attatchment (addition to quizes) Flashcards
define attachment
a close two way emotion bond between two people where they both see the other as important for their emotional security
3 behaviors involved in attachment
proximity seeking - always wanting to be close to the other person
separation distress - distressed when attachment figure leaves their presence
secure base behavior - need regular contact with them - a child will return to caregiver at regular intervals (even if securely attached)
define reciprocity
A description of how two people interact. Mother and infant interactions is reciprocal as both respond to each others signals and elicits a response from the other
define interaction synchrony
mother and infant reflect both actions and emotions of the other and do this synchronized
3 evaluative points of observing infant caregiver interactions
hard to know what’s happening - cant be sure whether the infants behavior is conscious or deliberate
controlled observations - often filmed from multiple angles to capture small details, good validity - infants behavior doesn’t change
don’t tell purpose - cant tell the purpose of these interactions however some evidence that its important in development of mother infant attach + development ( moral ect..
Summarize the method used by Shaffer and Emmerson
Used 60 babies from working class families in Glasgow and interviewed the mother kinds of protests shown in everyday situations where they leave them at both 1 year and 18 months
3 evaluation points about Shaffer and Emmerson’s study
good external validity - carried out in their own homes and most observations done by the parent themselves
longitudinal design - good internal validity as no confounding variables as same children followed up on
limited sample - all families same social status and same area all 50 years ago - don’t generalize to other social and historical contexts
Name the 4 stages of attachment in Shaffer’s theory
asocial - first few weeks behavior is same towards humans and inanimate objects
indiscriminate - 2-7 months prefer humans to inanimate objects but behavior is same towards everyone
specific - around 7 months show anxiety towards strangers have one specific primary attachment figure (65% biological mother)
multiple - by 12 months able to form secondary attachments with people they spend a lot of time with
another name for learning theories approach to explaining attachment
cupboard love- emphasizes importance of caregiver as a provider for food
describe how classical conditioning is used to develop an attachment
We learn to associate a caregiver with them providing food.
food= ucs to conditioned stimulus
pleasure = ucr
caregiver = neutral stimulus to conditioned stimulus
after conditioning, when the baby sees the caregiver they immediately expect food so get the conditioned response of pleasure - this is considered love to a learning theorist
describe how operant conditioning is used to strengthen an attachment
explains why babies cry for comfort - it leads to a response from the caregiver e.g. feeding which when comforted reinforces crying - positive reinforcement
caregiver is negatively reinforced as the crying stops
mutual reinforcement strengthens the attachment
What is drive reduction
hunger is a primary drive - it is innate we are motivated to eat to reduce the hunger drive.
caregivers provide food so primary drive becomes associated to them - attachment is a secondary drive learned to associate caregiver with satisfaction of a primary drive.
evaluation of learning theory and attachment
counter evidence (animal) - harlow showed monkeys preferred cloth mother who provided comfort over wire mother who provided food and Lorenz geese imprinted on mobile object before being fed. counter evidence (food) - schaffer + Emmerson showed most primary attach to mothers even if they didn't feed them ignored other factors - quality is affected by levels of reciprocity ad interactional synchrony. If it was purely feeding no need for complex interactions and would not expect correlation between them and quality of attach.
positive evaluations
some elements of conditioning may be involved - association between primary caregiver and comfort and social interaction is important in building an attachment. But to much focus on feeding.
newer explanation - observe parents and siblings and see rewards of attachment (such as praise) and acquire attach behaviors by vicarious reinforcement
How did Bowlby propose his theory
An evolutionary explanation that attachment was an innate system for survival. Imprinting and attachment are important in keeping young animals close to caregivers and provide them safety from hazards
why is Bowlby’s theory described as monotropic
placed great emphasis on child’s attachment to one particular caregiver which is different and more important than the rest. Called primary attachment figure
What two principles did Bowlby put forward to clarify his momotropy theory
- the law of continuity - the more consistent and predictable a child’s care is the better quality of attachment
- law of accumulated separation - effects of every separation adds up so therefore zero separation is the best
what are social releasers and what is their importance
cute behaviors such as smiling and cooing which enhance attachment by encouraging attention from adults
induces caring behaviors which ensures the survival of offspring
both mother and infant have an innate predisposition to become attached and social releasers trigger it in adults
what is the critical period
around two years the infant attachment system is active and at this point they are most sensitive - if an attachment is not formed at this point then they will find it harder to make one later in life
summarise and compare critical periods in different species
geese - mobile and immature, vulnerable so imprint fast
fish - mobile and mature so no attachment
birds- immobile and immature, need care so medium length attachment period
humans - immobile and lengthy immaturity period longer attachment period and more emotional context
how does difference in critical period provide evidence for Bowlby’s theory
existence length and nature is all related to adaptive benefits for survival of offspring
how do orphan studies show evidence for the critical period
longer time in orphanages the worse the effects much worse after 2 years
what is an internal working model
a mental representation the child forms of their attachment with their primary caregiver and later serves as a model for what a relationship should be like
what relationships does someone’s internal working model effect?
friendships and romantic relationships - someone who had a loving relationship with their mother will expect to be treated and treat others in that way
parenting - base their parenting behavior on own experiences parenting
for each type of relationship what evidence is there that it relates to working memory model
friendships - Myron-Wilson + Smith - insecure avoidant more likely to be victims and insecure resistant likely to be bullies
romantic -Fraley - 0.39 correlation between attach in infancy and later in life
parenting - Bailey - correlation between mothers own attachment experience and that with their own children
What mixed evidence is there about Bowlby’s theory
- Schaffer and Emmerson showed could form multiple attachments at omce rather than attach to p.c.g and then others
- unclear how unique first attach is mother usually have more effect on later life - not different in quality
how does the still face experiment by Bazleton show evidence for social releasers
observed interaction between mother and child and then told mother to stop responding to babies signals.
Babies initially showed distress but some eventually curled up and lay motionless.
The strength of the response supports Bowlby’s ideas of the significant of social releasers to elicit attachment
what independent variable was Lorenz testing and what was the key result he found
Divided a group of geese eggs randomly in half and half hatched in natural environment with mother and the other half where they first saw Lorenz
group hatched in incubator followed Lorenz and half hatched in the presence of their mother followed the mother, even when mixed. Identified imprinting had to happen within critical period otherwise they would not attach to mother figure at all.
What ethical issues could be identified in Lorenz’s study
protection of the geese was low - separation from mother could be stressful and could effect development later on
If there is a lack of generalizability to humans, why do we do animal studies?
attachment quite different in geese to mammals - geese mobile and vulnerable humans immobile and humans show emotion in attachment
But it suggests human attachment also evolved for it’s own species evolutionary needs.
describe the procedure of Harlow’s study
16 young monkeys first separated from mother and reared with two wire mother dispensing milk and the cloth mother not.
where did the monkeys spend most of the time?
on the cloth mother especially when in a strange room or frightened
ethical issues in Harlow’s study
protection is low the separation from the mother was stressful and monkeys showed signs of maternal deprivation did not develop normal behavior showed signs of aggression and less sociable. Unskilled at mating and even attacked and killed own children
How do Harlow’s finding contradict learning theory
attachment is driven by contact comfort rather than by food
to what extent can we generalize Harlow’s findings to humans
somewhat - both monkeys and humans are mammals with similarly long periods of dependency but less emotionally complex
