week 7, Day 1

Question 1

primary reason we have attachments

Answer 1

we cant take care of ourselves so we need another person there to keep us alive

Question 2

def attachment styles

Answer 2

ways of relating in relationships based on experience with a caregiver

Question 3

purpose of strange situation

Answer 3

1. to look at attachment styles in children

2. examining the child’s response to separation from and reunion to mom

Question 4

securely attached

Answer 4

1. 60-65%
2. uses mom as secure base, will explore
3. distressed by separation, comforted when mom returns

Question 5

avoidantly attached

Answer 5

1. 20%
2. unresponsive to mom when she is present
3. Not distressed by separation, avoids or is slow to greet mom upon return
   a) Mom isn’t there I should figure stuff out on my own

Question 6

anxiously attached

Answer 6

1. 12%
2. Remains close to mom, not eager to explore
3. Distressed by separation, clingy upon return
   a) Seems possible that inhibited infants or those who are more fearful may get lumped into the anxiously attached category
   b) Moms are non consistent in responding
4. Kids can look like this IF they are sick or for some other reasons
5. Also cause kid is too shy naturally and therefore not feeling safe in the world

Question 7

adult attachment styles

Answer 7

1. anxiously attached: belief that sig other doesn’t want to stay
2. avoidantly attached: uncomfortable being close to sig other

Question 8

responses to separation in children

Answer 8

1. Protest: crying or screaming in response to separation; attempts to follow, cling and prevent separation
2. Despair: child becomes quiet, withdrawn, apathetic; seems sick or depressed
   a) Takes a while for child to get to this point
3. Detachment: will start to re-engage with others, but will avoid previous attachment figures

Question 9

response to separation in animals

Answer 9

1. Protest: distress vocalizations, agitated “searching” behavior
   a) These are basically animal cries
   b) Seen in everything to guinea pigs to monkeys
2. Despair: become less responsive, slowed movements, diminished alertness, food is ignored, body temp and HR drops

Question 10

response to bereavement in adults

Answer 10

1. Protest: crying, agitation, preoccupation with thoughts or images of deceased
2. Despair: social withdrawal, dec concentration/attention, dec food intake, depressed mood

Question 11

So why does this happen? Why these phases?

Answer 11

1. Protesting: makes adaptive sense- you must reconnect with your caregiver and call out to them
2. Despair: conserve energy until your caregiver comes back?

Question 12

sickness and despair experiment

Answer 12

1. Maternal separation -> inflammatory activity -> despair/passive phase
   1) Activation of the inflammatory response leads to some passive behaviors (crouching, eye closing, piloerection)
   2) Passive behaviors during separation are assoc with an inc in inflammatory act
   3) Anti-inflammatory agents reduce the passive behaviors evoked by separation
   a. Conclusion: body may respond to maternal separation as a stressor, which can inc inflammation and trigger sickness behavior

Question 13

In guinea pigs, separation from mother leads to

Answer 13

1. pretest then despair (active/pass responses)
2. Passive/despair response: crouched stance, closure of eyes, piloerection, which looks a lot like “sickness”
   a. Presence of mother resolves passive response, whereas the presence of a non-familiar female does not

Question 14

Myron Hofer Research

Answer 14

1. Studying cardiovascular responses in rat pups
2. One night, mom escaped cage and Hofer found pups the next morning in a hyporesponsive state (despair?)
   a) Hyporesponsive state: slowed HR, dropped body temp
3. Added heat, heart rates stayed low, but now pups became active
4. Supplied milk, HR became normal
5. Hidden regulators within the mother-infant interaction
   a) Hidden regulators: hidden within the mother-infant interaction were maternal processes that were regulating the infant (mother’s warmth, smell, tactile stimulation, etc.)
   i) Behaviors observed during separation were the result of these different systems in the pups being released from regulation by the missing mother
   ii) Normal response to separation
   2) Conclusion: what looks like “protest” and “despair” may just be the result of certain systems in the infant being released from regulation by the mother

Question 15

panksepp addicted to love

Answer 15

1. Hypothesized that opioids, our body’s natural pain killers, underlie social attachments
   a. The similarities to addiction
   b. Lacrimation: eye watering
   (NEED TO ADD IN PIC FROM NOTES)

Question 16

Brain Opioid Theory of Social Attachment

Answer 16

Opioid system, known for its role in euphoria and pain relief, may have been co-opted to facilitate social bonding

Question 17

testing opioid theory

Answer 17

1. separation distress vocalizations
2. does an opioid agonist dec distress vocalizations?
   a. More morphine -> less crying for mothers
3. does an opioid blocker inc distress vocalizations?
   a. can make them cry more if block opioids
4. does blocking opioids reduce feelings of social connection?
   a. naltrexone (antagonist) vs placebo
   b. subjs took for 4 days eac with titrated up dose
   c. found that it blocked feelings of daily connection but not affect

Question 18

social connection in real world

Answer 18

NEED TO LOOK UP