GRE Psych Exam
Attachment Theory
ATTACHMENT THEORY
Psychoanalytic theory defines attachment in terms of the satisfaction of oral needs, while learning theorists add the aspect of reinforcement.
Harry Harlow's research with monkeys and their need for contact comfort played an important role in the early development of attachment theory.
John Bowlby's idea of critical periods explains the biological predisposition humans have that increases the likelihood of forming attachments. An infant is programmed to cry and smile, while adults are programmed to respond to the infant. During the first few months of the child's life, such attachments are indiscriminant. After six or seven months, the attachments become increasingly directed to caregivers. Signs of attachment include a selective social smile beginning at six months and the emergence of stranger anxiety and separation anxiety.
■ Stranger anxiety - Very anxious and fearful of strangers at six months. Typically disappears by age two.
■ Separation anxiety - Severe distress when separated from primary caregiver beginning at six to eight months. Peaks in intensity at 14-18 months, continues until about age two, then diminishes.
Patterns of Attachment (Ainsworth: "The strange situation")
■ Secure Attachment: A securely attached infant is mildly upset by the mother's absence and actively seeks contact with her when she returns. Mothers of securely attached children are emotionally sensitive and responsive.
■ Insecure (Anxious/Ambivalent) Attachment: The infant becomes very disturbed when left alone with a stranger but is ambivalent to mother's return and may resist her attempts at physical contact. Mothers of these children are often moody and inconsistent in their caretaking.
■ Insecure (Anxious/Avoidant) Attachment: The child shows little distress when the mother leaves and ignores her when she returns. Mothers of these children are impatient and unresponsive or provide their children with too much stimulation.
■ Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment: Fear of their caretakers, confused facial expressions and a variety of other disorganized attachment behaviors mark these children. Eighty percent of infants who have been mistreated by their caregivers exhibit this pattern.
Early attachment seems to effect subsequent development. By ages four to five, children who were securely attached as infants are usually more curious, more popular with peers and less dependent on adults. As adults, they have high self-esteem and a strong sense of personal identity, although it does not appear that insecure attachment in infancy is necessarily linked with poor social adjustment or adulthood psychopathology.
Children usually develop the same kind of attachment to both parents. Attachment to the father is usually a function of play, and there is some evidence that fathers have closer relationships to sons than to daughters. Fathers also stay home more when they have sons.
Prolonged Separation
Children separated from the mother prior to three months of age show negative consequences ranging from little to none. Those separated at nine months exhibit moderate to extreme reactions including: feeding and sleeping problems, social withdrawal, increased stranger anxiety and either physical rejection or extreme attachment to the new mother. Early institutionalization has the most negative impact when separation of the mother and child occurs in the second half of the first year. In this case, the infant may develop anaclitic depression, a syndrome involving developmental delays, unresponsiveness and social withdrawal. Adverse effects are reduced if the child is given adequate attention and affection. In general, the longer the institutionalization, the greater the effects will be.
Stages of Prolonged Separation (Bowlby)
■ Protest: refuses to accept separation, demonstrated by crying, kicking and screaming
■ Despair: gives up all hope and withdraws
■ Detachment: seems less unhappy, accepts attention from others and may react with disinterest when visited by the caretaker
Psychoanalytic theory defines attachment in terms of the satisfaction of oral needs, while learning theorists add the aspect of reinforcement.
Harry Harlow's research with monkeys and their need for contact comfort played an important role in the early development of attachment theory.
John Bowlby's idea of critical periods explains the biological predisposition humans have that increases the likelihood of forming attachments. An infant is programmed to cry and smile, while adults are programmed to respond to the infant. During the first few months of the child's life, such attachments are indiscriminant. After six or seven months, the attachments become increasingly directed to caregivers. Signs of attachment include a selective social smile beginning at six months and the emergence of stranger anxiety and separation anxiety.
■ Stranger anxiety - Very anxious and fearful of strangers at six months. Typically disappears by age two.
■ Separation anxiety - Severe distress when separated from primary caregiver beginning at six to eight months. Peaks in intensity at 14-18 months, continues until about age two, then diminishes.
Patterns of Attachment (Ainsworth: "The strange situation")
■ Secure Attachment: A securely attached infant is mildly upset by the mother's absence and actively seeks contact with her when she returns. Mothers of securely attached children are emotionally sensitive and responsive.
■ Insecure (Anxious/Ambivalent) Attachment: The infant becomes very disturbed when left alone with a stranger but is ambivalent to mother's return and may resist her attempts at physical contact. Mothers of these children are often moody and inconsistent in their caretaking.
■ Insecure (Anxious/Avoidant) Attachment: The child shows little distress when the mother leaves and ignores her when she returns. Mothers of these children are impatient and unresponsive or provide their children with too much stimulation.
■ Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment: Fear of their caretakers, confused facial expressions and a variety of other disorganized attachment behaviors mark these children. Eighty percent of infants who have been mistreated by their caregivers exhibit this pattern.
Early attachment seems to effect subsequent development. By ages four to five, children who were securely attached as infants are usually more curious, more popular with peers and less dependent on adults. As adults, they have high self-esteem and a strong sense of personal identity, although it does not appear that insecure attachment in infancy is necessarily linked with poor social adjustment or adulthood psychopathology.
Children usually develop the same kind of attachment to both parents. Attachment to the father is usually a function of play, and there is some evidence that fathers have closer relationships to sons than to daughters. Fathers also stay home more when they have sons.
Prolonged Separation
Children separated from the mother prior to three months of age show negative consequences ranging from little to none. Those separated at nine months exhibit moderate to extreme reactions including: feeding and sleeping problems, social withdrawal, increased stranger anxiety and either physical rejection or extreme attachment to the new mother. Early institutionalization has the most negative impact when separation of the mother and child occurs in the second half of the first year. In this case, the infant may develop anaclitic depression, a syndrome involving developmental delays, unresponsiveness and social withdrawal. Adverse effects are reduced if the child is given adequate attention and affection. In general, the longer the institutionalization, the greater the effects will be.
Stages of Prolonged Separation (Bowlby)
■ Protest: refuses to accept separation, demonstrated by crying, kicking and screaming
■ Despair: gives up all hope and withdraws
■ Detachment: seems less unhappy, accepts attention from others and may react with disinterest when visited by the caretaker
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