Attachment Flashcards
(30 cards)
What is attachment?
Attachment is a close, enduring emotional bond to parents or other caregivers, necessary for normal social and emotional development.
Describe parenting advice in the 1940s, influenced by Behaviorism.
Professional advice was dominated by Behaviorism: reward/punishment shapes behavior, feed them on a schedule, let them cry, and social contact is not important and can even be dangerous.
Who was Dr. Benjamin Spock and what were his revolutionary ideas about parenting in the 1940s?
Dr. Benjamin Spock stood against Behaviorist parenting, advocating that parents should do what feels right, the emotional relationship between parent and child is important, and children need to feel loved.
What was the pre-1950s mainstream view on child development?
The pre-1950s mainstream view emphasized adequate nutritional care as sufficient for normal development, with little to no emphasis on emotional care.
What was the main question Harry Harlow’s monkey studies aimed to answer?
Harlow challenged the Behaviorist view that biological needs (e.g., hunger) are primary, asking if there is more to the parent-infant relationship than just getting fed.
Describe Harlow’s monkey studies setup.
Infant rhesus monkeys were separated from their mothers and had access to a wire mother and a cloth mother, with food available from one of them.
What was the Behaviorist prediction regarding the monkeys’ preference for the wire or cloth mother?
The Behaviorist prediction was that the baby monkeys should spend the majority of their time with the mother that feeds them, even if it’s the wire mother, because food = reward.
What were the results of Harlow’s monkey studies?
Monkeys spent the majority of their time with the cloth mother, regardless of whether this mother fed them, indicating that comfort and security were more important than food.
How did the monkeys treat the cloth mother?
The cloth mother was treated as a source of comfort and security.
What were some of the long-term effects on monkeys raised with only a wire mother?
Monkeys with only a wire mother exhibited extremely abnormal social and emotional behavior as adults, including excessive aggression, stereotyped motor behavior, lack of interest in sexual behavior, and neglect/abuse of offspring.
What were the early observations of children separated from their parents in the US and Europe between 1937-1943?
By adolescence, these children showed a history of stealing, violence, sexual misdemeanors, were withdrawn and isolated, overactive, distractible, abusive to others, lacked feeling for others and showed abnormal social behavior.
What were the conditions in institutions during WW2 that affected children’s development?
Many children were orphaned or separated from parents and placed in institutions with adequate physical care but no stable/reliable caregiver or social care.
According to John Bowlby, how were children in institutions affected by separation from their parents?
Children in institutions were listless and depressed, emotionally disturbed, had feelings of emptiness, and were unable to develop normal emotional relationships.
What were the findings of René Spitz’s studies comparing children in orphanages versus those in prison with their mothers?
Children in orphanages had higher mortality rates, lower average IQs, and poorer developmental outcomes compared to those in prison with their mothers, highlighting the importance of maternal care.
What is Bowlby’s theory on attachment?
Bowlby theorized that attachment is an enduring emotional tie between a child and primary caregiver and that children develop an internal working model of attachment, which is a mental representation of self, caregivers, and how relationships work.
What are the four phases of attachment development according to Bowlby?
The four phases are: 1. Preattachment (birth to 6 weeks), 2. Attachment-in-the-making (6 weeks to 6-8 months), 3. Clear-cut attachment (6-8 months to 1.5-2 years), and 4. Reciprocal relationships (1.5-2 years and on).
What is the Strange Situation?
The Strange Situation is a procedure developed by Mary Ainsworth to assess attachment styles in infants by observing their behavior during a series of separations and reunions with their caregiver.
What criteria are used to classify attachment style from the Strange Situation?
Criteria include active play and exploration in caregiver’s presence, preference for caregiver vs. stranger for comfort, behavior of infant during reunions, and absence of anger, resentment, or withholding of contact.
Describe the characteristics of securely attached children.
Securely attached children effectively use the parent as a secure base, show some distress when the parent leaves, and are happy to see the parent return.
Describe the characteristics of insecure/resistant (or anxious-ambivalent) attached children.
Insecure/Resistant children are clingy, explore less, are very upset when the parent leaves, and seek contact when the parent returns but resist efforts at comfort.
Describe the characteristics of insecure/avoidant attached children.
Insecure/Avoidant children are indifferent to the parent before separation, behave similarly to the parent and stranger, and do not greet the parent upon return.
Describe the characteristics of disorganized/disoriented attached children.
Disorganized/disoriented children show no consistent way of coping, have confused facial expressions, and appear to want to approach the parent but also fear doing so.
What are the long-term effects of secure attachment?
Securely attached children tend to have better problem-solving skills, more complex creative play, more positive emotions, better social skills, and more close friends.
What are the long-term effects of insecure attachment?
Insecurely attached children tend to be more socially/emotionally withdrawn, hesitant to initiate play with peers, less curious/interested in learning, have poor peer relations, fewer close friendships, and a greater likelihood of disruptive behaviors and psychopathological symptoms.
