Attachment Key Terms

• reciprocity

  a description of how two people interact. caregiver-infant interaction is reciprocal in that both caregiver and baby respond to each other's signals and each elicits a response from the other
• interactional synchrony

  Caregiver and baby reflect both the actions and emotions of the other and do this in a co-ordinated (synchronised) way.
• stages of attachment

  many developmental theories identify a sequence of qualitatively different behaviours linked to specific ages
• multiple attachments

  Attachments to two or more people. Most babies appear to develop multiple attachments once they have formed one true attachment to a main carer.
• animal studies

  in psychology, these are studies carried out on non-human animal species rather than on humans, either for ethical or practical reasons
• learning theory

  A set of theories from the behaviourist approach to psychology, that emphasise the role of learning in the acquisition of behaviour. Explanations for learning of behaviour include classical and operant conditioning.
• monotropic

  A term sometimes used to describe Bowlby's theory. The mono means 'one' and indicates that one particular attachment is different from all others and of central importance to the child's development.
• critical period

  the time within which an attachment must form if it is to form at all
• internal working model

  our mental representaions of the world. this model affects our future relationships because it carries our perception of what relationships are like
• strange situation

  a controlled observation designed to test attachment security. babies are assessed on their response to playing in an unfamiliar room, being left alone, left with a stranger and being reunited with a caregiver
• secure attachment

  Generally thought of as the most desirable attachment type, associated with psychologically healthy outcomes. In the Strange Situation this is shown by moderate stranger and separation anxiety and ease of comfort at reunion.
• insecure-avoidant attachment

  An attachment type characterised by low anxiety but weak attachment. In the Strange Situation this is shown by low stranger and separation anxiety and little response to reunion - an avoidance of the caregiver
• insecure-resistant attachment

  An attachment type characterised by strong attachment and high anxiety. In the strange situation this is shown by high levels of stranger and separation anxiety and by resistance to be comforted at reunion.
• cultural variations

  'Culture' refers to the norms and values that exist within any group of people. Cultural variations then are the differences in norms and values that exist between people in different groups. In attachment research we are concerned with the differences in the proportion of children of different attachment types.
• maternal deprivation

  the emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and his/her mother or mother-substitute. Bowlby proposed that continuous care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development, and that prolonged separation from this adult causes serious damage to emotional and intellectual development
• orphan studies

  these concern children placed in care because their parents cannot look after them. an orphan is a child whose parents have either died or have abandoned them permanently
• instituionalisation

  a term for the effects of living in an institutional setting. in such places there is often very little emotional care provided. in attachment research we are interested in the effects of institutional care on children's attachment and subsequent development
• childhood relationships

  Affiliations with other people in childhood, including friends and classmates, and with adults such as teachers.
• adult relationship

  those relationships the child goes on to have later in life as an adult. these include friendships and working relationships but most critically relationships with romantic partners and the person's own children