Psychology of Families Exam 1

When was the first major financial crisis and how did it affect families?

19th century (~1819), leads men, children and unmarried women to move away for work and disrupts the traditional family bond thru a lack

When was the civil war?

1861-1865

How did the civil war impact African American families?

Following the war, segregation into certain sections of cities and the enactment of Jim Crow laws occurs, results in long term health and wellbeing struggles for African Americans

When were Jim Crow laws enacted?

1876-1965

When did the mother become recognized as the emotional center of children’s development?

20th century

How did the mother come to be recognized as the emotional center?

Researchers begin studying the family structure and recognize that children need protection, nurture and comfort, something typically provided by the mother, making her the center of a child’s emotional development.

When was the great depression?

1929

How did the Great Depression impact families?

Coincided with an increase in domestic violence due to stress, financial struggle and a power upheaval.

When was World War 2?

1939-1945

How did WWII impact families?

Increased number of marriages, increased unwed motherhood and increased rates of divorce, due to increased marriages in anticipation of the draft, partners dying at war, increased rates of PTSD, and mothers working more and desiring increased independence.

What year was child labor abolished?

1938

What is the exception to current child labor law?

Children over 12 are still allowed to work in agricultural settings, including on tobacco farms, with parental permission.

What does the current trend look like for people over 65 and young adults discussed in class?

By 2080, it’s projected that people over 65 will outnumber children under 18

What is the trend we’re currently seeing among young people?

Young people not achieving the 4 milestones at the expected times (not moving out, finding a career, getting married, having kids)

What’s the current trend of fertility world wide?

Worldwide, fertility rates are decreasing.

How is consistency maintained in behavioral observation?

Behaviors, such as parental sensitivity, are operationalized as specific behaviors that observers can agree occurred or did not occur.

Why do researchers document the frequency and duration of behaviors?

It allows them to objectively measure change in complex concepts like parental sensitivity, emotional regulation, and attachment security.

If researchers coded “withdrawal behavior”, what kind of behaviors might the infant be displaying?

Arched back, closed eyes

What is matching and why is it important?

The actions of infant and caregiver are time-matched to each other, so researchers can study what they each do in response to the same stimuli and how their actions create consequences in the other.

What was the gist of the emotional regulation example in class?

Two pairs of caregivers and their children are presented with a loud, disorienting stimulus (a firetruck toy). The behaviors of each caregiver are coded to measure their responsiveness. One infant withdraws, looks to its mother for comfort, then continues withdrawing further when it gets nothing back. The other looks and is comforted, then allowed to explore the new stimulus knowing it’s safe.

Can attachments be weak or strong?

No; Not strong or weak, but secure or insecure, infants cannot be “weakly attached”

Is attachment one directional or bidirectional?

One directional, a caregiver should not be attached to their caregiver, the child should not be a secure base/safe haven for their parent

What is the Strange Situation age range?

11-15 months, up to 2 years.

What’s the most important observation in the Strange Situation?

Most important component is how the child responds when the caregiver returns.

How do we classify a sensitive caregiver?

• Consistently responds to distress

• Responds immediately, notices distress early

• Helps the child minimize their distress

• Not intruding, but scaffolding

• Assesses the specific kind of support the child needs

How do explain findings that don’t show the association between maternal behavior and low predictivity in infant attachment long term?

• Not using multiple timepoints, meaning unrelated factors may bias results

• Not assessing changing in parental behaviors/sensitivity over time

• Not assessing temperament (a moderating variable)

• Not assessing the emotional availability of caregivers

What are the behaviors of securely attached infants?

Secure: Low level frustration and anxiety, easily soothed, explores once calm

In adulthood, shows social competence and empathy, comfort while seeking support, high self esteem

What are the behaviors of anxious attached infants?

Anxious: Exaggerated negative affect, overly focused on keeping caregiver close, prolonged distress, poor ER skills, seeks support but doesn’t find it calming

In adulthood: poor self esteem, anxiety over partners, poor ER

What are the behaviors of avoidant attached infants?

Avoidant: Very little display of distress, little comfort seeking

In adulthood: Unlikely to seek support, cope with stress on their own, difficulty trusting others

What are likely behaviors of caregivers in avoidant babies?

Reacts to distress with anger/frustration, may detach or disengage, is emotionally unavailable, puts infant back down before fully soothed, engaged and close with child while NOT distressed

What are likely behaviors of caregivers in anxious/resistant babies?

Inconsistent, sometimes responsive to distress, low efficacy when jumping in leads to pulling back, responds to behavior but unable to soothe, may intrude

What is parent mentalization?

Ability to put themself in child’s shoes, hold in mind and consider the internal state of the child

What are the three behaviors associated with parent mentalization?

Mind-mindfulness, Insightfulness, Reflective functioning

What is parental mind-mindedness?

Ability to think of the child as an individual with a mind of their own

What is parental insightfulness?

Ability to consider motives of child’s behavior and emotions. Also includes acceptance of those emotions!

What is parental reflective functioning?

Ability to reflect on their own behaviors and mental states, think about how those impact their child and the relationship; ability to adapt and change behavior

What are the characteristics of disorganized attachment seen in the SSP?

No organized method of dealing with distress; may show intense crying, little/no eye contact, approach followed by withdrawal, may appear dazed in caregiver’s presence, confusion and mistimed movements, may wait at the door when caregiver leaves but retreat when they return

What are the contributing factors to a disorganized attachment?

The caregiver displays aggression when the infant is showing distress; they become either a source of fear, or a source of both fear and safety; parent is likely to have been insecurely attached to their own caregiver

What changes to disorganized attachment occur during the toddler years?

They are no longer assessed using the SSP and typically get a secondary disorganized classification. They are at higher risk of psychopathology at this point. Because they may have disorganized attachment to one caregiver but a stable attachment to another, this trajectory is only modestly stable over time.

How do presentations of disorganized attachment change over time?

By 3 and talking, may show controlling behaviors to manage their caregiver, requiring them to accept support and help. Alternatively, they may become punitive and aggressive. They are at an increased psychopathology and likely to show internalizing and externalizing behaviors in school.

What are working models?

Mental representations, learned scripts involving ourselves and other people. Includes expectations about others, beliefs about self, and predictions about what will happen; influences how we interpret and engage in social interactions

What are the two levels of the working model hierarchy?

General/global level: Representations about the self and others, based on a lifetime of attachment experiences.

Specific level: Specific representations for parents, romantic partners, and other significant others

Connectionist perspective on internal working models

Networks of wired neurons, with prototypes of each specific working model; when one is activated, similar others get activated as well.

Prototype perspective on WMs

Early scripts lie dormant until they’re activated. Most supported theory.

Revisionist model:

New scripts replace old ones, which means working models are unstable over time. There is less evidence for this theory.

What conditions are necessary for working models to change?

Multiple corrective experiences occur at a high frequency, fairly consistently, for a long period of time

Other attachments provide emotional and instrumental support over time

The person is MOTIVATED to change their beliefs, persists when its uncomfortable

When are working models made resistant to change?

When they go without corrective experiences, made possible when the person avoids situations that make them uncomfortable and challenge their working model.

What will a secure base script look like?

When I cry, I am comforted. When I want to explore, there is a secure base I can return to.

What will an anxious insecure base script look like?

When I cry, my caregiver MIGHT be there to comfort me.

What will an avoidant insecure base script look like?

When I cry, my caregiver moves away from me.

Under what conditions would an individual with an insecure attachment to a caregiver develop a secure attachment to a peer or romantic partner?

High frequency corrective experiences, working on their internal WM; hard work on both sides