Chapter 11 - Attachment and the Self (Focus on Attachment)
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Q: What study examined the effects of extreme early social deprivation on infants?
A: The Romanian Adoption Study (1980s–1990s).
Q: How many hours a day did orphans in the Romanian Adoption Study spend alone?
A: 18–20 hours a day.
Q: What happened to the orphans after they spent time alone in the Romanian orphanages?
A: They were later adopted by UK families.
Q: Name some long-lasting effects observed in children from the Romanian Adoption Study.
A: Intellectual/attentional deficits, emotion regulation difficulties, abnormal social behaviour.
Q: How does the length of time spent in the orphanage relate to later deficits?
A: The longer spent in the orphanage, the more pronounced the deficits.
Q: What term describes the relationship between time in the orphanage and the severity of deficits?
A: A dose-response relationship.
Q: What did behaviourists argue about the parent-child bond?
A: They argued it is simply the result of classical conditioning.
Q: In the behaviourist view, what is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) in the parent-child bond?
A: Breast milk.
Q: In the behaviourist view, what is the unconditioned response (UCR) in the parent-child bond?
A: Satiation, pleasure.
Q: In classical conditioning terms, what becomes the conditioned stimulus (CS) in the parent-child bond?
A: The mother.
Q: What types of “mothers” were provided to Harlow’s baby monkeys?
A: A ‘cloth mother’ made of sponge and cloth with a mother-like face, and a ‘wire mother’ made only of wire.
Q: How did Harlow vary which mother fed the baby monkeys?
A: Some monkeys were fed only by the cloth mother, others only by the wire mother.
Q: What did Harlow measure in his baby monkey study?
A: How much time the monkeys chose to spend with each mother.
Q: According to behaviourists, which mother should the monkeys bond with?
A: The mother that fed them.
Q: When baby monkeys were fed by the cloth mother, how did they spend their time?
A: They spent most of their time on the cloth mother.
Q: When baby monkeys were fed by the wire mother, how did they behave?
A: They hardly spent any time on the wire mother and still chose the cloth mother.
Q: What does Harlow’s finding suggest about the role of feeding in the parent-child bond?
A: Feeding is not the primary factor; comfort and contact matter more.
Q: How did baby monkeys react in an unfamiliar situation without their “mother” nearby?
A: They were highly distressed, cowering in a corner and self-soothing.
Q: What happened when the cloth mother appeared in an unfamiliar situation?
A: Monkeys clung to it for a short while, then began to explore the environment.
Q: What concept did Harlow introduce to explain the role of the mother in attachment?
A: The mother provided a “source of security” and a “base of operations” (secure base).
Q: According to Harlow, what causes attachment in monkeys if not food?
A: A secure base and safe foundation provided by the mother.
Q: According to John Bowlby, why do children develop attachments?
A: Children are biologically predisposed to develop attachments.
Q: What role does the caregiver play in Bowlby’s attachment theory?
A: The caregiver provides a secure base for exploring the world, safety when the infant feels threatened, and emotional support/co-regulation.
Q: What combines with a child’s innate tendencies to form attachment according to Bowlby?
A: Experiences with the caregiver.
Q: What term describes the mental representation children form about their attachment relationships?
A: Internal working model of attachment.
Q: What is the first phase of attachment formation and its age range?
A: Pre-attachment (0–1.5 months).
Q: What behaviours characterize the pre-attachment phase?
A: Infant cries, caregiver responds; there is not much individual variability in the infant’s expression.
Q: What is the second phase of attachment formation and its age range?
A: Attachment in the making (1.5–8 months).
Q: What behaviours characterize the attachment-in-the-making phase?
A: Infants start to form preferences for certain people (especially the primary attachment figure), smiling, laughing, and babbling more with them.
Q: What emerges by around 8 months in the attachment-in-the-making phase?
A: Stranger anxiety and separation anxiety.
Q: What does the infant form during the attachment-in-the-making phase based on interactions with the caregiver?
A: Expectations and a sense of trust.
Q: What is the third phase of attachment formation and its age range?
A: Clear-cut attachment (8 to ~24 months).
Q: What becomes apparent during the clear-cut attachment phase?
A: The child’s attachment style becomes apparent.
Q: How do securely attached children behave during the clear-cut attachment phase?
A: The caregiver clearly functions as their secure base, and separation anxiety is observable when the caregiver is away.
Q: What is the fourth phase of attachment formation and its age range?
A: Reciprocal relationships (24 months onward).
Q: How do children’s social relationships change during the reciprocal relationships phase?
A: Their cognitive and linguistic skills advance, leading to more complex and reciprocal social relationships.
Q: How does separation anxiety change during the reciprocal relationships phase?
A: Separation anxiety should decrease.
Q: What was the focus of Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation study?
A: To assess the extent to which the infant can rely on the caregiver as a secure base.
Q: What was the first key factor Ainsworth noted for understanding child-caregiver attachment quality?
A: The extent to which the infant can rely on the caregiver as a secure base.
Q: What was the second key factor Ainsworth noted for understanding child-caregiver attachment quality?
A: How the infant reacts to separations and reunions with their caregiver.
Q: What type of procedure is the Strange Situation?
A: A structured observation procedure in an unfamiliar context involving a child (1–3 years), their caregiver, and a stranger.
Q: How many episodes are in the Strange Situation, and how long is each?
A: Eight episodes, approximately 3 minutes each.
Q: What kinds of events are included in the Strange Situation to induce anxiety?
A: Stranger entering and caregiver leaving.
Q: What is observed and scored during the Strange Situation?
A: The child’s behaviour.
Q: What is the Strange Situation used to identify?
A: Attachment styles.
Q: What type of approach does the Strange Situation use for identifying attachment styles?
A: A categorical/between-subjects approach.
Q: How many primary attachment styles did Ainsworth identify in the Strange Situation?
A: Three, with a fourth added later by other researchers.
Q: What is the secure attachment style and its prevalence?
A: Secure attachment; 50–60% of children.
Q: What is the insecure/resistant attachment style and its prevalence?
A: Insecure/resistant; 9% of children.
Q: What is the insecure/avoidant attachment style and its prevalence?
A: Insecure/avoidant; 15% of children.
Q: What is the disorganized/disoriented attachment style and its prevalence?
A: Disorganized/disoriented; 15% of children.
Q: What caveat did Ainsworth note about attachment patterns and primary caregivers?
A: She focused on primary caregivers (generally moms), but the same child may exhibit different patterns with different caregivers.
Q: How do securely attached children behave when exploring?
A: They explore while checking in with their caregiver regularly.
Q: How do securely attached children react when the caregiver leaves?
A: They often express some distress.
Q: How do securely attached children react when the caregiver returns?
A: They are happy and quickly soothed.
Q: How do children with insecure/resistant attachment behave from the beginning?
A: They are clingy right from the beginning.
Q: How do children with insecure/resistant attachment react when the caregiver leaves?
A: They are distraught.
Q: How do children with insecure/resistant attachment respond to being consoled?
A: They are both needy and resistant to being consoled.
Q: How do children with insecure/avoidant attachment behave toward their caregiver?
A: They pay little attention to the caregiver and don’t check in.
Q: How do insecure/avoidant children react when the caregiver leaves or returns?
A: They may not particularly care when the caregiver leaves or returns.
Q: How do insecure/avoidant children interact with strangers?
A: Almost the same way they interact with their caregiver.
Q: If insecure/avoidant children get upset, how do they behave at reunion?
A: They appear inclined to keep to themselves rather than be soothed.
Q: What is a key emotional characteristic of insecure/avoidant attachment?
A: They avoid sharing emotions freely with the caregiver.
Q: How do children with disorganized attachment behave emotionally and behaviorally?
A: They show no consistent pattern of emotion or behaviour.
Q: What kind of emotions do disorganizedly attached children display?
A: Confused or mixed emotions, such as fearful smiles.
Q: How do disorganizedly attached children behave toward their caregiver?
A: They both want to approach and avoid the caregiver.
Q: How do the first three attachment patterns differ from the disorganized attachment pattern?
A: The first three are "organized," meaning the child has a clear system or approach to handling these situations.
Q: How do disorganized children behave in comparison to organized attachment patterns?
A: They seem lost and confused.
Q: What type of approach did Ainsworth et al. use in the Strange Situation?
A: A between-subjects approach.
Q: Which other study used a similar approach to Ainsworth’s?
A: Thomas & Chess's temperamental categories (easy, difficult, slow-to-warm-up).
Q: What is a limitation of the between-subjects approach in studying attachment?
A: It treats all babies with the same attachment style as identical, glossing over individual differences.
Q: Is attachment the only factor in social development?
A: No, attachment is important but only one factor in social development.
Q: Does insecure attachment mean a person cannot have happy, fulfilling relationships?
A: No, insecure attachment does not prevent someone from having happy, fulfilling relationships or being a great partner.
Q: Does insecure attachment imply that caregivers didn’t love or care for the child?
A: No, it does not mean that caregivers didn’t love the child or do their best care for them.
Q: Does secure attachment mean a person is a perfect partner with no anxieties?
A: No, secure attachment does not mean ultra-high self-esteem or no anxieties about trust, commitment, or loss.
Q: What kind of relationship do parents of securely attached children foster?
A: A warm, positive, trusting relationship with the infant.
Q: What characteristic is high in parents of securely attached children?
A: Parental sensitivity.
Q: What behaviours demonstrate warmth and contingent responsiveness in parenting?
A: Responding quickly to crying, mutual smiling, laughter, communication, and play.
Q: How do parents of children with insecure/resistant attachment often appear?
A: Anxious and overwhelmed by the demands of caregiving.
Q: How consistent are these parents in responding to their child’s distress?
A: Sometimes they respond promptly, other times less so.
Q: How are parents of children with insecure/avoidant attachment typically described?
A: Unresponsive, indifferent, emotionally unavailable.
Q: How do these parents respond to their child’s attempts at closeness?
A: They may reject attempts at closeness.
Q: What types of behaviour might parents of children with disorganized attachment exhibit?
A: Frightening, disorienting, or abusive behaviour, such as yelling, punishing, or lashing out.
Q: How do these behaviours affect the infant?
A: They are unpredictable for the infant.
Q: What challenges might these parents themselves face?
A: Trauma, abuse, high stress, mental health issues, or they may have insecure/disorganized attachment themselves.
Q: How can biological characteristics interact with parenting to influence behaviour?
A: Low parental sensitivity combined with a gene coding for aggressive behaviour can lead to aggression.
Q: What is this an example of in developmental psychology?
A: Gene-environment interaction.
Q: Can interventions designed to improve parental sensitivity be effective?
A: Yes, they work.
Q: How much can participation in these interventions increase the likelihood of secure attachment?
A: Threefold (3x), especially the earlier the intervention.
Q: What do these interventions target in parents?
A: Parents’ beliefs and behaviour.
Q: What are some strategies used in interventions to improve parenting?
A: Challenge assumptions about the child’s intentions/capacities and provide healthy alternatives to frightening behaviour.
Q: What is a key feature of Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)?
A: A chronic pattern of being emotionally withdrawn and inhibited, rarely seeking or responding to comfort when distressed.
Q: What chronic issues are associated with RAD?
A: Social and/or emotional issues, such as social withdrawal, minimal responsiveness to others, negative affect, or out-of-proportion reactions to normative stress.
Q: What type of history is commonly seen in children with RAD?
A: A history of extremely insufficient care, such as abuse or neglect.
Q: What characterizes Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED) in children?
A: A pattern of actively approaching and interacting with unfamiliar adults, including overly familiar verbal or physical behaviour and willingness to go off with an unfamiliar adult with minimal or no hesitation.
Q: How is DSED different from behaviours caused by hyperactivity?
A: The approach and interaction with strangers is not due to hyperactivity.
Q: What type of history is commonly seen in children with DSED?
A: A history of extremely insufficient care, such as abuse, neglect, or frequent changes to primary caregivers.
Q: How stable is attachment over time?
A: Moderately stable, but it can be altered by big life events.
Q: Is the Strange Situation used past infancy?
A: No, from middle childhood onward, attachment is assessed through questionnaires or interviews.
Q: How do adolescents relate to their parents in terms of attachment?
A: Adolescents rely on parents while slowly establishing their own autonomy, which can involve increased conflict.