Lecture 9 Parents & Familys

Rene Sptiz & Attachment

• He worked in hospitals where they had infants often being isolated and he noticed that the infants who didn't receive regular care seemed to show an “affect hunger”

• That is, the infants showed impoverished emotional development and a desire for affection (early on)

“affect hunger”

• refers to an "emotional hunger for maternal love" that went unsatisfied early in life.

• Children experiencing this condition exhibited an incessant, insatiable seeking of affection, followed eventually by apathy and withdrawal.

Harry Harlow was interested in 2 things

1. expanding on Spitz's work

2. testing a theory that was popular at the time, and was a kind of a mishmash of Freudian ideas about the importance of parents combined with behaviorist ideas about reinforcement, and it was called the cupboard theory

The Cupboard Theory of attachment

• It was initially proposed to explain the mother-infant bond

  • Infants bonded to the mother because she was a “cupboard” for their needs (e.g., food, water, heat)

• Harlow demonstrated that physical comfort was a critical factor

  • remember the The Cupboard Theory + the monkey 

who was John Bowlby and what did he belive?

• was a psychoanalytical psychologist (a Freudian psychologist) interested in studying children but he was also interested in bringing a multidisciplinary view to understanding children. 

• So he brought together/synthesized evolution, psychoanalysis, and developmental psychology

• Believed that there is an innate psychological mechanism for promoting a bond between caregiver and infant

• Bowlby said attachment had four main conditions.

Bowlby Tenants of Attachment (The four main conditions are:)

1. Emotional bond has a basic survival value (particularly for our ancestors)

2. Bond is mediated by the Central Nervous System

3. Each partner builds a mental working model of the relationship

4. That progression is gradual and sets up later mental models

Phase 1 of Attachment

• Preattachment (0 - 6 weeks): the infant is indifferent to particular caregivers (i.e., is indiscriminate to outsiders)

• This is likely due to energetic demands of newborns, as they are trying to save up their calories 

• However, there is some evidence that newborns do prefer their mothers (e.g., prefer her smell over other mothers)

Phase 2 of Attachment

• Attachment in the Making (2-7 months): during this phase infants can discriminate between caregivers, and start to build a working model of relationships based on experiences

  • They will smile at everyone, they won’t fuss to much

• Begin to learn social rules and norms

• Limited by lack of object permanence (although this is now disputed)

• No stranger anxiety

  • Being exposed to many different caregivers / individuals in their environment

Phase 3 of Attachment

• Clear-Cut Attachment (7-24 months): during this phase stranger and separation anxiety appear

  • Before this phase you don't see any separation anxiety 

• The mother serves as a secure base from which the child can explore his/her environment

• Separation is actively protested

• They may get upset when they're exposed to strangers and so they are very clearly showing a different response to the individuals who care for them over time than to strangers that they're not familiar with or people in their environment who they don't interact with very often.

Phase 4 of Attachment

• Goal-Corrected Partnership (2 yrs +): stranger and separation anxiety begin to diminish as a sense of independent autonomy develops

• Relationship becomes increasingly reciprocal (e.g., negotiation, sharing)

What is a clear difference between later attachment about 7 to 24 months and pre attachment or 2 to 7 months?

So the clear difference is that the 7 to 24 shows no stranger anxiety compared to those earlier phases.

Attachment & Temperament

• Initially believed to be separate concepts

• However, we know that infant temperament has been shown to influence how the parent-child bond unfolds via differences in interaction qualities (e.g., easier to bond with an easy temperament infant)

Who developed the Strange-Situation Test and why?

Mary Ainsworth (student of Bowlby).

She developed it to measure attachment quality after observing mother-infant interactions and separation patterns in Uganda.

What are the basic steps of the Strange-Situation Test?

Parent and infant enter a new room (exploration);

the parent leaves;

a stranger enters;

the infant’s reactions to both the separation and the reunion are recorded.

How does a securely attached child react to the caregiver leaving?

They become actively, visibly, and verbally distressed by the disappearance of their caregiver.

What is the critical factor (the correlate) that identifies Secure Attachment upon the caregiver’s return?

The child ceases to be distressed and stops exhibiting distressed behaviors once reunited.

How is Avoidant Attachment identified in the Strange-Situation?

The infant does not seem disturbed by the parent’s coming or going.

How is Resistant Attachment identified in the Strange-Situation?

The infant is distressed by the separation but remains inconsolable even after the parent returns.

What is Disorganized Attachment?

Disorganized: A label for children who show a mixture of behaviors from the other categories.

According to Sroufe (2000), what two history factors lead to positive "Early Social Correlates"?

1. Responsive care (how the parent reacted to needs).

2. Secure attachment (the quality of the bond).

What does Sroufe mean by saying securely attached children are "flexible" with their feelings?

They can be exuberant (energetic) when allowed and controlled when required.

Most importantly, they recover quickly after being upset.

How do children with secure attachment histories interact with other children?

They are notably empathic, engage positively, and can sustain interactions even during conflict or challenges.

What is the significance of the phrase "They can also walk on water" in the Sroufe quote?

It is a metaphor/hyperbole used to emphasize just how overwhelmingly positive the outcomes are for securely attached children across almost every area of development.

How does secure attachment manifest in middle childhood, according to Sroufe?

The ability to form close friendships while simultaneously coordinating those friendships within larger group functioning.

What three social capacities emerge in adolescence for those with secure attachment histories?

1. Intimacy (deep emotional connection).

2. Self-disclosure (sharing private thoughts/feelings).

3. Mixed-gender functioning (navigating diverse peer groups).

How are securely attached individuals often perceived by their peers in adolescence?

They are often peer leaders known for their interpersonal sensitivity (being tuned in to others' feelings).

According to Sroufe, what does secure attachment "enable" as a child grows?

It enables autonomous functioning (independence) and the ability to meet the challenges of ever more complex social groups.

So when we look at the percentage of people in North America who display secure attachment versus insecure attachment we see…

in almost every country in the world, around two thirds of people are securely attached. 

What is the general trend regarding attachment across generations?

Attachment patterns tend to pass from one generation to the next via both genetic influences and learned behavior/environment.

What parental attachment style typically leads to a Securely Attached infant?

Parents who had Secure (Autonomous) relationships with their own parents.

What parental history is often linked to Anxious-Avoidant infants?

Parents whose own relationships with grandparents were dismissive or emotionally distant.

What parental history is often linked to Anxious-Resistant infants?

Parents who were preoccupied or anxious about their own relationships with the grandparents.

what is Baumrind’s 4 Parenting Types?

• The different styles parents have when it comes for discipline towards there children 

• the 4 different styles of parenting based on the level of warmth and control people have

  • Authoritative

  • Authoritarian

  • Permissive

  • Dismissive

On the dimensions of warmth and control, where does an Authoritative parent fall?

High in both. They are highly nurturing (warmth) while maintaining clear boundaries and expectations (control).

What is the primary goal of the "reasoning and explanation" used by authoritative parents?

To help the child internalize a set of rules and procedures.

The goal is for the child to follow rules because they understand them, not just because they are afraid of punishment.

How does an authoritative parent handle expectations and dialogue?

They communicate expectations clearly, provide the "why" behind rules, listen to the child's perspective, and encourage open dialogue.

What are the hallmarks of authoritative discipline and behavior expectations?

Rewards vs. Punishment: Uses rewards more than punishments.

• Maturity: Expects the child to behave in a mature manner.

• Guidance: Sets limits using reasoning rather than blind obedience.

Effects of an authoritative parent on the child:

• Self-reliant

• Socially responsible

• Friendly with peers

• Cooperative with adults

• Independent

• Energetic

• Achievement oriented

• High degree of self-control

Effects of an authoritative parent extending to adolescence

• More prosocial behaviors

• Fewer problem behaviors (i.e. substance abuse)

• Greater academic achievement

• Higher self-confidence

Authoritarian

• They are high in control and low in warmth 

• Authoritarian parents rely on coercive techniques to discipline the child and display a low level of nurturance.

  • Coercive techniques include threats or physical punishment

  • Places firm limits and controls on the child

  • Little verbal exchange between the parent and the child

Effects of an Authoritarian parent on the child

• Does not exhibit a strong social responsibility or sense of independence

• Appears anxious about social comparison

• Does not initiate social activity

• Displays poor communication skills

• Boys—generally more aggressive

• Girls—generally more dependent

• In general appear unhappy

Effects of an Authoritarian parent extending to adolescence

• Less advanced moral reasoning

• Less prosocial behavior

• Lower self-esteem

• Poorer adjustment to starting school

Permissive

• They are low in control and high in warmth

• Permissive parent sets few limits on the child’s behavior

  • Makes few demands on mature behavior

  • Allows child to make own decisions about routine behaviors including TV viewing, bedtime, and mealtimes

  • Can be moderate to very nurturant

Effects of a persuasive parent on the child

• Does not exhibit a strong social responsibility or sense of independence

• Displays low self-control

• Displays low self-reliance

• Displays a tendency to expect to get own way

  • This is because the parent can act like helicopter parents and let there kids have there way almost always 

Dismissive

• They are low in warmth and low in control 

• Dismissive parent has no limits or warmth, doesn’t care about their kids

  • Makes few demands on mature behavior

  • With regard to nurturance, they are cool and uninvolved

  • Unavailable to support or guide the child

Effects of a dismissive parent on the child

• Child fails to value themselves as a human

• Child fails to develop limits

• Child fails to develop trust in other individuals

• Child has difficulty forming positive relationships with others

• Dramatic increase in antisocial behavior

They would have an avoidant insecure attachment style

Examples of the 4 Parenting Types

• You're 16 years olds, your parents let you take the bus into town, with the rule you have to catch the 9pm bus and get home before 10pm.

  • _______ parents would tell you that's what the rules are because they want you to be safe, they may warn the crowd in town will only get older as it gets later out so they don't want you around at that time. 

    • If the child broke the rules, the parents would be upset because they are worried about their kids safety, little punishment 

  • ________ parents would just say 10pm is your curfew you better catch that bus 

    • If the child broke the rules there would be punishment 

  • ______ parents would let the child decide what time is best to come home, they would say 10pm sounds reasonable but you diced whats best 

    • There would be no punishment at all

  • ______ parents wouldn't even notice that the child left, and wouldn't really care what time you get back 

    • They would just say “you’ve been gone for hours?”

• Authoritative

• Authoritarian

• Permissive

• Dismissive

Ethnicity and Parenting Styles

• Patterns of parenting differ based on ethnicity and SES

• Non-Western, non-white, and poorer parents tend towards Authoritarian parenting in most cultures

• Hunter-gatherers tend towards permissive, indulgent parenting (BUT from the entire village, it‘s more authoritative)

What are the 2 reason why the family exists?

what is the family?

what are the 2 kinds of family?

• So the family exists for biological reasons to bring children into existence and provide them with the resources that they need to survive into adulthood. 

• But also the family is a social system

  • Most important function is to socialize children

• So family is really a network of reciprocal relationships

  • Parents influence children and children influence parents

  • Siblings are influenced by each other and others

• The nuclear family is the immediate family based around the parents

• The extended family is the rest of the genetic and marriage/adoption-based network

  • Can be quite small or large 

The influence of children and parents relationship

• The parents relationship impacts how they parent their Children, that parent relationship can be influenced by their Children.

• And the parents' relationship itself can influence the children

  • So if the parents are fighting, that might make it more difficult to co parent, which might mean mixed messages to the kids and or more harsh discipline towards the kids. 

• Or it could be that if the Children are difficult to deal with, that might cause issues with parenting, that can in turn impact the marital relationship in the first place. 

• So there's a lot of different influences that are going on here in bidirectional fashions.

Modern Mothers

• an increasing number of women are working outside of the home

• This has led to conflict in defining the role of mothers and an increase in the number of external caregivers

  • For example in Ontario, about a decade ago, the government announced that they were going to have full day kindergarten.

Modern Grandparents

• Grandparents contribute significantly to young childcare when they are in close proximity to families

• Grandparents live longer and healthier lives, so they can provide care for longer periods of time

  • An interesting trend shows that the grandparents that provide the most care are on the mothers side, as from a new evolutionary perspective, the reality is that men can't always be certain of their paternity. 

What Factors Lead to Good or Poor Adjustment in Divorced and Remarried Families?

• Age of child

  • Young adolescents have particularly difficult adjustment to remarriage

• Amount of stress

• Temperament of child

• Parenting style

Siblings

• New siblings tend to lead towards sibling rivalry, particularly if the age gap is small

• Sibling conflict is influenced by marital conflict, parental monitoring, and equality of parental treatment of siblings

• Siblings improve ToM, act as playmates, caretakers, and support

Percentage of Full and Half Siblings Nominated for Different Measures of Solidarity

• We know that biology is playing a role here in that half siblings tend to be much less cooperative with each other than genetic full siblings. 

  • This is almost certainly due to the age gap that we discussed earlier.

• There are also some pretty big gaps in terms of double triple, even quadruple the percentages of individuals who lean on a full sibling who's fully genetically related to them versus a half sibling who's a quarter.

Only Children

• Positive self-esteem and achievement motivation

• More obedient and intellectually competent

  • As parents have more time for them

• Very good peer relations

• Lack playmates, caretakers, role-models, and social support

  • As they don't have siblings 

Gay/Lesbian parents show no significant differences in the adjustment or development of their children because

• they choose to start their families and it doesn't happen on accident and so this level of choice brings a deliberate commitment to being a more involved parent.

• So any disadvantages that may be associated with not having multiple gender roles or having potential biases against you for being gay and lesbian or not being genetically related.