Attachment (definitions) Flashcards
Attachment
A close, emotional, two-way bond, in which each person sees the other as important for security, characterised by proximity seeking, separation distress and secure-based behaviour
Reciprocity
Both the mother and infant responding to each other’s signals and eliciting a response (behavioural)
Interactional synchrony
The mother and infant reflecting the actions and emotions of the other in a synchronised and dynamic way (emotional)
Asocial stage
(First few weeks) - the baby’s behaviour towards humans and objects is quite similar, but they show preference for the presence of humans
Indiscriminate attachment
(2-7 months) - the baby shows preference for humans over objects, and can recognise familiar adults, but they will accept comfort from any adult
Specific attachment
(7 months) - the baby starts to show stranger and separation anxiety, and forms a close bond to a particular adult (65% of the time the biological mother)
Multiple attachments
(7+ months) - the baby forms close bonds to several particular adults with whom they regularly spend time
Proximity seeking
How close the infant stays to its caregiver
Exploration and secure-base behaviour
How much the infant is able to explore, using the caregiver as a reliable, safe point of contact
Stranger anxiety
How distressed the infant gets when approached by a stranger
Separation anxiety
How distressed the infant gets when left by its caregiver
Response to union
After separation, how the infant reacts to being reunited with its caregiver
Secure attachment
The child explores happily using the caregiver as a safe base, has moderate stranger and separation anxiety, and accepts comfort on reunion
Insecure-avoidant attachment
The child explores without seeing proximity to the caregiver, has little stranger or separation anxiety, and does not require comfort on reunion
Insecure-resistant attachment
The child does not explore and stays close to the caregiver, has huge stranger and separation anxiety, but refuses comfort on reunion
Imprinting
Bird species that are mobile from births attach to and follow the first moving object they see
The law of continuity
The more constant and predictable a child’s care, the better the quality of attachment
The law of accumulated separation
The effects of separation from the primary caregiver add up, and ‘the safest dose of separation is zero’ - Bowlby
Maternal deprivation
The loss or disruption to a warm, intimate, continuous relationship with the mother or mother-substitute during the first few years of life
Affectionless psychopathy
The inability to experience guilt or strong emotions for others. This prevents the person developing normal relationships.
Institutionalisation
Deficits in psychological, social and life skills which develop after a person has spent a long period living in remote institutions such as orphanages, mental hospitals and prisons.
Disinhibited attachment
A widespread pattern of attention-seeking behaviour with a relative lack of selectivity in social relationships.
Disorganised attachment
A mixture of resistant and avoidant behaviour, sometimes referred to as attachment type D.
Internal working model
A mental representation of how relationships should be, influenced by attachment in early life to the primary caregiver.
Cultural variation
The differences in norms and values that exist between different groups of people
Secondary attachment
Attachments formed later on to figures other than the primary caregiver (e.g. dad)
Stages of attachment
A sequence of qualitatively different attachment behaviours linked to specific ages
Sexual imprinting
Animals display courtship behaviour towards and mate preference for the first species they encounter
Primary drive
An innate, biological motivator e.g. hunger
Secondary drive
A motivation learned through the association between some factor and the satisfaction of a primary drive
Critical period
The time within which an attachment must form if it is to form at all
Social releasers
Innate ‘cute’ behaviours which encourage adult attention
Imposed etic
Applying a theory developed in and designed for one culture to another culture
Primary caregiver
The first person the child forms an attachment with (the biological mother in 65% of cases)
