...Developmental Psychology (Attachment) Exam Questions 1. Outline individual differences in attachment. Attachment has been shown to be different to each human being. It is possible to generalise characteristics but no one has the exact same qualities. Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found out that some babies enjoyed cuddling while others preferred not to be touched. They also found that some children were only securely attached to one person whereas others had multiple attachments. There are two forms of attachment; Secure and Insecure. What determines the type of attachment is how the infant is brought up by their parents/caregivers. Secure attachments are formed when there is a positive bond between the child and caregiver, such as comfort and feeding. Insecure attachments are formed when there is a negative bond between the child and caregiver. They occur when there is neglect, lack of comfort or malnutrition. 2. Outline two behaviours that are characteristics of a securely attached child. When a child is securely attached, they will show certain characteristics and behaviour. In the company of a caregiver, a child is happy and content. They will feel safe in their presence. However, if they are separated then the infant will be distressed. Upon reunification with the caregiver, they will return to their former behaviour of happiness. The infant will also prefer their parents to strangers. 3. Identify two cultural variations in attachment. Individualist cultures emphasise...
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...Veronicas depict that romantic partners hold negative emotions towards one another when they are involved in an unhealthy relationship. The key components that identify the instability of the relationship mentioned in this song are jealousy, social comparison and infidelity. Jealousy, generally considered a negative aspect in interpersonal relationships, can eventually be led by possessing an insecure attachment style. “Everything I’m not” boldly starts off with the Veronicas echoing the words of the guy, “‘Oh no don’t go changing’, that’s what you told me from the start.” The Veronicas explore on the fact that the relationship ended because of the man. The lyrics, “Cause the girl that you want, she was tearing us apart. Cause she’s everything, everything I’m not,” looks at social comparison because she compares herself to the other woman’s beauty and intelligence. This explores further on the phenomenon that romantic love is an attachment process since it is a process by which affectionate bonds are formed between adult lovers just as affectionate bonds are formed earlier in life between human infants and their parents. Romantic relationships are most commonly initiated with passionate affection. Otherwise, partners in a romantic relationship experience serious issues....
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...for preparation into adulthood. What children learn from early relationships during these years has a huge impact on their interaction with others during adulthood. Attachment is an emotional bond that is from one person to another, the attachment theory is a psychological theory that focuses on relationships between the caregiving and child. An infant will have to develop a relationship with a caregiver in order for them to develop socially and emotionally. Infants need to possess the social, emotional, and intellectual skills to achieve and flourish in this society. From the time that an infant is born, the people around him or her influence the child’s way of thinking towards any given relationship and this could lead to a healthy adult relationship; that is infant attachment. The attachment theory was presented by John Bowlby; he defined attachment as “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings”. Bowlby began studying the distress levels of an infant when they are separated from their mothers, and these findings opposed the behavior theory of attachment. The behavior theory of attachment indicated that a child becomes attached to the mother because she fed the infant, but when Bowlby observed the infants being fed by strangers they did not indicated any distress or anxiety (Mcleod, 2009). That’s when he came to the conclusion that attachment could be influenced by environmental circumstances, and the earliest bonds formed between caregiver and infant improves...
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...Discuss the research into different types of attachment Attachment promotes survival; babies will always need their caregivers. This is the idea that Bowlby put forward. Bowlby explained the three main ways in which secure attachment provides survival. Firstly, safety results in a desire to maintain proximity ensuring safety of the baby and is reflected by both the infant and caregiver being distressed when separated. Attachment enables babies to form healthy emotional relationships. This is the continuity hypothesis – the idea that there is a direct link between early attachment behaviour and later emotional behaviour. The final way attachment promotes survival is a secure base for exploration. Having an attachment is important for protection. A child can explore the world e.g. when they go school and have a safe haven (a safe place) to come back to for protection and comfort. This will ensure that the child develops well intellectually, socially and emotionally. Bus and Van Ijzendoorn (1988) found that securely attached children showed more interest in written material than did the insecurely attached children regardless of their intelligence and the amount of preparatory reading instruction. Maccoby (1980) argued that you can tell two people have an attachment by looking at their behaviours. There are 4 areas he put forward. The first is seeking proximity. This is the desire of the infant and caregiver to be near one another and spend time together for example playing...
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...From the moment we are born we are reliant on others for our survival. The attachment patterns established in infancy affect how we as humans perceive ourselves, interact with those around us and live in our world. Infants who experience confusing, frightening or broken emotional communications during infancy often grow into adolescents and later, adults who have trouble understanding their own emotions and those of others and have difficulty building and maintaining relationships and leading successful lives. Infant Attachment as defined in our textbook, is the close emotional bond between an infant and its primary caregiver. According to John Bowlby (1969,1989 as cited in King), in his theory of attachment, the infant and the mother instinctively form an attachment, he believed that infants are biologically pre programmed to form these attachments, that an infant’s attachment behaviors are instinctive and will be activated by any conditions that seem to threaten the achievement of proximity, such a separation, insecurity and fear. The way Bowlby saw it; infants are born with an instinct to survive. They signal their needs to their caregiver by crying, clinging, searching. The responsiveness of the caregiver determines whether the infant feels loved, secure, and confidant. The way in which the caregiver reacts, also determines what type of attachment the infant will develop. Bowlby thought that our early relationships with our caregivers serve as our schemas for...
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...Disclosure in Groups Attachment and self disclosure can say a lot about a person. There was a study done to investigate attachment style and self disclosure in the first group counseling session. This was done in order to explain variable of group functioning. The attachment style was done by self report questionnaires and the self-disclosure was done by observations. There were more than four hundred participants that were split up into twenty seven different groups. I find taking over 400 people and placing them into twenty seven different groups is actually a quite strong way of studying attachment and disclosure. They were assessed on the basis of transcripts of the first group counseling session. As noted by the group leader and the participants, group functioning included self-disclosure, group empathy, group intimacy, and client behavior. The results indicated that a significant relationship existed between attachment and initial self disclosure. I agree with this. Many of people around the world find group counseling beneficial, but still there are some that disagree. The prediction of a person’s behavior in the group counseling process is important for the sake of both the group and the individual. This article covers the behind the scenes look at each of these behaviors and what role it has in a group. They wanted to examine whether a person’s behavior in a counseling group can be explained by means of self disclosure and attachment. I think that a person’s...
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...Strange situation This is a method devised by Ainsworth and Bell to measure the type of attachment that a child has formed. There are three typed of attachment. Secure, Insecure and Insecure avoidant The experiment is set up in a small room with one way glass so the behaviour of the child can be observed. Children were aged between 12 and 18 months. Each phase of the procedure lasts 3 minutes and a session progresses as follows: • Primary caregiver enters room with child, child explores for 3 minutes • A Stranger enters and joins the parent and infant, talks to mother • Parent leaves the infant with the stranger • Parent returns and the stranger leaves. Parent settles the infant. • Parent leaves again • Stranger returns • Parent returns and stranger leaves. In all the stranger enters on average eight times, more if the child is okay, less if it is showing signs of distress. Throughout the procedure the child is observed by a team of researchers who make notes every 15 seconds about the following behaviours: Proximity and contact-seeking behaviours Proximity and contact-maintaining behaviours Interaction-avoiding behaviours Contact and interaction-resisting behaviours Search behaviours To get more reliable results Ainsworth and her co-workers combined the results of several studies so that a total of 106 different child observations were included in the final report. This combining of studies is called...
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...CASE STUDIES ON ATTACHMENT By Dr. Mark Beischel CONTENTS Introduction Case 1 Secure vs. Insecure Attachment: the Story of the Boy and the Crow Case 2 Signs and Symptoms of the Insecurely Attached: the birth of a Giraffe Case 3 Continuous Lies: the Peanut Butter Boy Case 4 Curiosity and the Setting of Fires: Burn, Baby, Burn Case 5 Avoidant Attachment: Run for Your Life Case 6 Attachment and Security: a Death Row Tale Case 7 Brain Development and A ffect Regulation: Classroom Back Stabbing Case 8 Parenting at Night: “2 x 10” Tale Case 9 Disorganized Attachment: Confusion in the Kitchen Case 10 Eating Problems: the First Supper Case 11 Regulating Stimulation: Disneyland, Here We Come Case 12 Executive Function Deficits: the Paper Clip and Fire Tale Case 13 Inhibitory Control of Responses: Jelly, Jelly, All Over the Wall Case 14 It is All about Survival: Gang Pressure and destruction Case 15 Working Memory Deficits: the TV Thief Case 16 Ado lescent Brain Development: the Cell Phone Caper Case 17 Adolescent Identity and Escape Behavior: a Fantasy from the Wild, Wild West Case 18 Resilience and Temperament: No Free Drugs Case 19 Reasoning and Affect Regulation: the Orphan Card Case 20 Families Evolve Slowly: How Many Babies? Case 21 Changing the Meaning of a Stimulus: the “Dorky” shoes boy Case 22 Displacing the Rage: Slipping into Psychosis Case 23 Distract Yourself with Other Things: Playing with Mud Case 24 Paranoid Belief Systems: the Tree...
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...Fathers – And a Secure Base 2.2 Fatherhood - The Changing Role 2.3 Feminist Theory – Gendered Roles 2.4 Fatherhood and its Complexities … 2.5 Fathers in other cultures 2.6 Working-Class Fathers … 2.7 Fathers and the Family Friendly Workplace 2.8 Research Question Chapter Two Literature review The literature relevant to research into fatherhood is diverse and describes some dynamically interactive elements constitutive of the social construction of fatherhood. This chapter provides a summary of those topics considered to be most relevant to the research problem. It begins with a discussion of the significance of the father to the development of children followed by a brief description of the changing role of fatherhood. This is followed by an analysis of gendered parenting roles and the contradictions that exist for men between dominant patriarchal views of fatherhood and those fathering behaviours that are resistant to dominant beliefs. A comparative analysis is provided through the examination of cross-cultural experiences followed by a discussion on oppression and resistance and the relevance of this to working-class men. Finally there is a review of the current literature on the development of Family Friendly Workplace Policy 2.1 Fathers – And a Secure Base Move 1. The importance of attachment to the child leading to the importance of attachment to the father;...
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...Cultural differences in attachment Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg 1988 Cross-cultural Attachment What is culture? * “Culture is a framework of beliefs and values shared by a group, that influences the perception and interpretation of experiences by individuals within that group, as well as their goals for action and their actions themselves.”. * Parents' attachment beliefs, values, and practices differ around the world. Although the attachment relationship is universal, parents' attachment beliefs, values, and practices differ around the world. Abraham Sagi, Marinus Van IJzendoorn & N Koren-Karie (1991) reported on Strange Situation findings from studies in the United States, Israel and Japan. The American results were similar to Ainsworth’s: 71% showing secure attachment, 12% anxious-resistant and 17% anxious-avoidant. The Israeli findings - from Sagi, Van Ijzendoorn, Ora Aviezer, Frank Donnell & Ofra Mayseless (1985) - were rather different: 62% secure, 33% anxious-resistant and only 5% anxious-avoidant. The Israeli sample, though, was taken from a kibbutz (communal farm) where the infants were looked after much of the time by adults who were not part of their family. As the children still had close relationships with their mothers, they tended not to be anxious-avoidant. They rarely encountered complete strangers which might help explain the high numbers of anxious-resistant. Another reason put forward was that mothers were often absent; while the caregivers...
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...How Insecure Attachment in Early Childhood Impact Romantic Attachments Later in Life Anna Crosby Introduction to Psychology How Insecure Attachment in Early Childhood Impact Romantic Attachments Later in Life The fact that early childhood experiences have significant impacts on later human developments is undisputable. The childhood experiences account for adulthood differences in many aspects of life such as behavior, social skills, cognition, personality, emotional response and romantic relationships among others. Some psychoanalysts argue that early positive childhood experiences play a pivotal role in determining the long term developmental outcomes in adulthood. It also guarantees children protection against subsequent trauma. Early childhood experiences, especially those related to emotions or affection received from other people, induces a sense of organization or a pattern in structural growths that enhance and expand functional capabilities later in life. According to Amato & Keith (2001), these early childhood experiences cultivate development of unique characters and personalities, leading to thriving of adaptive capacities that build resistance of the individual against vulnerabilities and other forms of future pathologies. A certain empirical research revealed that, children, immediately after birth, are endowed with competence as well as social...
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... Is it a given that the quality of nurturing of the caregiver plays the biggest role in the social and temperamental well being of the child? Yes and no. Infants are born with predetermined characteristics within them. How a caregiver reacts to the infants needs, will certainly be a factor in the child’s well being as they grow. Caregivers, usually mothers, which is the prototype, are the ones who form the first attachment to an infant. How we help the infant grow on these attachments will set the stage for his/her social well being. Attachment relationships should provide a foundation for social learning. Infants of depressed mothers are at risk. They show depressed social behavior, not only with their mothers but also when interacting with strangers. (Steinberg, Vandell, Bornstein. Development: Infancy through Adolescence p153) Researchers have found that attachment patterns established early in life can lead to a number of outcomes. Children who had a healthy and secure attachment during infancy will have a stronger self esteem. The will be less dependent and do better in school with higher grades. Their relationships with other people will be stronger. They are less likely to suffer from anxiety and depression. There are plenty of factors that will affect the social/emotional behaviors of a child: the relationship of parents, the poverty level in which the child is born, and the positive nurturing...
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...Attachment Paper Life Span Human Development Lela Lambe 10/25/15 Kristin Scott-Grove Introduction: Attachment is a strong, affectionate bond we have with our mother. Also, with special people in our lives during a lifetime. Attachment leads us to experience pleasure when we interact with time. Besides, to be comforted by nearness in times of stress. Lasting emotional connection that connects people to another within space and time. Attachment is a strong emotional and social bond of trust between the child and parents. That is very important for social and emotional development. In childhood, particular the first couple of years of life, attachment relationships help the immature brain use the mature functions of the parent’s brain to develop important capacities related to interpersonal functioning. The baby’s bond with their attachment caregiver. Offer experience-dependent neural avenue to develop. Particularly in the frontal lobes where the capacities are wire into the developing brain. Attachment Theory devised by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth to account for the impact of early separation and trauma on the child. Has revolutionized our views of development, psychopathology, and clinical work. Is the most prominent theory today regarding early socio-emotional development. The empirically based and support the research. The child is highly motivated beginning birth to form and maintain attachments to a few caregivers. Healthy attachments have successful...
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...PSYCHOLOGY AQA A – UNIT 1 Attachment is an emotional bond between two people, it is a 2 way process that endures over time, serving the function of protecting the infant and leading to certain behaviours (seeking proximity, distress on separation, pleasure on reunion and general orientation of behaviour) There is a Primary attachment figure (PAF) EXPLANATIONS OF ATTACHMENT: LEARNING THEORY Learnt rather than inborn Classical: Association Proposes that food (UCS) naturally produces a feeling of pleasure (UCR). The feeder (NS) becomes associated with the food (UCS) when the infant is fed. The mother eventually produces the sense of pleasure associated with the food. Pleasure is now a Conditioned Response which causes attachment Operant: Reinforcement (DOLLARD AND MILLER 1950) When an infant if hungry, they feel uncomfortable and I drive is produced to reduce this discomfort. When the infant in fed, the drive is reduced and this produces a feeling of pleasure. The infant learns that the food is rewarding (Primary Reinforcer) and begins to recognise the person that provided the food (Secondary reinforcer). Attachment occurs because the infants seeks to be around the person that supplied the award. Evaluating learning theory Research by Harlow (1959) suggests attachment may not totally based upon the provision of food. Harlow removed baby rhesus monkeys from their mothers, and placed them into a cage. In the cage there were 2 wire mesh cylinders. One covered in towelling...
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...Infancy, according to Ainsworth, Erikson, and Bandura, and the impact neglect has on development Amy Wiltsie Professor Laura Schwinn, HSV 504 Introduction Childhood neglect endured during the infancy stage of development can influence and have a “snowball effect on their subsequent successes in later stage development” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010 p. 9). Infancy, the time between birth and 12 months old, is a critical stage of development, as human growth escalates rapidly during the first few years of life. It is a period of growth that is especially sensitive and vulnerable to the effects of maltreatment (Hildyard & Wolfe, 2002). When childhood neglect occurs during this very sensitive period, issues of safety, attachment, and social-emotional functioning are often identified as areas that need immediate intervention. The following paper will focus on the issue of early childhood neglect and the possible effects it can have on development during infancy according to three expert theorists Mary Ainsworth, Erik Erikson, and Albert Bandura. This paper is also written using the stories from “Paul”, (a pseudonym), a victim of childhood neglect: My name is Paul. I was born in 1995 to my mother who was thirteen years old. Her boyfriend, my father, was seventeen. My father was never involved in my life, as he was actively involved in criminal behavior, which ultimately led to...
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