attachment Flashcards
(106 cards)
1
Q
what is an attachment
A
the reciprocal, emotional bond between two people that is strong and enduring
2
Q
what are the behaviours that indicate an attachment had been formed
A
proximity seeking
separation anxiety
secure base behaviour
3
Q
what is interactional synchrony
A
when the caregiver and child mirror what the other is doing in terms of facial and body movements
movements are co ordinated
4
Q
what is reciprocity
A
responding to the action of another person with a similar action
an action elicits a response
5
Q
what is the research into reciprocity
A
found that lays foundation for later attachment with mother and child it is important
if we don’t respond can have a negative effect on infant in later life
6
Q
what is the research into interactional synchrony
A
Meltzoff and Moore
they aimed to investigate the age at which interactional synchrony occurs between mother and child- 12-21 day old babies videotaped
found that it occurs in babies as young as 2 weeks old
7
Q
what is the strength of caregiver- infant interactions research
A
usually filmed in controlled environments- can be watched multiple times by different people high internal validity + no bias
8
Q
what are the weaknesses of caregiver infant interactions research
A
• difficult to interpret a babies behaviour- could be a coincidence instead of intentional and babies move all the time so harder to observe- higher levels of needs too so may need to stop experiment to feed or change
• observing behaviour doesn’t not tell us it’s developmental importance- tells us what but not why, does not tell us the purpose of these behaviours
9
Q
who studied the stages of attachment
A
Schaffer and emerson
10
Q
what was the aim of schaffer+ emerson’s study
A
to assess whether there was a pattern of attachment formation that was common in all infants
11
Q
what was Schaffer and Emerson‘s procedure?
A
conducted a longitudinal study on newborn 60 babies and mothers from working class area of Glasgow in own homes observed and interviewed mums
12
Q
what were the conclusions of Schaffer and Emerson‘s study?
A
there is a pattern of attachment formation common to all infants which suggests the process is biologically controlled
13
Q
what are the names of the four stages of attachment?
A
asocial, indiscriminate, discriminate, multiple attachments
14
Q
what happens at the asocial stage?
A
behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects is similar cannot distinguish between living and nonliving
by the end, show a preference for company of familiar people
15
Q
when is the asocial stage?
A
0- 2 months
16
Q
what happens in the indiscriminate stage?
A
Display more obvious and observable social behaviours
Now show clear preference for being with humans
Prefer company of familiar faces
don’t show separation or stranger anxiety
17
Q
when is the indiscriminate stage?
A
2-7 months
18
Q
what happens in the discriminate stage?
A
Display classic signs of attachment to one specific person
start to show separation and stranger anxiety
Primary attachment figure- one who offers most interactions to babies signals not time spent
19
Q
when is discriminate stage?
A
7- 9 months
20
Q
what happens at the multiple attachments stage?
A
Show attachment behaviour to multiple people
Secondary attachments formed
29% of children form these attachments within a month of primary attachment
21
Q
when is the multiple attachments stage?
A
+1year
22
Q
what are the strengths of research into the stages of attachment?
A
High external validity: carried out in homes not strange environment so natural behaviour
Real world application: practical application in daycare Nursery avoided in discriminate stage and one key worker assigned
longitudinal study
23
Q
what are the weaknesses of research into stages of attachment?
A
Mothers are not objective observers might not remember or notice or might be bias
Biased sample not generalisable 60 babies from Glasgow not same as everywhere e.g. other cultures collectivist
24
Q
what is imprinting?
A
An innate readiness to attach and follow the first living thing after hatching
25
Who studied imprinting?
Lorenz
26
what was Lorenz‘s aim?
to investigate the mechanisms of imprinting
27
What was Lorenz’s procedure when studying imprinting?
he got 12 gosling eggs and split in half
half hatched with mum naturally and half in incubator looking at Lorenz (first living thing they see )
28
what were Lorenz‘s findings?
One group followed the mother the other group followed Lorenz
Lorenzo‘s group showed no recognition of their natural mother
conclusion- Gosling and Print on a moving object scene in first 24 hours
29
what is a strength of Lorenz’s research?
A number of other studies have demonstrated in printing on animals
EG researcher who studied in printing on chicks chicks exposed to yellow rubber gloves during feed in first 24 hours checks then followed anyone wearing rubber gloves
however both
only in birds
30
What is a weakness of Lorenz research?
The ability to generalise findings and conclusions from birds to humans
Completely different species
Mammal attachment, very different and more complex to birds
Mammal attachment is two-way process emotional and babies are not Mobile
Birds are for survival and can follow straight away
Cannot be extrapolated
31
Who studied the importance of contact comfort
Harlow
32
what was Harlow’s aim?
To demonstrate that mother love was not based on feeding but the contact comfort they can provide
33
What was Harlow’s procedure?
eight infant monkeys
Two IVs— wire covered mother with milk, soft cloth mother without milk
Measure it the time spent on each other for 165 days
Observations were also made of responses to frightening events
34
what were Harlows findings and conclusions?
all monkeys spent more time on soft cloth, mother
When frightened monkeys come to cloth mother to provide comfort
Infants prefer contact comfort over food
35
what happened to the maternally deprived monkeys as adults?
Most were more aggressive and less sociable than other monkeys when they became mothers some attacked babies
36
What is the critical period for normal development in monkeys?
A mother figure I had to be introduced to a young monkey within 90 days for an attachment to form after this attachment was impossible
37
What were the weaknesses of Harlows research?
there were extraneous variables and the two mother models varied in more ways than just cloth or wire had different heads e.g. cloth mother represented monkey more
Still issues with generalisability of animal studies to human research
Ethical issues Harlows research could not be done with humans. There is therefore a question as to whether it should have been done with monkeys putting them in purposely scary situation
38
what is one strength of Harlow’s research?
it is more generalisable than Lorenz’s research as human brain and behaviour and attachment is more similar to monkeys than birds
39
Who proposed the learning theory?
Dollard and Miller
40
what does the learning theory suggest is the most important thing when forming an attachment?
Food
41
How do attachments form in terms of classical conditioning in the learning theory?
The baby forms and association between mother the neutral stimulus and the feeling of pleasure that comes with being fed which is an innate and conditioned response. at first the baby simply feels comforted by food however each time it is fed the mother is there too. he quickly associates the mother with pleasure of being fed until the mother stimulates feeling a pleasure on her own
42
how is the purpose of attachment formed using operant conditioning in the learning theory?
positive reinforcement is used as crying leads to response from caregiver usually feeding and associates mother with the reward and repeats any action that brings her
there is negative reinforcement because the response removes something unpleasant the crying stops
43
what are the limitations of the learning theory of attachment?
Based on animal studies
attachment is emotional bond and much more complex than a basic association proposed by them
Oversimplified
Cannot be extrapolated- Pavlov and Skinner to understand human
attachment
It’s suggests that food is a key element in the formation of attachment
Counter research from animal studies Harlow found that attachment was due to contact and not
Reset from Human studies Schaffer and Emerson found the attachment was due to signal responsiveness not the person who feeds them and it took 7 to 9 months to build an attachment
BOWLBY
44
Who proposed the mono tropic/evolutionary theory of attachment?
bowlby
45
What did Bowlbys theory of attachment state?
That attachment behaviour evolved because it serves an important survival function. It protects us and provides us with things such as food.
46
what are Bowlbys five key assumptions
adaptive social releasers critical period monotropy and internal working model
47
What does Bowlbys assumption about? Attachment being adaptive say?
Attachment gives species a survival advantage and if an infant has an attachment they kept safe from hazards given food and kept warm. It is evolutionary.
48
what is Bowlby’s assumption about social releasers in attachment?
Born with an eight cute characteristics called social releases these encourage adult attention which activates attachments and makes them form. These are both physical and behavioural features.
49
what is Bowlby the critical period in his theory of attachment?
A time period where attachments need to be formed if an attachment isn’t formed in this time there is consequences on the child’s development. It is most sensitive at birth to 6 months but still sensitive up to 2.5 years.
50
What is the monotropy in Bowlbys theory attachment?
A special special specific attachment had to be a mother figure
Two reasons for the monotropy-
law of continuity -care should be constant for better quality of attachment
Law of accumulated separation - the effects of every separation from caregiver up the safest is 0
51
what is the internal working model in Bowlbys theory of attachment?
This is a mental model of the relationship with their primary caregiver that serves as a template for what future relationships will be like if first experience is a loving relationship or loving relationships in life and secure adults
52
what is a strength of Bowlby stating that attachment is adaptive?
support from Lorenz study imprinting is innate for survival and happens within first 24 hours and provides survival advantage and happens straight away so has to be evolutionary
Support Barbies assumptions as it suggests it is adaptive therefore not learn however issues with generalisability
53
what is a strength of the idea of social releasers in Bowlbys evolutionary theory of attachment
Brazelton support as there is clear evidence that baby behaviours are designed to elicit interaction
Research instructed the babies primary attachment figure to ignore the babies social releasers and babies became distressed
Highlights the importance of social releases in the process of attachment
54
what is the limitation of the critical period when evaluating the evolutionary theory of attachment?
Attachment may be better this time rather than essential
Rutter et al found that children who did not form attachments in the critical period were still able to form attachments outside of the critical window
That critical period may not be as deterministic as he assumed
55
what is the weakness of the monotropy in the evolutionary theory of attachment?
feminist concerns over the theory and socially sensitive topic
Significant impact on the view of women’s role
Blames mother for anything that goes wrong in child’s life
Gives an excuse to restrict mothers
Justifies the subordinate role of women in society in the workplace
56
what is the strength of the internal working model in the evolutionary theory of attachment
Support from Bailey et al
Interviewed mother and babies measured attachment to mother using the strange situation
Then measured mother’s attachment to mother using interviews
Majority of mothers had same attachment with children as with own mothers
Influences
57
what is the research? Suggest that fathers are not important as attachment figures
Bowlby- monotropy ( has to be female). Bowlby suggested father should provide an economic rather than emotional function.
Schaefer and emerson- in stage three discriminate attachment 65% of specific attachment was the mother only 3% fathers as first attachments
Biological women produce hormone oestrogen associated with caring behaviour
social factors- social norms regarding masculine and feminine behaviour associated women is more sensitive so society has created this view
58
what is the research to suggest that fathers are important as attachment figures?
Schaefer and Emerson stage four secondary attachments form 75% of children form attachment with father by 18 months-still important just not as important
father as playmate-
Lamb- when children are happy, they prefer interaction with their father when children are unhappy and need comfort they prefer interaction with mother
Degree of sensitivity- lamb found that when fathers were primary caregivers, they did show high signal responsiveness suggesting not biologically the role of the mother
59
what are the reasons of changing roles in relation to attachment?
Changing social norms and roll:
Increase opportunities for women in education and work
Rising feminism
Changing role of men more househusbands
Changing laws and policies in workplace, e.g. equal pay act
Increase of Nursery provisions
Changes in maternity/paternity laws and pays
60
Who conducted the strange situation?
Ainsworth
61
what was Ainsworth’s aim in the strange situation?
To be able to observe key attachment behaviour as a means of assessing the quality of a child’s attachment type
62
What was Ainsworths procedure in the strange situation?
controlled observation
Two-way mirror
12 to 18 month old White middle class babies from US
Eight episodes designed behaviours m
63
what are the orders of the episode in the strange situation?
Stage one caregiver an infant play together
Stage two caregiver sytse whilst infant plays (secure base tested)
Stage three strange enters and talks to caregiver (stranger anxiety)
Stage four caregiver leaves baby and stranger together and stranger offers comfort (separation anxiety and stranger anxiety tested)
Stage five caregiver returns and offers comfort if needed and stranger leaves (reunion behaviour)
stage six caregiver leaves infant alone (separation anxiety)
Stage seven stranger enters and offers comfort ( stranger anxiety)
stage eight can’t give a returns and offers comfort ( reunion behaviour)
64
What were the findings of Ainsworth strange situation?
66% was secure
22% insecure avoidant
12% insecure resistant
65
how does a secure child react to proximity seeking separation anxiety stranger anxiety and reunion behaviour
show secure base behaviour and seek proximity
Moderate distress with separation and stranger anxiety
Except comfort on reunion and enthusiastic
66
How does an insecure avoidant child react to proximity seeking separation and strange anxiety and reunion behaviour?
don’t Seek proximity no secure base behaviour
Low distress and stranger anxiety
Indifferent doesn’t require/avoid comfort and reunion
67
how would an insecure resistant child act with proximity seeking separation anxiety stranger anxiety and reunion behaviour
Clingy high proximity seeking less slightly to explore
high Distress and high stranger anxiety
Seek and resist on reunion
68
what is the strength of the strange situation?
High interobserver reliability - consistency and agreement between observers
high training, clear behaviour categories, standardisation and control
Tested inter observer reliability of SS and was + 0.94
Can be confident at attachment type as assessed does not depend on subjective judgement
69
what are the weaknesses at the strange situation?
No internal validity- not measuring what intended to measure- argued that it could’ve been measuring the child’s temperament and personality type, also baby could have been crying due to hunger and other factors
Low external validity- does not reflect a real life Nursery setting, there are periods where caregiver stay with baby settling in period not just with stranger
HOWEVER - predictive validity is high- IWM
cultural bias
70
what is cultural variation?
The ways that different groups of people vary in terms of social practices
71
Who is theory does it support if attachment is the same across cultures?
Bowlby
72
what does it suggest if attachment is different in different cultures?
Suggest that attachment is due to socialisation and not innate
73
What are examples of individualistic cultures?
UK USA Germany
doing things independently
74
What are examples of collectivist cultures?
Japan and China
Interdependence - dependency on others
75
Who studied cross cultural variation of attachment
Van ijzendoorn and kroonenberg
76
what was Van ijzendoorn and Kroonbergs aim
to see whether there were differences between cultures and also within cultures
77
What was the procedure of Van ijzendoorn and Kroonbergs study
meta analysis combining multiple studies or conducting strange situation
32 studies
2000 strange situation classifications in 8 different countries
78
what were the findings of Van ijzendoorn and Kroonbergs study
Secure attachment with the norm most common in all 32 studies
There was more variation within cultures than between cultures- variation within a culture was 1.5 times greater than between
insecure resistant was least common in most studies and higher in collectivist cultures
High insecure avoidant in Germany
Conclusion- the global pattern across cultures seems to be similar to that found in the US which supports Bowlby however some cultures have had impact on attachment
79
What are other smaller studies of cross cultural attachment?
Tronick- studied African tribe
Infants looked after breastfed by different women , despite differences in child rearing at six months still showed one primary attachment, supports bowlby
Takahashi- japan , used strange situations to study Japanese infants, infant show no evidence of insecure avoidant and high rates of resistant , response so extreme for 90% of the study was stopped and left alone- because kids in Japan rarely experience of separation from mothers
Grossman & Grossman- germany- found higher levels of insecure avoidant German culture involves keeping some distance between parents and child, no proximity seeking appear in secure avoidant but judging based off of western culture
simonelli- italy- changing role of women may change attachment increased number of mothers working long hours and more professional childcare- children are more used to being alone
80
what is the evaluation for cross cultural research into attachment?
Similarities between cultures may be due to globalisation and media, not innate influence- Western ideals books standards
Limitations with the meta analysis, it assesses countries not cultures - in Japan rural areas very different to urban- More looking out for themselves in rural and close with each other, urban more socialising more work exposed to Western ideals
Issues with cultural bias - strange situation created and tested in America may be culturally bias- behaviour measured by SS may not have the same meaning in different cultures and cultural context
81
what is maternal deprivation
The loss of emotional care that is usually provided by the mother or mother substitute. can happen in many ways, e.g. death of mother or mother not mentally reacting to child.
82
What are the long-term consequences of maternal deprivation?
disrupted intellectual development
Emotional development
Social development
83
what is the study into the intellectual effects of MD
goldfarb-
Studied children orphaned after second world war children who remained in institutions had lower IQ average of 68 compared to those who are fostered after four months whose average was 96
84
what was the study into the effects on emotional development of MD?
Bowlby identified the word affectionless psychopath as the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others and is associated with criminality as they fail to empathise with victims
85
how was the link to affection of psychopaths and MD tested?
Bowlby 44 thieves
86
how was the link to affection of psychopaths and MD tested?
Bowlby 44 thieves
87
what was Bob’s 44 thieves study?
Study aimed to examine links between affectionless psychopathy and MD
88 children - 44 thieves
14/44 affectionless psychopaths (no remorse for what they had done) found in interviews
12/14 experienced MD- case history
suggests is a correlation
88
what aspects of Bowlbys theory of attachment are important in MD?
critical period
monotropy
IWM
89
what is the evaluation of MD?
- Evidence for MD is poor:
GOLDFARB Sample is atypical, World War II may have trauma and have missed education
BOWLBY- interviewer bias carried out all of it and knew which children had had MD
Cases were MD in critical period did not cause issues for , to deterministic
Socially sensitive research - blames mother and self fulfilling prophecy
Support from animal studies monkeys aggressive
90
what is institutionalisation?
A term for the effect of living in an institutional setting where children live for a long time with little emotional care
91
Who studied Romanian orphans?
RUTTER
92
what does ERA stand for in institutionalisation
english + romanian adoptee project
93
what was the procedure of rutters study
longitudinal study- tested at 4,6,11,15 and more to follow
assessed on development
165 orphans- 1/3 before 6 months , 1/3 before 2 years, 1/3 after 2 years
also control group of 52 english
94
what were the findings or rutters research
showed diff rates of recovery related to age of adoption
IQ-
before 6m: 102
before 2y: 86
after 2y: 77
before 6m no signs of dis inhibited attachment
after 6m signs of it
95
what is disinhibited attachment
equally friendly towards strangers and familiar people - attention seeking and clingyness
96
what was the conclusion of Rutters study
There was a correlation between the time spent in an institution and negatively impacted Development
97
what is the eval of institutionalisation + rutters study
- Real life application, can improve conditions for children in care, key workers much better rather than loads of workers, Foster now is a better option
- There are fewer cofounding variables longitude study comparison of same child
- Romanian orphanages are extremely example
- socially sensitive research self fulfilling prophecy
98
Who invented the love quiz?
Hazan and shaver
99
what was Hazen and shavers aim?
to test the association between early attachment and adult relationships (romantic)
100
what was Hazen and shavers procedure?
Self report technique
620 replies to a love quiz
Quiz had three sections current most important relationship, general love experiences, attachment type in infancy
101
what were hazan and shavers findings?
56% of respondents were identified as securely attached similar to strange situation
Attachment type is reflected in romantic relationships - support for internal working model
102
Who studied relationships in childhood?
Myron- wilson + smith
103
what did Myron wilson and Smith find?
securely attached infants tend to go on to form best quality childhood friendships
Insecure avoidant victims
Insecure resistant bullies
104
Who studied relationships in adulthood as parents?
Bailey
105
what were Bailey’s findings?
Used strange situation and interviewed on mothers attachment to own mother
Majority had same attachment both to babies and mothers
106
what is the evaluation for influence of early attachment on later relationships?
They provide support for Bowlby internal working model- just a theory but now three times evidence
Correlational study - no cause and effect, can be other factors, low internal val
Rely on retrospective classification - remembering past maybe bias or may just not remember
Self report is conscious but internal working model is not
Deterministic
