Attachment Key Words Flashcards
Attachment
Attachment is an emotional tie or bond between two people, usually a mother and a child. The relationship is shared, which means it is a two-way relationship.
Reciprocity
Reciprocity describes how two people interact, where both infant and mother respond to each other’s signals and elicit a response from each other.
International synchrony
Interactional synchrony is when mother and infant reflect both the actions and emotions of the other in a coordinated manner.
What are the stages of attachment?
Stages of attachment refer to a sequence of qualitatively different behaviors linked to specific ages, where infants’ behavior towards others changes as they grow.
What is the asocial stage of attachment?
The asocial stage occurs in the first few weeks, where babies’ behavior towards non-human objects and humans is similar.
What are indiscriminate attachments?
Indiscriminate attachments occur between 2-7 months, where babies start to show a preference for people but do not behave differently towards any one person.
What are specific attachments?
Specific attachments develop around 7 months, when babies start to show stranger anxiety as they form a specific attachment to one particular adult identified by Schaffer.
What are multiple attachments?
Multiple attachments occur from 1 year onwards, when babies extend their specific attachment to others, forming secondary attachments.
What are animal studies?
Animal studies are research conducted on non-human animal species rather than humans, often for ethical or practical reasons.
What is imprinting?
Imprinting is when offspring follow the first large moving object they see.
What is learning theory?
Learning theory is a set of theories from the behaviorist approach to psychology that emphasize the role of learning in the acquisition of behavior.
What is classical conditioning?
Classical conditioning is a type of learning where an existing involuntary reflex response is associated with a new stimulus.
What is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning is a type of learning where a new voluntary behavior is associated with a consequence; reinforcement makes the behavior more likely to occur, while punishment makes it less likely.
Primary drive
An innate biological motivator
Secondary drive
Are those learned through conditioning or association with a primary drive such as attachment and social acceptance
Monotropic
A term used to describe bowlbys theory
Mono means “one” indicating that one particular attachment is different from all others and or central importance to the child’s development
Innate
A behaviour that is instinctive and does not need to be learned
Internal working model
The metal representations we all carry with us of our attachment to our primary caregiver
They are important in affecting our future relationships because they carry our perception of what relationships are like
Social releases
Innate behaviours are shown by an infant that lead to a caregiving response (eg. Cooing)
Critical period
This refers to the time within which an attachment must form if it is to form at all
Sensitive period
The best time period over which attachments can be formed
Strange situation
A controlled observation designed to test attachments security
Infants are assessed on their response to playing in an unfamiliar room, being left alone, left with a stranger and being reunited with a caregiver
Secure attachment
The most desired attachment type associated with psychologically healthy outcomes
Moderate stranger anxiety and separation anxiety and ease of comfort reunion
Insecure avoidant attachment
Characterised by low anxiety but weak attachment
Low stranger anxiety and seperation anxiety and little response to reunion
