Chapter 11: Attachment and Development of Self Flashcards
attachment theorists
Harlow
Bowlby
Ainsworth
what is attachment and its purposes?
Close, lasting emotional bonds to primary caregivers
Several important purposes:
Survival
Emotionally secure
Coregulation
Emotional deprivation and a lack of meaningful relationships with caregivers in the first years of life hinder optimal social and cognitive development
Behaviourists argue that food such as breast milk is the basis for the bond between children and their parents
attachment purpose: survival
Helping infant survive, evolutionary, physical protection
attachment purpose: emotionally secure
can explore world and know that they can come back to their parent
attachment purposes: coregulation
parents help manage emotions and soothe infant because child can’t regulate emotions yet
Harlow’s Rhesus Monkeys Experiment: Contact comfort
When infant monkeys were put in an unfamiliar situation without the cloth mother, they would engage in self soothing behaviour. When cloth mother was introduced, they would initially cling to it but then eventually explore the room, periodically returning to the cloth mother showing that the cloth mother functioned as a source of security and base of operations thst provided a sense of security when in a strange situation
more important than food or nursing that child is getting from caregiver.
Physical and emotional needs must be met
Infant monkeys reared in a lab setting away from their mothers were physically healthy birth developed emotional and behavioural problems unless they were given some form of affection and something soft to cling to
infant monkeys strongly preferred, and thus likely needed, the comfort provided by the cloth mother.
Bowlby’s Attachment theory
Kids are genetically predisposed to have emotional attachment
For a healthy attachment, a child needs 2 things: a secure base (trust caregiver and know they’re reliably there) and Safe Haven (what a child comes back to if they feel threatened or insecure)
Replaced the notion of a needy, dependent infant with the idea of a competence motivated infant who uses their primary caregiver as a secure base
Internal Working Model of Attachment
Bowlby’s Attachment theory: Internal Working Model of Attachment
a child’s mental representation of their attachments that guides their expectations about relationships later in life
Attachments you had as a child are the types of attachment you will have as an adult
Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Experiment
Put infant in strange (lab) situation to see how they are soothed
See how child reacts when alone vs with caregiver
Used to assess infants’ attachment to primary caregivers
—Exploration from a secure base
—Separations and reunions
Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Experiment: Two key factors provide insight into the quality of the infant’s attachment to the caregiver:
The extent to which an infant is able to use the primary caregiver as a secure base
How the infant reacts to brief separations from, and reunions with, the caregiver
ainsworth attachment styles
Not temperament (correlated and overlap a bit, but not the same)
Style dependent on who caregiver is, not the child
secure (50-60%)
insecure-resistant (10%)
insecure-avoidant (15%)
disorganized/ disoriented (23%)
secure attachment
exploration
separation
reunion
parent’s behaviour towards child at home
exploration: Explores and parent is secure base
separation: upset
reunion: Seeks out soothing, Easily soothed
parent’s behaviour towards child at home:
Responsive and sensitive to the child’s signals; is affectionate and expressive, initiates frequent close contact with the child
insecure-resistant attachment
exploration
separation
reunion
parent’s behaviour towards child at home
clingy, wary when stranger is present, even if parent is there, want comfort until they get the comfort, then they don’t want it
exploration: does not explore
separation: very upset
reunion: resists soothing, not soothed
parent’s behaviour towards child at home:
Insensitive to child’s signals; avoids close contact and rejects child’s bids for contact, may be angry, irritable, or impatient
insecure-avoidant attachment
exploration
separation
reunion
parent’s behaviour towards child at home
don’t prefer parent over stranger, find either equally comforting
exploration: explores, but avoids or ignores parent
separation: May get upset
reunion: Ignore caregiver, Stranger may be just as comforting
parent’s behaviour towards child at home: Inconsistent or awkward in reactivg to child’s distress; seems overwhelmed with tasks of caregiving
disorganized/ disoriented attachment
exploration
separation
reunion
parent’s behaviour towards child at home
child has no consistent way of coping with stress, even within a single caregiver, get confused with strange situation
—higher rate in mistreated and fostered/adopted infants
exploration: No consistent pattern of behaviour
separation: No consistent pattern of behaviour
reunion: No consistent pattern of behaviour
parent’s behaviour towards child at home:
Intrusive, emotionally unavailable, ay dissociate of be in a trancelike state; confuses or frightens the child; may be harsh or abusive
advantages to being insecure-resistant, insecure-avoidant, and/or disorganized
For insecure -avoidant, they can get comfort from anywhere
For insecure-resistent, they may be more cautious
All have benefits because you are adapting to your situation
Resistant style has strong evolutionary tie to stay close to survive
Sources of Individual Difference in Attachment Styles
parental sensitivity
genetic predisposition
culture
Sources of Individual Difference in Attachment Styles: parental sensitivity
caregiving behaviour that involves the expression of warmth as well as contingent and consistent responsiveness to children’s needs
causal effect on infants’ attachment
Parent responding to child shows child can rely on them
secure:
—Parents of secure children respond to emotional cues better and have affectionate and emotionally present parents
insecure- resistant:
—Insecure resistant parents may be anxious or overwhelmed about parenting and may come out as not always responding properly to child
—mothers of insecure-resistant infants tend to be inconsistent in their early caregiving: they sometimes respond promptly to their infants’ distress, but sometimes they do not. These mothers often seem highly anxious and overwhelmed by the demands of caregiving.
insecure-avoidant:
—insecure -avoidant parents may not be emotionally available and may not engage with child
—Mothers of insecure-avoidant infants tend to be indifferent and emotionally unavailable, sometimes rejecting their baby’s attempts at physical closeness
disorganized:
—disorganized/disoriented children may also have emotionally unavailable parents and may see this unreliable behavior from parent
—Parents of disorganized/disoriented kids usually are dealing with their own things like grief or trauma that impacts their attachment style
—Mothers of disorganized/disoriented infants sometimes exhibit abusive, frightening, or disoriented behaviour and may be dealing with unresolved loss or trauma
Sources of Individual Difference in Attachment Styles: genetic predispositions
Twin studies have provided no evidence that attachment styles are heritable
several studies have shown that epigenetic effects play a role in the expression of attachment behaviour
Genetics plays a role
Certain genes make kids more and less susceptible to certain attachment styles
certain genes result in children being differentially susceptible to the quality of their rearing environment, such that those with the “reactive” genes benefit more from having a secure attachment but do more poorly if they have an insecure attachment
links between attachment security and genetic makeup have been found to last into adulthood
Sources of Individual Difference in Attachment Styles: culture
Some small differences in cultures (probably not on test 3)
Colombia and peru = more likely to explore
Italy and portugal = more clingy to mother
Attachment and Socioemotional Development
Children’s attachment status, both in infancy and later in childhood, has been found to predict their later socioemotional development, with securely attached infants experiencing better adjustment and more social skills than insecurely attached children
children who were securely attached in infancy seem to have closer, more harmonious relationships with peers later in childhood than do children who were insecurely attached
securely attached children are higher in self-regulation, sociability, and social competence with peers than are insecurely attached children. They are less anxious, depressed, or socially withdrawn
insecure-avoidant children, whose parents tend to be nonresponsive to their signals of need and distress, are likely to learn to inhibit emotional expressiveness and to not seek comfort from other people
3 components to the development of the self
self-concept
self-esteem
identity
Development of Self: self-concept
how individuals view themselves
refers to a system made up of one’s thoughts and attitudes about oneself.
can include thoughts about one’s own physical being (e.g., body, possessions), social characteristics (e.g., relationships, personality, social roles), and internal characteristics (e.g., thoughts, psychological functioning).
an understanding of how the self changes or remains the same over time, of beliefs about one’s own role in shaping these processes, and even of reflections on one’s own consciousness of selfhood
How you view yourself, views of yourself physically and socially, how likeable and sociable you are
Makes up how you think and feel about yourself
Not born with this. Need environment ot develop sense of self-concept
Inward, you control this
Infants don’t have this self awareness
Development of Self: self-esteem
incorporates a child’s overall subjective evaluation of their own worth and the feelings they have about that evaluation
how they evaluate and feel about themselves
How you evaluate your self-concept or self worth
Inward, you control this
Infants don’t have this self awareness
Self-esteem does not emerge until children reach age 8 or so
