Parent & Child Relationship Flashcards
Attachment Theory, 4 stage development
Newborn phase of indiscriminate social responsiveness (birth – 1/2 months)
• infant develops a repertoire of signals,
• such as crying and smiling
• these signals are approach or aversive behavioral cues
Discriminating sociability (1/2 months – 6/7 months)
• babies develop preferences for particular people
• due to association between person and pleasure/relief
• due to more coordinated behavioral capacities, child can more easily engage with adults
• child learns
• reciprocity – taking turns in social interaction
• effectance – child’s behavior can affect another person
• trust – the caretaker can be counted on to respond to signals
Maintenance of proximity (7 – 24 months)
• the child is able to control the social relationship
• via s separation protest (such as crying)
• or moving closer, physically, to the desired individual
Goal-corrected partnerships (3 year on)
• children begin to initiate more and more interactions
• allows for more “worldly” interactions
o this substitutes for the constant necessity to be close to the caregivers
• allows for more interactions between adults, and peers
Type A attachment
Type A: Insecure-avoidant/anxious-avoidant attachment
• 20%
• little concern when parents leaves, avoid them upon return
Type B attachment
Type B: Secure attachment
• most common, 65%
• distressed when parent leaves, comforted upon return
o parent is a secure base against stress
Type C attachment
Type C: insecure-ambivalent/anxious-resistant attachment
• 15%
• distressed upon departure, not comforted (or reject) comfort upon return
Type D attachment
Type D: disorganized attachment
o can be a combination of all three groups
o mainly just unpredictable
attachment formation
o a sensitive period exists for the first 6 months of an infant’s life
• whoever is around more, is placed higher up on infant’s hierarchy of trustworthy individuals
o quality over quantity
• levels of contact, sensitivity, and attachment
o parental sensitivity to attachment seems to factor into attachment styles
o different typical parental attachment styles between mothers and fathers
“attachment system dynamically balances exploration system”
*novel situation produces fear and/or exploration
predictive validity of attachment style
o evidence that secure attachment is more helpful for stressful situations in the future
attachment within the family system
o while there is evidence that the biological makeup (such as increased estrogen) of mothers makes them more “motherly,” there is more going on here
o fathers are more sensitive to sons and mothers are to their daughters
o predictive validity is imperfect, too many factors to account for
“sibling effect”
key component, along with increased interaction with other extended-family members
• everyday experiences are learning experiences
• allows for the development of social cognition
• early attachment predicts later functioning
adolescent’s 3 working models of relationships
Adolescents have 1 of 3 working models of relationships, based on previous relationships, which influence how they react with peers
o autonomous - free to evaluate early attachment relationships
o preoccupied -worried about previous relationships
o dismissive - reject previous attachment relationships
evocative genotype
evocative genotype environmental correlation
child’s genes→ parent’s parenting style→ development of child’s behavior
• ex of an evocative genotype
o monozygotic twins are treated more similar than dizygotic
o cross correlations: parental behavior towards one child, may actually be influenced by the behavior of another
• a temperamental infant leads to temperamental parents
• twins are influenced by
o genes
o parental responses – evoked
o environmental effects
passive genotype
Passive genotype environmental correlation
o a behavior that appears within a child due to the actions of his/her parents
o parents behavior is transmitted to child, making him/her more prone to a behavior
• like alcoholism
• ex of passive genotypes
o any study demonstrating similarities between the adopted parents and child
• adopted children influenced by
o environmental factors
o evoked response
o no-shared genes
genotype environmental correlation
In behavioral genetics, associations between individual’s genotype and the surrounding environment
Mutually-Responsive Orientation (MRO)
A relationship that is close, mutually binding, cooperative, and affectively positive
o mutual responsiveness
o a shared positive effect
• leads to the adoption responsive stance towards parental influence, and an eagerness to embrace parental values and standards of belief
o early development of morality and conscience (the internal guidance system)
• idea influenced by Freud’s work but modernized with Bowlby’s attachment theory
General Themes in Change of Parent-Child Relationships
Early Childhood
o parents “stage manage” their children into social world entry
• ex) play-dates
o role of siblings – helpful means to understand world
• learn from their mistakes, allowing for practice
Middle Childhood o a secure base is continued o co-regulation, parents begin to ease up on control, allowing self-control for child o styles of parenting (Baumrind) Authoritarian, • moderate control, high warmth Authoritative, • high control, low warmth Permissive, • low control, middle warmth Nonconformist, low control, low warmth
