Attachment Key Terms

Question 1

Affectionless Psychopathy

Answer 1

Bowlby coined this term to describe those who don’t show remorse, guilt, shame or concern or affection for others.

Question 2

Altricial

Answer 2

Helpless at birth or hatching, and requiring parental care as an infant.

Humans are altricial, meaning we must form bonds with adults who will protect & nurture us.

(Opposite of precocial)

Question 3

Asocial Stage

Answer 3

Schaffer’s 1st Attachment Stage
0 - 6 weeks
Infant may respond to faces or voices, but no attachments are yet formed.

Question 4

Attachment

Answer 4

Schaffer (1993): ‘A close emotional relationship between two persons, characterised by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity.’
(Usually describes infant & mother)

Question 5

Collectivist Cultures

Answer 5

Concerned with group & community as opposed to self. Decisions often involved what is food for others.
(e.g. Japan)

Question 6

Contact Comfort

Answer 6

Physical & emotional comfort an infant receives from proximity to mother.

Question 7

Continuity Hypothesis

Answer 7

The idea that early relationships with caregivers predict later relationships in adulthood.

Question 8

Critical Period

Answer 8

A time period where an attachment has to form/ characteristics are learnt, or they never will.
(Harlow proposed the idea for monkeys, and Bowlby later used the same principal for humans)

Question 9

Disinhibited Attachment

Answer 9

When a child shows equal affection to strangers as they do to well-known people, seeking comfort & attention from anyone, without distinction.

Question 10

Disorganised attachment

Answer 10

Insecure attachment, displaying inconsistent behavioural pattern, varying between secure & insecure.

Question 11

Evolutionary Explanation

Answer 11

Explanation for behaviour such as attachment that views it as a way of increasing the chances of survival.

Question 12

Imitation

Answer 12

Infant directly copies the caregiver’s expression.

Question 13

Imprinting

Answer 13

Where offspring follow the first-object they see as soon as they have been born/hatched.

Question 14

Indiscriminate Attachment

Answer 14

Schaffer’s 2nd Attachment Stage
2-7 months
Infant can distinguish between familiar & unfamiliar people, but without stranger anxiety

Question 15

Individualistic Cultures

Answer 15

Concerned with themselves, usually countries that promote independence.
(e.g. USA, Germany)

Question 16

Insecure-Avoidant Attachment

Answer 16

A term developed by Ainsworth in the Strange Situation to describe…
- Low stranger anxiety
- Low separation anxiety
- Little response to reunion with mother

Question 17

Insecure-Resistant Attachment

Answer 17

A term developed by Ainsworth in the Strange Situation to describe…
- High stranger anxiety
- High separation anxiety
- Resistance to comfort at reunion with mother

Question 18

Institutionalisation

Answer 18

The effects of growing up in an institution, such as a children’s home or orphanage

Question 19

Interactional synchrony

Answer 19

A simultaneous interaction between infant & caregiver who seemingly act rhythmically and match each other’s actions & emotions in a coordinated manner.

(Like a dance)

Feldman: ‘Temporal coordination of micro-level social behaviour’ & ‘symbolic exchanges between parent and child’

[Feldman (2007) said it serves a critical role in developmental outcomes in terms of self-regulation, symbol use and capacity for empathy]

Question 20

Internal Working Model

Answer 20

Mental representation of our relationship with our primary caregiver which becomes a template for future relationships.

Question 21

Learning Theory

Answer 21

Explanations that emphasise the role of learning in acquiring behaviours such as attachment

Question 22

Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis

Answer 22

Separation from the mother figure in early childhood has can cause damage to a child’s emotional & intellectual development, even… AFFECTIONLESS PSYCHOPATHY

Question 23

Monotropy (& Monotropic Theory)

Answer 23

A unique & close attachment to one person (the primary attachment figure)

Bowlby’s theory that attachment is an innate system that is biologically programmed from birth.

Question 24

Multiple Attachments

Answer 24

Schaffer’s 4th Attachment Stage
10/11 months +
Formation of emotional bonds with more than one carer (usually family, e.g. siblings or grandparents)

Question 25

Precocial

Answer 25

Hatched or born in an advanced state, animal can feed itself almost immediately.
(opposite of altricial)

Question 26

Primary Reinforcer

Answer 26

Primary drives & motives we seek to satisfy, through help of secondary reinforcer (usually caregiver).
(e.g hunger & thirst)

Question 27

Privation

Answer 27

No attachment is formed in early childhood. Can happen in institutions if there is poor emotional care.

Question 28

Prototype Perspective

Answer 28

The belief that the IWM impacts future relationships and thus that the IWM is consistent over their life as it predicts future relationships.

Question 29

Proximity Seeking

Answer 29

How infants try to maintain physical contact or be close to their attachment figure.

Question 30

Sensitive Responsiveness

Answer 30

Adult caregiver correctly interprets the meaning of the infant’s communication and is motivated to respond appropriately.

Question 31

Secure Attachment

Answer 31

Developed by Ainsworth in the SS to describe…
- Moderate separation anxiety
- Moderate stranger anxiety
- Joy on reunion with mother

Question 32

Separation Anxiety

Answer 32

When an infant shows distress at separation from their caregiver

Question 33

Stranger Anxiety

Answer 33

When an infant shows a degree of distress when with unfamiliar people.

Question 34

Reciprocity

Answer 34

A mutual turn-taking interaction between infant & caregiver where they contribute to the interaction by responding to each other’s signals & cues.

(Like a conversation)

[Feldman (2007) said it can be seen in interactions from 3 months of age]

Question 35

Reunion behaviours

Answer 35

How a child reacts to being reunited with their caregiver after a period of time of being separated.

Question 36

Revisionist Perspective

Answer 36

The belief that the IWM updates as a result of different life experiences - allows for changes in relationship patterns over time.

Question 37

Sensitive Period

Answer 37

The best time when attachments can form.

Question 38

Social releasers

Answer 38

Innate behaviours shown by an infant that lead to a caregiver’s response.

Question 39

Specific Attachment

Answer 39

Schaffer’s 3rd Attachment Stage
6-7 months
Infant shows a strong attachment to one particular person & are wary of strangers.

Question 40

Strange Situation

Answer 40

A controlled observation used to test children’s attachment patterns - developed by Mary Ainsworth.

Question 41

Temperament

Answer 41

The characteristics & aspects of personality that an infant is born with and that might impact their attachment type.