Module 10 - Attachment and Development of the Self Flashcards
Harry Harlow
one of the first psychologists to ask questions about love and nurturing.
He is best known for his controversial experiments involving rhesus monkeys. Showed the importance of contact comfort.
Basis for Bowlby’s idea for a secure base attachment theory
Results of Harlow’s study
monkeys preferred spending time on the cloth mother, even when it did not provide them with food.
Harlow argued that the infant monkeys needed the comfort provided by the cloth mother, and that this emotional security enabled them to safely explore their cage.
Bowlby’s Attachment theory
children are biologically predisposed to develop attachment to their mothers/caregivers
Key features of Bowlby’s attachment theory
-Biological predisposition
- Secure Base
-Internal Working Model
Attachment
Attachment is an enduring emotional bond with a specific person, that first forms in the parent-child relationship. The quality of attachment varies based on our experiences in our relationships.
During infancy, a child’s attachment to their primary caregiver provides the foundation through which all future relationships will be experienced.
Biological predisposition (Bowlby)
Bowlby argued that attachment:
-is evolutionary advantageous because it increases the chance of survival. In other words, all children come into the world ready to develop an attachment because it promotes survival.
-develops within the first year of life. More specifically, Bowlby argued that attachment to a primary caregiver is best developed during a sensitive period of 6-24 months old.
Secure Base (Bowlby)
Bowlby argued that infants instinctively look to their caregiver to form a secure base. That is, the presence of a trusted caregiver provides infants with a sense of security that enables them to safely explore their environment.
Internal Working Model (Bowlby)
The internal working model is a mental representation of ourselves and relationships constructed based on experiences with caregivers.
Our internal working model:
- provides information on the self, the attachment figure, and what to expect from relationships in general.
- is formed early in life (during infancy) and goes on to influence our relationships with others throughout our lives.
The strange situation task is specifically designed to….?
heighten infants’ need for the caregiver. The idea here is that by observing how infants respond to “strange situations”, researchers can classify their attachment style.
Ainsworth
builds on Bowlby’s attachment theory and proposes different attachment styles. Ainsworth’s seminal contribution to the field of developmental psychology is the Strange Situation task, which she developed in order to identify the attachment styles of infants.
According to Bowlby, what is the main purpose of attachment?
It keeps the caregiver close
It encourages learning about the world without fear
It facilitates co-regulation
Ainsworth first delineated three attachment styles, what were they?
Secure
Avoidant
Ambivalent
Mary Ainsworth concluded that the quality of infant attachments can be determined by looking at:
Infant reactions to separations from the caregiver and the infant’s use of the caregiver as a secure base
Mary Main, one of Ainsworth’s graduate students added what attachment style?
Disorganized
Insecure AVOIDANT attachment - parental characteristics
Unavailable and responds insensitively
Tends to ignore, ridicule, or focus attention away from the child
Secure attachment - infant characteristics
Receives both comfort and confidence from presence of caregiver.
Becomes confident of caregiver’s protection
Based on the parent’s responsiveness, they learn that their needs are respected and valued
Approximately 60% of children in North America can be classified as securely attached.
Insecure AVOIDANT attachment - infant characteristics
Becomes avoidant of caregiver in times of stress because the caregiver is not willing or able to provide comfort
Approximately 15% of children in North America are classified as having avoidant attachment.
Secure attachment - parental characteristics
Caregiver sensitivity is the number one predictor of secure attachment, which means:
Respond promptly to infant’s cues – they are dependable Consistently available and responsive in appropriate ways Engage in frequent positive exchanges Attuned to the needs of their child. This means they are good at figuring out their needs when they are upset.
Insecure AMBIVALENT attachment - parental characteristics
Response to infant is unpredictable and inconsistent
Often anxious, overwhelmed caregivers
Tend to be indifferent and emotionally unavailable
Insecure AMBIVALENT attachment - infant characteristics
Learns that caregiver is unpredictable
Learns to exaggerate needs to get a response
When upset, they often approach caregiver but refuse to be comforted
Ambivalent attachment is also sometimes referred to as resistant attachment. Approximately 10% of children in North America are classified as having ambivalent attachment.
Insecure DISORGANIZED attachment - parental characteristics
Have often suffered trauma in their own attachment histories
Correlated with interfering, rejecting, neglectful, frightening, abusive behaviour
Insecure DISORGANIZED attachment - infant characteristics
Shows fear, confusion, lacks coping strategies
Infants may be fearful or confused by their caregivers
Approximately 15% of children in North America are classified as having disorganized attachment. Infants with disorganized attachment show inconsistent behaviours in the Strange Situation. This means that sometimes they seem resistant, other times avoidant, and even sometimes secure
Secure Attachment:
Early Outcomes
12-month-olds who are securely attached:
Show more enjoyment of physical contact Less fussy/difficult Better able to use caregiver as secure base to explore and learn from the environment
Secure Attachment:
Later Outcomes
Better adjusted:
Healthier reactions to stress More likely to have academic success Less anxiety, depression, delinquency and aggression
Healthier relationships:
Generally stronger social skills Peer and romantic relationships
Why is secure attachment associated with healthier adjustment for children?
1) internal working model
2) neurodevelopment.
Neurodevelopment (attachment)
Researchers assessed attachment security at 15 month olds in a sample of 33 children. Attachment security was assessed using the Attachment Q-Sort, an observer-rated attachment measure that demonstrates convergent validity with the Strange Situation. These children then completed structural magnetic resonance imaging at 10-11 years old to examine brain development.
The researchers found that secure attachment predicted larger grey matter volume in several areas of the brain associated with social, cognitive, and emotional functioning (e.g., the bilateral superior temporal sulci, right superior temporal gyrus, right temporo-parietal junction, and the bilateral precentral gyri). Thus, early attachment experiences in early childhood may shape brain development.
Internal Working Model
When children experience their caregivers as reliable, supportive, and trustworthy, they learn to expect other relationships to be the same.
For example, having an internal working model that relationships are safe and others are sensitive to our needs would shape our expectations and behaviours in peer and romantic relationships much differently than if we had an internal working model that relationships are unsafe and others are insensitive to our needs.
believing that we are worthy of love (because this was our experience as a child) goes a long way in shaping our relationships throughout the life course.
How do we measure attachment in adulthood?
The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI, originally developed by George, Kaplan, and Main, 1984) is one way in which we can assess attachment styles in adulthood.
For example, this could be used to help us understand the links between parental attachment and their child’s attachment.
AAI - Secure - Autonomous:
Describe their attachment relationships in a coherent and congruent manner, with evidence of valuing their attachment relationships. They are non-defensive and present both favorable and unfavorable memories. Approximately 60% of adults are categorized as having autonomous attachment.
AAI
The Adult Attachment Interview is a retrospective interview in which adults are asked questions about their childhood. For example, what do they remember about their caregiver relationships, how they felt about separations, etc.
AAI’s four categories of attachment styles
Secure - Autonomous
Insecure - Dismissing
Insecure - Preoccupied
Insecure - Unresolved
AAI - Insecure - Dismissing
Characterized by a dismissal of attachment relationships. They tend to minimize negative aspects, and tend to contradict their positive memories.
AAI - Insecure - Preoccupied
Characterized by a continuing preoccupation with their early attachment relationships. They have angry or ambivalent representations of the past.
AAI - Insecure - Unresolved
Characterized by unresolved trauma or abuse in early attachment relationships.
How do you think adult attachment styles correspond with infant attachment styles?
Autonomous adult = secure child
Dismissing Adult = Avoidant Child
Preoccupied Adult = Resistant/ambivalent child
Unresolved Adult = Disorganized Child
How is parent attachment related to child attachment?
research finds that the attachment styles of the parent are associated with the attachment styles of their own children.
we find that rates of insecure attachment are much higher among children who grow up in poverty, as their caregivers are more likely to have insecure attachments themselves.
Does attachment change?
While attachment is thought to be relatively stable over the life course (especially if the environment does not change), it can change based on our experiences.
Improving attachment security
If the caregiver’s situation improves (e.g., intervention, change in life circumstances), this may enable the caregiver to improve their ability to respond sensitively to the child’s needs.
For example, attachment-focused therapy is a particularly common intervention with foster and adopted children, who may have had disrupted attachment experiences.
What does research on children with depressed mothers show?
That the children are at risk for weakened brain development. Problems with school, problem with peers and as they grow older problems with getting employment and healthy relationships.
Postpartum depression effects 6-30% women around the world. And early brain development depends on “serve and return” interactions. Symptoms of depression interferes with the mom’s ability to see those cues to tend to serve and return.
When attachment security declines
attachment security can also become insecure. For example, consider a securely attached child who has a parent who develops a depressive episode. Due to their mental illness, their parent may no longer be able to respond to their needs sensitively.
Circle of security (ex. of Improving attachment security)
Needs can be divided into 3 ways:
1) needs to know the freedom and confidence to go out and explore his world (going out on circle)
2) he needs to feel assured that whenever he is ready he can come back for comfort and protection (coming in on circle)
3) Needs his caregiver to be in charge in a kind way (hands on the circle)
Without serve and return what happens?
Kids are unlikely to explore their environment to grow their brains.
Before developing a self-concept, infants need to develop an…?
understanding of the self. That is, they must be able to recognize and differentiate themselves from others.
Rouge Test (emerging of self concept)
Given as an indicator of self awareness
Blush placed on nose and child looks in mirror
Not generally passed until about 18 months
Does NOT mean that the child doesn’t have any awareness of self before then.
Photographs (emerging of self concept)
By 20 months, infants start to recognize photos of themselves. By 30 months, they are very good at recognizing themselves in photos.
Development of the self also corresponds with what?
Terrible two’s.
By saying “no” (common during this phase), children are asserting their autonomy and recognizing that their wants and perspectives are different from another’s.
When children have parents who help them with narrative building, they tend to develop their sense of self faster. For example, parents who ask children what they think about things and how they feel are also helping them to develop their sense of self.
How do children develop their self-concept?
Once self-awareness has been established, children begin developing their self-concept. When children are in preschool (and beyond), we can understand their sense of self by asking them questions.
