Chapter 6
If an infant cries when separated from her/his caregiver, what attachment style does this represent?
A child's cry when separated from her/his caregiver is not a helpful indicator of any type of attachment style. Some infants cry at separation, while others do not. The entire pattern of response to the Strange Situation is critical not any one response.
List and describe the five key temperamental traits that developmental psychologists have identified (Thompson & Goodvin, 2005).
Activity level- infants tendency to either move often/vigorously or remain passive/immobile. Approach/positive emotionality- tendency to move toward rather than away from new people, things, or objects (accompanied by positive emotions). Inhibition- tendency to respond with fear or withdrawal to new people, situations, or new objects Negative emotionality- tendency to respond to respond to frustrating circumstances with anger, fussing, loudness or irritability. Effortful control/task persistence- ability to stay focused, to manage attention and effort.
When do infants develop a sense of "self"? How do researchers think they know? What else happens at this time?
At the same time that the baby is creating an internal model of attachment and expressing her own unique temperament. Freud has said that before a child creates a sense of "self," they need to develop a sense of separateness from her mother; Piaget says that understanding of object permanence is a precursor to development of self. Subjective (existential) self- an infants awareness that she or he is a separate person who endures through time and space and can act on the environment; occurs at about 2-3 months of life. Objective (categorical) self- a toddler's understanding that he or she is defined by various categories such as gender or qualities such as shyness; occurs starting 9-12 months.
Do attachment styles remain the same over time? Describe the situations in which they may or may not remain the same.
Attachment styles may be consistent or changeable In situations where the child's family environment or life circumstances are consistent, security or insecurity is also consistent, even for several years. When a child's environment significantly changes (parent divorce or family moves), the security of attachment may change as well, either from secure to insecure or the reverse. Studies show that those (age 1 to 21) who have definitely shown a change in attachment classification have experienced a major upheaval, such as death of a parent, physical or sexual abuse, or serious illness.
Describe gender differences in temperament that researchers have found.
Boys are more emotionally intense and less fearful than girls. Girls are more generally sociable. Adults and parents may interpret certain types of behavior depending on gender = bias.
What are characteristics of "high quality" child care centers?
Characteristics include a low teacher/ child ratio, a small group size (maximum 6-8 per group appears best), a clean, colorful space, adapted to child play, a daily plan, sensitive caregivers, and knowledgeable caregivers.
If you have an inhibited four-year-old child, does controlling the child more or less seem to have a better outcome for her/him by the age of seven?
Controlling the child less may have a better outcome for him/her by the age of seven (acceptance of the child's shyness = better outcome).
What maternal characteristics seem to predict secure attachment?
Emotional availability- being able to and willing to form an emotional attachment to caregiver. Contingent responsiveness- being sensitive to a child's cues and responding appropriately.
How did Erikson's view of the first year of life build upon Freud's? What did Erikson term it?
Erikson believed that in addition to nursing and weaning (Freud), talking and comforting the child was just as important to a child in terms of social development. Erikson called the period until age 1 the "trust vs. mistrust stage".
Compared to mothers, how do fathers tend to interact with their infants?
Fathers tend to play with the baby more and are more physically roughhousing.
Which matters more for the development of an attachment relationship, contact after birth or synchrony?
For the development of an attachment relationship, synchrony matters more. For example, the father also has similar behaviors toward the child as does the mother right after birth. However, in the weeks to come, the father tends to become more physically roughhousing.
In Japan, what is a secure attachment history related to in preschool?
In Japan, physically "clingy" behavior is correlated to good adjustment at preschool age and secure attachment.
Describe the study by Harlow & Zimmerman (1959). Does it support Freud's or Erikson's views more?
In the Harlow & Zimmerman study, there were two "surrogate" monkey mothers placed in a cage. One had monkey wrapped around her while the other had soft terrycloth covering her. The study showed that the baby monkeys only went to the wire monkey when they were hungry. Most of the other time, they stayed closed to the monkey with the soft terrycloth wrapped around her. Even at times when the baby monkeys were stressed or frightened, they went to the monkey with the cloth wrapped around her. This study supported Erikson's views more. Babies do not develop social relationships simply on the basis of being nurtured or weaned.
Why might the Strange Situation not be appropriate to assess Japanese caregivers and infants?
May not be appropriate to assess Japanese caregivers and infants because Japanese infants are rarely separated from their mother in the first year of life, so being alone may result in more intense, inconsolable crying and hence a classification of ambivalent attachment.
How do older mothers compare to adolescent mothers in their sensitivity?
Older mothers are less likely to consider their babies as "difficult." Older mothers display more sensitive caregiving behaviors.
Throughout development, when do parents and children have the most physical closeness?
Parents and children have the most physical closeness from birth to age 1.
Describe the study on parent perceptions of temperament in infants based on the infants' gender (i.e., Condry & Condry, 1976).
Parents were shown a videotape of an infants behavior; parents that were told that the infant was a girl interpreted the behavior as "fear," while parents that were told that the infant is a boy interpreted the behavior as "anger."
Describe Bowlby's four phases of establishing attachment including when they occur.
Phase 1: Non-focused orienting and signaling: birth to 3 months; behaviors such as crying, smiling, and eye-contact are directed to get attention of others and are symbols that signal their needs; such symbols are directed to everyone with whom they come into contact. Phase 2: Focus on one or more figures: 3 to 6 months; direct their signals to people they spend the most time with and are unresponsive to unfamiliar people. Phase 3: Secure base behavior: 6-24 months; true attachment; "proximity-seeking" behaviors such as following and clinging to caregivers ("safe-bases"), especially when frightened or have physical needs (hunger); only signal such behaviors to others when primary caregiver for some reason is not available. Phase 4: Internal mode: 24 months & beyond; imagine anticipated actions that will affect bond with caregivers; important in later relationship with early caregivers and other significant relationships in life.
Describe the four attachment styles.
Secure attachment: a pattern of attachment in which an infant readily separates from the parent, seeks proximity when stressed, and uses the parent as a safe base for exploration. Child clearly prefers mother to stranger. Insecure/avoidant attachment: a pattern of attachment in which an infant avoids contact with the parent and shows no preference for the parent over other people. Insecure/ambivalent attachment: a pattern of attachment in which the infant shows little exploratory behavior, is greatly upset when separated from the mother, and is not reassured from the mother, and is not reassured by her return or efforts to comfort him or her. May show anger toward mother and resists contact & comfort from stranger. Insecure/disorganized attachment- a pattern of attachment in which an infant seems confused or apprehensive and shows contradictory behavior, such as moving toward the mother while looking away from her.
Describe social referencing.
Social referencing is an infant's use of others' facial expressions as a guide to his or her own emotions. Starts to occur at about 10 months.
Once a clear primary attachment appears in Phase 3, what else also appears? For how long?
Stranger anxiety- expressions of discomfort, such as clinging to the mother, in the presence of strangers. Separation anxiety- expression's of discomfort, such as crying, when separated from an attachment figure. Both of these types of anxieties last primarily from 12-16 months and then decline.
What is synchrony? What are some examples of how infants and parents establish synchrony?
Synchrony is a mutual, inter-locking pattern of attachment behaviors shared by a parent and child. Example- a baby cries or smiles to signal needs, and responds when being held or snuggled, looking at his parents in this process. The mother in turn enters into the interaction of her own range of caregiving patterns.
What is temperament?
Temperament is predispositions, such as activity level, that are present at birth and form the foundations of personality.
Describe the "internal models" that John Bowlby says infants and young children develop.
The 'internal models" that infants and young children develop include confidence (or lack of) that the attachment figure will be available or reliable, expectation of rebuff or affection, and a sense of assurance as to whether or not the attachment figure is a safe base for exploration. Begin to late in child's first year of life and becomes better established after 4 or 5 years.
In Jerome Kagan's longitudinal study of inhibition, what did he find about 4 month olds who exhibited high levels of crying and motor activity in response to novelty?
The 4 month olds who exhibited high levels of crying and motor activity in response to novelty were still classified as highly inhibited at age 8, and ¾ of those that rated as uninhibited remained in the same category.
Describe the community arrangement of the Efe foragers of Zaire and how this impacts attachment relationships.
The Efe live in in camps, in small groups of 20 individuals, usually brothers and their wives, in the forests of Zaire. Infants in these communities are cared by all adult women and interact regularly with different adults. They may even be nursed by women other than the mother, but typically sleep with the mother. Efe infants seem to use any adult in their group as a safe base, suggesting they have no single central attachment. However, beginning at 6 months, infants insist on being with their mother over other women. This leads to the conclusion that even in extremely communal rearing attachment, some sign of central attachment is evident, though less dominant.
Describe the Strange Situation and what its purpose is.
The Strange Situation is a series of 8 episodes played out in a laboratory setting, typically with children between 12-18 months of age. The child's social interactions and generalizations about attachment were made based on their reactions in the following situations: with the mother, with the mother and a stranger, alone with the stranger, completely alone for a few minutes, reunited with the mother, alone again, with the stranger again, and reunited with the mother. Attachment of 3 types, even a 4th type, was noticed amongst the children, especially when reunited with mother.
In all countries studied, what attachment style is most common? Second most?
The attachment style that is most common is secure attachment. Insecure avoidant is the second most common.
What is attachment theory? What scientific perspective does this come from?
The attachment theory is the view that infants are biologically predisposed to form emotional bonds with caregivers and that the characteristics of those bonds shape later social and personality development. This theory comes from the ethological perspective (dealing with evolution and biology).
What are the effects of high quality child care on children's cognitive development?
The effects are: significant and lasting gains in IQ and later school performance, especially for children coming from impoverished environments Findings are mixed with respect to middle-class children Some middle-class white children who entered child care before age 1 had lower vocabulary scores than those who entered child care after age 1
How does an infant sometimes react when her/his mother is depressed? What seems to cause this?
The infant will express more negative and fewer positive emotions; some resist their mother's effort to nurse them. A higher proportion of infants of depressed mothers are undernourished. All this interferes with synchrony & predispose the infant to develop an insecure attachment; these infants are at higher risk for later problems, such as heightened aggression or social withdrawal in school; they are also at a higher risk of developing psychiatric illness.
What are the effects of early child care on social development? Why might these effects occur?
There is a heightened risk of insecure attachment for infants who entered child care before age 1. Because there is a lack of proper attention given to the child when they especially need it; lack of fulfillment of needs can lead to aggression and disobedience.