attachment keywords

Question 1

affectionless psychopathy

Answer 1

a term used by Bowlby to describe people who don’t show concern or affection for other people and show no or very little remorse or guilt

Question 2

asocial stage

Answer 2

stage from 0-6 weeks where infant may respond to faces or voices but an attachment has not been formed

Question 3

attachment

Answer 3

two-way enduring emotional tie to another person

Question 4

contact comfort

Answer 4

the physical and emotional comfort that an infant receives from being close to its mother

Question 5

continuity hypothesis

Answer 5

the idea that early relationships with caregivers predict later relationships in adulthood

Question 6

cupboard love

Answer 6

babies develop an attachment with their caregiver because they provide food

Question 7

critical period

Answer 7

a time period where an attachment has to form or it never will

Question 8

classical conditioning

Answer 8

learning by association when an unconditioned stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus

Question 9

deprivation

Answer 9

child is not in the presence of the primary attachment figure and loses an element of care

Question 10

disinhibited attachment

Answer 10

child shows equal affection to strangers as they do people they know well

Question 11

evolutionary explanation

Answer 11

explanation for behaviour such as attachment that views it as increasing survival chances

Question 12

ethology

Answer 12

study of animal behaviour

Question 13

imprinting

Answer 13

where offspring follow the first large-moving object they see

Question 14

indiscriminate attachment

Answer 14

Infants aged 2-7 months can discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar peop but does not show stranger anxiety

Question 15

innate behaviour

Answer 15

a behaviour that is instinctive and does not need to be learned

Question 16

insecure avoidant attachment

Answer 16

attachment classification in Strange Situation where child shows low stranger and separation anxiety and little response to reunion

Question 17

insecure resistant attachment

Answer 17

attachment classification in Strange Situation where child shoes high stranger and separation anxiety and resists comfort at reunion

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

infant and caregiver reflect each other’s actions and emotions in a coordinated manner

Question 20

internal working model

Answer 20

mental representation of our relationship with our primary caregiver that 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 serious consequences

Question 23

monotropy

Answer 23

a unique and close attachment to one person - the primary attachment figure

Question 24

multiple attachments

Answer 24

formation of emotional bonds with more than one carer

Question 25

mutual reinforcement

Answer 25

reinforcement is a two way process - crying and comfort is positive reinforcement for the baby and negative reinforcement for the caregiver

Question 26

orphan

Answer 26

child whose parents have died or abandoned them permanently

Question 27

operant conditioning

Answer 27

a form of learning in which behaviour is shaped and maintained by its consequences

Question 28

privation

Answer 28

failure to form an attachment in early childhood

Question 29

proximity seeking

Answer 29

the way that infants try to maintain physical contact or be close to their attachment figure

Question 30

reciprocity

Answer 30

infant and caregiver match each other’s responses

Question 31

secondary attachment figure

Answer 31

a person other than the primary caregiver with whom the child has formed a close emotional bond

Question 32

secure attachment

Answer 32

most desirable attachment classification in Strange Situation where child shows separation anxiety, stranger anxiety and joy on reunion

Question 33

sensitive period

Answer 33

the best time period over which attachments can form

Question 34

separation anxiety

Answer 34

degree of distress shown by the child when separated from the caregiver

Question 35

social releasers

Answer 35

innate behaviours shown by an infant that lead to a caregiving response

Question 36

specific attachment

Answer 36

infants aged 7 months tend to show a strong attachment to one particular person and are wary of strangers

Question 37

Strange Situation

Answer 37

a controlled observation used to test children’s attachment patterns

Question 38

stranger anxiety

Answer 38

degree of distress shown by an infant when with unfamiliar people

Question 39

temperament

Answer 39

the characteristics and aspects of personality an infant is born with and that might impact on its attachment type