psychology

• Attachment


  The formation of a strong emotional tie between an infant and their caregiver
• Evolutionary perspective


  Children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others, because this will help them to survive
• Attachment and socialisation


  • Attachment relationship with the primary caregiver leads to development of a cognitive framework/representation for understanding relationships
  • Quality of early attachment influences future relationships (friends, romantic partners, own children)
• Internal working models


  People's cognitive representations of themselves and other people, shaping their expectations about relationships
• If children are confident that their primary caregiver will be available to them, they are less likely to experience fear than those who are raised without this confidence
• The expectations that are formed during the critical period of development during the years of infancy, childhood, and adolescence tend to remain unchanged throughout a person's life
• Children develop expectations that their caregivers will be responsive because they have been responsive in the past

  
• Bowlby's four stages of attachment

  1. Pre-attachment (0-2 months)

  2. Attachment-in-the-making (2-6 months)

  3. Clear-cut attachment (6 months – 3 or 4 years)

  4. Goal-corrected partnership (3-4 yrs onwards)
• Characteristics of attachment


  • Proximity maintenance
  • Safe haven
  • Secure base
  • Separation distress
• Monotropy


  The innate need to attach to one main caregiver
• Critical period


  A child should receive the continuous care of this single most important attachment figure for approximately the first two years of life
• Sensitive period


  The first five years of life are crucial for the formation of an attachment relationship
• Maternal deprivation


  Continual attachment disruption between the infant and primary caregiver (i.e., mother) could result in long-term cognitive, social, and emotional difficulties for that infant
• Internal working model


  A mental and emotional representation of the infant's first attachment relationship and forms the basis of an individual's attachment style
• Secure attachment style is characterized by a healthy balance of independence and the ability to seek comfort from caregivers when needed.
• Anxious-ambivalent attachment style is marked by a fear of abandonment and a constant need for reassurance from caregivers.
• Insecure avoidant attachment style involves difficulty forming close bonds due to past experiences of rejection or neglect.
• Insecure avoidant attachment style is characterized by a lack of trust in close relationships due to past experiences with unresponsive or emotionally distant caregivers.
• The Strange Situation Test


  A procedure in which a caregiver leaves a child alone with a stranger for several minutes and then returns.
• The Strange Situation procedure


  Observing the behaviour of the infant in a series of eight 'episodes' or stages lasting approximately 3 minutes each
• Attachment patterns


  • Secure attachment
  • Insecure Avoidant attachment
  • Insecure Ambivalent attachment
• Type A - Insecure Avoidant Attachment


  Insecure avoidant. Does not seek proximity. Happy to explore. Mother is not used as safe base. Little anxiety. No distress when mother leaves. Little interest in reunion.
• Type B - Secure Attachment


  Secure. Seeks proximity. Explores/uses mother. Moderate stranger anxiety. Moderately distressed. Happy/seeks comfort.
• Type C - Insecure Resistant Attachment


  Insecure resistant. High/great proximity. Little exploration. High anxiety. High distress. Approaches but resists.
• Caregiver sensitivity hypothesis


  A child's attachment style is dependent on the behaviour their mother shows towards them
• Contact Comfort


  Physical touch fosters emotional attachment
• Emotional needs vs. psychological

  Suggested that emotional needs, particularly the need for contact comfort and social bonding, play a crucial role in development
• Ethics in Regards to Harlow's Experiment:

  Controversial due to the animal welfare; isolated monkeys showed emotional distress – indicating the loss of isolation (Mcleod, 2023)
• Generalisabilityof Harlow's Experiment


  • Primary focus on primates; given the distinct personality variations between humans and monkeys -- influencing their emotional and physical requirements
• Attachment Definition


  The formation of a strong emotional tie between an infant and their caregiver
• Secure Attachment


  • Child feels secure with caregiver. Shows distress upon separation. Seeks comfort upon reunion and easily calms down.
• Insecure-Avoidant Attachment


  • Child may ignore or avoid caregiver. Shows little distress upon separation. Shows little interest upon reunion
• Insecure-Ambivalent Attachment


  • Child is anxious even when caregiver is present. Becomes greatly distressed upon separation. Has difficulty being soothed upon reunion
• Insecure-Disorganized Attachment


  • Child displays contradictory behaviours. Shows fear or confusion toward caregiver. Lacks a clear strategy for coping with stress
• Monotropy


  Infants' natural tendency to attach to one primary caregiver or attachment figure
• Critical period


  • A child should receive the continuous care of the single most important attachment figure for approximately the first 2 years if life
• Maternal deprivation


  The consequences of a child being separated from their primary caregiver for a prolonged period
• Internal working model


  A mental and emotional representation of the infant's first attachment relationship and forms the basis of an individuals' attachment style
• Type A (Insecure avoidant. 15%)


  • Does not seek proximity. Happy to explore. Mother is not used as safe base. Little anxiety. No distress when mother leaves. Little interest in reunion
• Type B (Secure. Most infants/ 65% - 70% of 1 YR)


  • Seeks proximity. Explores/uses mother. Moderate stranger anxiety. Moderately distressed. Happy/seeks comfort