Attachment 2 Flashcards
Why do anxiously attached and avoidantly
attached individuals often stay in
relationships together?
a. Despite seeming incompatible at the surface, they are actually both satisfied in these relationships
b. Their differences make them more adaptable in relationships as they learn from each other’s attachment style and develop a secure attachment over time
c. Their internal working models reinforce each other
d. They subconsciously recognize that their differences create balance with one partner providing emotional intensity, and the other providing stability
e. Even though the anxiously attached partner is dissatisfied, the avoidantly attached partner is satisfied with the relationship
c. Their internal working models reinforce each other
Is attachment style in adulthood
ACTUALLY related to childhood
experiences?
(Study on Longitudinal study of 707 participants from childhood to
age 18)
- Assessed quality of caregiving experiences at various points in childhood:
- Maternal sensitivity
- Maternal depression
- Father’s absence
- Assessed adult attachment style at age 18
FOUND:
Less supportive parenting and family instability predicted attachment insecurity in adulthood
Is attachment style in adulthood
ACTUALLY related to childhood
experiences?
(Study on Longitudinal study of 707 participants from childhood to
age 18)
FINDINGS:
Avoidance at age 18 predicted by:
Anxiety at age 18 predicted by:
Avoidance at age 18 predicted by:
* Lower maternal sensitivity
* Father’s absence
Anxiety at age 18 predicted by:
* Higher maternal depression
- Evidence that there’s an association between childhood caregiving
experiences and attachment in adulthood
What is the correlation issue with childhood caregiving experiences and adult attachment style?
average correlation of 0.15 between
childhood caregiving experiences and adult attachment style
Suggests that the effect is small and that some people exhibit incongruent patterns, for example:
* Positive early caregiving but insecure attachment in adulthood
* Negative early caregiving but secure attachment in adulthood
What else predicts attachment style as much as Less supportive parenting and family instability?
quality friendships
How does friendship impact:
Avoidance at age 18 predicted by
Anxiety at age 18 predicted by
Avoidance at age 18 predicted by:
* Lower maternal sensitivity (-0.16)
* Not consistently living with father (0.17)
* Lower quality friendships (-0.13)
Anxiety at age 18 predicted by:
* Higher maternal depression (0.10)
* Lower quality friendships (-0.11)
The size of effect of friendship experiences is similar to the size of the effect of caregiving experiences
SO friendship is just as important as caregiving (parenting is not more important)
Why is friendship just as important as parenting?
Provide opportunities for internal working models to be tested and to have expectations
either reinforced or disconfirmed
What contributes to the stability of
attachment styles over time?
Internal working models
Internal working models
What is:
- Confirmation bias
- Selection effect
Confirmation bias
* People are likely to interpret ambiguous social information in ways that
are consistent with their internal working model
Selection effect
* People tend to select partners that are consistent with their internal
working models
* Partner selection study (Anxious-Avoidant Pair)
Is there stability in adult attachment?
(Study) Assessed people’s attachment style at 2 time points a few weeks apart
FOUND:
At Time 2, 70% of people classified with same attachment style as Time 1
* BUT 30 % classified with a different attachment style
* Suggests that attachment is less stable than would be `theoretically predicted
Who’s attachment styles seem to change?
Avoidant and anxious
What contributes to changes in
adult attachment styles?
(Study)
Longitudinal study
Reported on:
- Life events experienced since last time point
- Attachment avoidance and anxiety
FOUND:
Many life events lead to temporary changes in attachment security
What contributes to changes in
adult attachment styles?
(Study)
Longitudinal study
- Events associated with decreased attachment security:
- Events associated with increased attachment security:
Events associated with decreased attachment security:
* Getting into an argument with partner
* Being physically apart from partner
* Being sick
Events associated with increased attachment security:
* Dating someone new
* Partner did something special for the person
* Work promotion
* Going on vacation
(All these = better mood)
How enduring are these attachment changes?
In general, people revert back to their typical level of attachment security
(low -> more secure -> slowly back to your normal)
BUT: about 25% of events led to a more enduring change in attachment
(ex. breaking up = more insecurity, engaged/pregnancy = Less insecurity)
So, when do attachment styles change? (big picture)
attachment CAN change in a more enduring way if the life event is big and important enough
* Internal working models can also be altered by new experience
How can we increase attachment security?
- age
- Wanting to become more securely attached
- Fostering more secure mental model
- Psychotherapy
- Age
People become less anxiously attached as they get older
Less clear results for avoidance - Wanting to become more securely attached is associated with
increases in attachment security for a 4-month period - Fostering more secure mental models
Anxiously attached: Foster a secure model of self by learning to rely on others less for
validation and learning to feel capable and valued in personal domains
Avoidantly attached: Foster a secure model of others by challenging self to depend on
others and self-disclose more
- Psychotherapy is associated with increased attachment security
Each of the following factors
contribute to change in
attachment style EXCEPT
a. internal working models
b. Significant life experiences
c. Childhood friendships
d. Psychotherapy
e. Age
a. internal working models
Do we have the same attachment
style across relationships?
Method:
* Listed 10 most impactful relationships
* Rated attachment style in each specific relationship
* Assessed general attachment style
* Ex. How you are in relationships generally?
FOUND:
Everyone has relationships characterized by each of the 3 attachment styles
Most people are secure
Anxious and avoidant ppl (their second place is their general category)
(Based on = do they have more of this type of relationship compared to others)
Which of the following is TRUE about people with a general attachment style that is dismissive-avoidant?
a. Most of their relationships are characterized by secure attachment
b. They have more avoidantly attached relationships than securely attached people
c. They have a negative internal model of the self
d. They deeply fear rejection and abandonment and deal with this by withdrawing from realtionships`
a. Most of their relationships are characterized by secure attachment
What is the Implication of people using Multiple Attachment Styles?
Everybody has relationships that are characterized by all 3 attachment styles
* Contributes to within person fluctuations in attachment style
Suggests that these fluctuations in attachment style may be a
function of which attachment model is cognitively accessible at a given moment
* i.e. different relationship partners or events prime different attachment style
Does priming a specific attachment model affect coping with stress?
* Method: Recruited female students
- Experimental manipulation:
- Secure relationship: Primed warm/supportive relationship
- Insecure relationship: Primed critical/judgmental relationship
- Control: No prime
- Imagine themselves with unplanned pregnancy
Assessed:
* coping strategy
* general attachment style
- People primed with warm/supportive relationship were more likely to seek emotional support than control group
- People primed with critical/judgmental relationship were less likely to engage in growth- oriented coping (emphasizing learning from challenges) than control group
- Coping responses unrelated to general attachment style
TAKEAWAY: Shows that attachment styles can be primed and influence behaviour
in theoretically consistent way
How does Stability of Attachment depend on ____ aspect in relationships?
Stability of attachment is moderated by relationship length
* Attachment style is more stable in longer relationships
* More entrenched patterns
Implies that people will have more stable attachment styles with their parents
and other people they’ve know for a long time than with romantic partners or
newer friends
Attachment at any given moment is determined by:
Two things
- Chronic/general attachment style
* Influenced by caregiver experiences
* Past important relationships, like childhood friendships
* Some major life events
* Age - State level of attachment
* Current and recent life events
* Most recent interaction with an attachment figure (priming)
* Relationship length
