attachment key terminology Flashcards
define ‘attachment’ (key terminology - attachment)
- a close two-way emotional bond between two individuals in which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security
define ‘caregiver infant interaction’ (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- the interactions between infants & their caregivers
- good quality early social interaction is associated with successful social development & development of attachment between baby & caregiver
define ‘reciprocity’ (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- a description of how two people interact
- caregiver-infant interaction is reciprocal in that both caregiver & baby respond to each other’s signals & each elicits a response from the other
define ‘interactional synchrony’ (key terminology - attachment)
- caregiver & baby copy both the actions & emotions of the other & do this in a co-ordinated/synchronised way where they mirror each other’s behaviour
define ‘alert phases’ (key terminology - attachment)
- periodic phases in which babies signal that they are ready for interaction (e.g. through eye contact)
define ‘asocial stage’ (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- babies observable behaviour towards adults & inanimate objects is very similar
- they tend to show a preference for familiar people & are more easily comforted by them
define ‘indiscriminate attachment’ (3) (key terminology - attachment)
- babies start to display more obvious social behaviours
- they show a clear preference for humans over inanimate objects
- don’t show stranger or separation anxiety
define ‘specific attachment’ (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- babies start to show classic signs of attachment behaviour towards one particular person (e.g. stranger & separation anxiety)
- they form a specific attachment with their primary attachment figure
define ‘multiple attachments’ (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- babies extend attachment behaviours to others they regularly spend time with to form secondary attachments
- in Schaffer & Emerson’s study, the majority of babies had developed multiple attachments by the age of 1
define ‘primary attachment figure’ (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- the person who has formed the closest bond with a child (demonstrated by the intensity of the relationship)
- this is usually the biological mother but other people can fulfil the role
define ‘father’ (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- in attachment research the father is the person who takes on the role of the main male caregiver
- this can be but isn’t necessarily the biological father
define ‘imprinting’ (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- an innate readiness to acquire certain behaviours during a critical/sensitive period of attachment
- in bird species they imprint on the first moving object they see
define ‘critical period’ (key terminology - attachment)
- the time within which an attachment must form if it is to form at all
define ‘sensitive period’ (key terminology - attachment)
- a period of time when the effects of experience are particularly strong on a limited period in development
define ‘animal studies’ (key terminology - attachment)
- studies carried out on non-human animal species, either for practical or ethical reasons
define ‘contact comfort’ (key terminology - attachment)
- the comfort experienced by an infant when they are in physical contact with their primary attachment figure
define ‘learning theory of attachment’ (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- a learning approach to explaining attachment (that focuses on the role of learning)
- uses classical & operant conditioning to explain attachment
define ‘attachment as a secondary drive (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- Sears et al (1957)
- hunger is a primary drive & as caregivers provide food, the primary drive is generalised to them
define ‘monotropy’ in relation to Bowlby (key terminology - attachment)
- indicated that one particular attachment is different from all others & is of central importance to a child’s development
define ‘law of continuity’ (key terminology - attachment)
- the more constant & predictable a child’s care is, the better the quality of their attachment
define ‘law of accumulated separation) (key terminology - attachment)
- the effects of every separation from the mother add up & can have negative consequences
define ‘social releasers’ (key terminology - attachment)
- a social behaviour or characteristic displayed by a baby that elicits a reaction from an adult
define ‘internal working model’ (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- our mental representations of the world
- it affects our future relationships as it carries our perception of what relationships should be like
define ‘Strange Situation’ (3) (key terminology - attachment)
- Ainsworth & Bell (1970)
- a controlled observation designed to test attachment security
- babies are assessed on their response to playing in an unfamiliar room, being left alone, left with a stranger & their response to reunion with caregiver
define ‘secure attachment’ (3) (key terminology - attachment)
- generally thought of as the most desirable attachment type
- associated with psychologically healthy outcomes
- in the Strange Situation it is shown by moderate stranger & separation anxiety & ease of comfort at reunion
define ‘insecure-avoidant attachment) (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- characterised by low anxiety but weak attachment
- in the Strange Situation it is shown by low stranger & separation anxiety & little response to reunion (maybe even avoiding the caregiver)
define ‘insecure-resistant’ attachment (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- characterised by strong attachment & high anxiety
- in the Strange Situation it is shown by high stranger & separation anxiety & resistance to be comforted at reunion
define ‘cultural variations’ (key terminology - attachment)
- the differences in norms & values that exist between people in different groups
define ‘maternal deprivation’ (key terminology - attachment)
- the emotional & intellectual consequences of separation between a child & their mother/mother substitute
define ‘separation’ (key terminology - attachment)
- the absence of a primary caregiver
define ‘affectionless psychopathy’ (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- a behaviour disorder in which the individual has no ability to experience shame or guilt & lacks a social conscience
- often associated with criminality
define ‘orphan studies’ (key terminology - attachment)
- concern children planned in care because their parents can’t look after them
define ‘institutionalisation’ (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- the effects of living in an institutional setting (e.g. hospital or orphanage)
- there is often little emotional care provided in these institutions
define ‘disinhibited attachment’ (2) (key terminology - attachment)
- a type of insecure attachment where children don’t form close attachments
- these children will treat strangers in the same way they do familiar people & may be attention seeking
define ‘childhood relationships’ (key terminology - attachment)
- affiliations with other people in childhood including friends & classmates & adults such as teachers
define ‘adulthood relationships’ (key terminology - attachment)
- the relationships a child goes on to have later in life as an adult (e.g. romantic partners & a person’s relationship with their own children)
