Attachment

Question 1

Define:
1. Attachment
2. Caregiver

Answer 1

1. Attachment = close emotional, reciprocal bond between two people, that endures over time
2. Caregiver = person who provides care for a child

Question 2

Give three ways to recognise attachment

Answer 2

Proximity seeking behaviour: wanting to be close to caregiver. Have to make inferences cause babies cant really communicate feelings.
Separation distress: display anxiety and distress
Secure base behaviour: maintaining frequent contact with each other for security+safety

Question 3

Difference between reciprocity and interactional synchrony

Answer 3

Reciprocity = form of turn taking as a response to a different behaviour
Interactional synchrony = mirroring behaviour simulatanously

Question 4

Define reciprocity
Give a study for it

Answer 4

RECIPROCITY STUDY:
> Feldman and Eidelman (2007) : Found that from 3 months reciprocity becomes more frequent as form of communication. Referred to as an ‘alert phase’

Reciprocity = a form of interaction between infant and caregiver, where the actions elicit a response from the other. (Turn taking)
caregivers responsiveness and sensitivity affects quality of development

Question 5

What affects reciprocity

Answer 5

caregivers responsiveness and sensitivity in reciprocating behaviour affects quality of development

Question 6

Define interactional synchrony and
Give study

Answer 6

> Meltzoff and Moore (1997): examining interactional synchrony ( mirroring )
Using controlled observation, an adult model made 1/3 facial expressions where the babies mirrored the same expressions. There was a clear association between the infants and adults. Later found same findings in three day old infants.

Interactional Synchrony = mirroring behaviour and it happens at the same time

Question 7

Isabella (1989)

Answer 7

observes 30 mothers and babies.
Found that higher degrees of synchrony had a higher quality attachment.
Observed 30 mothers and their babies. Found that higher degrees of synchrony were linked with higher quality attachment.
More securely attached

Question 8

Meltzoff and Moore

Answer 8

> Meltzoff and Moore (1997): examining interactional synchrony ( mirroring )
Using controlled observation, an adult model made 1/3 facial expressions where the babies mirrored the same expressions. There was a clear association between the infants and adults. Later found same findings in three day old infants.

might suggest its innate as it from 3 days, so its maybe a survival adaptive process, as when an infant develops interactional synchrony with caregiver out aids their chance of survival

Question 9

Feldman and Eidelman (2007)

Answer 9

> Feldman and Eidelman (2007) : Found that from 3 months reciprocity becomes more frequent as form of communication. Referred to as an ‘alert phase’
Signal to caregiver that they are ready for interaction such as feeding, sleep, nappy, ill/discomfort.

Question 10

Difference between primary and secondary attachment figures

Answer 10

Primary = most intense
Secondary = additional support

Question 11

Primary attachment

Answer 11

= person to who an infant is most intensely attached. Child responds to most intensely at separation. Usually mothers, but this might be confounded by social roles.

Question 12

Secondary attachment

Answer 12

= person that an infant receives additional support from. They provide an emotional safety net.

Question 13

Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

Answer 13

Found attachment diff

identify that majority of infants do form an attachment with their mothers first ( at around 7 months )
Secondary attachments are to other family members aka father, become noticeable by 18 months, found by protest when that caregiver walked away - eg of separation anxiety
Founded the four stages of attachment

Question 14

What are three main ideas about different gender attachment roles

Answer 14

1: fathers important in a diff role
2: mothers are more important
3: gender/sex of parent is irrelevant its more the behaviour

Question 15

Give studies which would back up the opinion that fathers are more important but play a different role (3)

Answer 15

Geiger - fathers play is ‘more exciting’ than mums. Mums were more affectionate
Hrdy - fathers are less able to detect low levels of infant distress, could be cause of a lack of oestrogen
Grossmans - study of teens found that infant mother attachment was more important in developing quality of adolescent attachment but fathers play quality is important in quality of

Question 16

Geiger (1996)

Answer 16

> GEIGER (1996): fathers play interactions were ‘more exciting’ compared to mothers. Mothers interactions were more affectionate and nurturing,

Question 17

HRDY

Answer 17

fathers are less able to detect low levels of infant distress than mothers - could be oestrogen, : affects ability to detect emotions?
predisposed :

Question 18

Taylor et al (2000)

Answer 18

( Taylor et al 2000) : alpha bias, overestimating the difference between female and male behaviour

Question 19

grossmans (2002)

Answer 19

did a longitudinal study into their teens, finding that infant-mother attachment (not the infant father attachment) was important in determining the quality of adolescent attachment.
However, they found the father quality of play behaviour was important in determining the quality of these adolescent attachments.
Socially sensitive; might mean that fathers feel insecure and unimportant or mothers feel too much pressure?

Question 20

Field (1978)

Answer 20

> Field (1978) - filmed 4 month old babies interactions with primarry/secondary figures and found primary fathers spent more time smiling, synchronising and holding infants than secondary fathers. Shows that fathers can be more nurturing
Maybe it’s just about the role not the gender .

Question 21

Freeman (2010)

Answer 21

> Freeman et al (2010) : found that male kids are more likely to prefer their father as attachment figure than female kids.
more about the identification with figure instead of societal roles

Question 22

Schaffer and emerson (1964)

Answer 22

identify that majority of infants do form an attachment with their mothers first ( at around 7 months )
Secondary attachments are to other family members aka father, become noticeable by 18 months, found by protest when that caregiver walked away - eg of separation anxiety
Founded the four stages of attachment

Question 23

Give studies for opinion that sex/gender of parent are irrelevant but its more about what the parent DOES

Answer 23

> Field (1978) - filmed 4 month old babies interactions with primarry/secondary figures and found primary fathers spent more time smiling, synchronising and holding infants than secondary fathers. Shows that fathers can be more nurturing
Maybe its just about the role not the gender .

> Freeman et al (2010) : found that male kids are more likely to prefer their father as attachment figure than female kids.
more about the identification with figure instead of societal roles

Question 24

What did ‘Schaffer and Emerson’ aim to find and what was the findings and procedure

Answer 24

“Schaffer and Emerson (1964) study ” they developed four stage theory of attachment when primary and secondary attachments develop
60 Glaswegian babies, working class smilies, mother and babies came once a month for 12 months, 18 months

7 months - 50% showed separation anxiety
10 months - 80% formed an attachment, 30% with a secondary attachment

Question 25

Name Schaffer adn Emersons four stages of attachment and the ages

Answer 25

1: asocial stage (first few weeks)
2: indiscriminate attachment (2-7 months)
3: specific attachment (7 months)
4: multiple attachment (8-12 months)

Question 26

Asocial stage of attachment ( SCHAFFER AND EMERSON )

Answer 26

Stage 1: Asocial stage (first few weeks)
babies behaviour towards humans and non humans are fairly similar
There may be some preference to certain adults but in general are happier in human contact
No real attachment in this stage
Not asocial stage

Question 27

Indiscriminate stage of attachment ( SCHAFFER AND EMERSON )

Answer 27

Stage 2: indiscriminate attachment (2-7 months)
Indiscriminately be comforted by anyone, display more social behaviour
Infants can recognise and prefer familiar adults
Prefer people over objects

Question 28

Specific attachment stage ( SCHAFFER ADN EMERSON )

Answer 28

Stage 3: specific attachment (7 months)
Begin to show separation anxiety
Become anxious around strangers, has a specific attachment to a person usually the mother which might be confounded by social norms of mother being stay at home
This person becomes primary attachment figure , who responds most sensitively not the one who spends the most time with them : Schaffer and Emerson, and Isabella

Question 29

Multiple attachment stage ( SCHAFFER AND EMERSON )

Answer 29

Stage 4: Multiple attachments (8-12 months)
Expand attachment behaviour to other adults they are familiar with, known as secondary attachments
Schaffer and Emerson: 1/3 of babies formed a secondary attachment formed a secondary attachment within a month of forming primary attachment
Nomothetic study ( applied conclusions generally to everyone, even tho it was only to one third of babies from the study )

Question 30

What stage of Schaffers attachment is:
Behaviour towards non/ humans is similar
No real attachment here
May be preference but dont really care

Answer 30

Stage one
Asocial stage
First few weeks

Question 31

What stage of Schaffers attachment is:
Comfroted by anyone
More social now
Infants can recognise and prefer adults
Prefer people over objects now

Answer 31

Stage 2
Indiscriminate attachment
2-7 months

Question 32

What stage of Schaffers attachment is:
Begin to show separation anxiety
Anxious around strangers
Specific attachment to person ( usually mother but that can be confounding variable from social norms )

Answer 32

Stage 3
Specific attachment
7 months

Question 33

What stage of Schaffers attachment is:
Expand attachment to other adults they are familiar with , secondary attachment
Schaffer and Emerson: 1/3 of babies formed secondary attachment between a month of a first one

Answer 33

Stage four
Multiple attachment
(8-12 months)

Question 34

Strengths/weaknesses of Schaffer and Emerson Glaswegian babies study

Answer 34

Strengths
- economical implications: help people in relationships structure lives.
- longitudinal study : internal validity is high. Research method was strong, controlled and repetitive

Limitations
- ethnocentric bias: Glaswegian babies , unrepresentative to: different social classes, different cultures like collectivist, non Glaswegian ones. Low population validity. Van Ijzeedorn(1993) found that multiple attachments are formed from the get go in collectivist cultures.

• no application/reference to neurodivergent babies, lowers external validity as there isnt any application to people with different brains/functioning
• socially insensitive: negative implications of going back to majority stay-at-home mothers
• deterministic: environmentally reductionist: assumes stimulus + response processes only.
• deterministic : too much inference, we don’t know whether actions or babies are conscious/deliberate/ just random cause they are babies.
• reductionist: cause the questions were based on separation anxiety, which isnt the only thing that attachment is, its reducing the complex attachment too simply

Low internal validity: cause of social desirability bias - social norms ( all working class) could cause social desirability bias = confounding variables
Economic implications : creates a gender pay gap for some

Reductionist: Inferences are too used/relied on
Reductionist because reduces complexity of attachment to separation/stranger anxiety

asocial stage is completely inferred and based on mother/father report

Question 35

What is the learning theory of attachment
Who developed it

Answer 35

• concept that babies are classically conditioned to be attached to humans if they are associated ( bring ) food, milk…

Dollard and Miller (1950) - cupboard love theory
- kind of like two process model
Classical conditioning: learning through association
Operant conditioning: learning through reinforcement or punishment (p/n)

More about the importance of food and who brings it

Operant conditioning;
Positively reinforces the behaviour of crying from baby, cause every time they cry they are comforted
Mum is negatively reinforced. Picking up baby and comforting it, takes away the crying. Reinforces the behaviour of picking it up

Question 36

What is a theory against the cupboard love ( LEARNING THEORY )

Answer 36

Drive Reduction Theory: Hull (1943)
behaviourist theory that explains motivation
Theory identifies that we have primary and secondary drives

Primary drive: biological needs such as food water or warmth
Secondary drive: need for things that help us achieve our primary drives eg attachment to get food
mums are babies secondary drives

Therefore we are not conditioned to attach to mums it is an innate biological need for food that results in our attachment

Question 37

Drive Reduction Theory: Hull (1943)

Answer 37

Drive Reduction Theory: Hull (1943)
behaviourist theory that explains motivation
Theory identifies that we have primary and secondary drives

Primary drive: biological needs such as food water or warmth
Secondary drive: need for things that help us achieve our primary drives eg attachment to get food
mums are babies secondary drives

Question 38

Strengths/limitations of Drive reduction theory
2p
4c

Answer 38

Strengths
Plausible > founded in established scientific research of principles of behaviourism:
Face validity = it seems to study what it appears to, it seems to make sense.

Limitations
Environmentally Reductionist: reduces complex behaviours down to two processes ( classical > operant ) stimulus and then response. humans are more complex, impulsive, conscious. Means that its undermining the learning theory doesnt encompass the complexity of attachment. Too simplistic
Conditioning research (skinners rat, pavlovs dog) based on animals, which is based on inferences that animals are the same as us, are doing it unconsciously. They probably have less complex emotional/conscious brain processes.
Schaffer and Emerson: Glaswegian babies: four stages of attachment, which they found its the person whose most responsive, not feeds them/spends most time with them.
Isabella: higher level of interactional synchrony = higher level of attachment. Shows that the sensitivity is what is important.

Question 39

harlows monkeys

Answer 39

Harlow’s monkeys:

Found physical comfort is more important than food
Measured:
Time spent with wire ‘monkey’ vs cloth ‘monkey’ mum.
Loud bang> cloth> no cloth
Food > on wire, but went to cloth

Question 40

MacCallum and Golombot

Answer 40

people with lesbian parents develop no different
show its more about opinion 3 : behaviour of parent not sex