UpcomingSelf-assessment

Due 4/4/13

Super Nanny assignmentDue 4/4/10; Watch on Lifetime or Internet/Supernanny

webpage archive etc.Keep responses brief!

Attachment and TemperamentEffects of early experience

Next up: Cognition & Aggression; Parents, Adolescents & Peers; Stereotypes and Racism

Super NannyWatch 1 episode of Super NannyDescribe CHILD using Thomas and Chess’ nine

dimensions of temperament (reference text, use only relevant dimensions for the particular case).

Categorize CHILD using Thomas and Chess’ profiles (3) & Categorize CHILD’s siblings. (reference text)

How would you describe the goodness of fit between CHILD and his/her parents? How would you describe the goodness of fit between the siblings and parents? (1-2 sentences)

Which attachment classification characterizes CHILD’s relationship with his parents?

Which attachment classification characterizes the siblings’ relationships with their parents?

Super Nanny Thought QuestionsWhat does this tell us about predicting

attachment classification from other relationships?

What are the implications for modifying parental responding to CHILD?

What are your predictions of for CHILD at age 21? (based on the research presented and your reading of the text)

Attachment

Does the past predict the future?

Are early experiences the basis of later normal or abnormal behavior?

Does the infant’s relationship with his/her primary caregiver predict the quality of later relationships?

What happened to Gabriella?Gabriella is an attractive and outgoing student at

MTC. She will graduate in May and has already accepted a job in the profession of her choice (early childhood development!). She seems to have everything going for her. Yet, something fundamental is missing from her life—Gabriella has never managed to sustain a loving, long-term relationship with an intimate partner.

Was there something about her early childhood experience that caused her inability? What role do early relationships play in determining our characteristics and relationships as adults?

Bowlby/Ainsworth theoryCrucial to have balance

exploration of novelty proximity/protection seeking from familiar

The type of attachment is based on the balance

Attachment is NOT a single behavior, but rather-A variety of behaviors that vary depending on circumstances

AttachmentIndividual differences in

attachment quality

Secure Insecure:

Resistant/ambivalentAvoidantDisorganized

Secure attachmentHallmark of secure attachment observed

during REUNION episodes of the Strange Situation

If Distressed:immediately seeks and maintains contactcontact is effective in terminating distress

If Not Distressed:active greeting strong initiation of interaction

Resistant/Ambivalent Attachments

Poverty of explorationDifficulty separating to exploreWary of novel situations and peopleMix contact seeking with contact resistance

(hitting, kicking, squirming, rejecting toys)Continue to cry and fussStriking passivity

Separation: Melt-downReunion: Difficulty settling

Avoidant Attachments

Independent explorationReadily separates to exploreLittle affective sharingAffiliative to stranger when caregiver

absent (little preference)Turns/ looks/moves away, ignoringArches back if picked up

Separation: Somewhat indifferentReunion: Active avoidance

Disorganized/Disoriented

No consistent way of relatingShows contradictory features of other

patternsMay strongly seek contact, then stop,

freeze, and avoid caregiverSeems to move in slow motion. May

wander with confused, dazed, or fearful facial expression

ConflictedSeems to fear caregiver

Three casesWhich of these three children seemed securely

attached? Which were insecurely attached? What evidence do you have for your classifications?

What are the primary differences between the children?

What social factors might affect a child’s reactions to being alone with a stranger, and to having Mom leave?

Do you think these three categories would apply equally to children in all cultures?

The Strange Situation: Three casesA

B

C

Types of Attachment

Cross-cultural research: More similarities than differences across many different cultures

Western EuropeIsraelAfricaJapan

Factors that influence attachment

Quality of caregiving (e.g., responsive, warm, consistent?)

Child characteristicsTemperament (e.g., inhibited)Aspect of personality with a genetic

component -- inborn dispositions

Gender (e.g., new toy: angry vs. scared)Appearance (e.g., attractive, premature)What else?

TemperamentNot a fixed genetic traitProbabilistic, not deterministic

Temperament renders some outcomes:very likelysome moderately likelysome unlikely (although not

impossible) depending on experience

Probabilistic, not deterministic

Attachment and temperament

Does the past predict the future?

Are early experiences the basis of later normal or abnormal behavior?

Does the infant’s relationship with his/her primary caregiver predict the quality of later relationships?

Gabriella: What happened to her?Gabriella is an attractive and outgoing student at

MTC. She will graduate in May and has already accepted a job in the profession of her choice (early childhood development!). She seems to have everything going for her. Yet, something fundamental is missing from her life—Gabriella has never managed to sustain a loving, long-term relationship with an intimate partner.

Was there something about her early childhood experience that caused her inability? What role do early relationships play in determining our characteristics and relationships as adults?

Do early attachment relationship gets carried forward?

Bowlby’s answer is:Yes and noDevelopment is complicatedIWM’s can be changed by later

experiences butusually, the rich get richer and the

poor get poorer…

Attachment: Research findings

Hazan & Shaver (1987) (Inventory for college students)

Results for adults are so similar to those of infant studies that

Infant’s relationship with primary caregiver predicts/causes his/her later relationships with peers or romantic partners

Conclusion: The past predicts the future

Your experiences???Study limitations…

Direct evidence of attachment continuity/discontinuity:Sroufe & Egeland: Minnesota Parent-Child

Project (longitudinal)

Overall: Early attachment did NOT predict adult attachment well (little continuity)

Participants who started and ended as insecure were more likely to experience abuse than if transitioned to secure - abuse maintains/reinforces insecurity?

Participants whose mothers were depressed, more likely to transition from secure to insecure - mother’s depression affects her parenting sensitivity? Environment too chaotic and negative for stability?

What happened to Gabriella?

Participant in an early study of the impact of maternal depression on child outcomes, development, and resilience

As an infant and young child experienced inconsistent caregiving and sporadic neglect (maintained insecure attachment) due to mother’s depression

Became a well-functioning, successful adult, but continued struggles with insecure attachment in adult relationships…

Probabilistic, not deterministicDevelopment is complicated

Significance: Attachment and later developmentINTERNAL WORKING MODELS (IWM): (i.e., schemas)

Children and adults develop complex schemas and mental representations

Repeated interactions with caregivers form cognitive expectations that guide attention and memory about relationships

Significance: Attachment and later development

INTERNAL WORKING MODELS (IWM):

Guide organization of attention and memory about relationships

Are largely automatic and unconsciousCan be changed but Have a propensity for stability

Temperament: Example

Some young children very uninhibited with strangers or other unfamiliar things. Likely to become spontaneous, fearless, sociable 10-year-olds.

But, a small number of these outgoing infants may become timid later in life because of intervening stressful experiences…And, vice versa

Probabilistic, not deterministic

ConclusionsDevelopment is complicated

Low to moderate stability

Greater stability for temperament vs. attachment

Greater stability linked to extreme or negative life events (e.g., abuse, depression)

Probabilistic, not deterministic