W10: ATTACHMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF Flashcards
Research on Attachment
Research by Harry Harlow:
Heritant of the idea that food and water aren’t’ enough, love and nutrients are also important to development
Wire ‘mother’ vs. cloth ‘mother’
Alternating which ‘mother’ provided food
Experimenters wanted to see which of these two wire moms were preferred by monkeys
A behaviorist would predict that the monkey wouldn’t care, there would be no difference → they would just go to the mom that gave them food
RESULTS: showed importance of ‘contact comfort’: preference for cloth ‘mother’, even when no food
Seeking reassurance when afraid, they don’t just go to the cloth mom if its cold (related to temperature)
Uses cloth mom as secure base from which to explore (periodically returning to it in new situation)
*Dependent Variable = how much time is spent with the mother
*Independent Variable = food location, material on the mother
Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
Attachment: enduring emotional bond with another person
First formed in parent-child relationship (in ≈1st year of life)
Innate basis (remember imprinting!)
Infants would attach to a caregiver for a survival value
Quality of attachment varies based on experiences in our relationships (not hereditary)
Type and quality of attachment will vary on their experience with their caregivers
BOWLBY THEORIZED THAT …
Children have a biological predisposition to develop attachment to caregivers
Confers evolutionary advantage (to increase chances of survival)
Caregivers form a secure base for infant to explore their environment → you need to be able to find resources, relationships, etc
Co-regulation of child’s arousal and emotions
Co-regulation = early form of regulation where infants really need their parent to help soothe them before they learn to soothe themselves → facilitated by having an attachment relationship
Experiences with caregivers form our “internal working models” about ourselves & our relationships
Working model = draft for how you think about things → relationships you form with your caregivers inform the way that think about other relationships and about yourself
Model for what to expect in relationships
E.g., insecure attachment: when an infant expresses needs and cries and is responded to by the caregiver or soothed by them → transmits the message that expressing my needs will result in them being met, therefore my needs are valid. Mom = gives attention to child that is need → internal model
Measuring Attachment Style
- Mary Ainsworth: The Strange Situation
Observation of child’s behaviour in a situation designed to heighten an infant’s need for their caregiver
Called strange citation because we expect that kids will want their caregiver in a new and novel situation
Attachment style based on rating of child’s behaviours
Does the infant use a caregiver as a secure base?
In the early play session where the caregiver is not meant to be directing play
How does the infant act?
Could also be when both caregiver and stranger are there, how does the child react?
Is the child intrigued? → okay, I am going to go check this out what this is but also go back to my caregiver
How does the infant react to being reunited with the caregiver? X2
Are they comforted by the return of the caregiver? Are they mad? Are they avoiding the caregiver?
The differences are in terms of what is thought of as a warm behaviour
Attachment is not a feature of the child… feature of the parent-child relationship!
The use of a parent as a secure base
It’s the 2 attached → how do they interact together
This means you can have different attachment styles with different attachment figures
The 4 Attachment Styles
Each category is distinguished by behaviour in the parent-child relationship
- Secure (≈60% of [North American] children)
Infant receives comfort and confidence from presence of CG
They feel confident, they can go explore
When their CG is present, they’ll feel alot better about the presence of a stranger → infants easily soothed by parents
Sensitivity and response is the hallmark of a sense of a securely attached parents behaviour
CG responds sensitively to infant’s needs: dependable sources of comfort
Talking about serve and return → parent who is able to pick up and move quickly on a child’s distress = good at figuring out what is wrong with their child (e.g., what type of cry is this?)
- Insecure-avoidant (≈15%)
Infant avoids CG when stressed
In things like a strange situation, they don’t turn to their caregiver to help them soothe their stress because they have learned that the caregiver may not be able to or willing to respond (inconsistent in how they respond)
CG not able or willing to provide comfort; responds insensitively to child’s needs (ignore, ridicule, focus attention away from child)
CG gets angry at the child or is impatient and not really connecting with the child → rejects child’s attempts to connect or avoiding contact with them, not focusing on their child
Parent leaves, child is cool with it, parent comes back, child barely interacts → caregiver is not seen as main source of support
- Insecure-resistant or insecure-ambivalent (≈10%)
Infant is upset at separation, but resists CG’s comfort attempts
They don’t know how to feel about their caregivers as a source of support
Ambivalent = I don’t really know what to think about my caregiver as a source of support
CG’s response to infant is unpredictable and inconsistent
Parent themselves an be anxious/overwhelmed or indifferent/emotionally unavailable by caregiving
Child doesn’t separate to explore → usually really close to caregiver during free play period, when parent leaves they are really distressed → when caregiver comes back they can’t soothe the child
Child is really resistant of being soothed
- Insecure-disorganized (≈15%)
Infant shows fear/confusion about CG, lacks coping strategies → not clear what the child is doing
Sometimes they look securely attached, sometimes they look insecurely attached
It’s not clear what is happening, very disorganized and have reactions that don’t make sense for the situation
Inconsistent behaviours during strange situation
CGs display rejecting/neglecting/frightening/abusive behaviour; may have trauma histories
What Predicts Attachment Style?
Not heritable → Heritable = transmitted genes of your parents will inform your attachment which is not the case, instead its the environment, the relationship that caregiver has with the child
Parental sensitivity = BIGGEST predictor of secure attachment
Caregiving behaviour that is warm + contingent + consistent
Contingent = responsive to what the child is doing, child leads
What Outcomes Are Associated with Attachment Style?
Positive early outcomes: enjoy physical contact more, less fussy/difficult, explore environment more
Calling back to Piaget → exploring more is good for learning and identity formation
Positive later outcomes: better reactions to stress, less anxiety/depression/aggression, more academic success
Healthier relationships: stronger social skills, more satisfaction in peer and romantic relationships
Can You Measure Attachment in Adulthood?
Rooted in our perceptions of our childhood experiences.
- Secure-autonomous (≈60%): relationships are described in coherent and congruent manner, attachment relationship is valued, non-defensive (both positive and negative memories)
They will bring up both positives and negatives → talks about parents strengths and weaknesses, talks about positive and negative memories
- Insecure-dismissing: attachment relationship is dismissed, negative aspects are minimized, positive memories are inconsistent with rest of answers
- Insecure-preoccupied: continuing preoccupation with attachment relationship, angry or ambivalent representations of them in the past
- Insecure-unresolved: characterized by unresolved trauma/abuse in early attachments
Stability of Attachment Styles
Parents’ attachment styles are associated to their children’s attachment styles
One mechanism for intergenerational trauma?
Secure attachment (72%) had secure autonomous parents
Avoidant parents were dismissing
Resistant infants have more preoccupied parents who are angry or ambivalent
Disorganized infants will have more commonly unresolved parents
CAN YOU IMPROVE ATTACHMENT SECURITY?
If CG’s ability to respond sensitively to child improves! (e.g., intervention, change in life circumstances)
Attachment-focused therapy (common for foster/adopted children)
E.g., circle of security: child needs confidence and freedom to go out and explore but he also needs to know that whenever he’s ready, he can come back for comfort and protection, and need caregiver to be in charge in a kind way
CAN YOU ATTACHMENT SECURITY DECLINE?
If change in CG’s ability to respond sensitively (e.g., postpartum depression)
Development of the SELF
Ability to recognize and differentiate oneself from others
Precursor to self-concept, self-esteem, self identity
When do children develop a sense of self? Depends on how you test them!
Rouge Test: indicator of self-awareness
Pass this test ≈18mos, though have more rudimentary understanding of self before then
Really clear indicator that child has self-awareness
Recognizing self in photos (starts ≈20mos)
Coincides with “terrible twos” – starting to assert autonomy
Seeing kids learning to say “no” and disagreeing with parents more → coincides with the emergence of that distinct self, that they fully realize that they are themselves and separate from others
~2 = starting to see TOM
Development of SELF CONCEPT
What is your self-concept? → thoughts and attitudes about oneself
- Preschoolers:
Answer based on concrete attributes (physical attributes, abilities, social relationships, what they own…). Rarely compare themselves to other children
E.g., I can run really fast, I have a cat, I have a brother
Rarely compare themselves to other children
E.g., “I am a girl and I like to play hockey.”
- Elementary School:
More social comparison
Understand strengths and weaknesses compared to others
Less focus on physical attributes; more higher-order concepts
More emphasis on social relationships
E.g., “I am smart and good at sports” “I have lots of friends.”
- High School:
Answer shows conflict about opposing attributes
Begin to unify separate traits into higher-order descriptors
More focus on abstract qualities, like attitudes, personality traits, beliefs
More future-oriented
E.g., ”I am a good friend” “I’m funny and I want to be a comedian”
What is SELF ESTEEM?
Self-esteem in adults is related to positive outcomes
Self-esteem: our subjective evaluations of our own worth and abilities
Healthy self-esteem is realistic: recognizing strengths and weaknesses, not necessarily loving yourself → knowing that nobody’s perfect
Typically measured with self-report
1. Preschoolers: Tend to be positive, “I can do anything” – sometimes unrealistic!
- Elementary School: Once make comparisons to others, becomes more realistic
- High School: Dip in self-esteem during adolescence (rebounds in adulthood)
PROMOTING Self Esteem
Self-esteem is promoted by approval and support from others:
But should be realistic!
With age, rely less on parents and more on peers for approval and support
In adolescence, internalize those views and start relying on self-approval –> care less about what parent thinks but more about what the kids in your class think.
PRAISE PARADOX:
Adults think they need to “fix” a child’s low self-esteem (Western cultures: 87% of parents say children need praise to feel good about themselves)
Starts with child’s low self-esteem → adults desire to boost self-esteem in kids → adults provide person and inflated praise
Person praise (“you’re so smart!”) → all about their personal qualities, or inflated praise
(“You’re an amazing artist!”) → goes beyond what is the reality, backfires
Backfires because children tend to increase self-validation goals = they make gaining self-esteem a priority (you want to protect your self-esteem, so you don’t challenge yourself, you don’t try new things) = Increase in self-validation goals: act to gain self-esteem or avoid losing it
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR PARENTS?
Instead you want to praise effort or use realistic praise
The type of praise we give kids makes them see how they are able to face challenges
Focus on process/effort praise (“you did a great job”), and uninflated praise (“you used beautiful colours”)
Indirect ways to help children develop self-esteem: helping children develop new skills (e.g., learn to drive as teen) & healthy relationships
3 Theories on Identity Development
Identity development in adolescence: figuring out “who am I?” is central challenge of adolescent development
Three Key Theories:
- Erikson: “identity vs. role confusion” conflict to resolve
Identity development in adolescence as trying to resolve the conflict between identity and role confusion → “who am I? How am I supposed to interact with other people? Am I independent or dependent?
- Elkind/Piaget → what informs how adolescents develop their identity:
Adolescent Egocentrism: self-focused, acting for “imaginary audience”
People are so focused on themselves (mark on their face, hair, clothes, etc.) that they assume that everyone else is doing the same → reality is that all teens are doing that to themselves, so no one is paying attention to others
Personal Fable: belief that their experiences are unique (no one else is going through this!)
Someone’s unique journey of adolescence and that only they know what they have gone through → idea that they are alone in their unique experiences can inform how they start to think about themselves
- Marcia: identity using dimensions of commitment (exploration) and crisis
Most commonly applied to vocational development → figuring out what job you want to do
High Commitment, Low Crisis = not a lot on change or exploration going on, which means foreclosure = passive acceptance of your identity, doesn’t give it much thought, more along for the ride
E.g., teenager who comes from a line of mechanics kind of also expects that they are going to be a mechanic, take over parents business and run it afterwards
Diffusion = Low Commitment, Low Crisis
There’s no clear identity
Diffusion = people who are just hanging out, no plan when it comes to identity, floating along, not committed to anything
Low Commitment, High Crisis = moratorium
Actively exploring roles
Haven’t committed, checking out different ideas
“Maybe I’ll be a mechanic, or teacher, or vet”
Last Phase, End Goal = High Crisis, High Commitment
You’ve actively explored and have identity what you want to be
More mature stage of development
Foreclosure can also be an end stage = accept the path you chose
