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Introduction to Attachment

PSY344

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Attachment defined

What are the developmental stages of attachment? What are the evolutionary functions of attachment? Describe the attachment system. What are key attachment concepts and what evidence is

there that monkeys evidence these concepts (review Harlow film)?

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Attachment’s Function/Goal:

Keeping Caregivers Close

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Environment of evolutionary adaptiveness

Protection from predators and . . . conspecifics

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Attachment Development Stages

1st, indiscriminate, 0-2 months– Whatever obtains/promotes proximity

Both crying and smiling. – But is there research showing that this is the case?

2nd, discrimination, 2-7 months– Discrimination of figures/signals

3rd, 7-24 months, classic attachment stage. – Using locomotion to attain/maintain proximity.

Secure base phenomenon.

4th, goal-corrected partnership, 2 years– language

Behavior Systems

The attachment system.– Attaining and maintaining proximity to caregivers.

The fear/wariness system.– Coordinates avoidant, wary, or fearful responses to

strangers. The affiliative system.

– Social behaviors and interactions. Exploratory system.

– Engagement in physical environment.

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Levels of attachment organization

Attachment behaviors - Promote proximity (function/goal)

Attachment system - Organization of behaviors to achieve goal

Attachment bond - Child’s affectional tie

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Attachment system

Inherent motivation Organization of different behaviors

– Doesn’t matter how you get to caregiver With single function In a goal-corrected manner

Attachment as an organizational construct

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Attachment bond

Felt bond between mother and child Balance between exploration & proximity Child’s working model of mother Based on perceived accessibility and

responsivity of mother

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Multiple attachments

Infants form attachments to many caregivers

A hierarchy is assumed– In which infant turns first to primary caregiver

Role of fathers

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Attachment makes social contact a psychological reality You carry feelings of being with other

inside you

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Attachment motivates behaviors through feelings Forming attachment Maintaining

attachment Threat of loss Actual loss

Falling in love Loving someone (joy)

Anxiety Sorrow/mourning

What forms the basis for attachment relationships? (cont)

Harlow’s studies and the rejection of “drive reduction” explanations– Spitz (1946) noticed that infants in orphanages

(who were adequately nourished but had no loving attention) did very poorly

– Harlow’s surrogate mother studies examined relative influence of feeding vs. contact/comfort on attachment

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Intellectual History

Old dominant theory: – Affection/attachment to mother originate because

mother is the source of food Behaviorist: Contact becomes conditioned reinforcer

because it is paired with food, an unconditioned reinforcer

Learning theory: Primary drive toward food (oral) becomes secondary drive toward contact

Harlow demonstrates this is incorrect– Harlow movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsA5Sec6dAI

Harlow’s Surrogate Mother Studies (cont)

From Blum (2003)

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Time is spent on cloth mothers

Both wire and cloth fed spend most of their time on cloth surrogate mother– Regardless of which

“mother” fed you

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Secure Base

Secure attachment to surrogate allows for exploration of feared situation

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Key Attachment Concepts examined by Harlow Contact with attachment figure Retreat to attachment figure when afraid Become less afraid Use attachment figure as secure base from

which to explore

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Difference

Presence of attachment is usually a biological given– almost all infants attached

Security of attachment is an individual difference– 2/3 of infants securely attached, 1/3 anxiously

attached (some avoidant, some resistant)

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Attachment disorders: Romanian adoptees

http://www.chrisgibbs.com/pages/romania.html

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Exposure to institutional rearing disinhibited attachment disturbance

Disturbance (from interview) means– Lack of differentiation among adults; – Clear indication that child would readily go off with a stranger;– Lack of checking back w parent in anxiety-provoking situations.

• Rutter, M. and T. G. O'Connor (2004). "Are There Biological Programming Effects for Psychological Development? Findings From a Study of Romanian Adoptees." Developmental Psychology 40(1): 81-94

< 18 months: 16% (13/84) 24-42 months: 33% (15/45)

Stable & little decrease 2-years.

Describing secure and insecure attachment

Brunner & Messinger

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Measuring attachment security

A construct (secure attachment)

Is different than its measurement or operationalization

Attachment security can be measured with a Q-sort (an intricate rating system)

Prototypically measured with the Strange Situation (12 – 36 months at least)

Measuring Attachment Ainsworth’s (1978) Strange Situation

– Seven episodes increasing amount of stress (e.g., unfamiliar environment, unfamiliar adult, brief separation from parent)

– Of interest is how attachment behaviors are organized around parent

– Attachment classification based primarily on reunion behaviors

See example at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTsewNrHUHU (van Ijzendoorn)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH1m_ZMO7GU (different attachment types)

Attachment Classifications

Secure Attachment (Type B; 65% in NA)– –

Ambivalent/Insecure-Resistant (Type C, 15% in NA)– –

Insecure/Avoidant (Type A, 20% in NA)– –

Disorganized (Type D, very rare)– –

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Attachment system

Stress activates the attachment system & reveals the child’s strategy

Security is an equilibrium Avoidance is deactivation/shutting down Resistance is over-activation/acting up

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Cross-cultural assessment

2,000 Ainsworth strange situation classifications obtained in 8 different countries.

Intracultural variation was nearly 1.5 times the cross-cultural variation.

– Some samples from one country resembled those in other countries more than they did each other.

Cross-cultural differences– Avoidant classifications emerge relatively more prevalent

in Western European countries – resistant classifications relatively more frequent in Israel

and Japan.

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Strange Situation protocol8 episodes, 3 min. each 1: mother given instructions outside room 2: mother & child in room 3: stranger enters 4: 1st separation (stranger present) 5: 1st reunion 6: 2nd separation (baby alone) 7: stranger reunion 8: 2nd reunion

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Reunion coding scales

Proximity seeking Contact maintenance Avoidance Resistance 1(low) -7 (high) Disorganization

– 1 to 9

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Overall strategy

A – Avoidant – Avoid caregiver

B – Secure – Seek and be comforted by caregiver

C – Resistant– Seek caregiving without surcease

D – Disorganized– Lack a coherent strategy

Videos

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Proximity seeking behaviors

Immediate (vs. Delayed) approach to mom Purposeful and effective approach Going all the way to mother and making

contact Reaching for pick up

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Contact Maintenance Behaviors

Resisting release, clambering up after being put down

Protesting release by crying Clinging on attempted release Remaining in contact after being put down

i.E. Holding on to mother’s knee

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Avoidance Behaviors

Delay in responding to mom’s entrance Ignoring mom’s entrance; No greeting

given Busying self with toys at point of reunion Gaze aversion when mom bids Trying to go past mom out the door Orienting body away from mom

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Resistance Behaviors

Angry mood, pouting, petulance, distress, cranky fussing, temper tantrum

Squirming when held Rejection of toys when mom offers Not easily calmed Crying after being calmed Crying in response to increased proximity

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Disorganization

Inexplicable behavior– No goal/strategy

Behavior suggests infant fears caregiver Disorganized behavior should occur with

caregiver and is given more weight if it occurs early in reunion

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Coding disorganization

“Behavior indicative of conflict, fear, and confusion in relation to their attachment figure . . . Sequential or simultaneous display of contradictory behavior patterns; undirected, misdirected, incomplete, and interrupted movements and expressions; stereotypes, asymmetrical movements, mistimed movements, and anomalous postures; freezing, stilling, and slowed movements and expressions; and direct indexes of apprehension, disorganization, or disorientation.” (Belsky et al., 1996)

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Disorganized behavior

Sequential/simultaneous displays of contradictory behaviors

Incomplete and stereotypic movements Freezing/stilling/slowing Indices of apprehension A 9-point Disorganization scale where

scores of 5+ indicate disorganization.

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Physiology

Disorganized infant have higher stress reactions (salivary cortisol) than other infants – in the Strange Situation– two studies– Reasonably stable categorization– R=.34 over x 25 months

– Meta-analysis: Van Ijzendoorn, Schuengel, & Bakermans-Kranenburg (1999)

Higher heart rate for avoidant infants