Attachment Flashcards
mainly key words
Attachment
An emotional bond between two people. Two way process that endures over time.
Caregiver
Any person who is providing care for a child such as a parent grandparent sibling other family member child minder etc.
Classical conditioning
Learning through association. A neutral stimulus is consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus so that it eventually takes on the properties of this stimulus and is able to produce a conditioned response
Continuity hypothesis
The idea that emotionally secure infants go on to be emotionally secure trusting and confidence adults.
Critical period
A biologically determined period of time, during which certain charectoristics develop. Outside this time window such development will not be possible.
Cultural variations
The ways that different groups of people vary in terms of their social practices, and the effects these practices have on development and behaviour
Deprivation
To be deprived is to lose something. In the context of child development deprivation refers to the loss of emotional care that is normally provided by a primary caregiver
Imprinting
An innate readiness to develop a strong bond with the mother which takes place during a specific time in development, probably the first few hours after birth/hatching. If it doesn’t happen at this time it probably never will
Insecure-avoidant
A type of attachment which describes those children who tend to avoid social interaction and intimacy with others
Insecure resistant
A type of attachment which describes those children who both seek and reject intimacy and social interaction
Institutionalisation
The effect of institutional care. Our concern specifically applied to the effects of time spent in an orphanage can effect the development of children. Possible effects include social mental and physical underdevelopment. Some irreversible.
Interactional synchrony
When two people interact they tend to mirror what the other is doing in terms of their facial expressions an body movements.
Internal working model
A mental model of the world which enables individuals to predict and control their environment. In the case of attachment relates to a persons expectations about relationships
Learning theory
Name given to a group of explanations (classical and operant conditioning) which explain behaviour in terms of learning rather than born tendencies.
Monotropy
The idea that one relationship that the infant has with his/her primary attachment figure is of special significance in emotional development
Multiple attachment
Having more than one attachment figure
Operant conditioning
Learning through reinforcement
Primary attachment figure
Person who has formed the closest bond with the child.
Reciprocity
Responding to actions of another with a similar action where the actions of the partner is a clear response.
Secure attachment
Strong and contented attachment of an infant to his or her caregiver which develops as a result of sensitive responding by the caregiver to the infants needs
Separation anxiety
Distress shown by an infant when separated from his/her caregiver
Social learning theory
Learning through observing others and imitating behaviours that are rewarded.
Social releasers
A social behaviour or characteristic that elicits caregiving and leads to attachment
Strange situation
A controlled observation designed to test attachment security
