Attachment

Question 1

Attachment

Answer 1

A two way, enduring, emotional tie to a specific other person

Question 2

Reciprocity

Answer 2

The interaction of similar behaviour patterns between carer and infant

Question 3

Interactional synchrony

Answer 3

The co-ordinated rhythmic exchanges between carer and infant

Question 4

Stages of Attachment (Schaffer and Emerson)

Answer 4

Asocial, Indiscriminate, Specific, and Multiple

Question 5

Factors affecting the role of the father

Answer 5

Degree of Sensitivity, type of attachment with own parents, Marital intimacy, and Supportive co-parenting

Question 6

Contact Comfort

Answer 6

The physical and emotional comfort an infant receives from being in physical contact with the mother or caregiver

Question 7

Imprinting

Answer 7

attaching to the first moving object after birth to secure safety and survival (geese)

Question 8

Monotropic

Answer 8

A attachment to one particular person which is different and more important than others

Question 9

Law of continuity

Answer 9

The more constant a child´s care, the better the quality of attachment

Question 10

Law of accumulated separation

Answer 10

The effects of every separation add up. So, the safest dose it therefore a zero dose.

Question 11

Social Releasers

Answer 11

Innate behaviours like smiling, cooing and gripped that encourage attention from adults. Both mother and baby have an innate predisposition to become attached and social releasers trigger that response in caregivers (reciprocal process).

Question 12

Internal Working Model

Answer 12

The mental representations we all carry with us of our attachment to our primary caregiver. They are important in affecting our future relationships because they carry our perception of what relationships are like. It also effects the child´s later ability to be a parent themselves.

Question 13

Critical Period

Answer 13

This refers to the time within which an attachment must form if it is to form at all

Question 14

Ainsworth´s strange situation

Answer 14

A method to assess the quality of a child´s attachment to a caregiver. It is a lab experiment with a controlled observation through a two-way mirror.

Question 15

What are the 5 categories used to judge attachment quality during the Strange Situation?

Answer 15

Proximity seeking, Exploration and secure-base behaviour, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety, and Response to reunion with the caregiver after separation for a short period of time

Question 16

What are the 7 parts of the Strange Situation procedure?

Answer 16

• The child is encouraged to explore by caregiver
• Stranger enters and talks to caregiver
• Caregiver leaves
• The caregiver returns, the stranger leaves
• The caregiver leaves the child alone
• The stranger returns
• The caregiver returns

Question 17

What are Ainsworth´s types of attachment?

Answer 17

• Secure attachment (B)
• Insecure-avoidant attachment (A)
• Insecure-resistant attachment (C)

Question 18

Insecure-avoidant attachment

Answer 18

These children explore freely but do not seek proximity or secure base behaviour. They show little or no reaction when their caregiver leaves and they do not require comfort at the reunion stage. 20 - 25% of British toddlers are classified as insecure-avoidant.

Question 19

insecure-resistant attachment

Answer 19

These children seek greater proximity than others and so explore less. They show huge stranger and separation anxiety but they resist comfort when reunited with their caregiver. Around 3% of British toddlers are classified as insecure-resistant.

Question 20

secure attachment

Answer 20

These children are happy to explore but regularly go back to their caregiver (proximity seeking and secure base behaviour). They usually show moderate separation anxiety and moderate stranger anxiety. They accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage. 60 - 75% of British toddlers are classified as secure.

Question 21

Nature (cultural attachment)

Answer 21

Evolution is the reason for the existence of similar attachment types in different cultures.

Question 22

nurture (cultural attachment)

Answer 22

Infant attachment types are not biological but learned through exposure.

Question 23

3 parts of the maternal deprivation

Answer 23

Short-term separation
Long-term deprivation
Privation

Question 24

Outline short-term separation of the Maternal Deprivation Theory

Answer 24

Protest – The immediate reaction to separation involves crying, screaming etc. Outward, direct expression of the child´s anger, fear and confusion

Despair – Protest is replaced by calmer more apathetic behaviour. Anger and fear are still felt inwardly. Little response to offers of comfort instead the child comfort itself.

Detachment – The child responds to people again, but treats everyone warily. Rejection of the caregiver on their return is common, as are signs of anger.

Question 25

Outline long-term deprivation of the Maternal Deprivation Theory

Answer 25

Lengthy or permanent separations from attachment figures. Around 40% of UK marriages end in divorce. After 2 to 3 years of the divorce 50% of parent not living with their children have lost contact with them. Examples are: divorce, military, death, or imprisonment.

Question 26

Outline privation of the Maternal Deprivation Theory

Answer 26

Never having formed an attachment bond. More likely to lead to lasting damage. Research is contradicting with some individuals fully recovering while others make little improvement. As cases of privation are rare they are researched through case studies.

Question 27

Intellectual development (maternal deprivation)

Answer 27

One way in which maternal deprivation affects children´s development is their intellectual development. Bowlby believed that if children were deprived of maternal care for too long they would experience delayed intellectual development characterized by IO.

Question 28

Emotional development (maternal deprivation)

Answer 28

A second major way in which being deprived of a mother figure´s emotional care affects children is in their emotional development.

Bowlby identified affectionate psychopathy as the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion towards others. This prevents a person developing fulfilling relationships and is associated with criminality.

Question 29

Institutionalisation (orphan studies)

Answer 29

In the context of attachment refers to the effects of growing up in an orphanage or children’s home. Children who are raised in these institutions often suffer from a lack of emotional care, which means that children are unable to form attachments.

Question 30

Disinhibited attachment (orphan studies)

Answer 30

Children are equally friendly and affectionate towards familiar people and strangers, whereas most children show stranger anxiety in their second year.

Due to living with multiple caregivers during sensitive period for attachment so do not spend enough time with one person to form a secure attachment.

Question 31

Intellectual disability (orphan studies)

Answer 31

Most showed intellectual disability when they arrived in Britain.
However, if the child was adopted before 6 months (age attachment forms) they caught up with the control group by age 4.

Question 32

disorganized attachment

Answer 32

A type of insecure attachment where the children display an inconsistent pattern of behaviour; sometimes they show strong attachment, other times they avoid the caregiver

Question 33

Continuity hypothesis

Answer 33

The idea that there is consistency between emotional experiences + later relationships.

Question 34

Relationships in childhood

Answer 34

Affiliations with other people in childhood, including friends and classmates and with adults such as teachers.

Question 35

Relationships in adulthood

Answer 35

The relationships with a child goes on to have in later life. These include friendships and working relationships but most critically, romantic relationships and those with their own children.

Question 36

Internal working model

Answer 36

The mental representation we all carry with us of our attachment to our primary caregiver. They are important in affecting our future relationships as they carry our perception of what relationships are like.

Question 37

Evaluate the role of the father

Answer 37

Strengths:
- the father also supports the mother and therefore reducing stress in the family
- When fathers spend more time with their children, the children develop more secure attachments (the amount of interaction is important)

Limitations:
- unnormal behaviour may be due to a less fortune social economic background rather than the missing father
- the father´s sensitivity to their children´s need may be more important than the time spent (quality over quantity)

Question 38

Evaluate the learning theory as an explanation for attachment

Answer 38

Strengths:
- association may play a significant role in attachment (child associates the mother with food and security)

Limitations:
- reductionists (other factors such as the quality of time spent with the child could influence attachment)
- food is not the main reason for attachment (Schafer and Emerson, Lorenz, Harlow)

Question 39

Evaluate cultural variations

Answer 39

Strengths:
- unbiased researchers (natives conducted the research avoiding language barriers and potential misunderstandings)

Limitations:
- biased data (researchers might interpret data differently for different cultures)
- low external reliability (difficult to replicate the environment)
- data could be interpreted differently in different countries (incomparable results)

Question 40

Evaluate the studies around Romanian orphans

Answer 40

Strengths:
- practical application (foster care can undo negative development)
- Increased validity (the orphans lived in these institutions since their birth - less other influences)

Limitations:
- low external validity (orphans are very exceptional circumstances)
- Unknown long-term effects (the studies only followed the children until they turned 15)

Question 41

Evaluate the research into attachment and later relationships

Answer 41

Strengths:
- supporting research (Fearon and Roisman´s meta-analysis)

Limitations:
- contradicting research (Becker-Stoll et al. found no link of attachment and later development)
- low internal reliability (attachment research is often assessed retrospectively which is more open to false information)
- biological factors might influence attachment and later relationships