Attachment Theory the Bonds of Intimacy
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Transcript of Attachment Theory the Bonds of Intimacy
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AttachmentTheory:The Bonds
of Intimacy
PSYC 106
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One of the most influential developmental theoriesattachment theory - was produced by John Bowlby,which he laid out in a series off books from 1969 to1980. Bowlbys theory was
based on the assumption that
babies and adult caregivers
(in all species) have evolved to
develop powerful bonds with each
other. Why? Because mammalian
infants are helpless, and unless at
least one parent provides food and protection for longperiods they will not survive and thus pass on thegenes of their parent(s).
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Based on observations of both human infants and othermammalian species, Bowlby discovered a standard pattern ofresponses produced by young offspring when separated from
their parent(s):
protest,
then despair,
then detachment.
Bowlby hypothesized that this pattern has evolved to alert theparent and re-establish contact. If this strategy fails, thenremaining quiet may be the best way of avoiding predators ordanger. Finally, detachment might have the function ofclearing away failed attachments and allowing a secureattachment to develop with another adult.
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The next most important elaboration of attachment theory was
provided by Mary Ainsworth (a colleague of Bowlby), who
developed the so-called laboratory strange situation. In this
procedure 12-18 month-old infants are left with a stranger in a
lab. setting, and then the mother leaves. The mother thenreturns a few minutes later. Thus, this design stresses the
infant and exposes them to two cues to dangerbeing left
alone and being exposed to a stranger.
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Ainsworth expected that the infants would become distressedwhen their mothers left, seek physical contact when theyreturned, and subsequently calm down and return to playingwith their toys. Indeed, this was the most common response ofthe American babies tested (subsequently categorized assecure), but many did not. Some did not pay much attention totheir mothers, were not particularly distressed when the motherleft, and more or less ignored the mother on returntheseinfants were termed avoidant. The remaining 10 to 15%
tended to behave in a contradictory fashion when the motherreturned, whining, crying, and seeking physical contact, yetresisting and struggling at the same timethe so-calledambivalent infants.
The next slide shows the percentages of infants that researchgenerally shows fit into each category
[
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Ainsworth: Lab StrangeSituation
70%
10%
20%
Secure Anxious/ambivalent Avoidant
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The short film shown next illustrates asimplified version of the lab. strangesituation, illustrating two infantattachment styles: Secure and what the
narrator claims is an insecure style.
For the child who has an insecure style, do
you think he/she is avoidant orambivalent?
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Discussion Questions (as a class)
Why do you think infants would differ intheir behavior in the lab strange situation?
That is, what makes infants Secure,
Avoidant, or Ambivalent?
http://images.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=www.fractalus.com/kerry/gallery5/bang.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fractalus.com/kerry/gallery5/bang.html&h=600&w=750&sz=190&tbnid=YDu74TnInJEJ:&tbnh=112&tbnw=140&start=3&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbig%2Bbang%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DG -
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Hazan and Shavers
Big Bang (1987).
http://images.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=www.fractalus.com/kerry/gallery5/bang.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fractalus.com/kerry/gallery5/bang.html&h=600&w=750&sz=190&tbnid=YDu74TnInJEJ:&tbnh=112&tbnw=140&start=3&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbig%2Bbang%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DGhttp://images.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=www.fractalus.com/kerry/gallery5/bang.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fractalus.com/kerry/gallery5/bang.html&h=600&w=750&sz=190&tbnid=YDu74TnInJEJ:&tbnh=112&tbnw=140&start=3&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbig%2Bbang%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DGhttp://images.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=www.fractalus.com/kerry/gallery5/bang.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fractalus.com/kerry/gallery5/bang.html&h=600&w=750&sz=190&tbnid=YDu74TnInJEJ:&tbnh=112&tbnw=140&start=3&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbig%2Bbang%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DG -
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Hazan and Shaver (1987) were the first toapply attachment theory to adultrelationships. This article kicked off amassive surge in research on adultattachment. Hazan and Shaver postulated
that falling in love (as an adult) is verysimilar to the process of bonding betweeninfants and parents. Consider, for
example, the following similarities:
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Eye-contact
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Physical Affection
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Playing together
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The next two slides describe thesimilarities between adult romanticattachment and child/parent attachment inmore detail.
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Infant Attachment Romantic Love
Quality of attachment bonddepends on ATs responsiveness
Love depends on targets actual orimagined responsiveness
AT provides secure base for infantto feel safe and to explore
LT causes person to feel safe andconfident
Attachment behaviour includesholding, touching, kissing, rocking,smiling, crying
Love behaviour includes holding,touching, kissing, rocking, smiling,crying
When stressed (afraid, sick ,threatened) infant seeks physicalcontact with AT
When stressed (afraid, sick ,threatened) lovers seeks physicalcontact with LT
Distress at separation, depression ifreunion seems impossible
Distress at separation, depression ifreunion seems impossible
Infants share toys, discoveries Lovers share toys, discoveries
AT = attachment target LT = love target
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Infant Attachment Romantic Love
Infant and AT engage in prolongedeye contact
Lovers engage in prolonged eyecontact
Infant and AT seem fascinated witheach others physical features
Lovers seem fascinated with eachothers physical features
Usually one key attachmentrelationship
Usually one key attachmentrelationship
Use baby talk, nicknames, coo Use baby talk, nicknames, coo
Upon reunion, infants smile, andreach to be picked up
Upon reunion, lovers smile, hug
AT exquisitely sensitive to infantsneeds
Lovers exquisitely sensitive to eachothers needs
AT = attachment target LT = love target
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Discussion questions (as a class)
Are you convinced? Do you see some important differences
between adult romantic love andchild/parent love?
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Using questionnaires, research hasestablished that, like infants, adults tend
to fall into one of three categoriesdescribed below, and in similar numbersto those found using the lab. strangeprocedure.
The following slides show the set of scalesused by Hazan and Shaver for measuring
adult attachment working models.Participants are asked to rate the extentto which each description is accurate.
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Avoidant
I am somewhatuncomfortable being close
to others. I find it difficult
to trust them completely,
difficult to allow myself to
depend on them. I am
nervous when anyone gets
too close, and often love
partners want to be more
intimate than I feel
comfortable being.
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Anxious
I find that others arereluctant to get as close
to me as I would like. I
often worry that my
partner doesnt really
love me or wont want
to stay with me. I want
to get very close to my
partner, and this
sometimes scares
people away.
http://www.sylviaplath.info/gallery/jp2.jpg -
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Secure
I find it relatively easy
to get close to others
and am comfortabledepending on them. I
dont often worry about
being abandoned orabout someone getting
too close to me.
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Using these notes, and the chapter from Fletcher (2002) asbackground reading, get into groups of 5 or 6 and discuss thefollowing questions:
Can an individual be secure and ambivalent? To what extent are our adult attachment working models fixed
by our childhood experiences?
Can having a good adult relationship change an insecureattachment style into a secure attachment style?
Might attachment working models differ across categories ofrelationships?; e.g., could you have a secure model withfriends and an avoidant model with romantic partners? If so,why?
Imagine James had an avoidant working model, and he was inin an intimate sexual relationship: a) what would James expectfrom his partner?, b) if his partner forgot to pick him up at theairport, how might he explain this behavior, c) if his partnerneeded help, what emotions would James feel?