Attachment and representations of peer relationships.

Three studies explored the connection between attachment and peer-related representations. Children heard stories in which a peer with ambiguous intent caused a negative event. Study 1 examined three aspects of peer-related representations in 3.5-yr-olds: representations of (1) peer intent, (2) behavioral responses to the event, and (3) peer feelings. Children's representations of the mother's response to the event were also examined. Study 2 examined the connection between attachment and the same aspects of peer-related representations in kindergarten and 1st-grade children. The proposition implicit in attachment theory that it is children's representations of peer relationships that in part account for the connection between child–parent attachment and relations with peers was also tested. Study 3 focused on representations of peer intent in connection with self-reported maternal and paternal rejection in 5th graders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working models of attachment and reactions to different forms of caregiving from romantic partners.

Inspired by attachment theory, the authors tested a series of theoretically derived predictions about connections between attachment working models (attachment to one's parents assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview; M. Main & R. Goldwyn, 1994) and the effectiveness of specific types of caregiving spontaneously displayed by dating partners during a stressful conflict-resolution discussion. Each partner first completed the Adult Attachment Interview. One week later, each couple was videotaped while they tried to resolve a current problem in their relationship. Trained observers then rated each interaction for the degree to which (a) emotional, instrumental, and physical caregiving behaviors were displayed; (b) care recipients appeared calmed by their partners' caregiving attempts; and (c) each partner appeared distressed during the discussion. Individuals who had more secure representations of their parents were rated as being more calmed if/when their partners provided greater emotional care, especially if they were rated as more distressed. Conversely, individuals who had more insecure (dismissive) representations of their parents reacted more favorably to instrumental caregiving behaviors from their partners, especially if they were more distressed. The broader theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers' emotional reactions to crying pose risk for subsequent attachment insecurity.

Links between maternal emotional reactions to crying (anger and anxiety) and infant attachment security were examined in 119 mother-infant dyads. Mothers rated the intensity of their emotional responses to videotapes of crying infants prenatally. Maternal sensitivity was observed during infant exposure to emotion eliciting tasks at six and 16 months postpartum and mothers' self-reported on their responses to their infant's negative emotions at 16 months. Infant attachment security was assessed using the Strange Situation at 16 months postpartum. Results indicated that observed sensitivity was associated with fewer avoidant and resistant behaviors and prenatal maternal anger and anxiety in response to infant crying predicted the developing attachment system independent of observed sensitivity, but in different ways. Maternal anxiety in response to crying was positively associated with resistant behaviors as a direct effect. Maternal anger in response to crying was associated with avoidant behaviors indirectly through mothers' self-reported punitive and minimizing responses to infant distress at 16 months. Theoretical, applied, and methodological implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deliberate memory behavior in the delayed reactions of very young children.

34 3-yr-olds (Exp I), 23 2-yr-olds (Exp II), and 30 3-4 yr olds (Exp III) were presented a memory task that required recalling a particular location at the end of a delay. At the beginning of the delay, half of the children were instructed to remember the location and half were instructed simply to wait. 3-yr-olds who were instructed to remember were observed to engage in behaviors during the delay which seemed to increase their recall, in contrast to 3-yr-olds who were instructed to wait. Additional observations in Exp III also showed that a positive relation existed between such delay period memory behavior and later recall. This differentiated, deliberate memory behavior was not observed for 2-yr-olds. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Suicide and the representation of transparency and cross-sections on the Rorschach.

Compared Rorschach protocols of all inpatients since 1960 known to have committed suicide either during or subsequent to hospitalization (N = 12) with the Rorschach protocols of 12 closely matched controls. Ss in the suicide group did not differ significantly from the control group on the usual Rorschach variables, but they did have a significantly greater number of Rorschach responses that contained representations of transparencies and cross-sections. Results suggest that the presence of transparency and cross-sectional representations is a reliable indicator of suicidal intent. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Field dependence-independence on the Children's Embedded Figures Test: Cognitive style or cognitive level?

Administered the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, the Rorschach, and the Children's Embedded Figures Test (CEFT) to 9- and 12-yr-olds in a 2 * 2 design which separated the effects of chronological age and mental age (MA, 9 and 12 yrs). 52% of CEFT variance was accounted for by its correlation with MA, and the strength of the relationship between the Rorschach and field dependence derived largely from the mutual correlation of the variables with the cognitive developmental level reflected in MA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The generalization of attachment representations to new social situations: Predicting behavior during initial interactions with strangers.

The idea that attachment representations are generalized to new social situations and guide behavior with unfamiliar others is central to attachment theory. However, research regarding this important theoretical postulate has been lacking in adolescence and adulthood, as most research has focused on establishing the influence of attachment representations on close relationship dynamics. Thus, the goal of this investigation was to examine the extent to which attachment representations are predictive of adolescents' initial behavior when meeting and interacting with new peers. High school adolescents (N = 135) participated with unfamiliar peers from another school in 2 social support interactions that were videotaped and coded by independent observers. Results indicated that attachment representations (assessed through interview and self-report measures) were predictive of behaviors exhibited during the discussions. Theoretical implications of the results and contributions to the existing literature are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the Relation Between Maternal State of Mind and Sensitivity in the Prediction of Infant Attachment Security.

Attachment theorists assume that maternal mental representations influence responsivity, which influences infant attachment security. However, primary studies do not support this mediation model. The authors tested mediation using 2 mother-infant samples and found no evidence of mediation. Therefore, the authors explored sensitivity as a moderator, studying the (a) interaction of mental representation and sensitivity as it predicts infant attachment security and (b) level of sensitivity in mothers whose infants' attachment security is either concordant or discordant with their own. The interactional analyses were not significant. But the match-mismatch data showed that when mother-infant attachment strategies were discordant, maternal sensitivity was more consistent with infant than maternal attachment strategy. These findings are congruent with an interpretation of sensitivity as a moderator that can block transmission of attachment strategy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Frightening maternal behavior linking unresolved loss and disorganized infant attachment.

Main and Hesse's (1990) model in which frightening (threatening, frightened, or dissociated) parental behavior explains why infants of parents with unresolved loss develop disorganized attachment relationships was tested. Unresolved loss using the Adult Attachment Interview in a nonclinical middle-class sample of 85 mothers who had experienced the loss of someone important was assessed. Disorganized attachment was examined in the Strange Situation. Parental behavior was recorded during 2 2-hr home visits. The model applied to mothers with currently insecure attachment representations. Secure mothers with unresolved loss displayed less frightening behavior than other mothers, and unresolved loss in secure mothers did not predict disorganized attachment of their infants. Frightening behavior predicted infant disorganized attachment irrespective of maternal security. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A validity study of two projective object representations measures.

Two projective measures of object representations, the Concept of the Object on the Rorschach (H. Rorchach, 1942) and the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scales (D. Westen, 1993) were compared with each other, with measures of intelligence (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised; D. Wechsler, 1981), and measures of pathology (Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory [T. Millon, 1983], Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory [S. R. Hathaway & J. McKinley, 1983] Axis 11 diagnoses). Analyses focused on the construct validity of object representations and the implications of structural and affective aspects of object representations for psychopathology. Results support the construct validity of object representations and an affective, but not a cognitive–structural, linkage between object representations and pathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of practice on speed of information processing in children and adults: Age sensitivity and age invariance.

In 2 experiments, children and adults were exposed to 4 different information-processing tasks. Consistent with the global trend hypothesis, age-sensitive linear relations were observed between child and adult latencies, and 10- and 11-yr-olds were approximately 1.7 and 1.6 times slower than 19-yr-olds as predicted by R. Kail's (see record 1991-20909-001) growth function. In Exp 1, the relation between child and adult latencies did not change over 4 sessions of practice, implying that practice has equivalent effects on corresponding processing steps in children and adults. In both experiments, an age-invariant linear relation between dispersion and central tendency was observed, indicating that children's greater within-S variability is entirely due to their slower speed of processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Representations of Early Family Relationships Predict Marital Maintenance During the Transition to Parenthood.

Marital maintenance, which involves engaging in behaviors that maintain closeness and is critical to sustaining marital satisfaction, was examined in 234 husbands and wives across the transition to parenthood. Prenatal assessments of adults' attachment representations and memories of their parents' marriage during childhood predicted perceptions of maintenance in their own marriage prenatally and 24 months postpartum. Adults who dismiss the importance of early attachment and lack believable memories of their parents' marriage reported the lowest levels of prenatal maintenance. Adults who are preoccupied with their early relationships with parents and have negative memories of their parents' marriage reported the sharpest declines in maintenance postpartum. Family interventions that can help couples recognize and explore problems that may accompany parenthood are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of mother-infant and father-infant attachments in the second year of life.

Observed 20 infants at home interacting with their mothers, fathers, and an unfamiliar investigator, when they were 15, 18, 21, and 24 mo of age. The infants showed significant preferences for their fathers over their mothers in the display of attachment and affiliative behaviors. Both parents were preferred to the investigator on attachment behavior measures, though when the relative activity of the adults was taken into account, the infants directed more affiliative behaviors to the investigator than to their parents. Over the year, there were declines in the occurrence of most attachment and affiliative behaviors. Fathers were far more active in interaction with sons than with daughters. At 24 mo, the infants were observed in a laboratory playroom with their parents. In this situation, the infants showed no preference for either parent in the display of attachment and affiliative behaviors. They interacted far more with each parent when alone with her/him than when both parents were present. A stranger's presence had a similar effect on affiliative interaction within each parent–infant dyad, though the stranger effect was differentiated by intensification of the attachment behavior system. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental changes in the ability to coordinate perspectives of a large-scale space.

In 2 experiments using a large-scale space and a 3rd using a model of that space, 85 3-, 4-, and 5-yr-olds were trained to find a trinket either to their right or left. The Ss' position in the space was then changed so that their view of the space was reversed. When asked to find the trinket again, Ss' choice of left or right indicated whether they had coordinated the 2 views of the space. While the 5-yr-olds were able to coordinate the views in the large-scale space without landmarks, the 3- and 4-yr-olds did better with landmarks and with the model space. Reminding the 3- and 4-yr-olds that they had changed position enhanced the performance of the 4-yr-olds but not the 3-yr-olds. Data indicate that the ability to coordinate perspectives in large-scale space may be present but not used spontaneously during a transitional stage. Discrepancies between behavior with the 2 types of space are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Rorschach Human Experience Variable, interpersonal relatedness, and object representation in nonpatients.

W. Perry and D. J. Viglione (1991) combined human representational variables from J. E. Exner's (1993) Comprehensive System in their Ego Impairment Index to create the Human Experience Variable (HEV). To validate the HEV, 105 nonpatient women completed the Bell Object Relations Inventory (M. Bell, 1991) and the Rorschach. Their spouses also rated the quality of these women's interpersonal relatedness by completing a modified Bell Object Relations Inventory and the Emotional Maturity Rating Form (H. Bessell, 1984). The HEV was significantly related to the quality of interpersonal relatedness, after considering Rorschach measures of psychopathology and "nonhuman" Rorschach images. Results indicate that representations of self and other accessed through the Rorschach account for unique variance in the prediction of the quality of interpersonal relationships, thus supporting the validity of the Rorschach and the concept of object relations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic and environmental influences on the rate of communicative development in the first year of life.

Used a full adoption design to investigate the separate effects of heredity and environment on differences in the rate of communicative development of 50 adopted 1-yr-olds. Measures of infant communicative performance were obtained, along with behavioral measures, from the infants' birth mothers and adoptive parents. The adoptive home environment also was assessed. Results indicate that 19% of the correlational relationships between cognitive abilities of the birth mother and communicative performance of the infant were significant, suggesting some genetic influence on rate of communicative development in the 1st yr. In contrast, an average of 5% of the correlational relationships between the infant and cognitive abilities of both adoptive parents were significant. However, 2 measures of maternal behavior (as assessed from videotape records taken in the adoptive home) were significantly related to overall communicative performance of the infant. These were contingent vocal responsivity to infant vocalizations and vocal imitation. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The affective component of the secure base schema: Affective priming with representations of attachment security.

Using an affective priming procedure (S. T. Murphy & R. B. Zajonc, 1993), 7 studies examined the effects of the contextual activation of representations of attachment security (secure base schema) on the evaluation of neutral stimuli under either neutral or stressful contexts. In all the studies, participants also reported on their attachment style. Results indicated that the subliminal priming of secure base representations led to more positive affective reactions to neutral stimuli than did the subliminal priming of neutral or no pictures under both neutral and stressful contexts. Although the subliminal priming of positively valued, attachment-unrelated representations heightened positive evaluations under neutral contexts, it failed to elicit positive affect under stressful contexts. The results also revealed interesting effects of attachment style. The discussion focuses on the affective component of the secure base schema. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment theory as an organizing framework: A view from different levels of analysis.

In recognition of the broad influence of attachment theory, the articles in this issue cut across diverse areas of psychology and multiple levels of analysis. T. R. Insel (2000) focuses on the molecular level, discussing the complex link between neurobiology and attachment behavior in nonhuman animals. The three articles by J. Cassidy (2000), R. C. Fraley and P. R. Shaver (2000), and P. R. Pietromonaco and L. Feldman Barrett (2000) present midlevel analyses, incorporating ideas about the links between mental representations and relationship thoughts, feelings, and behavior. C. Hazan and L. A Diamond (2000) take a macro approach by applying a broad evolutionary perspective to understand the basis for attachment in adult pair bonds. The discussion focuses on unifying themes, including the interplay between attachment, caregiving, and sexual behavior; attachment functions in adult relationships; evolutionary processes; the operation of internal working models; and continuity in attachment across the life span. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of infant-father and infant-mother attachment.

The 1st-yr correlations of infant–father and infant–mother attachment were investigated in a longitudinal study of early family development. Mothers and fathers were observed interacting with their 1st-born, 3-mo-old infants. Parents also were interviewed individually at 3 mo child age concerning their time with the infant and their attitudes and reports about the infant and their parental role. Mothers and fathers were seen in the strange situation with their infant at 12 mo. For infants and fathers, security of attachment was predicted from the qualities of interaction at 3 mo, the father's attitudes and reports about the infant and the paternal role, and the father's time with the infant. For infants and mothers, security of attachment was predicted from the qualities of interaction at 3 mo and the mother's time with the infant. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perspectives on attachment and psychoanalysis.

Contrasts attachment as a relationship approach for understanding development with relevant psychoanalytic perspectives. Current theoretical and research concepts focusing on affect development and the evolution of the parent–infant relationship are discussed. A broader understanding of attachment is presented, which includes 2 ideas. The 1st is that internal representations build on internal working models of development. The 2nd is that the attachment concept, combined with systems theory, is a way to conceptualize aspects of family theory and therapy. Clinical implications of attachment theory and research are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)