behaviours such as rocking, ear pulling, going into a trance-like state
Adulthood for children w disorganised attachment?
adults find it difficult to have close relationships, to open up to other or seek out help/support
trust issues- they were unable to trust those they relied on for care and safety when growing up
disorganised attachment is a risk factor for mental health disorders
What causes disorganised attachment?
may be
- infant maltreatment
- hostile caregiving
- post-natal depression
- mother w unresolved trauma (e.g. separation, divorce, death)
But disorganised attachment also in “normal” families
Origins not clear yet
Impact of attachment types (Ainsworth) (as infants) in later life?
Secure attachments
- good self-esteem
- seek social support when they need it
- have trusting, lasting relationships
- comfortable sharing feelings w friends and partners
Insecure attachments
- may experience anxiety, inner turmoil
- trust issues
- reluctant to form close relationships w others
what species of monkey did Harlow use and why?
Apes and monkeys are the most closely related to humans behaviourally, anatomically, and physiologically
Rhesus monkeys- share over 90% genes w humans
name of Harlow’s famous monkey experiment?
Wire Mother Experiment
Wire Mother experiment aim?
To find out whether provision of food or contact comfort is more important in the formation of infant-mother attachment
How many monkeys participated in the Wire Mother experiment?
8 Rhesus monkeys
4 raised by wire mother who gave food , 4 raised by cloth mother provided food
WME: IV?
provision of food by either a cloth or wire surrogate mother
WME: DV?
Amount of contact time spent w cloth and wire surrogate mothers
WME: results?
all monkeys spent far more time w the cloth surrogate than the wire mother- regardless of which provided food
WME: conclusion?
contact comfort is more important than feeding in the formation of infant-mother attachment in Rhesus monkeys
WME: Generalisation?
contact comfort is likely to be a crucial factor in human infant-caregiver attachment
How did the monkeys transfer their affections?
When they needed to eat, they would go to the wire mother but quickly return to cuddle with the cloth mother
Fear test and WME?
They frightened the monkeys w a mechanical machine- all the monkeys clung onto the cloth mother
Unfamiliar environment and WME?
The monkeys would not run to the wire mother but the cloth one- without the mother they would withdraw and not explore the environment
After cuddling w the cloth mother they would explore the area
define privation
absence of the opportunity to satisfy something that is needed or desired, in WME, the need for social contact.
Privation is different from deprivation, which involves the initial presence and then removal of what is needed.
