1. Attachment Theories

2. All agreed that attachment is an innate (or natural) occurrence.
Three Main Psychologists
Konrad Lorenz: imprinting (geese)
Harry Harlow: comfort attachment (monkeys)
Mary Ainsworth: separation anxiety
All agreed that attachment is an innate (or natural) occurrence.

3. Konrad Lorenz Famous for: attachment theory known as imprinting Study:
Separated geese eggs: half the eggs stayed with the mother goose, half the eggs stayed with Lorenz
After all the eggs hatched, Lorenz found that the geese followed the first moving object they saw during the first hours after hatching (known as the ‘critical period’), without any kind of reward (such as food)
To test this theory, Lorenz put all the geese in one place (so the two groups mixed), but after letting them out, half the geese went to the mother goose, and half still went to Lorenz

4. Konrad Lorenz Relation to human attachments:
while imprinting only works on animals, Lorenz believed that it related to humans in that it shows attachment as innate, because the geese began to follow Lorenz without the draw of food or water
Attachment has consequences to survival, both short-term (attachment to the wrong thing could be deadly) and long-term (socialization)

6. Harry Harlow Famous For: studying how and why attachment occurs
Two Studies:
Infant monkeys were brought up in isolation
Result: some of the monkeys died, and those who survived were frightened, acted abnormally, and could not interact with other monkeys when older

7. Harry Harlow
2. Infant monkeys were brought up with a surrogate “mother”
- Monkeys were separated from their mother immediately after birth and placed in different cages with access to two surrogate “mothers”: one was made of wire, but had milk for the monkey, and one was made out of soft terry cloth
- Harlow found that even if the wire ‘mother’ had the food, the monkey would spend most of its time at the cloth ‘mother’.

8. Harry Harlow Conclusions:
Found that attachment is based on comfort, rather than need for food
Found that the monkeys who were separated from their real mother were socially deprived, rather than maternally deprived, resulting in odd behavior and an inability to raise their own children later on (but monkeys that were given socialization with other monkeys for 20 mins a day seemed to develop normally)

9. Harry Harlow Relation to attachment in humans:
Explains children’s attachment to parents who neglect their basic need for food (they still provide a sort of comfort for the child, therefore the child continually goes back to them.
Explains the need for social interaction for normal functioning

10. Mary Ainsworth
Famous for: developing a way to measure the quality of a child’s attachment
Experiment: “Strange Situation”
Studied the attachment of month old human children
Ainsworth put a child in a room with their mother and the experimenter (the stranger), then tested a mixture of scenarios with the mother and stranger staying or leaving the room, each for about 3 minutes. Ainsworth then recorded the response of the child when the mother left, and we she returned

11. Mary Ainsworth Measured:
Ainsworth recorded information for each child in different categories:
Separation Anxiety: if the infant is distressed when separated from mother
Stranger Anxiety: if the infant is distressed when encountering a new, strange individual

12. Mary Ainsworth Findings of the ‘Strange Situation’ experiment:
Three different types of attachments:
Secure
Ambivalent
Avoidant

13. Secure Attachment
The child feels confident that the attachment figure (in this case the mother) will be available to meet their needs
Use attachment figure as a ‘safe base’ for explore the environment and seek them in times of distress
Easily soothed by the attachment figure when upset
Eventually develop a positive working model of themselves and have mental representations of others as being helpful while viewing themselves as worth of respect

14. Avoidant (Insecure) Attachment
Child does not orientate to their attachment figure while investigating the environment
They are very independent of the attachment figure both physically and emotionally
They do not seek attachment figure when distressed
Most likely have a caregiver who is withdrawn from helping during difficult tasks and often unavailable during times of emotional distress
Eventually think of themselves unworthy and unacceptable, caused by a rejecting primary caregiver

15. Ambivalent/Resistant (Insecure) Attachment
Child is ambivalent toward the attachment figure
Child will often exhibit clingy and dependent behavior, but will be rejecting of the attachment figure when they engage in interaction
Child fails to develop any feelings of security from the attachment figure
Child has difficulty exploring new surroundings and leaving attachment figure
When distressed, the child is difficult to soothe and are not comforted by interaction with the attachment figure
Eventually will have negative self image and exaggerate their emotional responses as a way to gain attention. (Insecure attachment styles are associated with an increased risk of social and emotional behavioral problems.)

16. Parenting Styles

17. Parenting Styles Theory
Developed by Diana Baumrind
Four Major Parenting Styles:
Authoritarian Parenting
Authoritative Parenting
Permissive Parenting
Neglectful parenting

18. Authoritarian Very strict with harsh punishments
Doesn’t explain reasoning behind rules… “Because I said so.”
Not comforting or responsive to their children
Later impact: generally leads to children who are obedient and proficient but they rank lower in happiness, social competence, and self-esteem.

19. Authoritative Best parenting style
Parent establishes rules and guidelines that children are expected to follow
Responsive to children and willing to listen to their questions
When children fail to meet expectations, parents are more nurturing and forgiving, rather than punishing
Later impact: leads to children who grow up happy, capable, and successful

20. Permissive Parents who have very few demands or rules
Rarely discipline children because they have a relatively low expectation of maturity and self-control
Nurturing, responsive to children’s needs, and communicate with their children
More of a friend than a parent
Later Impact: Children tend to experience problems with authority and perform poorly in school, often results in no self-control

21. Neglectful Parent has few demands on the child
Little communication and responsiveness
Most often fulfill the child’s basic needs, but generally detached from their child’s life.
In extreme cases, parents may even reject or neglect the basic needs of the children
Later Impact: rank lowest across all life domains, children tend to lack self-control, have low self-esteem, and are less `competent than their peers.

22. Example 1
Alyssa and her mother are good friends. Now that Alyssa is a teenage, her mother and her go shopping together on a regular basis, and Alyssa feels comfortable telling her mother about things going on in her life.
When Alyssa was younger, her mother was very positive and accepting toward her, but Alyssa was not a perfect child. One day, Alyssa was playing kickball with some of her friends in the neighborhood. She kicked the ball hard, but it fouled, and flew right past all the kids in to her mother’s garden, and knocked over a flowerpot. Alyssa’s mother heard the noise and rushed outside. She saw the broken flowerpot and called Alyssa inside. Alyssa started crying and explained what happened. Knowing that it was an accident, her mother told her that she forgave her, but Alyssa would have to save up to buy a new flowerpot. Alyssa agreed that she would, smiled, and hugged her mother.

23. Example 2
Elizabeth is 32 years old and still lives with her parents. She started college when she was 23 but decided that it just wasn’t for her. After several failed jobs, she decided to move back in with her parents, where she is able to live rent-free.
When Elizabeth was young, she had no rules. She didn’t have a bedtime, and was able to eat anything she wanted for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She loved to dance, and her parents recorded every single dance performance she had from the time she was 3 until she quit at age 18.

24. Example 3
Greg is in his early 20’s. He’s respectful toward his father, but they do not speak on a regular basis. When Greg was a child, he was never allowed to stay up past 8pm. If he tried to stay up any later, his father would yell at him and tell him how disrespectful he was. One day, Greg’s television show ran over time by 15 minutes. Greg’s father found out that he wasn’t in bed on time, and grounded him for a month.