Chapter 11: Attachment to Others and Development of the Self Flashcards
What is attachment?
emotional bond with a person that endures across space and time
What did behaviourists propose about the infant-mother bond?
proposed that it is classically conditioned as the mother provides nourishment to the child
What did Harry Harlow propose about the infant-mother bond?
proposed that it develops due to the sense of security provided by mother/caregiver
What is the attachment theory?
children biologically predisposed to develop attachments to caregivers to increase chances of their own survival
What is secure base?
presence of trusted caregiver provides infant or toddler with a sense of security that makes it possible for the child to explore the environment
What is the internal working model of attachment?
constructed as a result of experiences with caregivers is the child’s metal representation of self, attachment figures and relationships in general
What happens if children’s attachment figures are unavailable or unresponsive?
children develop negative perceptions of relationships with other people and of themselves
What is strange situation?
developed by Mary Ainsworth to assess infants’ attachment to their primary caregiver
What are key factors of measured quality mother-infant attachment?
- extent of infant’s use of primary caregiver as secure base
- infant’s reaction to brief separations from and reunions with caregiver
What are the three attachment categories?
- secure
- insecure (avoidant/resistant
- disorganized/disoriented
What is secure attachment?
a pattern of attachment in which infants or young children have a positive and trusting relationship with their attachment figure
What is a secure attachment in the Strange Situation?
infant may be upset when the caregiver leaves but may be happy to see the caregiver return, recovering quickly from any distress
What is insecure/avoidant attachment?
a type of insecure attachment in which infants or young children seem somewhat indifferent toward their caregiver and may even avoid the caregiver. if infant gets upset when left alone, he or she is as easily comforted by a stranger as by a parent
What is insecure/resistant attachment?
a type of insecure attachment in which infants or young children are clingy and stay close to their caregiver rather than exploring their environment
What is a insecure/resistant infant in the Strange Situation?
infants tend to become very upset when the caregiver leaves them alone in the room but when their caregiver returns, they are not easily comfort and both seek comfort and resist efforts by the caregiver to comfort them
What is disorganized/disoriented attachment?
a type of insecure attachment in which infants or young children have no consistent way of coping with the stress of the Strange Situation. their behaviour is confused or even contradictory, and they often appear dazed or disoriented
What are positive aspects about the Strange Situation?
- similarity in infant behaviour in Strange Situation at lab setting and home
- continues to be standard measurement of attachment
What are negative aspects about the Strange Situation?
- requires substantial resources and lab setting
- multiple continuous dimensions might be used in place of categories of attachment security
- societal change in out-of-home care; Strange Situation may no longer be “strange”
What is the activation relationship theory?
initially developed in response to the need to develop a better understanding of father-child attachment
- highlight the complementarity of paternal and maternal roles
- security VS exploration poles of attachment
What are the important purposes of attachment?
- it enhances the infant’s chance of survival by keeping caregiver in close proximity
- attachment helps the child feel emotionally secure, which allows child to explore the world with no fear
- serves as a form of co-regulation that helps children manage their levels of arousal and their emotions
Does childcare interfere with attachment?
- research evidence suggests that 15-month-olds and 36-month-olds in childcare and not in childcare were just as likely to be secure
- maternal sensitivity was strong predictor of child emotional security when aspects of childcare arrangements and family were accounted for
- high-quality childcare can serve a compensatory function
- the only time that childcare appears to interfere with attachment is when the care is of low quality
What are the three types of activation in the activation relationship theory?
- activated children
- underactivated children
- overactivated children
What are the three main sources for individual differences in attachment style?
- parental sensitivity
- genetic predispositions
- culture
What is parental sensitivity?
caregiving behaviour that involves the expression of warmth and contingent responsiveness to children
What are genetic influences on individual differences in attachment styles?
- possible influence of allelic variants of serotonin-transporter gene SLC6A4
- gene DRD4 (dopamine system) possibly associated with disorganized/disoriented attachment
What are similarities in culture in attachment styles?
infants’ behaviours in the Strange Situation were found to be similar across numerous cultures
What are the attachment styles like in children from Colombia and Peru?
least likely to remain in close physical proximity to their mothers
What are the attachment styles like in children from Italy and Portugal?
more likely than children in other countries to maintain physical contact with their mothers
What is the self?
description of one’s
- physical characteristics
- personality traits
- personal preferences
- social and familial relationships
- details of ethnicity, culture, national origin
What are the three main aspects of self?
- self-concept
- self-esteem
- self-identity
What is self-concept?
a conceptual system made up of one’s thoughts and attitudes about oneself
How do infants first develop self-concept?
through an appreciation of one’s physical self by differentiating themselves from the environment by developing the sense that they are physical beings
What is an important lesson that infants learn through experience?
they can affect their environment
What is an infant’s self concept like at 8 months?
more distinct because of attachment theory; caregiver and self are separate entities
What is an infant’s self concept like at 18-20 months?
self-recognition appears and they can look into a mirror and recognize themselves; tested by “rouge test”
What is an infant’s self concept like at 1 year?
infants begin to show joint attention with respect to objects in the environment
What is an infant’s self concept like at 15 months?
most children are able to distinguish themselves and others by both gender and age
What is the “rouge test”?
experimenter puts a dot of rouge on a child’s face, places the child in front of a mirror and observes the child’s reaction; children typically respond by either trying to touch the image in the mirror
- child with ASD typically unable to pass the test
What is an infant’s self concept like at age 2?
many children can recognize themselves in photographs and begin to act independently of what their parents want them to do
What is the difference between interdependent and independent countries?
- interdependent; do better on “body-as-obstacle” task
- independent; do better on self-recognition test
What are differences in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)?
have a variety of cognitive and emotional difficulties
- impairments in the development of a theory of mind
- ability to identify with others
- differentiating themselves from others
What is self-concept like in childhood?
- complex as children age
- based on direct and indirect evaluations of others
- involves development of self-conscious emotions
What is social comparison?
the process of comparing aspects of one’s own psychological, behavioural, or physical functioning to that of others in order to evaluate oneself
What is self-concept like in adolescence?
- self perceived as having abstract characteristics
- influenced by emergence of abstract thinking
What is personal fable?
a form of adolescent egocentrism that involves beliefs in the uniqueness of one’s own feelings and thoughts
What is imaginary audience?
the perception stemming from adolescent egocentrism that everyone else is focused on the adolescent’s appearance and behaviour
What is self-concept like in middle teens?
- adolescents often begin to agonize over the contradictions in their behaviour and characteristics
- still difficulties to integrate their recognition of these contradictions into a coherent conception of self
What is self-concept like in late adolescence and early adulthood?
conception of self becomes both more integrated and less determined by what others think
What is self-esteem?
one’s overall subjective evaluation of his or her worth and the feelings he or she has about that evaluation
When does self-esteem emerge?
8 years old
What do researchers investigate to measure children’s self-esteem?
children’s perception of:
- scholastic competence
- social acceptance
- athletic competence
- physical appearance
- behavioural conduct
- global self-worth
What are different sources of self-esteem?
- age
- physical attributes
- gender
- parental child-rearing style/discipline, aprroval and support
- peers (acceptance)
- schools and neighbourhoods
How does age play a role in self-esteem?
self-esteem is high in childhood, drops in adolescence (school transition), and heightens in adulthood
How does gender play a role in self-esteem?
- boys tend to have higher self-esteem in terms of athletics, personal appearance, and self-satisfaction
- girls tend to have higher self-esteem when it comes to behavioural conduct and moral-ethical behaviour
What is the difference between self-esteem in Western cultures and Asian cultures?
Western cultures: self-esteem is related to individual accomplishments and self-promotion
Asian cultures: self-esteem is defined more by contributing to the welfare of the larger group
What is identity?
a description of the self that is often externally imposed , such as through membership in a group
What is Erikson’s theory on identity?
earliest theory posed all adolescents experience identity crisis and means of separating from parents
What is identity achievement?
successful resolution of identity
What is Marcia’s theory on identity?
suggested identity development related to where adolescent falls on dimensions of identity exploration and commitment (four groups of identity status)
What are the four groups of identity status?
- identity achievement
- identity foreclosure
- moratorium
- identity diffusion
What is identity achievement?
individual committed to one identity
What is identity foreclosure?
individual not explore identities and committed to one based on others
What is moratorium?
individual still exploring identities
What is identity diffusion?
individual has no progress with exploring or committing to identity
What are the most typical sequences of change?
- diffusion -> foreclosure -> achievement
- diffusion -> moratorium -> foreclosure -> achievement
What have researches found about identity status in adolescents in Western society?
identity status related to adjustment, social behaviour and personality
What are factors influencing adolescent identity formation?
- familial
- individual
- socioeconomic
- historical
- cultural
What are ethic and racial identity?
the beliefs and attitudes an individual has about the ethnic or racial groups to which they belong
Why is ethnic and racial identity important?
higher levels of ethnic and racial identity generally associated with high self-esteem, well-being, and low levels of emotional and behavioural problems
What ethnic and racial identity do children have in early school years?
- knowledge of common characteristics of own groups
- feelings about group membership
- self-identification
- group-related preferences develop across many contexts
What ethnic and racial identity do adolescents have?
ethnic or racial identity become more central
- acculturation
- bicultural identity
- family acceptance/discrimination
What is acculturation?
the process of adjusting to a new culture while retaining some aspects of one’s culture of origin
What is sexual identity?
one’s sense of oneself as a sexual beingw
What are the top three most important life problems listed by sexual-minority youth?
- non-accepting families
- bullying at school
- fear of being open about their sexual identity
