Theories of Attachment

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Theories of Attachment Styles of Parenting
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1. Define attachment.

• Attachment an emotional tie that is formed
  between one individual and another

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2. What are Ainsworths two behaviors of
attachment?

• 1) attempts to maintain contact or nearness
• 2) shows of anxiety when separated

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Ainsworths Strange Situation Method

• Examine child playing for about 20 min. while
  guardian and stranger enter exit the room
• Method creates familiar unfamiliar
  situation for child

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• Guardian child in room
• Stranger enters
• Stranger converses w/guardian
• Stranger tries to engage w/child
• Guardian leaves room (1st separation episode)
• Guardian reunites w/child comforts child
• Guardian stranger exit room (2nd separation
  episode)
• Stranger returns tries to comfort child
• Guardian reunites w/child comforts child

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3. Describe the three TYPES of attachment
behaviors.

• Secure Attachment - mildly protest when mother
  leaves, seeks interaction when she returns, are
  readily comforted

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• Avoidant Attachment least distressed when
  mother leaves, play by themselves during her
  absence and ignores her upon return
• Ambivalent/Resistant Attachment most emotional,
  show severe distress when mother leaves,
  ambivalence upon her return by clinging to her
  and pushing her away

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4. Describe the three STAGES of attachment.

• Initial pre-attachment phase (birth to 3 months)
  indiscriminate attachment
• Attachment-in-the-making phase (3-4 months)
  preference for familiar figures and faces
• Clear-cut attachment phase (6-7 months)
  intensified dependence on the primary caregiver

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• How do you think attachment in childhood affects
  later relationships?

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5. Explain Lorenzs experiment and what was
learned from his research.

• Infant rhesus monkeys with surrogate mothers
• One mother was soft terry cloth
• Other mother was wire mesh w/bottle
• Spent most of time clinging to cloth mother
• Need for contact comfort (inborn need to seek
  physical comfort)

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Cloth mother (no bottle)
Wire mother with bottle
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6. Define critical period.

• A period of time when an instinctive response can
  be elicited by a particular stimulus

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7. Define imprinting

• A process that occurs during a critical period
• Organism responds to stimulus in manner that will
  afterward be difficult to modify (formation of
  attachment)
• Lorenz and the goslings

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8. List Baumrinds 4 aspects of parental behavior.

• 1) strictness
• 2) demands for child to achieve intellectual,
  emotional, and social maturity
• 3) communication ability
• 4) warmth and involvement

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9. Describe the styles of parenting

• Authoritative are strict (restrictive) but
  express love respect for children
• Willingness to reason with and understand their
  children
• Explain reasons behind rules and expectations

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Authoritarian view obedience as virtue

• Strict guidelines and demands
• Rely on force communicate poorly with children
• Because I say so!

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Permissive easygoing

• Children do whatever they wish
• Warm and supportive, but very poor at
  communicating

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Uninvolved leave their children on their own

• Neglectful
• Few demands
• Little warmth or encouragement

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How do parenting styles affect children?

• Research shows that warm parents have socially
  and emotionally well-adjusted children
• Their children better develop a conscience
• Children of authoritative parents have greater
  self-reliance, self-esteem, social competence,
  and achievement motivation

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• Children of authoritarian parents are often
  withdrawn or aggressive do not achieve in school
  as well
• Children of permissive parents are the least
  mature often impulsive, moody, aggressive
• Delinquency poor academic performance
• Children of uninvolved parents tend to obtain
  poorer grades, tend to be more likely to hang out
  with party crowd use drugs

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ICR 10/15/07

• What type of parent do you think you will be?
• How might you exemplify the characteristics of
  this type of parenting?