attachment and the self Flashcards
why is attachment necessary in humans? (3)
- Evolutionary context – humans are born less than fully formed compared to other species – therefore we are vulnerable compared to other animals
- Our skull isn’t fully formed, and we are dependent on others for food, safety, comfort, emotional regulation and learning skills – other baby animals are more independent e.g baby giraffes can feed themselves from day one
- means that humans must maintain proximity to the source of care, human mothers have to put more investment into offspring and effective strategies to elicit care are needed for survival
how does a child’s sense of self develop over childhood according to research? (5)
- 8 months - begins to become distinct
- 18-20 months - recognise their reflection according to Lewis and Brooks-Gunn research
- 30 months - recognise photograoh
- 3y/o - begin to show shame/embarrassment (self-awareness and consequences of their actions in a social context
- 3-4 y/o - oberseve themselves in terms of physical traits and abilities (often in terms of social comparison e.g ‘Lisa is better at maths than me, but I’m a faster runner’)
XX
female chromosome
XY
male chromosome
X
female chromosome but with atypical growth pattern
XXX
female chromsome (typical female phenotype)
XXY
male chromosome but with lower testosterone than XY
XYY
male chromsome (typical male phenotype)
how does gender identity/gender identity behaviour develop over childhood according to research? (4)
- first year = infants’ perceptual abilities allow them to distinguish between male and female using gender cues – e.g higher vocal pitch indicates a female
- second year = children begin forming gender-related expectations
- 2nd-3rd bday = children come to know which gender group they belong to.
- by 3 = use gender terms like ‘boy’ in their speech
Outline how Lorenz studied attachment: (4)
- eggs randomly divided
- half were hatched with mother present (natural environment)
- half hatched in an incubator with Lorenz present
- behaviour of all goslings recorded
Outline how Harlow studied attachment: (6)
- in a controlled environment, infant monkeys were reared with two mother surrogates
- plain wire mother which dispensed food
- cloth covered mother with no food
- time spent with each mother recorded
- details of fear conditions
- long-term effects recorded - sociability and mating affected
Lorenz imprinting study: findings and conclusion (3)
- incubator group followed Lorenz
- control group followed mother goose
- Lorenz identified critical period where imprinting must happen or chick will never attach to a mother figure
Harlow imprinting study: findings and conclusion (4)
- baby monkey preferred soft mum than wire one - regardless of which dispensed food
- suggests contact and comfort more important than food when it came to attachment behaviour
- monkeys sought comfort from soft mum when scared
- long-term effects - sociability and mating affected
What is Ainsworth’s ‘The Strange Situation’?
The Strange Situation is a controlled observation used a method to assess the quality of a child’s attachment to a caregiver
The Strange Situation: 5 categories used to judge attachment quality
- proximity-seeking - secure will stay close
- secure-base behaviour - secure will explore - caregiver point of safety
- stranger anxiety - shown by secure
- separation anxiety - shown by secure
- reunion behaviour - secure will be enthusiastic
The Strange Situation: 7 episodes
Each ep lasted 3 minutes:
- child encouraged to explore by CG
- stranger enters + talks to CG
- CG leaves
- CG returns, stranger leaves
- CG leaves - baby alone
- stranger returns
- caregiver returns
