Module 15 (Attachment) Flashcards
Developmental Psychology
-examines changes from multiple perspectives (Physical, emotional, cognitive, sociocultural)
-Examines development via continuity vs. stages, stability and change, how both heredity and environment influence these changes (nature vs nurture)
Harry Harlow monkey study
-Harry Harlow studied monkeys to determine the importance of physical stimulation
-Two “mothers”, a wire monkey and a cloth monkey
-Infant monkey spent significantly more time with the cloth mother than the wire, would only go to wire mother briefly for food
Attachment theory
-argues that children are biologically predisposed to develop attachments with caregivers as a means of increasing the chances of their own survival
-Proposed by John Bowlby
Attachment
-a close emotional relationship between child and parent/caregiver; an emotional bond with a specific person that endures across time and location
-lays a foundation for other close relationships
Attachment figure
serves as a secure base that provides an infant or toddler with a sense of security (a haven of safety) that makes it possible for the infant to explore the environment
Attachment as an organizing system
-Provides a secure base from which to explore the world and a haven of safety in times of distress
-Developing an internal working model (IWM) of self and others
Bowlby’s internal working model (IWM)
there exists a cognitive framework built on past experiences that help an individual learn to form expectations of how people will react to them and helps them decide how to respond to certain situations
“Strange Situation” experiment
-observes attachment in children
-child would play in room while caregivers leave and strangers enter
Strange situation attachment styles
Secure, anxious/ambivalent, avoidant
Secure attachment
-A pattern of attachment in which an infant or child has a high-quality relatively unambivalent relationship with his or her attachment figure (~60% of children)
-caregivers are a “secure base” from which to explore the world; children feel confident that caregivers will respond sensitively when needed
Anxious-ambivalent attachment
-Pattern in which infants or young children (~15-20% of children) are clingy and stay close to their caregiver rather than explore the environment
-child wants contact, shows excessive distress, is difficult to console, doesn’t feel confident caregiver will respond
Avoidant attachment
-Type of insecure attachment in which infants/young children (~20% of infants) seem somewhat indifferent toward their caregiver and may even avoid caregiver
-child shows no interest in contact with caregiver, displays no distress when separated, nor happiness when reunited
Avoidant attachment response in Strange situation experiment
Children seem indifferent when caregiver leaves and returns. If upset, are as easily comforted by a stranger as by caregiver
Anxious-ambivalent attachment response in Strange situation experiment
insecure/resistant infants tend to become very upset when caregiver leaves and are not readily comforted by strangers. When caregiver returns, they are not easily comforted and both seek comfort and resist efforts by caregiver to comfort them
Secure attachment response in Strange situation experiment
Securely attached infant may be upset when caregiver leaves but may be happy to see them return, quickly recovering from any distress
Internal working model
-guides children’s interactions with caregivers and others, not just during infancy, but also adolescence and adulthood
-Integrates model of self with model of others
Categories of IWMs
Secure, preoccupied/anxious, avoidant-dismissing, avoidant-fearful
Secure attachment (IWM)
low attachment anxiety and low attachment avoidance, comfortable with intimacy and autonomy (positive model of self and others)
Preoccupied/anxious attachment (IWM)
high attachment anxiety and low attachment avoidance, preoccupied with relationship (negative model of self and positive model of others)
Avoidant-dismissing attachment (IWM)
low attachment anxiety and high attachment avoidance, dismissing of intimacy and unconcerned about rejection (positive model of self and negative model of others)
Avoidant-fearful attachment (IWM)
high attachment anxiety and high attachment avoidance, fearful of rejection and socially avoidant (negative model of self and others)
Long-term effects of Attachment
-Children who were securely attached as infants seem to have closer and more harmonious relationships with peers than do insecurely attached children
-Securely attached children also earn higher grades and are more involved in school than insecurely attached children
-Secure attachment in infancy also predicts positive peer and romantic relationships and emotional health in adolescence
Anxious vs Avoidant
-Avoidant: fear of intimacy, prone to ghosting, need for independence, low need for validation, withdraws or creates distance in conflict, caused by a parent who was distant or uninterested or didn’t accept them in moments of intensity
-Anxious: fear of abandonment, clingy of jealous, need for togetherness, high need for validation, partner may feel smothered, concerned with abandonment and looks for partner in conflict, caused by a parent who was absent, inconsistent or unable to regulate their emotions
Parenting styles
Authoritarian, Permissive, Neglectful, Authoritative
Authoritarian Parenting style
parents impose rules and expect obedience, and may be coercive to achieve desired outcomes (high demandingess, low responsiveness)
Permissive Parenting style
parents make few demands, set few limits, and use little punishment (low demandingness, high responsiveness)
Neglectful Parenting style
parents are uninvolved, neither demanding nor responsive; they may be careless and inattentive, and often do not seek a close relationship with their children (low demandingness, low responsiveness)
Authoritative Parenting style
parents are demanding but responsive, they set rules but explain them and, especially with older children, encourage open discussion and allow exceptions (high demandingness, high responsiveness)
Schema
a structured framework or plan (outline)
Attachment and IWMs
-IWMs more like schemas than “models”
Linked to models of self as worthy of love, care, protection
-Attachment can change over time
IWMs can changes (with experience, security can increase or decrease)
Attachment and security
-Attachment is about felt security (less about objective interactions, much more as how those experiences are internally construed)
Attachment and exploration
-Attachment and exploration are related
-Secure base (for exploration when not distressed)
-Haven of safety (to turn to in times of distress)
