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Choose one picture and tell me what do you think the lesson is about.
• Write, individually, a paragraph about the picture that you chose.
• Why did you choose it?
• What do you think it is about?
Attachment.
• In pairs, try to think of a definition of attachment, write it down.
Attachment
Babies are born into the world completely dependent on his/her
caregiver they cannot feed themselves or escape from danger. Bowlby
said that behaviours such as smiling, babbling, grasping, and crying are
genetically based social signals. These signals encourage parents to
care for and interact with their baby, so that the infant will be fed,
protected from danger, and provided with the affection necessary for
healthy growth.
Attachment is a two way bond. Attachment involves two people, (for
example a parent and a baby) who have an emotional link between
each other, which ties them together. It also takes longer to develop
than a bond.
How can we see that two people have an
attachment to each other?
Seeking proximity: the two people who have an attachment
want to be near to each other and spend time together. A
young baby will try to maintain proximity to the caregiver by
watching them carefully, an howling when they go too far
away. An older, more mobile baby will simply crawl after their
attachment figure.
Distress of separation: the young infant will show distress
when the caregiver leaves even for a short period of time.
The older child may miss their parents and feel homesick on a
school trip.
• Joy on reunion: the baby will welcome back their attachment figure
often by clinging to them and hugging them even when they have
only been gone for five minutes.
• General orientation of behavior towards the other person: both
baby and caregiver direct their attention to each other and try to
engage each other in activities and interaction.
Can you relate to theses behaviours? Do you think
adolescents and adults can form new
attachments?
How do human babies develop attachments?
Ethologist, including Konrad Lorenz, (1935) studied animals and how they form attachments soon after birth.
New born orphan animals form attachment to any animal that happens to be present and to follow as if it were
the real mother. He called Imprinting to the tendency to form an attachment to the first large moving object. For
Lorenz, this must happen during the critical period, that’s 32 hours after birth.
Unlike the ducklings, humans are not mobile when they have just born.
They have a long period of immaturity and only begin to crawl at about
eight months of age. Therefore, formation of an early protective bond
from adult (and particularly mother) to a baby would promote the
survival of the infant by ensuring that the mother stayed close to them
in order to protect them.
• Key concepts:
• Internal working Model is a template for future relationships
• Sensitive period is the first 3 years of life
• Monotropy a single attachment to one person who is most important
to the baby.
During the following weeks we will study attachment.
Why do you think it is important?
http://youtu.be/kZfPsLi8Pfk
What would happen if there’s a disruption of attachment?
Mary Ainsworth and the strange situation
paradigm
• Mary Ainsworth was a US psychologist who operationalized Bowlby’s
concept of attachment so that it could be tested empirically. The
strange situation paradigm is still widely used in research on
attachment including cross-culturally.
• Ainsworth (1970)
• This study looked at individual differences in attachment. In
Ainsworth’s “Strange Situation”, infants aged one year to 18 months
were observed though video cameras in a purposed-built laboratory
playroom with their mothers. The room contained two comfortable
chairs and a play area with a set of toys suitable for young children.
The procedure in Ainsworth’s research consisted of a series of
situations, which were standardized for all the babies who took part.
1. Mother and infant enter the room. Mother sits in one of the chairs and reads a
magazine. Child is placed on the floor and free to explore toys.
2. After about three minutes, a stranger enters, sit on the other chair and talks
briefly to the mother.
3. The stranger approaches the infant an attempts to interact and play with them.
4. Mother leas the room so the infant is alone with the stranger. The stranger
comforts the infant if she of he is upset and offers to play
5. After around three minutes, mother returns an the stranger leaves.
6. Three minutes later mother departs again leaving the baby briefly alone in the
room.
7. The stranger re-enters the room and offers to comfort and play with the baby.
8. Mother returns and the stranger leaves.
• Using this procedure, Ainsworth was able to monitor the infant’s
behavior in a variety of situations including the departure of the
mother to assess separation anxiety, and the introduction of a
stranger to measure stranger anxiety. She also examined the baby’s
behavior towards the mother in a strange environment to asses
whether or not the baby used her a safe base to explore the room.
• From her study, Ainsworth identified three broad types of attachment
behaviour shown in the infants.
Attachment type
Behaviour patterns
Secure infants
(type B attachment)
These babies used their mother as a safe base and
were happy to explore the room when she was
present. They showed distress by crying when she left,
an welcomed her back on her return, setting back
down to play fairly quickly. They were wary of the
stranger and treated them very differently to their
mother. 70% of the babies fell into this category.
Insecure-avoidant attachment
(type A)
These babies did not orient their behaviour towards
their mother in the same way. They showed some
distress at her departure but did not seek comfort
from her when she returned. They also rejected the
stranger’s attempts to comfort them. The relationship
of these babies involved keeping a distance avoiding
closeness. 15% of babies fell into this category.
Insecure-ambivalent attachment
(type C)
These babies were very upset at separation but were
not easily comforted when the mother returned.