Course: Attachment Across The Lifespan

This course has fifteen weeks and there will be one paper every other week to submit, except that the first one is due January 23rd. In each case write a summary and reflection on the paper, including the basic aspects of attachment that are discussed in the paper. Minimum length per paper is 1250 words. For each paper, summarize the key points made by the articles, and then be sure to include your own personal applications of the material based on your own life and experience. 

All of these papers are based on journal articles (1 or 2 in most cases) and if you have trouble finding any of them, I can send you PDFs. Most of them are easily available using Google Scholar: 

Paper #1:  Karen, R. (1990). Becoming attached. The Atlantic Monthly, 265(2), 35-70. This paper is an excellent overview of the field. Due January 23, 2023 

Paper #2: Due January 30

Sroufe, L. A., & Waters, E. (1977). Attachment as an organizational construct. Child Development, 48,     1184-1199.

Youtube clips (to supplement the articles):

Ainsworth Strange Situation from Mark Allenby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqlbvpXp74k

Secure, Insecure, Avoidant Ambivalent Attachment in Mothers Babies from Marie Coppola

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRejV6f-Y3c

Why Does Your Attachment Style Matter? from Kati Morton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq_UoY4rqGo

Paper #3: Due February 13

Besser, A., & Priel, B. (2005). The apple does not fall far from the tree: Attachment styles and personality vulnerabilities to depression in three generations of women. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31(8), 1052-1073.

Spruit, A., Goos, L., Weenink, N., Rodenburg, R., Niemeyer, H., Stams, G. J., & Colonnesi, C. (2020). The relation between attachment and depression in children and adolescents: A multilevel meta-analysis. Clinical child and family psychology review, 23(1), 54-69.

Paper #4: February 27

Hazan, C., & Shaver, Phillip R. (1987). Romantic Love Conceptualized as an Attachment Process, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(2), 511.

Fraley, R. Chris & Shaver, Phillip R. (2000). Adult Romantic Attachment: Theoretical Developments, Emerging Controversies, and Unanswered Questions, Review of General Psychology 4(2):132-154.

Paper #5: March 6, 2023

Feeney, Judith A., & Noller, Patricia (1990). Attachment Style as a Predictor of Adult Romantic Relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(2), 281-291

Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1990). Love and work: An attachment-theoretical perspective. Journal of Personality and social Psychology, 59(2), 270.

Paper #6: Starting with this week, we explore the nature of parasocial interaction, parasocial relationships, and parasocial attachment.

Due March 20, 2023  
Horton, D., & Richard Wohl, R. (1956). Mass communication and para-social interaction: Observations on intimacy at a distance. Psychiatry, 19(3), 215-229.

Giles, David C. (2002). Parasocial Interaction: A Review of the Literature and a Model for Future Research, Media Psychology 4(3), 279-305.

Paper #7: Due Aprii 3, 2023 

Stever, G. S. (2017). Parasocial theory: Concepts and measures. The international encyclopedia of media effects, 1-12. (I might have to send you this one?)

Stever, G. S. (2013). Mediated vs. parasocial relationships: An attachment perspective. Journal of Media Psychology, 17(3), 1-31.

Paper #8: Due April 24, 2023 

Choose three journal articles related to some aspect of the course and write your own reflective summary about these articles.

Each weekly paper must be a minimum of 1250 words each and should include relevant citations referring to the various readings. Your papers must be in APA style and include citations and references. Feel free to find additional sources if you’d like (but not required).

If no work has been submitted by the midterm, the student will be withdrawn from the course. 

D. METHOD AND CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION

Each paper is 1/8 of the final grade. 

Grading is based on the following criteria:

A Excellent:  The discussions, writing and questions demonstrate a full grasp of the topic at hand, and understanding of salient points, and a capacity to analyze through writing, discussion, and relevant questions.

B Good: The work is reasonably focused, demonstrates an understanding of salient points, but lacks the level of analysis expected in excellent work.

C Satisfactory:  The works is moderately focused, demonstrates only a partial or incomplete view of the topic at hand. It relies on description and summary without any analysis.

D Poor: The work is incomplete, wanders, misses salient points and contains errors of fact and omission.

F Failure: The work is missing, demonstrates no understanding of salient points and shows no understanding of the topic at hand.

Written assignments are expected to demonstrate skills of organization, clarity of expression, thoroughness of research, analysis and correct bibliographic format and style (Please use APA referencing style; information available on that at this web site: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

http://www.middleweb.com/ReadWrkshp/RWdownld/MvaleRubric.pdf

The student should also be able to use critical thinking through analysis, synthesis and evaluation of course content and demonstrate these skills in discussions and written material.  It is expected that all papers will show organization of ideas and proficiency in the mechanics of writing (vocabulary, punctuation, spelling, and grammar) and adhere to APA guidelines for style and references.

All papers and assignments should also be in the student’s own words.  Students who are unsure of the criteria for academic honesty are urged to read the college’s policy on academic honesty, attend the local plagiarism workshop, or meet with a writing center tutor to reach an understanding of how to properly put information into the student’s own words, when to use quotes, and how to properly cite sources.  Students who fail to comply with academic honesty standards can receive lower grades and evaluations, can be asked to rewrite assignments, and under some circumstances can be given a failing grade for the study.

E. PLAN FOR FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

1.   Early drafts of papers submitted for feedback will receive corrections and suggestions for improving the paper. All papers that are submitted for early feedback MUST be in prior to 2 weeks before the end of the term. Resources for APA style will be provided and papers are expected to follow that style.

2.   Mentor Meetings: The student will receive verbal feedback regarding progress on course goals/elements. Meetings are held when requested by the student.