Development of Attachment (Social) Flashcards
What is the background research for development of attachment?
Dollar and Millar (1950)
Bowlby
Lorenz (1935)
Harlow (1950)
Hodges and Tizard (1989)
Robertson’s (1948-52)
Outline Dollar and Millar (1950)
Operant conditioning: infants are reinforced in the behaviours that will produce desirable responses from others i.e. fed when they cry.
Classical conditioning - they learn to associate the caregiver with the feeling of pleasure when they are fed(cupboard love).
Outline Bowlby
Children are pre-programmed to form attachments to help them survive.
Social releases: children are born with a tendency to show innate behaviours which help ensure proximity and contact (crying, smiling, crawling).
Maternal deprivation is the loss or separation or loss of the mother resulting in long term cognitive, social and emotional difficulties.
Outline Lorenz (1935)
Took a clutch of goose eggs and kept them until they were about to hatch.
Half of the eggs were placed under the other and half kept beside Lorenz.
17 hour critical period after hatching, known as imprinting, suggesting attachment if innate and programmed genetically.
The geese in his condition followed Lorenz when he walked around.
Outline Harlow (1950)
8 monkeys were separated from their mothers immediately after birth and placed in cages with access to two surrogate mothers, one made of wire and one covered in soft terry towelling cloth.
Both groups of monkeys spent more time with the cloth mother (even if she had no milk). The infant would only go to the wire mother when hungry.
Outline Hodges and Tizard (1989)
Looked at children taken into homes before 6m and either adopted or returned home at the age of 4.
Showed that attachment can happen but there were still long term effects e.g. fewer friends, fewer positive relationships.
Outline Robertsons (1948-52)
Filmed children staying in hospital for long periods of time and were separated from their parents as the thinking at thinking at the same time was that parental visits upset children.
They found children went though stages:
- Distress (crying, anger, protest)
- Despair (withdrawal)
- Detachment
What was the aim of research by Aisworth and Bell?
To investigate the interaction between infant attachment behaviour, response to unfamiliar situations, and separation from and reunion with the material attachment figure.
What research method was used?
controlled observation
What sample was used?
56 participants who were family-reared infants of white, middle-class parents, who were originally contacted through paediatricians in private practice.
Outline the 8 step procdure
- The mother carrier the baby into the room.
- The mother put down the baby and sat in the chair and played with the baby.
- A stranger entered, sat quietly for one minute, then tried to play with baby and the mother left the room.
- If the baby wanted to play, the stranger would play with the toys and if the baby was distressed the stranger would try to comfort the baby. This lasted 3 minutes.
- The mother then re entered, pausing at the doorway to give an opportunity for the baby to spontaneously move towards her. The stranger then left and then when the baby had calmed down the mother then left again.
- The baby was left alone for 3 minutes.
- The stranger entered and behaviour as before for three minutes.
- The mother then returned, the stranger left.
What was measured in this experiment?
Frequency of three types of movement: body movement, touching and moving objects, visual and looking
Theattachment behaviours coded on a 7-point These behaviours included:
Proximity and contact seeking
Contact maintaining
Proximity and interaction avoiding
Contact and interaction resisting
Searching behaviour
What were the findings?
Babies used mother as a secure base to explore strange situation. Decline in exploratory behaviour when mother left.
Crying when mother leaves.
All babies cried or searched for mother
What were the conclusions from this research?
In threatening situation, attachment behaviour increases.
The attachment figure is used as a secure base for exploration by the infant.
There are observable differences in attachment styles.
What strategies can be implemented to develop an attachment friendly environment in hospital care?
Platt report
Family centred care
