8: Theories of Bonding and Attachment

Question 1

Attachment

Answer 1

Enduring, secure relationships with specific individuals that form the basis for future social development

Question 2

Psychoanalytical view of attachment

Answer 2

Infants get attached because they instinctually seek pleasure thru sucking and oral stimulation. First attachment thru breast, then mother. Infant based view - attachment occurs because infant needs to satisfy desires, not because infant inherently social. Influence on Spock, gratify needs.

Question 3

Harlow monkey experiment

Answer 3

Shows that attachment to caregiver not just about reducing hunger drives.

Question 4

Glasgow babies

Answer 4

Studied for first 18 months. 39% formed first attachment with someone other than person who fed them.

Question 5

Bowlby’s Attachment Theory

Answer 5

Inspired by ethology - infant’s crying, vocalizing, sucking, clinging, following evolutionarily conserved to promote and elicit caregiving and protection. Attachment figures provide this, reduce stress, facilitate learning/exploration by functioning as secure base.

Question 6

Goal-corrected partnership

Answer 6

Children become aware of other peoples’ feelings, goals, and plans. Begin to consider these things when formulating own action. Partners in relationship and separation.

Question 7

Attachment development

Answer 7

90% of infants primarily attached to mother by age 1; by 18 months, only 5% only to their mother. Most likely to develop with those who respond most accurately to signals, not person they spend most time with. Sensitive responsiveness. 18 months is an important figure.

Question 8

Object permanence

Answer 8

Developed at about 7 months. May account for why separation distress begins here.

Question 9

Mary Ainsworth

Answer 9

Major effect on child development - attachment relationships can differ in quality between individuals and can be assessed in lab.

Question 10

3 important responses to baby signals

Answer 10

Feeding - cooperative/timed right
Face-to-face interactions - joyful
Close bodily contact - responsive

Question 11

Ainsworth findings

Answer 11

Maternal sensitivity at the beginning predicts later relationship. Babies whose mothers were responsive when upset cried less at one year.

Question 12

Strange situation

Answer 12

Lab based method of assessing infant’s ability to use mother as secure base.

Question 13

Attachment classifications

Answer 13

B - Secure
A - Insecure-Avoidant
C - Insecure-Ambivalent/Insecure-Resistant
D - Insecure-Disorganized

Question 14

Attachment Q-sort

Answer 14

Parents sort out 90 cards with words/phrases defining child’s behavior. Can be converted into quantitative measure of security