Lecture 8.docx

Lecture 8 Attachment an emotional bond with a specific person that is enduring across space and time Behaviourist view of attachment pleasure derived from food is the basis of the mother-infant bond Food is the unconditioned stimulus Mother is the conditioned stimulus (linked to the food)...

Lecture 8 Attachment an emotional bond with a specific person that is enduring across space and time Behaviourist view of attachment pleasure derived from food is the basis of the mother-infant bond Food is the unconditioned stimulus Mother is the conditioned stimulus (linked to the food) Setup: Harry Harlow and monkey surrogates tested whether pleasure of food (behaviourist prediction) or comfort is most important to infant monkeys Separated monkeys from their mothers and offered them 2 "surrogate mothers" Wire 'mother': with food Cloth 'mother': without food Results: harry harlow and monkey surrogates monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth mother Evidence that infants needed the comfort provided by the cloth mother Flew in the face of the behaviourist tradition - which expected that monkeys would always go to the mom that was a source of food John Bowlby psychoanalyst who studied intense emotion distress of children who were orphaned during wwii. 2 John bowlby recognized that Distress is due to separation from parents and having emotional needs met Behaviours observed (clinging, crying, searching) are adaptive responses to separation from an attachment figure Bowlby's attachment theory Children are biologically predisposed to develop attachment to caregivers as a means of increasing chances of survival Development and quality of child's attachments are highly dependent on their experiences with caregivers Bowlby: distress from a threat or separation from caregiver motivates children to... seek proximity to a caregiver Attachment system is only activation when infant is separated from caregiver or when there's a threat Otherwise the attachment system is inactive 4 features of the attachment system 1. Proximity maintenance and seeking 2. Separation distress 3. Safe haven 4. Secure base Safe haven caregiver provides comfort and sense of safety when child feels distressed Caregiver helps manage arousal through co-regulation Once proximity and reassurance have been achieved, attachment system deactivates Secure base caregiver provides child with sense of security from which they can explore the environment Cannot explore the environment if attachment system is activated (if there's a threat/there's separation from the parent) Mary Ainsworth provided empirical evidence of attachment Developed the strange situation procedure Strange situation procedure designed by Mary Ainsworth Designed to systematically assess children's attachment to a specific caregiver Events of the strange situation (1-8) 1. Child and caregiver are shown unfamiliar room with toys no attachment behaviour is assessed at this stage 2. Child and caregiver are left alone in the room assess exploration and caregiver as a secure base 3. Stranger enters, tries to interact with child assess reaction to stranger 4. Caregiver leaves child alone with stranger, stranger allows child to play/offers comfort assess separation distress and reaction to stranger's comforting 5. Caregiver returns and stranger leaves, caregiver allows child to play/offers comfort assess reaction to reunion 6. Caregiver leaves again assess separation distress 7. Stranger enters, stranger allows child to play/offers comfort assess soothing by stranger 8. Caregiver returns assess reaction to reunion What parts of the strange situation are most important in assessing attachment? the reactions to reunion (the two times when the caregiver returns) Reactions to the strange situation has led to 4... attachment styles 4 attachment styles 1. Secure 2. Insecure/avoidant 3. Insecure/resistant (anxious) 4. Insecure/disorganized Secure attachment style percentage 60% Insecure/avoidant attachment style percentage 15% Insecure/resistant (anxious) attachment style percentage 10% Insecure/disorganized attachment style percentage 15% Secure: child's behaviour in strange situation uses parent as secure base - explored room and played while parent was present Upset at separation Seeks parent at reunion and is easily soothed by them Insecure/avoidant: child's behaviour in strange situation readily separates to explore. Not at all hesitant, very independent Avoids/ignores the parent when they return after separation Doesn't prefer the parent to the stranger Insecure/resistant (anxious): child's behaviour in strange situation doesn't separate to explore - clingy Wary of the stranger even when the parent is present Extremely upset at separation Not soothed by the parent, resists parent's attempts to soothe Insecure/disorganized: child's behaviour in strange situation often freezes and dissociates Behaviour is confused, contradictory, unpredictable Seem to want to approach caregiver but see them as a source of fear 4 points: legacy of the strange situation 1. Attachment styles have been replicated in several studies 2. Attachment styles are universal with approximately the same frequencies 3. Remains standard measure of children's attachment style 4. Attachment styles in strange situation strongly correlate with attachment behaviour at home Determinants of attachment style 1. Parenting 2. Genetics Correlation between parental _____________/_________ and child's attachment style sensitivity/support Behaviour of parents' of securely attached children generally supportive/sensitive reactions to child Affectionate Expresses frequent positive emotions towards child Initiate frequent close contact with the child From parent's behaviour, securely attached children learn that... proximity seeking is a good strategy to soothe distress Behaviour of parents' of avoidantly attached children consistently insensitive to the child's signals Avoid close contact/reject child's bids for contact May be angry or impatient From parent's behaviour, avoidantly attached children learn that... proximity seeking isn't a good strategy to soothe distress Learn to deactivate their attachment system/resist urge to seek proximity when distressed What do avoidantly attached children do in response to distress? rely on self-soothing Cope with distress by hiding it Or avoiding situations that elicit distress But they have biological signs of stress when separated from caregiver (ie. Heart rate) Behaviour of parents' of resistantly attached children inconsistent, unpredictable, awkward Sometimes are supportive/sensitive in reacting to child's distress Sometimes are not Seem overwhelmed by caregiving From parent's behaviour, resistantly attached children learn that... proximity is sometimes a good strategy to soothe distress Attachment system goes into overdrive -hypervigilant, trying to judge reaction Looking for threat Resistantly attached children learn to cope with distress by... heightening it Because if you're distressed and your needs aren't being met, you amp it up to see if this higher intensity will get you the attention you need Why aren't resistantly attached children soothed when the parent returns? because of the inconsistency in the caregiving, it takes them a lot longer to be soothed (also because their attachment system is hyper activated) 3 points: hyperactivity of attachment system of resistantly attached children 1. Hypervigilance to threat 2. Excessive proximity-seeking of caregiver when distressed 3. Cope with distress by heightening it crying louder, throwing tantrum, clinging Behaviour of parents' of children with disorganized attachment confuses or frightens the child May be harsh or abusive Often struggle with severe mental health issues From parent's behaviour, children with disorganized attachment learn that... 1. Proximity seeking often results in feeling scared 2. Caregiver is extremely unpredictable, cannot be trusted Impossible conflict for kids: they're scared, which biologically motivates them to seek parent but the source of the fear is the parent, so they're also motivated to move away from them Genetics and attachment style (temperament) no evidence that specific genes are related to attachment styles But there's evidence for differential susceptibility some kids are more environmentally sensitive on a temperament level, which makes them more sensitive to parenting style Study setup: ukrainian preschoolers, genetic differential susceptibility examined relationship between: 1. Attachment style 2. Caregiving environment (raised in orphanage or with family) 3. Variations in serotonin transporter gene s allele vs l allele S allele versus l allele variations of serotonin transporter gene S allele is associated with greater reactivity to stress Biological marker of greater sensitivity to environment Study results: ukrainian preschoolers, genetic differential susceptibility children with at least one s allele (versus 2 l alleles) had: 1. More attachment disorganization if raised in orphanage 2. But less attachment disorganization if raised with family Study implications: ukrainian preschoolers, genetic differential susceptibility suggests that genes related to environmental sensitivity and parenting work together to affect vulnerability to insecure attachment So negative home environment is made worse by s allele And positive one is made better by l allele It's not just parental reactions that affect attachment style What are some benefits of secure attachment? securely attached children... More emotionally expressive (in appropriate ways) Experience more positive emotion Are less anxious and depressed Less likely to have behavioural problems (aggression and delinquency) Closer relationships with peers later in childhood Show more empathy and helping behaviour Are generally more socially competent Do better in school Have more positive romantic experiences in adolescence and adulthood How many secure attachments is enough? one Having at least one secure attachment seems to buffer against the negative effects of insecure attachment Evidence that one secure attachment is enough children with insecure attachment to both parents had more behaviour problems than children with insecure attachment to just one parent Internal working models mental representations of the self, of attachment figures, and of relationships in general How are internal working models constructed? as a result of experiences with caregivers Once internal working models are constructed... 1. They act as a filter through which interactions with caregiver and other attachment figures are interpreted 2. Guide expectations about relationships throughout life 3. Guide child's behaviour in interactions Model of others: modulates answer to what question can others be relief on for support? Model of self: modulates answer to what question? am i worthy of love? Secure model of others/self positive x positive Expect relationships to be rewarding Comfortable with closeness Feel worthy of love Resistant/anxious model of others/self positive x negative Strong need for closeness But worried about rejection because believe they are "not good enough" Avoidant model of others/self positive x negative Disinterested in closeness and intimacy Very self-reliant Disorganized model of others/self negative x negative Distrustful of others But also sees self as deserving of rejection Attachment style that is positive on both model dimensions Secure Attachment style that is positive on one model dimension and negative on the other avoidant and resistant/anxious Attachment style that is negative on both model dimensions Disorganized Attachment summary 1. According to bowlby, attachment = biologically based and rooted in evolution 2. Using the strange situation, children can be classified into 4 attachment styles: secure, avoidant, resistant/anxious, disorganized 3. Attachment styles are primarily shaped by experiences with caregivers 4. But, research also shows that children are differentially susceptible to negative parenting 5. Attachment style has profound impact on children's social and emotional development 6. Quality of children's attachments shape their internal working models which guide their expectations and behaviours in relationships throughout their lives Study setup: early child care and youth development (SECCYD) longitudinal study conducted across 10 cities in the us Examined the effects of daycare on attachment 1364 children, studied from birth to adolescence What did the seccyd study measure? childcare setup and quality Children's attachment to mother, using strange situation Quality of mother's interactions with children Children's social behaviour and cognitive development Study results: SECCYD attending childcare had no effect on attachment security 15 month olds in childcare were just as likely to be securely attached to their mothers as children not in childcare Aspects of childcare only had an effect on attachment security if child experienced "risks" at home Seccyd: what was the strongest predictor of children's attachment security? maternal sensitivity Seccyd: when did childcare have an effect on attachment security only had an effect if child experienced "risks" at home Low maternal sensitivity + poor quality childcare = less secure Low maternal sensitivity + high quality childcare = more secure High maternal sensitivity - didn't matter if the childcare quality was high or low, were secure in either case Implications of seccyd study 1. Childcare doesn't undermine parent-child attachment security 2. Childcare can compensate for negative parenting experiences at home by promoting attachment security