Attachment and Temperament

Class 8

The Emotional Meaning of Separation

Anger and Separation: John Bowlby

Separated kids are more aggressive

Doll play-acting:

Separated kids show 4 X more angry behavior

Sep. kids more likely to attack "parent dolls"

Upon return home, aggressive play ends

1907-1990

Functions of AngerAnger and Anxiety aroused in kids by same event:

Kids have implicit belief--when afraid, parent should be there.

Anger after separation is adaptive. Why?

Parental Separation

Overcome obstacles to ruinionDiscourages loved one from being away at critical times.

Anger can promote bonds * Parental anger at kid's dangerous action * Alpha Baboon and wandering troupe members

Dysunctions of Anger

When CAN anger be dysfunctional?

Weakens rather than reinforces bonds

When purpose shifts from bonding to revenge

When DOES anger be dysfunctional?

Repeated abandonment

Strange Situation, Mary Ainsworth

1. Mom and baby go into a room, baby plays and mom just sits there.

2. Stranger comes in and shares room with mom and baby.

3. Mom leaves, baby left with stranger

4. Mom returns, reunites with baby

How does baby respond to mom’s return?

Attachment Styles Identified Through Strange Situation

1. Securely Attached (65%): Upset when mom leaves, OK when mom returns.

2. Ambivalently Attached (15%): Wants reunion with mom, but also shows anger and resentment.

3. Avoidant (20%): Makes no attempt to reconnect with mom

Parental Behaviors Related to Attachment Style

1. Responsivity: Quick and consistent

2. General Maternal Sensitivity: interpret signals, respect autonomy, accepting manner, accessible, being tender.

3. Synchronization: Keeping in tune and in time with baby’s emotions and interests.

Attachment Styles and Emotional Range

Secures: Show full emotional range: Mom’s acknowledge all emotions

Ambivalents: Favor negative emotions: Mom’s selectively responsive to negative emotions.

Avoidants: Show little emotions of any kind: Learned that own emotions won’t get maternal response. But they are physiologically aroused.

Internal Working Models

Early attachment experiences shape expectancies that

shape adult personality.

1. Secures: Believe others can be trusted, form secure

bonds

2. Avoidants: Believe others won’t be there for them.

Less able to form secure bonds in adulthood.

Relation Between Attachment as Infant and Attachment as Adult

Strange Situation Result as Infant

Secure Ambivalent Avoidant 29 9 12

Attachment as Adult

Secure 20 3 2

Preoccupied (Ambiv.) 3 4 2

Dismissing (Avoid.) 6 2 8

Insecure Attachment Styles and Emotional Illness in AdulthoodPoor emotion management skills: Insecures overwhelmed by negative emotions. Parent didn’t respond to negative reactions—so small things became big things Didn’t teach kid how to translate feelings into thoughts and actions.

General Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Emotion management problems of Insecures contribute to GAD. GAD is excessive worry about everyday kinds of problems.

Panic attacks – molehills mountains avalanches

Social Phobia – fear of being with others.

Agoraphobia – fear of being in open places

Attachment and Emotional Management Skills

Emotion Management

a. Being able to identify own emotions

b. Being able to relate emotions to causes

c. “calibrate” emotions to situation

d. Regulate emotions.

Parents’ Role in Emotion Management

a. Parent steps in when emotions arise, calms situation.

b. Parental responsiveness stops minor emotions from going out of control.

c. Kid learns not to fear own emotions. FDR “we have nothing to fear but fear itself”.

d. Kid learns to control own emotions. Like learning to ride bike, and getting confidence in braking. No confidence, then even small downhill (neg. emotion) becomes terrifying.

Change in Responsiveness to Vocalizing vs. Crying

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2-7 Months 8-16 Months 17-27 Months

Respond to vocal.Respond to crying

Responsivity and Social Competence: Which Model is Right?

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1

2

3

4

5

6

CO

MP

ET

EN

CE

Model B

0

0.5

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1.5

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2.5

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3.5

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Model AX

Responsivity Responsivity

Teaching Kids How to Think About EmotionsMeta-cognition: How to think about thinking, or how to think about feeling.

Kids taught to think about feeling, and in managing feelings:

a. Less stressed

b. Less negative emotions in play with others

c. Better school achievement

d. Fewer behavior problems.

Anything Strange about Strange Situation?

Mom leaves kid. Kid acts unconcerned

Mom returns to kid. Kid still unconcerned

Attachment explanation?

Alternative explanation?

Insecure/avoidant: mom messed up

Kid was born that way, Temperament

Temperament

Aspects of behavior and emotion that are:

1. Constitutional (in-born, genetic)

2. Stable across time and situations

3. Neurophysiologically based

Temperament and EmotionsTemperament Aspect

Emotionality

Sociability

Impulsivity

Smiling/laughing

Fear

Bothered by limitations

Soothability

This Emotion

Fear, anger, distress

Pos. emotions to others

Time to express emotion

Happiness, pleasure

Fear

Anger

Recovery from neg. emot.

How Stable is Temperament?

In early infancy – Correl. 6 mos. To 9 mos.

Smiling, Laughter: r = .48

Fear: r = .37

Distress re. Limits (Anger): r = .51

Easy/Diff. At:

3 yrs 4 yrs 5 Yrs

Easy/difficult as an adult r = .31 r = .37 r =.15

Is Temperament Genetic?

How would this be tested?

With what kind of population? Twins

Monozygotic (MZ) Share all genes: identical

Dizygotic (DZ) Share half genes: Not identical

Pictures of DZ Twins

Results of Twin Studies and Temperament (Metheny, et al., 1981)

6 mos 2 yrs

MZ DZ MZ DZ

Hurt Feelings NA NA .37 .13

Tantrums .39 .26 .41 .15

Irritability .45 .29 .46 .28

Crying .62 .51 .59 .39

Temperament and Strange SituationTemperament may explain Strange Situation

Irritable newborns insecurely attached

Neurophysio-reactive ambivalent

Interest in objects vs. people avoidant

Interactive explanation

Parents respond to newborns temperament

Parent either flexible or inflexible to baby temp.

Baby’s emotional profile reflects “goodness of fit”