Study Notes on Attachment and Socialization
Socialization
Definition: The process by which children acquire the beliefs, values, and behaviors considered desirable or appropriate by the society to which they belong.
Sources of Socialization:
Family
Teachers
Siblings
Clergy
Peers
Media
Socialization Process Results In
Attachment
Moral Development
Sex Differences
Attachment
Definition: A close, reciprocal emotional relationship between two persons, characterized by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity.
Key Theorist: John Bowlby emphasized that parent-child attachments are reciprocal, meaning both parent and child become attached to each other.
Synchronized Routines
Definition: Generally harmonious interactions between two persons in which participants adjust their behavior in response to each other's feelings or actions.
Importance: Growth of attachments in infants significantly develops due to these routines, typically formed in the first few months of life.
Development of Attachment
Study Reference: Schaffer & Emerson (1964) studied infants monthly during their first 18 months.
Mothers were interviewed regarding how their infants responded to separation from close companions in various situations.
The attachment was assessed based on the presence of protest when separated from a specific person.
Phases of Attachment
Asocial Phase
Age: Approximately the first 6 weeks.
Behavior: Infants respond similarly to social and nonsocial stimuli.
Indiscriminate Attachments
Age: 6 weeks to 6-7 months.
Behavior: Infants prefer social stimuli but protest against being left by any adult.
Specific Attachment
Age: 7 to 9 months.
Behavior: Attachment forms to one close companion, typically the mother, who serves as a secure base for exploration.
Secure Base: Caregiver provides a source of emotional support during exploration.
Multiple Attachments
Age: 9-18 months.
Behavior: Attachment forms to additional companions, including other family members and caregivers.
Theories of Attachments
Psychoanalytic Theory
Basic Premise: Infants form attachments to those who provide pleasure, centered on oral gratification.
Freud: “I Love You Because You Feed Me” – feeding is correlated with attraction.
Erikson: Suggests that reliable feeding leads to a sense of trust, whereas inconsistent feeding can cause anxiety.
Learning Theory
Basic Premise: Infants learn to love through reinforcement.
Key Points:
Primary vs. Secondary Reinforcers
Infants associate caregivers with positive feelings.
“I Love You Because You Reward Me” - positive responses strengthen attachment.
Cognitive Developmental Theory
Basic Premise: Attachment formation is contingent upon the infant's ability to recognize familiar people and understand object permanence.
Example: Cognitive tests revealing stronger protest from infants with higher object permanence scores when separated from caregivers.
Ethological Theory
Basic Premise: Attachments have evolutionary significance, serving to protect vulnerable young.
Key Concept: Imprinting, an instinctual form of learning where young organisms follow the first moving object they encounter, generally their mothers.
Lorenz (1937): Observed imprinting in birds; consequences of missed critical periods for attachment.
Attachment Responses in Infants
Factors Influencing Attachment:
Sucking, grasping, following, smiling, and vocalizing as innate responses to elicit caregiving.
Stranger Anxiety: Reaction displaying wariness towards unfamiliar individuals, peaking around 8-10 months.
Separation Anxiety: Peaks around 14-18 months, characterized by distress when parted from primary caregivers.
Individual Differences in Attachment Quality
Strange Situation Assessment: Ainsworth’s assessment involves several episodes exploring the infant's attachment quality through separation and reunions.
Attachment Types:
Secure Attachment (65% of 1-year-olds): Welcomes contact, uses caregiver as a secure base, may be upset if left but welcomes reunion; tends to be outgoing with strangers.
Resistant Attachment (10% of 1-year-olds): High separation protest, seeks closeness but resists contact upon reunion.
Avoidant Attachment (20% of 1-year-olds): Little separation protest, avoids caregiver, ambivalence upon return.
Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment (5% of 1-year-olds): Confused behaviors characterized by a mix of resistant and avoidant patterns during reunions.
Alternatives to Strange Situations
For older children, observational methods are more applicable than the Strange Situation due to increased familiarity with separations.
Adult Attachment Styles
Assessed through questionnaires such as the Adult Attachment Inventory.
Secure attachment styles in adults correlate with positive relationship outcomes and better parenting practices compared to insecure attachment styles.
Factors Influencing Attachment Development
Quality of Caregiving:
Ainsworth's caregiving hypothesis posits that secure attachments are fostered by consistently sensitive and responsive caregiving.
Infant Characteristics:
Temperament is a significant factor influencing attachment quality.
Definitions of temperament highlight characteristics such as activity level, irritability, fearfulness, and sociability.
Thomas & Chess (1977): Identified three fundamental temperament profiles: Easy, Difficult, and Slow-to-Warm-Up.
Emotional Development
Infants display various basic emotions:
Interest, distress, disgust, and contentment from birth.
Complex emotions (e.g., embarrassment, shame, guilt) emerge in the second year as cognitive development progresses.
Influence of Parenting on Emotional Development
Parental actions significantly shape the expression and experience of emotions in children.
Recognizing and Interpreting Emotions
Children develop the ability to interpret emotional expressions and engage in social referencing, monitoring parental reactions to inform their own behavior.
By age 4-5, children can understand emotional variations based on past events and contextualized interpretations.
Milestones in Emotional Understanding
Advances in emotional understanding correspond with cognitive development, influencing social and emotional competence traits such as empathy, expressivity, and regulation.