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Psychology > attachment > Flashcards

attachment Flashcards

1
Q

define attachment

A

close two way emotional bond between two individuals where each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security

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2
Q

how do we recognise attachment

A

proximity- people try to stay physically close to those who they are attached to
separation distress- people are distressed when an attachment figure leaves their presence
secure base behaviour- even when we are independent, we make regular contact with out attachment figure and return to them as our base

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3
Q

define caregiver infant interactions

A

communication between infant and caregiver which is important for child’s social development and forms basis of attachment. if they are more responsive and sensitive to each others signals, deeper the bond

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4
Q

define caregiver

A

person who cares for a child

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5
Q

define infant

A

refer to child’s early years where they are predominantly taken care of by their caregivers

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6
Q

types of caregiver interactions

A
  • reciprocity
  • international synchrony
  • imitation
  • sensitive responsiveness
  • motherese
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7
Q

define reciprocity and features

A

two way or mutual process where each other responds to the others signals to sustain the interaction (turn taking )
- either can initiate the interactions
- important for later communications
- conlon and sander (1974) found that babies moved in time with the conversation and appeared to take in turns

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8
Q

define international synchrony/ imitation and features

A

caregiver and infant reflect and mirror the actions and emotions of the other in a coordinated, synchronised way
- isabella et al oversee 30 mother and infants and found high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality of mother-infant attachment

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9
Q

meltzoff and moore (1977) study on international synchrony

A
  • observed infants as young as 2 weeks old and filmed their response to an adult displaying one of three facial expressions or gestures
  • observers viewed from an angle where the adult couldn’t be seen
  • association was found between the expression or gesture the adult displayed and the action of the babies
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10
Q

define sensitive responsiveness

A

caregiver response appropriately to signals from the infant

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11
Q

define motherese

A

slow high pitched way of speaking to infants

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12
Q

schaffer and emerson study on attachment stages procedure

A
  • 60 babies were observed in their homes in glasgow every 4 weeks from birth to 18 mothers
  • longitudinal study
  • assessed separation anxiety, in situations like being left alone in a room
  • analysed and interviews
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13
Q

schaffer and emerson study in attachment stages findings

A
  • more sensitive they are to each others cues, the closer the attachment
  • around 7 months, 50% of babies showed separation anxiety towards a particular adult
  • 65% of first specific attachments was to the mother and a further 30% saw them as the first joint object if attachment
  • 3% of first specific attachments was towards the father, and 27% of the time they were the joint first object
  • by 40 weeks, 80% had a specific attachment and 30% had multiple attachments
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14
Q

stages of attachment

A
  1. asocial attachment (first few weeks)- learns to separate people from objects but has no strong preference about who cares for them
  2. indiscriminate attachment (2-7 months)- distinguish between different people and becomes more social, but has no preference for who cares for them
  3. specific attachment (7-11 months)- start to display stranger anxiety and become anxious when separated, primary attachment figure
  4. multiple attachments (after stage 3)- form attachments to many people, where some may be stronger or have different functions, at 18 months 32% had at least 5 attachments
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15
Q

evaluation of schaffer and emerson study

A

+ sample size was good considering the large volume of data gathered
+ carried out longitudinally which decreases participant variables
+ has ecological validity as it was carried out in everyday scenarios
- sampler was biased as they were all from the same city and working class, and was 50 years ago, so it lacks population and temporal validity
- quite a small sample size
- data based on mothers report of their infants as they may be less sensitive to their infants’ protests and show social desirability bias, so lacks internal validity

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16
Q

evaluation of stages of attachment

A
  • cultural bias as it fails to consider collectivist cultures where people share more possessions and childcare, where multiple attachments may be more common
  • suggest development is inflexible where specific attachments come before multiple attachments
  • hard to distinguish between secondary attachment figures and playmates , so they may not be validly measuring multiple attachments
  • hard to judge behaviour at such a young age
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17
Q

evaluation of caregiver infant interactions strengths

A

+ supported research, like by murray and trevarthen (1985) where 2 year olds interacted with their mothers over a video monitor and showed acute distress when their mother wasn’t directly paying attention to their cues
+ well controlled procedures, often filmed so they can be played back to look for finer details
+ babies do not show demand characteristics or social desirability bias

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18
Q

evaluation of caregiver infant interactions weaknesses

A
  • imitation in infants is not intentional and anything before its 1 st year is operant conditioning so it may be pseudo imitation
  • difficult to distinguish infants behaviour as their mouths are constantly moving so we are not sure if the action is deliberate
  • observational research cannot tell us why infants reciprocate
    -socially sensitive research as mothers may have to return to work and cannot develop a bond with their cold through interactions synchrony for example, making them feel guilty
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19
Q

role of the father

A
  • 75% of infants in schaffer and emerson study formed a secondary attachment to father by 18 months
  • seems as playmate and provides more physical and exciting play, and better at providing challenging situations for their children
  • allow them to take risks whilst keeping them safe
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20
Q

why is role of father different to role of mother

A
  • previously women were expected to have the most important role when caring for a child, but now it is increasingly more common for the father to be the primary attachment figure
  • female hormones like oestrogen create higher levels of nurturing so women are predisposed to be primary caregiver
  • fathers may lack emotional sensitivity
  • gross and carried out a longitudinal study and found that quality of infant attachments to mother was related to the child res attachments in adolescents
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21
Q

field (1978) study in equal importance of mother and father

A
  • filmed 4 month old babies face to face with primary and secondary caregivers mother or father, and concluded both genders play an important role when being the primary figure
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22
Q

role of father evaluation strengths

A
  • practical application and can be used to offer advice to parents as there is less pressure on mothers to be the primary caregiver and helps reduce anxiety
23
Q

role of the father evaluation weaknesses

A
  • research into role of father has been inconsistent as research as some researchers are interested in role of fathers as secondary attachment figures compared to some interested in them as primary figures
  • conflicting evidence where Grossman’s study found that fathers as secondary attachment figures were important but other research has found that is not the case like in same sex parenting
  • socially sensitive as it suggest their role is not important can lead to reduced rights for fathers in legal proceedings
24
Q

define imprinting

A

innate readiness to develop a strong bond with the first moving thing they see (most likely mother), which takes place during a specific time in development and is irreversible and long lasting

25
Q

lorenz imprinting in geese procedure

A
  • split a large clutch of greylag goose eggs in two and randomly let one hatch naturally with the mother and the other was hatched in an incubator where Lorenz was the first thing they saw
  • he also marked all goslings and put them under an upturned box and let them choose between Lorenz or the mother goose
26
Q

lorenz imprinting in geese findings

A

-geese automatically attach and imprint on the first moving thing they see , which was either the mother or Lorenz depending on who they saw first
- naturally hatched goslings went straight to their mother and the incubator hatched goslings went straight to Lorenz
- imprinting took place a short period of time after birth (4-25 hours)

27
Q

define sexual imprinting

A

imprinting can affect adult male preferences as they would want to mate with the same kind of species upon which they were imprinted

28
Q

lorenz imprinting implications for humans

A
  • babies do not imprint instantly like birds but the same concepts and importance of attachments is applicable
  • bowlby developed a theory that there is a critical period for developing an attachment in humans (2 years)
29
Q

evaluation of lorenz imprinting in geese

A

+ other studies have demonstrated imprinting in animals like Guiton demonstrated that leghorn chicks exposed to yellow rubber gloves imprinted on them
- cannot extrapolate animal findings to humans especially because mammalian attachment system is different from birds
- imprinting is not permanent or irreversible as Guiton could reverse the imprinting in chicken which made them try to mate with the gloves and after spending time with other chickens they engaged in normally sexual behaviour

30
Q

harlow monkeys procedure

A
  • 16 infant rhesus monkeys were separated from their natural mothers and were out into 2 different set ups
  • a wire mother who produced milk and a cloth covered who didn’t, or a wire mother who didn’t produce milk and a cloth covered one who did
  • measurements were taken on the amount of time each infant spent with the two different mothers
31
Q

harlow monkeys findings

A
  • monkeys cuddled the cloth covered mother in preference to wire covered
  • all monkeys spent most of their time with cloth covered regardless if they had the bottle, including those who were fed from wire mother
  • all sought comfort from cloth mother when frightened regardless if they dispensed milk
  • when playing, the monkeys often kept one foot on cloth mother
  • motherless monkeys, even those who did have close contact, developed abnormally sexually and socially
32
Q

harlow monkeys conclusions and implications on humans

A
  • critical period for this behaviour, usually within 90 days, before attachment is impossible
  • findings suggest infants form attachment with the person offering contact comfort rather than who feeds them
33
Q

harlow’s study evaluation strengths

A
  • practical application as it helps social workers to understand risk factors in child neglect and abuse and is helpful in proper attachment figures in zoos
34
Q

harlow’s study evaluation weaknesses

A
  • two mothers varied in more ways than being cloth covered or not, like the heads were different, so it may act as a confounding variable and cannot guarantee cause and effect
  • cannot extrapolate animal findings to humans
  • ethical issue as monkeys suffered in the long term with difficulty to function socially
    > however, can be justified as it has had significant effect on our understanding of the process of attachment
35
Q

how can classically conditioning explain attachment

A
  • learn to associate food with pleasure
  • cupboard love- learn to love the person who feeds them
  • food is UCS with pleasure being UCR, but once paired with the caregiver (NS), they become conditioned
36
Q

how can operant conditioning explain attachment

A
  • crying leads to response from the caregiver so they are positively reinforced to repeat the action if they are hungry
  • caregiver learns to feed the infant when they cry and involves negative reinforcement
  • drive reduction- when we feel discomfort this creates a drive to reduce this discomfort
  • primary reinforced is food as it directly supplies reward, but caregiver is secondary reinforcer as it is associated with food
37
Q

evaluation of learning theory to explain attachment strengths

A
  • real world application as infants do learn through association and reinforcement however food may not be the main reinforcer
38
Q

evaluation of learning theory to explain attachment weaknesses

A
  • drive reduction is now undermined as people exhibit behaviours that may increase discomfort, for example doing things that are out of our comfort zone
  • based on animals so cannot extrapolate findings
  • reductionists as it fails to acknowledge the differences between humans and animals like cognition and emotion
  • food is not the key explanation for attachment as seen in harlow’s monkeys who preferred comfort over food
  • feeding does not appear to be an important factor in humans, where Schaffer and Emerson found that 30% of infants developed a primary attachment to the person who did not feed them
39
Q

bowlbys monotropic theory main assumptions

A
  • attachment has evolved through natural selection as we developed an innate need to attach to our main caregiver for survival
  • critical period of 2 years otherwise we will struggle later on (maternal deprivation hypothesis)
  • babies are born with innate “cute features” like small eyes and behaviour like crying, which encourages attention from adults called social releasers
  • attachment is reciprocal and both mother and baby have innate predisposition for it
  • monotropy- one main attachment
  • internal working model- template for later relationships
40
Q

define maternal deprivation hypothesis

A

if relationship with mother is distrusted, stopped or never established, there are long term emotional consequences

41
Q

define innate adult attachment

A

tendency for adults to care for infants

42
Q

define monotropy

A

we form one main attachment, usually mother, and is important in physical and emotional development

43
Q

define internal working model

A

mental relationship of relationship with primary caregiver and acts as a template for future relationships or parenting styles

44
Q

evaluation of bowlbys monotropic theory strengths

A
  • research to support internal working model as patterns of attachment can be passed on through generations
    => bailey et al assessed 99 mothers with their 1 year old babies in the quality of attachment to their own mothers and found that those who reported poor attachments to their own parents were more likely to have children classified as poorly attached
  • clear evidence that social releasers are intended to initiate social integration as Brazelton et al observed primary attachment figures who ignored their babies social releasers, and they become more distressed and eventually lied motionless
    -supports evolutionary aspect as attaching later on, for example when crawling, is more important that earlier on
45
Q

evaluation of bowlbys theory weakness

A
  • ignored other influences on attachment like the temperament hypothesis, where infants with “easy” temperament are more likely to become strongly attached and socialise compared to those who are “difficult” and tend to be insecurely attached
  • monotropy remains unclear as Schaffer and Emerson found some babies can form multiple attachments
  • unclear whether there is something unique about the first attachment, but just the fact it is stronger
  • attachments are possible after critical period, and should instead be called “sensitive period”
  • socially sensitive as Bowlbys report in 1950s led to an increase in “stay at home” mothering
46
Q

what are the 7 scenarios in ainsworth strange situation

A
  1. child and caregiver enter an unfamiliar playroom and child is left to explore (exploration and secure base)
  2. stranger enters and approaches the infant (stranger)
  3. caregiver and stranger tried to soothe the infant if crying or observer them (separation and stranger)
  4. caregiver returns and stranger leaves (reunion behaviour)
  5. caregiver leaves so the infant is alone (separation)
  6. stranger enters and approaches infant (stranger)
  7. caregiver returns (reunion behaviour)
47
Q

describe type a insecure avoidant attachment

A
  • avoid social interaction and intimacy
  • explore freely and do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour
  • little to no reaction when caregiver leaves
  • little stranger anxiety
  • do not require comfort at reunion stage
  • in Ainsworth study, 15% had this type, whereas 20-25% in the Uk
48
Q

describe type b secure attachment

A
  • explore happily but regularly check up on caregiver
  • show moderate separation and stranger anxiety
  • require and accept comfort from caregiver and are easily soothed
  • in ainsworth study, 70% had this and 60-75% in UK
49
Q

describe type c insecure resistant attachment

A
  • seek and resist intimacy and social interaction
  • seek greater proximity than others and explore less
  • show greater stranger and separation distress
  • resist comfort when reunited with caregiver
  • in ainsworth study, 15% had this but 3% in UK
50
Q

evaluation of strange situation strengths

A
  • research has found a fourth type called insecure- disorganised where children display an odd mixture of resistant and avoidant behaviours which suggests it is oversimplified
  • good inter-rater reliability as the strange situation took place in controlled conditions and there was an agreement for 94%
  • help improve life with intervention strategies, where caregivers can be taught to better understand their infants’ signals of distress- decrease in disordered caregivers from 60% to 15% and an increase in secure attachments from 32% to 40%
51
Q

evaluation of strange situation weaknesses

A

-research strongly predictive of later development and babies with secure attachments have better outcomes in the future like relationships
- may be a culture bound test as there are differences, for example Takshashi notes the test doesn’t work in Japan as mothers are rarely separated from babies and there are very high levels of separation anxiety
- unethical as infants are deliberately put under stress
- only measured one attachment type with mother, who many not be primary caregiver

52
Q

what experiment did Van Ijzendoorn conduct

A

meta analysis of 32 strange situations in different cultures from 8 countries (UK, US, Japan, China, Holland, Germany and Israel)

53
Q

findings of van ijzendoorn’s cross cultural study

A
  • all have majority secure attachments
  • germany have the highest % of insecure avoidant (35%)
  • israel and japan have the highest % of insecure resistant (27-29%)
  • china have same % of insecure avoidant and resistant (25%) and the lowest % of secure attachments (50%)
  • great britain has the smallest amount of insecure resistant
  • uk and sweden had the most secure attachments
54
Q

conclusions of van ijzendoorn’s cross cultural study

A
  • intra cultural variation was nearly 1.5- greater than the cross cultural variation
    => one study found US having 46% secure compared to 90% in another
    => another study found no avoidant attachment in japan but another found 20%
  • global pattern across cultures is similar than in the US
  • secure is the “norm”
  • cu,trial similarities support Bowlby’s theory

Psychology (7 decks)

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