Attachment key words

Question 1

Reciprocity

Answer 1

Description of how 2 people interact

Both infant and mother respond to each other’s signals, each elicits response

Question 2

Interactional synchrony

Answer 2

Mother and infant reflect both the actions and emotions of the other and do in co-ordinated (synchronised) way

Question 3

Attachment

Answer 3

Close 2 way emotional bond between 2 individuals in which each sees the other as essential for own emotional security

Question 4

Proximity

Answer 4

People try to stay physically close to whom which they are attached

Question 5

Secure-base behaviour

Answer 5

Even when independent of attachment figure, tend to make regular contact with them
e.g infant return while playing

Question 6

Stages of attachment

Answer 6

Many developmental theories identify a sequence of qualitatively different behaviours linked to specific ages. In stages of attachment some characteristics of the infants’s behaviour towards others change as the infant gets older

Question 7

Stages of attachment 1-4

Answer 7

Asocial stage
Indiscriminate attachment
Specific attachment
Multiple attachments

Question 8

Multiple attachments

Answer 8

Attachments to 2 or more people. Most babies develop once formed 1 true attachment to main carer

Question 9

Learning theory

Answer 9

Set of theories from behaviourist approach
emphasis role of learning
classical/ operant conditioning

Question 10

Monotropic

Answer 10

Describe Bowlby’s theory

One particular attachment different from all others and is of central importance to child’s development

Question 11

Critical period

Answer 11

Time within which attachment must form if it is to form at all
Humans have sensitive period
After- difficult to form attachment

Question 12

Strange situation

Answer 12

Controlled observation to test attachment
Infants assessed on response to playing in unfamiliar room, being left alone, left with stranger and reunited with caregiver

Question 13

Proximity seeking

Answer 13

good attachment - will stay fairly close to caregiver

Question 14

Exploration and secure-base behaviour

Answer 14

good attachment - child confident to explore using caregiver as secure base (point of contact that will make them feel safe)

Question 15

Stranger anxiety

Answer 15

good attachment - anxiety when stranger approaches

Question 16

Separation anxiety

Answer 16

good attachment - protest at separation from caregiver

Question 17

Response to reunion

Answer 17

Child’s response of reunion after separation from caregiver for short time

Question 18

Culture

Answer 18

Norms and values that exist within group of people

Question 19

Cultural variations

Answer 19

Difference in norms and values that exist between people in different groups
Attachment - differences in proportion of children of different attachment types

Question 20

Maternal deprivation

Answer 20

Emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and mother
Continuous care is essential for normal psychological development

Question 21

Institutionalisation

Answer 21

Effects of living in institutional setting (hospital, orphanage) for continuous time
Little emotional care provided
Affects attachment and subsequent development

Question 22

Orphan studies

Answer 22

Concern children placed in care because parents cannot look after them
Orphan - child whose parents died or have abandoned permanently

Question 23

Childhood relationships

Answer 23

Affiliations with other people in childhood (friends, classmates, teachers)

Question 24

Adult relationships

Answer 24

Relationship child goes on to have later in life as adult

Friendships, working relationships, romantic, with own child

Question 25

Internal working models

Answer 25

Mental representation we carry of attachment to primary caregiver
Affects future relationships - carry perception of what relationships are like

Question 26

Secure attachment

Answer 26

Psychologically healthy outcomes

Strange situation - moderate stranger/separation anxiety, ease of comfort at reunion

Question 27

Insecure-avoidant attachment

Answer 27

Low anxiety but weak attachment

Strange situation - Low stranger/separation anxiety, little response to reunion (avoid caregiver)

Question 28

Insecure-resistant attachment

Answer 28

High anxiety, strong attachment

Strange situation - high stranger/separation anxiety, resist comfort at reunion