W4 Attachment and Social Relationships

Question 1

What is an attachment?

Answer 1

Strong affectional tie that
binds a person to an intimate companion.

Behavioural system that
helps regulate emotional
distress and achieve security by seeking proximity.

Question 2

How do we know an infant is securely attached?

Answer 2

 Desire to maintain proximity
 Preferred individual
 Derive a sense of security

Question 3

What are the Attachment Phases?

Answer 3

Undiscriminating social responsiveness. (All people all good)
 birth - 2 months

Discriminating social responsiveness (Prefers mum/dad)
 2-6 months

Active proximity seeking / true attachment
 6 months - 3 years

Goal-corrected partnership (Knows parents gotta do their thing, but will come back)
 3+ years

Question 4

What are the 4 attachment styles?

Answer 4

Secure attachment
 Use caregiver as secure base
 Distressed when they leave, seek reunion when they return
and calm down quickly

Avoidant attachment
 Make few demands of caregiver
 Don’t seem distressed during separation, ignore caregiver on
return

Resistant attachment (anxious)
 Clingy
 Distressed when they leave, seek reunion when they return but then resist it

Disorganized/Disoriented attachment
 Combines features of avoidant and resistant attachment styles

Question 5

What was the The Strange Situation (Ainsworth et al., 1978) experiment used to measure?

Answer 5

The quality of attachment.

Infant behaviour in the reunion episodes is coded:
 Proximity and contact seeking
 Contact maintaining
 Avoidance of proximity and contact
 Resistance to contact and comforting

Question 6

What is the sensitive window for forming attachments?

Answer 6

First 3 years

Question 7

What helps form secure attachment?

Answer 7

 Babies are cute and their reflexes endearing
 Cooing and babbling
 Synchronized routines

Being sensitive to the baby’s need is key. (Not over/under stimulate)

Question 8

Secure Attachment style children have what kind of parents?

Answer 8

Response and Stimulating

Question 9

Avoidant Attachment style children have what kind of parents?

Answer 9

Under/Over stimulating

Question 10

Resistant Attachment style children have what kind of parents?

Answer 10

Inconsistent caregiver

Question 11

Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment style children have what kind of parents?

Answer 11

Caregiver is feared or fearful

Question 12

How does temperament affect attachment quality?

Answer 12

Temperaments which are harder to take care of: Anxious, Irritable, Unresponsive
are harder to take care of and lead to insecure attachment types.

Question 13

Why does attachment matter?

Answer 13

Attachment influences the

quality of later relationships

Question 14

What happens in separation?

Answer 14

Infants grieve when separated from caregiver
 May “give up” – ignore or avoid caregiver if they do return
 May recover when reunited or upon forming new attachments

Question 15

What happens to Socially deprived children?

Answer 15

Emotionally withdrawn or too friendly, or both!

Question 16

How does attachment change as children grow older?

Answer 16

Attachment becomes goal-corrected partnership.

Look to parents for support and comfort, but rely on them less.

Question 17

What did Piaget argue was an important attachment
relationship?

How does it develop (Ages 6-12)?

Answer 17

Peers.

Around age 6, children need
acceptance from peer group
 Same sex peers
 Similar age and play preferences

Around ages 9-12, children need
intimacy in form of close friendship