Name 4 points of Attachment
1 > Child’s first relationship is generally referred to as an attachment
2 > Relationship is usually very strong and reciprocal
3 > Distinction between attachment and attachment behavior
4 > The distinction between attachment as a biologically based system within an individual and a dyadic relationship between individuals
Attachment: Child’s first relationship
- Long enduring, life-long, emotionally meaningful tie to a particular person (ex. mother and daughter)
Attachment: Relationship
Goes in both directions > perhaps a biological drive behind it given it goes both ways
Attachment: Attachment vs Attachment behavior
- Attachment (internal system/mechanism that organizes the child’s feelings)
VS - Attachment behavior (external means of expression of these feelings, this is observable)
Attachment: Attachment as a biologically based system
- Each individual has this internal system, the dyad is a pair. We observe the interaction between both mom and baby and come to conclusions about the type of attachment between both of them
What are four things attachment is characterized by?
- Selectivity
- Seeking physical proximity
- Provision of comfort and security
- Production of separation distress
Selectivity
Selectivity may be predictive of what the rest may be like (according to Bowlby this is the mother)
Seeking physical proximity
Seeking proximity is seen when mom and baby seek to be physically close to one another
Provision of comfort and security
- The purpose is to provide comfort and security, when the mom is close to the baby she is less anxious about the baby
Production of separation distress
- When the baby is separated from the attachment figure we see distress from both baby and parents (ex. Leaving to go work after a short maternity leave)
Bowlby’s Theory: Psychoanalytical concepts
- Refers to the importance of satisfaction of children’s drives with an emphasis on the physical rather than on emotional needed
- Once a drive is satisfied, it is reduced, ex. After eating that hunger drive is reduced, satisfying emotional needs through the provisions of physical needs > physical proximity reduces discomfort
*affection vs physical needs such as food (people need physical contact)
Bowlby’s Theory: Ethology
- Emphasizing the evolutionary purposes of behavior
- Claims the child is “biologically based” to develop attachment behavior in order to ensure their survival
- Baby being close to mom in order to ensure protection (mom provides food and protection > protection from predators) ex. kangaroo pouch
- Babies are prewired (biologically based) to demand proximity by: (Signal > crying, smile/laugh and make cute noises to keep parents close, vocalization including babbling) once older they use approach behavior such as they reach out, crawl)
Stages in development: 0-2 months
- Refers to pre-attachment, indiscriminate social behavior
- They don’t have the visual acuity to discriminate amongst people, no cognitive ability to differentiate
Stages in development: 2-7 months
- Attachment is in the making and there is recognition of familiar people
- Recognition is the basis to form relationship/attachment
Stages in development: 7-24 months
- Obvious attachment
- Separation protest, fear of strangers, intentionality
- Separation anxiety, clinging, signaling, fear of strangers < intentional behavior (provides evidence that the child is developing perceptually and cognitively)
Stages in development: 24 months
- Goal-corrected partnership
- Two-sided relationship
- Child has an understanding of parental needs where the child is more able to stay put, more tolerant to being separated
- control system mechanism (setting a set point to achieve) ex. Proximity chuckecheese
- internal working model (symbolic mental representations to guide child’s behaviour which includes emotional and cognitive components)
The onset of first attachment: key criteria
- Refers to what happens when a child is separated from the mother
- This is studied to know whether or not an attachment has been formed
The onset of first attachment: early attachment
-There is little tolerance, especially in unfamiliar situations - typically begins around 7-8 months along with fear of strangers (context, location matters)
The onset of first attachment: The development of cognition
- Recognition memory - the ability to differentiate the attachment figure from other people (6-9months)
AND - Object (and person) permanence - child remains aware of an object during its absence
To whom do infants become attached?
- Bowlby - a single person, usually the mother
doesn’t have to be parent (develop attachments to others such as siblings or grandparents)
Why should it be the mother? Mother will be there at the time of birth, fully equipped, evolutionary prepared,
- Doesn’t matter if male or female
satisfaction of physical needs is not necessary - Continuous daily care is not necessary
WHY - key factor - the quality of interaction - fun and playful stimulation and provision of sensitive and responsive care
Why are children increasingly less in need for close proximity with mom?
1 > Curiosity about the outside world
2 > Cognitive ability to form mental representation of mom which permits the development of the Internal working models
What are the Internal working models
- They provide rules to guide both behavior and feelings in relation to significant others
- They allow for the ability to predict and interpret other people’s behavior and appropriately plan responses
EX. - What is it like when I seek proximity, what are the consequences/results when I engage in this behavior, their schema will guide them in how they behave
- Orphanage child stops crying/no point, not reinforced), may also guide their feelings (what kind of attachment to I have with mom based on how she responds to me seeking proximity)
- Schema of dyadic relationship between the two
What are characteristics of the Internal working models? 4
- Exist outside of consciousness
- Shaped by outcomes of infant’s proximity-seeking experiences (sensitivity hypothesis), shaped by parenting»_space; How the parent behaves when the child seeks proximity shapes the internal working models that are carried throughout our lives
- Individual differences exist based on outcomes of proximity-seeking behavior during infancy
- Stable after the first year but can change as a result of future experiences
What are attachment individual differences?
- Most of the research has focused on the security of attachment (Ainsworth and others)
- Experimental procedure manipulates the level of exposure of an infant to strange situations
