Attachement Flashcards
(93 cards)
1
Q
Define attachment
A
An emotional tie between 2 people usually a parent/ carer and their offspring
2
Q
What are the key behaviours shown when having an attachment to someone. Maccoby (1980)
A
- Seeking proximity
- Separation distress
- Joy at reunion
- The general orientation of behaviour towards each other
3
Q
Define seeking proximity
A
Desire to be physically close
4
Q
Define separation distress
A
Upset or anxiety at separation, in preparation for the separation and after separation has occurred
5
Q
Define joy at reunion
A
Happy and excited before and on being reunited
6
Q
Define the general orientation of behaviour towards each other
A
Effectively attempts and maintains the attachment figures attention
7
Q
What are the two further behaviours shown when attached to someone.
A
- Reciprocity
- Interactional synchrony
8
Q
Define reciprocity
A
Interactions between parent and offspring are a two-way process
Mother and infant respond to each others signals, and each elicits a response from the other
9
Q
Define interactional synchrony
A
Mother and infant reflect both the actions and emotions of the other. (Biologically in sync)
10
Q
Why are infant interactions important?
A
- they take place straight from birth for children with the use of non-verbal cues from infants to signal their needs (their needs are innate)
- such non-verbal cues need to be reciprocated and may form the basis of the attachment relationship
- how each individual respond to each other determines the formation of an attachment
- the more sensitive everyone is to each other, the deeper (positive) the relationship
- helps with development- physical, neurological, cognitive, emotional and psychological development.
11
Q
Why are infant interactions not so important?
A
- there is evidence of individuals who lack a parent and infant relationship with no adverse effects e.g feral children
- children can have other significant figures on their lives, and these are not always their caregivers
12
Q
Who and where examined how attachments are formed
A
Shaffer and Emerson (1964)
Glasgow
13
Q
How did Shaffer and Emerson examine how attachments are formed
A
Using interviews and observations over 12 months they found the attachments between infants and caregivers occur in 4 main stages
14
Q
What are the 4 main stages that shaffer and emerson found
A
- Indiscriminate of attachments ( A social)
- Beginning of attachments (indiscriminate)
- Discriminate attachments (specific)
- Multiple attachments
15
Q
Describe shaffer and emersons stage 1- indiscriminate of attachments
A
- occurs from birth to around 2 months
- AKA A social
- infants produce similar responses to animate (real people) and inanimate objects (toys)
- towards end of stage 1 infants show a greater preference for social stimuli ie responding to stimuli
- infants are more content around people
- interactional synchrony and reciprocity are key in playing a role in the formation of the attachment
16
Q
Describe shaffer and emersons stage 2- beginning of attachments
A
- occurs around the age of 2-4 months
- infants are much more social
- prefer human company to company of inanimate objects
- enjoys being with people
- can distinguish between familiar people ad unfamiliar people but comforted by anyone
17
Q
Describe shaffer and emersons stage 3- discriminate attachments
A
- occurs 4- 7 months
- AKA as specific
- has formed an attachment to one primary attachment figure
- shows separation anxiety from PAF
- shows joy at reunion
- shows stranger anxiety
18
Q
Describe schaffer and emerson stage 40 multiple attachments
A
- occurs from 7- 12 months
- starts to develop multiple attachments with other consistent people in their lives such as siblings, grandparents, regular childcare provider
- starts to have seperation anxiety from secondary/ multiple attachment figures
19
Q
What are the pros ad cons of attachment proposed by schaffer and emerson
A
+ stages were identified from the research conducted in the real world with mothers and infants over 1 months
+ used to see the different developmental milestones an infant will go through, highlights expected behaviours
- stages are not generalisable as the formation of attachment is open to individual deifference
- based on research conducted in glasgow with 60 infants, the stages may reflect only Scottish infants, not all infants globally
- stages an be criticised for being reductionist as we are simplifying the complexity of attachment to a fixed stage process.
- deterministic- suggests that attchment will take place in 4 stages- ignored the element of how carer-infant interactions impact the formation of attachment because of different parenting styles.
20
Q
What was the role of the father originally for to men?
A
Children were born for a name to be carried on for the most part, children were seen and not heard
21
Q
How did Bowlby ignore the role of the father?
A
Argued that maternal deprivation in the firs 2-3 years of life would lead to irreversible consequences
He discarded the role of a father and focused solely on the relationship between a mother an an infant
22
Q
What was the role of the father pre 1990s?
A
Mainly breadwinner- much less time with children
Sole disciplinarians
Children seen not heard
Sons were wanted to pass down wealth and to follow into employment
No physical care
Lack of emotional care
23
Q
What is the role of the father 2024?
A
Much more active in terms of physical and emotional care
Paternity leave can now be shared
Not a disciplinarian- punishment has been moved away from physical
Quality time is important
House husbands
For some children, two significnant father figure because same-sex families or stepfamilies
24
Q
What are the 3 key factors when looking at the role of a father when forming attachments?
A
- Interaction
- Accessibility
- Responsibility
25
Define interaction- role of the father
Engagement with the infant, how often?
What the interaction is. Is it purposeful and meaningful
The more positive the interactions, the greater the accessibility and the more responsibility is taken= the better the relationship
26
Define accessibility- role of the father
Is the father physically and emotionally accessible to their children? Is there play time/comfort given?
27
Define responsibility- role of the father
Does the father take responsibility for caregiving? Does he share it without being prompted or asked?
28
Define imprinting
A reciprocal mental image in the animal kingdom between mother and infant based on sight and smell
Some animals will follow the first moving object they see
29
Who devised the idea of imprinting
Konrad Lorenz - ethologist
30
What is ethology
The study of animal behaviour in their natural environment
Animals having their won attachment style
31
What does imprinting ensure?
A bond between moth and infant in the animal world is made and increases the chance of survival
32
Why is imprinting important?
Allows for survival
33
LORENZ STUDY (1952)
- field experiment
- took a clutch of gosling eggs and divided them into two groups
- one group left with their natural mother
- other eggs placed in an incubator
- when incubator eggs hatched the first living (moving) thing they saw was Lorenz and they started following him around
- to test the effect of imprinting, Lorenz marked the two groups to distinguish them and placed them together
- the goslings quickly divided themselves up- one following their natural mother and Lorenzs brood followed him
34
What did Lorenz’s study demonstate?
That animals are not born with a read-made image of their parents
Suggests an animal infant imprints on the first moving object seen
35
What kind of experiment was lorenz study?
Field
36
Can imprinting occur inanimate objects- lorenz
37
HARLOW STUDY (1959)
- examined whether food or comfort was more important when forming an attachment
- examined how long rhesus monkeys spent with a wire or cloth ‘mother’
- 8 rhesus monkeys studies for 165 days
- comfort given via wire mummy
- all 8 monkeys spent the most time with cloth mummy
- on being frightened,all returned to the cloth mummy
- suggested comfort/ security is much more important than food when forming an attachment
- food only deals with the biological need of hunger
38
What animal did harlow use for his study
Rhesus monkeys
39
What kind of experiment was Harlows
40
Pros and cons of harlows study
+ lab experiment- IV and DV controlled= reliability
+ highlights that comfort and security are important
+ complements shaffer and emerson- quality of care and comfort are essential
- ethical issues- harm and being malaajusted
- shows food is not as important as once thought
- mummy has different face (extraneous variable) so did they prefer this mummy because of the cloth or its face
- used rhesus monkeys, inapplicable to humans and their attachment behaviour
- lab artificial cant be applied to RLA
41
Who proposed the learning theory of attachment?
Dollard and Miller (1950)
42
What is the learning theory of attachment also known as?
Cupboard love theory
43
What is the learning theory of attachment?
Focuses on the idea of food being fed allows for attachment to occur
We learn how to love because love is paired with the food that we are given- which comes from cupboards.
Attachment usually occurs via classical and operant conditioning
44
How many times is a baby fed in the first year of life on average according to dollard and miller?
2000
45
Describe operant conditioning- learning theory of attachment
- hungry infant= distress
- the infant cries to signal attention to stop hunger and distress
- mum motivated to child crying (negative reinforcement)
- being fed= pleasurable and rewarding as hunger is gone (positive reinforcement for and infant)
- food = primary reinforcer, it stamps out the hunger and discomfort
- mum = secondary reinforcer, as a child learns to associate food with a person
- mum is also rewarded as the distressed infant becomes happy and settled (positive reinforcement)
- happy mum + happy infant= attachment
46
What are the pros and cons of learning theory of attachment?
+ builds on firm foundations ie pavlov and skinner when explaining how attachments are formed- explanatory power
+universal as all infants will be fed- feeding is why attachment occurs
+ food is needed for survival- plausible that attachments will occur because of food
- disregards the importance of comfort by only focusing on food
- written in the 1950s at a time when females met their offspring needs via staying at home
- ignored changes in the family by suggesting attachment occurs to the person who feeds the infant
- reductionist as it simplifies the complexity of an attachment process down to food alone- theres more to human attachments ie. Care/comfort
47
When was bowlbys theory written?
Mid 20th century
48
What is bowlbys theory?
Believed that attachments are formed because of evolutionary advantages as attachments/ imprinting is see in a variety of species
49
Who’s 2 ideas was Bowlbys theory formed by?
1. Lorenz
2. Freud
50
What ideas did bowlby take from Lorenz?
1. The critical period- the time imprinting must take place
2. Proximity seeking- the desire to be physically close
- Bowlby believed that the attachment should occur in the first few months (3-6) of life which he termed that critical period
- However , he estimated that human infants would need longer so he extended it to the first 2-3 years of life, referred to as the sensitive period
51
What did Bowlby take from Freud?
1. The idea that the main carer (mother) is very important in development
2. The quality of the first relationship (mother-child) would affect the quality of all future relationships (monotrophy/monotropic)
- bowbly stated that the first relationship served as a prototype (model) from which all future relationships would be based (internal working model)
52
What is a monotropic relationship?
The quality of the first relationship (mother-child) would affect the quality of all future relationships
53
What is the internal working model?
The first relationship served as a prototype from which all future relationships would be based (internal working model)
54
What is the internal working model?
The first relationship served as a prototype from which all future relationships would be based (internal working model)
55
What does Bowlbys theory state?
Attachment occurs by infants being physically close to their PAF first few years
Parents being sensitive to their child’s needs was important in their first two years of life
56
What did bowlbys theory further state?
Babies are born with pre-programmed behaviours (social releasers) to encourage attention from adults by releasing instinctive parenting behaviour
57
What are social releasers?
Babies born with pre-programmed behaviours to encourage attention from adults by releasing instinctive parenting behaviour
58
What are some examples of social releasers?
Sucking
Crying
Gripping
59
How are attachments formed according to bowlby?
Social releasers + parental instinct= attachment between parent and child
60
What are the consequences of not responding to social releasers?
If parent does not respond to social releasers during sensitive period then opportunity to form attachments is lost and could cause developmental consequences for the child also continued into adulthood
61
What is the continuity hypothesis?
If developmental consequences that arose in childhood also continued into adulthood
62
What are the pros and cons of bowlbys theory?
+ outdated- societal change
+research evidence- bailey and brazelton
+ provides us with an explanation for the attachment
- gender bias- focus on the mother being an attachment figure and written in london
- reductionist
63
Who conducted the strange situation?
Mary Ainsworth (1970s)
64
What did Ainsworth believe?
The quality of care provided by the PCG was most important when forming an attachment
Referred to this as sensitive responsiveness
Examines how a mother responds to their child’s signals
65
What 3 attachment styles will 12-18 month year old be divided into according to Ainsworth?
1. Type A- Insecure avoidant
2. Type B- secure
3. Type C- insecure ambivalent / resistant
66
What 3 attachment styles will 12-18 month year old be divided into according to Ainsworth?
1. Type A- Insecure avoidant
2. Type B- secure
3. Type C- insecure ambivalent / resistant
67
What is type A attachment?
Insecure avoidant
- no proximity seeking
- no secure base behaviour
- don’t show distress at separation
- no stranger anxiety
- no joy at reunion
68
What percentage of the UK are classified as type A
15%
69
What is type B attachment?
Secure
- play independently
- proximity seeking
- regularly return to their secure base
- separation anxiety
- stranger anxiety
70
What percentage of the uk are type b attachment
70%
71
What is type c attachment?
Insecure resistant ambivalent
- explores much less
- no secure base and with PCG
- intensely seek proximity
- separation anxiety
- wants joy at reunion but rejects/resists
72
What is secure base?
Refers to the mother/ caregiver from which an infant will explore their environment but will return regularly for comfort
73
Describe the strange situation
Lab-based participant observation
A child was placed in an unfamiliar (strange room) with their PCG and their reactions were assessed
It was aimed to stimulate everyday events
The procedure had eight episodes and the seven key episodes would last for 3 minutes each
Each episode measures one of the five behaviours after the procedure a child would be classified as a type A,B and C
74
What were the 8 stages of the strange situation?
Stage 1: proximity seeking
The child and career are placed in an empty room
Stage 2: secure base
The child is left free to explore
Stage 3: stranger anxiety
A stranger enters, greets the carer and attempts to play with the child
Stage 4: Stranger and separation anxiety
The carer leaves the child with the stranger
Stage 5: joy at reunion
The carer re-enters and the stranger leaves
Stage 6: separation anxiety
The carer leaves the child alone
Stage 7: stranger anxiety
The stranger re-enters
Stage 8: joy at reunion
The stranger leaves and the carer re-enters
75
Who proposed the type D attachment type?
Main and Solomon
76
What is type D attachment
Insecure diagnosed
Children that didn’t fit into types A-C
Alternated between A (avoidant) and C (resistant/ ambivalent
Eg maintaining proximity (c) yet resisting when cuddled and being avoidant in play (A)
77
What are the pros and cons of the strange situation?
+ RLA
+ replicable
+ reliable- controlled experiment
- demand characteristics- mother may change behaviour
- artificial environment- lab
- ethical issues- no consent
78
What are the pros and cons of the strange situation?
+ RLA
+ replicable
+ reliable- controlled experiment
- demand characteristics- mother may change behaviour
- artificial environment- lab
- ethical issues- no consent
79
Define culture
Rules, laws, customs, morals, religion and language that bind members of a society together
A culture is usually passed down from generation to another
80
Define cultural variation
The difference found between cultures or places.
Eg side of road you drive on , type of food you eat
81
What are the links between culture and attachment?
Goes against bowlby
Found key difference between individualistic and collectivist cultures in their attachment cultures
Key study van izjeendoorn- used a meta-analysis
Investigate using strange situation
82
What are the pros and cons when examining culture and attachment
+ universal
+ acknowledges different parenting styles across different cultures
+ RLA- where you are in the world will depend on your attachment type
- over emphasises the differences between cultures- only 8 countries
83
Who came up with the maternal deprivation
Bowlby
84
What does the maternal depriavtion hypothesis focus?
How the effects of early life experiences may interfere with the usual processes of attachment formation
85
What does MDH state
Separation or deprivation from the mother or mother substitute would have a serious impact on the physical on the physical, psychological and emotional development of a child
86
3 main areas of bowlbys MD
Seperation, deprivation, maternal deprivation
87
Define deprivation
Not having the things or conditions that are considered necessary.
Attachment- loss and lack of emotional and physical care- usually provided by PCG during critical and sensitive periods
88
Define seperation
The action or state of moving away or being moved apart
Attachment- time spent away from the PCG once attachment has been formed
89
Define maternal deprivation
The emotional and intellectual consequences of having short and/ or long-term Seperation/ deprivation between infants and their PCG during the critical and/or sensitive period
90
What did Bowlby say if MD occurs?
The child would suffer from irreversible long-term consequences
91
What were the 5 consequences of MD?
1. Delinquency (criminal behaviour)
2. Low IQ
3. Increased levels of aggression
4. Higher rates of depression
5. Affection less psychopathy
92
What is affection less psychopathy?
A behavioural pattern shown by an inability to show affection or concern for others (lack or guilt, lack of empathy) eg acting on impulse without thinking about the consequences
93
What are the pros and cons of Bowlbys MD theory?
+ supporting evidence- bowbly, goldfarb, spitz+wolf
