EXAM 2 Flashcards
(156 cards)
Behavioural and learning theories of attachment
- infant learns and acts out attachment-seeking behaviours
- point is to acquire food/items from adults
John bowlbys attachment theory
- evolutionary theory
- infant is biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others
- point is to acquire care/responsiveness from adults
Mary Ainsworth
- built on bowlbys theory by developing the strange situation procedure
- classified infant attachment into 3 groups: secure, anxious-ambivalent, and avoidant
- pioneered maternal sensitivity
main and Solomon
- built on bowl by and Ainsworth to add a fourth group: disorganized
assessing attachment
CATEGORICAL APPROACH:
- more common in infants and toddlers
- measuring attachment via behavioural observation
DIMENSIONAL APPROACH:
- more common in adolescents and adults
- measuring attachment via self-report measures
- coding on a spectrum from secure to insecure
attachment styles
Secure: confident, reciprocal, greet parents positively
Anxious-preoccupied: emotional hunger, wary of strangers
Avoidant-dismissive: isolation, may avoid parents
Disorganized-unresolved: internal conflict, confusion or apprehension
do opposites attract
- anxious and avoidant often attract each other
- secure people attract each other
- disorganized people are least satisfied in relationship
internal working models
- as growing children interact with caregivers and learn their typical response patterns, they construct IWMs
- IWMs become blueprints child can pull out and use in other relationships
- parent responses directly impact the development of self regulation skills as children learn to regulate own distress
secure attachment IWM
- attachment seeking behaviours produce attuned sensitive responses from parents
- able to quickly overcome challenge and return to state of emotional balance
- feel physically safe and mentally free from fear provoking thoughts
- when stress occurs, child repeats what worked in past
- pattern repeated over time enables development of healthy relationships
insecure attachment IWM
- attachment seeking behaviour do not reliably produce sensitive responses
- remain stressed
- preoccupied with anxious thoughts
- eventually child learns alternate stress regulation strategies
- pattern repeated over time and enables development of maladaptive relational patterns
attachment and psychopathology
- classifications provide predictive utility through lifespan via longitudinal research findings
- insecurely attached experience high risk for poor psychosocial outcomes (depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD etc)
- also show worse health and physiology outcomes (more stress, poor vagal regulation)
infant attachment and parenting
- interventions designed to enhance attachment target parenting behaviour because Childs attachment is primarily determined by caregivers behaviour towards them
- important influence on infant attachment is sensitivity and response of caregiver
- mothers show less sensitivity to infants when, have more anxiety and depression, more significant trauma, face more stress
attachment summary
- measured dimensionally or categorically
- predicted by parenting behaviour
- conceptualized as evolutionary mechanism
parenting behaviours
- responsiveness: acceptance, praise, encouragement, expressing warmth and affection, paying attention, reading cues, listening (responsive vs. unresponsive, accepting vs. rejecting)
- demandingness: setting rules, regulations, limits, keeping closer watch (demanding vs. undemanding, controlling vs. non-controlling)
What is the role of family in socialization?
Family is responsible for seeing children acquire essential values and learn to control their impulses, interact, and become competent members of their culture.
What are the three basic goals for children according to Robert LeVine?
- Survive to adulthood. 2. Acquire skills and attitudes needed for economic self-support. 3. Internalize social values such as achievement, social advancement, creativity, and self-fulfillment.
How do families function as dynamic systems?
Parents influence children, and children influence parents, creating a bidirectional relationship. Families form complex social systems that constantly respond to changing circumstances.
What is a positive feedback loop in family dynamics?
A positive feedback loop occurs when each person’s response amplifies the other’s response, such as an increase in anger from a parent leading to an increase in defiance from a child.
What is a negative feedback loop?
A negative feedback loop helps keep the system stable, where a negative response leads to another negative response, such as a demanding parent causing a child to become less engaged.
What is disequilibrium in family dynamics?
Disequilibrium occurs when a significant change creates an imbalance in the family system.
What changes occur during puberty in family interactions?
During puberty, parents may try to adjust their behaviors, leading to less predictable interactions between parents and children.
What are extended families?
Extended families include parents, children, and other relatives such as grandparents and aunts, providing direct and indirect support to family members.
What reasons contribute to less contact with extended family?
Reasons for less contact include frequent moves and the trend of families not extending as much as they used to.
What are the dimensions of parenting?
- Acceptance and responsiveness: praise, encouragement, warmth, and affection. 2. Demandingness/control: rules and regulations, monitoring to ensure demands are met.