W09 Attachment and the Self

1. Baby Kim is taking part in a Strange Situation task with her mother. Throughout the experiment, Kim is clingy, is extremely distressed when separated from her mother, and refuses to be comforted by the experimenter. Her mother's attempt to comfort her does not seem to help either. To which attachment category is Kim likely to belong?

Insecure avoidant attachment
Disorganised attachment
Insecure resistant attachment
Secure attachment

2. Infants exhibit their developing sense of self in which of the following orders?

Displaying embarrassment in social situations, recognising self in a photograph, recognising self in a mirror
Displaying embarrassment in social situations, recognising self in a mirror, recognising self in a photograph
Recognising self in a photograph, recognising self in a mirror, displaying embarrassment in social situations
Recognising self in a mirror, recognising self in a photograph, displaying embarrassment in social situations

3. Which of the following statements is true regarding the long-term consequences of secure attachment style?

Securely attached children achieve greater academic attainment
Secure attachment predicts positive peer relationships in adolescence
Children who were securely attached as infants show better emotional health later in development
All of the above

4. According to the lecture, which of the following best describes the core definition of attachment?

A deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space
A dependency on a caregiver solely for the provision of food and nutrition
A temporary connection formed during the first few hours of life that fades after infancy
An unconscious fantasy about the primary caregiver as proposed by psychoanalysis

5. In Konrad Lorenz's research on imprinting with graylag geese, what was the significance of the "critical period"?

It was the period during which the geese learned to fly.
It was the timeframe (13-16 hours after hatching) during which the geese formed a connection with the first moving stimulus.
It was the period in which the geese rejected any non-biological parent.
It was the duration required for the geese to recognize their own reflection.

6. Harry Harlow’s research with rhesus monkeys demonstrated the importance of "contact comfort". What was the key finding?

Monkeys preferred the wire mother because she provided food.
Monkeys showed no preference between the wire mother and the cloth mother.
Monkeys attached to the wire mother only if the cloth mother was removed.
Monkeys felt attached to the cloth mother even when they were fed by the wire mother.

7. According to Bowlby's 4 phases of attachment, in which phase does the infant begin to show "clear-cut attachment" and separation distress?

Phase 1: Preattachment phase (birth to 6 weeks)
Phase 2: Attachment-in-the-making (6 weeks to 6-8 months)
Phase 3: Clear-cut attachment (6-8 months to 1-2 years)
Phase 4: Reciprocal relationships (from 1 or 2 years onward)

8. What is the "Internal Working Model" (IWM) in the context of attachment theory?

A laboratory procedure used to assess infant attachment styles.
A genetic predisposition to seek food from the mother.
A mental representation formulated by the child based on early relationships with caregivers.
A stage of development where the child recognizes themselves in a mirror.

9. In the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP), what aspect of attachment behavior is assessed during Episode 2, when the caregiver and child are alone in the room?

Reaction to the stranger.
Exploration and use of parent as a secure base.
Separation distress.
Ability to be soothed by a stranger.

10. Approximately what percentage of children from middle-class U.S. families are classified as having a Secure Attachment?

20%
40%
66%
10%

11. Which behavior is characteristic of an infant with Insecure-Avoidant attachment during the Strange Situation?

High distress upon separation and resistance to comfort upon reunion.
Dazed or disoriented behavior, often contradictory.
Indifference toward the caregiver and being as easily comforted by a stranger as by the caregiver.
Active seeking of the caregiver upon return and quick recovery from distress.

12. How does an Insecure-Resistant (Ambivalent) infant typically behave during the reunion episodes of the Strange Situation?

They ignore the caregiver and continue playing.
They greet the caregiver happily and return to exploration.
They appear frightened and freeze.
They seek comfort but simultaneously resist the caregiver's efforts to comfort them.

13. The "Disorganised/Disoriented" attachment category was added later by Main & Solomon (1990). Which of the following is true about infants in this category?

They consistently avoid the caregiver to reduce stress.
They display confused or contradictory behaviours, such as appearing dazed or disoriented.
They represent the majority of infants in low-income families.
They are the most independent and exploratory of all categories.

14. Which of the following is a criticism regarding the "Ecological Validity" of the Strange Situation Procedure?

The infant's attachment style is determined by just a few minutes of separation and reunion.
It is unethical to separate a mother from a child for any length of time.
It cannot distinguish between twins.
It relies too heavily on parental questionnaires.

15. Heidi Keller criticizes Attachment Theory for being "WEIRD". What does the acronym WEIRD stand for?

Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic
White, European, Intellectual, Rational, Developed
Western, Ethical, Independent, Rational, Democratic
World, Economic, International, Research, Data
Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic

16. Regarding the ethics of the Strange Situation, which defense is used to justify the procedure?

The procedure provides monetary compensation to the infants.
The distress caused is permanent but necessary for science.
The situation is not atypical compared to real-life events like nursery care, and episodes are brief.
Parents are not allowed to comfort the child at any point.

17. At what age do infants typically demonstrate a "sense of self" by showing separation distress from primary caregivers?

Birth to 2 months
Around 8 months
18-20 months
3 years

18. Which test is commonly used to demonstrate self-recognition in children aged 18-20 months?

The Strange Situation
The Shopping Cart Test
Mirror recognition (Rouge Test)
The False Belief Task

19. How do children aged 3 to 4 typically describe themselves?

In terms of abstract psychological traits (e.g., "I am introverted").
In terms of concrete, observable characteristics and physical activities.
In terms of social comparisons with peers (e.g., "I am smarter than John").
They are unable to describe themselves at this age.

20. What is "social comparison" in the context of the developing self?

Learning gender roles by observing parents.
Comparing one's own functioning to that of others to evaluate oneself.
The ability to understand that others have different minds.
The process of comparing aspects of one's own psychological, behavioural, or physical functioning to that of others to evaluate oneself.

21. Research on self-esteem suggests that generally:

Girls have higher overall self-esteem than boys across the lifespan.
Boys tend to have higher overall self-esteem than girls, and this persists across the lifespan.
There are no gender differences in overall self-esteem.
Girls have higher self-esteem in athletics, while boys have higher self-esteem in moral conduct.

22. In which domain do girls typically show higher self-esteem compared to boys?

Athletics
Personal appearance
Academic ability
Behavioral and moral-ethical conduct

23. How does culture typically influence self-esteem functioning in Asian societies compared to WEIRD (e.g., USA) cultures?

Asian cultures emphasize "Me > We", leading to higher self-promotion.
Asian cultures have significantly higher self-esteem scores than Western cultures.
Asian cultures emphasize "We > Me", focusing on contributing to the group welfare.
There is no difference in the function of self-esteem across cultures.

24. Which of the following best defines "gender identity"?

The chromosomal sex of an individual (XX or XY).
Self-identification, which is not the same as the sex chromosomes an individual carries.
The toys a child prefers to play with.
The biological differences in brain structure between men and women.

25. By what age do children typically use gender terms (e.g., "boy") in their speech and feel they "belong" to a gender group?

6 months
1 year
By age 3
7 years

26. What does the evolutionary perspective suggest about gender development?

Gender differences are solely the result of parental socialisation.
Genetic predispositions towards gender differences emerged because they offered reproductive advantages.
There is direct genetic evidence linking specific genes to gender-typed toys.
Brain structures are unique to each sex, driving behaviour.

27. Which statement accurately reflects current knowledge about gender differences in the brain?

Male brains are significantly larger and this explains higher intelligence.
There is a clear distinction with specific structures found only in female brains.
There is a great deal of overlap between female and male brains, and it is unclear if small structural differences relate to gender differences.
Brain differences are entirely determined by genetics with no environmental influence.

28. According to Social Learning Theory (SLT), how do children develop gender roles?

Through innate biological drives that surface at puberty.
By negotiating with peers during play.
By observing other people and imitating same-gender models.
Through the development of the Internal Working Model.

29. How can "gender-essentialist statements" by parents influence children?

They have no effect as children ignore verbal instruction.
They convey indirect messages about acceptable forms of behaviour (e.g., "Boys don't cry").
Both B and the idea that they reinforce behavioural expectations.
They only affect children if they are accompanied by physical punishment.

30. Which of the following is an example of an "evolutionary" explanation for gender differences in spatial reasoning?

Boys are given blocks and construction toys more often than girls.
Men who could track animals over distances had better survival rates, selecting for good spatial reasoning.
Male brains have a larger hippocampus dedicated to math.
Teachers encourage boys to take math and science classes.