Attachment Theory: Bowlby and Ainsworth Flashcards

Bowlby

• Early social attachment between an infant and caretaker is critical for normal development.
• Infants have an innate tendency to form attachments, primarily with their mothers.

Ainsworth

• Expanded on Bowlby's research, identifying variations in attachment security.
• Differences in attachment security impact personality and social relationships in infancy and later life.

Attachment Theory Basics

• Infants require a "secure base" from their primary caregiver to build trust.
• Secure attachments promote healthy development, while insecure attachments lead to difficulties.
• Attachment styles influence relationships throughout an individual's life journey.

Secure Base

• A responsive caregiver provides a safe environment for exploration.
• Appropriate caregiver responses result in confident exploration, while inadequate responses create insecurity.
• Typically, the caregiver is the child's mother or anyone meeting the infant's needs.

Strange Situation

• An experimental procedure designed to assess infants' attachment security.
• Involves eight three-minute episodes with the infant, parent, and researcher in a lab setting.

Secure Attachment

• Infants feel free to explore their environment with their parents present.
• Displays distress at separation but shows joy upon reunion with the parent.

Insecure Attachment

• Resistant Attachment: Clingy behavior, distress during separation, and anger during reunion.
• Avoidant Attachment: Lack of concern when the parent leaves and indifference upon return.

Securely Attached

• Belief that the caregiver provides consistent protection and support.
• While upset by separation, securely attached infants are generally happy and engaged when the caregiver is present.

Insecure-Avoidant

• Perception that the caregiver will not protect or provide support in stressful situations.
• Shows no protest when the caregiver departs and may favor strangers over the parent.

Insecure-Resistant

• Exhibits uncertainty about caregiver support during stress.
• Stays close to the parent and displays distress upon separation, with mixed behaviors during reunion.

Disorganized or Disoriented

• Lacks a consistent strategy for managing stress.
• Behaves in contradictory ways, often seen in cases of abuse or neglect.

Factors Influencing Attachment

• Caregiver Sensitivity: Secure attachments are less likely if infants are raised in orphanages or in environments lacking sensitivity.
• Family Stress: Exposure to verbal abuse impacts attachment security.
• Parental Psychopathology: Depressed parents often have poorer interactions with their children.
• Infant's Temperament: An irritable infant with unsupportive parents is more likely to develop insecure attachments.

Stability of Attachment Styles

• Securely attached infants from stable, middle-class families typically maintain their attachment style.
• Stressful life events can alter attachment styles, especially in dysfunctional families.

Attachment Theory Predictions

• The quality of early attachments predicts later development.
• Longitudinal studies link secure attachments in infancy to increased competence in later tasks.

Predictions for Attachment Style Impact

• Strong correlation between attachment style and effective social functioning.
• Affects sociability, self-esteem, academic performance, teenage behavior, and parenting attitudes.

Cultural Variations in Attachment Styles

• The four basic types of attachment are observed across different cultures, indicating universality in attachment behaviors.