1. CHAPTER 14 ATTACHMENT

2. Attachment
A deep and enduring connection established between a child and caregiver in the first several years of life.
Central to human life

3. Attachment Theory How are these central relationships formed? Touch
Eye Contact
Smile and Positive Affect
Need Fulfillment

4. Context in Which Attachment Theory was Developed
John Bowlby
WWII child evacuations
No connection-meeting physical and emotional needs
Not forming new attachments
Children-not playing

5. Influences on Bowlby’s Theory
Disagreed with traditional psychoanalytic theory
Adopted an evolutionary perspective (Darwin)

6. Others in Attachment History
David Levy
Loretta Bender
Harry Bakwin
Rene Spitz
James Robertson- stages of emotional reaction to loss/separation
Harry Harlow

7. The wire and cloth surrogate “mothers” used in Harlow’s research
The wire and cloth surrogate “mothers” used in Harlow’s research. This infant monkey has formed an attachment to the cloth mother that provides “contact comfort,” even though it must stretch to the wire mother in order to feed.

8. Key ideas of Attachment Theory
Attachment is a biologically based need separate from other such needs
Attachment need and exploratory behavior have a reciprocal relationship
Each person forms a mental representation of the early attachment experience
Self-awareness as autonomous person facilitated by attachment

9. How Do We Observe Children’s Attachment?
Mary Ainsworth
Uganda and Baltimore
Strange Situation
Attachment Classifications

10. How Do Secure Attachments Form
Parenting Dimensions:
Acceptance
Cooperation
Sensitivity
Availability

12. Consequences for later Development
Self-esteem
Independence/autonomy
Resilience
Impulse control
Long-term friendships
Relationships with authority figures (including parents)
Prosocial coping skills
Trust, intimacy and affection
Positive belief systems
Empathy, compassion, and conscience
Behavioral performance and academic success
Promote secure attachment with own children

13. Cultural Variations
In U.S., one-third (middle class families) insecurely attached
Percentage higher in high-risk families
Results consistent in all cultures
Universal and culture-specific aspects of attachment
German replication: avoidant attachment
Israeli kibbutzim: ambivalent attachment

14. Romantic Attachment Adult Attachment Interview (Mary Main)
Secure- balance attachment/autonomy
Preoccupied- abandonment, anxiety/anger
Dismissing- compulsively self-reliant
Fearful- self-doubt, lack of strategies

16. In the study by Simpson er al, (2007) relationship quality at each step in development affected relationship quality at the next step.