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Attachment: Mechanism, diagnosis and determinants of development

General data

Course ID: 2500-PL-PS-FS-10
Erasmus code / ISCED: 14.4 Kod klasyfikacyjny przedmiotu składa się z trzech do pięciu cyfr, przy czym trzy pierwsze oznaczają klasyfikację dziedziny wg. Listy kodów dziedzin obowiązującej w programie Socrates/Erasmus, czwarta (dotąd na ogół 0) – ewentualne uszczegółowienie informacji o dyscyplinie, piąta – stopień zaawansowania przedmiotu ustalony na podstawie roku studiów, dla którego przedmiot jest przeznaczony. / (0313) Psychology The ISCED (International Standard Classification of Education) code has been designed by UNESCO.
Course title: Attachment: Mechanism, diagnosis and determinants of development
Name in Polish: Przywiązanie: Mechanizm, diagnoza i uwarunkowania rozwoju
Organizational unit: Faculty of Psychology
Course groups:
ECTS credit allocation (and other scores): 3.00 Basic information on ECTS credits allocation principles:
  • the annual hourly workload of the student’s work required to achieve the expected learning outcomes for a given stage is 1500-1800h, corresponding to 60 ECTS;
  • the student’s weekly hourly workload is 45 h;
  • 1 ECTS point corresponds to 25-30 hours of student work needed to achieve the assumed learning outcomes;
  • weekly student workload necessary to achieve the assumed learning outcomes allows to obtain 1.5 ECTS;
  • work required to pass the course, which has been assigned 3 ECTS, constitutes 10% of the semester student load.
Language: Polish
Prerequisites (description):

(in Polish) Zaliczenie przedmiotu Psychologia rozwojowa oraz znajomość języka angielskiego w stopniu umożliwiającym czytanie tekstów naukowych.
Short description:

The seminar introduces students to theoretical and practical issues related to: attachment theory, diagnosis of individual differences in attachment, differentiation in the scope of normative and clinical problems related to attachment, factors influencing the development of attachment security and insecurity, including the role of caregiver’s sensitivity and responsiveness.
Learning outcomes:

Knowledge. Person studying:

1. Points to various mechanisms of attachment functioning and development throughout life-cycle related to social learning, evolutionary foundations, family systems theory, and self-determinism theory.

2. Gives examples of behaviors indicating individual differences in attachment.

4. Lists and is able to challenge myths regarding attachment that are commonly found in laypersons, as well as among practitioners.

5. Lists and describes the factors influencing the development of individual differences in attachment.

6. Lists and describes the differences in various strategies for measuring attachment.

Skills. Person studying:

1. Observes, initially assesses, describes and explains behaviors related to individual differences in the attachment in childhood and adulthood.

2. Is able to use various tools for measuring attachment quality in adults.

3. Explains what factors influence the development of specific individual differences in attachment.

4. Is able to plan a scientific study on attachment.

Social competence. Person studying:

1. Adjusts the way of communicating and assessing the functioning of an individual in relation to the observed indicators of attachment quality.

2. In the diagnosis, the student assesses individual differences in attachment within the developmental norm.

Classes in period "Summer semester 2023/24" (in progress)

Time span: 2024-02-19 - 2024-06-16
Selected timetable range:
Navigate to timetable
Type of class:
Seminar, 30 hours more information
Coordinators: (unknown)
Group instructors: Katarzyna Lubiewska
Students list: (inaccessible to you)
Examination: Course - Grading
Seminar - Grading
Full description:

Attachment theory is one of the most theoretically and practically fruitful theories in psychology. Nevertheless, in both social and psychological practice, there are many misunderstandings related to the understanding of attachment, its development, as well as its diagnosis. The aim of this seminar is a thorough introduction to theoretical, empirical and practical issues related to attachment theory, its diagnosis, and life-span development context. The seminar participants will learn: what are mechanisms of the functioning of the attachment system and the development of attachment security and insecurity in parent-child relationships and in romantic relationships (Block 0 and Block 1); what are the basis for diagnosing individual differences in attachment (Block 2); and what are the main factors determining the development of attachment security and insecurity, including sensitivity in the family and therapeutic context.
Bibliography: (in Polish)

1. Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. N. (2015). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Psychology Press. (Appendix IV)

2. Bosmans, G., Van Vlierberghe, L., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Kobak, R., Hermans, D., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2022). A learning theory approach to attachment theory: Exploring clinical applications. Clinical child and family psychology review, 25(3), 591-612.

3. Campbell, L., & Stanton, S. C. (2019). Adult attachment and trust in romantic relationships. Current opinion in psychology, 25, 148-151.

4. Forslund, T., Granqvist, P., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Sagi- Schwartz, A., Glaser, D., Steele, M., Hammarlund, M., Schuengel, C., Bakermans- Kranenburg, M. J., Steele, H., Shaver, P. R., Lux, U., Simmonds, J., Jacobvitz, D., Groh, A. M., Bernard, K., Cyr, C., Hazen, N. L., Foster, S., … Duschinsky, R. (2022). Attachment goes to court: Child protection and custody issues. Attachment and Human Development, 24(1), 1– 52.

5. Hesse, E. (2008). The Adult Attachment Interview: Protocol, method of analysis, and empirical studies. In: J. Cassidy, & P. R. Shaver, (Eds.). Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.

6. Leedom, L. J. (2014). Human Social Behavioral Systems: Ethological framework for a unified theory. Human Ethology Bulletin, 29(1), 39-65.

7. Lubiewska, K. (2019). Przywiązanie w kontekście wrażliwości rodzicielskiej, socjalizacji oraz wpływów kulturowych. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN SA (wybrane rozdziały)

8. Mikulincer, M., Florian, V., Cowan, P. A., & Cowan, C. P. (2002). Attachment security in couple relationships: A systemic model and its implications for family dynamics. Family process, 41(3), 405-434.

9. Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2020). Applications of attachment theory and research. Applications of social psychology: How social psychology can contribute to the solution of real-world problems.

10. Raby, K. L., Fraley, R. C., & Roisman, G. I. (2021). Categorical or dimensional measures of attachment. Attachment: The fundamental questions, 70, 70-77.

11. Taylor, C. (2010). A practical guide to caring for children and teenagers with attachment difficulties. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. (Chapter 4)

12. Zayas, V., & Hazan, C. (2014). Bases of adult attachment. Springer. (Part III)
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