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Article
How Early Negative Caregiving Experiences Relate to Stage of Attachment
The Behavioral Development Bulletin (2007)
  • Michael Lamport Commons, Harvard University
  • Patrice Marie Miller, Salem State University
Abstract
Negative behavioral stages of adult development of attachment can occur given different kinds of early experiences. Extreme negative early experiences, such as abuse, or neglect, often lead to arrested development in the domain, such as the interpersonal domain, in which such experiences occurred. Development may also occur because parents themselves have arrested development and do not provide models for higher stages of behaving. At the Preoperational stage 6, people fail to predict the effects of their own behavior on others and to differentiate between fantasies and reality. They require constant supervision. At the Primary stage 7, people understand that their own behavior may causes others harm but do not understand how others will feel. Adults using primary stage reasoning to solve certain dilemmas, often end up in trouble because they only know what their own behavior obtains but not how the other people might feel about it. At the Concrete operational stage 8, people consider the feelings of others, as well as their own. They fail to discriminate social norms, however, and can end up in trouble for that reason. At the Abstract stage 9, people care not about out-group people and so behave in a prejudicial way toward them. At the Formal stage 10, people apply simple cause and effect models to relationships. Since only one individual is perceived as being responsible, it is difficult to solve relationship dilemmas. At Systematic stage 11, people fail to use available means to settle conflicts, disrespecting their enemy and preferring to use power as legitimized by procedural due process. At the Metasystematic stage 12, people fail to co-construct a reality with all the stakeholders, often harming them. For each of these stages, ways of helping individuals to develop beyond them are suggested.
Disciplines
Publication Date
Spring 2007
DOI
10.1037/h0100495
Citation Information
Michael Lamport Commons and Patrice Marie Miller. "How Early Negative Caregiving Experiences Relate to Stage of Attachment" The Behavioral Development Bulletin Vol. 13 Iss. 1 (2007) p. 14 - 17
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/patrice-miller/8/