SECURITY OF ATTACHMENT AND THE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF COGNITION

by Meins,Elizabeth

• ISBN13: 9780863774683
• ISBN10: 0863774687
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-10-01
• Publisher: Psychology Pres

Summary

Investigates how children's security of attachment in infancy is related to various aspects of their cognitive development over the preschool years. The book thus constitutes an attempt to build bridges between the domains of social and cognitive development, and as such addresses issues which are of increasing interest to developmental psychologists. In the first two chapters it outlines Bowlby's attachment theory and the research which it has inspired, and develops the theme of a secure attachment relationship providing children with a sense of themselves as effective agents in their interactions with the world self-efficacy; The following chapters describe a study of a sample of children whose security of attatchment was assessed in infancy. Security-related differences are reported in the areas of object/person permanence, language aquisition. symbolic play, maternal tutoring and theory of mind, but no differances were found in general cognitive ability. The book's major focus is explaining why securelyattached children may be more self- effective and flexible in social interactions.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
1. The origins of Bowlby's attachment theory	1	(16)
Bowlby's theory of attachment	3	(8)
Freud's influence on Bowlby	11	(6)
2. Security of attachment: Correlates and consequences	17	(22)
Ainsworth's early observational studies	17	(5)
The secure base	22	(2)
Correlates of security of attachment	24	(3)
The consequences of security of attachment	27	(2)
Alternative explanations	29	(7)
How are the antecedents and consequences of security of attachment related?	36	(3)
3. Security of attachment and early cognitive development	39	(18)
Piaget's theory of sensori-motor development	40	(4)
Recent evaluations of Piaget's theory of sensori-motor development	44	(4)
Search behaviour and security of attachment	48	(1)
Search, security and self-efficacy	49	(1)
Study One	50	(7)
4. Is security of attachment related to the infant's style of language acquisition?	57	(18)
Links between linguistic and cognitive development	58	(1)
Referential and expressive style	59	(2)
Security of attachment and language acquisition	61	(2)
Study Two	63	(4)
Possible causes of differences in acquisitional style	67	(5)
Are there commonalities between the referential child and the secure child?	72	(3)
5. Symbolic play and security: A meeting of minds?	75	(18)
Factors influencing symbolic play	78	(3)
Age-related changes in symbolic play	81	(1)
Study Three	82	(6)
Security of attachment and symbolic abilities	88	(2)
Theoretical considerations	90	(3)
6. Security of attachment and maternal sensitivity within a tutoring context	93	(18)
Maternal tutoring strategies	94	(3)
Tutoring strategies and security of attachment	97	(2)
Study Four	99	(9)
The child as an active participant in the tutoring process	108	(3)
7. Security of attachment and the understanding of other minds	111	(18)
The false belief task as an index of mentalising abilities	113	(3)
Individual differences in mentalising abilities	116	(1)
Security of attachment and mentalising abilities	117	(3)
Study Five	120	(1)
Age 4 assessment	120	(1)
Age 5 assessment	121	(2)
Results	123	(6)
8. Implications and applications	129	(20)
A summary of the empirical findings	130	(4)
A Vygotskian approach to attachment	134	(2)
Contexts for development	136	(8)
Beyond the Vygotskian approach	144	(2)
Implications for future development	146	(3)
Appendix 1	149	(2)
References	151	(16)
Author index	167	(6)
Subject index	173