Attachment I (Developmental Psych.)

Question 1

Define Attachment

Answer 1

• a long-enduring, emotionally meaningful tie to a particular individual.

Question 2

What are the characteristics of an attachment?

Answer 2

• selective, directed towards specific people
• physical proximity seeking
• provides comfort and security
• may produce separation distress

Question 3

Describe Bowlby’s (1969) stage theory of attachment.

Answer 3

• Stage 1 (after birth): infant responds without discriminating different people (asocial stage).
• Stage 2 (5-7 months): Infants show preference for one or more persons (indiscriminate attachment).
• Stage 3 (7-9 months): proximity to preferred person(s) is maintained (separation anxiety); infants are increasingly wary/fearful of unfamiliar persons (fear of strangers
• Stage 4 (3yrs)- goals-corrected partnership between child and caregiver, needs of the caregiver are acknowledged.
• Stage 5 (later onset around school age) - attachment becomes a more abstract concept, based on affection, trust and approval for example.

Question 4

How does attachment link to other developmental processes?

Answer 4

• Bowlby’s attachment account depends on other developmental processes.
• e.g., certain forms of learning in early social interactions (imitation).
• aspects of cognitive sensori-motor development (cause-effect relations, object permanence).
• the largely instinctive storage of newborns.

Question 5

Who are attachments made with?

Answer 5

• The strongest attachment is formed often with the mother, but not always.

Question 6

Describe Schaffer and Emerson’s Theory (1964)

Answer 6

• the proportion of babies having more than one attachment figure increases over time, from initially 29% to 87% at an age of 18 months.
• for 1/3 of the babies, the strongest attachment seemed to be to someone other than the mother (e.g., father, grandparent or an older sibling).
• strong attachments were formed with persons who interacted a lot with the infant (rather than just providing care).

Question 7

Who are attachments made with?

Answer 7

Fox (1977):
- studied attachment in Israeli kibbutzim where young children spend a lot of their time in the charge of a nurse or foster mother (metapelet).
- observed that 1 and 2 yr olds reared in this way were strongly attached to both the mother and the metapelet.

Question 8

Describe Leiderman and Leiderman (1974)

Answer 8

• studies childrearing practices in east african farming communities.
• babies with MULTIPLE caregivers seemed less emotionally secure than those that had one caregiver.
• babies with MULTIPLE caregivers were found to be more cognitively advanced that those with a single caregiver.

Question 9

Describe Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation paradigm.

Answer 9

• one of the first to systematically characterise behaviours.
• strange situation: standard measure of attachment security, discovered by her and her colleagues (mainly for 12-24 month olds).
• the strange situation consists of 7 short episodes in total.
• involves 3 participants which are the caregiver/mother (M)
• infant (I)
  stranger (S)

Question 10

Describe the Strange Situation Episodes.

Answer 10

M: caregiver or mother, I: Infant, S: stranger.

M and I in room, I explores for three minutes.
S enters, sits for one minute, talks to M for one minute and gets down on the floor to play with I, one minute.
M leaves, S plays with I then withdraws if possible, up to three minutes.
M returns, S leaves unobtrusively, M settles I and then sits down for three minutes.
M leaves, I is alone for up to three minutes.
S comes in, attempts to settle I then withdraws if possible, up to three minutes.
M returns, S leaves unobtrusively, M settles I and sits down.

Question 11

Extra information on the Strange Situation.

Answer 11

• The Strange Situation subjects the child to increasing levels of stress.
• In episodes 1, 2 and end of episode 4 the infant will use the mother as a base to explore.
• In episodes 3, 5, and 6 the infant will be stressed by the absence of the mother.
• Episodes 4 and 7 involve reunions with the mother/caregiver

Question 12

Identify the 4 different attachment types found in the Strange Situation.

Answer 12

1. Type A: Insecure-avoidant
2. Type B: Secure
3. Type C: Insecure-resistant/ ambivalent
4. Type D: disorganised

Question 13

Describe the type A (Insecure-avoidant) attachment characteristics .

Answer 13

• Distinctive avoidance of proximity to or interaction with the mother in the reunion episodes.
• Infant may either ignore the mother on her return, or greet her casually.
• Infant mixes his/her welcome with avoidance responses (e.g., turning away, moving past or averting gaze).
• During separation the infant appears not particularly distressed.

Question 14

Describe the type B (secure) attachment characteristics.

Answer 14

• Infant actively seeks proximity with the mother, especially in the reunion episodes.
• May or may not be distressed during the separation episodes but any distress is related to the
  mother’s absence.
• Infant gains comfort from the mother’s return.

Question 15

Describe type C (insecure-resistant) attachment characteristics.

Answer 15

• Visible resistance behaviour to contact and interaction inn the reunion episodes.
• However, this is combined with some seeking of proximity and contact, thus giving the impression of being ambivalent or resistant.
• The infant seems to both seek comfort and at the same time resists the mother’s attention

Question 16

Describe Type D (Disorganised) Attachment characteristics.

Answer 16

• Infant shows very disorganized or disoriented behaviour in the Strange Situation.
• No clear pattern but inconsistent and often bizarre responses to separation/reunion.
• this was into introduced by Main et al (1985).

Question 17

Is type B always “best”?

Answer 17

• Oppenheim et al. (1988): found that babies that were securely attached to the mother at 12 months developed curiosity and problem-solving at 2 yrs.
• social confidence at nursery school at 3 yrs.
• empathy and independence at 5 yrs.
• predicted a lack of behaviour problems in boys at age 6 (Lewis et al).

Question 18

Is type B always “best”? (cont.)

Answer 18

• attachment is a dyadic measure involving 2 people; the infant-mother attachment type only modestly correlates with the infant-father relationship (van IJzendoorn & De Wolff).
• benefits of a given attachment type may also depend on the environment:
• Secure attachment may be of advantage in supportive environments with reliable caregivers and adequate resources.
• Insecure attachment may be more useful when resources (like caregivers) are unpredictable.

Question 19

Cultural variations in the distribution of attachment types.

Answer 19

• Germany: highest amount of insecure avoidant babies (type a- 49)
• Japan: highest amount of insecure-resistant babies (type c- 32)

Question 20

Describe the distribution of attachment types (cont.)

Answer 20

• Attachment theory claims that attachment relationships are cross-cultural universals.
• However, there is evidence for cultural variations (van IJzendoorn & Kroonenberg).
• These variations may reflect cultural differences in infant care and parenting strategy (e.g. Grossmann et al., 1985; Takahashi, 1990).

Question 21

Describe the role of nature and nurture.

Answer 21

• twin studies suggest that infants aren’t born with a strong predisposition to develop a certain kind of attachment.
• some possible environmental factors supported by research:
  1. quality and sensitivity of mother-infant relation.
  2. mothers’ so-called mind-mindedness, i.e. preparedness to recognize their infant as an individual rather than a creature with needs to be satisfied
  3. maternal depression

Question 22

Describe the relevance of the disorganised (type d) attachment.

Answer 22

• it is a sign of unresolved stress and anxiety.
• van IJzendoorn et al: disorganised attachment is higher in infants with:
• with severe neurological abnormalities (e.g., autism, Down syndrome) but not in case of physical disabilities.
• with mothers who have alcohol or drug abuse problems.
• with mothers who have maltreated or abused their infants.
• Type D attachment has been attributed to frightened or frightening behaviour by the mother or caregiver to the infant.
• Type D attachment has been found to predict later aggressive behaviour (for example at school) and child psychopathology (e.g., Carlson, 1998).
• The role of genetics for Type D attachment is still unclear.