Anger and Separation: John Bowlby
Separated kids are more aggressive
Doll play-acting:
Separated kids show 4 X more angry behavior
Sep. kids more likely to attack "parent dolls"
Upon return home, aggressive play ends
1907-1990
Functions of AngerAnger and Anxiety aroused in kids by same event:
Kids have implicit belief--when afraid, parent should be there.
Anger after separation is adaptive. Why?
Parental Separation
Overcome obstacles to ruinionDiscourages loved one from being away at critical times.
Anger can promote bonds * Parental anger at kid's dangerous action * Alpha Baboon and wandering troupe members
Dysunctions of Anger
When CAN anger be dysfunctional?
Weakens rather than reinforces bonds
When purpose shifts from bonding to revenge
When DOES anger be dysfunctional?
Repeated abandonment
Strange Situation, Mary Ainsworth
1. Mom and baby go into a room, baby plays and mom just sits there.
2. Stranger comes in and shares room with mom and baby.
3. Mom leaves, baby left with stranger
4. Mom returns, reunites with baby
How does baby respond to mom’s return?
Attachment Styles Identified Through Strange Situation
1. Securely Attached (65%): Upset when mom leaves, OK when mom returns.
2. Ambivalently Attached (15%): Wants reunion with mom, but also shows anger and resentment.
3. Avoidant (20%): Makes no attempt to reconnect with mom
Parental Behaviors Related to Attachment Style
1. Responsivity: Quick and consistent
2. General Maternal Sensitivity: interpret signals, respect autonomy, accepting manner, accessible, being tender.
3. Synchronization: Keeping in tune and in time with baby’s emotions and interests.
Attachment Styles and Emotional Range
Secures: Show full emotional range: Mom’s acknowledge all emotions
Ambivalents: Favor negative emotions: Mom’s selectively responsive to negative emotions.
Avoidants: Show little emotions of any kind: Learned that own emotions won’t get maternal response. But they are physiologically aroused.
Internal Working Models
Early attachment experiences shape expectancies that
shape adult personality.
1. Secures: Believe others can be trusted, form secure
bonds
2. Avoidants: Believe others won’t be there for them.
Less able to form secure bonds in adulthood.
Relation Between Attachment as Infant and Attachment as Adult
Strange Situation Result as Infant
Secure Ambivalent Avoidant 29 9 12
Attachment as Adult
Secure 20 3 2
Preoccupied (Ambiv.) 3 4 2
Dismissing (Avoid.) 6 2 8
Insecure Attachment Styles and Emotional Illness in AdulthoodPoor emotion management skills: Insecures overwhelmed by negative emotions. Parent didn’t respond to negative reactions—so small things became big things Didn’t teach kid how to translate feelings into thoughts and actions.
General Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Emotion management problems of Insecures contribute to GAD. GAD is excessive worry about everyday kinds of problems.
Panic attacks – molehills mountains avalanches
Social Phobia – fear of being with others.
Agoraphobia – fear of being in open places
Attachment and Emotional Management Skills
Emotion Management
a. Being able to identify own emotions
b. Being able to relate emotions to causes
c. “calibrate” emotions to situation
d. Regulate emotions.
Parents’ Role in Emotion Management
a. Parent steps in when emotions arise, calms situation.
b. Parental responsiveness stops minor emotions from going out of control.
c. Kid learns not to fear own emotions. FDR “we have nothing to fear but fear itself”.
d. Kid learns to control own emotions. Like learning to ride bike, and getting confidence in braking. No confidence, then even small downhill (neg. emotion) becomes terrifying.
Change in Responsiveness to Vocalizing vs. Crying
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
2-7 Months 8-16 Months 17-27 Months
Respond to vocal.Respond to crying
Responsivity and Social Competence: Which Model is Right?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
CO
MP
ET
EN
CE
Model B
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
CO
MP
ET
EN
CE
Model AX
Responsivity Responsivity
Teaching Kids How to Think About EmotionsMeta-cognition: How to think about thinking, or how to think about feeling.
Kids taught to think about feeling, and in managing feelings:
a. Less stressed
b. Less negative emotions in play with others
c. Better school achievement
d. Fewer behavior problems.
Anything Strange about Strange Situation?
Mom leaves kid. Kid acts unconcerned
Mom returns to kid. Kid still unconcerned
Attachment explanation?
Alternative explanation?
Insecure/avoidant: mom messed up
Kid was born that way, Temperament
Temperament
Aspects of behavior and emotion that are:
1. Constitutional (in-born, genetic)
2. Stable across time and situations
3. Neurophysiologically based
Temperament and EmotionsTemperament Aspect
Emotionality
Sociability
Impulsivity
Smiling/laughing
Fear
Bothered by limitations
Soothability
This Emotion
Fear, anger, distress
Pos. emotions to others
Time to express emotion
Happiness, pleasure
Fear
Anger
Recovery from neg. emot.
How Stable is Temperament?
In early infancy – Correl. 6 mos. To 9 mos.
Smiling, Laughter: r = .48
Fear: r = .37
Distress re. Limits (Anger): r = .51
Easy/Diff. At:
3 yrs 4 yrs 5 Yrs
Easy/difficult as an adult r = .31 r = .37 r =.15
Is Temperament Genetic?
How would this be tested?
With what kind of population? Twins
Monozygotic (MZ) Share all genes: identical
Dizygotic (DZ) Share half genes: Not identical
Results of Twin Studies and Temperament (Metheny, et al., 1981)
6 mos 2 yrs
MZ DZ MZ DZ
Hurt Feelings NA NA .37 .13
Tantrums .39 .26 .41 .15
Irritability .45 .29 .46 .28
Crying .62 .51 .59 .39
Temperament and Strange SituationTemperament may explain Strange Situation
Irritable newborns insecurely attached
Neurophysio-reactive ambivalent
Interest in objects vs. people avoidant
Interactive explanation
Parents respond to newborns temperament
Parent either flexible or inflexible to baby temp.
Baby’s emotional profile reflects “goodness of fit”