Unit 4:The First Two Years of Life(Part 2) Flashcards
What is attachment?
-aka affectionate bond/emotional tie that is strong and enduring, that we have with significant people
- often seeked out in times of potential alarm/discomfort
- can have multiple attachment relationships
what influences the development of an attachment theory?
Quality of provided care shapes its quality but not the actual development
What triggers the activation of the attachment system?
When individual is distressed, scared, tired,sick etc.
What is the role of an attachment figure in the attachment system?
- maintain availability as a safe base
- receptive and satisfy needs
interactions with figure affects system activation and deactivation
What are internal operating models in attachment theory?
- aka expectations
- formed based on early attachment experiences and help individuals predict their attachment figures behaviors
how do internal operating models influence behaviour in attachment relationships?
- serve as maps , allowing individuals to predict and respond to their attachment figures behaviour , shaping their pere
What does John Bowlbys Attachment Theory(1958) suggest?
tendency to form a attachment is a biological trait, which promotes adaptation and survival
satisfies physiological(nourishment/security) and psychological(comfort,feeling secure) needs
where were ideas from Bowlbys attachment theory drawn from?
mainly psychoanalysis but also evolution and ethology
what did Bowlby realise during his clinical practice?
that isolation, emotional distancing and interpersonal difficulties <— early mother-child bond ruptures
critical period
formation of successful attachment to operate depends on it
achieved: 6 months to 3 years
difficult to form after this period
where did the idea of critical period come from?
came from ethology studies on imprinting
imprinting
when newborns recognize and seek proximity with the first object they encounter
- gosling imprinted on lorenz as “mother” and followed him around when he saw him first
from what age do we posses the instinct that bowlby proposed?
it is ever-present
from birth to old age
How does the theory relate to the hypothetical attachment system?
behavioral system- behavior like following, clinging, crying
motivation system- works to maintain proximity to an attachment figure as protection against danger
Attachment system & internal operating models
Internal Operating Models in attachment
Secure attachment: the self deserves love and the other is loving and attentive
Insecure attachment: the self is worthy of rejection and the other is unavailable
importance of successful attachment to satisfy psychological needs
tendency to explore and learn develops in opposition to tendency to form attachment
during exploration:
- caregiver= safe base
Monotropism
idea that any child only forms a strong attachment to one person
Bowlbys theory is a goal-driven system for what
promote optimum proximity with caregiver
how is the goal-driven system activated
separation activates this system, serves to restore proximity
what does the development of the goal-driven system depend on?
cognitive and physical development of infant
- recognize caregiver and distinguish them
- be able to vocalize and move reasonably independently
seperation protest(6 months)
show this once able to explore the environment
infants cry or reach out to prevent the caregivers departure , continue during caregivers absence
separation protests is linked with what?
stranger anxiety
wariness or fear of unfamiliar people
infants will try to maintain proximity to caregiver in the presence of strangers as a source of protection
what are the attachment phases
- pre-attachment(0-2m)
- early attachment(2-7m)
- attachment/separation protest(7,9-2y)
- Partnership/goal-corrected(2-3y+)
Pre-attachment
little or no recognition of the caregiver
Early attachment
begins to recognize caregiver(gradually more comforted by their presence)
lack object recognition, unable to recognize caregiver as a human social object(dont show separation protest)
Attachment/Separation Protest
show clearer sign of proximity seeking, separation protest and stranger anxiety
clearer as age progresses
Partnership/ Goal-corrected
infant explores environment with greater independence
attachment becomes abstract, internal representation
- concept of trust and understanding of the caregivers needs in relation to availability
how does attachment behavior vary for infants
attachment behavior doesn’t occur at same time/intensity
however goal-seeking proximity is presumed to be same for all infants
maternal deprivation hypothesis
maternal deprivation: prelonged disruption in attachment to mother figure
may result from illness, abandonment or institutionalization
hypothesis- maternal deprivation can lead to negative outcomes later in life
WIlliam Goldfarb(1947)
maternal deprivation hypothesis
outcome variables in 30 children, given up before 9 months of age
- 1/2 foster care, 1/2 institutionalized then foster care at 3.5y
- intelligence, reading and arithmetic measures at 10-14 years of age= institutionalized children had worse abilities, also more fearful and restless, less popular among peers, and “needier” with adults
why despite the foster care quality considered equal was there maladaptive development
due to institutionalization and lack of attachment with caregiver
how were the infants corrected despite experiencing maternal deprivation?
maternal deprivation experienced first 6 months but adequate care can correct disruptive effects only if given before ages of 2.5 years
- proof of critical period
Harlow and Zimmerman(1959)
maternal deprivation hypothesis
rhesus monkeys in isolated cages
other objects as the surrogate mother:
- mesh wire surrogate mother that held a milk bottle
- a terry cloth one that did not provide food
Harlow and Zimmerman(1959) results
wire model as their source of food,
softer cloth model as source of comfort (mothering figure)
hold on tightly when frightened, used as secure base
showed preference for it aside from when feeding
Harlow and Zimmerman(1959) results as adolescence
- caused psychological damage
withdrawn when with other healthy peers, they became fearful and might attack the others
few mated successfully, female who did unlikely to provide adequate care for offspring
critique of bowlbys attachment theory
- influenced perception on child rearing and parenting, social policy about childcare and parenting education
however
effects on maternal deprivation less sever than originally thought, as environmental enrichment can compensate (for rodents and monkeys)
led to “critical period”-> sensitive period(most conductive to forming strong attachment)
unclear of link of institutionalized children during sensitive period is evidence of maternal deprivation or effects of institutions
- Tizard & Hodges found children later adopted that showed normal cognitive and linguistic development between 4.5-16
- kids adopted at 4-7y after prolonged institutionalization able to develop secure attachment, specially when adoptive parents were prepared to help resolve past traumas
can be mitigated
how did mary ainsworth continue research into attachment, with what aim?
measuring the emotional state of child in relation to the type of attachment formed with caregiver
distinction between bowlby and ainsworth?
Bowlby- general traits of attachment eg separation and relational ruptures
Ainsworth- observed the communication between mother and baby(quality)
- behaviors the child displayed when the mother(parent) was absent, and what behavior the child displayed when the parent returned
how was observation of parent-child interaction studied
Strange Situation study or Strange Situation Procedure(SSP)
Strange Situation Study
- 7 phases (3min each) to reflect natural interactions between child and parent, seen through one way mirror or video camera
children between 1-2 years of age, when attachment is developed
what are the 5 scales used during assesment
Proximity and contact seeking
Contact maintaining
Avoidance of proximity and contact
Resistance to contact and comfort
Search behavior
describe the phases of the strange situation study
Phase 1- parent and child in room with toys, instructed to play together for 3min
Phase 2- Stranger enters the room, sits down for 1 min, 1min talks to parents, 1 min plays with child
Phase 3- parent leaves, stranger plays w/child for 3 min then sits back on the chair
Phase 4- parent returns, stranger leaves, parent settles child and sits with child for 3min
Phase 5- parent leaves the room for 3 min
Phase 6- stranger enters room and tries to settle for 3 min
Phase 7- stranger leaves, parent re-enters and tries to settle child
how did ainsworth categories the parent-child attachment types
normally 20min unless child very distressed
identified patterns of behavior in which infants displayed willingness to use the parent as a safe base to derive a sense of security, especially during the parent-child reunions(4-7 stages)
how would child react if secure attachment
stage 124- child uses parent as safe base to explore room and toys
stage 356(absent parent)- become distressed and seek the parent(seperation protest)
reunion restores sense of a safe base
What is type B; Secure attachment
child shows signs of missing parent when absent and makes efforts to reunite with parent upon the parents return
- attachment figure trusted
- desire for proximity and contact maintainence
- reuinted; child has positive response
- mothers absence; child distressed and seek actively (some comfort in stranger but mother preferred)
- 44-60%
Type A: Insecure- avoidant attachment
few or no signs of missing the parent
- avoidance and lack of desire of proximity and interaction during reunion(emotional distance)
- if picked up maybe squirming(no anger)
- treats mother and stranger similar
- 14-15%
Type C: Insecure-resistant/ambivalent attachment
- fully clingy to mother and doesn’t explore
extremely distressed, with stranger - lack of confidence in how to respond, parent unable to settle child down
- child ambivalent during reunion, pleased and seek contact whilst also rejecting in anger
- no avoidance of mother but resisting behaviors
- 8-11%
Type D: disorganized attachment
- lack of consistent behavioural pattern
- child is uncertain abuot “how to make use” of caregiver as source of security
-5-15% general population, 28-30% clinical population
strengths of ainsworth study
- high ecological validity, can be generalized to other real-life situations
- inspired large body of research, reliable measure
critiques of ainsworth
- confined to artificiality of laboratory
- demonstrates nature of attachment; relationship, not with others
- due to increased exposure to environments i which the child is left in the care of other, study may not reflect degree of attachment
attachment security is founded on what?
- sensitivity of the parent during first year of life
Warm, attentive-> secure attachment
negative/rejecting manner-> insecure/avoidant
unreliable/inconsistent care-> sometimes unresponsive, overbearing-> insecure-ambivalent
how has inadequate care been associated with disorganized attachment ?
- psychopathology in parent-> contradictory, unpleasant,threatening so child shows negative emotions with parent
- childs with disorganized show maladaptive behavior later in life
- personality disorders
additional results from SSP
- results had associations with parents autobiographical narrative
- adults have working models of attachment
what are working models of attachment
based on early family experiences
influence how adults cope with stress and how they provide comfort to offsping
what is adult attachment interview(AII) by mary main
- to describe the quality of the relationships with parents in diff situations, but focus on stressful moments
