Biology of attachment Flashcards
What is the traditional behavioural thesis of attachment?
Blank slate when born
Learning through conditioning
Importance of rewards
Culture transmits knowledge
What is the traditional psychoanalytic thesis of attachment?
Inborn instinct
Libidinal drive (seeking pleasure)
Stages of development
Unconscious process
Who did experiments on baby monkeys on attachment theory?
H Harlow
Who did attachment experiments with ducklings and found out they walk in lines instinctively but only triggered 2-8hrs after hatching?
Lorenz
How did Mary Ainsworth contribute to attachment theory?
Created ‘the strange situation’
Tell whether mother and baby have a secure/insecure/disorganised attachment depending on reaction to first reunion
What does secure attachment predict for those children?
More resilient children, interact better with peers
What are the types of insecure attachment?
Avoidant
Ambivalent
What type of attachment predicts criminality and mental health difficulties?
Disorganised
No strategy for coping/health
How can you assess mothers on their attachment status?
Adult attachment interview
Produce and reflect on own memories of childhood
Produce coherent and collaborative discourse
Coherent and collaborative= autonomous
Minimal explanation=dismissive
Memory driven discourse=preoccupied
Unclassifiable=unresolved
How does the ‘strange situation’ outcome for babies link with mother’s adult attachment status
Autonomous mother->secure attachment on child
Dismissive->Avoidant
Preoccupied->Ambivalent
Unresolved->Disorganised
What is attachment behaviour?
Any behaviour with the predictable outcome of increasing proximity to the attachment figure
-> with the aim of acquiring feeling of security
What are the 3 types of attachment behaviour?
Alert (calling)
Avert (crying)
Active (following)
What is an attachment behavioural system?
Set of behaviours that are coordinated, activate-able, goal corrected and organised by specific control systems (mental representations)
What are the things that make an emotional bond?
Persistent Specific Significant Wish for contact Distressed when separated Seek for security (ONLY IN ATTACHMENT BOND)
Secure attachment relies on:
Availability
Sensitivity
Responsiveness
Sensitivity in mother predicts:
Quality of their attachment relationship
Self regulation
Social functioning
Cognitive and language competence
What happens when a child has no attachment figure?
Autistic traits
No eye contact
Need an attachment figure by aged 3 otherwise will never fully recover
What happens when the attachment figure abuses the child?
It strengthens the bond
What is the key concept in the biology of attachment?
The baby ‘borrows’ minds of their attachment figure until they have established their own control pathway
When does the human brain mainly develop?
Mainly in first 3 yrs of life
All connections and big changes happen before aged 5
Development and maturity in a social context has a biological advantage
What structures eventually develop into the brain?
Forebrain-> cortex
midbrain
hindbrain-> cerebellum, pons
What can cortical structures do?
Can inhibit structures deeper in the brain
They develop later
eg cortex thinking can inhibit limbic system feelings (CBT)
What is shore’s hypothesis?
The baby brain is designed to use the structures of the mother’s brain to manage the ones it already has, before they develop the ones that aren’t yet functioning
As the different frontal structures get myelinated, they replace those of the mother’s brain in regulating the baby’s brain’s function
Give an example of Shore’s hypothesis
When baby’s amygdala is activated in ager/distress it doesn’t know why its unhappy
It causes baby to cry and mother to regulate the baby’s distress
(eg feeding, changing nappy, temperature etc)
Mother and baby’s brain synchronise at a biological level
What can be measured and shows synchrony in human relationships?
Cortisol Prolactin Testosterone Oxytocin Directed gaze Arousal levels (pulse, bp)
What areas of the brain are activated when synchronous mothers watch their babies?
Dopamine structures
What areas of the brain are activated when non synchronous mothers watch their babies?
Amygdala (distress, arousal)
What parts of the brain are used in arousal?
Amygdala, ventral striatum
What parts of the brain are used in emotional regulation
Prefrontal cortex
ACC
What parts of the brain are used in cognition?
Insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
What is oxytocin?
Produced in hypothalamus, released by posterior pituitary
Most abundant neuropeptide in body
Contracts uterus and produces milk
Involved in bond formation and social cohesion
Produced in orgasm and pleasant touch
Linked with dopamine and immune systems
When does oxytocin increase?
When recalling positive caring maternal behaviour
If given nasal oxytocin, women will recall positive maternal behaviour
How does oxytocin link with stress?
Increased oxytocin, decreased stress
but mediated by own experience of relationships
(1º partner, own child, romantic partner)
What does baseline oxytocin predict?
Predicts touching behaviour and parent-child interaction
What allows caregiving system to mature in teenage girls?
Hormonal
Neurobiological changes
Environmental stimuli
Prior attachment experiences
What is key in motivating and maintaining caregiving behaviours?
Oxytocin
Motivates and maintains caregiving behaviours
Increases maternal sensitivity to infant cues
