Lecture 4 - The Case Of Attachment Flashcards
How does Ainsworth define attachment?
A strong, relatively enduring emotional bond that one forms with a unique individual
Before 6 months, do infants show attachment?
No, they show no specific bonds
At 6-7 months, what sort of attachment do infants show?
They begin to show a few specific bonds
By 8 months, what sort of attachment do infants show?
They show separation distress or protest
How can the psychodynamic theory explain attachment to the mother?
The mother is associated with gratification of infants instinctual drives to obtain pleasure through oral stimulation e.g. Breastfeeding
How can cognitive development explain attachment?
Infants become able to distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people and understand that people continue to exist even when they cannot see them (object permanence)
What is object permanence?
An understanding that objects, including people, have a continuous existence beyond the infants own interaction with them
What process does Lorenz identify for how newborn ducklings form attachments the the first objects or even people they see?
Imprinting
What are the 3 main premises of Bowlby’s explanation of attachment?
He stresses the importance of the active role played by the infants in early social signalling systems such as smiling and crying, the develop,net of mutual attachments between the parent and child and the use of parents as a secure base
Bowlby refers to the idea of a secure base, what does he mean by this?
A secure base is a starting point from which the infant can venture and explore from a haven to which they can return to when in danger
How does Hull’s drive reduction theory explain attachment?
The mother is associated with stimuli that reduces primary drive
How does operant conditioning explain attachment?
The infant is stimulated by many things in the environment and the mother is the most reliable stimulant
According to Bowlby’s ethological theory, how is attachment created and maintained?
By species-characteristic behaviours that are organised towards the mother
What is imprinting?
Preference for the object first exposed to after birth
The early development of attachment can be divided into four phases. What are they?
In the first phase, the baby’s social responses are fairly indiscriminate (show no preference for mother over stranger), in the second phase infants learn to distinguish between their mother and strangers, in the third phase infants develop specific attachments and after 2 years the child moves into the attachment phase Bowlby describes as the goal-directed partnership
