Attachment Flashcards
What is the definition of an attachment
an enduring, two way, emotional tie to a specific other person normally between a parent and child
How are attachments formed in the early stages of aa child’s development
- bodily contact
- mimicking
- caregiverese
- interactional synchrony
- reciprocity
What stage of attachment is an infant at from birth to 3 months
pre-attachment phase- from 6 weeks old, infants become attracted to other humans rather than objects
What stage of attachment is an infant at from 3 to 7/8 months
indiscriminate attachment- infants discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar people
What stage of attachment is an infant at when they are 7/8 months
discriminate attachment- infants develop specific attachments and they stay close to particular people and they become stressed when separated form them
What stage of attachment is an infant at when they are 9 months old and older
multiple attachments stage- infants form bonds with other major caregivers such as grandparents
- the fear of strangers weakens but attachment to mother still remains strong
How has the role of the father in attachments seen now
-in the past, mothers tended to stay at home to look after the children when the father went out to work so therefore he played a minor role
- now, the father plays a more significant role as both parents tend to work so they share responsibility
Factors affecting relationships between father and child
- degree of sensitivity- greater attachments if father shows more sensitivity to child’s needs
- type of attachment with own parents- fathers tend to act in a similar way to the way they were with their parents
- marital intimacy- how his relationship with the partner is
- supportive co-parenting- amount of support father gives his partner
Definition of imprinting
a form of attachment where offspring follow the first large moving object
Outline Lorenz study
- separated two sets of geese eggs
- half hatched with mother, half hatched under Lorenz’s supervision
- after birth, the geese with Lorenz followed him and the others followed the mother
- this shows imprinting is irreversible
Outline Harlow’s monkey research
-he used baby monkeys by depriving them from their mother
- he used a wire mother with milk and a cloth/ soft mother without milk
- he then stimulated the monkeys
- his results show that the monkeys went for comfort instead of food
- this shows that attachment comes from emotional security rather than food
What is learning theory
the belief that attachments develop through conditioning processes
What is classical conditioning
occurs when a response produced naturally by a certain stimulus, becomes associated with another stimulus that is not normally associated with that particular response
What is operant conditioning
learning occurring via reinforcement of behaviour, thus increasing the chances of it happening again
What is the cupboard love theory
the belief that attachments are formed with people who feed infants
What are the two types of learning theory
- classical conditioning
- operant conditioning
describe how attachments for due to classical conditioning
- before learning- UCS —> UCR
- during learning- UCS+CS—> UCR
- after learning- CS —> CR
Describe operant conditioning
- based on ‘ Law of Effect
- where actions with a pleasurable outcome are likely to be repeated
- actions with less a pleasurable outcome are not likely to be repeated
What is positive reinforcement
receiving something pleasurable for performing a certain behaviour
What is negative reinforcement
not receiving something non- pleasurable for performing a certain behaviour ( e.g not getting detention for doing work)
What is punishment
receiving something non-pleasurable for performing a certain behaviour (e.g getting detention for not doing work)
What is Bowlby’s monotropic theory
the idea that infants have an inbuilt tendency to make an initial attachment with one attachment figure, usually the mother
What are social releasers
innate, infant social behaviours that stimulate adult interaction and caregiving
What is the critical period
a specific time period in which an attachment must form
What are some social releasers in infants
crying- to attract the parents attention
looking, smiling, vocalising- to maintain parental attention and interest
- following and clinging- to gain and maintain proximity to parents
What is the strange situation
the accepted observational testing method for measuring attachment types
What is separation anxiety
the degree of distress shown by infants when parted from attachment figures
What was Ainsworth’s aims
to see how infants between 9 and 18 months act under separation anxiety
What was Ainsworth’s type A type of attachment
insecure-avoidant
- they are willing to explore
- low stranger anxiety
- unconcerned by separation
- avoid contact on return to caregiver
- caregivers are indifferent to infants needs
What was Ainsworth’s type B type of attachment
securely attached
- they are willing to explore
- high stranger anxiety
- easy to calm and enthusiastic at return of caregiver
- caregivers are sensitive to infants needs
What is Ainsworth’s type C type of attachment
insecure resistant
- they are unwilling to explore
- high stranger anxiety
- upset by separation then seek and reject comfort at return of caregiver
- caregivers are ambivalent to infants needs
What are cultural variations relating to attachment
differences in child-rearing practices and attachment types between different cultural groupings
What is Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis
if an attachment bond between an infant and the primary caregiver is broken even short term, it can result in serious and permanent damage to a child’s emotional, social and intellectual development
What is short term separation
- it consists of brief, temporary separations from attachment figures (e.g attending day care)
Describe the PDD model in short term separation
-Protest- immediate reaction to separation involving crying, screaming, kicking and struggling to escape
- Despair- protest is replaced by calmer more apathetic behaviour with anger and fear still inwardly felt
- Detachment- infant responds to people again but treats people wearingly
What is privation in terms of long term deprivation
-privation is with children who have never formed an attachment bond
- its more likely to lead to lasting damage than deprivation but still can recover
What is institutionalisation in terms of long term deprivation
the effect upon attachments of care provided by orphanages and residential children’s homes
What is affectionless psychopathy
an inability to show affection or concern for others
What is the continuity hypothesis
the idea that there is consistency between early emotional experiences and later relationships
