Attachment Flashcards
(95 cards)
1
Q
Attachment
A
A close emotional relationship between an infant and its caregiver. Attached infants show a desire to be close to their main caregiver and shows distress when separated.
2
Q
Reciprocity
A
The word reciprocal means two-way or mutual. Reciprocity refers to a form of communication between an infant and caregiver where both are active contributors and respond to each other.
3
Q
Interactional synchrony
A
An example of reciprocity where the infant and caregiver reflect each other’s actions and emotions in a synchronised way. They mirror what the other is doing. Psychologists have observed that infants as young as 2-3 weeks will imitate facial and hand gestures.
4
Q
Meltzoff and Moore (1977) - Caregiver-infant interactions
A
- A controlled observation
- 2-3 week old babies saw 3 facial expressions and their response was videotaped
- Independent observers judged the infants’ response
- All infants showed some imitation of these facial expressions (interactional synchrony)
5
Q
The problem with testing infant behaviour
A
Because infants are constantly moving their mouths and squirming it can be difficult to distinguish between general activity and specific imitated behaviours.
6
Q
Rudolph Schaffer and Peggy Emerson (1964) - Glasgow baby study
A
- Studied 60 babies at monthly intervals for the first 18 months of life (longitudinal study)
- The children were studied in their own home
- Their interactions with their carers were observed, carers were interviewed and a diary was kept by the mother (triangulation - three methods combined to prevent bias)
7
Q
The three measures recorded in the Glasgow baby study
A
- Stranger anxiety
- Separation anxiety
- Social referencing
8
Q
Stranger anxiety
A
Response to the arrival of a stranger.
9
Q
Separation anxiety
A
Distress level when separated from a carer, the degree of comfort needed on return.
10
Q
Social referencing
A
The degree a child looks at their carer to check how they should respond to something new (secure base)
11
Q
Asocial/preattachment stage (0-6 weeks)
A
Very young infants are asocial in that many kinds of stimuli, both social and non-social, produce a favourable reaction, such as a smile. They don’t have a preference between a human or an object so can take a liking to a person or a teddy, for example.
12
Q
Indiscriminate attachments (6 weeks - 7 months)
A
Infants indiscriminately enjoy human company, and most babies respond equally to any caregiver. They get upset when an individual ceases to interact with them. From 3 months infants smile more at familiar faces and can be easily comforted by a regular caregiver. At this point, babies have a preference to humans.
13
Q
Specific attachment (7-9 months)
A
Special preference for a single attachment figure. The baby looks to particular people for security, comfort and protection. It shows fear of strangers and unhappiness when separated from a special person. Some babies show stranger fear and separation anxiety much more frequently and intensely than others, nevertheless, they are seen as evidence that the baby has formed an attachment. This has usually developed by one year of age.
14
Q
Multiple attachment (10 months and onwards)
A
The baby becomes increasingly independent and forms several attachments to those who they see regularly. By 18 months, the majority of infants have formed multiple attachments.
15
Q
Results of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
A
- Attachments were most likely to form with those who responded accurately to the baby’s signals, not the person they spent most time with (sensitive responsiveness)
- Intensely attached infants had mothers who responded quickly to their demands and interacted with their child
- Infants who were weakly attached had mothers who failed to interact.
- The mother was the main attachment figure for about half of the children at 18 months old and the father for most of the others.
16
Q
Strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
A
The study has high ecological validity as the babies were observed in their own homes so their natural behaviour was observed and it was true to life. Additional triangulation (3 methods) was used to reduce bias and see the bigger picture.
17
Q
Weaknesses of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
A
- The sample used was limited (60 children from Glasgow) and therefore the results may not be representative of everyone
- There is a risk of bias as mothers were asked to keep a diary and we cannot be certain that they were honest
- The study may be culturally bias as the study was done with babies in Glasgow and different cultures have different ways of raising children. This means that the stages may not apply everywhere.
18
Q
Object permenance
A
When babies are first born, if a teddy is hidden under a blanket they do not get upset that the teddy is gone because they think that it doesn’t exist and won’t come back. When babies reach around 7 months, they develop object permanence so if the mother is not in the room the baby is now aware that she still exists and therefore shows signs of distress and wanting her back.
19
Q
Lorenz (1935) procedure
A
- Imprinting
- Divided goose eggs into 2 groups
- One group was with the mother and the other was in an incubator
- Lorenz was the first moving object that the incubated geese saw when they hatched
- They started following him around
- He placed both groups in a room together with himself and the mother goose present
20
Q
Lorenz (1935) Findings
A
- The goslings quickly divided themselves up, with the incubated goslings heading straight for Lorenz
- This imprinting behaviour is restricted to a very limited time after birth known as the critical period
- Animals imprint on the first persistently present moving object seen when born
21
Q
Lorenz (1935) Long term effects
A
- Lorenz noted that the imprinting process is irreversible and long lasting
- Animals would also attempt to mate with the same object that they imprinted on
22
Q
Harlow (1959) Procedure
A
- 2 wire mother monkeys, one was a feeding mother which dispensed milk and another a cloth mother wrapped in soft cloth
- He observed the infant monkeys’ responses to being frightened by a mechanical bear
23
Q
Harlow (1959) Findings
A
- All of the monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth mother even though it didn’t feed them
- After feeding, monkeys quickly returned to the cloth mother
- The monkeys clung to the cloth mother when frightened
- Concluded that infants do not develop an attachment to those who provide them with food
- Critical period for attachment in monkeys was 90 days and the effects could be reversed if they were replaced in a normal environment before this time
24
Q
Harlow (1959) Long term effects
A
- Harlow continued to study the monkeys as they grew up and noted several negative consequences
- They experienced social and sexual abnormalities
25
Strength of Lorenz’s study
- A number of other studies have demonstrated imprinting in animals
- Guilton (1966) demonstrated chicks exposed to yellow rubber gloves while being fed in the first few weeks, became imprinted on the gloves
26
Weakness of Lorenz’s study
- Guilton found that he could reverse imprinting in chickens
- Chickens were able to engage in normal sexual behaviour with other chickens
- There is some dispute over the characteristics of imprinting
- Ethical issues - geese wouldn’t survive in the wild and they might have problems reproducing
27
Strengths of Harlow’s study
- It is supported in human research - babies attach to those that meet their emotional needs
- Harlow’s research changed the way people viewed the importance of emotional care
28
Weaknesses to Harlow’s study
- The two stimulus objects varied in more ways than being cloth covered or not e.g. the cloth mother had a more realistic face
- Ethical issues - lasting emotional harm as monkeys later found it difficult to form relationships
29
Learning theory
- Attachment is a set of learned behaviours
- The basis for the attachment is the provision of food
- An infant will initially form an attachment to whoever feeds it
- The infant learns to associate the food with the feeder and gradually feels pleasure when in contact with them even if they aren’t providing food
- Classical conditioning
30
Bowlby’s evolutionary theory
- Babies come into the world biologically pre-programmed to make attachments with others in order to survive
- Crying and smiling are innate social releaser behaviours that stimulate caregiving from adults
- Care and responsiveness determines attachment not food
- A child would initially form one attachment that would act as a secure base for exploring the world
- The first attachment acts as a template for all future relationships
31
Social releasers
Behaviours that cause caregiving e.g. crying and smiling
32
Monotropy
One special attachment
33
Internal working model
The first attachment acts as a template for all future relationships
34
Weaknesses of learning theory
- Counter evidence from animal research. Lorenz’s study shows that imprinting happens before feeding so food is not involved in attachment. Harlow’s study demonstrated that food is not the basis of attachment as monkeys were attached to the soft cloth mother.
- Counter evidence from human research. Schaffer and Emerson found that babies attached to those who responded to their needs most effectively not necessarily the person who fed them.
35
Strengths of learning theory
- Some elements of conditioning could be involved in attachment behaviour. It is probable that feeling warm and comfortable is the UCS when being held by an adult.
- Social learning theory states that children learn behaviours like hugging by observing and imitating others.
36
Strength of Bowlby’s theory
- Supported by research
- Lorenz shows that attachment is innate and happens immediately after hatching so there is no time for learning
- Harlow’s monkeys were aggressive and unsociable later in life which demonstrates issues with the internal working model
- Hazan and Shaver (1987) love quiz - found characteristic patterns for later romantic behaviour which were associated with the quality of infant attachment so this supports the internal working model.
37
Ainsworth and Bell (1970)
The strange situation
38
The strange situation
- A study to produce a method of assessing quality of attachment by placing an infant in a situation of mild stress
- 100 middle class American infants and their mothers
- Controlled observation
39
Behaviours noted in the strange situation
- Separation anxiety
- The infant’s willingness to explore
- Stranger anxiety
- Reunion behaviour
40
Insecure avoidant (Type A)
- Shows little interest in the mother
- Infant avoided the stranger
- Infant treated the mother the same as the stranger
- When separated from the mother the infant shows little concern or distress
- On reunion, infant avoided the mother more than the stranger
41
What causes insecure avoidant attachment?
Caregivers who ignore/ don’t interact with their child
42
Secure (Type B)
- Mother is a safe base but infant feels happy to explore their environment
- Moderate avoidance towards the stranger but friendly when mother is present
- Infant is subdued and sad on separation
- On reunion, infant greets mother positively and she comforts them
43
What causes secure attachment?
Caregivers who show sensitive responsiveness so baby trusts them.
44
Insecure resistant (Type C)
- Cling onto the mother
- Lack of trust
- Can’t use the mother as a safe base
- Pattern of resistance and interest with the stranger
- Intense distress when separated from the mother
- On reunion, rejection, anger, push mother away
45
What causes insecure resistant attachment?
Caregivers who are inconsistent so child does not trust their caregiver.
46
Strengths of the strange situation
- Good internal validity - all the variables in the test are tightly controlled so it is easy to repeat
- Good reliability - when the same child is re-tested with the same caregiver, the test gives the same results (consistency)
- Good predictive validity - childhood attachment type can allow us to predict future relationships (Hazan and Shaver)
47
Weaknesses of the strange situation
- Poor external /ecological validity - the test is artificial and may not represent the child's behaviour in other situations, the mother knows she is being observed so may change her behaviour
- Cultural bias - the test was devised in America and may not be suitable for using on children from other cultures as different cultures raise children differently and have different expectations of their children.
48
Meta-analysis
Combining results from many studies
49
Who did research into cultural variations in attachment?
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg
50
How many studies did Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg review?
32 studies
51
How many countries were included in the meta-analysis?
8 countries
52
Which attachment type was found to be the most common across all countries?
Secure attached
53
Which attachment type (other than secure) was more common in non-western cultures e.g. China and Japan?
Insecure resistant (less used to separation)
54
Which attachment type (other than secure) was more common in Western cultures such as USA and UK?
Insecure avoidant (children more used to day care etc.)
55
Collectivist cultures
Non-Western (group based)
56
Individualist cultures
Western (focus on individual)
57
Strengths of Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg's cultural study of attachments
- Because all of the studies were based on the strange situation, so long as the different researchers carried out the technique exactly as it was first designed they should all have controlled variables in the same way so the findings could be compared
- Although many cultures weren't represented, they did make sure to use a mix of collectivist and individualist cultures for comparison so they study was truly cross-cultural.
58
Maternal deprivation
Emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and his/her mother or mother substitute. Bowlby proposed that continuous care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development and prolonged separation from this adult causes serious damage to emotional and intellectual development.
59
Separation
Not being with the primary caregiver. This is only an issue if it is for extended periods of time.
60
Deprivation
Losing an element of care.
61
Critical period
Bowlby said the first 30 months were a critical period, separations during this period without substitute care leads to the child being deprived of emotional care and causes long term damage.
62
Goldfarb (1943)
- At 6 months, 15 children went to an institution with no emotional care
- The children were matched up with a child who was fostered and this was based on genetic factors and the mothers’ education and occupational status
- Between 10-14 years of age the institution group had an IQ of 72 on average compared to 95 for the foster group
63
In what year was Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?
1944
64
What was the aim of Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?
To explore the link between maternal deprivation and affectionless psychopathy.
65
Procedure for Bowlby’s 44 thieves study
- 44 teenagers accused of stealing were interviewed for signs of AP and their families were interviewed to discover attachments patterns
- A control group (44) of non-criminal but mentally disturbed young people was set up to see how often deprivation occurred in them. Bowlby’s interviewed them and concluded that none of them had AP
66
Results of Bowlby’s 44 thieves study
Affectionless thieves - 86% of affectionless thieves had frequent separation from mother before the age of 2
Control group - 4% of the control group had frequent separation from mother before the age of 2
67
Conclusions of Bowlby’s 44 thieves study
The frequent separations affected the child’s development. These separations caused maternal deprivation and this led to affectionless psychopathy.
68
Criticisms of Bowlby’s 44 thieves study
- The data was based on recollections from many years previously so participants may not have been honest or they could’ve remembered events incorrectly. This means that the data may not be valid.
- Bowlby made the diagnosis of affectionless psychopathy himself so he may have been biased to sway the study.
- Some of the “significant” periods of separation were very short. There is no objective definition of what a “separation” is so we cannot be sure that it was the separations causing the emotional damage.
69
Orphan studies
These concern children placed in care because their parents cannot look after them. An orphan is a child whose parents have either died or abandoned them.
70
Institutionalisation
A term for the effects of living in an institutional setting. The term “institution” refers to a place like a hospital or an orphanage where people live for long, continuous periods of time. In such places there is often very little emotional care provided. In attachment research we are interested in the effects of institutional care on children’s attachment and subsequent development.
71
Rutter (procedure)
- Followed a group of 165 Romanian orphans for many years as part of the English and Romanian adoptee (ERA) study
- Physical, cognitive and emotional development were assessed at ages 4, 6, 11, 15 and 22-25
- 52 children from the UK adopted at around the same time were used as the control group
72
Rutter (findings)
- When the orphans first arrived in the UK, half the adoptees showed signs of delayed intellectual development and the majority were severely undernourished
- The mean IQ (at age 11) of those adopted before the age of 6 months was 102 compared with 86 for those adopted between 6 months and 2 years and 77 for those adopted after 2 years
- ADHD was more common in 15 and 22-25 year old samples
- Those adopted after 6 months showed signs of disinhibited attachment (attention-seeking and clingy)
73
Zeanah (procedure)
- Bucharest early intervention project
- Assessed attachment in 95 Romanian children aged 12-31 months who had spent most of their lives in institutional care
- They were compared to a control group of 50 children who had never lived in an institution
- Attachment type was measured using the strange situation
- Carers were asked about unusual social behaviour directed inappropriately at all adults (disinhibited attachment)
74
Zeanah (findings)
- 74% of the control group were classed as securely attached compared to 19% for the institutional group
- The description of disinhibited attachment applied to 44% of the institutionalised children but less than 20% of the control group
75
Disinhibited attachment
- A typical effect of spending time in an institution
- Children are equally friendly and affectionate towards familiar people and strangers
- Rutter explained it as an adaptation to living with multiple caregivers during the sensitive period for attachment
- Symptoms include clingy and attention-seeking behaviour
76
Intellectual disability
- Most of the children in Rutter’s study showed signs of intellectual disability when they first arrived in Britain
- Most of those who were adopted before the age of 6 months caught up to the control group by the age of 4
- Damage to intellectual development as a result of institutionalisation can be recovered provided adoption takes place before the age of 6 months - the age at which attachments form
77
Secure - Behaviour in childhood relationships
- High quality friendships
- High social competence
78
Secure - Behaviour in adult relationships
- Less conflict with partners
- Seek secure types to have relationships with
- Have secure attachments with their own children
- Better at providing emotional support
79
Insecure avoidant - Behaviour in childhood relationships
- Victims of bullying
- More likely to experience relationship breakdown in college
80
Insecure avoidant - Behaviour in adult relationships
- Struggle with intimacy
- Relationships are shorter lived
- More likely to have sex in the absence of feelings of love
- Relationships are more opportunistic and self serving
81
Insecure resistant - Behaviour in childhood relationships
More likely to be bullies
82
Insecure resistant - Behaviour in adult relationships
- Fall in and out of love easily
- Struggle to find true love
- High levels of compulsive caregiving
- Fear of rejection
83
Secure - Internal working model
- Positive self-image
- Feel worthy of being in a relationship
- People can be trusted
84
Insecure avoidant - Internal working model
Feel unacceptable and unworthy of relationships
85
Insecure resistant - Internal working model
- Negative self-image
- Feel the need to exaggerate emotional responses
86
Weaknesses of the influence of early attachment
- The research is correlational so we cannot say that early attachment style causes later love styles. Kalgan suggested that a 3rd variable could be the child’s innate personality.
- Hazan and Shaver’s love quiz study collected retrospective data as it relies on participants’ memories of childhood so it could be inaccurate and dishonest.
- Hazan and Shaver’s sample was all American so it was unrepresentative of other cultures as different cultures have different ways of raising children
- The research is deterministic as children are not necessarily doomed by a poor first attachment it just increases the likelihood of poor adult relationships however good experiences can repair the damage
87
Schaffer and Emerson results (1964) regarding role of the father
7 months
In only 3% of cases the father was the first sole object of attachment
In 27% of cases the father was the joint object of attachment with the mother
18 months
75% formed an attachment with fathers by 18 months and this suggests they are important attachment figures
88
Grossman et al (2002) Role of the father
- Longitudinal study where babies’ attachments were studied until they were into their teens
- Looked at both parents’ behaviour and the relationship to the quality of their baby’ later attachments to other people
- Quality of attachment with mother but not father was related to attachment in adolescence which suggests fathers were less important in attachment
- Quality of fathers’ play with babies was related to the quality of of adolescent attachment
- This suggests fathers have a different role from mothers - one that is more to do with play and stimulation and less to do with emotional development
89
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 spent more time smiling, imitating and holding the babies than the secondary caregiver fathers
- Fathers have the potential to be the more emotion focused primary attachment figure but perhaps only express this when given the role of primary caregiver
90
Evaluation of role of the father
- In regards to research there is a lack of clarity about what is being asked - differences between the role of the father as a primary and secondary caregiver
- If fathers have a distinctive role in attachment then you would expect children growing up in single mother or lesbian parent families to turn out in some way different to those growing up in two-parent heterosexual families but studies such as McCallum and Golombok (2004) have shown that this is not the case
- Real world application in providing reassurance and advice to parents
91
Condon and Sander (1974) support for interactional synchrony
- Videotaped interactions between adults and neonates, focusing on the movements of the neonates in response to adult speech.
- Using a detailed frame-by-frame analysis of the video recordings, they found evidence of interactional synchrony/coordination between the neonate's movements and the rhythmic patterns of the adult's speech.
- These results suggest even from birth, humans have an innate ability for social interaction.
92
Evaluation of caregiver-infant interaction
- Many studies use multiple observers, blind to the true aims of the experiment to provide inter-rater reliability or even use complex camera systems to document and slow down micro-sequences of interactions between caregivers and infants. This high control of infant studies indicates high internal validity.
- Infants cannot directly communicate their thoughts or emotions. Therefore, findings in Caregiver-infant interaction research depend on inferences, which are considered unscientific. Inferences are assumptions about infants' internal mental states based on observed behaviour. However, inferences could be mistaken; for example, researchers should not claim imitation behaviour is intentional; it may be imitation is an unconscious automatic reflex response.
- Social sensitivity is a concern when investigating childrearing techniques, including norms around caregiver-infant interactions; some women may find their life choices criticised, such as mothers who decide to return to the workplace shortly after giving birth and cannot develop a high level of interactional synchrony with their infant.
93
Romanian orphan studies evaluation
- There have been practical applications as a result of Romanian orphan studies. This research has changed policies around adoption and care in orphanages and other institutional settings. For example, critical workers in institutions give a higher level of care to infants; there is a focus on ensuring an early age of adoption and adoptive families are carefully screened.
- A potential issue with Rutter's ERA study and other research on the Romanian orphans is the children were not randomly assigned for adoption, but were selected by the new parents in Romania, it is possible this resulted in a bias, with the more sociable children picked for adoption at a younger age.
- Romanian orphan research studies have helped to support and challenge pre-existing theories. The issues Romanian orphans adopted at a later age have with social development suggest the first few months are vital for forming an internal working model. However this research challenges the idea of a critical period in childhood, Bowlby argues that if children miss this window for development, the harm is permanent, however the data showing recovery suggests a sensitive period, the damaged caused, while severe, can be addressed with later care.
- There is supporting evidence for a sensitive period, Hodges and Tizard (1989) found children adopted into new caring families coped better on measures of behavioural and peer relationships than children returned to their original, abusive families. Goldfarb (1947) study, compared 15 children had been brought up in children homes until beyond 3, and another group who had been fostered at around 6 months. At 12 years old he found that the early fostering led to significantly higher levels of mental ability (IQ) and social skills. These studies suggest the adverse effects of institutionalisation can be overcome with adequate substitute care
94
Outline findings from research into the role of the father in attachment (4)
- Schaffer and Emerson (1964) - 75% of infants studied had formed an attachment with the father at 18 months
- Research shows that the father may fulfil a qualitatively different role from that of the mother - play vs emotional support but this is just as crucial to a child’s wellbeing
- Research shows that the role of the father may differ depending on the gender of the child
- Research shows that the father in a single parent family is more likely to adopt the traditional maternal role
95
Explain the economic implications of research into the role of the father in attachment (4)
- Increasingly fathers remain at home and therefore contribute less to the economy consequently more mothers may return to work and contribute to the economy
- Changing laws on paternity leave - government-funded so affects the economy; impact upon employers
- Gender pay gap may reduce if parents roses are regarded as more equal
