Adult attachment

Question 1

What is coregulation?

Answer 1

attachment figure regulates infant’s currently unregulated feelings, infant internalises caregiver’s regulation to form psychological self

Question 2

What do Internal Working Models (IWM) act as?

Answer 2

• a filter (relational/emotional information is processed and interpreted)
• a guide (to behaviour/response around emotional/relational needs)

Question 3

What are IWMs?

Answer 3

emotional, affective information, organise our behavior in relationships to balance autonomy and intimacy

Question 4

What is a State of Mind?

Answer 4

how an individual integrates thoughts and feelings about relationships, as well as to the processes that support or exclude relationship-based information from the individuals thinking

Question 5

What is mentalisation?

Answer 5

understand what is going on in our mind and in someone else’s mind

Question 6

What is reflective functioning?

Answer 6

• caregiver was attuned to child’s internal state and builds child’s ability to understand themself as separate from the caregiver
• ability to differentiate between self and other promotes the capacity to mentalise, which in turn permits the individual to reflect on his own affect as well as that of others in such a way that he has afforded the ability to experience and communicate affect rather than just impulsively act without understanding the mental state behind the action

Question 7

What is the secure/autonomous attachment in adulthood?

Answer 7

rely on self and other (gold star)

• low avoidance, low anxiety
• capacity for reflective function and psychological flexibility

Question 8

What is the dismissing attachment in adulthood?

Answer 8

overly rely on self, don’t rely on others

• low anxiety, high avoidance
• minimise negative emotion and attachment significance

Question 9

What is the preoccupied attachment in adulthood?

Answer 9

overly rely on others, don’t rely on self

• high anxiety, low avoidance
• absorbed by negative emotion and over-involved in attachment experiences

Question 10

What is the disorganised/unresolved attachment in adulthood?

Answer 10

has no consistency in relience

• high avoidance, high anxiety
• associated with trauma or grief

Question 11

What is the child attachment equivalent of the adult attachment styles?

Answer 11

autonomous = secure
dismissing = avoidant
preoccupied = ambivalent/resistant
unresolved = disorganised

Question 12

What are the stages of the dating attachment process?

Answer 12

• pre-attachment - getting to know
• attachment in the making - feeling comfortable with
• clear cut attachment - having an attachment bond
• goal corrected partnership - coordinating a relationship