Attachment Keywords

Question 1

Cultural variations

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Maternal deprivation (Bowlby)

Answer 2

emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and their mother - Bowlby: continuous care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development, prolonged separation = serious damage to emotional and intellectual development

Question 3

Institutionalisation

Answer 3

where children live in hospitals or orphanages for long continuous periods of time - there is often very little emotional care provided

Question 4

Orphan studies

Answer 4

concern children placed in care because their parents cannot look after them - parent either died or abandoned them permanently

Question 5

Childhood relationships

Answer 5

affiliations with other people in childhood e.g. friends, classmates, teachers etc.

Question 6

Insecure-resistant attachment

Answer 6

strong attachment - high levels of stranger and separation anxiety, resistance to be comforted at reunion

Question 7

Insecure-avoidant attachment

Answer 7

weak attachment - low stranger and separation anxiety, little response to reunion and avoidant of caregiver

Question 8

Secure attachment

Answer 8

most desirable attachment (psychologically healthy outcomes) - moderate stranger and separation anxiety, ease of comfort at reunion

Question 9

Strange situation

Answer 9

controlled observation designed to test attachment security - infants assessed on response to playing in an unfamiliar room, left alone/with stranger and reunion with caregiver

Question 10

Critical period

Answer 10

time within which attachment needs to be formed if it is to be formed at all - Bowlby: infants have a sensitive period after which it will be harder to form an attachment

Question 11

Imprinting

Answer 11

phenomenon where bird species that are mobile from birth attach and follow the first moving thing they see after hatching

Question 12

Learning theory

Answer 12

behaviourist approach - emphasise learning in the acquisition of behaviour (classical/operant conditioning)

Question 13

Classical conditioning

Answer 13

learning through association between two stimuli so that you respond to one in the same way as you already respond to the other

Question 14

Operant conditioning

Answer 14

learning whether or not to repeat behaviour depending on consequences (positive/negative reinforcement)

Question 15

Monotropic

Answer 15

indicates ‘one’ particular attachment is different from all others and is the central of importance to child’s development

Question 16

Reciprocity

Answer 16

mother-infant interactions - both respond to each other’s signals

Question 17

Interactional synchrony

Answer 17

mother and infant reflect both the actions and emotions of the other and do this in a coordinated way

Question 18

Stages of attachment

Answer 18

some characteristics of the infant’s behaviour changes as the infant gets older

Question 19

Multiple attachments

Answer 19

attachment to two or more people - usually after already formed one true attachment to main caregiver

Question 20

Adult relationships

Answer 20

relationships child goes on to have later in life - friendships, working relationships but mostly romantic relationships and with their own children

Question 21

Internal working model

Answer 21

mental representations of our attachment to our primary caregiver - important in affecting future relationships as they carry perception of what relationships are like