Infants and Attachments Styles Flashcards
1
Q
Attachment
A
a strong, intimate, emotional connection between people that persists over time and across circumstances
2
Q
Harry Harlow
A
- saw food-based explanations of attachment as inadequate
- recognized that infants needed comfort/security in addition to food
3
Q
Infants/caregiver pairs have four attachment styles:
A
1) Secure
2) Avoidant
3) Ambivalent/Resistant
4) Disoriented-disorganized
4
Q
Characteristics of Secure Child
A
- distressed when the attachment figure leaves
- quickly comforted when the attachment figure returns
- prefers parents to strangers
5
Q
Characteristics of Avoidant Child
A
- child is not distressed when the attachment figure leaves
- avoids the attachment figure when they return
- little or no preference between parent and stranger
6
Q
Characteristics of Ambivalent/Resistant Child
A
- child is inconsolably upset when attachment figure leaves
- child will both seek and reject caring contact
- may be wary of strangers
7
Q
Characteristics of Disorganized Child
A
- no attaching behaviors
- often appear dazed, confused or apprehensive in presence of caregiver
8
Q
How is attachment adaptive?
A
Attachment motivates infants and caregivers to stay near each other, increasing the security that infants need to survive + thrive
9
Q
Chemistry of attachment
A
The hormone oxytocin is related to social behavior, including infant/caregiver attachment
10
Q
Brain Development and Synaptic Pruning
A
- During infancy, the brain experiences a large amount of growth, an explosion of synapse formation between neurons
during early brain development. This is called synaptogenesis - Plays a vital role in learning,
memory formation, and adaptation - At about 2 to 3
years of age, the number of synapses hits a peak level, and the brain starts to
remove synapses that it no longer needs
(synaptic pruning)
