Attachment

Question 1

attachment theory (4-stage theory)

Answer 1

• Claimed that infants require a secure base from which to explore their world -> the primary caregiver(s) form this secure base
• Need for secure base is innate, but develops with major individual differences
• 4 stages of attachment development:
  1. pre-attachment stage
  2. attachment in the making stage
  3. clear-cut attachment stage
  4. reciprocal relationship stage

Question 2

pre-attachment stage

Answer 2

• Birth to 6 weeks
• Infant-caregiver bond is mostly parent-controlled
• Infant uses reflexive behaviour to interact with parent (ie. Crying)

Question 3

attachment in the making stage

Answer 3

• 6 weeks to 6-8 months
• Infants begin to behave preferentially toward familiar people (ex. Smiling more at people they know, babbling and laughing more with people they know)
• Infants learn how caregivers respond and learn to trust or not trust them)

Question 4

clear-cut attachment stage

Answer 4

• 6-8 months to 18 months
• Infants actively seek attachment figure
• Exhibit separation anxiety from attachment figure
• Begin exploration using the caregiver as a secure base

Question 5

reciprocal relationship stage

Answer 5

• 18 months through remainder of childhood
• Infants’ linguistic and cognitive abilities improve
• Begin to understand attachment figure’s goals/feelings/expectations
• Form a “working partnership” with caregiver -> baby engages in helping behaviour
• Separation anxiety declines

Question 6

internal working model

Answer 6

• The outcome of the 4-stage model
• a mental representation of the self, of attachment figures, and of relationships
• Based on the dependability of the caregiver
• Based on the internal working model, an attachment subtype is formed

Question 7

attachment subtype

Answer 7

• Either secure, avoidant, or resistant
• A child’s attachment subtype influences the way the child acts toward the parent, which then affects the way the parent acts toward the child
• Affects overall adjustment, social behaviour, etc. throughout lifespan (including their attachment style with their future children)

Question 8

testing individual attachment differences in infancy

Answer 8

• All infants require an attachment figure for normal development, but individual differences exist in how infants are attached
• Ainsworth developed the Strange Situation Procedure to operationalize and measure these variables in attachment types
• On the basis of Strange Situation, Ainsworth proposed 4 attachment subtypes:
• • Secure attachment
• • Insecure attachment:
• — Insecure/resistant
• — Insecure/avoidant
• — Disorganized/disoriented

Question 9

secure attachment

Answer 9

• 60% of infants
• Explore the room and toys, using caregiver as a secure base
• Look towards stranger and don’t exhibit fear (when caregiver is present)
• Usually (but not always) distressed by caregiver’s departure, and cannot typically be calmed down by the stranger
• Greets caregiver with happiness or reduced distress upon return
• Rates of securely attached infants correlates with socioeconomic status

Question 10

insecure-resistant attachment

Answer 10

• 10% of infants
• Cling to caregiver from beginning of situation
• Exhibit nervousness/wariness at room and stranger
• Little exploration of toys
• Become very upset at departure of caregiver
• Establishes contact when caregiver returns, but resists caregiver’s soothing efforts

Question 11

insecure-avoidant attachment

Answer 11

• 15% of infants
• Indifference to caregiver during the strange situation (may or may not explore the room/toys)
• Little distress at caregiver’s departure
• Little regard for caregiver at reunion
• Ignore/turn away from caregiver before and after reunion

Question 12

disorganized-disoriented attachment

Answer 12

• After Ainsworth completed her research, it began to be clear that approximately 15% of the infants tested didn’t fall into the other 3 categories
• Her colleagues noted that these infants could be grouped together based on their confused behaviour
• Fearful of approaching caregiver in strange situation (gaze aversion to parent)
• Switching rapidly from calm to distress
• Appearance of daze/disorientation
• “freezing” behaviour (with no frightening stimulus present)
• Attempt to approach mother at reunion, but also exhibiting fear of her (ie. Gaze aversion)
• Many of the babies in this category have experienced abuse or trauma

Question 13

adult attachment

Answer 13

• Adults continue to have working attachment models
• Tested with Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), which asks questions about relationship with parents
• Adults’ attachment models are classified into 4 categories based on the consistency of their responses (rather than content): autonomous, dismissing, preoccupied, unresolved/disorganized
• Adult attachment models appear to predict infant attachment models (ie. Autonomous parents tend to have securely attached infants)

Question 14

autonomous

Answer 14

coherent, consistent, relevant responses (even if responses are negative)

Question 15

dismissing

Answer 15

“can’t remember” childhood, minimize the impact that these experience had on them, contradictory

Question 16

preoccupied

Answer 16

confused and angry responses, so preoccupied that they cannot provide consistent answers

Question 17

unresolved/disorganized

Answer 17

striking lapses in reasoning, often suffering from memory lapses due to childhood trauma

Question 18

parental sensitivity/contingency

Answer 18

• One way that adult temperament/attachment models might affect infant attachment models (however, this is correlational)
• Securely attached infants tend to have parents who are highly sensitive: respond with appropriate behaviour to infants’ happiness and distress
• Insecure-resistant infants’ parents tend to be more inconsistent
• Insecure-avoidant parents tend to be emotionally unavailable
• Disorganized/disoriented infants may have experienced abusive or frightening parental behaviour

Question 19

causational study about parental sensitivity/contigency

Answer 19

• Van den Boom recruited irritable infants shortly after birth and intervened at 6 months
• Experimental group: mothers attended sensitivity training
• Control group: mothers did not attend training
• At 12 months, 62% of experimental mothers had securely attached infants; 22% of control mothers did

Question 20

secure base

Answer 20

the presence of a trusted caregiver provides an infant with a sense of security that makes it possible for the child to explore the environment

Question 21

cultural variation in attachment

Answer 21

• generally, all attachment styles are present in all cultures
• rates of secure attachment are consistent across all cultures, but the proportions of insecure attachment may be different

Question 22

Case study: Attachment in Japanese infants

Answer 22

• Same rate of secure attachment as North American infants
• But all insecurely attached infants classified as “insecure-resistant”
• May be because Japanese culture emphasizes “oneness” between mother and baby -> more mother-baby closeness -> angrier babies when separated
• Strange Situation may cause inhibited parents (which would affect babies), and when studies were conducted, few Japanese infants attended daycare -> less separation from moms than N.American infants