Attachment Flashcards
What is the importance of attachment in humans?
Humans are born into the world in an extremely vulnerable + defenceless state
- Need for intensive, proximal care during early childhood
- Continuing brain development even at 25 years of age
As brain/body proportion increases, so does the time taken until sexual maturity
-Later sexual maturity = elongated childhood = more care by adults
- In our evolutionary history, not only biological parents but also other family members have cared for a growing human infant
- Today, we institutionalised non-parental care in nurseries + schools - this creates a need for the infant to bond with adults who care for them
- The need for attachment to primary carer
- Motivation to be ‘likeable’ to all potential carers
Who is Bowlby?
British Psychologist who was the founder of the Attachment theory (1950s)
- Great contrast to the psychoanalytic views of the time - based mother-child relationship on mothers fulfilling the child’s primary needs
What is attachment?
The bond an infant forms with their primary caregiver
Characterised by proximity + feelings of being comforted and content
- This bond can take different forms - attachment styles
- Which attachment style a child has is examined by looking at their responses to different situations - attachment behaviours
What are the 5 phases of attachment development?
1) First few months: Orienting towards people indiscriminately
2) 5-7 months of age: Orienting + preferentially engaging with (e.g. smiling) the caregiver
3) 7-9 months of age: Going (e.g. crawling) to the caregiver, and expressing distress (e.g. crying) when separated from them. This is the onset of attachment
4) 2-3 years of age: Goal-corrected partnership whereby the child also accommodates the caregiver’s needs (e.g. waits until their return)
5) 4 years of age onwards: Switch from physical proximity to the more abstract emotional closeness
Bowlby’s attachment theory: Lifelong significance
- Thought initial attachment with the mother (or other caregiver) would create an ‘internal working model of attachment’ - a cognitive prototype, influencing a person’s perception of and our reactions to other relationships
- Early attachment will have an impact on future life consequences
- Bowlby’s views on stability of attachment follow from Freud’s psychoanalytic ideas on how early childhood experiences determine their future
Contrast: (Lewis, 1997) - Revisionist perspective: suggests early attachment representations can be revised in face of new life experiences
Who is Ainsworth
Ainsworth + Bowlby defined 3 attachment types
In 1985, a 4th attachment type was added
- Ainsworth designed the Strange Situation Procedure - used as a method of assessing attachment
What are Ainsworth’s attachment styles?
Type A (dismissive/avoidant): When separated, not distressed due to being alone. At reunion, ignores, turns away, averts gaze
Type B (secure): When separated, may be a bit distressed, but recovers fairly quickly. At reunion, actively seeks proximity, interacts
Type C (anxious/ambivalent): When separated, may be distressed or oblivious to being alone. At reunion, seeks proximity but then resists interaction
Type D (disorganised): No obvious pattern to the baby’s behaviour. Inconsistent or bizarre responses that vary over time
What are the key hypotheses for attachment theory?
The universality hypothesis: When given an opportunity, most infants will become attached to at least one specific caregiver
The normativity hypothesis: Most infants are securely attached in contexts that are not inherently threatening to human health + survival
The sensitivity hypothesis: Attachment security depends on sensitive + prompt responses to the infant’s signals
The competence hypothesis: Secure attachment leads to positive child outcomes
Measuring Ainsworth’s attachment styles: Strange situation procedure
- Can use dolls or pictures
- Children are presented with a separation scenario and asked: “How the child in the scenario would feel” and “how they would feel if they were in that situation”
- Elaboration questions are asked depending on the child’s answers: e.g. “Why did you think so?”/ “what could you do to make it better?”
- Has high validity + reliability
Origins of attachment: Parental factors
Sensitivity hypothesis
- Ainsworth + Bowlby emphasised maternal responsivity to infant’s signal as a key indicator or secure attachment
- Not just sensitivity but other things (e.g. mutuality, synchrony, positive attitude, stimulation, support and contiguity) have an effect on secure attachment
Origins of attachment: Child factors
- Children with developmental disorders are less likely to have secure attachment than the non-clinical comparison group
- Suggests there are child-related factors that affect attachment style - not just emphasis on parent’s behaviour
Origins of attachment: Cultural factors
Reasons for cultural differences:
- Western middle-class assumption that sign of healthy maturity is individual autonomy
- Differences in socialisation goals e.g. society’s approach to strangers + consequent stranger anxiety
- Wide variety in caregiving arrangements
-Universality hypothesis holds true in all examined cultures
-Normativity hypothesis holds true in most cultures
-Varied support for sensitivity + competence hypotheses
-Definition of sensitivity is critical - culture-specific behaviours + engagement styles must be considered
-Competence hypothesis is more powerful + when it goes beyond mother-infant attachment
