Deck 11: Social Development in the Family

Question 1

Bowlby and Ainsworth believed that most babies develop a hierarchy of attachment figures - usually with their mothers at the helm. What argues for and against such a hierarchy?

Answer 1

$\bullet$ There is substantial evidence that infants develop attachment with both mothers and fathers
$\bullet$ No differences between mothers and fathers on a number of attachment measures (such as approach, touch, cry)
$\bullet$ Nonetheless, in most cases there seems to be a hierarchy among parents, with infants preferring those more prominently involved in their care

Question 2

Briefly describe the four types of attachment one can observe in the strange situation

Answer 2

$\bullet$ Secure attachment (Type B)
o 65% of infants
o anxious, reduced exploration when parent leaves
o cuddle and comfort when parent returns
$\bullet$ Insecure-resistant/Ambivalent (Type C)
o 10-15% of infants
o less exploration, no secure base
o ambivalent upon reunion
$\bullet$ Insecure-avoidant attachment (Type A)
o Unconcerned about parents' absence
o Avoid interaction and ignore parent upon reunion
$\bullet$ Disoriented/Disorganized (Type D)
o 5-10% of infants
o Simultaneously present contradictory behaviors

Question 3

Insecure attachment is associated with a number of negative outcomes such as antisocial behavior or depression. Is insecure attachment a non-optimal developmental pattern? Why or why not?

Answer 3

Insecure attachment is not "non-optimal" but rather presents an adaptive response to a non-optimal caregiving environment.

Question 4

List the six spheres of important influences on parenting behaviors.

Question 5

What are extra-dyadic interactions?

A) Face-to-face exchanges between infant and an adult.
B) Interactions between infants and several adults.
C) Exchanges between infant and adult where the adult encourages the child to examine something in the environment.
D) Parent-led interactions between adult and child that are focused on reciprocal imitation of facial expressions and vocalizations.

Question 6

In Bowlby's theory of social development, during the second phase infants learn three rules from repeated face-to-face and distress-relief experiences. Which one of the following is NOT one of these three rules?

A) Effectance.
B) Affect.
C) Reciprocity.
D) Trust.

Question 7

Dr Jones studies the development of infants' exploration of their environment on their own. She has collected data on 3 primate species and humans and finds that as infants grow older, they venture further away from their mothers. Among the species tested by Dr Jones, infants of which species will take the longest before daring to venture 15 feet away from their mother?

A) Langur.
B) Baboon.
C) Gorilla.
D) Human.

Question 8

Konrad Lorenz described that ducklings have an innate predisposition to imprint. What did he mean by this term?

A) Ducklings will follow whatever salient object they encounter shortly after birth.
B) Ducklings have an innate predisposition to follow their mother duck.
C) Ducklings will leave a physical imprint of their feet inside their shell after hatching.
D) Ducklings learn about predators after a single exposure (imprint) and hide during all future encounters with the same species of predator.

Question 9

You plan a study where you want to identify who is an attachment figure for a given child. You pit one parent against a sibling and a grandparent. How could you identify which person is the strongest attachment figure based on an infant's behavior?

A) Observe towards which person the infant is directing cries or gestures indicating to be picked up when placed on the ground.
B) Observing the play behavior between each person and the infant when engaging in one-on-one play sessions.
C) Presenting the child with the scent of one of these familiar people and the scent of a stranger. If the child preferentially orients towards the scent of one of these familiar people more than 50% of the time, then that person is an attachment figure.
D) All of the above.

Question 10

You observe an experiment where a child is placed into an unfamiliar room with toys while the mother (strong attachment figure) is present in the room as well. Which behavior systems do you expect to become active or inactive in this child?

A) Activate attachment behavior system, inhibit affiliate behavior system.
B) Activate exploratory behavior system, inhibit attachment system.
C) Activate fear/weariness system, inhibit attachment system.
D) Activate affiliate behavior system, inhibit exploratory behavior system.

Question 11

During the strange situation, a child continues exploring for a while when the parent leaves, then cries, upon return of the parent first approaches the parent but then stops and looks unsure around the room. What kind of attachment does this child most likely exhibit?

A) Insecure-avoidant attachment (Type A).
B) Secure attachment (Type B).
C) Insecure-resistant/Ambivalent (Type C).
D) Disoriented/Disorganized (Type D).

Question 12

Mrs Porter uses sensitive parenting in her daily interactions with daughter Michelle. Which of the following behaviors will Mrs Porter most likely show towards Michelle?

A) Nonrestrictive, attentive parenting.
B) Over- or under-stimulating parenting.
C) Cold or rejecting parenting.
D) Non-contingent mother-infant interactions.

Question 13

Which of the following is true about the stability of attachment over time?

A) Attachment is highly unstable over time.
B) Attachment is highly stable over time.
C) Stability of attachment depends on infant temperament.
D) Stability of attachment depends on environmental stressors and experiences.

Question 14

Secure attachment has been associated with all of the following, except:

A) Cooperatively playful behavior.
B) Antisocial behavior.
C) Superior problem-solving skills.
D) Persistence during challenging tasks.

Question 15

Bowlby's concept of universality of attachment refers to:

A) All children come into the world with the skills to form attachments.
B) All children have the same kind of attachment, regardless of culture.
C) There are no differences in distribution of the four attachment types across different cultures.
D) None of the above.

Question 16

Across a number of different cultures, which attachment style is most prominent in the majority of cultures?

A) Type A.
B) Type B.
C) Type C.
D) Type D.

Question 17

A parent decides that she lacks knowledge about child development and enrolls in a class on infant development. This is an example of

A) Efficacy.
B) Intuitive parenting.
C) Meta-parenting.
D) Situational factors.

Question 18

A parent's own perception of efficacy can be affected by

A) Their parental skills.
B) The child's temperament.
C) The child's responsiveness.
D) All of the above.

Question 19

Economic stress affects parenting because:

A) It increases parent's reliance on meta-parenting.
B) It increases parent's reliance on intuitive parenting.
C) It demands attention and reduces attentiveness, patience, and tolerance.
D) All of the above.

Question 20

The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) yields 4 parental classifications that correspond to infant attachment. Which of the following AAI and infant attachment groupings are correct?

A) Autonomous - Type D attachment.
B) Autonomous - Type B attachment.
C) Dismissing - Type D attachment.
D) Dismissing - Type B attachment.

Question 21

Results on trans-generational attachment relationships in the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation suggest:

A) That parents parent the way their parents did.
B) That trans-generational effects are weak or absent.
C) That parents parent in the opposite way their parents did.
D) None of the above.

Question 22

How do infants contribute to the interactions between infants and parents?

A) They are able to predict others' actions by age 9 months.
B) They bring expectations abut actions and appropriate responses to their interactions.
C) Both a and b.
D) None of the above.

Question 23

Johnny C. was abused and maltreated by his parents until age 5 months, then he was placed in a foster home with a loving family. In the future, Johnny will most likely develop

A) Secure attachment with his foster family.
B) Insecure-avoidant attachment with his foster family.
C) Insecure-resistant attachment with his foster family.
D) Disorganized attachment with his foster family.

Question 24

Some infant characteristics that can influence parental effectance are

A) Responsiveness and predictability.
B) Maturity level of the child.
C) Health of the child.
D) All of the above.

Question 25

Around the middle of the first year, the nature of infant-mother interaction changes from:

A) Stability to continuity.
B) Dyadic to extra-dyadic.
C) Nature to nurture.
D) Autonomous to extrogeneous.

Question 26

Maternal responsiveness to infant's vocalization at 13 months has been found to predict infants'

A) Play competence at 21 months.
B) Play competence at 13 months.
C) Language competence at 21 months.
D) Language competence at 13 months.

Question 27

How do parents shape infants' gender-stereotyped patterns of behaviors?

A) Provide gender-specific nurseries.
B) Engage in gender-specific play-routines.
C) Provide gender-specific toys.
D) All of the above.

Question 28

What provides evidence for a role of biology in gender differences?

A) Boys being described as big and strong.
B) Boys being handled more physically.
C) Girls making masculine toy choices following prenatal testosterone exposure.
D) Girls showing weaker crawling abilities than boys at 11 months of age.

Question 29

Dr Smith wants to study differences in gender-specific interactions of adults with small infants. For this purpose she will conduct a Baby X study and note how adults interact with the child. What kind of test is Dr Smith most likely to use in this study?

A) Adults will be placed in a room with gender-specific toys and then introduced to either a male or a female child. Their toy selection and interactions are being recorded.
B) Adults will observe a child of unknown gender playing and will be asked to describe the child.
C) Adults will be asked to recall how they play with their own children at home
D) Adults will be asked to recall how their own parents played with them at home.

Question 30

Describe how a child with secure attachment (Type B) should behave during the strange situation when the parent leaves the room and the child is either alone or with a stranger in the room. Explain why the child behaves in this way.

Question 31

The study by Anderson and Whitaker (2011) showed a relation between insecure attachment at age 24 months and obesity at age 4.5 years. Using your knowledge about attachment, what are the implications of these findings and what do they tell us about the role of attachment?

Question 32

In the study by Johnson and colleagues (2010), infants where shown an animation where a big oval (adult) becomes separated from a small oval (child). Following separation the big oval either reacts in an unresponsive way or in a responsive way. Describe the results of this study and its implications for our understanding of attachment.