Attachment: Key Terms Flashcards
Bodily Contact
physical interactions between carer and infant help to form the attachment bond, especially in period immediately after birth
Mimicking
infants seem to have an innate ability to imitate carers’ facial expressions, which suggests it is a biological device to aid the formation of attachments
Caregiverese
adults who interact with infants use a modified form of vocal language that is high-pitched, song-like in nature, slow and repetitive. this aids communication between carer and infant and strengthens the attachment bond
Interactional Synchrony
infants move their body in tune with the rhythm of carers’ spoken language to create a kind of turn-taking, as seen with two-way vocal conversations. this also serves to reinforce the attachment bond
Reciprocity
interactions between carers and infants result in mutual behaviour, with both parties being able to produce responses from each other, which also helps to fortify the attachment bond
The 4 Stages of Attachment in Order
1) Asocial (0-6 weeks)
2) Indiscriminate (6 weeks-6 months)
3) Discriminate (7 months onwards)
4) Multiple (10-11 months onward)
Asocial Attachment
- produce similar responses to objects + people + don’t prefer specific people to others
- have bias towards human-like stimuli + prefer to look at faces + eyes
- reciprocity + interactional synchrony play key role in establishing relationship with others
Indiscriminate Attachment
- become more sociable
- can tell people apart + preper to be in human company
- relatively easily comforted by anyone + don’t prefer specific individuals yet (no separation anxiety)
- no fear of strangers (stranger anxiety)
Discriminate Attachment
- start to display stranger anxiety
- become anxious when separated from one particular adult (mother in 65% of cases) + most comforted when this person returns
Multiple Attachments
- start to extend attachment behaviour to other adults they interact with
- 29% of infants had secondary attachment within a month of forming primary
- by 1 most developed multiple
Dad as Primary Attachment Figure
- Schaffer and Emerson found 65% became attached to mothers first
- 30% attachment formed simultaneously with mother and father
- 3% father first attachment
Dad as Secondary Attachment Figure
- within short period of time babies formed secondary attachments including to father
- 29% had secondary withn month of forming primary
- 75% attachment with father within 18 months
Learning Theory of Attachment
- proposes all behaviour is learned not inborn
- behaviourists propose all behaviour, including attachment learned wither through classical or operant conditioning
- proposed by behaviourists hwo focus on what people do rather than what goes on in their mind
Classical Conditioning Explaining Attachment
- process of association
- neutral stimulus to conditioned stimulus: foodgiver
- unconditioned stimulus: food
- unconditioned stimulus to conditioned stimulus: pleasure
Operant Conditioning Explaining Attachment
- when hungry infant feels uncomfortable and experiences drive state which motivates baby to find way to lessen discomfort of being hungry
- babies are altricial so cry and are fed which leads to drive reduction
- food=reward/primary reinforcer
- foodgiver=secondary reinforcer as become associated
- infant seeks this person as they ares ource of reward
- infant becomes attached through negatve reinforcement
Bowlby: Evolutionary Theory
- why attachment forms
- attachment is naturally selected behaviour
- increases chances of survival
- increases caregivers chance of genes surviving
- ‘trait’ been passed down through evolution
Bowlby: Social Releasers
- how attachment forms
- ensure infants can elicit care-giving reaction
- tend to be smiling, crying, cooing
- suggested these are innate in infants as is response in adults
Bowlby: Critical Period
- how attachment forms
- limited window within which something can take place
- believed that if child hadn’t formed attachment before 2 1/2 then it won’t be possible after
- proposed attachment determined in terms of reciprocity and interactional synchrony within critical period
Bowlby: Monotropic Theory
- how attachment forms
- said attachments were monotropy - infants have one special emotional bond to primary caregiver
- mum also only attches to one child at a time
- law of continuity: more constant a childs care, better quality of attachment
- low of accumulated separation: effects of every separation add up
Bowlby: Sensitivity Hypothesis
- how attachment forms
- proposes primary attachment figure not necessarily mother it’s who responds in most responsive and sensitive manner to infants’ social releasers
- interactional synchrony and reciprocity help fortify bond as they’re sign of babies and adults being responsive
Bowlby: Internal Working Model
- consequence of attachment
- believed relationship formed with one special attachment figure (monotropy) provides infant with internal working model of relationships
- internal working model is schema or blueprint which creates expectations about what to expect from others in future relationships
- short term allows form partnership with caregiver
- long term acts as template for future intimate relationships
Bowlby: Continuity Hypothesis
- consequence of attachment
- states infants monotropic relationship influences all future relationships
- early attachment relationship will be reflected in later emotional behaviour
- those securely attached will be socially and emotionally competent adults
- those insecurely attached with have social and emotional difficulties in childhood and adulthood
Culture
the norms and values that exist within any group of people
Cultural Variations
the differences of the norms and values between these groups of people
Individualist Culture
value independence, individual seen as most important
Collectivist Culture
value inter-dependence, group seen as most important
Bowlby’s (1953) Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis (MDH)
if an infant is unable to develop a ‘warm, intimate and continuous relationship with his mother (or permanent mother-substitute)’ then the child will have difficulty forming relationships with other people and be at risk of behavioural disorders
MDH: Discontinuous Relationships
when there are separations, attachment becomes unstable and less predictable and this disrupts the development
MDH: Critical Period
- if a child experiences repeated separations before 2 1/2 years of age, they are likely to become emotionally disturbed
- continuing risk of disruption up to age 5
MDH: Monotropic
believed child needed to form relationship with one primary care-giver for healthy emotional development
MDH: IQ
believed if children are deprived of maternal care for too long during critical period they’d suffer intellectual disability (low IQ)
MDH: Affectionless Psychopathy
believed deprivation of maternal care could have emotional consequences, such as affectionless psychopathy (lacking guilt and empathy)
4 Effects of Institutionalisation
1) physical underdevelopment
2) intellectual underfuctioning
3) disinhibited attachment
4) poor parenting
Effects of Institutionalisation: Physical Underdevelopment
children in institutional care are usually physically small due to lack of emotional care, called deprivation dwarfism
Effects of Institutionalisation: Intellectual Underfuctioning
cognitive development is also affected by emotional deprivation
Effects of Institutionalisation: Disinhibited Attachment
- form of insecure attachment where children don’t discriminate between people they choose as attachment figures
- will treat near-strangers with inappropriate familiarity and may be attention seeking
Effects of Institutionalisation: Poor Parenting
long term effect of institutionalisation where ex-institutional adults experience extreme difficulties acting as parents
4 Behaviours influenced by Internal Working Model
1) childhood friendships
2) poor parenting
3) romantic relationships
4) mental health
How IWM Influences Childhood Friendships
- Minnesota child-parent study found continuity between early attachment and late emotional/social behaviour
- individuals classed as securely attached in infancy were highest rated for social competence later in childhood, less isolated, more popular, more empathetic
- in terms of IWM: securely attached infants have higher expectations that others are friendly and trusting, enabling easier relationships with others
How IWM Influences Poor Parenting
- Harlow’s research demonstrated a link between poor attachment and later difficulties with parenting
- Quinton et al showed that this is true for humans too as the lack of an IWM means that individuals lack a reference point to subsequently form relationships with their own children
How IWM Influences Romantic Relationships
Hazan and Shaver demonstarted a link between early attachment type and later relationships as individuals who were securely attached had longer-lasting romantic relationships
How IWM Influences Mental Health
- lack of attachment during critical period in development would result in lack of IWM
- children with attachment disorder have no preferred attachment figure, inability to interact and relate to others that is evident before age 5, and experience of severe neglect or frequent change of caregivers
- attachment disorder has been recently classed as a distinct psychiatric condition and included in the DSM
Key Study: Meltzoff and Moore (1977)
Aim: to investigate interactional synchrony in 2-3 week old infants
Procedure: adult displayed 1 of 3 facial expressions or 1 hand gesture, response in infant was videotaped, observers noted instances of “infant tongue protrusions” and “head movements” using behavioural categories and not seeing adult
Findings: association found between expression or gesture adult had displayed and actions of the baby
Conclusion: interactional synchrony is innate in humans and babies use this method to bond with caregivers
Key Study: Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
Procedure: 31 male and 29 female babies from working class families in Glasgow, visited every month for 1st year and then at 18 months, assessed separation anxiety and stranger anxiety
Findings: 50 showed specific attachment by 40 weeks (83%), 25 showed fear of strangers by 32 weeks (42%)
Conclusion: 4 stages of attachment, asocial, indiscriminate, discriminate, multiple
Key Study: Lorenz (1952)
Aim: to investigate whether or not humans can form attachments with animals
Procedure: clutch of gosling eggs divided into 2 groups, 1 group left with natural mother, other put in an incubator, when the incubator group hatched Lorenz was the first living thing they saw, he marked the 2 groups to distinguish them and placed them together and observed their behaviour
Findings: they quickly divided themselves up with one group following natural mother and the other following Lorenz
Conclusion: young animals imprint on the first moving object they see, this is important in the short term for protection
Long Term Effects: animals choose to mate with same kind of object upon which they were imprinted, irreversible
Key Study: Harlow (1959)
Aim: to investigate learning theory
Procedure: 2 types of surrogate mother, wire and towelling, 16 baby monkeys in cages of 4 conditions: wire mother with milk and towelling mother not, wire mother not and towelling mother with milk, wire mother with milk, towelling mother with milk, time spent with each and feeding time recorded, frightened with loud noise, further conditions used larger cages
Findings: preferred contact with towelling mother when given a choice regardless of whether with milk, stretch across to wire mother to feed while still clinging to towelling mother, monkeys with only wire mother had diarrhoea - sign of stress, when frightened monkeys clung to towelling mother in conditions where available, in larger cages monkeys with towelling mothers explored more and visited surrogate more
Conclusion: rhesus monkeys have innate, unlearned need for contact comfort, suggesting attachment concerns emotional security more than food
Long Term Effects: monkeys without mother developed social and sexual abnormalities, unable to recover if had 6+ months with wire mother, could if they had alternative care from monkey ‘peers’ within 3 months
Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Episodes
1) behaviour assessed: observer introduces mother and baby to experimental room, then leaves to let them play
2) secure base: mother sits and is passive while the baby explores and plays, willingness to explore
3) stranger anxiety: stranger enters and for the first minute is silent, second talks with mother and third approaches and tries to play with the baby, then the mother leaves unobtrusively
4) separation anxiety: the first separation episode, stranger offers comfort if needed
5) reunion behaviour: first reunion episode, stranger leaves, mother enters and comforts baby then lets baby play before leaving again
6) separation anxiety: second separation episode, baby completely alone
7) stranger anxiety: continuation of second separation, stranger enters and offers comfort if needed
8) reunion behaviour: second reunion episode, mother enters and comforts baby while stranger leaves unobtrusively
Secure Attachment (Type B)
- 70%
- play happily while mother present (high willingness to explore)
- upset when mother left (distressed separation anxiety)
- wanted immediate comfort when mother returned (seeks and accepts reunion behaviour)
- treated mother and stranger differently (high stranger anxiety)
Insecure-Avoidant (Type A)
- 15%
- ignore mother (high willingness to explore)
- little stress when she left and ignored on returning (indifferent separation anxiety and avoids contact reunion behaviour)
- responded to mother and stranger similarly (low stranger anxiety)
Insecure-Resistant (Type C)
- 15%
- fussy and wary even when mother present (low willingness to explore)
- cry more (high stranegr anxiety)
- distressed when mother left (distressed separation anxiety)
- wanted contact but also showed anger and resisted (seeks and rejects reunion behaviour)
Key Study: Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenburg (1988)
Aim: to investigate whether there are differences in attachment types between cultures
Procedure: meta analysis, looked through various databases to find multiple studies on attachment and decided to use all those they found which had uses strange situation, altogether looked at over 2,000 from 32 studies and 8 countries
Findings: secure attachment most common across all 8 countries, significatn differences found in distribution of insecure attachments: western dominant type was avoidance, non western dominant type was resistance, exception of China with 50/50 split
Conclusion: global pattern across cultures appears to be similar to US, supports idea secure attachment is ‘best’ for healthy social and amotional development
Key Study: Bowlby (1944)
Aim: to investigate if frequent early separations are associated with risk of behavioural disorders
Procedure: 88 children 5-6 years old referred to child guidance clinic, 44 classified as ‘thieves’, of these 44 16 were identified as afectionless psychopaths, other 44 hadn’t committed crimes and didn’t display antisocial behaviour, intervieweed children and families
Findings: 86% of thieves diagnosed as AP experienced early and prolonged separations from mothers, 17% of other thieves had, 4% of non-thieves had
Conclusion: there’s a link between early separations and later social and emotional maladjustment, insevere form maternal deprivation leads to AP in less severe it leads to antisocial behaviour
Key Study: Rutter and Sonuga-Barke (2010)
Aim: to investigate how being institutionalised effects development and attachments
Procedure: 165 romanian children who’d been institutionalised, 111 adopted before 2 and 54 by 4, tested at regular intervals (4,6,11,15) to assess physical, cognitive and social development, prgress was compared to control group of 52 British children adopted before 6 months
Findings: at adoption 120 lagged behind: smaller, weighed less and classified as mentally retarded, by 4 some had caught up which was true for almost all adopted before 6 months, follow ups confirmed significant deficits in minority institutionalised beyond 6 months: disinhibited attachments, problems with peer relationships
Conclusion: long term consequences less severe than once thought if children have opportunity to form attachments, when they don’t consequences likely to be severe
Key Study: Sroufe et al (2005)
Procedure: longitudinal, 267 1st time mothers in 3rd trimester, assessments of mothers circumstances, characteristics, parent expectations and pre-natal care, assessments of parents and childrens temperament and observations of parent child interactions at birth, infancy, childhood, ages 16,17 1/2,19,23,26,28
Findings: individuals securely attached in infancy rated highest for social competence in later childhood, less isolated and more popular and empathetic, continuity between ealry attachment and later emotional and social behaviour
Conclusion: there is continuity between early attachment styles and the quality of childhood relationships
Key Study: Hazan and Shaver (1987)
Aim: to investigate the IWM
Procedure: placed Love Quiz in newspaper, asked qs about current attachments and past and attitudes towards love, 620 responses: 205 men and 415 women
Findings: 56% secure, 25% IA, 19% IR, positive correlation between attachment type and love experiences, relationship between IWM and attachment type: securely attached tended to have positive IWM, secure have 10year average relationship, IR: 5, IA: 6
Conclusion: attachments in childhood are closely linked and similar to those in adulthood
Internal Working Model
a mental model of the world which enables individuals to predict and control their environment
- in attachment model relates to a persons expectations about relationships
