Attachment Flashcards
(44 cards)
Early interactions…..
Are Meaningful!!!
- From early ages interactions are meaningful with he quality of these interactions associated with successful development of attachment.
- Two kinds:
1) Reciprocity
2) Interactional synchrony
What is reciprocity?
When baby and caregiver take turns responding to and elicit response from each other. Like a dance.
Alert phases:
Feldman and Eidelman
- Babies have alert phases in which they seek interaction. Mothers respond successfully 2/3 of the time. From three months interaction becomes more intense and reciprocal.
Babies have active role:
- Traditional views see baby as entirely passive. But they take active role and can initiate interaction.
What is interactional synchrony?
Interactions involve synchrony as babies and caregivers mirror each others expressions.
- Synchrony = “The temporal coordination of microlevel social behaviour”
Meltzoff and Moore
- Beginnings of interactional synchrony can be seen in babies two weeks old.
Isabella et al.
- Good levels of synchrony are associated with good quality of attachment.
Give a strengths of research carried out into caregiver-infant interactions
Use of filmed observations:
- Usually interactions are filmed from multiple angles with so experimenters in the room so the baby is unaware of being observed.
- Increase validity and inter-rator reliability.
Give 2 negatives of research carried out into caregiver-infant interactions
1) Observations don’t tell us purpose of both:
Feldman
- Both reciprocity and synchrony simply happen at the same time
- Observable but what’s the purpose, we cannot be certain they lead to better development - only that there is correlation.
2) Babies are difficult to observe:
- Not coordinated (especially young babies). Hard to work out what minor expressions and gestures mean.
- Cannot be certain interactions are meaningful.
Describe the role of the father?
1) Attachment to fathers:
Schaffer and Emerson
- 3% of cases the father was primary attachment.
- 27% joint with mother.
- By 18 months 75% of babies formed attachment with fathers.
2) Distinctive role for fathers:
Grossman et al.
- Longitudinal study concluded attachment between mother and baby more crucial in teen attachment and relationships.
- Quality of father’s play also related to teen attachments. Father is there for play and mother for care.
3) Fathers can be the primary attachment figure:
Field
- When fathers are PAF they adopt behaviours more typical of mothers. Often have better interactional synchrony than secondary-caregiver fathers.
- Key attachment is not the gender but the level of responsiveness.
How does research into the role of the father have economic implications?
- Challenges traditional views that just mothers are primary care givers.
- Men can do the job just as good as females. So they may feel they can stay at home meaning they don’t tribute to the economy.
Give 2 limitations in to inquiries of the role of the father?
1) Confusion over research questions:
- Is the father primary or secondary caregiver.
- Conflict between two schools of thought means that we cannot clearly answer what the role of the father is.
2) Evidence undermines distinct father role:
McCallum and Golombok
- Children without a father don’t develop differently, though Grossman points out a distinct father role.
Give a positive evaluation for the role of the father.
Using findings in parenting advice:
- Advising parents about flexibility in the role of the father. Mothers don’t need to feel pressured into staying at home and quitting their job.
What are Schaffer’s four stages of attachment? Mention them in order.
1) Asocial stage:
(first few weeks)
- Same behaviour towards objects and humans.
2) Indiscriminate attachment: (2-7 months)
- Preference for humans; no one is favoured; no stranger/separation anxiety.
3) Specific attachment:
(About 7 months)
- Stranger and separation anxiety when separated from one particular adult.
4) Multiple attachments:
(By 12 months)
- Secondary attachment formed within a month 24% of the time.
What was the procedure and findings of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
Procedure:
- 60 Glasgow babies
- Visited at home monthly for a year and at 18 months.
- Separation and stranger anxiety observed by child’s mother.
Findings:
- Babies developed attachment through the outlined stages.
- Baby’s primary attachment was to those who had the best reciprocity with them.
Give 2 evaluative strengths of Schaffer’s stages of attachment.
1) External validity:
- In the home, natural environment to babies.
- Behaviour observed by parents, unaffected by researchers.
=> Mothers may be biased with what they reported.
2) Real-world application to day-care.
- In early stages (until 7 months) its fine, but once a primary attachment has been made, day-care can cause distress which causes longer-term problems.
Give 1 weakness of the stages of attachment.
Poor evidence for asocial stage:
- Babies have poor co-ordination and so they may only appear asocial.
Describe Lorenz’s procedure.
Procedure:
- Large clutch of eggs divided in two.
- Half saw biological mother within hours of attachment.
- Half saw Lorenz.
- Mixed the ducklings to see who they would follow and also viewed their courtship behaviour.
Findings:
- Geese followed who they saw first.
- Critical period of a few hours; after that no attachment is formed.
- Sexual imprinting occurs from a template of desirable characteristics.
Give 1 evaluative strength and weakness of Lorenz’s study.
1) Support for imprinting:
Regolin and Vallortigara
- Exposed chicks to simple shape moving objects which they imprinted too and showed preference toward.
2) Generalising from birds to humans:
- Mammals different to birds e.g. mammals show more emotion to young. Attachment in mammals is more complex.
Describe Harlow’s procedure
and findings.
Procedure:
- 16 rhesus monkeys.
- (Condition 1) Plain-wire monkey with milk.
- (Condition 2) Cloth covered but no milk.
- Reactions to frightening situations were measured.
- Continued observation into adulthood.
Findings:
- Babies preferred cloth covered mothers.
- When frightened, babies went to the cloth mother.
- Monkeys suffered severe consequences in future: more aggression, killing offspring, less skill mating.
Give 1 evaluative strength and 2 weaknesses of Harlow’s study.
1) Practical applications:
- Howe (1998) helped social workers understand risk factors in child abuse and how to prevent it.
- Understand monkey attachment better too for zoo breeding programs.
2) Ethical issues:
- Monkeys similar to humans and Harlow was aware of damage he was causing.
3) Generalising from monkeys to humans:
- More similar than geese, but humans have more complex cerebral cortex.
Describe Dollard and Miller (1950)’s learning theory of attachment?
Importance of food in attachment (cupboard love).
1) Classical conditioning:
- Food is UCS that produces feeling of pleasure UCR.
- Caregiver is NS but when associated with food becomes CS. CS produces pleasure CR and so baby associates mother with pleasure from food. Attachment formed.
2) Operant conditioning:
- Crying reinforced because it produces caregiver response.
- Negative reinforcement as caregiver response stops crying.
Drive reduction:
- Attachment is secondary drive learned by association of caregiver with hunger satisfaction. Hunger is primary (innate/biological) drive to reduce hunger drive.
Give 2 negative evaluations of the learning theory of attachment.
1) Counter-evidence from animal studies:
- Lorenz and Harlow.
2) Counter-evidence from human studies:
- Schaffer and Emerson show first attachment is not due to the person who fed them.
- Isabella et al. Found interactional synchrony was what predicted attachment quality.
Give 1 strength of the learning theory of attachment.
Some elements of conditioning could still be involved:
- Elements of conditioning could still be involved a caregiver becomes associated with warmth and comfort which leads to attachment.
=> Counterpoint:
It ignores the evidence which supports the babies active role in interaction which develops attachment.
Outline Bowlby’s theory of attachment.
Attachment is innate for survival and comes from evolution. Young animals stay close to parents for protection.
Monotropic = One primary care-giver
- In Bowlby’s theory a “mother figure”.
1) Law of continuity = constant care means better quality attachment.
2) Law of accumulated separation = effects of separation add up.
Babies have social releasers/ innate “cute behaviours”.
A critical period up to 2 years for attachment to take place.
The first attachment creates an internal working model of relationships in later life.
Give 2 strengths of Bowlby’s theory of attachment
1) Clear evidence of social releasers:
Brazleton et al.
- Told primary caregivers to stop responding to their baby’s social releasers.
- Babies who previously were normally responsive showed distress.
- Social behaviour and role of releasers in initiating social interaction
2) Research support for IWM:
Bailey et al.
- 99 mothers who had poor attachments to their own mum were likely to have poor attachments with their own 1 y/o baby.
=> Counterpoint
- Other influences outside of just the IWM. Genetic inheritance also plays a strong role in development of social behaviour.
Give two negative evaluations of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment.
1) Concept of monotropy lack validity:
Schaffer and Emerson
- Demonstrated that multiple attachments can form (multiple attachment stage) just that they may be different in quality.
2) Feminist/ Economic concerns:
- Law of accumulated separation states that all separations add up, this may confine women to a traditional role.
- With mothers feeling they cannot maintain a job while having a child, they cannot contribute to the economy either.
Outline the procedure of the strange situation.
Ainsworth and Bell developed the controlled observation to asses the quality of attachment between baby and caregiver.
Five categories to judge attachment quality:
1) Proximity seeking
2) Exploration and secure base behaviour
3) Stranger anxiety
4) Separation anxiety
5) Response to reunion with caregiver
Seven episodes in the procedure each lasting three minutes:
1) Baby encouraged to explore by CG
2) Stranger enters and approaches baby
3) CG leaves
4) CG returns and stranger leaves
5) CG leaves baby alone
6) Stranger returns
7) CG returns
