Sensitive Responding

For attachment theory to be valid, sensitive responding by parents must influence a child's development--i.e., it must make a difference (Lamb, Thompson, Gardner, Charnov, & Estes, 1984). This is what scientists call an empirical question--viz., does sensitive responding make a difference in attachment style?--and it is one that could be answered using the methods of behavior genetics. Most behavior genetics studies show that the shared environment (including parental behavior that is the same toward siblings reared together) has a negligible effect on adult personality. Behavior genetics methods could show--and very likely would show--that around 50 percent of the variability in children's attachment styles is due to genetic influences. The finding that genes make a big difference in attachment style would not in itself preclude an important role for sensitive responding, however. To see why, one must consider the three models of genetic transmission (Reiss, 1997).

If the passive model is correct, then the genes responsible for a child's attachment style are the same genes responsible for parents' sensitive (or insensitive) responding. For example, the genes responsible for being insensitive may be the same genes responsible for insecure attachment. In this model, sensitive responding is at the end of the causal chain. If the passive model is correct, then sensitive responding makes no difference, and attachment theory is wrong.

If the child-effects model is correct, then genes cause child attachment style, which evokes sensitive (or insensitive) parental responses. For example, certain genes may cause insecure attachment, insecurely attached children may behave with hostility toward their parents, and this may result in the parents' behaving insenstively toward the children. In this model, sensitive responding is at the end of the causal chain. If the child-effects model is correct, then sensitive responding makes no difference, and attachment theory is wrong.

If the parent-effects model is correct, then genes cause child temperament, which evokes sensitive (or insensitive) parental responses, and these responses determine child attachment style. For example, certain genes may cause a child to be cranky. Crankiness in a child is unpleasant to adults--but a sensitive parent will react with affection nevertheless. This sensitive responding will result in a securely attached child. In this model, sensitive responding is in the middle of the causal chain. If the parent-effects model is correct, then sensitive responding does make a difference, and attachment theory is right.

References

Lamb, M. E., Thompson, R. A., Gardner, W. P., Charnov, E. L, & Estes, D. (1984). Security of infantile attachment as assessed in the "strange situation": Its study and biological interpretation. The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 7, 127-171.

Reiss, D. (1997). Mechanisms linking genetic and social influences in adolescent development: Beginning a collaborative search. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 6, 100-105.

 

Last modified May 1998
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