Booklet 2: Problems with Attachment

Question 1

What is deprivation?

Answer 1

Disruption of an attachment.

Question 2

What is Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis?

Answer 2

This hypothesis states that separation from the primary caregiver leads to bond disruption and possible yo the breaking of the attachment bond.

Question 3

What does Bowbly claim about the MDH?

Answer 3

That it will have long term effects on emotional, social and cognitive development. Bowlby claims that these effects are permanent and irreversible.

Question 4

Who carried out the research into short term effects of deprivation?

Answer 4

Robertson & Bowbly (1952)

Question 5

What did Robertson & Bowlby put forward in 1952?

Answer 5

The PDD model.

Question 6

What is the PDD model?

Answer 6

It says that once a baby has reached 8-9 months and have made their first attachment- if separation occurs they are likely to go throughout the stages of the PDD.

Question 7

What are the stages of the PDD model?

Answer 7

Protest, Despair, Detach.

Question 8

Explain ‘Protest’

Answer 8

The child will be visibly distressed shown through crying, screaming and angry protests when the parent leaves e.g. ‘i want my mum’. They will clog to the parent and try to escape whoever else tries to pick them up.

Question 9

Explain ‘Despair’

Answer 9

The child will appear to have a sense of hopelessness and look to of settled down showing self comforting behaviours such as thumb sucking or rocking. If the parent/attachment figure returned at this point, the attachment will not be disrupted.

Question 10

Explain ‘Detach’

Answer 10

The child will begin to show interest in their surroundings and interact with others, may it be other children or adults e.g. Hospital staff. The child will reject the attachment figure on return and be distant and untrusting.

Question 11

Who’s evidence supports the PDD model?

Answer 11

The Robertson Study.

Question 12

What is the Robertson study?

Answer 12

Robertson and Robertson made a landmark series of films of naturalistic observations showing young children who were separated form their primary attachment figures.

Question 13

What is an example observation of the robertson study?

Answer 13

One of many children studied was Laura. Laura was in hospital for 8 days, where her mother was absent and the nurses changed frequently during her stay. Laura showed all 3 features of the PDD. Protest- First she showed alternating periods of calm and distress, when visited by her parents, she begged to go home. Despair- Laura became quiet and settled. Detach- She withdraws from her mother and is shaken in her trust.

Question 14

What is a positive evaluation point for the The Robertson Study?

Answer 14

This research is based on natural observations of children in real life situations and so has high ecological validity. It has also led to change in hospital practices to assist children during a separation, for example parents are now allowed to stay in hospital with their children to reduce bond disruption.

Question 15

What is a negative evaluation point for the Robertson Study?

Answer 15

Barrett (1997) argued that individual differences in response to short term separations have not been considered. For example securely attached children, older children and girls cope between with separation therefore it is only some children who experience the PDD.

Question 16

Who carried out the research into long term effects of deprivation?

Answer 16

Bowlby.

Question 17

What is long term deprivation?

Answer 17

It consists of prolonged or permanent separation from attachment figures, which could be due to factors such as death, imprisonment and divorce.

Question 18

What is the long term deprivation study?

Answer 18

Bowbly’s 44 juvenile thieves.

Question 19

What is Bowlby’s 44 juvenile thieves?

Answer 19

Bowlby carried out a case study over a number of years comparing 44 juvenile thieves with a control group of non thieves. All participants had been referred to a child guidance clinic.

Question 20

What did Bowlby do in 44 Juvenile thieves?

Answer 20

He carried out in depth interviews with all 88 children and families focusing on early life experiences.

Question 21

What did Bowlby find in the 44 juvenile thieves?

Answer 21

He found that 16 out of the 44 had been diagnosed with affection less psychopathy compared to none in the control group of non-thieves. 86% of the 16 affection less psychopaths had been separated from their mothers for at least 6 months before the age of 5 compared to less than 4% of the non-thieves.

Question 22

What did Bowlby conclude in the 44 juvenile thieves?

Answer 22

He concluded that if you have undisrupted and good relationship you will do well in further life e.g. not stealing. Early separation from a primary attachment figure does lead to mental and emotional problems and therefore supports the MDH.

Question 23

What are the negative evaluation points for Bowlby’s study of juvenile thieves?

Answer 23

Retrospective data, Correlational data, hard to distinguish between deprivation and privation.

Question 24

What are positive evaluation points for Bowlby’s study of juvenile thieves?

Answer 24

In depth and has high ecological validity.

Question 25

Explain the evaluation point ‘retrospective data’ ( 44 JT)

Answer 25

This study used retrospective data as it required parents and children to look back to the times of separation (over the past 14 years) This reduces the validity and reliability of the study because memories might of changed if they can’t properly be recalled and the participants may also be social desirability bias.

Question 26

Explain the evaluation point ‘correlational evidence’ (44 JT)

Answer 26

This study also provides only correlational evidence- this means we cannot be sure of cause and effect between separation and emotional problems. There could be alternative explanations to explain the link for example social deprivation or finical problems, which means we cannot be sure of the direct cause & effect.

Question 27

Explain the last negative eval point for 44 JT.

Answer 27

Psychologists such as Rutter have criticised Bowlby’s research for failing to distinguish between deprivation and privation. He clammed that a lot of people never had an attachment so 44 JT was only really testing privation.

Question 28

Explain the positive A02 for 44 JT.

Answer 28

Bowlby gathered in depth information about the child’s history so his data has high ecological validity.

Question 29

What is privation?

Answer 29

The failure to form an attachment with a significant person.

Question 30

Explain Genie’s case study into the effects of privation.

Answer 30

Genie was found at 13 years, emotionally disturbed and unlearned without language. She suffered physical and social restriction, nutritional neglect and extreme experiential deprivation. She had been living in almost total isolation, strapped to her potty seat and put to sleep in a straight jacket and a caged crib. If she made any noise, her dad would beat her.

After being found in the first 7 moths she learned to walk, speak and began to be toilet trailed. However she spat, salivated and urinated when agitated or excited. Her speech was undeveloped, never asking questions or using much grammar. The effects of privation caused genie to be undeveloped as she was a normal baby.

Question 31

Who studied Genie?

Answer 31

Curtiss (1977)

Question 32

Explain the Czech Twins case study into the effects of privation.

Answer 32

Andrei and Vanja were two twin boys, who lived most their life without a mother, as she died soon after they were born. The father placed them in a care home, but brought them home at 18 months after re-marrying. Their new step mother showed no signs of caring form them, even though she had four kids of her own. The father was often away from home. The twins were treat badly, given a small unheated room with a polythene sheet for a bed and little furniture. They were poorly fed and sometimes beaten.

They suffered this until 5.5 year and were examined at aged 7. They both showed several physical and mental retarded signs such as ticks, scars, inability to walk or talk. The twins were first put in hospital but then fostered. By 11 there speech was normal and they weren’t on to live normal lives, developing an attachment with their new carer.

Question 33

What is the conclusion of case study research on privation?

Answer 33

This research would suggest that Bowlby’s viewpoint that the effects of Maternal deprivation are irreversible may be overstated. A number of factors seem to influence for example, The czech twins had attachments with each other which may of helped them to go on to lead normal lives.

Question 34

What is the positive A02 point for case study research into privation.

Answer 34

They provide a vast amount of rich and detailed data and an insight into an area of psychology that we could never recreate in a lab based experiment. Thus it has helped our understanding into this area of attachment.

Question 35

What are the three negative A02 points for case study research into privation?

Answer 35

Indivual differences, retrospective, major ethical issues.

Question 36

Explain the first A02 point for case study research into privation.

Answer 36

Each individual has unique characteristics e.g. it has been suggested by her father and some doctors that genie was mentally disabled so we cannot be sure that the findings of these case studies are generalisable beyond that individual case.

Question 37

Explain the second A02 point for case study research into privation.

Answer 37

Case studies rely on retrospective memories which may be inaccurate as we cannot know exactly what happened to the children in their years of privation. This is increasingly likely in cases of privation where we have to rely on the information provided by those close to the situation (e.g. relatives) who may be reluctant to reveal the true nature of events and thus show social desirability bias.

Question 38

Explain the third A02 point for case study research into privation.

Answer 38

There is mahout ethical issues in this research as it is difficult to balance desire for knowledge with the well being of the child. For example Genie’s mother sued for excessive and outrageous testing. It is not lear whether genies own interests were best served by interest of science.

Question 39

What is institutionaliation?

Answer 39

One of the most common causes of privation, referring to the child spending a period of time within an institution for example in an orphanage.

Question 40

What did Hodges & Tizard study?

Answer 40

The effects of institutional care on privation.

Question 41

Explain Hodges & Tizard’s method.

Answer 41

There carried out a longitudinal study of 12 years, following a group of 65 British children who were placed into institutional care before they were 4 months old. The children were assessed through interviews and questionnaires at the ages of 4, 8 and 16. These children were compared to a control group in a matched pairs design. During this time, some of the children remand in the institution, some were returned to their biological parents and 3 groups of children were adopted.

Question 42

What were Hodges and Tizard’s findings?

Answer 42

By the age 8 and 16, most of the adopted children has formed close bonds with their parents and were as securely attached as the control group. These attachments were closer than the children who returned home.

However all the children had significant social effects, at school were attention seeking and had difficulty forming relationship with their peers. i.e. they were less likely to have a special friend or to be liked by other children, more likely to be bullies.

Question 43

What did Hodges and Tizard conclude?

Answer 43

This suggest some of the effects of probation can be reversed as the adopted children were able to form attachment in spite of their privation. However some of the effects of privation cannot be reversed as the children continued to have difficulty with social relationships. This partly supports the MDH, not all effects are irreversible but some are.

Question 44

What are the A02 points for Hodges and Tizard?

Answer 44

Correlational, problems with attrition, unsure of long term effects, not reliable or valid.

Question 45

Explain the first A02 point for H & T.

Answer 45

These findings only provide us with correlational evidence, there may be alternative explanations for why the children who were adopted recovered better e.g. it could be that the children who were more socially responsive were the ones chosen for adoption and thus found it easier to form attachments with their adoptive parents.

Question 46

Explain the second A02 point for H & T.

Answer 46

As this is a longitudinal study, there is a problem with attrition as during a long period of time a large number of participants may drop out which may lead to a bias sample.

Question 47

Explain the third A02 point for H & T.

Answer 47

We cannot know to what extent the effects of privation extend into adulthood, it was not possible to recontact a large enough group of the participants later in life and so we cannot be sure how or what the long term effects are.

Question 48

Explain the fourth A02 point for H & T.

Answer 48

The reliability and validity of this research is also questionable as there was no independent check of the answers given in the questionnaires or interviews. The parents and children may have found it difficult to be objective about each other.

Question 49

Explain Rutter’s study about the effect of privation. (2007)

Answer 49

He studied 100 Romanian orphans adopted by British Families, assessed at 4, 6 and 11 by questionnaires and interviews. He found that the children adopted before 6 monte showed normal social development. Children adopted after 6 months had social problems e.g. disinhibited attachments and problems with peers. This suggests that age matters.