Download Chapter 14

Chapter 14
Attachment Theory
Bowlby defined attachment as a strong affectional tie that binds a person to an intimate companion
Attachment is also a behavioral system through which humans regulate their emotional distress when
under threat and achieve security by seeking proximity to another person
Both adults and infants have behaviors that promote the formation of attachments
Babies will follow (proximity-seeking behavior), Suck and cling, Smile and vocalize
Express negative emotions such as fretting and crying
Adults respond to infants’ signals
The hormone oxytocin promotes attachment
Bowlby proposed that through their interactions with caregivers, infants construct expectations about
relationships in the form of internal working models
Cognitive representations of themselves and other people that guide the processing of social information
and behavior in relationships
Securely attached infants who have received responsive care will form internal working models
suggesting that they are lovable and that other people can be trusted to care for them
Insecurely attached infants subjected to insensitive, neglectful, or abusive care may conclude that they are
difficult to love, that other people are unreliable, or both
Peers and the Two Worlds of Childhood
A peer is a social equal, someone who functions at a similar level of behavioral complexity, often
someone of similar age
Peer relationships have developmental value
Peers help children learn that relationships are reciprocal
Peers force children to hone their social perspective-taking skills
Peers contribute to social-cognitive and moral development in ways that parents cannot
Henry Stack Sullivan believed that social needs change as we get older and are gratified through different
kinds of social relationships at different ages
Until about age 6, the parent-child relationship is central for providing tender care and nurturance
Then peers become increasingly important
At first, children need playmates
Then they need acceptance by the peer group
Then around age 9 to 12, children begin to need intimacy in the form of a close friendship
Sullivan stressed the developmental significance of these chumships, or close childhood friendships
Having a close friend or chum teaches children to take others’ perspectives, validates and supports
children, and can protect them from the otherwise harmful effects of a poor parent-child
relationship or rejection by the larger peer group
Chumships also teach children how to participate in emotionally intimate
relationships
and can pave the way for romantic relationships during adolescence
The Infant – Early Emotional Development
The development of primary emotions
At birth, babies show contentment (by smiling), interest (by staring intently at objects), and distress
(by grimacing in response to pain or discomfort)
By 3 months of age, contentment becomes joy or excitement at the sight of something familiar
(smile because of mom)
Interest becomes surprise, such as when expectations are violated in games of peek-a-boo
Distress soon evolves into a range of negative emotions, such as disgust (in response to foul-tasting
foods) and sadness
4 months (angry expressions appear), 5 months (fear)
The secondary or self-conscious emotions require an awareness of self and begin to emerge around 18
months
At 18 months, infants begin to show embarrassment
Around age 2, when they are able to judge their behavior against standards of performance, the selfconscious emotions of pride, shame, and guilt emerge
At approximately 1year, infants begin to use social referencing
They monitor their companions’ emotional reactions in ambiguous situations and use this information to
decide how they should feel and behave
If their mothers are wary when a stranger approaches, so are they; if their mothers smile at the stranger, so
may they
Infants are especially attentive to stimuli that provoke negative emotional reactions such as fear or anger
in their caregivers, as if they know that these emotions are warning signals
Infants must develop strategies for emotional regulation
The processes involved in initiating, maintaining, and altering emotional responses
Infants develop the capacity for emotional regulation over time
Very young infants are able to reduce their negative arousal by turning from unpleasant stimuli or by
sucking vigorously on a pacifier
By the end of the first year, infants can also regulate their emotions by rocking themselves, moving away
from upsetting events, or actively seeking attachment figures who will calm them
By 18 to 24 months, toddlers will try to control the actions of people and objects (for example, by pushing
the offending person or object away)
They are able to cope with the frustration of waiting for snacks and gifts by playing with toys and
otherwise distracting themselves
They have been observed knitting their brows or compressing their lips in an attempt to suppress their
anger or sadness
Finally, as children gain the capacity for symbolic thought and language, they become able to regulate
their distress symbolically (for example, by repeating “Mommy coming soon”)
The development of emotion regulation skills is influenced by both an infant’s temperament and a
caregiver’s behavior
When infants are very young and have few emotion regulation strategies of their own, they rely heavily
on caregivers (who can stroke or rock them when they are distressed)
With age, infants gain control of emotion regulation strategies first learned in the context of the parentchild relationship and can regulate their emotions on their own
Children who are not able to get a grip on their negative emotions tend to experience stormy relationships
with both caregivers and peers and are at risk to develop behavior problems
The Infant – An Attachment Forms
The caregiver forms an attachment to the infant: Often before birth
The infant possesses a repertoire of behaviors such as sucking, grasping, rooting, and smiling
Because babies are responsive
Caregivers and infants develop synchronized routines, they take turns responding to each other
Parent-infant synchrony contributes to a secure attachment relationship and to later self-regulation and
empathy
The infant forms an attachment to the caregiver in the following phases
Undiscriminating social responsiveness (birth to 2 or 3 months)
Infants respond to voices, faces, and other stimuli, especially humans
They do not yet show a clear preference for any one person
Discriminating social responsiveness (2 or 3 months to 6 or 7 months)
Infants begin to express preferences for familiar companions, but they are still friendly toward
strangers
Active proximity seeking or true attachment (6 or 7 months to about 3 years)
Infants form their first clear attachments, most often to their mothers
Goal-corrected partnership (3 years and older)
Children adjust their behavior in order to maintain proximity to the attachment figure
Separation anxiety
Once attached to a parent, a baby often becomes wary or fretful when separated from that
parent
Separation anxiety normally appears when infants are forming their first genuine attachments,
peaks between 14 and 18 months, and gradually becomes less frequent and less intense
Stranger anxiety
Once attached to a parent, a baby often experiences a wary or fretful reaction to the approach
of an unfamiliar person
Anxious reactions to strangers become common between 8 and 10 months, continue through
the first year, and gradually decline in intensity over the second year
The Infant – Quality of Attachment
Secure attachment
About 60-65% of 1-year-olds in our society are securely attached to their mothers or primary
caregivers
The securely attached infant actively explores the room when alone with his mother because
she serves as a secure base
The infant may be upset by separation but greets his mother warmly and is comforted by her
presence when she returns
When his mother is present, the securely attached child is outgoing with a stranger
Resistant attachment (also called anxious/ambivalent attachment)
About 10% of 1-year-olds show a resistant attachment, an insecure attachment characterized by
anxious, ambivalent reactions
The resistant infant does not venture off to play even when his mother is present, probably
because she is not a secure base for exploration
Yet this infant becomes distressed when his mother departs, perhaps because he is uncertain
whether she will return
When his mother returns, the infant is ambivalent: he may try to remain near her but seems to
resent her for having left, may resist if she tries to make physical contact, and may even hit and
kick her in anger
Resistant infants are also wary of strangers, even when their mothers are present
Avoidant attachment
Up to 15% of 1-year-olds have avoidant attachments
They seem uninterested in exploring, show little apparent distress when separated from their
mothers, and avoid contact or seem indifferent when their mothers return
Insecurely attached infants are not particularly wary of strangers but sometimes avoid or ignore
them, much as they avoid or ignore their mothers
Avoidant infants seem to have distanced themselves from their parents
Disorganized-disoriented attachment
Up to 15% of infants (more in high-risk families) display a disorganized-disoriented form of
attachment
This form of attachment seems to be associated with later emotional problems
When infants with disorganized-disoriented attachment are reunited with their mothers after a
separation, they may act dazed and freeze or lie immobilized on the floor
Alternatively, they may seek contact but then abruptly move away as their mothers approach
them, only to seek contact again
Infants with a disorganized-disoriented attachment appear to have been unable to devise a
consistent strategy for regulating negative emotions such as separation anxiety
In the classic study conducted by Harry Harlow and Robert Zimmerman (1959), infant monkeys were fed
by a wire “mother” or by a cuddly, cloth-covered “mother”
All the infant monkeys demonstrated preference for the terrycloth “mother,” even when their food
came from the wire mother
Harlow’s research demonstrated that contact comfort is a more powerful contributor to attachment in
monkeys than feeding
Styles of parenting strongly influence attachment
Securely attached infants have parents who are sensitive and responsive to their needs and
emotional signals
Babies with a resistant pattern of attachment often have parents who are inconsistent in their
caregiving
Infants with an avoidant attachment have parents who tend to provide either too little or too much
stimulation
The disorganized-disoriented style of attachment is evident in as many as 80% of infants who have
been physically abused or maltreated
Infants contribute to the formation of the attachment
Infants must acquire some concept of person permanence (a form of Piaget’s object permanence
concept) before they can form an attachment
An infant’s temperament influences attachment
Attachments tend to be insecure when infants are by temperament fearful, irritable, or unresponsive
The caregiver’s style of parenting and the infant’s temperament often interact to
determine the attachment outcome
The broader social context affects attachment
Poverty and marital difficulties are stressful, can interfere with parents’ abilities to provide sensitive
care, and may contribute to insecure attachments
The cultural context also influences parenting and the meanings of attachment
In Western, individualistic cultures, such as Germany, optimal development means becoming an
autonomous being
In Eastern, collectivist cultures, such as Japan, the goal is to become integrated into the group
The Infant –Implications of Early Attachment
Some infants experience social deprivation and never have an opportunity to form an attachment
Researchers have found that infants who spent their first 6 months or more in deprived orphanages
displayed eating problems and medical problems and showed delays in physical, cognitive, and
social-emotional development
Rapid recovery was evident once the children were adopted, and some children overcame their
developmental problems
However, many children institutionalized for more than 6 months never achieved normal levels of
cognitive development, possibly because they lacked the intellectual stimulation necessary for
normal brain development
Studies of Romanian children who experienced early deprivation showed that the longer the
deprivation, the less likely were they to form secure attachments and the more likely they were
to show a disturbed pattern of behavior called disinhibited attachment
Involves indiscriminate friendliness, lack of appropriate wariness of strangers, and difficulty
participating in real, reciprocal social interactions
What is it about deprived early environments that damages development?
Lack of stable caregivers and stable attachment relationships
Lack of proper nutrition, hygiene, and medical care
Lack of stimulation
The negative effects of living in a large residential institution can be prevented by placing
institutionalized children in small groups with a few, consistent caregivers who interact with the
children in a caring manner
Many infants experience separation from their caregivers
Infants who are permanently separated from a caregiver normally recover if they are able to
maintain or form an attachment with someone else
The earlier the separation takes place, the better
Children who experience a series of separations from caregivers (such as children in foster care)
may be permanently affected by their repeated experiences of loving and losing people
Results from the NICHD ECCRN study
Infants who experienced routine care by someone other than their mothers were not much different
than infants cared for almost exclusively by their mothers in the various developmental
outcomes studied
Infants who received alternative forms of care (even 20+ hours per week) were no less
securely attached to their mothers overall than infants who were tended
by their mothers
Quality of parenting was a much stronger influence on these infants’ attachment security and
development than daycare experience
Results from the NICHD ECCRN study continued
Children’s developmental outcomes were affected by the quality of their daycare, as
measured in terms of sensitive caregiving and cognitive and language stimulation
Children who spent a good deal of time in quality daycare performed better than home-reared
children on measures of cognitive and language skills and some measures of social skills
However, they also tended to display more behavior problems
The home environment interacts with quality of the daycare environment to influence outcomes
For example, infants fared poorly if their mothers were insensitive and unresponsive and they
were subjected to poor-quality daycare, too
Infants who received either good parenting or good daycare were usually securely attached
Do early attachment experiences make a difference later in life?
Securely attached infants turn into preschool children whom teachers describe as curious, selfdirected, and eager to learn
Insecurely attached children are less independent
Children who had been securely attached as infants are also more socially competent – more able to
initiate play activities, sensitive to the needs and feelings of other children, and popular
Secure attachment in infancy is linked to positive emotional development and the capacity to cope
with stress and regulate emotions in childhood
Are the effects of attachment in infancy permanent?
Researchers found that children who enjoyed secure relationships with their parents continue to be
well adjusted in late childhood and adolescence
In a longitudinal study, Simpson and colleagues (2007) linked secure attachment in the Strange
Situation at 12 months of age to the quality of a child’s peer relations in elementary school,
which in turn predicted quality of friendships in adolescence, which in turn predicted the
emotional quality of romantic relationships in early adulthood
Affectionate ties to fathers or other family members can compensate for insecure mother-infant
relationships
Attachment quality changes, and early attachments may have no long-term consequences if they
change later – if stressful life events such as divorce and illness convert secure attachments into
insecure ones, or if positive life changes make insecure attachments more secure
Internal working models are subject to revision based on later social experiences
The Infant – First Peer Relations
Infants show an interest in other babies from an early age and show capacities for sharing, cooperation,
and sympathy in their first year
Infants begin to interact with peers in earnest in about the middle of the first year
Smile or babble at their companions, vocalize, offer toys, and gesture to one another; may share
toys nicely or may squabble
Can relate meaningfully in groups of three
Around 18 months, infants are able to engage in simple forms of reciprocal, complementary play with
peers
Can adopt and reverse roles in their play: the toddler who receives a toy may immediately offer a toy in
return, or the one who has been the chaser will become the chasee
Toward the end of the second year, infants have become proficient at turn-taking and reciprocal exchange,
especially if they are securely attached to their parents
The Child – Play
Play generally is defined as activities that do not have an obvious or direct purpose or use
Scholars recognize four types of children’s play
Locomotor play (games of tag or ball)
Object play (stacking blocks, making crafts)
Social play (mutual imitation or playing board games)
Pretend play (enacting roles)
According to Parten (1932), from age 2 to age 5, play becomes increasingly social and socially skilled
Unoccupied play – children stand idly, look around, or engage in apparently aimless activities such
as pacing
Solitary play – children play alone, typically with objects, and appear to be highly involved in what
they are doing
Onlooker play – children watch others play, take an active interest, perhaps talk with the players,
but do not directly participate
Parallel play – children play next to one another, do much the same thing, but they interact little
(for example, two girls might sit near each other in the sandbox but do not talk)
Associative play – children interact by swapping materials, conversing, or following each other’s
lead, but they are not united by the same goal (for example, the two girls may share sandbox
toys and comment on each other’s sand structures)
Cooperative play – children join forces to achieve a common goal; they act as a pair or group,
dividing their labor and coordinating their activities in a meaningful way (for example, the two
girls collaborate to make a sand castle)
The Child – Peer Acceptance and Popularity
Using sociometric techniques, children may be classified into the following categories of social status
Popular – well liked by most and rarely disliked
Rejected – rarely liked and often disliked
Neglected – neither liked nor disliked (isolated children who seem to be invisible to their
classmates)
Controversial – liked by many but also disliked by many (the fun-loving child with leadership skills
who also bullies peers and starts fights)
Average – in the middle on both the liked and disliked scales
Popularity is affected by personal characteristics that a child typically cannot change
Physical attractiveness, Intelligence, Social competence (successful use of social-cognitive skills in
initiating social interactions, responding positively to peers, resolving
interpersonal conflicts smoothly), Well-regulated emotions
Rejected children may be characterized by
High levels of aggression
Tendency to social isolation, submissiveness, over-sensitivity to teasing, seen as “easy to push
around”
Neglected children may be characterized as
Having reasonably good social skills
Nonaggressive
Tendency to be shy, withdrawn, and unassertive
Controversial children often show good social skills and leadership qualities, like popular children, but
they are also viewed as aggressive bullies, like many rejected children
What are the outcomes of childhood social status?
Children who are neglected by peers often gain greater acceptance later
Socially withdrawn children whose social anxiety keeps them from interacting with peers and
exposes them to victimization by peers are at risk for a variety of negative outcomes
Children who are rejected, usually because of aggressive behavior, are likely to maintain their
rejected status from grade to grade
Rejected children may end up even more poorly adjusted as a result of the experience of being
rejected
Their self-esteem suffers, they lose opportunities to learn social skills, they develop negative
attitudes toward others, they are negatively influenced by the other antisocial children they
end up hanging out with, and their academic performance suffers
The Child – Friendships
Friendships have developmental importance for children
Having friends increases the odds that a child will be happy and socially competent
If the peers are well adjusted and supportive
Having friends reduces the odds that a child will be lonely and depressed
But not if the friends are antisocial or depressed
Chumships pave the way for romantic relationships in adolescence
Friends provide social support and comfort that can help children weather stressful events such
as parents’ divorce
True friends become attachment figures
The Adolescent – Friendships
Friendships change qualitatively with age, being based upon
Enjoyment of common activities in early childhood
Mutual loyalty and caring in late childhood
Intimacy and self-disclosure in adolescence
Teens form friendships with peers who are similar to them
The same ethnic background
Similar psychological qualities (interests, attitudes, values, and personalities)
In adolescence, friends are like-minded individuals who confide in each other
In a study of 5th to 11th graders, Sharabany and colleagues;
Same-sex friendships were reported to feature aspects of intimacy such as spontaneity, trust,
loyalty, sensitivity to the other’s feelings, and attachment
Cross-sex friendships did not attain a high level of intimacy until 11th grade (supports Sullivan’s
view)
Girls tended to report higher degrees of intimacy in their friendships than boys did
Girls achieved emotional intimacy in their cross-sex relationships at earlier ages
However, girls spend time in co-rumination, excessive discussion of personal problems with a
friend
The Adolescent –Changing Social Networks
Dunphy (1963) described five stages of change in peer-group structures during adolescence in preparation
for dating
In late childhood, boys and girls become members of same-sex cliques, or small friendship groups,
and have little to do with the other sex
Boy cliques and girl cliques then begin to interact
Same-sex cliques provide a secure base for romantic relationships (for an adolescent boy, talking to
a girl at the mall with his friends and her friends is far less threatening than doing so on his
own)
The most popular boys and girls form a heterosexual clique
As less popular peers also form mixed-sex cliques, a new peer-group structure, the crowd,
completes its evolution
The crowd is a collection of several heterosexual cliques
The crowd is central to arranging organized social activities, such as
parties, and provides opportunities to get to know members of the
other sex as friends and as potential romantic partners
Couples form, and the crowd disintegrates in late high school
The crowd served its purpose of bringing boys and girls together
The Adolescent – Dating
Brown (1999), adolescent relationships evolve through four phases
Initiation phase – in early adolescence, the focus is on the self
To see oneself as a person capable of relating to members of the other sex in a romantic way
Status phase – in mid-adolescence, having a romantic relationship with the “right kind” of partner
is important for the status it brings in the larger peer group
Affection phase – in late adolescence, the focus is on the relationship
Romantic relationships become more personal, caring relationships
Bonding phase – in the transition to early adulthood, the emotional intimacy achieved in the
affection phase is connected to a long-term commitment to create a lasting attachment bond
How does dating affect adolescent adjustment/development?
Dating typically has more positive than negative effects on development
It can compensate for a poor relationship with parents
Involvement in a steady relationship is good for self-esteem (although breakups hurt self-esteem
and can lead to depression)
Adolescents who date tend to be better adjusted overall than those who do not
However, dating at an early age appears to have more negative than positive effects on
social/emotional adjustment
Troubled adolescents start dating early
Early daters get hurt and/or become involved in problem behavior such as drinking and drug use
before their time
The Adult – Social Networks
Researchers have proposed that each of us has a social convoy – a social network and support system that
accompanies us during our life
Provides social support in the form of aid, affection, and affirmation
In the beginning, our convoy consists of our parents
The convoy expands over the years as others (family, partners, colleagues) join it but then typically
shrinks in later life
According to Carstensen (1992), the shrinking social convoy of adulthood is explained by socioemotional
selectivity theory
A choice older adults make to better meet their emotional needs once they perceive the time left to
them as short
Older adults to put less emphasis on the goal of acquiring knowledge for future use and more
emphasis on the goal of fulfilling current emotional needs
Consequently, older adults actively choose to narrow their range of social partners to those
who bring them emotional pleasure, usually family members and close friends, and they let
other social relationships fall by the wayside
According to research, older adults lead rich and rewarding emotional lives and are able to experience and
express their emotions fully and regulate them effectively
Older adults’ achievement of their emotional gratification goals may be explained an element of
information processing, the positivity effect
Paying more attention to, better remembering, and putting more priority on positive information
than on negative information
The Adult – Romantic Relationships
Explanations for mate selection
Evolutionary theorists suggest that men are more likely than women to emphasize physical
attractiveness in a partner, whereas women put more emphasis then men on a potential mate’s
resources and social status
Attractiveness may have signaled our ancestors that a woman is healthy and able to reproduce and
raise children
Signs of wealth, dominance, and status in the community may signal that a man can support
and protect a wife and children
Filter theories suggest that mate selection is a process in which we progress through a series of
filters leading us from all possible partners to one partner in particular
Early in an acquaintance, similarities in physical appearance, race, education, socioeconomic
status, religion, and the like serve as the first filters and provides a basis for dating
At the next level of filter, partners may disclose more about themselves and look for similarity
in inner qualities such as values, attitudes, beliefs, and personality traits
If they continue to find themselves compatible, their relationship may survive; if not, it may
end
However, scholars do not agree on how many filters there might be in mate selection
Also, mate selection does not appear to unfold in a stagelike manner as filter theories suggest
According to researchers, the greatest influence on mate selection is homogamy, or similarity
Once homogamy is assured, people may also prefer partners who complement them in some
way, bringing strengths to the relationship that compensate for their own weaknesses
The saying “birds of a feather flock together” has far more validity than the saying “opposites
attract” when it comes to mate selection
Partner choice works similarly in gay and lesbian relationships as in heterosexual relationships
Sternberg (1988, 2006) developed the triangular theory of love to explain different types of love based
upon the strength of the three components of passion, intimacy, and decision/commitment
Passion – sexual attraction, romantic feelings, and excitement
Intimacy – feelings of warmth, caring, closeness, trust, and respect in the relationship
Decision/commitment – involves first deciding that one loves the other person and then committing
to a long-term relationship
The Adult – Attachment Styles
Researchers have used attachment theory and the concept of the internal working model of relationships
to examine adult romantic relationships
Four attachment styles may result, according to whether the self and view of other people is either
positive or negative
Secure, Preoccupied, Dismissing, Fearful
Attachment styles can also be described in terms of two dimensions
Anxiety – extent of concern about the availability and responsiveness of partners
Avoidance – extent of discomfort being intimate with and depending on a partner
Adults with a secure working model feel good about both themselves and others
They are not afraid of entering intimate relationships or of being abandoned once they do
People with a preoccupied internal working model have a positive view of other people but feel unlovable
Adults with a dismissing style of attachment have a positive view of self but do not trust other people and
dismiss the importance of close relationships
Adults with a fearful internal working model resemble infants with a disorganized-disoriented attachment
They take a dim view of both themselves and others and display a confusing, unpredictable mix of
neediness and fear of closeness
According to research studies, internal working models of self and other formed on the basis of parentchild interactions affect the quality of later relationships
Adults who had experienced sensitive maternal care in infancy had more positive mental
representations of their romantic relationships than did other adults
The quality of the parent-child attachment, especially after infancy, predicted the quality of an
adult’s romantic relationship
A secure attachment at 1 year of age was linked, in turn, to social competence in childhood, close
friendships in adolescence, and an emotionally positive romantic relationship in early
adulthood
Researchers find that adults’ internal working models also can predict the quality of relationships
The internal working model predicts the extent to which adults have the confidence and curiosity to
explore and master their environments
A secure attachment style in adulthood is associated with strong achievement motivation and a
focus on mastering challenges as opposed to avoiding failure
Securely attached adults also enjoy their work and are good at it
Internal working models also affect an adult’s capacity for caregiving, particularly for being a sensitive
and responsive parent
Attachment styles have been shown to have a bearing on adjustment in old age
Older adults who recall loving relationships with their parents during childhood tend to have better
physical and mental health than those who recall unsupportive relationships
Attachment styles affect how older adults (and people of any age) react to loss of an attachment figure;
bereaved people with a secure attachment style appear to fare best
The Adult – Friendships
The quality and nature of friendships varies across adulthood
Young adults typically have more friends than older adults do
Even very old adults usually have one or more close friends and are in frequent contact with
their friends
Men and women generally have similar expectations of friends, but women tend to place greater
emphasis on these intimate relationships
Friendships can become strained as older adults begin to develop significant health problems and
disabilities
In late life, significant health problems and disabilities can result in one friend needing help more than the
other
Equity, the balance of contributions and gains, is an important influence upon satisfaction in relationships
A person who receives more than he gives is likely to feel guilty
A person who gives a great deal and receives little in return may feel angry or resentful
Consistent with equity theory, involvement in relationships in which the balance of emotional support
given and received is unequal is associated with lower emotional well-being and more symptoms of
depression than involvement in more balanced relationships
Overbenefited, or dependent, friends are often more distressed than underbenefited, or support-giving,
friends
Being able to help other people, or at least to reciprocate help, tends to boost the self-esteem and reduce
the depressive symptoms of elderly adults
The Adult – Adult Relationships and Adult Development
Meaningful social relationships foster normal cognitive, social, and emotional development in adulthood
A person’s sense of well-being or life satisfaction is affected by the quality – rather than the quantity – of
her social relationships
Perceived social support is more important than the social support actually received
The size of an adult’s social network is not nearly as important as whether it includes at least one
confidant-A spouse, relative, or friend to whom the individual feels especially attached and with
whom thoughts and feelings can be shared
Social support, especially from family members, has positive effects on the cardiovascular, endocrine, and
immune systems, improves the body’s ability to cope with stress and illness, and contributes to
better physical and cognitive functioning and a longer life, especially in old age
Research by Cacioppo and others (2008) concluded that humans have evolved to be with
other people and that isolation and loneliness wear the body down, affecting genes, stress hormones,
and the brain in ways that speed the aging process