PSY 213 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: American Middle Class, Harry Harlow, Active Child
Chapter 11 – Attachment to Others & Devel’ of Self PSY 213
MAR 12/18
Overview
- Caregiver-child attachment rel’ship
- Conceptions of self
- Ethnic identity
- Sexual ID or orientation
- Self-esteem
Themes
- Nature + nurture
- Active child
- Sociocultural context
- Individual differences
- Research + children’s welfare
Attachment Theory
Attachment
- Emotional bond w/a specific person that endures across space + time
Harry Harlow
- Experimental work w/monkeys who were deprived of all early social interactions
- Results strongly supported the view that healthy social + emotional devel’ is rooted in
children’s early social interactions w/adults
Bowlby: AT
- Influenced by ethological theory
- Theorized children are biologically predisposed to develop attachments with caregivers
as a means of increasing the chances of their own survival
- Posited a secure base (i.e., attachment figure's presence) provides young child sense of
security that makes environmental exploration possible
Bowbly: 4 Phases of Attachament
Preattachment Phase (birth – 6wks)
- Infant produces innate signals that bring others to his/her side + is comforted by the
interactions that follows
Attachment in the Making (6wks to 6-8mo)
- Infants begin to respond preferentially to familiar people
Clear-cut Attachment (6-8mo + 1.5yr)
- Infant actively seeking contact w/their regular caregivers + typically showing separation
protest or distress when the caregiver departs
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Chapter 11 – Attachment to Others & Devel’ of Self PSY 213
MAR 12/18
Reciprocal Rel’ships (from 1.5yr ot 2yrs on)
- Children taking an active role in devel’ working partnerships w/caregivers
- Child devel’ a mental representation of the self, of attachment figures, + of rel’ships in
general
- Internal working model guides children’s interactions w/caregivers + other people in
infancy + at older ages
Remember Internal working model of attachment
Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Procedure – see chart printout
Secure Attachment
- High-quality, relatively unambivalent relationship with his or her attachment figure; use
caregiver as a secure base for exploration (~60-67% of American middle class children)
- In the Strange Situation: may be upset when the caregiver leaves but may be happy to see
the caregiver return, recovering quickly from any distress.
Insecure/resistant (or ambivalent attachment)
- Clingy and stay close to caregiver rather than explore environment (~9-15% of American
middle class children).
- Strange Situation: tend to become very upset when caregiver leaves them alone; not
readily comforted by strangers; when caregiver returns they are not easily comforted and
both seek comfort and resist efforts by the caregiver to comfort them.
Insecure/avoidant Attachment
- Seem somewhat indifferent towards caregiver & may even avoid caregiver (~ 15-20% of
infants from middle class U.S. families).
- Strange Situation: seem indifferent toward caregiver before caregiver leaves & indifferent
or avoidant when the caregiver returns; if these children become upset when left alone,
they are as easily comforted by a stranger as by the caregiver.
Disorganized/disoriented Attachment
- Seem to have no consistent way of coping with the stress of the Strange Situation; their
behaviour is often confused or even contradictory, and they often appear dazed or
disoriented (~15% of American middle class children).
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Emotional bond w/a specific person that endures across space + time. Experimental work w/monkeys who were deprived of all early social interactions. Results strongly supported the view that healthy social + emotional devel" is rooted in children"s early social interactions w/adults. Theorized children are biologically predisposed to develop attachments with caregivers as a means of increasing the chances of their own survival. Posited a secure base (i. e. , attachment figure"s presence) provides young child sense of security that makes environmental exploration possible. Infant produces innate signals that bring others to his/her side + is comforted by the interactions that follows. Infants begin to respond preferentially to familiar people. Infant actively seeking contact w/their regular caregivers + typically showing separation protest or distress when the caregiver departs. Children taking an active role in devel" working partnerships w/caregivers. Child devel" a mental representation of the self, of attachment figures, + of rel"ships in general.
