Attachment Flashcards
2 weeks
baby starts to see fine detail
3 months
baby starts to hold head up
4 months
baby starts sitting up
4-6 months
baby develops object permanence
6 months
baby starts crawling and babbling
9 months - 12 months
baby starts walking
12 months
baby starts to say simple words
18 months
baby starts to join words together
18 months - 24 months
baby’s skull fuses
24 months
baby starts to say simple sentences
44 Thieves Study
Bowlby studied 88 emotionally disturbed juveniles in a retrospective study which involved interviews with those who knew the juveniles and examining their school, medical and police records. Half of these were identified thieves and half had no known criminal record. Of the group of thieves, 17 had been separated from their mothers for more than six months during their first five years of life, whereas in the non-criminal group, only two had been separated
Affectionless Psychopathy
where people appear not to care about anything or anyone
Ainsworth
a cross cultural study of a tribe in Uganda and found that their children made multiple attachments. The same was found in repeats of the study in Israel and Kibbutz
Ainsworth and Bell (1970)
claimed that securely attached children have mothers who are more effective at soothing them, engaging in face-to-face interaction and having more physical contact, and insecure children have mothers who are insensitive to signals such as crying and inept at handling them
Alert Phase
times when baby is ready for interactions
Alessandra Simonelli et al (2014)
conducted a study in Italy to see whether the proportions of babies of different attachment types still matches those found in previous studies. They assessed 76 twelve-month-old babies using the Strange Situation and found 50% were secure, 36% were insecure-avoidant and the remaining percent were insecure-resistant. This is a lower rate of secure and a higher rate of insecure-avoidant than has been found previously, likely due to increasing numbers of mothers using professional childcare, suggesting that patterns of attachment types are not static but vary in line with cultural change
Altricial
species like humans that are born at an early stage of development
Anna Freud (1951)
a case study of six three-year-olds rescued from Nazi concentration camps. They were antisocial and aggressive when they arrived at a refugee centre in England, however by bonding with each other they became socially normally within about three years
Attachment
an enduring two-way emotional bond to a specific other person
Baby Duck Syndrome
Peter Seebach (2005) suggested that computer users form an attachment to their first computer operating system, leading them to reject others
Bailey (2007)
Bailey assessed 99 mothers and infants using the Strange Situation and interviews. The majority of mothers had the same type of attachment with their mother as with their own infant
Belsky (1984)
found that the weight of evident seemed to indicate that the caregiver’s behaviour has more to do with attachment than the infant’s temperament
Belsky (1999)
believed that insecure-avoidant attachments are associated with intrusive, over-stimulating, rejective parenting, whereas insecure-resistant attachments are linked to inconsistent, unresponsive parenting
Belsky et al (2009)
found secure father infant attachments to be associated with high levels of marital intimacy, suggesting that the closeness of the relationship between fathers and partners affect the type of attachment a father has with his children
Brazelton et al (1975)
interaction is described as a dance because each partner responds to the other’s moves
Bretherton et al (1981)
suggested that parents who ssee their children as people rather than entities that need to be fed and clothed are more likely to have securely-attached children
Bulldog Banks Study (1951)
Freud and Dann studied a group of six refugee children aged between three and four who were discovered by Russian troops in a concentration camp in the Czech republic, where they had lived since they were a few months old, so had never formed attachments. After they were rescued, they lived together at the Bulldog Banks Reception Centre in West Sussex. They were highly aggressive and had limited language skills, and would only engage with adults if they needed something. Despite this, they were devoted to each other, insisting that they all had the same amount of food at mealtimes. They made improvements after being rescued and were eventually all adopted and continued to make progress, to the point where they were the same as most children their age.
Caldera (2004)
a study on 60 mothers and fathers with 14-month-old infants who independently described their child about the involvement and attitudes toward child-rearing finding that where there was a stronger agreement between parents on attitudes toward child-rearing there was stronger attachment for both parents
Caregiverese
a form of modified vocal language used by adults as they interact with infants, which includes high-pitched, song-like vocals that are slow and repetitive. These vocals help with communication between the infant and caregiver while also strengthening the attachment bond
Chateau and Wiberg (1984)
found the same results to those of Klaus and Kennel but with Swedish mothers, so disputing Durkin’s later claims
Child of our Time Study
a famous longitudinal study that followed the same people from 2000 to 2020
Condon and Sander (1974)
studied interactional synchrony, theorising that it starts from the initial consolidation of biological rhythms during pregnancy to the emergence of symbolic and often rhythmic exchanges between parent and child. They analysed videos of mothers interacting with their babies. They noticed that even newborns co-ordinate their movements and gestures in time with human speech. There was an element of turn taking and the babies seemed to respond to the one-sided conversation
Continuity Hypothesis
the idea that there is consistency between early emotional experiences and later relationships, based on the internal working model
Critical Period
the time within which attachment must form if it is to form at all. After this time, attachment is far more difficult and damage done by early deprivation becomes irreversible
Cupboard Love
theory that we become attached to the one who feeds us
De Wolff and van Ijzendoorn (1997)
believed that insecure-avoidant attachments are associated with intrusive, over-stimulating, rejective parenting, whereas insecure-resistant attachments are linked to inconsistent, unresponsive parenting
Dollard and Miller (1950)
pointed to the fact that babies in their first year are fed 2,000 times, usually by the main carer. This gives opportunity for the carer to become associated with the removal of the unpleasant feeling of hunger, supporting attachments being formed through operant conditioning.
Durkin (1995)
disputed Klaus and Kennell’s findings, claiming that they were due to the attention given to mothers who were unmarried and poor, rather than increased physical contact
Environment of Evolutionary Adaptiveness
the environment in which pre-human species evolved into homo sapiens, where predators were a constant threat
Ethologists
researchers who promote the use of naturalistic observation to study animal behaviour, focusing on the importance of innate capacities and the adaptiveness of behaviour
Ethology
the study of animal behaviour in their natural environments
Erickson et al (1985)
observed 4 to 5-year-olds in pre-school settings and found that children who were securely attached were less dependent on the teacher and were more confident undertaking tasks than insecurely attached children
Degree of Senstivity
a factor affecting the father-child relationship
father-child attachment is generally more secure if the father is more sensitive to the needs of the child
Type of Attachments with Own Parents
a factor affecting the father-child relationship
single fathers in particular to form similar attachments to their children when compared to their attachment to their parents
Marital Intimacy
a factor affecting the father-child relationship
the attachment type between parents affects attachment with their child
Supportive Co-Parenting
a factor affecting the father-child relationship
the amount of support a father gives their partner affects the type of attachment with their child
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages (1950)
splits development up into eight stages, each involving a conflict that, if resolved, leads to a virtue
Infancy
(0-1 year)
Trust vs Mistrust
trust that basic needs will be met, leads to hope
Early Childhood
(1-3 years)
Autonomy vs Shame/Doubt
develops sense of independence in many tasks, leads to will
Play Age
(3-6 years)
Initiative vs Guilt
takes initiative in some activities, develops guilt when unsuccessful or boundaries are overstepped, leads to sense of purpose
School Age
(7-11 years)
Industry vs Inferiority
develops self-confidence in abilities when competent and inferiority when not, leads to competency
Adolescence
(12-18 years)
Identity vs Confusion
experiment with and develop identity and roles, leads to fidelity
Early Adulthood
(19-29 years)
Intimacy vs Isolation
establish intimacy and relationships with others, leads to love
Middle Age
(30-64 years)
Generativity vs Stagnation
contribute to society and be a part of a family, leads to being caring
Old Age
(64+ years)
Integrity vs Despair
access and make sense of life and the meaning of contributions, leads to wisdom
Feldman (2007)
from the age of roughly three months, alert phases tend to be more frequent and involve close attention to each other’s verbal signals and facial expressions
Feldman and Eidelman (2007)
mothers typically pick up and respond to baby’s alert phases approximately two thirds of the time
Field (1978)
Field filmed 4-month-old babies interacting with their primary and secondary caregivers and found that if fathers took the role of primary caregivers, they behaved the same as a mother who was a primary caregiver, showing that behaviour is more important than gender
Filial Imprinting
where a baby instinctively imprints on the mother
Fonagy and Target (1997)
suggested that parents who see their children as people rather than entities that need to be fed and clothed are more likely to have securely-attached children
Furstenberg and Kiernan (2001)
found that children who have experienced divorce suffer not only emotionally, but also in terms of emotional wellbeing, academic attainment and physical health
Geiger (1996)
found that the way fathers play with their children is more exciting and pleasurable than mothers. This supports the view of the father as a playmate
Gervai (2009)
theorised that genetic factors are involved in disorganised attachment