Attachment- Keywords Flashcards
Attachment
A close two-way emotional bond between two individuals in which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security.
Reciprocity
A description of how two people interact. Mother- infant interaction is reciprocal in the both monther and infant respond to each other.
Interactional synchrony
Mother and infant reflect both the actions and emotions of each other and do this in a co-ordinated way.
Stages of attachment
A sequence of qualitatively different behaviours linked to specific ages.
Learning theory
A set of theories from the behaviourist approach to psychology, emphasise the role of learning in the aquisition of behaviour.
Monotropic
Used to describe Bowlby’s theory. Mono meaning one, indicating one particular attachment is different from all others and of central importance to child’s development.
Internal working models
The mental 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 perceptions of relationships.
Critical period
Refers to the time within which an attachment must form if it is to form at all. Lorenz and Harlow noted that attachment in birds and monkeys had critical periods.
Strange situation
A controlled observation designed to test attachment security. Infants are assessed on their response to playing in an unfamiliar room, being left alone and a stranger and being reunited with a caregiver.
Secure attachment
Associated with psychologically healthy outcomes. Moderate stranger and desperation anxiety and ease of comfort at reunion.
Insecure-avoidant attachment
Weak attachment. Low stranger and seperation anxiety and little response to reunion- avoidance of the caregiver.
Insecure- resistant attachment
Strong attachment, high stranger and desperation anxiety, resistance to be comforted at reunion.
Maternal deprivation
The emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and their mother. Bowlby proposed continuous care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development.
