Attachment

Question 1

What theory was attachment theory reacting against?

Answer 1

Behaviorism.

Question 2

What did behaviorists argue about infant–caregiver bonding?

Answer 2

Infants bond due to food reinforcement.

Question 3

Why was this view seen as reductionist?

Answer 3

It reduced relationships to stimulus–response and reinforcement.

Question 4

What broader question did attachment theory raise?

Answer 4

What is the function of early relationships?

Question 5

What is “caregiver bonding” in biological terms?

Answer 5

An evolved system promoting proximity and survival.

Question 6

What was Harlow testing?

Answer 6

Whether attachment is based on food reinforcement

Question 7

What were the two “mothers” in Harlow’s study?

Answer 7

Wire mother (food) and cloth mother (comfort).

Question 8

Which mother did infant monkeys prefer?

Answer 8

Cloth mother (comfort).

Question 9

What did monkeys do when frightened (e.g., robot introduced)?

Answer 9

Ran to cloth mother for comfort.

Question 10

What key concept emerged from Harlow’s findings?

Answer 10

The “secure base.”

Question 11

What is a secure base?

Answer 11

A caregiver who provides safety, allowing exploration.

Question 12

What pattern did monkeys show with the cloth mother?

Answer 12

Explore → return to mother → explore again.

Question 13

Why is this secure base important for development?

Answer 13

Security enables exploration and learning.

Question 14

Who developed attachment theory?

Answer 14

John Bowlby and Ainsworth

Question 15

What disciplines influenced attachment theory?

Answer 15

Ethology, cybernetics, information processing, developmental psychology, psychoanalysis.

Question 16

According to Bowlby, what is attachment?

Answer 16

An evolved behavioral system promoting proximity to caregiver under threat.

Question 17

What was the purpose of the Strange Situation Experiment?

Answer 17

To test different parts of secure base process -> dealing with separation, strangers

Question 18

How does an avoidant child behave at reunion?

Answer 18

Avoids or ignores caregiver.

Question 19

How does an ambivalent/resistant child behave at reunion?

Answer 19

Seeks contact but resists or is not easily soothed.

Question 20

What characterizes disorganized attachment?

Answer 20

Contradictory, disoriented, or fearful behavior.

Question 21

What did Harlow contribute to attachment theory?

Answer 21

Evidence that comfort/security, not food, underlies attachment -> secure base

Question 22

What is the core function of attachment according to Bowlby?

Answer 22

Protection and emotional regulation under threat.

Question 23

What are the 4 attachment categories?

Answer 23

A -> Anxious-avoidant
B -> Secure
C -> Anxious-resistant or ambivalent
D -> disorganised

Question 24

A caregiver characteristics

Answer 24

• Consistently disengaged
• Needs not met

Question 25

B caregiver characteristics

Answer 25

- Engaged - Need met - Clear continguencies

Question 26

How were attachment categories created?

Answer 26

From systematic observation of child behavior in the Strange Situation.

Question 27

C caregiver characteristics

Answer 27

- Engaged, but on caregivers terms (inconsistent) - Needs sometimes met

Question 28

How does an avoidant child behave during reunion?

Answer 28

Avoids or ignores caregiver.

Question 29

How does a securely attached child behave in reunion?

Answer 29

Seeks comfort, is soothed, returns to exploration.

Question 30

What are “clear contingencies” in secure attachment?

Answer 30

If child signals → caregiver responds reliably.

Question 31

What is the key contingency pattern in avoidant attachment?

Answer 31

Needs are not met → child minimizes attachment behavior.

Question 32

How does an ambivalent child behave during reunion?

Answer 32

Seeks contact but resists or is not soothed.

Question 33

What is the contingency pattern in ambivalent attachment?

Answer 33

Needs sometimes met → child exaggerates attachment behavior.

Question 34

What defines disorganized attachment?

Answer 34

Erratic and unpredictable (same for caregiver)

Question 35

Why was disorganized attachment added later?

Answer 35

Some children didn’t fit neatly into A, B, or C categories.

Question 36

What does “contingency” mean in attachment?

Answer 36

The reliability of caregiver response to child signals.

Question 37

How do contingencies differ across attachment types?

Answer 37

Secure → consistent and responsive Avoidant → consistently disengaged Ambivalent → inconsistently responsive Disorganized → chaotic or frightening

Question 38

How do attachment categories reflect adaptive strategies?

Answer 38

They reflect how children adapt their behavior to caregiver response patterns.

Question 39

Issues with attachment categorisation

Answer 39

1. Different attachment relationships 2. Can change categories 3. Cultural context 4. Is it temperament?

Question 40

Is attachment style a global personality trait?

Answer 40

No. It is relationship-specific -> dyadic (relationship based)

Question 41

Why is attachment not purely a trait of the child?

Answer 41

Because it depends on the particular caregiver–child relationship

Question 42

Can a child have different attachment classifications with different caregivers?

Answer 42

Yes.

Question 43

What percentage of children retained the same attachment classification across 3 time points?

Answer 43

Only 29%.

Question 44

Is movement from secure → insecure more common than insecure → secure?

Answer 44

No. Both directions are equally likely.

Question 45

What predicts changes in attachment classification?

Answer 45

Life events, especially disruptive/negative ones.

Question 46

What does these changes in attachment classifications due to life events suggest about attachment classifications?

Answer 46

They are sensitive to environmental context.

Question 47

Why is it problematic to label a child “insecurely attached” as a fixed identity?

Answer 47

Because attachment can change depending on circumstances.

Question 48

Why does attachment instability challenge a purely essentialist view of development?

Answer 48

Because it shows relational and contextual factors shape behavior over time.

Question 49

Why is cultural context an issue for attachment theory?

Answer 49

Because attachment classifications vary across cultures -> culture effects the prevelance and probability of a certain attachment style

Question 50

What did Van IJzendoorn & Kroonenberg (1988) find?

Answer 50

Different countries showed different proportions of avoidant, secure, and resistant attachments.

Question 51

What might explain cross-cultural differences in attachment patterns?

Answer 51

Parenting norms Expectations about independence Household structure Socialization values E.g. In cultures valuing independence → more avoidant patterns. In cultures valuing closeness → more resistant patterns. This suggests attachment categories may reflect cultural norms, not dysfunction.

Question 52

What is the temperament critique of attachment theory?

Answer 52

That attachment behaviour may reflect the child’s temperament rather than caregiving quality.

Question 53

Why might temperament affect Strange Situation behaviour?

Answer 53

Some infants have behavioural tendencies to be reactive, fussy, or inhibited.

Question 54

What is the key question raised by the temperament critique?

Answer 54

How separable is attachment from temperament?

Question 55

Why is it problematic to treat attachment categories as fixed labels?

Answer 55

Because they are influenced by culture, relationship context, life events, and temperament.

Question 56

Does attachment disappear after infancy?

Answer 56

No. Attachment processes operate across the lifespan.

Question 57

What changes about attachment as children develop?

Answer 57

Individual differences become more complex but remain important.

Question 58

What does attachment reflect about a child’s social world?

Answer 58

Their expectations about whether others are safe, threatening, or indifferent.

Question 59

What does attachment theories that classification reflects childs expectations about social world, suggests that good relationships =

Answer 59

good physical and mental health