attachment Flashcards

(150 cards)

1
Q

what is attachment?

A

an emotional tie or bond between an infant and a caregiver. the relationship is said to be reciprocal

MSA - Attachment can be defined as an emotional relationship between two people in which each seeks closeness and feels more secure when in the presence of the attachment figure.

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2
Q

3 behaviours or characteristics that demonstrate attachment?

A

Proximity

Separation distress

Secure-base behaviour

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3
Q

CAREGIVER-INFANT INTERACTIONS

A
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4
Q

what is reciprocity?

A

a two way mutual process where an infant responds to the action of another person in a form of turn taking. The behaviour of each party elicits a response from the other.

e.g A mother smiles, the baby smiles back

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5
Q

what is interactional synchrony?

A

Where an infant mirrors the actions of another person; for example, an infant imitating behaviours and/or the emotions of their parents/carers

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6
Q

KEY STUDY: MELTZOFF AND MOORE (1977)
What was his aim?

A

to examine interactional synchrony in infants

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7
Q

Describe the method used by Meltzoff and Moore (1977)?

A

using controlled observation an adult model would display one of three facial expressions and hand movements. To start with, the child had a dummy placed in his/her mouth to prevent a facial response, and then removed following the adult’s display. The child’s response was filmed.

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8
Q

what were the results of Meltzoff and Moore (1977)

A

there was a clear association between the infants behaviour and that of the adult model.

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9
Q

Meltzoff and Moore conclusion?

A

interactional synchrony is innate and reduces the strength of any claim that imitative behaviour is learned

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10
Q

AO3: Evaluation of Caregiver-Infant Interactions

A
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11
Q

strength: Meltzoff and Moore’s (1977) - REPLICATED STUDY - FINDINGS = REPEATED

A
  • Meltzoff and Moore (1983) replicated their study with infants as young as three-days old. The found that even infants this young demonstrated the same synchrony, suggesting that the behaviour is innate. This suggests that the original findings were reliable and that caregiver-infant interactions are an innate mechanism used to help develop an attachment bond.
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12
Q

weakness - QUESTIONALBLE RELIABILITY - DIFFICULT TO OBSERVE BABIES

Weakness 2: KOEPKE ET AL (1983) - REPLICATED - did not find the same results

Weakness 3: OBSERVER BIAS

Weakness 4: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES - ISABELLA ET AL.

A

Infants pull ‘funny faces’ all the time and it is not uncommon for an infant to randomly stick their tongue out, yawn or smile and therefore it is difficult to distinguish between normal behaviour and imitation. We are unable to conclude whether the results of Meltzoff and Moore’s research demonstrate caregiver-infant interactions or everyday infant behaviour, and therefore further research is required to test the reliability of these findings.

Koepke et al. (1983) attempted to replicate Meltzoff and Moore’s findings, but failed to produce the same results. This matters because it questions the reliability of Meltzoff and Moore’s findings and their replication conducted 6 years later, and further illustrates the need for additional research in this area.

in addition there is observer bias, the researchers may concoiusly or unconcoisly interpret behaviour to support their findings. to demolish this we need more than one observer to examine the inter-observer reliability.. lack of research = unreliable, more research is required.

individual differences play a role. recent research has shown that only secure infants engage in interactional synchrony - Isabella et al found that the more securely attached the infant, the greater the level of interactional synchrony. This suggests that not all children engage in interactional synchrony and m and m overlooked individual differences.

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13
Q

SHAFFER AND EMERSON STAGES OF ATTACHMENT

A
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14
Q

What are Shaffer and Emerson stages of attachment?

A

Shaffer and Emerson identified 4 stages of attachment, which suggest that as babies age, they display certain behaviours, which are set in stages. And suggested that every baby goes through each of the stages in the same sequence.

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15
Q

KEY STUDY: SHAFFER AND EMERSON(1964):
what was the aim of Shaffer and Emerson (1964) glasgow babies research?

A

they aimed to investigate the formation of early attachment

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16
Q

describe the method used by Shaffer and Emerson?

A

-used a sample of 60 babies 31 male, 29 female from working class families in glasgow aged 5-23 weeks
- this was a longitudinal study so the babies were studied every month for the for the first year and then again at 18months
- they used observation and interviews with the mothers
- they assessed separation anxiety/protest; through infant being left alone in the room, left in a pram outside the shops, left in a cot at night etc
- also assessed stranger anxiety with the researcher at home visits by approaching the infant

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17
Q

what was Schaffer and emersons’s results?

A
  • at around 25-32 weeks, 50% of the children showed separation anxiety towards their mother
  • babies also tended to be with the caregiver who was the most interactive and sensitive to the infants signals
  • by 40 weeks, 80% of the children had a specific attachment and 30% had started to form multiple attachments
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18
Q

what do these results suggest?

A

does provide some support for Shaffers stages and suggests that attachment develops through a series of stages across the first year of life. furthermore, attachmets are more easily made when the parent shows reciprocity rather than spending more time with the child

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19
Q

what are the stages of attachment?

A

Asocial/ Pre-attachment

indiscriminate attachment

discriminate (specific) attachment

multiple attachments

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20
Q

describe A-social attachment?

A
  • from 0 to 2 months (0-8 weeks)
  • behaviour between humans and objects similar
  • recognise specific faces
  • happier in presence of humans than alone
  • preference for familliar individuals
  • prefer faces to non-faces
  • smile at anyone
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21
Q

describe indiscriminate attachment?

A
  • from 2-7 months
    recognise and prefer familiar adults
  • smile more at familiar then unfamiliar faces
  • preference for people rather than objects
  • accept comfort from any adult
  • do not show stranger anxiety yet
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22
Q

describe discriminate/specific attachment?

A
  • 8-12 months
  • primary attachment to one individual
  • shows stranger anxiety
  • show separation anxiety
  • use familliar adulta as a secure base
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23
Q

describe multiple attachment stage?

A

-1 year onwards
-form secondary attachments with familiar adults with whom they spend time

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24
Q

strengths of Shaffer and Emerson study:
1- HIGH EXTERNAL VALIDITY - conducted at the child’s own home

2- LONGITUDINAL STUDY - better when comparing two groups of children

A

one strength of Shaffer and Emerson’s study is that is has high ecological/external validity. They conducted the investigation at the child’s own home which means that children and parents are more likely to act naturally. In addition, most of the observation (other than stranger anxiety) was actually done by parents during ordinary activities and reported to researchers later. So the behaviour of the babies was unlikely to be affected by the presence of observers. Therefore we can generalise these finding and apply them to children from a similar demographic in their homes.

another strength of the study is that the research is longitudinal. so the same children followed-up regularly, which is better than ‘cross sectional’ when comparing two groups children. This means it has good internal validity as there are no confounding variables that you would find if you studied different babies and compared them.

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25
Weaknesses of Stages of attachment: 1- LACKS POPULATION VALIDITY - Working class family attachments may be different to wealthier families. 2- SOCIAL DESIRABILITY BIAS. 3- CARPENTER (1975) - ASOCIAL STAGE= NOT TRUE.
another criticism of Shaffer's research is that it lacks population validity. the sample consisted of 60 working class mothers and babies from Glasgow, who may form different attachments with their infant when compared with wealthier families from other countries. therefore we are unable to generalise the results of this study to mothers and babies from different backgrounds as child-rearing practices might differ from one-culture/social class so, can’t generalise to other social/ cultural groups. Shaffer and Emerson's research is also criticised for the possibility of social desirability bias. the mothers within the research were interviewed about their children. this means that the mothers may not have reported accurate details about their children to appear like 'better' mothers with secure attachments. this could cause bias in the data that would reduce the internal validity of the study since natural behaviour will not have been recorded about stages of attachment. Carpenter (1975) presented infants with familiar and unfamiliar voices and faces. Sometimes voice and face would be of the same person, and sometimes not. He found that 2 week old babies looked at a face longest when it was the mothers face accompanied by her voice and were distressed by being shown the mothers face accompanied by a different voice. Because babies who are 2 weeks old according to Schaffer and Emerson have formed no attachment, this shows that this stage of attachment isn't necessarily true as the babies in Carpenter's study are clearly showing that they have a preference to the mother's face and voice as a unit.
26
THE ROLE OF THE FATHER.
27
how is the term father a broad term?
the word father doesn't just meant the biological father to but the male caregiver
28
what does research suggest about fathers?
they play certain roles in attachment
29
why are fathers less likely to become the primary attachment figure? critisise this point?
shaffer and emerson (1964) found that majority of abies first became attached to their mother at around 7 months. in only 3% of the cases the father was the first sole object of attachment. and in 27% of the cases the father was the first joint object of attachment with the mother. However,... it appears that father go on to become important attachment figures. as 75% of the babies studied by Shaffer and Emerson formed an attachment with their father by the age of 18 months. this was determined by the fact that the babies protested when the father walked away- a sign of attachment
30
research shows that father play a distinctive role in attachment rather than a caring role like the mother.
Klaus Grossman et al (2002) - carried out a longitudinal study where babies attachments were studied until they were in their teens. the researchers looked at both parents behaviours and their relationship to the quality of their babies later attachments to other people. quality of a babies attachment with mothers but not their fathers was related to attachments in adolescence. this suggests that attachments to father is much less important than attachments to mothers. however the Grossman et all found that the quality of a fathers 'play' with babies was related to the quality of adolescent attachments. this suggests that fathers play a different role from mothers - one that is to do with play and stimulation, and less to do with emotional development
31
why is the primary attachment figure so important?
- hold a special emotional attachment - most importantly because a babies first attachment with their primary caregiver forms the basis of all later close emotional relationships
32
what is the difference between primary and secondary caregivers?
primary- first specific attachment secondary - formed in late/last stage - multiple attachments - which is stage 4/4
33
when fathers take on the primary attachment figure, they are able to adopt a more emotional role typically associated with mothers
Tiffany Field (1978) - filmed 4 month old babies in face-to-face interactions with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers. primary caregiver fathers, like primary caregiver mothers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding babies than the secondary caregiver fathers. smiling, imitating and holding babies all are part of reciprocity and interactional synchrony which are processes of attachment formation. so it seems as though fathers have the potential to be more emotion-focused primary attachment figure - they can provide the responsiveness required for close emotional attachment but perhaps only express this when given the role of the primary caregiver.
34
WEAKNESSES OF THE ROLE OF THE FATHER: ao3: ROLE OF THE FATHER NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD - findings dispute - MACCALLUM AND GOLOMBOK a03 : INCONSISTENT FINDINGS ON THE ROLE OF THE FATHER - may be due to the researcher being interested in different research questions.
McCallum and Golombok (2004) found that children do not develop differently from children in two-parent heterosexual families. This is a weakness because it does not explain why children without fathers develop the same almost making it look like the role of the father is not important even as a secondary caregiver. It could be that fathers typically take on a distinctive role in heterosexual two-parent families but that in single-mother or lesbian parents, the families adapt to accommodate the role played by the father – the role of providing novel play and stimulation. In other words, someone else is likely to take on this role (another secondary attachment figure). — There is still a lack of agreement over the extent of the influence of the father as a primary attachment figure. For example, MacCallum and Golombok demonstrated that children growing up in homosexual or single-parent families were not different compared to children with two heterosexual parents. If the father was so crucial in the development of an attachment with the infant, then we would not expect these findings. This suggests that the exact role of the father is still disputed. a weakness of the research is inconsistent findings, on the role of the father in attachment. this may be due to the researcher being interested in different research questions. some researchers are more interested in understanding the role of the father as a secondary caregiver whilst some are more interested in understanding the role of the father as the primary caregiver. this is a problem as all psychologists can not answer a simple question people ask
35
WEAKNESSES OF THE ROLE OF THE FATHER - easier: weakness - OTHER INFLUENCES/FACTORS. - that may impact the child's emotional development weakness - DOES NOT EXPLAIN WHY FATHERS DO NOT BECOME THE PRIMARY ATTACHMENT CAREGIVER.
a limitation of research on the role of the father is that there are numerous influences, which might impact on a child's emotional development. F or example, their culture, the fathers beliefs, age, sensitivity, marital intimacy, amount of time the father spends away from home etc. Therefore it will be difficult to control these variables and difficult to draw conclusions of the role of the father and his effects on a child's development. a weakness of the research is that it does not explain why fathers do not become the primary attachment caregiver. this could be due to traditional gender roles in which women are expected to be more caring and nurturing than men, therefore fathers simply feel they don't need to be like that. on the other hand it could be that female hormones oestrogen create high levels of nurturing and therefore and females are biologically pre-disposed to be the primary attachment figure
36
STRENGTHS OF THE ROLE OF THE FATHER: ao3 : RESEARCH SUPPORT FOR THE ROLE OF THE FATHER AS A PLAYMATE. - GEIGER (1996) ao3: REAL WORLD APPLICATION - research suggests that fathers can also adopt the role of the father - so mothers are reassured.
there is research evidence that provides support for the role of the father as a playmate rather than a primary caregiver. Geiger (1996) found that fathers play interaction was more exciting in comparison to a mothers. however a mothers play interactions was more affectionate and nurturing. this suggests that the role of the father is in fact as a playmate and not a sensitive parent who responds to the needs of their children. these results also confirm that the mother takes on a nurturing role one strength of the research about the role of the father is that we can use the research to offer advice to parents as it has real world application. for example, mothers who may want to return to work, she could be reassured that the father is able to become the primary attachment figure and be sensitive to their needs as well as nurture them. Also families who are of the same sex may also be reassured that their children will grow up and develop the same as different sex families
37
research evidence - fathers detect low levels of stress.
research evidence suggests that fathers are not as equipped as mothers to provide a sensitive and nurturing attachment. hrdy (1999) found that fathers were less able to detect low levels of infant distress, compared to mothers. these results appear to support the biological explanation. these results could also appear to support the biological explanation that the lack of oestrogen in men means that fathers are not equipped innately to form close attachments with their children. this suggests that the fathers role is to some extent biologically determined and the role of the father is restricted because of their makeup. this provides further evidence that fathers are not able to provide a sensitive and nurturing type of attachment , as they are unable to detect stress in children
38
strenghth of the research - real world application
one strength of the research about the role of the father is that we can use the research to offer advice to parents as it has real world application. for example, mothers who may want to return to work, she could be reassured that the father is able to become the primary attachment figure and be sensitive to their needs as well as nurture them. Also families who are of the same sex may also be reassured that their children will grow up and develop the same as different sex families
39
weakness - bias towards fathers
One problem with research involves the preconceptions about how fathers behave which can be created by stereotypes. These stereotypes may cause unintentional observer bias whereby observers ‘see’ what they expect to see rather than recording objective reality
40
animal studies
41
why do psychologists study animals?
Attachment-like behaviour is common to a range of species so animal studies can help us to understand attachment in humans. Animals may be used for ethical or practical reasons. The practical reasons are that animals breed faster so psychologists can study what happens across multiple generations in a short space of time.
42
KEY STUDY: LORENZ (1935) What did he aim to investigate?
to investigate the phenomenom of imprinting. (where the offspring follows and forms an attachment with the first large moving object they see after birth)
43
describe the method used by Lorenz?
lorenz conducted an experiment where he randomly divided a large clutch of goose eggs into two batches. on the controle group, these hatched naturally by the mother. the second batch, the experimental group, were placed in an incubator with lorenz making sure he was the first moving object that the goslings saw after hatching . the following behaviour of the mother goose and lorenz was recorded. lorenz then marked the goslings so could determine whether the goslings hatched naturally or via incubator and lorenz. he then placed them in an upturned box, then removed them recording their behaviour
44
Lorenz's results?
immmediately after birth the naturally hatched bay goslings followed their mother goose, while the incubator hatched goslings followed lorenz. when the upside down box was taken away, the naturally hatched gosling followed their mother while the incubator ones followed lorenz while showing no attachment to their biological mother. lorenz noted that this imprinting only occured within a critical period of 4-25 hours after hatching. this relationship persisted overtime and proved to be irreversible.
45
conclusion?
these results prove that imprinting is an innate process by which birds form an attachment to the first large moving object that they see after hatching
46
Weakness: ANIMAL STUDIES - CAN NOT EXTRAPOLATE TO HUMANS
Lorenz only studied non-humans - goslings therefore we cannot generalise these results to humans. we are unable to conclude that humans would behave in the exact same way. Furthermore, attachment formation in mammals appears to be very different to the bird species especially parents, the mothers seem to show more emotional reactions to their offspring with the added ability to form attachments beyond the first few hours after birth compared to the bird species that are unable to form attachments beyond the critical period of 4-25 hours. Therefore, this suggests that such findings have low ecological validity because they cannot be generalised beyond the research setting within which they were found.
47
ao3: SEXUAL IMPRINTING IS NOT AS PERMANENT AS LORENZ THOUGHT
This is supported by research conducted by Guiton et al (1966) found that chickens that imprinted on yellow washing up gloves if that was the first large moving object they saw, and according to Lorenz would try to mate with them in adulthood. But Guiton disagreed with lorenz prediction that this persists and is irreversible. But they found that with experience chickens eventually learned to prefer mating with other chickens, suggesting that the effects of imprinting may not be as permanent as Lorenz initially thought.
48
weakness - researcher bias
lorenz wanted to prove his idea of imprinting so he could have interpreted the behaviours of baby goslings in order to prove his theory correct. in turn this reduces the internal validity of his results as we are unable to justify whether lorenz was adequate with his observations.
49
KEY STUDY: HARLOW (1959) What was his aim?
to examine the extent to which contact comfort and food influences attachment behaviour in baby Rhesus monkeys
50
describe the method used by Harlow (1959)?
Harlow constructed two surrogate mothers: one harsh wire mother and second soft towelling mother. a sample of 16 baby Rhesus monkeys were used across the four caged conditions. 1. wire mother dispensing milk and towelling mother with no milk 2. wire mother with no milk, towelling mother with milk 3. towelling mother with milk 4 wire mother with milk the amount of time the monkeys spent with each mother was recorded, alongside how long they spent feeding at each one . also to prove for mother preference they startled the monkeys with a lound noise and recored which mother they went to.
51
results of Harlow (1959)?
-when given a choice of surrogate mother, monkeys preferred the towelling mother over the wire mother irrespective of whether she dispensed milk. -Harlow observed that the monkeys would stretch over from the towelled mother to the wire mother for food for contact comfort. -the baby monkeys with the wire mother showed signs of distress such as diarrhoea. -when startled by the large noise the monkeys would cling on to the towelled monkey seeking contact comfort. - when placed in a larger cage more exploration was seen with the monkeys with the towelling mother indicating emotional security
52
conclusion.
baby Rhesus monkeys have a innate drive to seek contact comfort from their parent suggesting that attachment is formed through an emotional need for security rather than food
53
harlow followed up monkeys who had been deprived of a real mother. what effects had been seen?
he found that monkeys reared with only a wire mother were the most dysfunctional, however even those reared with a soft towelling mother did not develop normal social behaviour. they were more aggressive and less sociable and they bred less often than is typical for monkeys, being unskilled at mating. as mothers, some of the deprived monkeys would neglect their young and others attacked their children, even killing them in some cases
54
the critical period?
Both Lorenz and Harlow concluded there was a critical period for attachment formation A mother-figure had to be introduced to a young monkey within 90 days for an attachment to form. After this, attachment was impossible. The damage done by early maternal deprivation became irreversible.
55
strength of Harlow's research?
Harlow's study had real world application. For example, Howie (1998) reports that knowledge gained from Harlow's study has helped social workers and clinical psychologists understand risk factors in neglect and abuse cases with human children which can then serve to prevent it occurring or, at the very least, recognise when to intervene. In addition, there are practical applications which are used in the care of captive monkey's in zoo's or breeding programmes to ensure that they have adequate attachment figures as part of their care. This exemplifies the importance Harlow's research into real world attachment by broadening the understanding of attachment in others allows reforms to be made.
56
weakness - generalisability
Ex: uses monkeys🡪 not representative humans🡪 the attachment with humans might be differ. Human brain and behaviour more complex than monkeys C: However rhesus monkeys much more similar to humans than Lorenz’s birds. Ex: therefore we can’t always generalise animal findings onto human attachment
57
weakness - ethical issues
P: Weakness ethical issues Ex: suffered greatly! Separation of baby monkeys causes stress (protection from harm) & also lasting emotional harm – some monkeys died. In adulthood some neglected or deprived their own children C: however… justified as significant understanding of processes of attachment now🡪 improve care humans and primate infants L: therefore benefits outweigh costs to animals
58
explanations of attachment
59
what is the learning theory?
the learning theory of attachments explains how an infant becomes attached to their primary attachment caregiver through the process of classical conditioning or operant conditioning. it is often referred to as cupboard love theory because it emphasises the caregiver as a provider of food. therefore children learn to love those who feed them
60
who proposed the learning theory?
dollard and miller (1950) - proposed that infant caregiver attchment can be explained by the learning theory
61
what is classical conditioning?
Classical conditioning is the process of learning by associating two stimuli together to learn a response.
62
describe the process of classical conditioning
-Before conditioning, milk is the unconditioned stimulus which produces an unconditioned response in the infant which is pleasure or relief from hunger. -Before conditioning the caregiver is the neutral stimulus which produces no conditioned response from the infant. -However, during conditioning, the infant associates the caregiver (neutral stimulus) and the milk (unconditioned stimulus) together. -Through many repeated associations the caregiver becomes the conditioned stimulus which produces a conditioned response in the infant – pleasure/ relief from hunger. Thus, an attachment is formed and every time the mother is near, the baby is happy.
63
what is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning is the process of learning through consequences and given either a reward, or punishment. This decides whether behaviour will be repeated or whether the behaviour will be stopped.
64
describe the process of operant conditioning?
When infant feels hunger, they will cry in response to feeling discomfort and wanting to gain comfort. The caregiver will then provide the food which results in the infant stopping crying. The baby feels rewarded so this is a positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement will be repeated many times however the caregiver will feel rewarded but in the form of negative reinforcement.
65
Weakness: CONTRADICTORY EVIDENCE - from animal studies
Harlow found out that monkeys spent more time with the towelled mother rather than the wire mother as it seeked contact comfort and as a way of forming emotional attachment based on security. this shows that baby monkeys do not form attachments based off of food so goes against the learning theory 'cupboard love' as an explanation for attachment as monkeys do not go on to love those who feed them but those who provide comfort to them
66
ao3: research by lorenz
lorenz found that baby goslings followed the first moving object they seen which is an innate naturally occuring process. which shows that animals have an inborn attachment in order to aid survival and goes against the laerning theory idea that we learn to atatch tot he caregiver because they are the provider of food
67
Weakness: CONTRADICTORY EVIDENCE FROM HUMAN STUDIES
shaffer and emerson found out that babies became attached to their mothers regardless of whether she was the one that fed them. also research by rusell isabella et al (1989) found that higher levels of interactional synchrony predicted the quality of attachment. therefore refutes the idea of the learning theory as babies... — There is also contradictory evidence from human studies! For example, Brazleton et al emphasised the importance of interactional synchrony and reciprocity in the secure formation of attachments between a primary caregiver and infant - these are universal features of attachment. Attachments form not to the person who spends the most time with the infant, but rather the person who is most attentive to the infant and deals with their signals most skilfully. This means that the unconditioned stimulus of food is irrelevant in most cases!
68
Weakness: ENVIRONMENTALLY REDUCTIONIST
The learning theory of attachment suggests that attachments are the result of learning through classical conditioning and or operant conditioning, therefore supporting a nurture based view of behaviour. Consequently, such theories are reductionist (environmental) as they reduce complex behaviour, the formation of an attachment between infants and their caregivers, to a simple stimulus-response association.
69
Bowlby's Monotropic Theory Of Attachment
70
what is Bowlby's monotropic theory of attachment?
Bowlby's (1988) monotropic theory of attachment suggests that children are born with an innate tendency to form attachments to survive/ increase chances of survival
71
Why is Bowlby's theory called the Monotropic theory?
This is because of the emphasis on a child's attachment to one caregiver, and this attachment is different and more important than others.
72
Bowlby said that attachments are adaptive..?
which mean that they give human advantages making us more likely to survive.if an infant has an attachment, they kept safe, warm and given food by their caregiver
73
bowlby said that babies have social releases...?
which unlock the innate tendency in adults to care for them physical - typical baby features - big eyes, button nose behavioural - cooing, crying, smiling for attention
74
babies form an attachment with their caregiver in the critical period...?
- birth - 21/2 years old. bowlby said that if this didnt happen then the child would be damagged for life - socially, emotionally, intellectually and physically.
75
What is Monotropy?
beleived infants form one special, intense attachment with their mother. this attachemnt is called monotropy. if the mother is not present then they can form an attachment with a mother substitute
76
bowlby's internal working model..?
The Internal Working Model is a cognitive framework built on past experiences with their primary care giver. The IWM acts as a template for the child's future relationships depending on the type of relationship/attachment the child had with it's primary caregiver (mother). If the child had a good, loving relationship with a reliable primary caregiver, they are more likely to bring these qualities to their relationships as well. Those who have a dysfunctional primary caregiver will have a dysfunctional internal working model and will seek out dysfunctional relationships and behave dysfunctionally within them.
77
AO3: Evaluation of Bowlby's Monotropic Theory of Attachment
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Strength: RESEARCH SUPPORT FROM ANIMAL STUDIES - CRITICAL PERIOD Strength: RESEARCH SUPPRT - INTERNAL WORKING MODEL
There is research supporting Bowlby's theory, particularly the idea of the critical period. Harlow and Lorenz both found out that the animals they studied (Monkey's and gosling's respectively had a critical period in which attachments are formed. Harlow and Lorenz found that attachments formed in the critical period are irreversible. supporting Bowlby's critical period theory as he said that if bonds are not formed within the critical period it could cause critical damage to the child's life as was seen in Harlow's study with the monkeys There is supporting evidence for the importance of internal working models, as presented by bailey et al (2007) . Through the observation of 99 mothers with 1 year olds. The researchers looked at the quality of attachment of the mothers to their own primary caregiver and also observed attachment of babies to their mothers using the strange situation. the researchers found that poor, insecure attachments coincided with the mothers themselves reporting poor attachments with their own parents. This supports Bowlby's Internal working model as it proves that if infants have a good relationship to their primary caregiver then they will have stronger relationships in the future and the mothers ability to form attachments to their babies is influenced by their IWM.
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Weaknesses: SOCIALLY SENSITIVE - Worries working mothers Weaknesses - MIXED EVIDENCE FOR IMPORTANCE OF MONTROPY.
Bowlby argues according to his theory that that infants form a special intense bond with their mothers. And if a bond is not formed within the critical period of 2.5 years, there is a risk of severe emotional, psychological damage. which makes western working mothers feel guilty and uncomfortable due to expectations placed on them. Therefore, this puts pressure on working mothers to delay their return to work in an effort to ensure that their child develops a secure attachment. Furthermore, according to the Internal working Model developmental abnormalities in terms of attachment are blamed on the mother by default. This suggests that the idea of monotropy may stigmatise ‘poor mothers’ and pressure them to take responsibility. — Monotropy may not be evident in all children. For example, Schaffer and Emerson found that a small minority of children were able to form multiple attachments from the outset. This idea is also supported by van Izjendoorn and Kronenberg, who found that monotropy is scarce in collectivist cultures where the whole family is involved in raising and looking after the child. This means that monotropy is unlikely to be a universal feature of infant-caregiver attachments, as believed by Bowlby, and so is a strictly limited explanation of some cases of attachments.
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EXTRA AO3: research supporting social releases
brazelton et al - observed mothers and babies interaction and reported the existence of interactional synchrony. they also were repoted to have ignored babies signals in an experiment which upon the babies became distressed with some curling up and lying motionless. this supports bowlby's theory as he said that baies have social realses in order for them to be cared for and when they do not they become distressed hazan and shaver used the love quiz to asses the internal working model. they found a positive correlation between early attachment types and later adult relationships which suggets that our early attachments with our caregiver, mother nad experiences effect our later adult realtionships which support bowlby's idea of the internal working model
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KEY STUDY: Mary Ainsworth (1971) - The Strange Situation
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What was the Aim of the Strange Situation?
Mary Ainsworth came up with the strange situation as a way of assessing the strength of attachment between a caregiver and an infant.
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Describe the simple procedure of the strange situation?
Infants aged between 9-18 months were placed in a novel situation of mild stress in an unfamiliar room, whereby they are left alone, left with a stranger and reunited with their caregiver. She observed them using a one-way mirror in a set of 7 different scenarios, each lasting approximately three minutes. 7 main behaviours were observed: separation anxiety, distress on separation, reunion behaviour, seeking proximity, exploration, safe-base behaviour, and stranger anxiety.
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describe the stages of the strange situation and explain what they were testing for in each stage?
S1. the mother and the ifant enter the room. the mother sits on the chair and reads a magazine. the child is placed on the floor to explore - exploration/secure-base behaviour S2. a stranger enter the room and sits on the second chair and talks briefly with the mother - stranger anxiety S3. the stranger approaches the infant and attempts to interact and play with the child - stranger anxiety S4. the the mother leaves the room so that the infant is alone with the stranger. the stranger comforts the baby if they are upset and offers to play with them - separation and stranger anxiety S5. the mother returns and the stranger leaves - reunion behaviour S6. the mother departs again leaving the baby alone briefly in the room - separation S7. the stranger re-enters and offers to comfort and play with the baby - stranger S8. the mother returns and the stranger leaves - reunion
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describe the results
. They identified three main forms of attachment: type A which is insecure-avoidant - 22% type B form a secure attachment, -66% Type C forms an Insecure-resistant -attachment - 12%
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describe type A - insecure-Avoidant
this is where the chid explores freely does not seek proximity or show secure-base behaviour, show little to no reaction when the caregiver leaves and returns and often ignores her upon reunions, i.e avoids intimacy shows little stranger anxiety and separation anxiety
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describe type b - secure attachment
these babies explore happily and regularly go back to their caregiver - using her as a safe-base have moderate separation anxiety and stranger anxiety, require comfort from caregiver upon reunion and shows joy upon reunion
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describe type c - insecure resistant
Do not explore environment, cling to the mother These babies seek greater proximity than others and so explores less. They show high levels of stranger and separation distress, but they resist comfort when reunited with their caregiver.
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AO3: Evaluation of the strange situation
Using the strange situation when it comes to assessing attachment type is weak. This is because it lacks ecological validity. Ainsworth conducted her observation in a controlled artificial setting which was unfamiliar to the parents and the children. Therefore, the children that she was observing may have acted differently to how they would act in a more familiar environment such as being at home. This means that the study conducted by Ainsworth lacks validity as we do not know if the behaviours displayed by the infants would be the same when the children are placed in a familiar environment.
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Strength: HIGH RELIABILITY -highly controlled - pre-determined categories several observers Strength 2: GOOD PREDICTIVE VALIDITY
The strange situation method of assessing attachment type is said to have HIGH RELIABILITY. The observation was taken under strict controlled methods (including video recording) using predetermined behavioural categories. Ainsworth also had several observers watching and coding the same infant behaviours, agreement on attachment classifications could be ensured. Ainsworth et al found 94% agreement between the observers and when inter-observer reliability is assumed to a high degree the findings are more meaningful. one strength of the research is that it has good predictive validity. this is because the attachment types predict later development. research shown by, McCormick at Al (2016) and kokkinos (2007) found that babies and toddlers assessed as type B tend to have better outcomes than others both in later childhood and in adulthood in childhood this includes better achievement in school and less involvement in bullying. securely attached babies also tend to go on to have better mental health in adulthood. This suggests that the strange situation measures something real and meaningful in a baby's development.
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Weakness: LACKS ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY - Artificial setting - unfamiliar to parents and children Weakness 2: ONLY USED ONE ATTACHMENT FIGURE - so only measured with the mother and not the father, who could be the primary caregiver and therefore child may display different behaviour. Weakness 3: DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS - Overt observation - parents aware of the study Weakness 4: ETHNOCENTRISM Weakness 5: Ethical issues
Using the strange situation when it comes to assessing attachment type is weak. This is because it lacks ecological validity. Ainsworth conducted her observation in a controlled artificial setting which was unfamiliar to the parents and the children. Therefore, the children that she was observing may have acted differently to how they would act in a more familiar environment such as being at home. This means that the study conducted by Ainsworth lacks mundane realism as it does not represent real life and cannot be generalised to real life attachment in infants as we do not know if the behaviours displayed by the infants would be the same when the children are placed in a familiar environment. P = It only measured the relationship type with one attachment figure E = They only used mothers and their child in the study E = This can mean that the wrong attachment type for a child can be identified, as although they may not be so strongly attached to the mother, they may be securely attached with their father or an extended family member. The study wrongly assumes that the child will be closer to the mother than any other adult figure. Therefore, the study lacks internal validity, as it does not always correctly measure a child’s attachment type with their primary caregiver Another weakness when it comes to assessing the strange situation is demand characteristics. She conducted an overt observation which meant that the parents in her study was aware of the situation they were being placed in and could have acted differently to how they usually would displaying demand characteristics. So this could have affected the internal validity of results as mothers may have shown more affection to their children because they believed that this is what the scenario demanded of them, this in turn could have altered the children's behaviour. Reducing the validity of the experiment. The strange situation is criticised for being ethnocentric. This is because the study consisted of middle class Americans. so we cannot ensure that those babies from different cultural backgrounds will be assessed the same because of their different cultural experiences meaning they will respond differently to the strange situation. For example in a Japanese study by Takahashi (1986) found that babies displayed very high levels of separation anxiety and so a disproportionate number of babies were classified as insecure-resistant. but Takahashi suggests that this was because it was very rare for mother-child separation. This means that it is difficult to understand what the strange situation is measuring when it comes to different cultures/countries outside the Us and Europe. P = There are ethical issues involved. E = 20% of children cried desperately at one point. E = This highlights how it is ethically inappropriate, as a large proportion of the participants could have experienced psychological harm. This is unethical as it could cause long term emotional damage to the child, for the sake of a simple study. L = Despite ethical issues not detracting from the quality of the research (i.e. in terms of validity and reliability), it is important to conduct a cost-benefit analysis to assess whether the ethical costs are smaller than the benefits of an improved knowledge within this subject field.
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Cultural Variations In Attachment
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what did bowlby say about attachment and how does it link on with this topic?
bowlby said that attachment evolved to aid survival and attachment is an innate process so secure attachment should be the optimal form regardless of cultural variation
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Research conducted by 2 psychologists have found similarities between cultures in attachment. 1. Keller et al 2. Tronick et al (1992)
keller et al - found that patterns of eye contact and conversation between mothers are the same in four diverse cultures Tronick et al (1992) studied an African tribe in Zaire who live in extended family groups. The infants were looked after and breastfed by different women but usually slept with their own mother at night. Despite such differences in childrearing practices, the infants still showed one primary attachment.
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research has found differences in attachment: 1. Jamin 2. Takahashi (1990)
Jamin found a greater amount of conversation between french mothers and their children then between west African mothers and their children Takahashi (1990) used the strange situation to study 60 Japanese infants and their mothers. They found similar rates of secure attachment but no evidence of insecure-avoidant attachment and high rates of insecure resistant attachment (32%). They were highly distressed when left alone, in fact for 90% of infants the study was stopped at this point. This can be explained in terms of different childcare practices. in Japan infants are rarely separated from their mothers which would explain why they appeared insecure resistant.
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what is a collectivist culture?
- emphasis on group effort, - more favourable reaction to obedience and social behaviour - children raised to do whats best for group - everyone helps each other
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what is a individualistic culture?
- emphasis on personal achievement - focus on developing initiative infants - mothers react favourably to independence
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KEY STUDY: Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) What was his aim?
to investigate cross- cultural variations in attachment
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Describe the method used by Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988)?
- carried out a meta-analysis of 32 studies from 8 different countries that had used Ainsworth's strange situation
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Results of Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988)?
- secure attachment was the most common type of attachment in all cultures examined - collectivist cultures (Japan) showed higher levels of insecure-resistant attachment in comparison to other cultures. - individualistic cultures such as Germany showed higher levels of insecure-avoidant attachment in comparison to other cultures
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Conclusion of Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg?
Concluded that secure attachment is the the global optimal attachment type for healthy development. And why behaviour in different cultures was different this may be because of how children are brought up in each country. for example Japanese children are more cared by their mothers whereas German parents seek independence from their infants who do not make demands on their parents
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AO3: Evaluation of Cultural variation in attachment
a criticism of their study is that they may have been comparing countries and not cultures. for example they compared great britain with isreal in their meta anlaysis. within each country their may be different subcultures, each with their own unique ways of rearing children. Interestingly researchers noted that variance within countries were far greater than variance between countries. therefore we can conclude that they did infact collect data on subcultures within the countries they investigated rather than a whole nation
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Strength: USE OF INDIGENOUS RESEARCHERS - Avoids problems, such as language barrier - Increases validity Strength: RELIABLE - large sample size
indigenous researchers are those from the same cultural background. for example they included research from Grossman et al -who was German and had worked with German participants. also included Takashi who was Japanese and worked with Japanese participants. this means that they avoid many potential problems when it comes to understanding the language. Tis means that the researchers avoided issues with communication, and understanding, thus avoided issues with the internal validity. This means that there is a high chance that researchers and participants communicated excellently increasing the validity of the experiment. + The findings of van Izjendoorn and Kronenberg can be considered reliable due to the significantly large samples that they used i.e. 1990 children. This replicability increases the validity and faith in the conclusions drawn because it decreases the likelihood that the observed results were simply due to chance or a ‘one-off’.
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Weakness: CULTURE BIAS- ETHNOCENTRISM Weakness: LACKS POPULATION VALIDITY - 27/32 = individualistic cultures compared to collectivist. Weakness: CRITICISED FOR COMPARING COUNTRIES AND NOT CULTURES. However, results showed subcultures - unique in rearing children.
An issue with Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) research is that the strange situation methodology was developed in America and therefore the results may be culturally biased. Ainsworth strange situation may be more suitable for use for use solely with western cultures as it reflects their values and norms. Using a methodology of assessment beyond the samples for which it is designed for is referred to as an imposed etic. This matters because attachment behaviours mean different things for different cultures and so the results may not be valid when used with samples from non-Western cultures. Therefore, using the strange situation to assess different cultures may be ethnocentric and undermine the validity of the study. A weakness of Kroonenberg's research into attachment is that it Lacks population validity. The sample chosen was bias, 27/32 of the studies in their meta-analysis were carried out in individualistic cultures. Therefore, their results are biased towards individualistic culture norms and values, so we cannot accurately generalise the results to collectivist cultures, lowering the population validity of the findings. That being said, the overall sample size of 1,900 infants is a strength as much research in this area use comparatively smaller numbers. a criticism of their study is that they may have been comparing countries and not cultures. For example they compared Great Britain with Isrell in their meta-analysis. within each country their may be different subcultures, each with their own unique ways of rearing children. Interestingly researchers noted that variance within countries were far greater than variance between countries. therefore we can conclude that they did in fact collect data on subcultures within the countries they investigated rather than a whole nation
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Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation
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what is maternal deprivation?
maternal deprivation to refer to the pro-longed separation and or loss of the mother/ maternal figure. This also refers to the failure of the mother to develop an attachment with her infant.
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what is separation?
Separation means that the child is not in the presence of the primary attachment figure. Brief separations, particularly where the child is with a substitute caregiver don’t have a significant impact on development.
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what did bowlby state in his maternal deprivation hypothesis?
“if an infant is unable to develop a warm intimate and continuous relationship with his/her mother (or mother substitute) before the age of 2.5 years then the child would have difficulty forming relationships with other people and be a risk of behavioural/emotional disorders” However he did also mention that there was a risk of adverse consequences up to the age of 5. he also said that these consequences were irreversible
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key study: BOWLBY (1944) 44 juvenile thieves study What was his aim?
to see if early separation from the primary caregiver (deprivation) was associated with behavioural disorders
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what was the method used?
-Bowly examined children aged 5-16 who had been referred to a guidance clinic in London where Bowlby worked - 44 children were thieves/criminals forming the experimental group and -44= non-criminals were used as the control group -Bowlby interviewed the children and their families to create a record of their early life experiences
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what were the results of Bowlby? 44 thieves study
-Bowly identified 14/44 theives as = affectionless psychopaths and -12/14 (86%) of these affectionless psychopaths had experienced early and prolonged deprivation. - 17% of the other thieves experienced separation -And 4% of the control group had experienced frequent separations
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conclusion - 44 thieves?
these finding suggest there is a correlation between early deprivation/separation which has caused later maladjustment in kids. Which supports the maternal deprivation theory and suggests that Maternal deprivation leads to affectionless psychopathy and anti-social behaviour
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Strength - REAL LIFE APPLICATION - Hospital rules - on visitation - The Robertson's - Laura
bowlby's research had a significant impact on practices such as hospitals where infants are more likely to experience pro-longed separation from their care-givers. Historically, visiting children in hospitals was very restricted or not permitted at all. The Robertson's (1952) observed a two year old girl named laura who was hospitalised for eight days .laura struggled to cope with the emotional deprivation,demonstrating real distress. this shows the importance that psychological research, changes have been made to institutional care to minimise negative consequences for the child Goldfarb followed up 30 children up to the age of 12. half of the original sample had been fostered from the age of for months. while the other half remained in an orphanage. at 12 their IQ was tested using the Stanford-Binet test. the fostered group had an IQ of 96 whereas the orphanage group had an IQ of 68 below the cut of point to describe intellectual disability. this supports Bowlby's research as those who grew up without a primary care-giver between the critical period of 21/2 years had faced severe consequences one which is an emotional disorder.
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Weakness: REPLICATION - DID NOT FIND THE SAME RESULTS - LEWIS (1944) - Possibly dependent on the attachment type of the children. - BARRET ET AL (1977) Weakness 2: RUTTER (1982) Privation is different to deprivation. Argued that Bowlby was using the two words interchangeably. Weakness: Koluchova - AGAINST CRITICAL PERIOD.
Lewis (1944) - replicated the juvenile thieves study but with a larger sample but he didn't find the same results as Bowlby that early maternal deprivation caused later behavioural issues. this casts doubts on Bowlby's theory as it suggests that there may have been other factors involved which cause affectionless psychopathy and anti-social behaviour. for example Barrett (1977) - found that securely attached children are more likely to resist the negative effects of maternal deprivation than insecure-resistant children Bowlby is also criticised for not clearly making a distinction between privation and deprivation. Rutter (1982) suggests that privation refers to the loss of the primary attachment figure and failure to form any attachment at all. Rutter pointed out the severe long-term deprivation actually results from privation rather than deprivation than experiencing a broken attachment in their earlier years. Rutter believed that Bowlby was confusing the two words and believed he was using them interchangeably. Bowlby found a relationship between early maternal deprivation and later behavioural issues such as affectionless psychopathy. But it is not clear that early maternal separation caused these issues there may have ben other factors involved. therefore we cannot establish cause and effect to conclude that separation leads to affectionless psychopathy and maladjustment Bowlby said that if a child is separated from their mother or mother substitute within the critical period from birth to 2 and a half years there will be serious psychological damage and prone to emotional and behavioural disorders. however a study conducted by Koluchova (1976)disproved this. Koluchova studied the Czech twins who had faced emotional and physical abuse from when they were 18 months to 7 years old. although they were severely damaged by their experience. they received excellent care and were fully recovered by their teens. this this means that lasting harm is not irreversible even in cases of severe privation Bowlby used retrospective data in his interviews. So his results are based on whether or not the parents could recollect their information correctly about details of their early separations with their children, making results less valid.
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Institutionalisation
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what is meant by the term institutionalisation?
a term for the effects of living in an institutional setting. the term 'instituion' refers to a place like a hospital or organisation where people live for long, continuous periods. in such places there are poor conditions and very little emotional care provided
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context behind the Romanian orphanges?
communist ruler. new policies required women to have 5 children, abortion was banned and access to contraception was denied. this was at a time of sever food and energy shortage so many Romanians abandoned their newborns unable to look after them.
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what are the main effects of institutionalisation?
Disinhibited attachment Intellectual disability
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what is a disinhibited attachment?
Defined by Rutter (2006) as an adaption to living with multiple caregivers during the sensitive period for attachment formation Individuals with this are equally as friendly to strangers as they are to familiar people – they show little to no stranger anxiety (think back to Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment)
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what is an Intellectual disability?
A significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information and to learn and apply new skills.
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key study: Rutter et al (2010) aim?
to examine the long term effects of instutionalisation on english and romanian adoptees
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describe the method used by Rutter et al?
- a sample of 165 Romanian orphans formed the experimental group. - 111 of these children were adopted before the age of 2 - 54 were adopted by thee age of 4 - they were compared to a british control group of 52 children who were adopted before the age of 6 months. - the social, cognitive and physical development of all infants were assessed at regular age intervals (4,6,11,15) and interviews were conducted with adoptive parents and teachers
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results of Rutter et al?
- at the point of adoption Romanian orphans showed delayed development in everything. - they were physically smaller, weighed less on average and were classed as intellectually disabled - Romanian orphans who were adopted before the age of 6 months caught up on these measures of development compared to british control group - romanian orphans adopted after 6 months stil continued to show deficicts in all elements of social etc - they had a disinhibited attachment
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conclusion?
Institutionalisation can have severe-long term effects on a child's development especially if children are not provided with adequate emotional caregiving
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Strength - REAL WORLD APPLICATION - Led to improvement for children's homes. Strength: FEWER CONFOUNDING VARIABLES - compared to other previous orphan studies
Studies of the Romanian orphans has improved psychologist’s understanding of how to prevent the negative effects of institutional care. This has led to improvements in the conditions experienced by looked after children. For example children’s homes now avoid having many care givers, instead each child is assigned one or two ‘key workers’. E.g. More effort and funding it put into finding these children foster care or have them adopted instead, avoiding disinhibited attachments. + The main advantage of Rutter’s study, compared to other adoption studies, is that he was able to study the effects of institutionalisation in isolation through removing the confounding and extraneous variables of PTSD and trauma often associated with war orphans. This increases the confidence that researchers can place in drawing reliable conclusions about the effects of institutionalisation and the displayed differential rates of recovery. Another strength is that there are a fewer confounding variables. The Romanian orphan studies have fewer confounding variables than previous orphan studies, e.g. in WW2 studies, children had suffered a combination of trauma, physical neglect, and abuse before going into institutional care. In contrast, the children from the Romanian studies were mostly handed over by loving parent’s who couldn’t afford to care for them. however studying children from orphanages may have introduced new confounding variables due to shocking conditions. ultimately, conditions in the Romanian orphanages was so poor meaning we can't generalise these findings to say that all institutional care leads to harmful effects.
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Weaknesses: SOCIALLY SENSITIVE
Research into Institutionalisation is Socially sensitive. For example, Rutter's findings show that late-adopted children have poor developmental outcomes. These results may have been published whilst these children are growing up – teachers, parents and peers may label these individuals, leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy. However the research is very important and necessary for us in understanding the development of institutional care and also helping those who had been in institutional care. There is a lack of data on adult development for the Romanian studies – studies have tended to stop when the individuals are around 20 years old. Therefore we do not know the longer-term effects of early institutional care – e.g. mental health, maintaining adult romantic relationships, ability to form parental relationships with their own children. Gathering this data will take a long time due to the longitudinal nature of the study that would need to take place. However when the data is recorded, it may show us if some of these effects of early institutionalisation are reversible
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key study: Zeenah et al aim?
to investigate attachment type of children who spent most of their life in institutional care
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describe the procedure used by Zeenah?
- a sample of almost a hundred children aged 1-2.5 years old. - 90% of them spent most of their lives in an orphanage - compared to a control group who had never been institutionalised - using the strange situation, the infants attachment type was assessed - additionally the carers in the institution and parents were asked about the infants behaviour towards adults
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what were the findings of Zeenah et al?
- found that 74% of the control group was classified as secure - 19% of the experimental group were classified as secure - 65% of the experimental group was classified as having a disinhibited attachment
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how does institutionalisation affect physical development?
Children who are institutionalised are usually smaller – ‘deprivation dwarfism’. Gardner: Studied the case of an 8-month girl who had to be fed through a tube due to a malformation. Her mum would never cuddle her for fear of dislodging the tube.  At 8 months old, she was withdrawn and physically stunted and she was admitted to hospital.  With attention of hospital staff, she thrived and returned to normal size.  This suggests that a lack of emotional care could affect growth hormones causing physical underdevelopment
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how does institutionalisation effect emotional development? 1. Harlow 2. Quinton
Harlow’s study on rhesus macaques can be useful when thinking about this -  Found there were severe consequences – those reared with plain wire mothers were the most dysfunctional, but those with cloth mother were still negatively affected. For example, they were more aggressive, less sociable, unskilled at mating, and often killed their own children when they become mothers. This suggests that deprivation of a primary care giver in the critical period can have negative impacts on emotional development and the ability to form future relationships. Quinton (1984):  Compared a group of 50 women who had been reared in institutions with a control group of 50 women who had been reared at home.  When the women were in their 20s, it was found that the institutionalised women were experiencing extreme difficulties acting as parents due to their emotional development being stunted.
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influence of early attachment on later relationships.
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internal working model?
Bowlby (1969) proposed that early attachments provide a template or schema that allow us to build other attachments later in life.
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what is a schema?
a set of ideas built through experience on how to behave
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those who had positive experiences with their caregivers will...?
assume that this is how relationships are meant to be. They will therefore seek out functional relationships and behave functionally within them.
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A child with negative experiences of their first attachment will..?
will bring these bad experiences to bear on later relationships. This may mean that they struggle to form relationships in the first place of they may not behave appropriately when they have them
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what did kerns (1994) find out about related to relationships in childhood?
found that securely attached infants are more inclined to have good quality peer relationships (during childhood) whilst infants with a insecure attachment types are likely to have difficulties with making or maintaining friendships
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what did Scroufe et al (2005) find out?
- conducted the Minesota child-parent study and found that infants who were rated high in social competence during childhood were more empathetic, popular and felty less isolated. - supports internal working model and study above
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Who investigated the link between bullying and attachment types
In particular, according to psychologists Myron-Wilson and Smith (1988) bullying behaviour can also be predicted by attachment type. They assessed attachment type and bullying involvement using standard questionnaires in 196 children aged 7-11 from London. Secure children were very unlikely to be involved in bullying. Insecure-avoidant children were the most likely to be the victims and insecure-resistant children were most likely to be bullies.
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key study: Hazan and Shaver (1987) aim?
designed a questionnaire (love quiz) to test the internal working model
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describe the method used by Hazan and Shaver
- the love quiz was published in a local american newspaper - recieved 620 responses (205 male 415 female) - first section asses individuals most important relationships - second section measured experiences in love - third section measured feelings in relation to statements
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what did Hazan and Shaver find out?
- 56% of respondents were classifies as securely attached - 25% with an insecure-avoidant attachment type - 19% as being insecure resistant - a positive correlation was found between early attachment type and experiences in love. - those with a secure attachment = more loving and lasting romantic relationships - insecure avoidant = reported dislike in relation to intimacy - insecure resistant = more likely to have shorter relationships
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conclusion?
shows support for the internal working model as love experience and attitudes towards love was related to attachment type. those who were securely attached believed love was enduring, had mutual trust and less likely to get divorced. yhose who were insecurely attached, felt love was rare and fell in and out of love easily, were more likely to be divorced
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McCarthy study showed?
Study of the influence of early attachment on both romantic relationships and friendships in adulthood. Studied 40 adult women who were assessed when they were infants to establish their early attachment type. Those assessed as securely attached infants had the best adult friendships and romantic relationships. Adults classed as insecure-resistant as infants had particular problems in maintaining friendships whilst those classed as insecure-avoidant struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships.
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explain the Influence of early attachment on relationships in adulthood as a parent?
Internal working models also affect the child’s ability to parent their own children. People tend to base their own parenting style on their internal working model so attachment type tends to be seen in generations of a family.
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what did Bailey et al (2007) propose about influence of early attachment on parenting using the research he found?
- looked at the attachment type of nearly 100 mothers and their infants assessed in the strange situation with the relationship they had with their own mothers. - vast proportion of mothers had the same attachment type as their infant supporting the concept of the internal working model. also Harlow's study demonstrated the same thing
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AO3: Evaluation of Early attachment on Later Adult relationships
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Strength: RESEARCH SUPPORT - BAILEY (2007)
P = This is supported by Bailey (2007). E = They found that the majority of women (out of the 99 studied) had the same attachment classification both to their babies and their own mothers. E = This supports the idea of continuity, as suggested by Bowlby. The internal working models that we develop in response to our first attachment to our primary attachment figure contain our perceptions of what a normal relationship looks like, and so we seek out such relationships in accordance with our internal working model. Fearon and Roisman - found that early attachment predicts later attachment. (McCarthy aswell) HOWEVER, their is research which disbeleives in this. for example the Regensburg longitudinal study followed 48 individuals from one year of age. at age 16 attachment was assessed using the adult attachment interview and there was no evidence of continuity. this means that it is not clear to what extent the quality of early attachment really predicts later attachments/ developments. there may be other factors involved
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Limitation: Problems with Validity- DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS Limitation - DETERMINISTICS
most research is not longitudinal. they don't assess attachment in early life then revisit the same person in life. instead they ask people about their later life relationships. which causes 2 validity problems. Firstly asking questions relies on honesty, so participants in the study may display demand characteristics, by portraying themselves in a good way and thus answer questions incorrectly. Secondly, it is hard to know whether your looking at the effect of early attachment on adults or whether this is adult attachment, Therefore the internal validity of early attachment studies is questioned. P = It is reductionist and deterministic, due to suggesting that the influence of early attachments is deterministic, so a poor-quality attachment inevitably means that the individual will become bad parents themselves and be unable to form ‘normal’ romantic relationships and friendships in adulthood. E = it suggests that insecurely attached infants are doomed to grow up and have bad adult relationships, when this is of course not true. E = There are many cases of insecurely attached children growing to have strong happy relationships. (Zimmerman 2000 found that infant attachment type and the quality of relationships in adolescence are not related.) merely, an association has been made so this does not mean that one has caused the other. there may have been other factors involved which may have influenced/ effected or had an impact on their future relationships instead of what had happened in their childhood. Also FRAYLEY ET AL (2002) found that correlation coefficients were not strong positive ones so correlation research in this area is not very reliable
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DONE!!