Preschoolers' attention to and memory for attachment-relevant information.
This study examined the relation between attachment quality in infancy and attention and memory at 3 1/2 years. Sixty-eight children participated in 2 attention tasks and 1 memory task. In the first attention task, children were shown several sets of drawings; each set depicted a different mother-child dyad engaged in positive, negative, and neutral interaction. Insecure/avoidant children looked away from the drawings more than the other children. In the second attention task, children were shown different sets of drawings; each set depicted a mother-child dyad engaged in positive interaction and an adult dyad expressing neutral affect. Insecure/avoidant and insecure/ambivalent children looked away from the mother-child drawings more than the secure children; when children did look at a drawing, insecure children were less likely than secure children to look at the mother-child drawing. In the memory task, children were read 6 stories in which a mother responds to her child's bid for help. In 2 stories the mother responds sensitively to her child, in 2 stories the mother rejects her child, and in 2 stories the mother provides an exaggerated response to her child. Secure children recalled the responsive stories better than insecure/avoidant children and the rejecting stories better than the insecure/ambivalent children. Findings are discussed in terms of the proposition from attachment theory that attachment experiences influence attention and memory processes.
Kirsh
S J
SJ
Department of Psychology, Washburn University, Topeka, KS 66621, USA. zzkirs@acc.wuacc.edu
Cassidy
J
J
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009769:Object Attachment; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010553:Personality Development; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D013067:Speech Perception