Term
| Attachment is a close emotional relationship between two persons, characterized by _____ and ______ |
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Definition
-mutual affection
-a desire to maintain proximity |
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Term
| How is secure attachment believed to arise and with what results |
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Definition
-Secure attachment: arises when interactions with attachment figures who are available in times of need and are sensitive and responsive to bids for proximity and support
-This results in optimal functioning of the attachment system
-Promotes an inner sense of security: world is a safe place, others are helpful when called upon, can explore one’s environment curiously and confidently and engage rewardingly with other people
-Builds confidence in support seeking as a distress-regulation strategy |
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Term
| How does insecure attachment arise, and with what corresponding results? |
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Definition
-Insecure attachment: arises when attachment figures are unavailable and rejecting in times of need
-Results in an undermining of sense of security
-Alternative (or secondary) strategies or affect regulation develop (Optimal strategy is secure attachment)
-There is an increase in self-related doubts and emotional problems |
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Term
| What are the 8 steps of the Strange Situation? What does each step assess for? |
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Definition
(1) parent and baby enter playroom
(2) parent sits while baby plays (parent as a secure base)
(3) Stranger enters and talks to parent (stranger anxiety)
(4) Parent leaves (separation anxiety)
(5) parent returns and offers comfort; stranger leaves (reunion behaviour)
(6) parent leaves (separation anxiety)
(7) stranger returns and offers comfort (ability to be soothed by stranger)
(8) parent returns and offers comfort (reunion behaviour) |
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Term
| Describe the measurement of attachment as involving (2) basic aspects. Describe these and how they fit with assessment in the strange situation. |
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Definition
(1) Secure base: exploration in presence of attachment figure (infant uses the parent as a base for exploration)
(2) Safe haven: comfort seeking- brief separations and encounters with strangers cause stress, reunion episodes (to see if infant is comforted by parent and derives comfort) |
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Term
| What is the difference between resistant and avoidant attachment (how they behave in the strange situation)? |
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Definition
-Resistant (10%): Explore little, distressed upon separation, become very distressed upon mother’s departure, ambivalent upon her return
-Avoidant (20%): Show little distress upon separation and may ignore mother even when she tries to gain attention; even sociable with strangers but also occasionally ignore them (More distressed physiologically than the crying infants) |
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Term
| What is the difference between secure attachment and disorganized/disoriented attachment? |
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Definition
-Secure (65%): Explores with the mother, may be upset upon separation, greets mother warmly upon return, if distressed will seek comfort from mother
-Disorganized/Disoriented (5-10%): Most stressed by the strange situation which reflects the lack of consistent secondary strategy; Approach-avoidance confusion (e.g. move closer than abruptly move away); Odd behaviours (fearful, freeze, curl-up, “snap” out of a trance, which reflects traumatic behaviours) |
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Term
| How do you code for the presence of a basic secure script in a "secure based story". (5) |
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Definition
-Setting
-crisis
-signals of distress
-sensitivity and responsiveness to signal of distress
-victim is soothed
-odd content |
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Term
| How do infants become attached? |
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Definition
-Synchronized routines: harmonious interactions between two persons in which participants adjust their behaviour in response to the partner’s actions and emotions
-Provides playful stimulation
-Carefully attends to the infant’s states: attributes intentions (“mind”) to the infant- insightfulness
-Avoids “intrusion” vs. “following” (also a model of adult relating) |
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Term
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Definition
-Transference: the inappropriate repetition in the present of a relationship that was important in a person’s childhood
-When we see current relationships through the lens of our early attachment relationships
-Early experiences for pictures in our heads, these images influence how we behave |
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Term
| The term transference was used by Freud to explain what clinical observation? |
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Definition
-Clinical observation: Freud notice patients responded to him as though he were their father (critically, uninterested)
-Expectation for Freud to behave a certain way, as though they had an idea in their mind already of how he would act |
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Term
| Bowlby preferred the term “internal working model”. Explain the phrase. |
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Definition
-Cognitive representations (internal schemas, models) of self, others, and relationships that infants construct from their interactions with caregivers
-They are “working”, they change over time |
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Term
| Where Freud would have used the term mental representation, contemporary psychology is more likely to use the term schema. What is meant by schematic processing? |
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Definition
-Schematic processing: schemas are organized bodies of information that guide our perceptions and behaviour
-Example: we may be sensitive to rejection from a partner even where it may not exist, because partners were rejecting
-Self-fulfilling prophecy: our thoughts may cause us to seek out situations which are compatible with those thoughts |
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Term
| What are the (6) risk factors for insecure attachment? |
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Definition
(1) Insensitive parenting increases with health-related, legal, or financial problems
(2) Unhappy marriages prior to the child predict less sensitive caregivers, less positive attitude to baby and parenting role, and less secure attachment
(3) “at risk” babies that are sluggish and irritable have poor outcomes unless the marriage is happy- problems with nonsynchronous interactions
(4) depressed mothers: ignore babies signals, fail to establish synchronous relationships, infants become angry and may soon match symptoms
(5) parents who felt unloved, neglected, or abused: common in teen moms, and may result in shaken baby syndrome, vow to do better but unrealistic in their expectations, irritable, fussy babies are often perceived as rejecting (even punishing) |
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Term
| Why can't attachment be reduced to just temperament? (4) reasons. |
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Definition
(1) maternal attachment is unrelated to paternal attachment - temperament is stable across time and with other people, so if temperament is the reason, the relationship should not make that much of a difference
(2) parental training of moms with difficult children results in secure attachment
(3) maternal problems (illness, depression, life stressors) result in insensitivity and insecure attachment
(4) child problems (prematurity, illness) did not predict attachment |
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Term
| What do the 4 infant attachment styles become in adult attachment self-report (AASR) and AAI? |
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Definition
INFANT --> AASR & AAI
secure --> secure & secure
Resistant/Ambivalent --> Preoccupied & Preoccupied
Avoidant --> Dismissing & Dismissing
Disorganized/ Disoriented (DD) --> Fearful & Unresolved/ Disorganized |
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Term
| Describe two of the core questions in the AAI? What are these assessed for? |
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Definition
-Choose 5 adjectives that describe your relationship with your mother/father. Are there any memories or incidents that come to mind that are an example of this? (Looking for discrepancies vs. coherence)
-When you were upset as a child what would you do? (Safe haven) |
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Term
| What does the AAI assess? |
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Definition
-AAI assesses the degree of “narrative coherence”
-That is, your capacity to tell a coherent story about your parent-child relations
-Discrepancies (vs. coherence) arise between semantic and episodic memory
-When people experience trauma they separate semantic and episodic memory
-Coherence between specific (episodic) memories and general impressions (semantic) of your parents
-Separates content (e.g. harsh parenting) from the degree of reflection the individual can bring to bear on the discussion with the interviewee
-You can still have a difficult childhood and still be securely attached (autonomous) |
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Term
| There is an analogous logic in assessing parent-child attachment in the SSn, and assessing adult attachment on the AAI. Discuss for secure attachment in terms of the secure base concepts. |
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Definition
-(Infant) Exploration or external world from an external secure base (parent)
-(Adult) Exploration of internal world, of one’s internal representations of self, other, and relation between the two (internal working model) |
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Term
| There is an analogous logic in assessing parent-child attachment in the SSn, and assessing adult attachment on the AAI. Discuss for secure attachment in terms of the safe haven concepts. |
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Definition
-In face of a stressor, return to secure base (parent) for soothing (safe haven)
-In face of a stressor, return to oneself as secure base for self-soothing, but ALSO to significant others who soothe us (able to be dependent, comfortable with this) |
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Term
| Describe the secure attachment category on the AAI. |
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Definition
-Free to explore both the negative and the positive memories (cognition) of past events along with their accompanying emotions
-Able to be objective in their recollections of the past
-value relationships, view relationships as formative
-Enjoy satisfying interpersonal relationships |
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Term
| Describe the avoidant attachment category on the AAI. |
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Definition
-Dismiss themselves cognitively or behaviourally from the source of distress (defensive exclusion)
-Discount the relevance of early experiences on present functioning
-Fewer reported memories and specific recalled events tend to be negative, if not rejecting, yet generally report positive relations with parents (semantic memory)
-Suppress personal deficiencies and minimize distance (dependency upon) from others |
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Term
| Describe the preoccupied attachment category on the AAI. |
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Definition
-Are preoccupied with significant figures in their past (they don’t just reflect, they ruminate)
-They ARE their emotions
-Emotions associated with past hurt arises immediately
-Vivid memories of themselves as “victim” |
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Term
| Describe the o Disoriented/Disorganized attachment category on the AAI. |
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Definition
-Often unresolved with regards to trauma
-Mix verb tenses “he is” vs. “he was” (re. the lost person)
-The mind thinks the person is still alive |
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Term
| Discuss the case example of John. Discuss the dissociations and discrepancies that were found in his AAI. |
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Definition
Discrepancies
-Idealizes his mom: he has a good relationship with her (semantic memory) vs. specific episodes (episodic memory) are different, the mom beat him and made fun of it
-Also has a chicken noodle soup story with the mom
-Anger towards the dad, did not idealize him
Dissociation: signaled by passivity/vagueness
-Overly vague: “she was always there for me” (vs. detailed about how she was available)
-Fails to complete sentences or lapses into silence without noting this (some dissociation in thought processes)
-Wanders into irrelevant topics (leading the interviewer away) |
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Term
| What 3 features define having a full sense of self? |
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Definition
(1) self-same (or extended) through time, including capacity to project ourselves into the future: we have autobiographical memory, and remembrances are marked as memories of a self (vs. infantile amnesia)
(2) individual from (vs. fused with): the world of objects (skin as the boundary)
(3) self-conscious/aware (who am I): I vs. Me-self (self-as-subject vs. self-as-object or self-concept), accompanying the act of seeing there is an awareness of a seer (I see the object X) |
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Term
| Discuss the case example of John. He was coded U/D|CC|E|D. Describe what these codes mean? |
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Definition
-U/D: unresolved with regards to loss of friend, D: disorganized/incoherent
-CC: cannot classify because a bit of all categories are present, no consistent pattern, often associated with trauma
-E: preoccupied with anger around parents, esp. dad
-D: somewhat dismissive of relationships as formative or important |
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Term
| List the (5) levels of development (including ages). |
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Definition
Level (1) – Ecological Self - birth
Level (2) – Self as an agent – 3 months
Level (3) – Intentional self – 9 months
Level (4) – Desire theory of mind – 2 years
Level (5) – Belief-Desire theory of mind – 4/5 years |
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Term
| Describe Level (1) – Ecological Self |
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Definition
-Birth
-Self-other differentiation
-Infants have a rudimentary sense of themselves as distinct from the world around them |
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Term
| Describe Level (2) – Self as an agent |
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Definition
-Sense of mastery evokes a strong positive emotion of “I can”
-They develop this sense socially from how their parent responds to them in synchrony
-This assumes the recognition of a contingency between I (as an agent) and a behavioural outcome that “I” bring about
-Self-efficacy and sense of mastery
-Alternatively early development of helplessness (I can’t), mirroring the parent’s depressive “blank face”
-Link with the still-face procedure, represents a lack of contingency
-Watching yourself in the mirror is perfect contingency |
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Term
| Describe Level (3) – Intentional self |
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Definition
-Joint attention skills are developed: pointing with index finger, gaze following, gaze alteration, protodeclarative gestures (gestures to communicate needs and attention, before speech)
-Early sense of self-other discrimination: “I know that what you are looking at may not be what I am looking at”
-All behaviours assume that your thoughts may not be my thoughts
-In autism there is an absence of joint attention: example they did not share the experience of foam |
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Term
| Describe Level (4) – Desire theory of mind |
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Definition
-Self-awareness as: measured by the capacity to label their images correctly, use their proper name, and say “that’s me”
-Self as an objective entity with enduring properties
-But they do NOT have a temporally enduring and extended sense of self through time
-Deaf children of deaf parents sign I
-Self-awareness brings self-conscious emotions, and desire theory of emerges with this
-Desire theory of mind: the ability to attribute desires to the other and the self (more self-other discrimination)
-Evidence: Spontaneous use of desire terms: mostly “want” to own and others specific desires
-Evidence: Based on an experimenter’s earlier stated preferences- 2 year olds will give broccoli vs. goldfish crackers whereas 14-month-olds given what they prefer
-“I know that what you like (broccoli) may not be what I like (crackers) |
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Term
| Describe Level (5) – Belief-Desire theory of mind |
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Definition
-Maxi task: looking for chocolate in the cupboard
-Smarties task: 3 year olds do not have a sense that people have a private understanding
-Sticker and monkey game where children lie
-I know that what you believe may not be the same as what I believe
-Your beliefs may be wrong, compared to what I know now |
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Term
| What is “extended self”? Povinelli makes a distinction between a present sense of self (at 2 years) from an extended sense of self that emerges at 4 or 5 years. What is the difference? |
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Definition
-Using “I” (2 years) does not indicate a fully extended sense of self
-At 2 years do not connect themselves in the past to themselves now: e.g. they do not identify their past self marked in a video with themselves marked now |
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Term
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Definition
-Cognitive self-concept (e.g. I am warm and friendly person)
-Self-evaluative (self-esteem components e.g. being warm and friendly makes me feel good about me) |
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Term
| How is SE measured? (two approaches) |
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Definition
-Global self-esteem appraisal (I am a person of worth)
-Multidimensional approach (e.g. academic, social competence, athletic, physical, behavioural conduct) |
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Term
| What are the origins of self esteem? |
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Definition
| Internal working models arising from infancy (model of self) secure children should soon evaluate themselves positively |
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Term
| How does “threatened egotism” arise? |
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Definition
-It arises from a discrepancy between internal and external appraisals
-external appraisal: negative evaluation by others
-internal appraisal: favourable view of self – unstable, inflated, uncertain |
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Term
| Individuals with low self-esteem are more inclined to withdraw than aggress. Explain. |
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Definition
-Individuals with low self-esteem accept negative criticism and as a result have a lower self-appraisal.
-This causes them to have negative emotions towards themselves and withdraw. |
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Term
| Individuals with narcissistic traits are more inclined to aggress than withdraw. Explain. |
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Definition
-When narcissistic individuals are evaluated negatively, this creates a discrepancy between the negative evaluation and their favourable view of themselves which is unstable, inflated, an uncertain.
-This threatens their ego, and they reject the negative appraisal in order to maintain a good self-appraisal.
-They channel their negative emotions towards the source of the threat and lash out agressively or violently. |
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Term
| Exploring Crisis + Committed to Identity = |
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Definition
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Term
| Exploring Crisis + Not Committed to Identity = |
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Definition
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Term
| Not Exploring Crisis + Committed to Identity = |
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Definition
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Term
| Not Exploring Crisis + Not Committed to Identity = |
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Definition
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Term
| Wells (1989) “Self-enhancement through delinquency”. Explain the rationale for the study, particularly the three proposed links. |
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Definition
Link 1 – if conventional basis on self-esteem (good friends, grades, family relations) are devaluing, then low self-esteem results
Link 2 – If I can’t be good at being good, I will try out unconventional/delinquent activities (you stop valuing the thing that is causing you to devalue yourself, You seek out new sources of positive evaluation)
Link 3 – Delinquent behaviour provides an alternate basis for self-worth, and is self-enhancing |
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Term
| Wells (1989) “Self-enhancement through delinquency”. Describe the final results. [Be sure to describe the curvilinear relationships.] |
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Definition
-Social rejection, grades, and family were all related to self-esteem
-Model confirmed BUT only for those at the extremely low end of self-esteem (bottom 3%), hence curvilinear
-Also true for more extreme forms of delinquency (theft, vandalism, fighting) and minor violations (running away from home, school truancy) |
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Term
| _____ identity status - not questioning who they are, have not yet committed to an identity |
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Definition
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Term
| _____ identity status - prematurely committed to occupations or ideologies without really thinking about these commitments |
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Definition
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Term
| _____ identity status - currently experiencing an identity crisis and are actively exploring options |
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Definition
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Term
| _____ identity status - carefully considered identity issues and made firm commitments to identities |
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Definition
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