Week 3 Flashcards
Attachment
A psychological and emotional connection between two individuals
Attachment:
Characteristics
-Emotional intensity
-Proximity maintenance
-Specificity (one specific connection)
-Distress when apart
Attachment:
Purpose
-Nurturance
-Protection
-Security/ safety
Attachment:
Learning (behavioural) theory
Attachment is caused by conditioning (the child associates the individual with food)
Attachment:
Freud
Drive reduction
-Food satiates a baby’s oral stage of development, creating attachment to mother
Imprinting
Most baby animals form connection with the first thing they see regardless of feeding
John Bowlby
(1907-1990)
Research attachment and the effects of detachment on children
Bowlby’s attachment theory
-Attachment is an innate behaviour in which children attach to caregivers emotionally for survival
-There is a critical window for attachment
-Attachment quality affects development
Bowlby’s attachment theory:
4 Stages of attachment
-Preattachment: <6 weeks
-Attachment making: 6 weeks-> 7 months
-Clearcut: 7 month-> 2 year
-Reciprocal relationship: 2 years->
Bowlby’s attachment theory:
Preattachment
Can identify primary caregiver
-Indiscriminate behaviour, fine with separation
Bowlby’s attachment theory:
Attachment making
Closer to caregiver (drawing attention and engaging in behaviours such as smiling to engage with others)
-Trust and preferences
Bowlby’s attachment theory:
Clearcut
Proximity seeking & separation and stranger anxiety
Bowlby’s attachment theory:
Reciprocal relationship
Decreasing separation anxiety
-Relationship with caregiver creates blueprint for future relationships
Bowlby’s attachment theory:
Internal working model
A person’s self image which is heavily influence by early attachment, and which affects how the person behaves in future relationships
Bowlby’s attachment theory:
Monotropy
The innate urge to attach to one main caregiver (usually the mother)
Bowlby’s attachment theory:
Multiple attachments
Schaffer and Emerson argue indicators of attachment are shown towards multiple people
-Bowlby argues that maternal attachment is different to other figures
Bowlby’s attachment theory:
Maternal deprivation hypothesis
Failure to formal maternal attachment causes cognitive, emotional, and behavioural consequences
The Strange situation
An experiment created by Mary Ainsworth involving observation of an infant’s reaction to the presence, absence, and return of both a stranger and their mother
The Strange situation:
Attachment Type A
Insecure- avoidant
-No distress at separation or reaction on return of mother
-Stranger can comfort
–Leads to Dismissive attachment as adult
The Strange situation:
Attachment Type B
Secure
-Use mother as a base to explore from
-Distress at separation
-Seeks comfort on return
-Leads to Autonomous attachment as adult
The Strange situation:
Attachment Type C
Insecure ambivalent/resistant
-Do not explore
-Distress at situation
-Both seek and avoid comfort on return
-Leads to Preoccupied attachment as adult
The Strange situation:
Attachment Type D
Disorganised
-Inconsistent behaviour and inability to deal with stress
-Leads to Unresolved attachment as adult
Long term effects of attachment style
Attachment style has a long term impact on:
-Self regulation
-Self image
-Relationships
-Cognitive processes
Factors affecting attachment
-Environment
-Parental characteristics
-Infant characteristics
