Week 5 Flashcards
Temperament
one’s characteristic mood, activity, level and mode of responding to the environment
Dominant Temperaments in Children
► Easy: happy, regular in sleep and eating habits, not easily upset, adptable to change (40%)
► Slow-to-warm-up: less cheery, less regular, less adaptable (15%)
► Difficult: glum, irritable, erratic, resistant to change (10%)
► Remaining 35% mixed
Early temperament can predict
► later personality ► cognitive performance ► friendship patterns ► conduct disorders in children ► substance use in adolescents
Attachment
an intense, enduring, social-emotional relationship between the child and its primary caregivers
Involves…
► desire for proximity to attachment figure
► sense of security derived from presence of attachment figure
► distress when attachment figure is absent
Dependence Theory
Infant motivation: satisfaction of basic physiological needs (i.e. feeding)
Psychodynamic Approach to Attachment
Psychodynamic approach
► Gratification of oral needs -> Attachment to people who satisfy those needs
Behavioural Approach to Attachment
Behavioural approach
► Food = primary (innate) reinforcer of attachment
► Mother = second reinforcer of attachment because of association with food
Lorenz’s Geese 1937
Imprinting Early following behaviour on first object that infants encounter Occurs before first feeling Evolutionarily adaptive Close proximity to parent: ► protection ► nourishment ► support for exploration ► skill learning/acquisition ► social bond?
Harlow’s Monkeys 1959
Method
Infant rhesus monkeys separated from mothers shortly after birth and raised in isolation
Reared by surrogate “mothers”
► wire “mother” with bottle vs. cloth “mother” without bottle
► wire “mother” without bottle vs. cloth “mother” with bottle
Results of Harlow’s Monkeys
Cloth “mother” > wire “mother”
Even when wire “mother” had bottle, infants only visited her to feed
Cloth “mother” provided contact comfort (safe haven & secure base)
Attachment is more than “dependency” & nourishment ► Contact comfort more important
Attachment Theory, John Bowlby
The infant and young child should experience a warm, intimate, and continuous relationship with his mother (or permanent mother substitute) in which both find satisfaction and enjoyment Infant motivation: safety + security Attachment figure ► “safe haven” for protection ► “secure base” for exploration
John Bowlby conclusions
Emotional bond develops over time
Strength and quality of bond depend on caregiver’s responsiveness to child + consistency of response
Attachment endures throughout lifespan but diminishes in intensity
Strange Situation Test, Ainsworth 1967
Studied quality of attachment between infants and mothers
Parent and infant visits unfamiliar laboratory
1. Infant becomes comfortable in room with parent
2. Stranger (experimenter) enters
3. Infant left alone with stranger
4. Parent returns
5. Parent & stranger leave
6. Parent returns again
Patterns of Attachment “B”
“B” = secure ► about 60% of infants in Western cultures ► infant uses mum as secure base -> explores room after warm up period -> distressed at separation -> seeks contact at reunion -> mum > stranger
Patterns on Attachment “A”
“A” = insecure-avoidant ►about 15-20% of infants in Western cultures ► infant tends to ignore mum -> explores freely -> no distress at separation -> no proximity seeking at reunion -> sometimes stranger > mum
