Chapter 11 - Attachment to Others and Development of the Self

attachment theory

* the theory that posits that chidren are biologically predisposed to develop attachments to caregivers as a means of increasing the chances of their own survival (John Bowlby’s theory).

secure base

* the idea that the presence of a trust caregivers provides an infant with a sense of security that lets the child safely explore the environment.

Attachment enhances the infant’s chance of survival, helps the child feel emotionally secure so they can explore without fear, and serves as a form of *_______* which helps children manage their levels of arousal and their emotions.

co-regulation

internal working model of attachment

* the child’s representation of the self, attachment figures and relationships in general in their head.

If caregivers are accessible and response, young children expect interpersonal relationships to be gratifying and feel worthy of ______.

love

If figures are opposite of that however, children develop _____ perceptions of relationships with others and themselves.

negative

Mary Ainsworth’s came to the conclusion that:

* he extent to which an infant can use the caregiver as a secure base and how the infant reacts to brief separations and reunions provides insight into the quality of the infant’s attachment to the caregiver.

secure attachment

When infants have a positive and trusting relationship with their attachment figure. They might be upset when caregiver leaves and may be happy when they return.

insecure/resistant attachment

Infants are often clingy and tend to get very upset when the caregiver leaves, and both seek comfort and resist efforts by the caregiver to comfort them.

insecure/avoidant attachment

Children seem indifferent towards their caregiver and may even avoid them. If the infant gets upset when left alone, they are easily comforted by a stranger as by a parent.

disorganized/disoriented attachment

A type of insecure attachment where children have no consistent way of coping with the stress of the procedure, and their behaviour is confused and they often appear disoriented.

Flaws of the Strange Situation

• needs lots of resources

• must be conducted in a lab with highly trained staff

• some argue attachment security should be measured along multiple continuous dimensions

parental sensitivity

* caregiving behaviour that involves warm and responsiveness to children when they need help or are in distress.

Parent behaviour is a ________ predictor of children’s attachment styles.

strong

The mothers of insecure/resistant infants tend to be _______in early caregiving

inconsistent

mothers of insecure/avoidant infants tend to be __________

indifferent and emotionally unavailable.

Mothers of disorganized/disoriented infants exhibit _______ behaviour.

abusive, or frightening

Secure attachments are more likely when parents display ______ but children still develop secure attachments to parents when they are not consistently sensitive.

sensitivity

differential suspectibility

Certain genes result in children being differently susceptible to the quality of their rearing environment.

Attachment behaviours are ______ in different cultures.

similar

Children’s attachment status has been found to predict later ________ development.

social-emotional

Securely attached infants experience ____________ than insecurely attached children.

better adjustment and more social skills

self-concept

• a system made up of one’s thoughts and attitudes about oneself.

• It consists of one’s own physical being, social characteristics, and internal characteristics.

• starts as an appreciation of one’s physical self

Why is the development of the self important?

* because the way individuals think of themselves influences their overall feelings of well-being and self-confidence when faced with external criticism.

Stages of self-concept in infancy

• become more distinct at around 8 months of age

• at 15 months, children can distinguish themselves and others by gender and age

• by age 2, they can recognize themselves in photographs

• during the 3rd year, their self-awareness is quite clear

Children ages 3-4 understand themselves in terms of ______ characteristics related to physical attributes, physical abilities, psychological traits, preferences, and possessions.

concerete

social comparison

* the process of comparing aspects of one’s own characteristics, behaviours and possessions to evaluate oneself

By middle to late elementary school, children’s conceptions of self are more _______ and cover broad things.

integrated

Adolescents think of themsleves in terms of _______ characteristics that encompass a variety of concrete traits and behaviours, developing multiple self (one with parents, one with friends, one in school, one at a job).

abstract

personal fable

* a form of egocentrism that involves beliefs in the uniqueness of one’s own feelings and thoughts.

example of a personal fable thought

“but you don’t know how it feels!”

imaginary audience

when adolescents are preoccupied with what other’s think of them

* found to become stronger across adolescence wtih boys but not girls

In middle teens, adolescents become more concerned with the question ________

who am I?

self-esteem

* a child’s overall subjective evaluation of their worth and the feelings they have about that evaluation.

High-self esteem and narcissism has been associated with especially high levels of ________ in young adolescents.

aggression

Low self-esteem is associated with ______, depression and bullying or being a victim of bullying.

anxiety

Soures of Self-esteem

• physical attributes

• gender

• approval and support children receive from others is perhaps the most important influence

• parent’s behaviour and discipline affect self-esteem postively and negatively

• peer acceptance

• school & neighbourhood environments in terms of high levels of stress, prejudie, and inadequate material and psychological resources

identity

* the self that is often externally imposed through membership in a group.

Adolesccence is the period where children appreciate their________ and begin to forge new and distinct ones.

multiple identities

identity achievement

* an integration of various aspects of the self into a coherent whole that is stable over time and across events.

4 categories of identity status

* identity achievement, moratorium, identity foreclosure and identity diffusion.

moratorium

* exploring possible commitments to identities but have not commited to one.

identity foreclosure

* for those who have committed too early to an identity before engaging in any real exploration.

identity diffusion

* the period where the individual does not have firm commitments and are not making progress towards developing them.

usual progression toward identity achivement

* diffusion → foreclosure → achivement or diffusion → moratorium → foreclosure → achievement.

Adolescents who experience warmth and support from parents tend to have a more mature identity and less _______

identity confusion

ethnic and racial identity

* the beliefs and attitudes an indvidual has about the ethnic or racial groups they belong to.

ethnicity

* the relationships and experiences a child has that are linked with their cultural ancestry, religion, or native language.

race

• physical characteristics, most commonly skin colour.

• social construct; no genetic basis for seperate races

* By ____ school years, children know the common characteristics of their ethnic or racial group and start to have feelings about being members of the group and may have begun to form ethnically based preferences regarding foods, holidays, language use…

early

* By ______ elementary school, minority children often have a positive view of their ethnic or racial group.

late

Family and larger social environment play a _____ role in the development of children’s ethnic and racial identity through teaching them about strengths and unique features of their culture and instilling them with pride.

major

bicultural identity

* a comfortable identification with both the majority culture and their own ethnic culture.

sexual identity

* one’s sense of oneself as a sexual being.

sexual orientation

* an individual’s romantic or erotic attraction to people of the opposite gender, same gender, both or neither.

gender identity

* an individual’s awareness of themselves as a male, a female, nonbinary, or other.

sexual-minority youth

* young people who experience same-sex attractions

Sexual-minority youth and adults face ______ in law and in practice and are frequent targets for harrassment and violence.

discrimination

Females are more likely to describe themselves as ________ than males.

bisexual or “mostly heterosexual”

The lives of sexual-minority youth are _______ affected by their sexual identities and related concerns may prevent them from focusing on the day-to-day issues that concern most adolescents like grades, college and money.

strongly

Sexual-minority children are developmentally indistinguishable from heterosexual peers because of increasingly _____ messages and portrayals in media.

positive