Week 9 - Bonding with Caregiver Flashcards
What Contributes to Bonding Between Children and Caregivers?
- Cuteness
• Smiling
• Clinging
• Contingent responding (cycle of response)
• Social referencing
• Look to others to see how to react
• Joint attention/gaze following
• Looking between caregiver and object
• Caregiver and child both focusing on same object
Why Do Infants form Bonds with their Caregivers? (psychoanalytic perspective)
- Mother-child bond is critical
• Breastfeeding is primary source of oral gratification
Why Do Infants form Bonds with their Caregivers? (behaviourist perspective)
- Babies have physical drives like thirst and hunger
• When caregivers respond to these drives, the child associates the caregiver with positive reinforcement
• Biological drives guide attachment
Harry Harlow cloth/wire monkey study
Infant monkeys placed in a cage with a “wire” mother and a “cloth” mother
- Half of the monkeys fed by the wire mother
• Half the monkeys fed by the cloth mother
Results: monkeys spent more time with cloth monkey no matter the group –> caregiver provides sense of security
bonding in infants
Beginning at around 6 months of age, human infants have bonds with specific caregivers
• At around 8 months of age, they begin to show separation distress
What is Attachment?
bond between child and caregiver
Function:
• Infants: safety
• Parents: passing on genes
four stages of attachment
- Preattachment (birth to 6 weeks)
- Attachment in the making (6 weeks to 6-8 months)
- Clear-cut attachment (until 18 months – 2 years)
- Reciprocal relationships (2+ years)
Dependency
reliance on another person for basic physiological needs
Secure attachment
Child can explore the world knowing that the caregiver will be there for them
Use parents as a secure base:
• Explore when with caregiver
• May or may no cry when separated, but cry because caregiver is absent and prefer caregiver to the stranger
• Seek contact when parent returns and reduces crying
Insecure attachment
Balance between exploration and attachment is impaired
Different types
Avoidant attachment
Baby does not appropriately rely on the caregiver
• Explore when with caregiver
• Not distressed when caregiver leaves
• Responds to stranger in same way as caregiver
• On reunion, avoids or is slow to greet caregiver
• Often fail to cling when picked up
Resistant attachment
Diminished exploration because of preoccupation with
the caregiver
• Before separation, infant seeks closeness to caregiver and fails to explore
• Become extremely distressed when caregiver leaves
• On reunion, infant is both clingy and angry
• Cannot be comforted easily
Disorganized attachment
Behavior is confusing and contradictory
Seem to both want caregiver and be afraid of them
• Represents greatest insecurity
• Confusion at reunion with caregiver
• Contradictory behaviors (e.g., looking away while parent is holding them)
• Dazed facial expressions
Stability of Attachment over Time
In theory, attachment should remain stable over time
• Data are inconsistent
• Attachment may change because of changes in family circumstances
• Divorce
• Birth of a sibling
What Predicts the Quality of Attachment?
- Parenting
- Genes
- Child-specific factors
Parenting and Attachment
Parental sensitivity is associated with more secure attachment • Maternal well-being • Depression • Stress in the family directly affects attachment • Economic disadvantage • Marital conflict • Domestic violence • Alcohol and drug use
Genes and Attachment
Heritability
• Twin studies indicate that the security of attachment is primarily due to the environment
• Parenting quality
Recent studies have suggested that infants with particular genotypes may be more at risk for developing insecure attachments in the context of poor quality parenting
DRD4 7-repeat polymorphism
Associated with impulsive hyperactive behavior
• More likely to develop insecure attachment when they were raised by caregivers who engaged in negative parenting characteristics
5-HTTLPR serotonin transporter gene
Associated with negative emotionality
• Infants with a short allele were more likely to develop insecure attachment in the context of poor parenting
Is Attachment Associated with Later Outcomes?
Attachment in infancy has been linked to many later outcomes • Language development • Peer relationships • Loneliness • Math achievement • Behavior problems
Social Interaction and Development
Critical
If isolated too long will have permanent social deficits
Can the Effects of Social Deprivation be Reversed?
Yes, if receive social interaction during critical period
Is There a Critical Period for Social Interaction?
The first 24 months
• Children placed in foster care before 24 months had very improved language outcomes at 30 and 42 months
• Children placed later had severe impairments in expressive and receptive language
• Similarly, children placed before 24 months have higher IQs at 54 months than those placed after
What is Temperament?
Tendency towards particular behaviors and emotional responses in specific situations
• Individual differences in affect, activity, attention, and self-regulation
