Lynne Sanford Koester and Kathryn P. Meadow-Orlans
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195147902
- eISBN:
- 9780199893775
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195147902.003.0009
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Clinical Child Psychology / School Psychology
For at least 30 years, infant-caregiver attachment has been a primary focus of developmental psychologists, and the Ainsworth Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) has been utilized in literally hundreds ...
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For at least 30 years, infant-caregiver attachment has been a primary focus of developmental psychologists, and the Ainsworth Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) has been utilized in literally hundreds of research studies. The SSP involves a series of separations from and reunions with the mother, as well as episodes during which a stranger is also in the room with the infant. This procedure has enabled researchers to observe infants (typically 12- to 20-month-olds) in a standardized laboratory situation consisting of several 3-minute episodes. This chapter describes the theoretical and methodological background for this assessment; the results from other studies linking attachment outcomes to earlier face-to-face interactions, play behaviors, and family stress; the relevance of attachment to the study of deaf children; and results from analyses of attachment data from this project.Less
For at least 30 years, infant-caregiver attachment has been a primary focus of developmental psychologists, and the Ainsworth Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) has been utilized in literally hundreds of research studies. The SSP involves a series of separations from and reunions with the mother, as well as episodes during which a stranger is also in the room with the infant. This procedure has enabled researchers to observe infants (typically 12- to 20-month-olds) in a standardized laboratory situation consisting of several 3-minute episodes. This chapter describes the theoretical and methodological background for this assessment; the results from other studies linking attachment outcomes to earlier face-to-face interactions, play behaviors, and family stress; the relevance of attachment to the study of deaf children; and results from analyses of attachment data from this project.
Marga Vicedo
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780262036900
- eISBN:
- 9780262342872
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262036900.003.0002
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter examines the history of some challenges to John Bowlby’s and Mary Ainsworth’s ethological attachment theory (EAT). Bowlby and Ainsworth argued that the mother-infant relationship is a ...
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This chapter examines the history of some challenges to John Bowlby’s and Mary Ainsworth’s ethological attachment theory (EAT). Bowlby and Ainsworth argued that the mother-infant relationship is a natural dyad designed by evolution in which the instinctual responses of one party activate instinctual responses in the other, and that secure attachment is an adaptation. This chapter focuses on EAT’s two fundamental tenets: the universality of attachment patterns and the biological foundations of the attachment system. It shows that several scholars have challenged those tenets over the years and argues that attachment researchers have not addressed those challenges successfully.Less
This chapter examines the history of some challenges to John Bowlby’s and Mary Ainsworth’s ethological attachment theory (EAT). Bowlby and Ainsworth argued that the mother-infant relationship is a natural dyad designed by evolution in which the instinctual responses of one party activate instinctual responses in the other, and that secure attachment is an adaptation. This chapter focuses on EAT’s two fundamental tenets: the universality of attachment patterns and the biological foundations of the attachment system. It shows that several scholars have challenged those tenets over the years and argues that attachment researchers have not addressed those challenges successfully.
Heidi Keller and Kim A. Bard (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780262036900
- eISBN:
- 9780262342872
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262036900.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
It is generally acknowledged that attachment relationships are important for infants and young children, but there is little clarity on what exactly constitutes such a relationship. Does it occur ...
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It is generally acknowledged that attachment relationships are important for infants and young children, but there is little clarity on what exactly constitutes such a relationship. Does it occur between two individuals (infant–mother or infant–father) or in an extended network? In the West, monotropic attachment appears to function as a secure foundation for infants, but is this true in other cultures? This volume offers perspectives from a range of disciplines on these questions. Contributors from psychology, biology, anthropology, evolution, social policy, neuroscience, information systems, and practice describe the latest research on the cultural and evolutionary foundations on children’s attachment relationships as well as the implications for education, counseling, and policy.
The contributors discuss such issues as the possible functions of attachment, including trust and biopsychological regulation; the evolutionary foundations, if any, of attachment; ways to model attachment using the tools of information science; the neural foundations of attachment; and the influence of cultural attitudes on attachment. Taking an integrative approach, the book embraces the wide cultural variations in attachment relationships in humans and their diversity across nonhuman primates. It proposes research methods for the culturally sensitive study of attachment networks that will lead to culturally sensitive assessments, practices, and social policies.Less
It is generally acknowledged that attachment relationships are important for infants and young children, but there is little clarity on what exactly constitutes such a relationship. Does it occur between two individuals (infant–mother or infant–father) or in an extended network? In the West, monotropic attachment appears to function as a secure foundation for infants, but is this true in other cultures? This volume offers perspectives from a range of disciplines on these questions. Contributors from psychology, biology, anthropology, evolution, social policy, neuroscience, information systems, and practice describe the latest research on the cultural and evolutionary foundations on children’s attachment relationships as well as the implications for education, counseling, and policy.
The contributors discuss such issues as the possible functions of attachment, including trust and biopsychological regulation; the evolutionary foundations, if any, of attachment; ways to model attachment using the tools of information science; the neural foundations of attachment; and the influence of cultural attitudes on attachment. Taking an integrative approach, the book embraces the wide cultural variations in attachment relationships in humans and their diversity across nonhuman primates. It proposes research methods for the culturally sensitive study of attachment networks that will lead to culturally sensitive assessments, practices, and social policies.
Heidi Keller, Kim A. Bard, and Julia R. Lupp
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780262036900
- eISBN:
- 9780262342872
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262036900.003.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
Science, and by extension society, requires a comprehensive theory of attachment to guide research and practice—one grounded in a contextualized conception of attachments and their development, which ...
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Science, and by extension society, requires a comprehensive theory of attachment to guide research and practice—one grounded in a contextualized conception of attachments and their development, which encompasses knowledge from diverse disciplines engaged in the study of human development. To improve on the current paradigm, this volume embraces the diversity of attachment systems across cultures and primate species, and assesses the core assumptions and methods of attachment theory. Resultant understanding is used to project an updated version of attachment theory—one that can be applied across cultures. Suggestions for more culturally sensitive research methods are proposed and ideas applicable to current practice and policies discussed. A reconceptualized theory of attachment is presented based on principles that are generalizable, valid, and reliable across diverse primates and diverse human cultures. In addition, the need to make adjustments in attachment philosophy is stressed, and strategies are discussed to communicate and work with researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and other stakeholders.Less
Science, and by extension society, requires a comprehensive theory of attachment to guide research and practice—one grounded in a contextualized conception of attachments and their development, which encompasses knowledge from diverse disciplines engaged in the study of human development. To improve on the current paradigm, this volume embraces the diversity of attachment systems across cultures and primate species, and assesses the core assumptions and methods of attachment theory. Resultant understanding is used to project an updated version of attachment theory—one that can be applied across cultures. Suggestions for more culturally sensitive research methods are proposed and ideas applicable to current practice and policies discussed. A reconceptualized theory of attachment is presented based on principles that are generalizable, valid, and reliable across diverse primates and diverse human cultures. In addition, the need to make adjustments in attachment philosophy is stressed, and strategies are discussed to communicate and work with researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and other stakeholders.
