lecture 17- temperament and attachment

Question 1

Temperament

Answer 1

Early-emerging, biologically-based, stable individual differences in
-quality and intensity of emotional reaction
-activity level
-attention
-emotional self-regulation
Roots of adult personality

Question 2

Temperament: Dimensions & Types

Answer 2

History: Thomas & Chess (1956)
NY Longitudinal Study
9 dimensions
Rothbarts’ 6 dimensions:
activity, attention, soothability, irritability, fearfulness, positivity
Typology
Easy child (40%): regular routines, adapts to novelty, cheerful
Difficult child (10%): irregular routines, slow to adapt to novelty, reacts negatively & intensely
Risk for later anxious withdrawal & aggression
Slow-to-warm-up child (15%): slow to adapt to novelty, negative mood, mild reactions, inactive
35% didn’t fit typology

Question 3

Behavioral Inhibition

Answer 3

Behavioral inhibition:
wariness (fear) in the face of novelty (20%)
Assessment, in the face of novelty
Slow to approach, verbalize, interact with novel people, objects
Hides behind, clings to mother
Fearful affect (e.g., crying)
Jerome Kagan

Low threshold for arousal
Physiological correlates
Heart rate, cortisol (stress hormone), pupil dilation, blood pressure, skin temperature, right frontal EEG asymmetry

Question 4

Behavioral Inhibition: Moderators of Longitudinal Course

Answer 4

Later social behavior of inhibited children depends on parenting
Warm, supportive parenting – decreased cortisol
Overprotection – prevents exposure, inhibition persists
Goodness-of-fit: temperament/parenting/culture

Question 5

Critiques of Temperament

Answer 5

Parents’ pre-birth expectations predict temperament
Parental reports of temperament correlated w/ parent characteristics (anxiety, depression)
Temperament is an important construct, but child characteristics cannot be assumed to be a pure representation of their biology even at birth, never mind months later

Question 6

attachment

Answer 6

Strong emotional tie which
provides infants & children comfort during stress
Develops around 8 months of age
History: early theorists thought that attachment grew from feeding (e.g., Freud) but …
Harlow (50s): monkeys prefer soft to milk-producing surrogate mother
Infants form attachments to others who don’t feed them: fathers, siblings, etc.

Question 7

Ethological Theory of Attachment

Answer 7

Evolutionary survival-value of behavior
John Bowlby (’69) attachment determines child’s feeling of security during exploration & capacity to form trusting relationships
1st attachments generalize to later relationships
Internal working model: expectations about the availability of attachment figures & their likelihood of providing support during stress, guide for future close relationships

Question 8

Attachment Quality or Security

Answer 8

Strange Situation: observational method consisting of series of child-parent separations & reunions. Infant’s reunion response determines quality of attachment. Mary Ainsworth (‘78)
Types of Attachment Quality or Security
Secure (65%): comforted by parent’s return
Avoidant (20%): unresponsive to parent’s return
Resistant (10-15%): fail to explore, angry/not comforted at return
Disorganized (5-10%): contradictory behavior at return, most insecure

Question 9

Influences on Attachment Security:Parent & Child

Answer 9

Sensitive caregiving
Secure: warm & responsive
Avoidant: intrusive, overstimulating
Resistant: inconsistent, unresponsive/ interfering
Disorganized: abusive

Child characteristics
Temperament
controversial, direction of effect
Prematurity, disability

Question 10

Influences on Attachment:Timing & Broader Environment

Answer 10

Sensitive period for attachment – early years for normal development
Low SES children show less attachment stability than middle SES children
Culture
High rate of avoidant attachment in Germany, value independence
High rate of resistant attachment in Japan, value dependence