Week 2: Attatchment

Question 1

What is attatchment?

Answer 1

An enduring emotional tie to a specific person characterised by the tendency to seek and maintain closeness, especially in times of stress

Question 2

When seperatd from care givers, what 3 stages do children go through?

Answer 2

Protest
Dispair
Detatchment

Question 3

What is a secure attatchment?

Answer 3

Children use their caregiver as a secure base for exploration and develop an internal working model of themselves and their care giver. This then forms the basis of future relationships

Question 4

How many stages are there in the attatchment process?

Answer 4

5 (Birth to school age)

Question 5

What is the first stage of the attatchment process? (Newborns)

Answer 5

Do not discriminate between people

Make noise to attract care givers

Question 6

What is the second stage of the attatchment process? (5-7 months)

Answer 6

More likely to smile at their care giver and begin to discriminate between people
They’re more easily comforted by people they know

Question 7

What is the third stage of the attatchment process? (7-9 months)

Answer 7

They maintain proximity to their preferred people and protest when they leave
Develop a fear of strangers

Question 8

What is the fourth stage of attatchment? (2-3 years)

Answer 8

A goal-correct partnership forms where children begin to understand object permenance and the fact that their care giver will return (Deferred immitation)
They learn to accomodate their caregiver’s needs

Question 9

What is the final stage of attatchment? (4/5 years)

Answer 9

They develop an abstract version of trust and affection as well as a full internal working model
Their attatchment lessens and they are able to be without their caregiver

Question 10

Who developed the strange situation paradigm?

Answer 10

Ainsworth

Question 11

What is an anxious/avoident attatchment in the strange situation?

Answer 11

Children may not be distressed when their mother leaves and will avoid her when she returns

Question 12

What is an anxious/resistant/ambivalent attatchment in the strange situation?

Answer 12

Children become severely distressed when the mother leaves. When they return, the child will simultaneously seek comfort and turn away

Question 13

What is a disorganised attatchment in the strange situation?

Answer 13

Doesn’t fit into any other pattern

Question 14

What kind of brain activity do insecurely attatched children show in the strange situation?

Answer 14

More activity in the righ prefrontal cortex (Specalising in negative emotion)

Question 15

What are the two main hypothesis of attatchment theory?

Answer 15

Sensativity hypothesis

Compentence hypothesis

Question 16

What is the sensativity hypothesis

Answer 16

The more sensative the caregiver, the more secure the attatchment

Question 17

Why isn’t warmth and ‘loving’ related to being an idea care giver?

Answer 17

While it’s the cultural norm in the west, it’s not the same everywhere

Question 18

What did Seifer et al (1996) find?

Answer 18

Sensativity was not linked to the results of the strange situation test

Temperment of the child was most related to maternal sensativity

Question 19

What is the still face paradigm?

Answer 19

Mother is unresponsive and just looks at the infant for 2 minutes without reacting

Question 20

How do insecurely attatched children behave in the still face paradigm?

Answer 20

They’re less sensative to the change

Question 21

How do securely attatched children behave in the still face paradigm?

Answer 21

They do anything to get their mother’s attention

Question 22

What is the competence hypothesis?

Answer 22

We assume that people who are more securely attatched are more socially compentant

Question 23

How are children with avoidant attatchments rated by their peers?

Answer 23

Seen as more agressive

Question 24

What was the Dwyer 2010 study into attatchment and attribution?

Answer 24

Scenario (imagined) where friend drops milkshake on child. The child is asked which explanation makes sense

Question 25

What were the results of the Dwyer 2010 study?

Answer 25

Girls with insecure paternal attatchments attributed it externally (they wanted to make fun of you) while boys attributed it internally (they did something to make it happen)

Question 26

Who is the main person to critisize attatchment theory?

Answer 26

Rothbaum

Question 27

How does Rothbaum critisize attatchment theory?

Answer 27

Cultural differences in the sensativity hypothesis. In Japan dependence is normal but in the US they value independence

Question 28

What defines an adult avoidant attatchment?

Answer 28

Less invested in close relationships 
Describes parents as cold and rejecting 
Don't use touch to communicate intimacy 
Withdraws from people when they are distressed 
Doesn't open up to people

Question 29

What defines an adult anxious attatchment?

Answer 29

Deeply invested in relationships but still contributes to break ups
Describes parents as intrusive and unfair - still angry at them
One negative memory opens up many more
Self discloses too much

Question 30

What defines an adult secure attatchment?

Answer 30

Favourable opinions of parents
Values and enjoys relationships
Copes with stress by seeking support

Question 31

What is the childcare debate?

Answer 31

Over if daycare makes children less attatched to their parents

Question 32

Who argues that daycare has a negative effect on children?

Answer 32

Belsky

Question 33

Who argues that daycare has a positive effect on children?

Answer 33

McCartney

Question 34

What was the NICHD 1997 study?

Answer 34

Compared children with and without daycare

Found no difference in attatchment

Question 35

Why did Belsky argue that daycare is negative?

Answer 35

Mothers overcompensate when the child gets home and overwhelm them with too much affection

Question 36

What is the validity issue with studying childcare?

Answer 36

Middle class families are more able to afford childcare so that could be the effect as they also tend to have less behavioural issues anyway