Chapter 6 (pg 213-221)

What is the problem of CNM w/ relationship theories?

- 1 : % US ppl engaged in one at some point, and up to 5% of relationshipped ppl report current involvement in one - probs for theories assuming that ppl are designed to seek exclusivity - violates assumption, but theoretical orientation on exclusivity potentially stigmatizes CNM relationships and research

What are the implications of socialization-selection asymmetries for understanding dev, continuity, adn change?

- 1, attachment styles are open to revision, it may be hard to mod them. Changing relationship specific attachment patterns in established relationships may be more challenging than altering them at the beginning 2. attachment styles might be more susceptible to infl in childhood. So, it might be diff to ID strong predictors of adult attachment in early exp - once infl are consolidated, they create enduring pattern that manifests in adult outcomes

List the three simple approaches that work to modify the feelings of insecurity?

- 1. Deepening self affirmation 2. Adopting partner's perspective 3. Elaborating on a compliment 4. Increasing psychological and physical closeness

What are the two lessons learned from the modification of insecurity research?

- 1. Simple activities can weaken influence of insecure attachment on relationships - we may need to be reminded to implement them regularly, but they don't need complex skills or a professional 2. activities - whether they reaffirm deeply held values, go outside our familiar frame of reference, offer a sincere compliment, or inject positivity and closeness in our partnership - involve steps all of us could do routinely, regardless of secure/insecure feelings - regular use of small, ordinary acts can modify even stable and ingrained self-perceptions

Describe how changing attachment styles/ASEM expl why assoc btw caregiving relationships and attachment styles aren't strong?

- ASEM = attachment security enhancement model - distinguishes between triggers for insecurity and explains how relationship partners bugger these - insecurities rooted in attachment anxiety are mitigated when partners use safe strategies, or help deescalate neg emotions - to mitigate neg consequences of avoidance, the use of soft strategies is needed - these won't address deep seated insecurities though!

What is the ASEM and what are the two situations it describes?

- ASEM = attachment security enhancement model - it differentiates btw two sits that can trigger insecurity. 1. ppl exp insecurity when they perceive their partners are inaccessible, unresponsive to needs, or lack commitment 2, can be triggered when ppl perceive threats to autonomy and independence, ie., partner is too controlling or impinging on personal space

Describe Ainsworth's personal influences over her work

- Ainsworth born in 1913 as one of three daughters - her mom tended more to physical needs than emotional needs. father was more atuned to need for affection, but he was away from home a lot of time - her personal hsitory influenced her to understand how to have secure attachments

Describe Ainswoth's research on childhood attachment and how it first come about?

- Ainsworth, after gradding U of T, was a research assistant w/ Bowlby in London - Bowlby's hypotheses about childhood attachment were similar to Ainsworth's previous work - she developed the 'strange situation test', a series of separations and reunions w/ the child's attachment figure to assess the security of attachment

Describe how attachment theory is a strong, stable theory in psychology?

- Bethany Saltman - describes her struggles w/ recurring self doubts, ambivalent parental relationships, and boyf , and uncertainties she experiences as parent - her concern is that the insecurities she has may adversely and indirectly influence how she relates to her daughter and hubby - she turns to attachment theory to come to terms w/ these issues = attachment theory has been a point in discourse on relationships, personal dev, psychotherapy, and parenting - it has shaped how numerous ppl like bethany make sense of selves and relationships, and inspired studies in dev psyc, animal behaviour, personality and social psyc, neuroscience, clinical science - it has become leading theoretical framework to broadly understand interpersonal functioning, relationships, and personality dev in social and personality psyc, ways in which security priming infl relational processes, or the intersection of attachment, sex, and caregiving

Describe how the signals being exchanged by Kim and Carol kept both partners engaged and is evidence of a more secure relationship?

- Carol is secure, she signalled her needs clearly, expected Kim to address these needs, and she made good use of his partners efforts to help - Kim is also secure, as he showed interest, expressed willingness to help, and displayed sensitivity to her distress Carol says her day wasn't great right away, and then described exactly what her problems are. then, Kim could ask how she was thinking about solving it. Carol then said what was available to her, and said she knows she will survive, but she has a few long nights ahead, and says she's really tired Kim supports her saying that she will survive bc she always does, and then tries to offer a solution Carol agrees with his solution and checked, and then Kim offers a nice dinner in

Describe the recent evol approach to understanding the function of insecure attachment?

- EIn Dor - social defence theory! - two assumptions: humans are not well equipped to deal w/ certain threats. Part of what makes us successful in evol is that we are intelligent and function well in social groups - 2. to understand why insecure attachment strategies are adaptive, we have to think about group - level processes, not individual level ones. - modern version of group level selection theory!

Describe how socialization-selection asymmetries expl why assoc btw caregiving relationships and attachment styles aren't strong?

- Fraley and Roisman proposed that socialization processes are more dominat early in life span or in history of a relationship - as ppl mature, person driven processes play more dom role in interactions, so ppl seek out contexts congruent w/ existing working models

Describe the research shift in the 1980s from infant-caregiver relationships to adult psyc functioning and attachment?

- Hazan and Shaver - argued romantic love is manifestation of attachment system - observed parallels between infant-parent attachments and romantic relationships; desire to be in phys proximity w/ each other; seeking the other when distressed, scared, or ill; using other as secure base to explore the world - argued that attachment behavioral system doesn't become dormant, but is co-opted to facilitate pair bonding in adult relationships - also proposed the diff Ainsworth observed parallel differences in the ways adults think about and approach rom relationships

Describe how altering insecurity can be done through deepening self-affirmation

- ID a value that is important and meaningful to you - can be personal (being loyal, or honest), social (volunteering or helping someone), religious (believing in God), academic (working hard or being goal directed) or anything else sig - explain why you picked that value, and take time to write about how it has affected your life, and why it's a key part of your self image

What is the evolutionary function of insecure attachment?

- Main and Weston argued that avoidant strategies are adaptive if the child is constantly rebuffed for childish forms of emotional expression - child may learn effective strategy to maintain proximity to caregiver is to deactivate typical attachment actions, not express them - Belsky drew on evol perspective, like life history theory, to argue attachment patterns are part of a broader biosocial dev pattern - Survival and reproduction in environments characterized by unpredictability and lack of resources favour organisms that invest early - this dev requires trade off btw manifesting in growth vs in maturation - sparse resources and harsh rearing conditions sees selection favour organisms that mature early and reproduce rapidly - when resources are plentiful and threats are few, selection favors those that mature later and invest more heavily in offspring - suggest that unresponsibe caregiving enviros facilitate avoidant attachments and this consequence is part of a large swath of effects that involve early sexual maturation and adoption of reproductive strategies that prioritize quantity over quality - adults w/ avoidant styles are more likely to favour short term mating strategies - scholars recognize that attachment and mating strategies are dev through common processes

desc research on CNM through attachment persp?

- Moors - assoc btw attachment and attitudes twrd CNM. in adults who hadn't prev participated, those who were more avoidant were more likely to favour CNM relaitonshpips. Suggests CNM relationships may be more comon among those who are insecure, but a second study comparing individuals involved in CNM w/ those who were not, those in CNM relationships were less avoidance

Describe the Social Defence Theory in detail?

- SDT argues potential costs of anxious attachment at the level of hte individual can be beneficial to groups that consist of anxious ppl - highly anxious ppl are vigilant to threats, more quickly detecing enviro dangers - comes w/ potential psyc cost, when threats are detected and comm'd to group, they facilitate group survival - this is a 'sentinel' strategy, and it benefits individual directly and indirectly - highly avoidant ppl are more self reliant. When faced w/ enviro danger, they focus on self protection: elim the threat, or ID an appropriate escape route - this is called 'rapid flight or fight response' which has potential to benefit self and others - core part of arg is that in heterogenous groups, costs avg out, so each strategy benefits group - groups that are more diverse w/ respect to attachment patterns of individuals are more likely to be resilient to enviro threats

Describe what it means to analyze a relationship based on relationship-situation interactions?

- a particular relationship in a particular situation - narrowest way to define attachment - you may be secure otherwise, but you are anxious with your mother at separation

Define relational catalyst support (Feeney)?

- a support figure who encourages embracement of life opportunities, pursuit of self defined goals, provides instrumenal assistance and encouragement to approach pos challenges, and affirm partners desires to grow in specific ways

Describe Ainsworth's methods of data collection

- ainsworth learned about controlled observation in rela life situatiosn w/ James robertson - parents were only allowed to see sick kids in hospital for 2 hours. He filmed these, and Ainsworth learned about power of filmed observation that could be shared w/ others - after distress in hospital, child seemed detached from parents - ainsworth found reaaction in her strange situation study

What did Collins and read argue in their disc of hierarchical nature of attachment?

- argued that, in addition to global attachment style, ppl dev reps that are specific to certain relational categories (parental relationships) and within category, even more specific relationships (ie., for a specific individual). Given hierarchical org, there should be some deg of coherence

Describe how Jeffry Simpson tested how different attachment styles behaved under stressful situations: experiment SET UP

- assessed attachment styles of both partners in 83 heterosexual dating couples - each woman was told they'd be exposed to a situation and a set of experimental procedures that arouse considerable distress and anxiety in most normal individuals - showed her a small, dark chamber with lots of equipment that looked like an isolation chamber - she was then escorted to a waiting room where her partner was seated, and then videotaped secretly for 5 min - couple was told that due to equipment malfunction, the experiment could not proceed - all couples were then told true nature of experiment, and then granted permission for use of video tape

What are some challenges for the thriving in relationship model?

- assumption that support through adversity may have beneficial cons for thriving above and beyond a buffer - data sugg ppl who exp adversity are worse for it. couples who struggle to make ends meet report lower relationship functioning and wellbeing - for SOS component of model to be correct, buffering efect of partner must attenuate neg impact of adversity AND make peroson better off to exp it - strong interpretation of model is prediction that adversity x SOS support leads to better outcomes than support in absence of adversity - another challenge is showing that the gains (as some ppl really do transform adversity into pos) are due to adversity and not person's trajectory of growth and that change is due to relational support, not other mechanisms - model is still promising, as it brings tog safe haven and secure base components of attachment theory

Why did Main and Winston call avoidant attachment a "secondary strategy?"

- attachment avoidance = secondary strategy, which emphasizes idea that this pattern emerges as a response to specific enviro contingencies and overrides initial impulse to seek contact and protection from attachment figures

Describe how attachment style differences also are magnified in stressful situations

- attachment behaviour is not always activated; it becomes active when a person is challenged, or proximity/access to the caregiver is threatened - attachment theory predicts that in these times, people naturally signal the need for comfort and make steps to maintain or restore felt security and closeness with the attachment figure

Define attachment theory according to Fraley's article?

- attachment theory attempts to expl close emo bonds people develop w/ sig others in their lives (esp parents and romantic partners) and how those bonds shape human experience across life course - themes: secure relationships provide foundation for psyc well being - when relationships are insecure or characterized by uncertainty, this leads to self doubts and interpersonal outcoms making it difficult to function as effective parent or partner

Describe the empirical support for SDT?

- behaviour of adult groups working a room prog filled w/ nontoxic smoke were observed - groups higher in attachment anxiety were faster to notice the smoke, groups higher in avoidance were faster to escape - they also created sitch where participants believed they had accidentally installed virus on computer and had to notify dept techs - anxious individuals did so faster than less anxious ppl

Describe how this is a misconception: 1. Insecurity of attachment is pathological or abnormal

- being insecurely attached is actually part of a normal range of attachment behaviour - insecure attachment is assoc w/ a varying range of difficulties in adulthood (anxiety, depression, BPD), but TEMPERAMENT is what mediates those associations - those w/ bio dispositions to -ie., - be highly sensitive to anxiety are more likely to be insecurely attached - doesn't mean insecure attachment produces the issue

What are the challenges to understanding CN<?

- big individual diff in motives to enter CNM - some may enter bc they are avoidant, and don't want to depend on others or get close. having multi relationship partners = possible to have sex or relational needs met, but not have to invest too much into one person - some CNM may be reflections of short term mating strategies! YA research suggests avoidant ppl are more likely to endorse low commitment sex - other people may enter CNM bc they want to explore or embrace emo and phys connections with others. polyamorous ppl may do so bc they love more than one person -- recognizing this and pursuing it may require strong security - learn more about motivations and how they might mediate assoc btw attachment and CNM/monogamous relationships

What is the response to separations (separation protest)?

- calls for mom when she leaves, starts crying for mom, very visible upset, crying for her mom hard - insecure baby: when mother leaves, baby cries, follows her to the door - insecure baby (ambivalent): when mom leaves, also cries

Describe how this is a misconception: 2. attachment security is a function of caregiving quality

- caregiving quality is associated with child's security, but other associations play a role - temperament: kids that are more sensitive in their temperament are more at risk for certain forms of insecurity - child-caregiver match: child temperament, caregiver style or quality, and the combo of the two are not always a match (hello mom and marissa)

Describe how this is a misconception: security or insecurity is a natural characteristic of the child, and not the result of interaction w/ the caregiver

- children are very different and come with their own personalities and temperaments - security is not something WITHIN the child though! EVIDENCE - no consistency across relationships! children show different attachments to diff caregivers. they might be secure with their mom and insecure with their father or vice versa. Since they are not the same w/ all their caregivers, attachments aren't just about the child - also not consistent over time! there is reasonable relationship consistency over short periods of time -> but, over time the consistency goes down (so relationship (in) security may change

Describe how people with different attachment styles behave differently in their intimate relationships?

- children rated with secure attachment styles in infancy have more secure friendships at age 16 - by their 20s, they report feeling more positive emotions in their relationships, and feel less negative ones when communicating with their partner - direct observations of couples discussing a disagreement (topics that caused distress and threatened the relationship) show that more secure attachment style individuals approach their relationship problems with greater warmth, compassion, and less hostility - secure people are also report a stronger inclination to talk openly w/ partner after the partner did something that potentially threatened the relationship, and are less likely to think about breaking up with them - individuals identified as fearful show the opposite pattern, closing off contact and being more inclined to jump to conclusions about ending their relationships

How does the response to separation show attachment security quality?

- children will vary in how upset they are when a parent leaves them in an unusual situation - some kids show stronger separation protests than others - variation may be temperament, how the child is feeling, and how often they are in situations like this one - so, kid's response to separation isn't highly important in terms of quality of attachment

What is CNM?(A)

- consensual nonmonogamy - relationship arrangement where all partners involved agree to have more than one rom or sex relationship at the same time - many forms: polyamory (relationship where focus is on rom and sex involvement w/ more than one person), open relationship(focus is on having more than one sex partner) and swinging (focus is on sexual relations engaged in as a couple)

What are the limitations of work on age-related shifts in attachment?

- cross sectional work may conflate cohort effects w/ dev ones - cultural forces specific to certain cohorts may push for certain attachment patterns - ie., Konrah: dismissing avoidant is more prevalent in those born in recent decades - designs allowing for cohort variation and longitudinal variation are necessary to separate cohort and dev processes - many expl are due to age related diff in social roles and life contexts, we need to examine these factors and security

What were the results of Jeffry Simpson's stressful lab experiment [dark chamber, told it was cancelled after 5 min wait period]?

- detailed coding of videos showed that secure and insecure women differed dramatically in reactions - as secure women became more anxious, they turned to their partner for comfort and reassurance, confident that their concerns would get that support and compassionate response - avoidant women, as their anxiety and fear increased, did not necessarily turn to their partner, and and they were less likely than secure women to even tell them about the stressful event that was impending - men's behaviour was also affected by their attachment styles! - secure men gave more compassion, support, and reassurance as their partners anxiety increased, while support and reassurance from the avoidant men dropped off as their partner showed more distress - when confronted with the same stressful situation, secure individuals reached out to their partners when needing support and comfort, while avoidant individuals retreated, because they had learned from earlier caregivers that little comfort is gaiend from people close to them

Describe the time course of development of attachment bonds ina dulthood?

- dev is a gradual process - hazan/Zeifman propose that typical rom relaitonship become attachment bond after 2 years - others suggest it is common for young adults in early stage relationships to use rom partners for secure base and safe haven functions - Hefferman found approx 50% of respondents who had been dating for 3 montsh reported using partner as secure base

Describe Bowlby's development of attachment theory according to Fraley's article?

- dev it to expl intense distress exp by kids separated from primary caregivers - infants would go to lengths to prevent separation from parents - prevailing theories explained reactions as resulting from lack of adequate care by surrogates or removal of prim food source - became inadequate - kids sep by parents were distressed despite having adequate care from nurses, and Harlow's contact comfort suggested love was greater than strategy to satisfy hunger - to expl these emo responses, Bowlby drew upon ethology, cog science, and control systems theory - proposed infants are born w/ attachment behavioural system - argued it is adaptive for human infants, who are born w/o ability to feed, defend, or care for themselves - now, attachment theory is a leading framework to understand interpersonal functioning, relationships, well being, and personality dev in social and personality psyc

Describe Ainsworth's professional influences

- earned B and M and pHD at U of T - after years of success teaching and service in Cdn Women's Army Corps, she married Glen Ainsworth - he completed PhD in London - there, she began a partnership w/ Bowlby, who questioned basic premises of psychoanalytic theory - theory didn't explain problems he saw in children he studied who were separated from parents due to wars - what is the nature of attachment tie that is disrupted? - he didn't love behaviourism, and he met Ainsowrth, and then heard of Konrad Lorenz, the ethology mans! - attachment = need to keep offspring alive and protected. human infants cannot survive w/o protective adult; we are programmed to seek phys proximity w/ caregiver, parents are programmed to provide it - creates emotional ties btw human infants and parents - ainsworth looked at infants and mothers in natural and experimental conditions

Describe Feeney and Collin's SOS role?

- expands trad way we think of social support, which focus on stress buggering in adversity, not thriving or growth through it - ppl turn to support figures for strength, comfort, and assistance - extent to which figure can provide resources, the support seeker is likely to cope successfully and may thrive

Describe hte research on whether mean levels of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance change over time (A)?

- focuses on cross sectional comparisons Chopik: examined attachment anxiety and avoidance variance in ppl from 18 - 70. Used a measure focusing on general rom relationships, found anxiety is lower in older adults, and avoidance was higher in older adults - ppl less anxious when they trans from early adult to late adulthood - Hudson: assessed attachment globally and specific relationships - adults more anxious in relationships w/ parents cross time, less anxious w/ rom partners through time

How can deep insecurities be revised with the ASEM? (article)

- fostering secure model of self enhances security among those who are highly anxious - secure model of others enhances security among avoidant ppl - fostering self confidence cause anxious ppl to feel self worth and exp autonomy, reducing insecure dependence ofn others - pos assoc w/ dependence - fund during intimacy, unanticipated rewards when receiving or giving support - may cause ppl who are highly avoidant to diminish distrust and need for distancing

Describe Van Gogh's letter and how this shows insecure attachment?

- he lashes out at others when he doesn't get the sympathy he desires - he is protecting his very fragile self image here, becoming so consuming that it interferes w/ his ability to stay connected to close others, and it undermines his relationships - calls himself melancholic and irritable, but yearning for sympathy - hates company, finds it difficult and painful, bust says almost all of it comes from nervousness - he is sensitive, had to spend nights out of doors, anxious about money, tension bc he has no job, sorrow w/ friends and family, - he fights against it though, but it doesn't alter his temperament - angry people won't take his good side into consideration too

Describe the pros of having a fearful attachment style?

- helps regulate anxiety: if you pull back and don't put yourself into the anxiety inducing situation, you'll feel less anxious - generally non-offensive and non-defensive. people don't run away from these people, and they often are liked, since their style is one of sitting back and not being expressive. this attachment doesn't put people off as much as a preoccupied style can - may encourage caregiving in other people! when people seem vulnerable, that attracts people who want to come along and look after them. Caregivers are attracted to fearfully attached people!

How does the quality of play prior to separation show attachment security quality?

- if child is contented in unfamiliar situation with the parent close by, this shows degree of secure base - children do differ in how shy they are, and how they adjust to new situations, so quality of play prior to separation isn't a great indicator

Describe how altering insecurity can be done through adopting your partner's perspective?

- imagine a typical day in the life of your partner - pretend you are them, looking at the world through their eyes, and describe what it is like to walk a mile in their shoes (from their POV!)

Describe Ainsworth's Ugandan study?

- in 1954, she accompanied her hubby to Uganda - she did a research project. Ugandan babies were separated from mamas for weaning - abrupt weaning wasn't customary, but obs of interaction showed insight and dev of infant-mom attachments - Kat Kubuka helped her obs 28 infants and mothers as they went about normal days - honed skills for meticulous notes, and felt that obs and describing behaviour naturally is crucial to psyc

Describe the outcomes of someone w/ secure attachment

- in terms of outcomes, persons w/ secure attachment do better individually and socially - they do not all have perfect relationships, nor does that mean they are in one. Being secure means they DON'T have a need to be in relationships all the time. - comfy not being in one if they don't come along - comfy leaving romantic relationships if they are not working

Describe how relationship history changes level of security?

- in the early stages of relationships, people often don't feel secure - but as you create more history together, security inc - events along the way can change this (cheating) - at the end, people often don't feel secure in relationship, bc of what has happened, and how it has declined over time

What can be done to reduce insecurity in attachments?

- insecure individuals feel reluctant to engage with their partner, hesitant to share their personal thoughts and feelings, and anxious in the belief that opening up may result in pain and rejection - at the same time, insecure people want to desperately feel loved and cared for - theorists reason that if the need to protect yourself is reduced, insecurities will subside, expressions of positive emotion will increase, and day-to-day exchanges with the partner are more open and enjoyable

Describe how interpretations of interpersonal events are different depending on internal working models?

- interpretations of those with secure attachments tend to minimize the impact of negative events, and interpretations made by insecure people tend to magnify these impacts - people with the most negative working models of selves and others - fearful - tend to have the most pessimistic interpretations of relationship events - people who keep tight control over their emotional state in order to deny the importance of intimacy - avoidant individuals - tend to express less emotional responses to relationship events, and actually report being less aware/ not feeling the physiological cues of anger, like raised heartbeat and muscle tension

Describe how assessing attachment style is dif than assessing the extent to which a person is used as an attachment figure

- issue doesn't exist w/ infant-caregiver relationships, bc infants are attached to parents and diff patterns are reflections of that attachemnt, not presence or absence of the bond - since attachment is needed to survive, a child can be attached to someone even if they aren't a reliable safe haven or secure base - if an adult though is uncertain about whether someone can be counted on for support, than that can be used in the processes underlying transfer of attachment related functions - attachment avoidance may reflect unwllingnes to use rom partner as an attachment figure, or absence of attachment bond

How do children vary in the quality of their attachments? What are the basics of child attachment quality

- it is normative for children and adults to form attachments, except in extreme circumstances - some children are highly proximity seeking, which means they want to be close to their attachment figure at all times, and others are less so - all children experience separation anxiety - esp at particular ages and in certain circumstances - but some may experience it more easily in less extreme circumstances than other people - safe havens are also part of it: the degree to which kids seek out and derive comfort from an attachment figure. this varies across children. Kids may or may not seek out comfort (partially proximity seeking) and may or may not derive comfort depending on caregivign quality of attachment figure - secure base: children differ in degree to which they use their attachment figure as a secure base for exploration

Describe how this is a misconception: attachment is all about infancy

- it is not the case that if you have an insecure attachment in infancy, you will have an insecure attachment style for the rest of your life - development can actually be thought of as a range of pathways - from the earliest to the youngest ages it's not just parenting, but siblings, health issues, school peers that can change our direction - things that happen in our lives can shift us one way or another

Describe the pros of insecure strategies?

- low maintenance and easy to deal with - it works! these people withdraw, but they feel good doing it. As such, attachment style is successful on a personal level

What are some pros of having the preoccupied style?

- may get their needs met often! since they keep trying and pursuing relationships with people, that can lead to success - they are rewarded when successful, when people respond how you want and are willing to get close, this can be very rewarding - it also supports seeking help. if a relationship isn't working, ppl w/ this style are more willing to get the help they need!

What is the quality of play prior to separation (secure base)?

- measured in one year olds - baby was cuddling mom quite tight - Edward study how childhood influences change our behaviour as an adult - having fun, very calm, - (value is established in studies that studied kids at on eyears old, and then validated by askign htem about relationships to parents at 21. confident that in the long run, there is significance) - kid is calm, following mom around, mom is explaining things and baby is listening. Seems to be exploring a bit insecure baby (avoidant): - baby plays, happy, insecure baby (ambivalent): playing like normal, all good

Define working model (A)

- mental rep that a person constructs concerning self worth and avail, responsiveness, and trustworthiness of close others

Define thriving through relationships?

- model of how partners facilitate thriving in response to adversity and through opportunities for growth

Define attachment security enhancement model (ASEM)

- model of how rom relationships can promote security in the short and long term

Describe what it means to analyze relationships in a situation-specific manner?

- more detailed; how attachment is in specific contexts/situations - bc of your history, you can be sensitive to certain types of situations - you may be secure otherwise, but based on some past experience, you can be anxious when separated

What are the core themes of attachment theory (A)?

- most emotionally powerful exp that we have derive from dev, maintenance, and disruption of attachment relationships - understanding ways those attachments form, function, and break down are key objectives of psyc

Describe the levels of analysis of attachment strategies?

- most of initial research in the relationship field talks about the 'general style,' or our tendency across relationships - so, attachment is something about you as a person, that you tend to act a certain way - we can recognize this tendency when we use words like attachment style, pattern, or orientation! - from general style, it narrows to class of relationship, relationship specific, situation specific, and relationship-situation interaction

Describe the earlier days of research into love and affection

- motivating nature of love and affection weren't always recognized, nor were these emotions viewed as beneficial to children's development - in first half of 20th century, behaviourism was dominant in academic psychology, stating that dispassionate objectivity and principles of learning was the best way to understand and change human behaviour - emotions = problems to be controlled, and proper ways to raise children was to shape behaviour by selecting rewards and punishment - nurturing children made them dependent, needy, and spoiled - John Watson (father of behaviourism) wanted to separate children from their parents and raise them according to scientific principles, and without genuine affection

Define thriving according to Feeney and Collins?

- multifaceted - hedonic well being (happiness), endaimonic well being (purpose in life), social well being (deep and meaningful connections), psyc and physical wellbeing

Describe how this is a misconception: Earlier experiences are the most important

- not true! the earlier the age, the easier it is to change these patterns - so, children adopted at a very young age quickly adjust - the more established a pattern is though, the harder it is to change. So, it is best to try and intervene at a young age (Hi Circle of Security!)

What makes some people secure in close relationships?

- one reason people maty be relatively secure is that they have exp a history of supportive, responsive relationships - assumptions are mostly eval through retrospective methods, which demo'd that secure adults ar emore likely than insecure ones to report having warm and supportive parents, and to come from more stable family enviros - a number of studies are now prospective - Fraley examined data from a large sample of parents and kids, beginning when the kids were 1 month old. at age 18 secure participants were more likely than insecure ones to have more supportive parenting over time, to come from fams characterized by stability, and have higher quality friendships in adolescence - a number of longitudinal studies report assoc between early caregiving and attachment styles, but these are not strong or consistent across measurements or operationalization - in Fraley's study, changes in caregiving enviros over time better predicted avoidant attachment at 18 than did quality of exp - in Chopik study, not a sig assoc between early maternal nurturance and adult attachment; sig assoc were between maternal nurturance and changes in avoidant attachment from 14-23

List the reasons why these associations between early caregiving and adult attachment styles are not strong?

- organizational perspective: early exp should be construed not as determinants of dev, but setting stage for optimal psyc functioning - Differentiation of attachment representations: attachment styles are not singular; they are differentiated and hierarchical, so when faced w/ experiences that diverge from expectations, ppl don't revise their mental reps of selves and others, but create new reps to accommodate distinctive exp. so, some adults hold insecure working models w/ parental relationships and secure ones w/ romantic partners - socialization selection asymmetries: there are asymmetries in plasticity over time. A) attachment styles are more stable in adult than adolescent samples, and b) attachment styles are more stable in established relationships - Changing attachment styles: attachment styles change over time! partners may effectively manage situations that cause momentary insecurities to make them less threatening, although this may not be enough to foster long term security. - age related shifts in attachment: there may be dev shifts in attachment styles over the life course. people maintain stability in rank order across time, even if levels of security change. people become less anxious ina attachment when they transition from early adulthood to late adulthood. Adults may feel more uncertain w/ parents once they leave home, inc anxiety. This is preserved as parents age and adult kids are concerned for well being. In romance, enduring nature of relationship is evidence of partner's availability and commitment. as relationships persist, attachment anxiety in the context of those relationships decline

Describe the outcomes of dismissing attachment?

- other styles of insecure attachment have poor adjustment, but on avg the dismissive person has good personal and social adjustment - not self critical, not prone to anxiety, depression, or problematic social relationships - where difficulties come is in close/intimate relationships: they cannot get close to others easily, and have too much distance in relationships

Describe the outcomes associated with preoccupied attachment?

- outcomes are relatively poor, and more interpersonal problems are assoc w/ it: - intrusiveness: needing to know everything about their partner - wanting to keep tabs on people all the time - demanding and dominating in relationships - overly disclosing - degree to which there are problems is due to being tooo engaged in relationships

Describe the research that examines what factors facilitate new attachment bonds in adolescence and adulthood?

- people are more likely to use rom partners as attachment figures as the relationship persists - ie,m relationships lasting for 2+ years are more likely to be full blown attachments - living w/ partner, being in a committed relationship, and having a supportive partner can facilitate the dev of an attachment bond - those who are secure are more likely to form attachment bonds with peers or partners- so, dev of attachment bonds in adulthood appears to be facilitated by having secure foundation to cultivate new relationships

Describe how relationships to caregivers contribute to your position on the anxiety - avoidance scales, and what effects these can have

- people raised by emotionally sensitive and responsive parents are low in anxiety and avoidance - once formed, these working models tend to be stable characteristics of how people approach relationships - without these types of parents, studies show that people high in anxiety and/or avoidance tend to struggle in relationships more than those low on these dimensions, leading to lower feelings of satisfaction, connectedness, and support

Describe the patterns of emotional and behavioural responses in child to adult attachment quality?

- people's proneness to separation anxiety is different: some people are quicker to experience it, and are more sensitive to it than others - ie., do you get anxious when someone close to you leaves the room, or do they have to be gone a long time before you notice - people vary in proneness to reactions like worry, jealousy, dependency etc. - there is also the tendency to seek out closeness when anxiety is activated: when you feel anxious, is inclination to protect yourself and pull back, or seek out closeness and support from others

Describe the outcomes of the fearful attachment

- poor, problems the opposite of a preoccupied attachment - shy, unassertive, and have difficulty expressing their feelings - people that are more fearful seem to be uninterested or arrogant, but they are feeling insecure and want to protect themselves

How does the thriving in relationships model account for findings in lit?

- ppl who receive responsive support during stressful lab task were more likely to show gains in pos mood - illustrate ways that relationship partners support thriving during stress - other research show partner's affirmation of one's ideal self assist in moving ppl closer to ideal self - partner's RC provision leads ppl to accept challenges that have pos later consequences for wellbeing

Describe the thriving through relationship model (A)

- proposed model to expl thriving draws upon attachment theory and integrates key themes in attachment w/ social support process es - thriving can take place in two contexts: 1. face of adversity. when ppl experience adversity. can overcome it and emerge stronger. May dev a better sense of purpose or confidence 2. result of setting goals; working towards goals and, more generally, taking advantage of challenges and opportunities for growth - key: assumes that relationships provide key resource for thriving in both of these - argue that trad way that researchers approach social support is by studying it in adversity (ie., safe havens, support, comfort, assistance) - argue relationships support thriving in adversity by buggering from neg stress effects, and helping ppl emerge stronger from it. Source of strength (SOS) support! - innovative feature: recog that attachment figures facilitate thriving in times of nonadversity - support figures encourage ppl to embrace life, pursue goals, provide assistance and encouragement to approach challenges, and affirm a partner's desire to grow (relational catalyst!) - this support through being like Bowlby's 'secure base' helps partner grow

What was the early hypothesis in child attachment research?

- quality or security of the attachment is influenced by the caregiving quality of our attachment figures - only partially supported

Define monogamous relationships?

- relationships in which one individual is focus of a person's attachment behaviour

Why is it that those who aren't CNM, but have fave attitudes, are relatively avoidant, but those IN CNM are secure?

- relative rates of security in CNM reflects sampling bias: those who are sought out to participate in rees might be htose who have found these arrangements rewarding - those in CNM being more secure than those in mono relationships suggests this may be it - given stigma, those who are relatively secure might be most comfy going against the norm - secure base instills confidence needed to explore identities and actualize self. those who are securely attache to parents or partners may be more secure in exploring other relationships, and embracing ties when rewarded and severing when not

Define attachment style?

- relatively stable pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that ppl exhibit in context of their relationships

What is the purpose of Fraley's article?

- review emerging themes and unresolved debates in social-psychological study of adult attachment - focuses on unresolved and controversial issues emerging in the past few years - highlights constructive areas for empirical study, theoretical debate, refinement, and innovation

Describe a practical example of the direct implication of the attachment theory

- say your partner doesn't respond when you want to cuddle, or doesn't say supportive things when you are sad - there are many ways to interpret these behaviours, and different interpretations take couples down diff emotional paths - intimate partners can "spin" the responses in a positive way that benefits the relationships (ie., she didn't say anything because she knows I can handle it, she is so considerate and makes me feel confident) - they can also spin it in a damaging way (she didn't comfort me bc she still holds a grudge when I didn't help her w/ the chem assignment, she is being vengeful) - a direct implication of the attachment theory is that the internal working models directly affect how we view interpersonal events!

does dev of new attachments replace existing ones?

- scholars have taken Bowlby's hierarchical metaphor to imply that only one person can be at the top - not clear though whether Bowlby meant to describe the way social relations work (one person is more important than the others0 or whether it is a hyp about the psyc dynamics governing formation of attachment bonds (psyc constraints built into attachment system that requires one person to be primary) - some suggest that when a person moves up in hierarchy, other people move down - in longitudinal study, as ppl used rom partners for attachment related functions, they were less likely to use their friends as attachment figures - other research sugg people use two or more sig others as attachment figures, suggesting singular, primary attachment figure is inaccurate

What are the four quadrants of the four quadrant model of the attachment prototypes?

- secure [secure] - preoccupied [ambivalent] - fearful [disorganized] - dismissing [avoidant]

Describe how differences in attachment style lead secure and insecure people to fulfill their needs in different ways?

- secure individuals will assess the situation confidently and cope well, whether that is by using others' offered support, or by handling the situation themselves - those prone to anxiety will compensate for their low confidence/lack of self confidence by overusing support, and may even be dissatisfied with it - people prone to avoidance will deny any support, adopting a defensive position and using distancing strategies to cope with their distress

Describe the studies on newlywed couples and how their attachment styles affect their relationships?

- secure partners are more likely than insecure partners to reach out and signal their needs clearly, expect that the other person will help meet those needs, and make good use of the partner's efforts to help - when on the receiving end of the signals, secure partners are more likely to show interest, express willingness to help, and display sensitivity to their partner's distress

What are the broad two types of attachment styles?

- secure: characterized by belief that self is worthy of love, and others are trustworthy and available for support - insecure: characterized by beliefs that the self is not worthy of love, that others are not trustworthy, or a combo of both beliefs

How did Hazan et al study how adults think about and approach romantic relationships?

- self report measure designed to tap adult versions of Ainsworth's attachment patterns - majority of adults were secure in rom relationships - secure adults were comfy opening up to others and depending on them, were not worried about long term prospects of relationships - insecure adults were uncomfy depending on partners or worried partners were not as responsible as needed - individual differences were repped in 2d space defined by anxiety and avoidance

Describe Ainsworth's Baltimore study

- she combined psyc assessment w/ instructor position at John Hopkins - her marriage failed and her work was given little recognition - despite this, she organized Uganda notes into her first book, and got academic appointment, and started Baltimore study - 26 middle class babies in home - 4 hour sessions were made at 3 week intervals from 3weeks to 54 weeks of age - in home, observer concentrated on interactions of mother and baby, incl maternal response to cry, episodes of close bodily contact, face to face encounters, separation and reunion behaviours, and infant cooperation or disobedience - father bends over, kisses baby, mom standing nearby, baby fusses, starts crying, starts a true cry, mom vocalizes as baby watches. 'mom goes to kitchen, baby takes rag and starts toward kitchen, gets distracted by toy - mom and I talk, baby wanders to kitchen - ea. visit resulted in 20 page report detailing behaviours of child and mother, marked in 5 min itnervals - shit ton of data - by carefully and repeatedly rvieiwng Ugandan studies, Ainsworth saw behaviours that made sense w/ Bowlby's attachment theory

Describe how the quality of the care-giver child bond contributes to the developing child's internal working model of attachment

- since ea. child-caregiver relationship is unique, each person's internal working model (aka attachment style) also will be - early relationships and the working models they create become the foundation of our personality as we develop into adulthood - attachment theory goes further to say that the working models that these early relationships cause, develop on two dimensions: anxiety and avoidance, which reflects our impressions of ourselves and of others

Define socialization selection asymettries?

- socialization processes dominate early, and selection processes dominate later

Describe a secure attachment style?

- sounds like this: 'it is easy for me to become emotionally close to others. I am comfy depending on them, and having them depend on me. I do not worry about being alone, or having others not accept me" - this is the most commonly observed pattern, avg 46% across non-clinical and clinical samples - low in anxiety and low in avoidance - self confident and comfy seeking support when threatened - when they talk about relationships, they are coherent, realistic, and able to balance independence and interdependence - they will be more likely to have reasonable to good fam backgrounds. does not mean they had perf childhoods or didn't have struggles w/ a parent, but their backgrounds tend to be easier from a caregiving standpoint

What are safe strategies?

- strategies that convey strong and intimate emo bond exists

Describe what the organizational perspective is, and why it expl why assoc btw caregiving relationships and attachment styles aren't strong?

- supportive caregiving exp might help kid build competence needed to be successful in other social relationships - these experiences then may help kid navigate transition to adulthood - organization persp encourages a focus on the contexts that allow ppl to maintain attachment styles and contexts that will change them - major departure from attachment research history, holding that early exp fully determine adult interpersonal functioning - Simpson et al. examine, for ex. ways in which social competence in adolescence predicts emo functioning in rom relationships - important life transitions also serve as contexts that can lead to discontinuities in attachment - recent moms who were anxiously attached are less likely to perceive hubbies as supportive, more susceptible to PPD

define the distinction between secure and avoidant attachment?

- the extent to which a person is comfy using another as a safe haven/secure base - avoidant people are uncomfy opening up and depending on others - to the extent a person is avoidant in rom relationship, they are unlikely to use htier partner as an attachment figure

Define attachment style/orientation/patterns from Fraley's article?

- the extent to which a person is secure or insecure in close relationships - those who are secure are more likely to: - comm effectively b) resolve interpersonal conflict appropriately c) recall and discuss painful experiences competently d) feel satisfied and committed e) reg emotions effectively f) lower susceptibility to psychopathology and poor phys health

Define attachment avoidance?

- the extent to which a person is uncomfy opening up to others or using them for attachment functions

What were the three key things Ainsworth pulled from her Ugandan study?

- then, she ID complex patterns their behaviours were organized 1. she could ID a # of important attachment behaviour 2. babies go through number of phases in developing attachments 3. some patterns of parenting lead to secure attachments, others lead insecure

Describe a developmental pathway (not romantic)

- there is a person with an insecure attachment style - the ideal would be a vertical trajectory - however, a tragedy occurs where his mother dies - this situation is hard for anyone, and the loss shifts the dude in a less secure direction - he may seek therapy or some other intervention to help shift him pack to being more secure - in contrast to other analytic theories suggesting that early dev determine later outcomes, we can see outcomes affect our attachment security at any age

Describe child to adult attachment quality?

- there is clear evidence that attachment strategies established in child-caregiver relationships are carried forward to adult relationships - we dev beliefs and expectations about ourself and others. These are our internal working model - we dev these ideas based on our past exp in childhood and carry them into our adult relationships

Describe how differentiation of attachment reps expl why assoc btw caregiving relationships and attachment styles aren't strong?

- they believe attachments are hierarchical! - ppl who are insecure are more likely than those who are secure to be insecure in specific relational contexts - there can be exceptions though - an adult can have insecure relationship w/ mom, but be secure in their marriage

Describe how altering insecurity can be done through elaborating on a compliment?

- think about a time partner said how much they liked something about you, like an important personal quality or ability, something you did that impressed a partner - explain why your partner admired you - describe in detail what it meant to you and its significance for your relationships

Describe what it means to consider relationship-specific attachment?

- this is your attachment style in a given relationship - it isn't in general, but specific. What is your attachment like with your best friend? What is the quality of attachment in that relationship - here, how your partner acts has as much impact as what you bring to relationship = the interaction of the two of you, and how you fit tog - like w/ the parent-child interaction, the two people in a relationship matter - if mismatched, a person will be more distant/preoccupied bc of partner - if more matched, they will maintain their orientation more

What are soft strategies?

- those that respect person's need for autonomy, make intimacy seem nonthreatening, and comm clearly why requests are normal or reasonable, minimizing demands/manipulation

Describe the different positions on the anxiety and avoidance scale that people land

- those who are low in anxiety and avoidance are considered securely attached - people who understand themselves to be low in self worth, and others to be unapproachable or not trustworthy are considered insecurely attached

Describe a romantic developmental pathway?

- trajectory can go in a positive, negative, or unchanged direction depending on how consistent the relationship is with the past - the further out in the trajectory, and the older you are, the harder it is to get back to the centre - if a child is young, even if they had a difficult trajectory, they can be shifted back much easier than an older person

What factors are linked to changes in attachment style in adulthood (article)

- transition to parenting - breakups - war related trauma - relationship conflict and support - meaning or construal of life events - stable vulnerability factors - therapy

In terms of a general style, what is attachment orientation defined by? Define each component

- two dimensions that underlie our working models, or expectations about close others: anxiety, and avoidance - anxiety (low to high) is tendency to experience angst over separation (fear of abandonment) - avoidance (low to high) is the tendency to avoid closeness or intimacy when experiencing attachment anxiety - these tendencies do not occur in general, but when under threat!!

Describe how Ainsworth and colleagues formalized idea that htere are individual differences in quality of primary caregiver attachments?

- used lab paradigm to study attachment in a standardized fashion - parents and kids are separated from and reunited with one another over a series of episodes made to gradually inc levels of stress - majority of kids are securely attached, so are visibly upset when separated from parents, and search for them. When reunited, they seek contact w/ parents and soothe easily - some children are avoidant, and may not express clear signals of distress on separation, and when reunited, avoid seeking phys contact - anxious resistant kids are distressed during separation, seek contact from caregiver when reunited, but are not easily soothed. are angry and resistant, despite efforts to seek comfort from caregivers - thought to be mental reps/working models that kids construct as function of caregiving experiences

Describe how altering insecurity can be done through increasing psyc and physical closeness?

- w/ partner, work together through a series of inc personal questions, and discuss responses to them (hello we were strangers) - if you were to die w/ no opportunity to comm w/ anyone, what would you regret not having told someone, and why haven't you said it yet - after these, engage in 30 min of gentle stretching and yoga tog

Describe how we have flexibility in our attachment strategies?

- we all have the potential to show any of these given strategies... except for dismissing strategy. this one requires another level of emotional reg that not everyone can do. But, we all have the potential to show multiple strategies! - this is a good thing - it would be problematic if we acted the same way regardless of the situation - if a person is always anxious or always secure, we can run into issues - should we realllly trust everyone?

What are some of the research questions the hierarchical model proposes?

- we don't know whether interpersonal exp in one domain impact attachment reps in that relational domain - we don't know whether changes across diff reps are coordinated - may be that, when one's attachment to a rom partner becomes more secure, one's attachment to others also is more secure - butttt.. changes could be indepednent or directional - so changes in one type of relationship predicts changes in thers, but not vice versa - diff attachment reps could differentially contribute to relationship functioning: Klohnen found general romantic partners and maternal attachment uniquely contributed to wellbeing! - rom relationshpi outocmes were only correlated w/ relationship sepcific reps

Describe what it means to think about attachment in terms of classes of relationships?

- what your attachment pattern, or tendency, is across friends, romantic partners, family, gender etc. - there may be certain kinds of relationships, based on experiences and history, in which you tend to have a different attachment approach

Describe how the way early relationships with caregivers cause our impressions of oUR SELVES to develop on the anxiety - avoidant scale?

- when caregivers are consistent and available to meet our needs, we develop a secure, assured, positive, and confident sense of self - when caregivers are inconsistent and unavailable to meet our needs, we feel anxious, inadequate, and unworthy of other's care and attention - this is encoded as something called the 'SELF RELEVANT ASPECT OF ANXIETY' in our internal working model

What is the child's behaviour during caregiver on reunion? (proximity seeking, use as safe haven)

- when mom returns back, she reaches for comfort - baby is calmed down by contact with the mother - she begins to start playing - when moom was out, only itnerested w/ mom not toys, now with mom, she is interested in toys again, and will be right back with them soon - cuddlier, much happier INSECURE BABY - when mom comes back in, baby puts hand to her face in a sad expression, and keeps her head down as her mom lifts her back up. arms go out when mom picks her up. When mom sits in the chair with baby, baby is still sullen, and is avoidant. he is not engaging her, and the reunion isn't effective. thing that upset him is the absence, but her return wasn't the solution. pattern that we see in babies who are not secure in using mom as a secure base INSECURE BABY: Ambivalent - when mom returns, she picks up her baby and he can't calm down, still upset, she offers a toy and he slaps it away. offers another, slaps it away. he is angry. Resistant/ambivalent because they want her back, but can't use contact. Difficulty is that when he sought comfort, she is inconsistent in whether she was available or not

Define exclusivity (A)

- when one is attached to anotehr, that person exp sense that attachment figure is irraplaceable - loss creates emo hole that cannot easily be filled by others

Describe how the way early relationships with caregivers cause our impressions OF OTHERS to develop on the anxiety - avoidant scale?

- when we aim to restore proximity with our caregiver and are welcomed with love and comfort we feel that others are safe, trustworthy, and that we are valued by them - punishment and rejection however, make us conclude that others are unreliable and untrustworthy, and it is best to avoid them - this is coded as our OTHER RELEVANT aspect of avoidance in our internal working model

How did Harry harlow, Bowlby, and Mary Salter Ainsworth change the earlier behaviourist views on attachment?

- work drew attention to the importance of child-caregiver attachments, and the enduring effects they have on how individuals saw themselves and others later in life - attachment theory provides us with an idea of individual differences, and how these differences come to affect partners in intimate relationships later on

List the misconceptions about childhood attachments?

1. Insecurity of attachment is pathological or abnormal 2. attachment security is a function of caregiving quality 3. Security or insecurity is a natural characteristic of the child, and not the result of interaction w/ the caregiver 4. Earlier experiences are the most important 5. Attachment is all about infancy

Describe the three evidences for how these adult tendencies are linked to our childhood?

1. parallel attachment strategies are found in childhood and adulthood. children do similar things to adults in attachment (but that doesn't mean the SAME kids are doing it as adults!) 2 Childhood experiences do predict adult relationships - associations aren't strong, but there is some evidence of this. buttt what happens in childhood doesn't predict w/ a high degree of confidence what ur adult relationships are gonna look like 3. Continuity from childhood to adulthood. When you assess attachment styles w/ the strange situation test at 12 - 18 months, and then look at attachment patterns over time (5, 10, and 21 years), there is a degree of predictability, but patterns are changeable - childhood attachment quality has clear relationship to adult attachment quality, these are not fixed or fated

Describe how the signals being exchanged by Kim and Carol kept both partners engaged and is evidence of an insecure relationship?

Carol is insecure - she is unable to clearly express her needs [same old, same old, just rants about the project], is not expecting her partner to help with those needs [there's nothing anybody can do], and doesn't make use of Kim's attempts at helping her [not unless you know how to do an Excel spreadsheet w/ about a zillion macros] - attachment theory provides important clues about how specific kinds of communication promotes or discourages successful relationships

What is the broaden-and-build framework?

Mikulincer and Shaver - suggested process of appraising attachment figures as avail and responsive initiates cascade of benefits that facilitate emo stability, eprsonal growth, satisfying close relationshpis

How do attachment related functions shift over the course of dev? What are attachment hierarchies and how should they be assessed?

Q1 as children develop, attachment related functions shift from parents to peers = adolescents still rely on parents as a secure base from which to explore the world, they seek proximity to peers and use them as safe havens - ain adulthood, ppl org attachment behaviour around peers, not parents Q2 - hierarchy of attachment figures is the idea that some attachment figures may be more important than others to serve attachment related functions - conceptual ordering of extent to which diff people serve attachment functions - hazan and Zeifman systematically studied how attachment related functions transfer. they used interview questions that tapped into diff attachment aspects and asked ppl of diff ages to nominate ppl who served these functions - other researchers also use self report versions - some scores in target specific manner, like counting number of items for which a person nommed a mom, dad, partner, friend. others use social network approaches where a person noms important pppl and then answers specific attachment related q's about them - bull's eye method: people locate position of important others relative to selves - asking ppl to rate extent to which diff attachment functions characterize relationship w/ specific people using rating scale methods - not clear whihc is optimal. may all converge meaningfully, making choice of which measure ot use less crucial - each approach provides diff information,a ffecting what q's can be addressed - if you want to know relative positioning of diff targets in attachment hierarhchy, cannot use ranking methods bc they impose ordered distinctions even when they don't exist

Describe the styles of each of the attachment styles!

SECURE - is coherent and realistic in discussing relationships - is capable of both intimacy (interdependence) and independence DISMISSING - low elaboration and introspection; defensive - values self reliance; downplays importance of close relationships PREOCCUPIED - emotional, elaborative, incoherent - preoccupation with close relationships; demands closeness, attention, and approval; jealous and possessive FEARFUL - unsure of self, non-defensive - self protective; avoids closeness

Describe dismissing attachment?

WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE: - I am comfortable without close emotional relationships. It is important to me to be independent and self-sufficient, and I prefer to not depend on others, or have them depend on me. STATS: - on avg, across non clinical and clinical samples, 34% of individuals have a dismissing attachment style ANXIETY-AVOIDANCE QUADRANT: - low anxiety, high self worth, and tend to withdraw, hence the high avoidance CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS: - often defensively say "I don't need to be that close to others, I like looking after things on my own and I don't want to be vulnerable in relationships' - since they feel good about themselves, they are okay with the distance FAMILY: - family backgrounds tend to be distant - not a lot of emo, and independence and self containment is important

Describe fearful attachment

WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE: - I am uncomfortable getting close to others. I want emotionally close relationships, but it is difficult to trust others completely, or depend on them. I worry that I will be hurt if I let myself become too close to others STATS: - on avg, across non clinical and clinical samples, 3- 5% of individuals have a fearful attachment style ANXIETY-AVOIDANCE QUADRANT: - high anxiety and high avoidance - instead of anxious, clinging, and demanding, fearfully attached people pull back and withdraw to protect themselves FAMILY: - family backgrounds tend to be difficult. The parent may not always have been nice, or attempts to find support were not always met, and they feel rejected when they tried to open up. thus, they would learn it is dangerous to open up and be vulnerable.

Describe pre-occupied attachment

WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE: - I want to be completely emotionally intimate with others, but I often find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. I am uncomfy being without close relationships, but I sometimes worry others don't value me as much as I value them STATS: - on avg, across non clinical and clinical samples, 20% of individuals have a preoccupied attachment style ANXIETY-AVOIDANCE QUADRANT: - high anxiety, low avoidance, more approach orientation/desiring closeness FAMILY: - family backgrounds tend to be very close but somewhat conflicted or enmeshed (mother is best friend) - this causes inconsistency w/ attachment figure: sometimes they are available, and sometimes they are not

Define attachment hierarchy?

a conceptual ordering of extent to which diff ppl (mom, partner) serve attachment functions

Define an attachment behaviour system?

a innate set of behaviours and reactions, shaped by evolution, that helps ensure a developing child's survival by keeping the child in close physical contact with the caregivers - system governs our capacity to form emotional bonds with others, motivates us to stay near our attachment figures, causes us to restore our connections with them when a relationship is threatened, or when we feel anxious, ill, or otherwise distressed. by re-establishing a connection, we will feel calmed, soothed, and supported - this is what the kissing, hugging, running back to hug behaviour at the airport accomplishes/is designed to achieve (if temporarily) as you manage the stress of partner separation

Define thriving through relationships

a model of how partners can facilitate thriving in response to adversity and through opportunities for growth

Define consensual nonmonogamy?

a relationship arrangement in which all partners agree to have more than one concurrent rom or sexual relationship

Define attachment theory?

a theory of intimate relationships proposing that the relationships formed in adulthood are shaped by the nature of the bonds formed with primary caregivers during infancy and early childhood - according to this view, attachment behaviour examples are everywhere: from day care centres (parents drop off and pick up kids), in cemeteries (families mourn their loss), in hospitals (patients want their nearest and dearest), and during crisis situations, when fam and friends conduct searches to locate missing loved ones

What, according to attachment theory, is our adult behaviour influenced by?

according to attachment theory, adult behavior is influenced by our expectations and motives regarding our close interpersonal relationships—our internal working models. These expectations have been shaped both by caregiver behavior in infancy and childhood and by interactions with close relationship partners in adulthood

Define attachment bond (A)

an enduring emo bond one person devs towards another, typically parent, close friend, or rom partner

Define internal working models

beliefs and expectations about our self and others beliefs about self and self esteem (people cannot be trusted, I am a lovable person)

Define attachment anxiety?

extent to which a person feels uncertain about availability and responsiveness of attachment figure

Is insecure attachment in infancy a cause of depression in adulthood?

insecure attachment in infancy =/= cause of depression in adulthood - when child learns he can trust mother to be responsive, he learns he can trust other people and can turn to them - also taught by mother to understand his emotions, construe events that happen to them, every bump in the road isn't a disaster. good for when you discover difficulties in life

How does the response of the children towards the caregiver when reunited show attachment security quality?

key : do they seek proximity, and are they able to use parent as a safe haven to be reassured - primary indicator of security is the ability to be soothed by the caregiver once reunited. this means the child effectively goes to the caregiver, gets the contact they need, and then settles down to go about their play - other behaviours like anger and resistance of the child, continuing to be upset, avoiding contact with the parent all point to insecurity

Define attachment figure (A)

person used as a safe haven during uncertainty and as a secure base from which to explore

How does the response to a stranger show attachment security quality?

the indicator is whether the child treats the stranger and parent similarly, which shows whether attachment figure is interchangeable, or if they are wary - again, not great indicator or important, bc children vary in their experience w/ strangers, which will influence their responses