Problem 8 - DONE

Question 1

attachment theory

Answer 1

= children are biologically predisposed to develop attachments to caregivers because of increasing chances of own survival

• John Bowbly
• influenced by Freud: infant’s earliest relationships with their mothers shape later development
• -> secure base

Question 2

secure base

Answer 2

= the presence of a trusted caregiver provides an infant/toddler with a sense of security

• makes it possible to explore the environment –> become more competent
• primary caregiver: safe haven; who children derive comfort/pleasure from

Question 3

four phases of initial development of attachment

1. pre-attachment

Answer 3

birth - 6 weeks

• produces innate signals (crying) to summon caregivers
• comforted by ensuing interaction

Question 4

four phases of initial development of attachment

2. attachment-in-the-making

Answer 4

6 weeks - 6/8 months

• begin to respond preferentially to familiar people
• -> smile, laugh, babble more frequently in presence of primary caregiver
• more easily soothed by caregiver
• form expectations about how their caregiver will respond to their need
• -> do or do not develop sense of trust

Question 5

four phases of initial development of attachment

3. clear-cut attachment

Answer 5

6/8 months - 1,5 years

• actively seek contact with regular caregivers
• -> separation anxiety
• majority: mother as secure base
• -> facilitating exploration + mastery of environment

Question 6

four phases of initial development of attachment

4. reciprocal relationship

Answer 6

1,5/2 years - onwards

• rapid increasing of cognitive + language abilities
• -> enable to understand parents feelings, goals, motives + use understanding to organise efforts to be near parents
• more mutually regulated relationship gradually emerges
• -> child: increasing active role in developing working partnership with parents (separation anxiety decreases)

Question 7

internal working model of attachment

Answer 7

= child’s mental representation of the self, attachment figure(s), relationships in general

• result of experiences with caregivers + outcome of phases
• -> based on discovering extent
• guides children’s interactions with caregivers/ other people in infancy and at older ages
• -> accessible caregivers: expect interpersonal relationships to be gratifying + feel worthy of receiving care and love (as adults: expect to find satisfying relationships)
• -> unavailable caregivers: negative perceptions of relationships with other people and of themselves

Question 8

Strange Situation procedure

Answer 8

= study mother-infant interactions: during infants’ exploration and separations from their mother

• provide insight into quality of caregiver-infant attachment
• -> extent of ability to use primary caregiver as secure base
• -> reactions to brief separations from/reunions with caregiver

Question 9

attachment categories

Answer 9

• secure attachment
• insecure attachment
• -> insecure/resistant (ambivalent) attachment
• -> insecure/avoidant attachment
• -> disorganised/disoriented attachment

Question 10

secure attachment

Answer 10

= infants/young children have high-quality, relatively unambivalent relationship with their attachment figure

• Strange Situation:
• -> upset when caregiver leaves + happy when caregiver returns, recovering quickly from any distress
• -> as they play: occasionally look back to check on mother/bring her a toy
• -> use caregivers as a secure base for exploration
• majority of infants
• -> about 62% of typical middle-class children in US
• -> lower socioeconomic groups: rate is significantly lower (less than 50%)

Question 11

insecure attachment

Answer 11

= infants/young children have a less positive attachment to their caregiver
- classified as insecure/ resistant (ambivalent), insecure/avoidant, or disorganised/disoriented

Question 12

insecure/resistant (ambivalent) attachment

Answer 12

= infants or young children are clingy and stay close to their caregiver rather than exploring their environment

• Strange Situation:
• -> get very upset when caregiver leaves them alone in the room + not easily comforted when their caregiver returns,
• -> seek comfort + resist efforts by caregiver to comfort them
• about 9% of middle-class children in US
• -> higher in non-Western cultures

Question 13

insecure/avoidant attachment

Answer 13

= infants/young children seem somewhat indifferent toward caregiver, may even avoid the caregiver

• Strange Situation:
• -> seem indifferent toward their caregiver before the caregiver leaves the room
• -> indifferent/avoidant when caregiver returns
• -> if infant gets upset when left alone, he or she is as easily comforted by a stranger as by a parent
• about 15% of typical middle-class children

Question 14

disorganised/disoriented attachment

Answer 14

= infants/young children have no consistent way of coping with the stress of the Strange Situation

• Strange Situation:
• -> behaviour is often confused/even contradictory + often appear dazed/disoriented
• have an unsolvable problem: want to approach their mother, but also regard her as a source of fear (leads to withdrawal)
• small percentage that did not fit well into three categories
• about 15% of middle-class in US
• -> higher among maltreated infants; whose parents are having serious difficulties with their own working models of attachment; lower socioeconomic backgrounds

Question 15

determinants of individual differences

Answer 15

parental sensitivity
= ability to perceive and interpret children’s attachment signals correctly + respond to these signals promptly and adequately

temperament
= child’s temperamental vulnerability (= reactivity to stress and novelty) to anxiety

adult attachment interview

Question 16

adult attachment interview - AAI categories

Answer 16

• for every Strange Situation classification, a corresponding AAI classification
• autonomous/secure
• insecure/dismissing
• insecure-preoccupied
• unresolved

Question 17

autonomous/secure parents

Answer 17

• describe negative + positive attachment experiences coherently
• depiction of childhood = balanced, not idealised/ contradictory
• see attachment as influential in their development
  => secure attachment with children

Question 18

insecure-dismissing parents

Answer 18

• present positive evaluation of attachment experiences –> but cannot illustrate with events because of inability to remember
• when negative aspects are accepted: they insist to remain untouched
  => avoidant attachment with children

Question 19

insecure-preoccupied parents

Answer 19

• still overwhelmed by past attachment experiences, feel mistreated by parents
• unable to tell coherent story
  –> when talking about past and present relation with parents: can express anger
  => ambivalent attachment with children

Question 20

unresolved parents

Answer 20

• discuss experiences of loss/trauma in disorientated way
  –> seems they are still struggling with it
  => disorganised attachment with children

Question 21

association between parenting style + attachment to mother in middle childhood/adolescence

Answer 21

• mothers of securely attached infants:
• -> more tender, positive, responsive, sensitive (perceive and interpret child’s point of view, respond appropriately according to his/her needs)
• -> averse to physical contact and interact more angrily, intensely and intrusively
• mothers of insecure-resistant infants:
• -> more inept/clumsy, more unsynchronised in interactions
• -> more unpredictable, uninvolved, insensitive and inconsistently responsive
• mothers of insecure-avoidant infants:
• -> more rejecting of child’s attachment behaviours, more averse to physical contact
• -> interact more angrily, intensely and intrusively

Question 22

three dimensions of parenting behaviour

Answer 22

1. warm/responsive involvement
2. encouragement towards psychological autonomy + individuation through non-coercive discipline
3. demands for age-appropriate behaviour, limit-setting and monitoring

Question 23

parenting styles

Answer 23

• authoritative parenting (1+2+3)
• authoritarian parenting (3)
• permissive/indulgent parenting (1)
• negligent parenting (0)

Question 24

authoritative parenting

Answer 24

• best for children’s positive adjustment
• parenting as bidirectional process
• parents: warm parental involvement, encouragement of psychological autonomy; listen to child, recognise its needs and abilities
• attachment: secure
• disciplinary matters: less necessary –> child is willing to comply
  => consequences for child: more energetic, confident, friendly, social and might even be popular; healthy psychosocial, academic and behavioural adjustment

Question 25

authoritarian parenting

Answer 25

• parents: unresponsive, extremely power assertive, can be harsh at times
• fewer behavioural problems than negligent parenting –> more internalised stress

=> consequences for child: low cognitive + social competences, lack self-confidence, unfriendly + vulnerable to stressors

Question 26

permissive parenting

Answer 26

• warm + affectionate –> does not respect child’s individuality + fails to provide appropriate monitoring and limits
• attachment: insecure-ambivalent/preoccupied
• disciplinary matters: provide inconsistent discipline
  => consequences for child: encouraged to express impulses freely, can result in impulsive-aggressive, uncontrolled, uncompliant behaviours.

Question 27

negligent parenting

Answer 27

• worst for children’s positive adjustment
• parents: not support independence of children + their own self-efficiency; neglectful, less supportive
• attachment: insecure-avoidant, fearful-avoidant
• disciplinary matters: parents focus on their own needs, rather than those of child; fail to monitor their activity
  => consequences for child: internalised sense of being unvalued or unloved