attachement

Question 1

attachment

Answer 1

an emotional bond with a specific person that is enduring across space and time

more than just a connection:
- desire for regular contact
- distress upon separation

Question 2

Bowlby’s Attachment Theory

Answer 2

children are biologically predisposed to develop attachment to caregivers as a means of increasing chances of their survival

attachment is crucial for children’s psychological well being and forms the basis of personality development

Question 3

what are the four main characteristics of attachment system

Answer 3

1 proximity seeking and maintenance
2. separation distress
3. safe haven
4. secure base

Question 4

proximity maintenance

Answer 4

is caregiver near, attentive, responsive?
yes = secure base behaviour
no = separation distress = proximity seeking = safe haven

Question 5

secure attachment style

Answer 5

60% - infant distressed when mom leaves, but plays on their own and seeks comfort upon reunion with mom

Question 6

avoidant attachment style

Answer 6

15% infant does not display signs of distress upon separation, played by themselves, and disinterested in mom upon reunion

Question 7

anxious/ambivalent attachment style

Answer 7

10% infant extremely distressed upon separation, difficulties playing on their own, but not reassured upon reunion with mom and resist parent’s attempt to soothe

Question 8

disorganized attachment style

Answer 8

15% behaviour is contradictory - seems to want to approach caregiver but also sees them as a source of fear - frequently appears dazed and dissociated

Question 9

characteristics of parents of children with secure attachment

Answer 9

available/responsive to child’s needs - child learns that proximity seeking is a good strategy to soothe distress

Question 10

characteristics of parents of children with avoidant attachment

Answer 10

consistently unavailable - child learns that proximity seeking is not a strategy to soothe distress - deactivation of attachment system

Question 11

characteristics of parents of children with anxious attachment

Answer 11

inconsistently responsive or overbearing - child learns that proximity is sometimes a good strategy to soothe distress, but not always - hyperactivation of attachment system

Question 12

internal working models

Answer 12

mental representations of the self, attachment figures, and relationships in general that is constructed as a result of experiences with caregivers

Question 13

anxious avoidant pair

Answer 13

anxious partner wants more closeness than avoidant is willing to provide

avoidant partner partner wants more independence than anxious partner is willing to provide

relationship is stable because anxious partners have a strong desire for closeness that leads them to persistently pursue avoidant partner and avoidant partners eventually cave into anxious partner’s pursuit (don’t know if i agree w this)

Question 14

safe haven in adult attachment system

Answer 14

securely attached adults are more likely to seek comfort when stressed, but avoidantly attached adults are less likely to seek comfort when stressed

Question 15

secure base/separation distress in adult attachment systems

Answer 15

when separated from partner, both anxious and avoidant ps (vs secure) showed elevanted heart rate and blood pressure during a stressful task

• suggests that insecurely attached adults do not use their partner as a secure base

Question 16

does the adult attachment system function similarly to infants’ attachment system?

Answer 16

yes
- avoidant attachment still sometimes shows anxiety at separation from partner

• dissmisive styles are able to to deactivate both overt attachment behaviours and covert attachment system (no physiological response)
• but fearful styles can only deactivate overt attachment

Question 17

infancy to adulthood study

Answer 17

longitudinal study from childhood to age 18
- avoidance predicted by lower maternal sensitivity and not living with father
- anxiety predicted by maternal depression

however, across studies correlation is low

Question 18

how can internal working models lead to self fulfilling prophecies?

Answer 18

confirmation bias - we pick people who are consistent with our expectations, deepening reliance on early attachment experiences

Question 19

can attachment style change?

Answer 19

studies have shown that attachment styles can change depending on who we are with
-study measured stability in adult attachment style over a few weeks -70% same attachment style, 30% changed (mostly anxious and avoidant people)

changes are usually due to major life events and 25% of these events led to an enduring change in attachment style

Question 20

aging and attachment

Answer 20

people become less anxious and maybe less avoidant as they get older
- people seek security naturally
- people build more secure working models of self and of others over time, reducing reliance on the attachment system and allowing for corrective experiences
- therapy

Question 21

attachment as an associative network

Answer 21

people have different attachment styles with different people, suggesting that attachment is an associative network - behaves differently in different situations or with different people

fluctuates based on recency of activation, general attachment style = frequency of activation