Personality, Development and Attachment Flashcards
What is personality shaped by?
Relationships, environment & genetics
What do insecurely attached or traumatised people find difficult?
To express their needs and/or accept help
What is it important to understand a P’s past?
It helps us adapt our response to the individual.
What do children need to do in order to meet their milestones?
Develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver.
What does a primary caregiver represent to a baby?
A secure base from which to explore the world.
Apart from infancy, which other period of development is critical?
Adolescence
When do we develop a clear understanding of who we are (identity) and transfer our attachment from a parent to a sexual partner?
Adolescence
Who said we learn by observing and imitating others?
Bandura
Which group of theories emphasise the importance of early childhood experience and the existence of unconscious inner forces that shape our behaviour?
Psychoanalytic therories
Who pioneered attachment theory?
John Bowlby
Which theory stipulates that in order for an infant’s healthy development to take place , they need to have a secure relationship with at least one primary attachment figure?
Attachment theory
Which group of children did Bowlby study when formulating his theory?
Children who were evacuated in the war.
What are our inner feelings called - those who describe who we are, whether we are loveable and whether we feel safe to explore the world?
Internal working model
What affects our internal working model?
Our earliest, special, social relationships.
What do different levels of attachment have implications on?
A child’s social and emotional development
What is the name for actions which babies use to bring about closeness with their caregiver (e.g. smilie, crying, clinging etc).
Attachment behaviours
What are attachment behaviours designed to do?
Make the caregiver respond to the baby - and look after them physically & emotionally.
What affects how a mother parents her baby?
Her own internal working model - which is based on her childhood experiences growing up.
At what age has the baby developed an intense attachment to the main caregiver?
6 months
In what period can babies only tolerate separation for a limited period?
six months - 3 years.
Who worked closely with Bowlby and what experiment did they devise?
Mary Ainsworth
The strange situation
Who developed the classification of attachment styles in infancy?
Ainsworth
What is the strange situation experiment?
Mother is in a strange playroom with baby - series of experiments involving strangers entering the room and mother leaving the room - assesses the baby’s response to these things.
What are the three styles of attachment according to Ainsworth?
Secure
Avoidant
Ambivalent
Which type of attachment is this:-
Infancy expects their distress to be met with comfort and reassurance - they can be soothed when mother returns to the room and return to play.
Secure attachment
Why are certain children securely attached?
Caregiver is responsive and attuned to the child’s needs. Respond promptly and accurately.
Which type of attachment is this?
Infant has adapted to less responsive caregiving - they have learnt not to seek comfort from the caregiver. Instead they develop strategies to manage their feelings alone. They are not overly upset and ignore mother when she returns to the room, but are unable to play freely.
Avoidant (Insecure)
Why are certain children Avoidantly attached?
Caregivers tend to have a practical rather than personal attitude and interact with their babies less.
Which type of attachment is this?
Infants tend to display high levels of vigilance - are panicked by separation and seek reassurance in an urgent manner but do not respond to soothing. They both cling to mother and fight her off when she returns.
Ambivalent (insecure)
What makes children ambivalently attached?
Caregivers who respond unpredictably to their infant’s needs and are insensitive to their signals.
What type of attachment is this?
Children behave in strange ways when their caregiver has returned - e.g. curling up or rocking backwards and forwards.
Disorganised response (insecure)
What makes children show a disorganised response?
Often when caregiver is seen as both a source of fear and as a source of reassurance - often associated with physical or sexual abuse, loss/trauma, or socioeconomic risks.
What type of attached child is this?
They have inner representation that they are lovable and are responsive to other interactions in the world.
Securely attached
What type of attached child is this?
They are not worthy of care - have an “other” who does not care - they repress longing and anger in order not drive the “other” even further away.
Insecure-avoidant
What type of attached child is this?
Picture of self that is not lovable - and has unpredictable “other” who has to be manipulated/coerced into caring.
Insecure-ambivalent
What type of attached child is this?
Has chaotic ways of relating to others, feels underserving of love.
Insecure-Disorganised
Are internal working models permanent?
They are not fixed - they can be repaired through therapy or if they find a partner who has a different style - allows them to modify their behaviour as an adult.
What is used to measure attachment styles in adults?
Adult Attachment Interview
Why is it important to determine a patient’s attachment style?
Insecurely attached patients may find it more difficult to express thoughts and feelings than securely attached. If you have a trustworthy relationship with the P you can create a secure base where difficulties can be disclosed and worked through.
How do patients with personality disorders present?
May have problematic coping strategies (associated with traumatic early life experiences).
Fragile sense of self, fears metal fragmentation.
Individual will usually experience interpersonal difficulties which leads them into conflict with others.
May exhibit negative behaviours - such as self injury
What do successful therapeutic interactions require?
Clinician responding in a way which communicates understanding of P in a safe & secure environment, using appropriate voice, facial expression and gestures towards traumatised patients.
What do you have to try to avoid with traumatised patients?
Re-traumatising them
What does the non trauma-informed approach view behaviours of traumatised patients as?
Dysfunctional e.g. attention seeking
What should you ask a traumatised patient?
Whats happened to you? (Rather than what is wrong with you?)
