Attachment

Question 1

Attachment

Answer 1

An emotional tie between two people shown in their behaviour, such as proximity-seeking, separation distress and secure base. It serves the function of protecting an infant

Question 2

Interactions

Answer 2

From an early age infants have meaningful social interactions which are believed to have important functions in the child’s development. One function of this development is attachment.
These interactions happen before children learn speech, usually in the firs year of their life. The more sensitive each is to the others signals, the deeper the relationship

Question 3

Reciprocity

Answer 3

A key element of the interaction between the infant and caregiver
An interaction is reciprocal when each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them

Question 4

Brazleton 1975

Reciprocity

Answer 4

Describes the interaction as a dance. This means that there’s always a reaction to the other, they are going to respond

He also suggests the basic rhythm of the interaction is important to later communications. This means that later on in life the person is able to communicate (knows how to respond)

Question 5

Interaction synchrony

Answer 5

A key element of the interaction between the infant and caregiver. Mother and infant reflect both actions and the emotions of the other in a synchronised way.

Question 6

Meltzoff and Moore

Interaction synchrony

Answer 6

Found using observation that interactionalist synchrony could be seen in infants as young as 2 weeks old. They found an association between the adults and infants expressions and actions

Question 7

Evaluation of infant interactions

Strengths

Answer 7

> Controlled observations has good control,therefore has good internal validity as it can capture fine detail
Feldman (2012) reciprocal interaction and synchrony are helpful in the development of mother-infant attachment and also in stress response, empathy, language and moral development

Question 8

Evaluation of infant interactions

Weaknesses

Answer 8

> it is extremely difficult to be certain based off observation what is taking place from the infants perspective - is it conscious/deliberate. We cannot know if interaction seen has a special meaning
it is hard to distinguish infant
socially sensitive

Question 9

Evaluation of role of the father

Strengths

Answer 9

Father’s role is important in secondary attachment in play and forming friendships

Question 10

Evaluation of role of the father

Weaknesses

Answer 10

> Inconsistent findings on the famous role as we don’t really know the role of the father as single fathers can take on the maternal role but research shows they are also secondary attachment
studies have failed to replicate findings

Question 11

Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

The develop of attachment (method)

Answer 11

To find when babies develop attachments to their parents
60 infants in working class homes in Glasgow
They observed the development of attachments during the babies first year they visited the mother every month then again at 18 months
The mother made reports on the infant response in7 everyday situations eg separation anxiety
They also measured how the infants responded to others (stranger anxiety)

Question 12

Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

The develop of attachment (findings)

Answer 12

Specific attachment forms around 7 months
In 65% of cases first specific attachment was to the mother it was only the father in 3% of cases
Multiple attachments develop soon after
Large individual differences in strengths of attachments found / formed - babies didn’t necessarily form bonds to the person who carried out the most physical care
They attached to the person who was most interactive and sensitive to infant signals and facial expressions

Question 13

What 4 stages did Schaffer and Emerson find and at what age

Answer 13

Asocial ~ 0-8 weeks
Indiscriminate attachment ~ 2-7 months
Specific attachment ~ 7-12 months
Multiple attachments ~ 1 year onwards

Question 14

Stage 1 of attachment - Asocial

Answer 14

Recognise specific faces
Happier in the presence of humans than when alone
Recognise for familiar individuals
Smile at anyone
Prefers faces to non faces
Behaviour between humans and non human objects quite similar

Question 15

Stage 2 of attachment - indiscriminate attachment

Answer 15

Smile at anyone
Recognise and prefer familiar faces
Accept comfort from anyone
Preference for people rather inanimate objects

Question 16

Stage 3 of attachment - specific attachment

Answer 16

Primary attachment to one particular individual
Show separation anxiety
Show stranger anxiety
Use familiar adults as secure base

Question 17

Stage 4 of attachment - multiple attachments

Answer 17

Form secondary attachment with familiar adults with whom they spend time eg father, siblings grandparents

Question 18

Evaluation of Schaffer and Emerson

Answer 18

✔️ field experiment - good external validity
✖️ 60 babies in Glasgow in working class - ungeneralisable
✖️historical bias - poor temporal validity
✖️mother is reporting - social desirability bias
✖️/✔️ longitudinal study -

Question 19

Lorenz
(Animal study of attachment)
To investigate imprinting behaviour in goslings

Answer 19

Divided eggs in two - half hatched with their mother and half hatched in an incubator Lorenz being the first thing they saw
Incubator group followed Lorenz and natural group followed mother - imprinting (instantaneous connection in critical period)
Sexual imprinting - birds who imprinted in humans wanted to show courtship (mate) with humans later on in life

Question 20

Harlow
(Animal study of attachment)
To investigate origins of love - mother love not based on feeding
Method

Answer 20

8 rhesus monkeys were studied for a period 165 days. Harlow created 2 wire monkeys with one covered in cloth. 4 of the monkeys has a wire monkey including a feeding bottle, 4 had the cloth monkey

Question 21

Harlow
(Animal study of attachment)
To investigate origins of love - mother love not based on feeding
Findings

Answer 21

All 8 monkeys spent majority of their time with the cloth mother regardless of where the feeding bottle was. When frightened all monkeys cling to the cloth mother for comfort
As they got older the monkeys developed abnormally. They froze when approached by other monkeys, they were more aggressive, did not show normal mating behaviour and did not cradle their babies some even killed their children

Question 22

Evaluation of animal research

Answer 22

✔️Practical value
✔️Theoretical value
✖️ reduced validity of Lorenz
✖️ethical issues

Question 23

Learning theory of attachment

Answer 23

We are born with a tabula rasa (blank sheet) so all behaviour is learned
Behaviourists suggest that attachment is learnt through classical and operant conditioning

Question 24

Explanation of attachment through Classical conditioning

Answer 24

Learning by association
Babies may learn to associate 2 things that occur together they will then learn to associate them (milk and mother = pleasure)
After conditioning mother = pleasure

Question 25

Explanation of attachment through operant conditioning

Answer 25

Occurs through positive reinforcement for baby’s -> the infant is driven by being uncomfortable due to being hungry then when it is fed the drive is reduced and feeling of pleasure then the attachment is created towards the person who supplied the reward

Question 26

What is the concept of the learning theory

Answer 26

Drive reduction. Hunger is the primary drive as the caregivers provide the food the primary drive becomes generalised to them attachment is a secondary drive learned by an association between the caregiver and the satisfaction of a primary drive

Question 27

Strengths of the learning theory

Answer 27

• practical application of research as it can be used in parenting classes
• high face validity
• scientific credibility
• supportive evidence through Pavlov and skinner and Watson & Rayner

Question 28

Weaknesses of the learning theory

Answer 28

• over simplified
• contradicting research due to Harlow therefore less reliability
• based on studies with non humans therefore low popularity validity

Question 29

Who came up with the mono tripod theory of attachment also known as the evolutionary theory

Answer 29

Bowlby

Question 30

Monotropy

Answer 30

One particular attachment is different from all of us and of central importance to the Childs development

Question 31

Internal working model

Answer 31

Mental representations which we carry with us of our attachments
it is a model about future emotional relationships which will be based on an attachment from the caregiver

Question 32

Continuity hypothesis

Answer 32

The link between early attachment and later social and emotional competence

Question 33

Social releases

Answer 33

To behaviours like smiling cooing activate the adult attachment system it is innate this is a predisposition to attach and social releases trigger a response

Question 34

Critical period

Answer 34

A time period of around two years In which an attachment must form if it is the form at all

Question 35

Suess et al - support for monotropy

Answer 35

Primary attachment is strongest and is important for data behaviour even though it is stronger it is not different in quality

Question 36

Brazelton et al - support for social releasers

Answer 36

Lack of response to social releases equals distress such as curling up on the motion this suggests social releases is important in eliciting caregiving

Question 37

Bailey et al - internal working model

Answer 37

Internally working model passed on through family so poor attachment may be passed on

Question 38

Rutter et al
- Romanian orphanage
(Doesn’t support …)

Answer 38

The critical period suggests it may just be a sensitive period - as they observed not found it difficult to form attachments after 6 months however it supports Schaffer and Emerson