Key concepts in adult attatchment Flashcards
John Bowlbys attachment theory
Harlow’s monkey studies disproved the ‘secondary drive’ theory of love– a childs emotional bond with their parent is not merely a result of an association with food production (showed this using 2 wire mothers; 1feeder, 1cuddly one)
found: still want emotional comfort
- humans and other mammals need close emotional bonds (‘attachments’) to survive and thrive– driven by an innate behavioural system, the ‘attachment behavioural system’ = develops during the first year of life
Attachment behavioural system
system that drives certain behaviours to achieve a specific goal eg. crying/clinging/following
- these behaviours are activated under conditions of threat. Their function is to gain, maintain or increase proximity to the caregiver
- -When the attachment system is activated, the exploration system is deactivated
What is threat?
danger (real or potential)
-internal eg hunger/pain/temp
-external eg. noise/strangers/being alone
(being alone = most common reason for infant crying - Newman, 1985)
What determines exploration?
ask 'am i under threat right now?'
NO = attachment system deactivated (don't need
proximity)
= exploration system activated
YES = attachment system activated
= exploration system deactivatedIndividual differences in attachment
–Strange situation (Ainsworth)
types of attachment?
not all attachments are equal - individual differences depend on quality of care
Mary Ainsworth developed strange situation procedure to examine differences in attachment - exposes child to threat and observes how child seeks support from their caregiver = shows what the attachment is like
-7 episodes consisting of a stranger, separation(threat) and reunions (behaviour at reunion tells us about type of attachment
Types of attachment:
-secure
-insecure-avoidant/ anxious avoidant
-insecure-resistant/ anxious ambivalent
How types of attachment form?
When a child shows behaviour eg. crying etc this should elicit a caregiving response in carer
Securely attached characteristics of baby?
-mother acts how?
-if mother is responsive = secure attachment- caring and sensitive
–securely attached babies: about 50-60% babies secure
positive view of self and others, belief in lovability of self, belief that others are generally trustworthy, social world is a safe place, open and engaged in interaction, explore freely when feeling safe (absence of threat)
Insecure resistant characteristics of baby?
mother acts how?
-if mother is inconsistent = insecure resistant
–insecure resistant babies: about 10-15% babies
learn best outcomes result from hyperactivating negative affect - because they can’t predict when mother will or won’t be there so just throw tantrum for attention = difficult to soothe, preoccupation with availability, negative view of self, angry with others but also desire to please others, clingy and dependent in order to gain caring response
Insecure avoidant characteristics of baby?
mother acts how?
-if mother is rejecting = insecure avoidant
–insecure avoidant babies: about 20-25% babies
infants learn to suppress negative emotions, learn best response is self-reliance, being ‘good’ means not becoming upset, positive view of self, negative view of others, physically and emotionally avoid their attachment figure, deny the importance of the attachment relationship
Insecure attachment isn’t necessarily problematic - its adaptive and an organised strategy - it works in the given situation
Disorganised/ disoriented characteristics of baby?
mother acts how?
if caregiver is frightening = disorganised attachment
– disorganised babies: 10-25% of babies, up to 60% in high risk samples
caregiver is frightening (possibly abusive) or frightened (possibly abused), insensitive, aggressive
presents impossible conundrum for child as the biologically programmed source of care is the source of threat, inconsistent or contradictory behaviours in young children (approach and avoid at same time)
correlates/ consequences of attachment
- secure attachment to parents predicts academic achievement
- insecure toddlers tend to have shorter attention spans and perform worse on cognitive tasks than secure toddlers
- secures are more engaged in joint reading
- develop better pre-reading skills
Adult attachment
-measured how?
attachment to parents in adulthood is also studied
-‘narrative measures’ used = interviews designed to surprise the unconscious –> speech analysed = how they say something not what they say
-self-report approach
Hazan and Shaver(1981) - translated Ainsworths patterns of infant attachment, categorically, into adult relationship: secure, avoidant, anxious/ambivalent
participants from newspaper ad - ‘love quiz’, N =602
concluded: adult romantic love is an attachment process with similar observable differences as the SS
they used 3 self descriptions
measurement of individual differences
–Experiences in close relationships scale
Bartholomew and Holowitz (1991) split 3 styles into 4
-several groups of researchers began to develop dimensional measures independently, the result being several measures emerging in 1990s
-1998 Brennan, Clark and Shaver used several of these to create the ‘Experiences in close relationships scale’(ECR)
ECR measures attachment along 2 dimensions of insecurity:
1 = avoidance of emotional intimacy (18 items)
2 = anxiety about abandonment (18 items)
These 2 dimensions tally with Bartholomew 4 styles:
1=secure
2=preoccupied
3=dismissing avoidance - avoid emotional intimacy as they think they don’t need it(self-reliance)
4=fearful avoidance - avoid emotional intimacy as they’re afraid of it if they get hurt (fear of being hurt)
(both 3 and 4 avoid but for different reasons)
-most adults= secure, with the rest of the population usually being spread over the other 3
-usually we become more secure as we get older
Attachment styles as strategies of affect regulation
avoidance - deactivating strategies, downplaying/suppressing negative affect, deactivating attachment behaviours
anxiety - hyperactivating strategies of attachment system, emphasising negative affect, hyperactivating attachment behaviours
Observable attachment behaviours in adults
-airport study
-Fraley and Shaver - airport study
phase 1= observed couples who were separating at airport and noted behaviours using coding scheme of common behaviours: hugging, eye contact, kissing, sitting close, crying, whispering ILY, delaying separation, hand stretch
-these behaviours coded into themes:contact seeking, contact maintenance, avoidance, sexuality, sadness, resistance
phase 2= couples approached and asked to complete q’s including attachment avoidance and anxiety, and feelings about any forthcoming separation
-after q’s another researcher observes behaviour until departure
109 couples observed, 57%separating, 43%flying together
FOUND:
-separating couples exhibited more contact seeking, contact maintenance, avoidance, sexuality and sadness(women only) behaviours than non-separating (separation =source of threat)
-among separators found: highly avoidant men and women were less likely to maintain proximity to their partners and were less likely to provide support. The women were less likely to seek proximity and care and support
highly anxious women = more distress reported
highly anxious men = less likely to maintain contact
CONCLUSION:
functional dynamics of attachment is similar to in adult romantic relationships to in child-parent ones
-concerns about availability/ accessibility = increase attachment behaviour
-you can see hyperactivation and deactivation in action
