Emotional
Development
Why do infants become
attached to their caregivers?
• Behaviorists: drive reduction model
– hunger
 basic drive
– food
 primary reinforcer
– “food provider”  secondary reinforcer
The activity of feeding is central to
the development of infant’s
attachment to mother.
Harry Harlow
Is it true that baby becomes
attached to mom because
mom feeds her?
Baby Rhesus monkeys were raised in
isolation with:
 wire substitute mother
 cloth substitute mother
John Bowlby
ethological theory of
attachment
Ethological Theory of
Attachment
Inherited propensity to seek and maintain
proximity to caregiver, especially in
stressful situations.
What for? To ensure survival.
• Attachment
• Dependency
• Attachment
• Bonding
Klauss & Kennell, 1976
Sensitive Period for Bonding
ATTACHMENT
•
•
•
•
enduring emotional bond
seek and maintain proximity
to specific person
under stress
Development of Attachment
• Pre-attachment Phase
(birth - 6 weeks)
– Signaling behaviors
– Indiscriminate and automatic
– No true attachment
Development of Attachment
• Attachment-in-the-Making Phase
(6 weeks-6/8 months)
– Baby responds differently to
familiar people than to strangers.
– Does not yet protest when separated
from caregiver.
Development of Attachment
• Clear-Cut Attachment Phase
(starting @ 6-8 months)
– Clear attachment to a particular person
– Separation anxiety
– Attachment system is resistant to “reprogramming”
Development of Attachment
• Reciprocal Relationship Phase (starting at 18 mos)
– Representational ability
– Language ability
– Less need to maintain proximity
– Protest declines
All babies form attachments.
All attachments are not the same!
Mary Ainsworth
The Strange Situation
Strange Situation
Episode 1
experimenter introduces parent & baby to playroom and leaves
Episode 2
parent is seated while baby plays
Episode 3
stranger enters, is seated, and talks to parent
Episode 4
parent leaves room. Stranger responds to child
Episode 5
parent returns, greets baby. Stranger leaves
Episode 6
parent leaves
Episode 7
stranger enters room; offers comfort
Episode 8
parent returns, greets baby, tries to reinterest baby in toys
Secure Attachment
• Plays while mom is present
• Upset when mom leaves
• Not easily comforted by stranger
• Calms down when mom returns
Anxious-Avoidant Attachment
• Indifferent when mom is present and when
mom leaves
• Easily comforted by a stranger
• Slow to greet mom
Are they just independent children?
Anxious-Resistant Attachment
• Anxious and clingy when mom is present
• Upset when mom leaves
• Not easily comforted by a stranger
• Angry and rejecting when mom returns
Disorganized Attachment
• Contradictory behaviors at reunion
• Combination of avoidant and resistant behaviors
Parenting Side of Attachment
• Secure attachment
– Parent responds to infant promptly and sensitively
• Anxious-avoidant attachment
– Parent is ignoring and/or rejecting
• Anxious-resistant attachment
– Not extremely rejecting or accepting of child
– Parent responds contingent upon own needs, not child’s
needs!
Parenting Side of Attachment
• Disorganized
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–
–
–
–
Uninvolved, withdrawn
Low emotional signaling
Victims of maltreatment and abuse
Early loss of attachment figure
And/or severe depression
Working Models
An internal image of the attachment figure
An internal image of the self
Working models
• Early relationships become incorporated
• They become a set of expectations that
are applied to new relationships
Stability of Attachment
• Attachment is stable
• Separations can affect attachment
• Changes in life circumstances can positively or
negatively affect the attachment relationship
Attachment Hierarchies
• Monotrophy Hypothesis
– Infants have a strong genetic bias to focus most of
their attachment behavior on one person (i.e.,
primary caregiver)
Attachment Hierarchies
• Secondary Attachment serves as a buffer if:
– The primary attachment is absent
– The primary attachment is insecure
Attachment & Later Development
• Secure attachment
– various social advantages (more persistent, cooperative,
sociable, seek help when needed, rated as better friends)
• Anxious-avoidant attachment
– less trusting of others, more negative self-worth, less likely
to seek help when needed
• Anxious-resistant attachment
– less persistent, enthusiastic & compliant; express more
anger and frustration; more likely to be exploited by peers
• Disorganized attachment
– some evidence suggests they are at risk for showing
hostile/aggressive behavior problems at age five
Early attachment affects child’s
basic trust
openness
Are the various outcomes of
attachment due to
early attachment relationship
continuity of sensitive care
Quality of Attachment
• BOWLBY
infant mother interaction
• KAGAN
child’s inborn temperament
Temperament
– Easy child (40%): quickly establishes regular routines,
generally cheerful, adapts easily to new experiences.
– Slow-to-warm-up (15%): inactive, low-key reactions to new
experiences and environmental stimuli, somewhat negative
in mood, slowly adjusts to new experiences.
– Difficult (10%): child has irregular daily routines, slow to
accept new experiences, tends to react negatively and
intensely.
– 35% are not clearly classified by any single category.
Jerome Kagan:
Inhibited temperament
Uninhibited temperament
Attachment styles reflect different temperaments, not
different types of mother-infant interactions
But …
1) Different attachments to different caregivers
2) Life circumstances can affect the quality of
attachment
Daycare and Attachment
• The majority of babies in daycare become
securely attached to their primary caregivers.
• Extensive daycare (> 20 hrs/week), starting
during the first year, is associated with
increased avoidance.
Is the Strange Situation a valid
assessment of attachment for children
that normally attend daycare?
Most experts agree that child care per se
is not a risk factor in children’s lives.
BUT, the quality of child care is critical!
Daycare Quality
• Stability of relationship with caregiver
• Training (not just experience) of caregivers
• Ratio of caregivers to children
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1: 3-4 infants
1: 4-6 2-year-olds
1: 7-8 3-year-olds
1: 8-9 4-year-olds
1: 8-10 5-year-olds