attachment

Cards (20)

  • attachment: The emotional bond which forms between an infant and
    another person
    Usually the main caregivers such as mother and father
    Often strong attachment to one parent
    Also may be strong attachment to other significant people in
    the infant’s life
    All infants are born with an innate set of traits and desires,
    with an inherent desire to bond with their caregivers. One of
    these desires is the desire to seek comfort from others.
  • infants under 6 months: Do not fully recognise caregiver visually
    From 2 months might be upset if main caregiver not paying
    attention to them
    However, will accept comfort from anyone who provides it
  • infants at 6-8 months: Special attachment to main caregiver - usually mother
    Likely to cry and cling when main caregiver leaves
    Reacts with aversion to others who try to comfort
    Developing first meaningful attachment
  • Significance of attachment in infancy: Thought to influence emotional development in short term and into
    adulthood
    Linked to development of trust and security
    Absence of attachment can result in anxiety
    Ability to read and analyse emotions, and emotional resilience later in
    childhood linked to type of attachment in infancy
  • secure attachment: a child is comforted by a caregiver when distressed. it is when the caregiver meets the child's needs.
  • insecure attachment: is when the child is unable to form a secure attachment to their primary caregiver. its when the caregiver is unable to meet the child's needs and ignores them.
  • STRANGE SITUATION PROCEDURE
    Mary Ainsworth (1913-1999)
    American psychologist
    Standardised test for measuring
    attachment between child and parent
    Conducted from 9-18 months of age
    Infant exposed to separations and
    reunions involving parent, infant and a
    stranger
    Infant’s behaviour recorded
  • Patterns of attachment
    • Secure attachment
    • Anxious (resistant) attachment
    • Avoidant attachment
  • Secure attachment
    A style of attachment in which a strong, healthy emotional bond is formed between the infant and their primary caregiver due to the caregiver consistently meeting the needs of the infant
  • Insecure-avoidant attachment
    A style of attachment in which the infant fluctuates between clinging to and rejecting their primary caregiver, usually due to the caregiver inconsistently meeting the infant's needs
  • Insecure-anxious (resistant) attachment
    A style of attachment in which the infant may be reluctant to or avoid contact from their primary caregiver, usually due to the caregiver NOT responding to the infant's needs
  • Anxious and avoidant attachment were identified as forms of insecure attachment
  • SECURE
    Balance between dependence and exploration
    Uses caregiver as a safe base
    Shows some distress when caregiver departs
    Enthusiastic when parent returns; seeks physical contact
    Approx 65% of 1-yr-olds
    Leads to good self-esteem, trusting relationships later
  • Insecure-anxious (resistant)
    Anxious even when caregiver near
    Very upset when separated from caregiver
    When caregiver returns, infant cries to be picked up but
    squirms to be free
    Possibly due to caregivers not responsive to infant’s needs
    Approx 12% of 1-yr-olds
  • Insecure-avoidant
    Infant does not seek closeness or contact with caregiver
    Treats caregiver like a stranger
    Rarely cries when caregiver leaves the room
    Ignores them upon return
    May be due to neglect or abuse
    Approx 20% of 1-yr-olds
  • Genetics
    British psychiatrist John Bowlby (1969) proposed that all
    infants have an inborn ‘primary drive’ to form an attachment
    with a caregiver and that mothers are the best caregiver
    Bowlby - infants use genetically inherited abilities to get near
    main caregiver (crying, smiling, gazing, vocalising, clinging)
    However, a more widely held view is that humans may
    inherit a capability to form an attachment, but the type and
    quality is influenced by many factors
  • Early life experiences
    First 6-7 months are important for attachment
    Sensitivity and responsiveness of the caregiver
    To ways the baby communicates
    Identify cause of crying and respond
    Attitude towards parenting
    Post-natal depression
    Demographic factors
    Income, family size
    Education etc = Heavily influence social,
    cognitive and emotional
    development + likely
    attachment style which
    shapes later development
  • Temperament
    Refers to the relatively stable disposition each individual holds, which is expressed through an individual's
    behaviour and emotions (easy-going friend with a friendly and outgoing temperament)
  • Disorganised attachment:
    4th attachment type (Main & Solomon, 1986)
    Infants in Strange Situation showed contradictory behaviours when
    separated or reunited with caregiver
    Linked to maltreatment, hostile caregiving, post-natal depression, mother’s
    unresolved trauma
    Can also be found where none of those factors are present
    Disorganised attachment is a risk factor for mental health disorders
  • Harlow’s experiment on
    attachment
    Harry Harlow (1958) - research on attachment in monkeys
    Used surrogates to find out whether provision of food or comfort through
    contact was more important in attachment
    Concluded that contact comfort was more important than feeding
    Generalised his findings from monkeys to humans stating that contact comfort
    is likely to be a crucial factor in human infant - caregiver attachment