Attachment and Human Development

Question 1

What are 4 main properties of attachment behavior?

Answer 1

Discriminating.
Specific.
Reciprocal.
Distress upon separation.

Question 2

What sense is most important for rats identifying their mothers?

Answer 2

Smell.

Question 3

What main neurotransmitter mediates imprinting? Others chemicals involved?

Answer 3

Norepinephrine is major player.

Dopamine and oxytocin are also involved.

Question 4

Is smell the only sense involved in pups forming attachment to mothers?

Answer 4

No. Somatosensory stuff allows pups to orient to mom.

Question 5

What 2 chemicals are necessary and sufficient for rat mothers to form attachment with pups?

Answer 5

Estrogen and oxytocin. (dopamine’s also important)

Question 6

What’s causes difference between monogamous and unsociable voles? (note 2 specific areas of brain)

Answer 6

Monogamous (prarie) voles have more oxytocin receptor in the Nucleus Accumbens and Prelimbic Cortex.

Question 7

What do experiments that make prarie voles act like Montaine voles tell us?

Answer 7

Oxytocin is necessary and (in this context) sufficient for increased attachment / sociability.

Question 8

Take home point from Harlow’s monkey experiments?

Answer 8

Mother attachment promotes security.

Mother deprived monkeys have difficulty forming attachments later on.

Question 9

What are 4 necessary conditions for the development of attachment?

Answer 9

Sufficient interaction with caretaker.
Discriminitive abilities of infant. (must know that mom is mom)
Imitative capacities of infant (“mirror neurons”)
Object permanence of caretaker.

Question 10

4 steps in the cycle of attachment?

Answer 10

Need -> rage reaction -> gratification / relief (with loving behaviors) -> trust.

Question 11

What’s Phase I of attachment formation? When does it occur (in humans)?

Answer 11

Indiscriminate sociability.

Birth - 2mo.

Question 12

What’s Phase II of attachment formation? When does it occur?

Answer 12

Attachments in the Making.

2 - 7mo

Question 13

What’s Phase III of attachment formation? When does it occur?

Answer 13

Clear Cut Attachments.

7 - 24mo

Question 14

What’s Phase IV of attachment formation? When does it occur?

Answer 14

Goal-Coordinated Partnerships

>24mo

Question 15

What behaviors characterize Phase I attachment?

Answer 15

Simple behaviors that babies use to interact. (smiling, crying, vocalizing, visual tracking, etc. etc.)

Question 16

What differentiates the behaviors of Phase II of attachment from those of Phase I? What’s the big picture of Phase II?

Answer 16

More complex interaction.
Infant “assumes more control” of interactions by reaching for things, opening mouth in advance, etc..
Differentiation begins between caretakers and strangers. (more smiling at familiar people).
In Phase II, infant is developing an internal picture of the world.

Question 17

If a patient cries when a caregiver leaves and stops crying when they see / hear a caregiver approaching, they must be in at least what phase of attachment?

Answer 17

Will be in at least Phase II.

Question 18

What are 4 characteristics of Phase III of attachment?

Answer 18

Consolidation of attachment to primary caregivers. (crying when strangers approach)
More complex motor, cognition, communication.
Intentional control of attachment behavior.
Person permanence of primary caregiver.

Question 19

A few typical behaviors of Phase III of attachment?

Answer 19

Using primary caregiver as “secure base” for exploration.
Flight to primary caregiver when scared.
Following primary caregiver.

Question 20

What’s the Still Face Experiment?

Answer 20

When primary caregiver presents still, unresponsive face to baby, he/she at first tries to attract attention, then gets upset, then despairs. This is all repaired immediately when the primary caregiver starts interacting again.

Question 21

What infants have abnormal reactions in the still face experiment?

Answer 21

Infants with cognitive delay.

Infants with reactive attachment disorder. (didn’t get enough interaction early on)

Question 22

What seems to be the worst thing for attachment?

Answer 22

Unpredictable, inconsistent responses from children parents. (e.g. parent that is depressed or abuses drugs)

Question 23

When is stranger anxiety most present?

Answer 23

6-8mos

Question 24

When is separation anxiety most present?

Answer 24

10-18mos

Question 25

What’s characterizes Phase IV of attachment?

Answer 25

Recognizes goals/plans of caretaker and coordinate and negotiate with his/her own goals and plans - of which proximity to the caregiver is still paramount.
I.e. can understand “mommy will be back later.”

Question 26

5 precursors to strong and healthy attachments? When are they most important?

Answer 26

Attunement
Predictability
Limited # of caretakers
Strong needs and signals from child.
Most important in the first 2 years of life - the "sensitive phase."

Question 27

What is attunement?

Answer 27

Learning to read and respond to emotional cues in social interactions.
Usually learned implicitly,but can be intentionally learned.

Question 28

What’s abnormal about depressed mothers’ response to infrants’ cries?

Answer 28

They show less evidence of differentiation between their own baby’s cry and those of other babies.

Question 29

3 phases of response to separation? (according to Bowlby 1973)

Answer 29

Protest
Despair
Detachment

Question 30

3 outcomes in response to loss? (according to Bowlby 1980)

Answer 30

Depression
Reorganization (new attachments to new caregivers)
Emotional blunting

Question 31

What is reactive attachment disorder (RAD)? (2 features)

Primary cause?

Answer 31

A clinical syndrome with..
Difficulty in forming deep, long-lasting relationships.
Lack of ability to be genuinely affectionate toward others.
Mainly associated with grossly pathological care before age 5.

Question 32

What are the two subtypes of reactive attachment disorder (RAD)?

Answer 32

Inhibited - fearful of caregivers

Disinhibited - indiscriminate affection for caregivers, trusting of strangers (at risk for exploitation)