attachment

Question 1

what is reciprocity?

Answer 1

• caregiver and baby respond to each other’s signals and elicit a response from each other
• from around 3 months
• shows babies are active participants in interaction not just passive

Question 2

what is interactional synchrony?

Answer 2

-caregiver and baby mimic the actions and emotions of each other

Question 3

Meltzoff and Moore (1977) research on interactions sychrony

Answer 3

• observed beginning of interactional synchrony in babies
• adults displayed one of three facial expressions/gestures
• babies expression/gestures were usually mirrored from the adult

Question 4

Isabella et al (1989) research into interactional synchrony

Answer 4

• observed 30 mothers and babies interactional synchrony

- found higher levels of synchrony were associated with better quality attachment

Question 5

evaluation
caregiver infant interactions
strength: the use of filmed observations

Answer 5

• Caregiver/baby interactions are filmed from multiple angles
• Behaviour can be recorded and analysed later
• Babies don’t know they are being observed so demand characteristics and a problem
• increased reliability and validity

Question 6

evaluation
caregiver infant interactions
limitation: difficulty in observing babies

Answer 6

• Hard to observe babies behaviour because they are not very coordinated
• rely on small gestures and changes in expression
• Hard to interpret the meaning of babies movements
• Cannot be certain that an interaction is meaningful

Question 7

evaluation
caregiver infant interactions
Limitation: difficulty inferring developmental importance

Answer 7

• Feldman (2012)-synchrony and reciprocity describe behaviours that occur at the same time
• Cannot be certain from observation that reciprocity or synchrony important in development

Question 8

Stage one of Schaffer’s stages of attachment

Answer 8

• Asocial
• 0 to 6 weeks
• Behaviour to inanimate objects and humans are similar
• Slight preference for familiar people

Question 9

stage two of Schaffer’s stages of attachment

Answer 9

•  indiscriminate
• 6 weeks to 7 months
• General sociability
• Preference to humans
• No stranger/separation anxiety

Question 10

stage four of Schaffer’s stages of attachment

Answer 10

• discriminate
• 7 to12 months
• Primary attachment forms (65% mother)
• separation and stranger anxiety

Question 11

stage four of Schaffer’s stages of attachment

Answer 11

-Multiple attachments
-12 months+
-Secondary attachments form-Stranger and separation anxiety from secondary attachment


Question 12

evaluation
Schaffer’s stages of attachment
Strength: external validity

Answer 12

• Most observations were made during ordinary activities (reported by parent)
• The alternative (observers present in the home) may make baby distracted/anxious
• High likelihood behaviour was natural

Question 13

evaluation
Schaffer’s stages of attachment
limitation: biased observation

Answer 13

• Mothers were unlikely to be objective observers so biased on what they report
• May have missed behaviours
• The natural behaviour may not have been accurately reported

Question 14

evaluation
Schaffer’s stages of attachment
limitation: lack of evidence for asocial stage

Answer 14

• Babies have poor coordination/our mobile
• Makes it difficult for others to accurately report signs of anxiety and attachment
• Due to flawed methods the baby may appear a social

Question 15

evaluation

shaffers of stages of attachment strength: real world application

Answer 15

• In a social and indiscriminate stage as babies can be comforted by anyone
• If a child starts daycare later comfort from an unfamiliar adult may cause distress/long-term problems
• Schaffer’s stages of attachment can help parents make daycare decisions

Question 16

Schaffer and Emerson‘s research into the role of the father

Answer 16

• 1964
• majority of babies former primary attachment with mother around seven months
• 3% father was primary attachment
• 27% father was joint attachment with mother
• 75% of babies from secondary attachment with father by 18 months

Question 17

Grossman et al research into the role of the father

Answer 17

• 2002
• longitudinal study observing parents relationship with child through to teenager
• attachment with father was less important for adolescent than mother
• quality of fathers play with baby related to adolescent attachment
• fathers have different role in attachment (play and stimulation rather than emotional care)

Question 18

Field research into the role of the father

Answer 18

• 1978
• filmed 4 month old babies with their primary caregiver fathers
• father spent more time interacting with babies in secondary caregiver fathers
• interactional synchrony and reciprocity are important in forming attachments
• fathers can be the emotional attachment figure
• attachment relationship depends onlevel of responsiveness rather than gender

Question 19

evaluation
the role of the father
limitation: research question confusion

Answer 19

• Some psychologists research father is a secondary attachment
• other psychologist research fathers as primary attachment
• cannot answer the question of the role of the father

Question 20

evaluation
The role of the father
limitation: conflicting evidence 

Answer 20

• Grossman et al suggests father have distinctive role in child development
• McCallum and Golombok found children without father don’t develop differently

Question 21

evaluation
The role of the father
strength: families adapter circumstance

Answer 21

• Fathers in heterosexual families take on the roles
• families without fathers adapt
• there may be a distinctive role for fathers when present but families can adapt to not having them

Question 22

evaluation
The role of the father
strength: application in parenting advice

Answer 22

• Mothers may feel pressured to stay home and fathers to work
• research into the flexibility of father role can be used to advise parents
• parental anxiety about the role of the fathers can be reduced and parenting can be made easier

Question 23

Lorenz research into animal attachment

Answer 23

• 1952
• randomly divided goose eggs
• half hatched with mother in natural environment
• half hatched an incubator with Lorenz -incubator group followed Lorenz control group followed mother
• identified a critical period for imprinting (attaching to mother)
• Sexual imprinting occurred where bird acquired template of desirable characteristic to mate 

Question 24

Hollow research into animal attachment

Answer 24

• 1958
• 16 rhesus monkeys preferences was measured
• wire monkey with milk + cloth monkey with no milk
• monkeys preferred cloth monkey
• suggests comfort was more important than food
• due to maternal deprivation as adults the monkeys were more aggressive less sociable and less skilled it mating 

Question 25

evaluation Animal studies of attachment strength: supporting evidence of imprinting

Answer 25

- Regolin and vallortigara (1995) showed chicks moving shapes - when reshown the shapes the chicks followed their original shape - suggests young animals are born with innate mechanism to imprint on a moving object

Question 26

evaluation animal studies of attachment limitation: generalising birds to humans 

Answer 26

- Human attachment system is different to imprinting in birds - human mothers show more emotional attachment to child - may not be appropriate to generalise Lorenz’s ideas on imprinting to humans

Question 27

evaluation Animal studies of attachment strength: Harleys research has real world value

Answer 27

- Help social workers understand the risk of child abuse - understand the importance of attachment figures for baby monkeys in the zoo/breeding programs - Harleys research has benefited animals and humans

Question 28

evaluation | animal studies of attachment limitation: generalising monkeys to humans

Answer 28

- Monkeys are more similar to humans than geese and are both mammals so share some attachment systems - human mind and behaviour are more complex - may not be appropriate to generalise Harlow’s findings to humans

Question 29

who came up with the learning theory of attachment and when?

Answer 29

Dollard and Miller | 1950

Question 30

what is cupboard love?

Answer 30

emphasises the importance of food in attachment formation | children love whoever feeds them

Question 31

role of classical confitioning in attachment

Answer 31

``` UCS - food UCR - pleasure NS - caregiver caregiver bevkmes associatee wjtn food becoming CS caregiver produces a CR of pleasure ```

Question 32

role or operant conditioning in attachment

Answer 32

crying leads to a response from caregiver (eg feeding) reinforcing crying caregiver recieves negative reinforcement becahse feeding atops the crying

Question 33

what is primary drive?

Answer 33

innate biological motivator - eat to reduce hunger drive

Question 34

what is secondary drive?

Answer 34

learned by an association between careguvwr and the satisfaction of primary drive Sears et al (1957) - as caregiver provides food rhe primary drive of hunger becomes generalised

Question 35

evaluation learning theory limitation : counter evidence from animal studies

Answer 35

Lorenz’s geese imprinted on the first moving object Harlow’s monkeys attacher to a soft surrogate mother in preference to wire with milk both attachments did not develop as a result of feeding shows factors other than feeding are important in attachment formation

Question 36

evaluation learning theory limittion : counter evidence from human studies

Answer 36

Schaffer and Emerson 1964 showed that many babies primary attachment was not the feeder Isabella et al 1889 found interactional synchrony predicted attachment quality rather than feeding suggests other factors are more important in attachment formation than feeding

Question 37

evaluation learning theory strength : elements of conditioning could still be involved

Answer 37

conditioning can still play a role in attachment babies choice of primary attachment figure may be determined by the fact the caregiver becomes associated with warmth and comfort