Attachment Flashcards

1
Q

What are ‘Alert Phases’?

A
  • When an infant signals that they are ready for a spell of interaction
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2
Q

How often do mothers pick up and respond to their baby’s alert phases?

A
  • 2/3rds of the time
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3
Q

What is reciprocity?

A
  • When each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them
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4
Q

At what time do mother and baby pay close attention to each others verbal signals?

A
  • 3 months
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5
Q

What does Brazleton suggest?

A
  • That active involvement is like a ‘dance’.
  • It is just like a couples dance where they respond to each others movements
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6
Q

What is interactional synchrony?

A
  • Temporal coordination of micro-level social behaviours.
  • Baby and Mother mirror each other
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7
Q

What did meltzoff and Moore do and find?

A
  • Observed the beginnings of interactional synchrony in babies.
  • Babies expressions and gestures more likely to mirror those of adults
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8
Q

What is interactional synchrony important for?

A
  • Development of caregiver-infant attachment
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9
Q

What did Isabella et al. find?

A
  • High levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-baby attachment
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10
Q

Evaluate interactional synchrony:

A
  • Difficult to be certain what you are observing = Some movements may not be deliberate or on the behalf of the infant.

+ Controlled observations = procedures are well controlled enabling fine details of behaviour can be recorded

  • We can’t work out what the purpose of these behaviours are = Can be easily observed but cannot tell us whey they are being displayed
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11
Q

What did Schaffer and Emerson find about attachment figures?

A
  • Majority of babies become attached to mother first and then to other family members within a week to a few months
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12
Q

When do babies form secondary attachments?

A
  • Within a week to a few months of being born
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13
Q

What % of infants were attached to their father by 18 months?

A
  • 75%
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14
Q

What is a longitudinal study?

A
  • The same study over a long period of time, studying same group
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15
Q

What did Field do and find?

A
  • Filmed 4 month old babies to see their attachment type with primary and secondary caregivers
  • Found fathers have the potential to be the primary caregiver
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16
Q

Evaluate attachment figures:

A
  • Drawing conclusions from all research into fathers is difficult as studies are all looking at different things = Some look at fathers as primary figures but others look at fathers as secondary figures.
  • Assumes children growing up without a father figure will be disadvantaged
  • Doesn’t explain why fathers are less likely to be primary attachment figures than mothers
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17
Q

What are the 4 stages of attachment?
- By Schaffer

A

Stage 1: Asocial Stage
Stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment
Stage 3: Specific attachment
Stage 4: Multiple attachments

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18
Q

What age is stage 1: Asocial attachment and what happens?

A
  • First few weeks of life
  • Baby recognising faces and forming bonds. Behaviour between human + non-human objects is similar. Show some preference for certain people
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19
Q

What age is stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment and what happens?

A
  • 2 - 7 Months old
  • Show preference for people over objects.
  • Recognise and prefer familiar adults
  • Comfort and cuddles accepted from any adult + no separation or stranger anxiety shown
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20
Q

What age is stage 3: Specific attachment and what happens?

A
  • 7 months old
  • Stranger anxiety shown
  • Anxious when away from particular adult which is usually mum who is also primary attachment figure
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21
Q

What age is stage 4: Multiple attachments and what happens?

A
  • Shortly after 7 months old
  • Attachments formed with adults who baby spends time with
  • These are secondary attachments
  • By 1 year of age most children a=have secondary attachments
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22
Q

What did Schaffer and Emerson find about Father attachment?

A
  • 75% of babies form an attachment with their fathers by the age of 18 months
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23
Q

What is Groomsman’s Longitudinal study on the role of the father?

A
  • Babies attachments studied into teens
  • Researchers looked at both parents behaviour + its relationship to the quality of attachment with their child.
  • Quality pf attachment with mothers but not fathers related to attachments in adolescence
  • Suggests attachment with fathers is less important than attachment with mothers
24
Q

What does research suggest about fathers as primary attachment figures?

A
  • Able to adopt the emotional role more typically associated with mothers
25
Q

Sum up Field’s study about father attachments?

A
  • Filmed 4-month-old babies face to face interaction with primary mother + fathers and secondary fathers.
  • Primary fathers more intimate than secondary fathers
26
Q

Evaluate the role of the father:

A
  • Heteronormativity -> Research is based upon idea that babies have two opposite sex parents = There is no evidence to suggest same sex or single parents have any negative impact on children’s development.
  • Conflicting evidence -> Findings differ depending on which research method is used -> Difference in research question creates lack of clarity. Longitudinal studies suggest fathers have important role in child development = Would suggest children with single or lesbian mothers would not develop fully -> This Not the case

+ Real world application = Can be used to advise parents, Release stress on mothers - suggest fathers can be primary. Can reassure lesbian and single mothers that not having father does not affect child development.

  • Bias = Stereotypical accounts + images of parenting roles create preconceptions about how fathers do or should behave -> May cause unintentional observer bias where observers ‘see’ what they expect to see rather than recording objective reality
27
Q

What is Lorenz’s research and what did he find?

A
  • Imprinting on ducks and how they imprint on the first moving thing they see.
  • Split a group of eggs in half, one half to hatch with dick mother and the other to hatch with Lorenz.
  • Ducks hatched with Lorenz followed him around
  • Found birds show courtship behaviour t the species they imprinted on
28
Q

Evaluate Lorenz’s research:

A
  • Can’t generalise the results as carried out with geese
  • Guiton = Chickens imprinted on yellow gloves and started trying to mate with them but after a while tried to mate with chickens again = Challenges idea that sexual imprinting is irreversible
29
Q

What is Harlows research?

A
  • Investigate whether attachment = food or comfort
  • Infant monkeys separated at birth
  • Raised on 2 mothers -> Wire with food, Cloth no food
  • Scared monkeys + Put in new environments
  • Monkeys spent up to 22 hours on cloth mother
  • Contact Comfort = Key aspect of attachment
30
Q

What was the result of Harlows research on the monkeys in later life?

A
  • Neglected their children to the point where their children began being eaten by other monkeys
  • if monkeys fail to develop an attachment within 90 days, attachment becomes impossible
31
Q

What are the 6 things in Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment?

A
  • Attachment is Innate
  • Monotropy
  • Law of Continuity & Law of accumulated Separation
  • Social Releasers
  • Critical Period
  • Internal Working Model
32
Q

What does it mean if attachment is innate?

A
  • It is pre-determined
  • Born with the need to attach in order to survive
  • We are incredibly early in development at birth
33
Q

What is Monotropy?

A
  • Mother is the strongest and most important attachment
  • More time baby spends with primary caregiver the better
34
Q

What is the Law of Continuity?

A
  • More constant and predictable a Childs care, the better quality attachment they have
35
Q

What is the law of Accumulated Separation?

A
  • Every separation from mother adds up and can affect baby negatively
36
Q

What are Social Releasers?

A
  • Babies born with features such as: Crying, Reaching, Cute noises, Cute faces
  • Pre-programmed behaviours that elicit caregiving
37
Q

What is a Critical Period?

A
  • If a child does not form an attachment before they are 2 years old, they will find it hard to form attachments later in life
38
Q

What is the Internal Working Model?

A
  • Child forms a mental representation of their relationship with primary caregiver
  • Serves as a template for future relationships -> Romantic, friendship, parent/child
39
Q

Evaluate Bowlby’s Evolutionary theory:

A

+ Bailey interviewed 99 mothers with 1 year old babies about quality of relationships with mothers and babies = Positive correlation between relationship with mother + their child = Supports internal working model

+ Brazleton = Asked mothers to ignore babies -> Babies initially stressed, some curled up + Layer motionless = Supports social releasers -> Way a caregiver supports child effects quality of attachment

+ Schaffer + Emerson study -> Most children formed primary attachment first but sig minority able to form multiple attachments at same time = Challenges monotropy -> Babies can form multiple attachments

+ Grossman -> Found quality of fathers play associated with quality of attachment in adolescence = Challenges monotropy -> Fathers can have a significant role in attachment

40
Q

Outline the role of classical conditioning in attachment:

A
  • Learning though association.
  • Conditioned stimulus = food -> Makes baby happy
  • Baby sees mother -> Neutral Stimulus
  • Mother then gives baby food -> Baby is happy
  • Mother becomes Conditioned stimulus -> Baby is happy when mother comes
41
Q

What is an example of positive and negative reinforcement and punishment in Learning theory of attachment?

A
  • PR = Token Economy System
  • NR = Mother feeds baby to stop baby crying
  • P = Child doing something wrong so is punished
42
Q

Evaluate the Learning Theory of Attachment:

A
  • Harlow = LT all about food however Harlow demonstrates monkeys prefer contact comfort = Lowered validity
  • Schaffer and Emmerson = Found babies likely to attach to person who spent most time with them -> LT cannot explain why we attachment through anything but food = Suggests LT is reductionist + Quite simplistic
  • LT ignores emotions
  • A lot of research done on LT has been done on animals -> Therefore lacks validity
43
Q

What are the 3 types of attachment identified in Mary Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation”?

A
  • Type A = Insecure-Avoidant
  • Type B = Secure
  • Type C = Insecure-Resistant
44
Q

What is Insecure-Avoidant attachment?

A
  • Baby Explores freely without bothering where mum is
  • Not bothered by strangers
  • Is not upset when mum leaves
  • Not bothered when mum comes back
  • 20-25% of British Babies
45
Q

What is Secure Attachment?

A
  • Baby explores happily while keeping an eye on mum
  • Moderately upset when mum goes
  • A little wary of strangers
  • Readily comforted by mum on return
  • 60-75% of British babies
46
Q

What is Insecure-Resistant attachment?

A
  • Baby doesn’t explore much; Keeps very close to mum
  • Extremely upset when mum leaves
  • Does not like strangers at all
  • Cross with mum on return + Not easily comforted
  • 3% of British babies
47
Q

What are the 7 situations in Mary Ainsworth’s ‘Strange situation’?

A

1) caregiver + Child enter play room + Left to explore
2) Stranger enters + attempts to interact
3) Mother leaves + Stranger left to interact
4) Mother returns + Stranger leaves
5) Mother leaves so baby is alone
6) Stranger returns + Attempts to interact
7) Mother returns + Interacts with child

48
Q

What is Van Ijzendoorn + Kronberg’s research on Cultural variation in attachment?

A
  • Large scale meta analysis of 2000 infants attachment
  • Data from 32 studies -> Included 8 countries, each study using ‘Strange Situation’
  • Secure attachment most common all + Insecure-resistant least common in all
  • Type A = more common in Western cultures
  • Type C = More common in non-western cultures
  • General trend = Globally preferred attachment style
  • Findings across countries suggest differences in parenting styles
49
Q

What is Institutionalisation?

A
  • When living away from family, such as children homes and hospitals
50
Q

What happens when living in institutions?

A
  • Long stays can alter normal functions such as adopting norms rules
  • Loss of identity, de-individualisation and factors found by Bowlby
  • Bowlby = Affectionless Psychopathy, Delinquency, Low IQ
51
Q

What is Deprivation in Attachment?

A
  • Not receiving suitable emotional care from primary caregiver - Can happen with both frequent or extended absenses
52
Q

What is Privation in attachment?

A
  • Total lack of ability to form attachments
53
Q

What was Rutter’s Romanian Orphans Study:

A
  • Researching the effects of institutional Privation
  • Longitudinal study of 165 Romanian orphans adopted in British Families
  • 4 Groups
    1) 58 under age of 6 months
    2) 59 between 6-24 months
    3) 48 over age 24 months
    4) Control group of 52 British adoptees
  • Start of observation, half the Romanian children were severely malnourished + Low IQ compared to other children of same age
  • Each group assessed at 4,6,11,15
54
Q

What were the results of Rutter’s Romanian Orphans study?

A
  • Age 6 = Children adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment -> Over-friendly behaviour to strange adults
  • Age 11 = Just over half Romanian adopted who showed Disinhibited attachment at 6 still displayed this behaviour -> Children adopted after 6 months showed significantly delayed intellectual development -> Scored lower on IQ tests than 24 Month babies
  • General = Quasi-autism tendencies identified with children having problems understanding meaning of social context - Intellectual problems continued at age 15

Conclusion:
- Adoption within 6 months is important as effects of deprivation and privation in institution is long lasting -> May be some recovery as children develop

55
Q

Evaluate Rutter’s Study:

A

+ Changed how care is given in institutions. Higher levels of care, early age of adoption + Suitable care from new family

+ Goldfarb = Early fostering led to sig higher levels of IQ and social skills

  • Hodges + Tizzard: Evidence that effects of institutionalisation can be overcome with adequate substitute care -> Children with effective families coped better on relationships
  • Children not randomly assigned to adoption + Control group but selected by new parent -> Could be more sociable children picked by adoption
  • Study still going = effects on orphans still found. Improvements seen at 11 and catch their peers in development
56
Q

What was the Hazzan and Shaver ‘Love Quiz’?

A
  • 620 responses from newspaper quiz examining feelings
  • Categories =
    1) Secure
    2) Avoidant
    3) Anxious

Findings:
- Correlation between adult + Childhood attachments
- Securely attached adults = feel love is long lasting, reported being happy in relationships + likely to not divorce
- Insecure reported more loneliness

  • Link between type of attachments received as child + show as an adult