Chapter 11: Love & Attachment Flashcards
Infant’s Attachment to Mother
Phase 1: 0-3 Months
Nursing
Pre-attachment
Proximity promoting
Crying, clinging, cooing, facial displays, touch, eye contact
Infant’s Attachment to Mother
Phase 2: 3-5 Months
Progressive attachment in response to care, feeding, reduction in discomforts
Discriminates faces and smiles to familiar faces
Infant’s Attachment to Mother
Phase 3: 6-7+ Months
Clear attachment to mother
Proximity seeking (clings, moves towards mother)
Bases self around mother in exploration
Separation anxiety and fear of strangers
Infant’s Attachment to Mother
Phase 4: 12+ Months
Multiple attachments, including father, older siblings, grandparents, babysitters
Mother’s Attachment to Infant
Infanticide, abandonment usually occur prior to nursing
Lactation, nursing, and hormonal involvement
In humans, initial skin to skin contact immediately after birth is associated with positive attachment later
Progressive meshing involves mutual eye gaze, smiling, “baby-play”
Lingle & Riede (2014)
Deer & Speakers
Mothers will come toward speaker playing a crying fawn
Crying vocalizations of various species adjusted to fundamental freq of the deer
- deer would come to speaker no matter the species as long at freq of crying was within their fundamental freq
Very specific to newborn vocalization frequencies
Hormones and Maternal Behaviour
- progesterone
- oxytocin
- prolactin
Progesterone declines prior to birth
Oxytocin release at birth –Promotes uterine contractions, aids in birthing process
Menstrual cycling suspended
Prolactin promotes milk production
Oxytocin stimulates milk ejection, evidence suggests implication in bonding
Experience in Motherhood
- rats
- prolactin
- blood transfusion
In lab rats, experienced mothers show maternal behaviour much more readily, regardless of hormones
Prolactin injected into the brain promotes nurturance in virgin rats
Blood transfusion from parturient female to virgin female leads to maternal behaviour
What area of the brain is involved in maternal behaviour?
medial (and dorsal) preoptic area of the hypothalamus
Paternal Bond
Less reliable and more variable
Paternity confidence is an issue
Contribution to care may be indirect (financial, mother=nursing (direct))
Role of care may increase with age
By 7 months of age, can be just as strong as maternal bond
If father absent: boys (behavioural difficulties), girls (issues in self-esteem)
More fighting b/w adoptive father and children than biological father
Siblings
Competition for resources
Gene sharing (r = 0.5)
First and most likely playmates
Jealousy for maternal affection observed in very young (or resources)
Rivalry and mutual support are both common (nepotism)
Inter-sibling aggression usually non-injurious
Peers
Develops with progressive independence from mother and family
Human children show substantial interest in peers that are similar in age and sex
Develop social experience
Learning of communication
Play and skill acquisition
Alliances for mutual benefit
Passionate Love
- Cognitive
- Emotional
- Behaviour
Cognitive: Preoccupation, idealization, desire to know the person
Emotional: Sexual attraction, Polarization of affect (success vs. failure), Longing for reciprocity, Physiological arousal, Desire for permanent union
Behaviour: Gaze, Studying other, Seeking physical closeness, Courting, Flirting
Temple et al (2012)
- sexting in high school students
Males and females (28%) engage in sexting/sending nudes (sent a sext)
Males more likely to ask, whereas females more likely to be asked
57% of ppl been asked to engage in this behaviour
Males mostly not bothered/a little bothered by these requests
Females mostly a lot/great deal bothered by these requests
Males may make them more socially popular, females associated with negative stereotypes
Those that have sent, asked, been asked were more likely to have ever dated/ever had sex
Holmes et al (2020)
- sexting in university students
Over half had engaged in explicit sexting at some point in their lives, many w more than 1 partner
Most w committed partners
15-25% report sending/receiving from ex-partners, friends, online acquaintances
Over half of senders rated their experience w sexting as positive
~17% had a negative experience
~1/3 unlikely to engage in this behaviour again
Men and women finding sending an explicitly sext as arousing/sexually gratifying
Women less likely to report receiving sexts as enjoying/sexually gratifying
Compassionate Love
- Cognitive
- Emotional
- Behaviour
Cognitive: Intimacy and self-disclosure, Knowledge of strengths and weaknesses, Long-term expectations
Emotional: Caring, trust, stability Daily emotions are not as intense Betrayal possible (jealousy, loneliness, anger, depression)
Behaviour: Gaze, physical proximity, sexuality, Efficient non-verbal communication
Francis & Mialon (2014)
- married couples
- divorce
Less time spent dating b/f proposal=greater likelihood to get divorced
As annual income for the household increases, less likelihood to divorce
Individuals who are somewhat religious more likely to get divorced than religious individuals
If partners looks was most important=more likely to divorce; partner wealth second highest; neither=least likely to divorce
More people attend wedding=less likely to divorce (more ppl support your unionship)
The more money you spend on your wedding=more likely to divorce
Honeymoon=less likely to get a divorce
Oxytocin and Bonding
In female prairie voles, central oxytocin administration leads to partner preference in the absence of mating
Central administration of drug blocking oxytocin does not influence mating, but prevents partner preference
Brain Activity
When viewing photos of romantic partners compared to friends…
Elevated activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)
Diminished activation of the posterior cingulate gyrus and in the amygdala
HPA Activity
positive social bonds and behaviour reduce HPA activity, while negative social bonds increase HPA activity
- Ppl you spend time with in a very stressful situations, form very strong emotional attachments quickly
Adult Sexual Jealousy
- Cognitive
- Emotional
- Behaviour
Cognitive: Shock, confusion, suspicion, obsessive thinking
Emotional: Mix of primary and secondary emotions –Anger, fear, despair, sadness, depression, anxiety, shame, embarrassment
Behaviour: Information seeking, withdrawal, revenge, aggression
Sexual Dimorphism in Jealousy
Male vs Female
Male:
The greatest concern is sexual infidelity
Cuckoldry is potential outcome
Female:
The greatest concern is emotional infidelity
Loss of support is potential outcome
