Attachment and Emotion

Week 8

Attachment

A strong emotional bond formed between infant and caregiver in the second half of the child's first year

Outline the bonds formed in early life (newborn to 8 months)

• Newborn: No specific bonds to certain people

  • Behaviours that build/maintain bonds:

    • Infants prefer looking at faces over other stimuli and attending to human voices, but they do not show clear bonds to specific people.

• 3 months: No specific bonds to certain people

  • Behaviours that build/maintain bonds:

    • Infants smile at people more, but they still do not show specific bonds to particular individuals.

• 6-7 months: Specific bonds to certain people

  • Behaviours that build/maintain bonds:

    • Infants now form bonds with specific individuals and smile most in their presence.

• 8 months: Separation anxiety from certain people

  • Behaviours that build/maintain bonds:

    • Most infants show separation distress when the individuals with whom they have formed specific bonds leave.

Define separation anxiety and state its characteristics.

• Definition: Distress caused by separation from caregivers

  • Indicates a specific bond (usually between child and caregiver)

• Characteristics:

  • Is culturally universal

  • With age infants’ display of separation distress changes:

    • Crawling babies will begin to seek out their caregivers, while talking infants will ask for them

Outline the psychoanalytic theory, and its limitations,

• Origin: Freud

• Components:

  • Nursing is the earliest form of pleasure

  • Emphasis on the mother-child bond

  • Babies have different bonds (based on gender roles) to their different parents, and these persist throughout life — some recent support

• Limitations:

  • Bonds from nursing are not supported by research evidence today

    • Limited scope — e.g. mother may not nurse

Outline learning theory.

1. Physical Drives:

• Babies have physical drives, such as thirst and hunger

2. Positive reinforcement:

• When caregivers respond to these drives, the child associates the caregiver with positive reinforcement

  • These biological drives guide attachment

Outline ethological theory

• Origin:

  • John Bowlby first termed the parent-child bond as "attachment."

• Core Concepts:

  • Infants strive to maintain proximity to caregivers.

  • Focuses on the evolutionary role of attachment in survival.

  • Instinctual Behaviours: Ensure parental care for offspring.

• Mutual Attachment:

  • Defined as a biological and emotional bond.

  • Distinct from dependency (e.g., not merely reliance for sustenance).

Outline the stages of attachment

1. Pre-Attachment (0–2 months):

   • Indiscriminate social responsiveness.

2. Attachment-in-the-Making (2–7 months):

   • Recognition of familiar people.

3. Clear-Cut Attachment (7–24 months):

   • Separation protest, wariness of strangers, intentional communication.

4. Goal-Corrected Partnership (24+ months):

   • Relationships become two-sided; children begin to understand parents' needs.

State the basis of social interaction

• Basis of social interaction: smiling

• Development:

  • Newborns: Simlining at internal states

  • First few months:

    • Smiling at tactile stimulation (e.g rocking)

    • Smiling at external visual stimuli

      Smiling at external auditory stimuli

      Smiling at faces

  • 6 months: Smile of recognition

Define contingent responding and outline an example of it.

• Definition: Person A does something; Person B responds

• Example:

  1. Mother smiles and rocks baby

  2. Mother's smile and rocking produces larger smile in baby

  3. Baby smiles

  4. Baby's smile produces more smiling and rocking in mother

  • (Positive feedback loop)

  • By 1.5 months, babies get uneasy if adults keep a "still face" if they are smiling

Outline social referencing

• Definition: Look to others to see how to react

• Process: understanding joint attention by following the caregiver’s gaze

  • Example: Call attention to something by looking at it, looking back at the caregiver, and looking at it again

Outline the importance of clinging

• Primates:

  • Clinging is vital for survival; babies must physically hold on to caregivers.

• Humans:

  • Touch plays a crucial role in triggering proximity-seeking responses in parents, fostering attachment.

Outline Bowlby’s internal working model

• Definition: Infants develop a single internal working model, which:

  • Persists over time.

  • Is shaped by the quality of early interactions with caregivers.

• Significance:

  • Promotes continuity of attachment patterns across generations.

• Example:

  • An infant who receives support when they are upset or distressed will learn that their caregiver will be there to comfort them, and they will expect this in relationships throughout their life.

Outline the concept and purpose of the strange situation

• Creator: Mary Ainsworth.

• Concept: Based on the secure base theory: a caregiver serves as a base for exploration and a safe haven during distress.

• Purpose: To assess the nature and quality of the infant-mother relationship.

Secure base attachment cycle

1. Child is free to explore and learn

2. Exposed to a threat

3. Receives an attuned, predictable caregiver response

4. Return to secure state:

   • Relaxed, warm, soothed, full stomach, steady breathing and pulse

   • (Cycle continues)

Outline the stages of the strange situation.

• Stage 1: Mother and child enter the playroom

• Stage 2: The child is encouraged to explore

• Stage 3: Stranger enters and attempts to interact

• Stage 4: Mother leaves while a stranger is present

• Stage 5: Mother enters and the stranger leaves

• Stage 6: Mother leaves

• Stage 7: Stranger returns

• Stage 8: Mother returns and interacts with child

Outline the different attachment styles

1. Secure Attachment (70%):

   • Explore when with mother.

   • Distressed when mother leaves, happy when she returns.

   • Linked to sensitive, smothering parenting.

2. Insecure-Avoidant Attachment (20%):

   • Explore when with mother.

   • Not upset when mother leaves, avoids mother upon return.

3. Insecure-Resistant Attachment (10%):

   • Less likely to explore.

   • Most distressed when mother leaves.

   • Stays close but may show anger when mother returns.

4. Insecure-Disorganised Attachment (very rare):

   • Exhibits approach/avoidance behaviour.

   • Disoriented or confused when reunited with mother.

   • Linked with abuse and neglect in early life

Outline the outcomes of early attachment.

• Cognitive Development:

  • High-quality parent-child relationships → Better cognitive development by age 7.

  • Results in greater class participation and better grades.

• Social Development:

  • More positive emotions, empathy, and social competence.

  • Leads to better-quality friendships and positive peer impressions.

  • Impacts the quality of adult romantic relationships.

• Stability and Change:

  • Insecurely-attached infants can develop better parent relationships by school age (and vice versa).

  • Improvement is possible, even through intervention.

Describe missing aspects of early attachment in common theories/concepts (e.g. secure base attachment cycle).

• The child’s effects:

  • A baby's behaviour will influence the caregiver's behaviour (e.g. irritable, happy)

  • Internal working models that can be transferred by parents inter-generationally

  • There is no consensus on whether child temperament influences attachment

• Bidirectional effects between child and caregiver:

  • Example: a child’s irritable temperament leads to the caregiver being less patient and harsher, which could cause more difficult behaviour (creating a vicious cycle)

  • A caring response from a caregiver can create a positive change in behaviour (change is possible)

• Cross-cultural differences:

  • Large differences across cultures in response to the Strange Situation

  • Strange Situation may be less (or more) 'strange' in different cultures

    • Example: greater anxious attachment in Japan, possibly due to co-sleeping being more common than in the U.S

  • Strange Situation may have limitations in detecting attachment patterns

    • Example: in Japan, the time apart could be shortened to distinguish better the attachment types

Outline the effects of social deprivation

• Study: Overcrowded Romanian orphanages in the 1980s

1. The babies reduced their exploration, locomotion, and motor action.

2. The babies reacted with terror, anger, and fear to any person. If the person remained, the baby would sometimes cling frantically to them.

3. Rocking back and forth, biting themselves, banging their head, and other rocking patterns were evidenced.

4. Babies developed vacant stares and seemed unaware of their environment.

5. Large decrease in cognitive development from 0 - 40 months

6. 37% of these babies died by age 2 (compared with 0% in the other environment—children raised with family).

Describe Harlow’s Monkey Experiment.

• Purpose:

  • Investigated the role of comfort vs. nutrition in attachment.

• Setup:

  • Infant rhesus monkeys were separated from their mothers.

  • Provided two artificial "mothers":

    1. Wire Mother: Supplied food.

    2. Cloth Mother: Provided soft, comforting fabric but no food.

• Findings:

  • Monkeys spent more time with the Cloth Mother, even when the Wire Mother provided nutrition.

  • Demonstrated the importance of comfort and security in forming attachment.

• Conclusion:

  • Attachment is not solely based on feeding but also emotional comfort and physical closeness.

• Ethics:

  • "The effects on Harlow's monkeys were often so devastating that today it would be exceedingly difficult to justify further research that would inflict such suffering on individuals of any species."

Outline whether undoing the effects of social deprivation is possible.

• Possibility of Rehabilitation:

  • In some cases, the harmful effects of early social deprivation can be undone.

  • Change is possible, even in extreme circumstances.

• Challenges:

  • Rehabilitation does not occur in many instances.

  • Neural correlates of social deprivation are still poorly understood, limiting our ability to fully address the issue.

Outline the two hormonal systems that work in attachment within the the maternal brain.

• Dopamine:

  • Reinforcement stimulus-reward learning, decision-making based on future predicted reward

• Oxytocin:

  • Formation of social and spatial memories, affiliative behaviour and emotion regulation

  • Released during situations such as:

    • Contractions

    • Breastfeeding

Outline the purpose of the adult attachment study by Lane et al. 2009.

• Purpose: Investigate how the maternal brain response is influenced by infant cues, using fMRI.

• Maternal brain:

  • Observe brain activity in response to certain stimuli (e.g. photo of mother’s baby) and whether this leads to some activity in brain cells and what areas of the brain that activity takes place in

    • Measured by a change in blood flow (hemodynamic blood flow) captured by MRI scanner

Outline the method of the adult attachment study by Lane et al. 2009.

1. First visit: during 3rd trimester

   • Adult attachment interview: assessing mother’s attachment style before having the baby

2. Second visit: at 7 months old

   • Baby pictures were taken (neutral, happy and sad)

   • Videotaped free-play interaction to observe attachment style with their infants

   • Oxytocin sampling for a baseline

3. Third visit: at 11 months

   • fMRI scan was completed, where the mother looked at photos of their child and a random child (of similar age, race and gender) in different emotional states (happy, neutral and sad)

   • The images were shown in 2-6 second random inter-stimulus intervals

Describe the results of the adult attachment study by Lane et al. 2009.

• Type B (Secure Attachment) Mothers:

  1. Show greater peripheral oxytocin response during infant interaction.

  2. Increased activation of hypothalamus/pituitary region for own > unknown baby across all affect groups.

  3. Peripheral oxytocin response correlates with hypothalamus/pituitary activation for own neutral faces.

  4. Brain activation patterns:

     • Greater response to own > unknown infants in:

       • Lateral prefrontal cortex (bilaterally).

       • Left mPFC (medial prefrontal cortex).

       • Hypothalamus/pituitary region.

     • Increased ventral striatum activation for own happy > unknown happy infants.

• Type A (Insecure Attachment) Mothers:

  1. Reduced reward activation for own happy infants.

  2. Activation of:

     • dIPFC (dorsal inferior prefrontal cortex) for own sad infants.

     • Insula (associated with social emotions like pain/disgust) for own sad infants.

Define emotions and their characteristics

• Description: Subjective reactions to the environment

• Characteristics:

  • Transient states

    • Baby isn't always afraid

  • Correspond to distinct internal feelings

    • "I'm scared now!"

  • Correspond to cognitive processes

    • "Yikes!"

  • Correspond to physiological processes

    • Increased heart rate

State how we index infant emotions

Through facial expressions; hard to fake as an infant .

Outline the Genetic-Maturational View of Emotion

• Hypothesis: Emotions are primarily the result of biological factors.

• Evidence:

  1. Individual Temperament Differences:

     • Variations in how people naturally express emotions.

  2. Twin Studies:

     • Identical twins show greater similarity in emotional expression (e.g., onset and frequency of smiling) compared to fraternal twins.

Outline learning theory

• Hypothesis: A child’s specific fears depend on what they have learned through experience.

• Evidence:

  1. Variation in Emotional Development:

     • Emotions differ in onset age, frequency, and intensity among children.

     • These differences are influenced by the rearing environment.

  2. Parental Influence:

     • Parents can shape emotional expression through operant conditioning:

       • Encouraging emotions by rewarding their expression.

       • Discouraging emotions by punishing their expression.

Outline the functionalist approach

• Hypothesis: Emotions are adaptive tools that help us achieve our goals.

• Influence on Actions:

  1. Baby's Actions: Emotions guide and influence the infant's behaviour to meet their needs.

  2. Caregiver's Actions: Emotions in the baby also influence the caregiver’s responses, fostering care and support.

• Communication:

  • Emotions act as signals to convey information to others, supporting social interaction.

• Example: Fear

  • Maintains integrity of self

  • Engage in behaviours (flight or withdrawal) that enable us to avoid danger, monitor danger, or escape from danger.

Primary emotions

• Definition: Emotions that appear early in development (first 6 months of life) and are culturally universal

• Examples:

  • Joy

  • Anger

  • Sadness

  • Disgust

  • Surprise

  • Fear

Outline the emergence of emotions (order of emotion emergence)

• Ontogeny (study of existence) Mirrors Phylogeny (Evolutionary relationships):

  • Emotional development in infants reflects the evolutionary sequence of these emotions.

• Order of Emotional Responding:

  • 1-6 months: Basic emotions (e.g., joy, anger, sadness) emerge first, as they are more evolutionarily primitive.

  • >18 months: Complex emotions (e.g., guilt, shame, pride) develop later, requiring higher cognitive and social abilities.

    • Self-conscious thought

    • Incorporation of rules and norms

Outline different complex emotions

• Guilt:

  • Leads us to try to reduce guilt

  • Somewhat culturally specific

• Embarrassment:

  • Can be induced in children as young as 2

  • The emergence of this emotion is related to self-understanding

• Machiavellian emotions:

  • Manipulative emotions - expressed, but not felt, to get a reaction

Outline the development of emotional recognitions of others.

• Early Response to Emotions:

  1. 4 months: Infants can track emotions.

  2. 5 months: Sensitive to emotions expressed by speakers of non-native languages.

  3. 7 months: Able to track emotion through speech intonation.

• Negativity Bias:

  • Infants show greater responses to negative emotions compared to positive ones.

  • Maybe a survival aspect → greater cost of ignoring negative emotions, which bring awareness to potential dangers

Outline emotional feedback loops

• Definition:

  • Experiencing an emotion can lead the experiencer to feel the same emotion.

• Development:

  • Emotional contagion emerges by 6 months of age.

• Possible Mechanisms:

  1. Emotional Imitation: Mimicking the emotions of others.

  2. Mirror Neurons: Neural processes that may facilitate shared emotional experiences.

Outline the characteristics of emotional regulation

• Definition: Emotional regulation involves influencing and moderating emotions effectively.

• Strategies:

  1. Situation Modification:

     • Alter the situation to change the emotion.

  2. Attentional Deployment:

     • Shift focus or thoughts to alter emotional impact.

  3. Response Modification:

     • Adjust the emotional response (e.g., through behaviours like meditation)

Temperament

• Definition:

  • A tendency toward particular emotional and behavioural responses in specific situations or contexts.

• Application:

  • Typically used to describe infants and their natural predispositions.

Emotion

• Definition:

  • Personality is the combination of temperament, creativity, intelligence, and other factors.

• Application:

  • Typically used to describe older children and adults, beyond infancy.

Outline trait approaches to temperament

• Biological Emphasis:

  • Focus on the heritability of behaviour patterns and the influence of genetics.

• Three Main Categories:

  1. Emotionality: Tendency to react with strong emotions.

  2. Activity Level: General energy and movement levels.

  3. Sociability: Propensity to engage socially with others.

Outline the method and results of the New York Longitudinal Study on temperament.

• Method:

  • Conducted interviews with mothers about infants' activities and routines.

  • Developed a scale measuring 9 dimensions of temperament:

    1. Activity level

    2. Approach/Withdrawal

    3. Adaptability

    4. Mood

    5. Responsiveness

    6. Reactivity

    7. Distractibility

    8. Rhythmicity

    9. Attention span/Persistence

• Temperament Classifications:

  • Easy (40%)

  • Difficult (10%)

  • Slow to warm up (15%)

  • Average (35%)

• Findings:

  • These classifications had predictive value for later behavior and development.

Outline how temperament in infancy predicts personality.

• Linking Infant Temperament to Personality:

  • Example: Activity (energy level) → Positively correlates with extroversion, conscientiousness and agreeableness

• Influence of 'Goodness of Fit':

  • The outcome depends on how well the child’s temperament aligns with their environment.

Describe how family influences emotional development.

• Parents as Models:

  • Parents' emotional expression serves as a template for the child’s emotional expressiveness.

• Responses to Emotions:

  • Parents' and siblings’ specific reactions can encourage or discourage particular emotional patterns.

• Emotional Coaching:

  • Parents can guide by:

    • Talking about emotions.

    • Exploring the child’s understanding of their own and others’ emotions.

• Beyond Parents:

  • Siblings and peers also play a crucial role in shaping emotional responses.