attachment
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- main et al (1986)
- disorganised & disorientated: lack of a coherent strategy for handling the stresses of the strange situation. behaviour poorly organised. sometimes show wariness of parent rather than stranger
- biological function
- attachment allows protection from predators
- kagan (1982)
- child temperatment 0 vulnerability to stress rather than quality of attachment might explain difference observed in the strange situation. highly likely that temperament would play a role in caregiver-child interactions. but attachment classification of the same infant may vary according to with whom the child is observed. illustrates that strange situation classification is not only about temperament
- criticisms of s.s.
- cross-cultural variation - question value & meaning given to classifications. limited extent to measure factors other than quality of care e.g. temperament & infant's characteristic reactivity to stress. only appropriate over a limited age range, but standardised and easily replicable
- frodi et al (1985)
- pattern of arousal in secure babies who don't cry was similar to that in avoidant babies - low separation distress, long latency & rise time, brief recovery secure babies who cry more similar to ambivalent/resistant infants. (intense separation & distress, brief onset latency & rise time, prolonged recovery)
- belsky et al (1987)
- temperament affects the way in which security/insecurity is expressed rather than whether or not the infantdevelops a secure attachment. children's temperament determines the attachment relationship
- main (1983)
- assessed children in strange situation at 12 months. at 20 months, assessed on bayley scales of development and observed w/stranger at 21 months. secure children score higher on bayley scales. engaged in play & interacted positively w/stranger
- strange situation
- infant and caregiver placed in observational room. 2. caregiver inactive, infant explores. 3. unfamiliar adult enters the room, after 1 minute caregiver converses, after 1 minute adult approaches infant, caregiver leaves. 4. stranger & baby alone. 5. caregiver returns, stranger leaves, caregiver tries to resettle baby. caregiver leaves. 6. baby left alone. 7. stranger returns & interacts. 8. caregiver returns - unfamiliar physical environment, separation from caregiver, contact w/stranger, situation designed to become increasingly more stressful
- 2-7 months attachment in the making
- recognition, but indiscriminate acceptance of care & attention
- attachment-behaviour system
- infant has certain behaviours e.g. smiling to maintain proximity to caregiver. infant-adult attachment has long-term consequences & affects future development & future attachments
- 0-2 months pre-attachment
- 1. indiscriminate social responsiveness
- anxious-avoidant
- conspicuously avoids contact w/caregiver on reunion. continues w/whatever they were doing. pre-separation - child relatively indifferent to mother's location. mother leaves. no distress. return - do not strive to achieve contact & may avoid
- bowlby (1984)
- attachment theory's basis in ehtology. proximity maintaining behaviour in the young of various species. attachment behaviour result of survival goal. infants use crying, smiling & babbling
- schaffer et al (1964)
- 1/3 of infants develoepd attachments to more than 1 person. against bowlby's concept of monotropism. attachment object can be any sex, does not need to satisfy child's physical needs, continuous daily care not necessary. fun & playful stimulation, sensitve responsiveness
- thomas et al (1977)
- goodness of fit between infant & caregiver e.g. emotionally expressive, active caregiver might create distress in a child who has a low threshold of negative activity to stimulation but interact smoothly w/alert infant who has a high threshold for stress
- 24+ goal-corrected partnership
- realtionships more two-sided
- anxious/ambivalent or resistant
- seeks but then resists contact most likely upset in preseparation phase and not explore environment.
- secure
- seeks contact on reunion may be distressed but comforted by caregiver - play happily and explore confidently. distress not strong. greet mother +ly
- hierarchy
- one primary attachment formed. a working model formed on the basis of the mother comforting the infant when distressed will predispose the infant to form secure attachments. inconsistent care or rejection will predispose towards anxious attachments
- main et al (1985)
- mental representations (emotional & cognitive components) - once formed they exist outside of consciousness. development shaped by the outcomes of the infant's proximity seeking experiences. function is to provide rules for the individual to guide behavour and feeling in relation to significant others. forecast & interpret the other person's behaviour, plan one's own behaviour in response
- ainsworth (1971)
- quality of attachment depends on the kinds of interactions caregiver & child experience in the 1st year of life. mothers who were insensitive produced insecurely attached infants. avoidant babies - mothers were impatient and unresponsive to signals. resistant babies: mothers were inconsistent and sometimes misread infant's signals
- 7-24 clear-cut
- separation protest, wariness of strangers, international communication
- egeland et al (1984)
- longitudinal study - mothers of securely attached infants consistently more cooperative & sensitive with their infants. mothers of anxious-avoidant showed poor care taking skills & a lack of interest in mothering. consistent w/bowlby's theory that attachment is affected by qualitative differences in maternal care. therefore, ambivalent babies seemed more difficult to care for and required more sensitive care giving ->difficult to separate parental care & infant temperament