The influence of early attachment

    Cards (14)

    • What results from a lack of attachment during critical development periods?
      Lack of an internal working model
    • What is attachment disorder?
      A psychiatric condition characterized by a lack of preferred attachment figure, inability to interact and relate to others, and experience of severe neglect or frequent change of caregivers
    • How does attachment disorder develop?
      It develops due to the lack of an attachment during the critical period in a child's development
    • What are the main characteristics of attachment disorder?
      • Lack of preferred attachment figure
      • Inability to interact and relate to others
      • Experience of severe neglect or frequent change of caregivers
      • Evident before the age of five
    • What is an internal working model?
      A cluster of concepts that reflects the expectations of how partners in a relationship behave towards each other
    • How does the internal working model develop?
      • If the caregiver is accepting of the child's proximity-seeking behaviors, the child develops an expectation of secure attachment behaviors
      • If the caregiver consistently denies the child access, the child develops an expectation of avoidant attachment behaviors
      • If the caregiver inconsistently grants access, the child develops an ambivalent expectation
    • How does the internal working model influence future adult relationships?
      The person will engage in behaviors that they have learned from their primary caregiver in childhood
    • What are the key findings from the Hazan and Shaver (1987) study?
      • The prevalence of attachment styles in adults was similar to that found in infancy
      • Securely attached adults described their love experiences as happy, friendly and trusting, and their relationships were more enduring
      • Securely attached individuals tended to have a more positive internal working model
    • How does the internal working model influence childhood friendships?
      Securely attached infants have higher expectations that others are friendly and trusting, enabling easier relationships with others
    • How does the internal working model influence parenting?
      The lack of an internal working model means individuals can fail to form a reference point to subsequently develop quality relationships with their own children
    • How does the internal working model influence romantic relationships?
      Individuals who were securely attached in childhood had longer-lasting romantic relationships in adulthood
    • What are the limitations of the continuity hypothesis between early attachment and adult relationships?
      Later life events such as parental divorce can influence adult attachment security, and later experiences also play an important role in adult relationships
    • What is the temperament hypothesis and how does it relate to the continuity of attachment?
      The temperament hypothesis proposes that an infant's innate temperament affects the way a parent responds, which may be a determining factor in infant attachment type, rather than the continuity of attachment behavior
    • What is the key limitation of the relationship between early attachment and adult relationships?
      The relationship is one of correlation, not causation
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