Attachment Flashcards

Question

Evaluation of the stages of attachment (-) self-report

Answer 1

The data was collected from the mother's reports of their infants. For example, some mothers might have been less sensitive to their infants protests and therefore were less likely to report them. In addition, some may have given socially desirable answers because they may not want to disclose that their child is not attached to their farther or that they don't get upset when they are separated. This is a limitation of the study because the conclusions drawn about the stages in which attachment develops would not be valid.

Answer 2

A limitation of the proposed stages of attachment found by the study is that they may be culturally biased. Van Ijzendoorn et al found that babies born into collectivist cultures (where the sharing of child rearing duties is common amongst communities) had multiple attachments from the outset. Weakness because Schaffer suggests that a specific attachment must be formed in the first instance before multiple attachments are formed.

Answer 3

Grossman carried out a longitudinal study where the findings showed that the fathers role in attachment is more to do with play and stimulation and less to do with the nurturing Gieger found that the fathers play interactions were more boisterous than with their mums.

Answer 4

Field found that when the fathers were the primary caregiver, they are found to spend more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than secondary caregiver fathers. Hence, the key to the attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness and not the gender of the parent Lamb found children prefer interacting with feathers when they are in a positive emotional state but with mothers when they are distressed and need comfort. It was also found that when the father becomes the sole caregiver, he quickly become more sensitive to the needs and emotional states of their children.

Answer 5

This indicates that the gender of a caregiver is not crucial in predicting attachment quality. rather it is the extent of caregiver involvement.

Answer 6

(+)Practical applications (-)Not objective (+)Longitudinal research (-)Socially sensitive research

Answer 7

Led to PA, such as male partner involvement in antenatal classes, and the birthing process. By valuing fathers more, men feel more able to be sensitive to the needs of their children. This leads to better attachments which in turn leads to better social and emotional development of children. Strength because it improves the quality of life for people as adults and reduces problems for people in later life which also reduces costs in the health and legal systems.

Answer 8

Social biases may prevent objective research into this area. Preconceptions about how fathers behave are created by common discussion. These stereotypes (e.g. that they are more playful, stricter) may cause unintentional observer bias. Limitation of research into the ROTF because the conclusions drawn may be due to bias and therefore lack internal validity. Therefore, the research doesn't demonstrate a valid representation of the ROTF.

Answer 9

Strength of Grossmans research into the ROTF is that it was carried out longitudinally. The same families were followed up at three points over a ten year period (as opposed to different children at varying ages at the same time). Strength because the findings of the study will not be affected by confounding variables such as individual differences and therefore have high internal. Therefore, Grossmans study is strong evidence to support that the ROTF is different to that of the mother and strengthens the validity of the claim that the ROTF is more involved in play and stimulation.

Answer 10

Limitation of Grossmans study into the ROTF is that it could be seen to be socially sensitive in nature. The suggestion that a mothers role is more related to nurturing and a fathers role is more related to play could be distressing for some people as not everyone is raised with both a mother and a father and could therefore feel that their upbringing was inadequate based on these findings. Limitation because family structures vary greatly in the modern day, and parents and children alike should be assured that they can develop perfectly and healthily no matter what their circumstances, and the key to the attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent.

Answer 11

A better understanding of the ROTF that is not influenced by gender stereotypes allows for economic benefits to society. For example, mothers have increasingly returned to work after their maternity leave, with the child being provided with an alternative form of childcare. There is a growing awareness of the ROTF during paternity leave, with the 2015 changes to allowing shared parental leave. This means that more mothers remain economically active, placing less of a strain on social services and giving them economic freedom. Gender pay gaps my also be reduced if parental roles are regarded as equal.

Answer 12

alpha biased as it exaggerates the differences between the genders regarding attachment, and some of the research claims these differences to be fixed e.g., oestrogen as the biological reason behind female nurturing.

Answer 13

An innate readiness to develop a strong bond with the mother which takes place during a specific time in development, probably the first few hours after birth/hatching. If it doesn't happen within this time, it probably will not happen. It occurs even without feeding.

Answer 14

Carried out a field experiment where he took a large clutch of goose eggs that were divided randomly. Condition 1: half were hatched with the mother present, in their natural environment Condition 2: other half were hatched in an incubator with Lorenz present. the behaviour of all the hatched eggs was recorded. When the geese hatched Lorenz imitated a mother ducks quaking sounds. to ensure that imprinting had occurred Lorenz put all the goslings together under an upturned box and allowed them to mix. When the box was removed, the two groups separated to go to their respective 'mothers' - half to the goose and half to Lorenz. This suggested which 'mother' they had imprinted on. The geese followed the first moving object they saw, during a 12-17 hour critical period after hatching

Answer 15

Baby rhesus monkeys monkeys were removed from their real mother very soon after birth. 16 babies were used, four in each condition. 1) A cage containing a wire mother producing milk and a cloth mother producing no milk 2) wire mother no milk and cloth mother producing milk 3) a wire mother producing milk 4) a cloth mother producing milk. they were studied for 165 days, with all behaviour measured and recorded, including the time spent with each mother. there were also fear conditions, where monkeys were presented with scary mechanical animals to observe whether they would use their respective mothers as a safe base. All mothers spent more time with the cloth mother even if she had no milk. They would only go to the wire mother when hungry, then once fed would return to the cloth mother for the rest of the day. If a frightening object was placed in the cage the infant would use the cloth mother as its 'safe base', this mother was more effective in reducing their fear as the infant would explore more when the cloth mother was present.

Answer 16

These findings suggest that infants do not develop an attachment to the person that feeds them, but to the person offering contact comfort.

Answer 17

(+)High control: Harlow (+)practical applications: Harlow (-)Difficulty of extrapolating to humans (-)Contradicted by learning theory

Answer 18

Strength of H's exp is that it can establish cause and effect. As harlow had very high control over extraneous variables, he can be confident that it was the IV (wire/cloth 'mother) causing the DV (the amount of time the monkey spent with the 'mother'). Strength because the results are unlikely to be affected by CV's and we can therefore be confident that the findings that contact comfort is important when forming an attachment are valid. However, it should be noted that the two wire monkeys were not only different in terms of what they were made of (cloth or wire) but also their heads were also very different. This introduces a confounding variable - which means that, in fact, the internal validity of Harlow's study may not be as high as it first appears.

Answer 19

A strength of Harlow's longitudinal study is that his findings have helped social workers better understand the importance of early attachment to later development. Awareness of the possible long-term risk factors resulting from infant neglect, (including for the monkeys, that the effects of deprivation were permanent; they grow up less sociable, more aggressive and unskilled at mating) means that social workers are better placed to make suitable interventions in cases of human infant neglect as they know the long-term detrimental impact of it. Strength because, human infants have been benefitted from the research and are less likely to develop abnormally since the consistent presence of an early attachment figure has become widely accepted and acted upon by social services when there are problems.

Answer 20

Limitation of the studies is that they uses animals to investigate attachment behaviours. Lorenz's study investigated imprinting in geese and Harlow's study investigated contact comfort n rhesus monkeys. Limitation because we might not be able to generalise the results to humans as they might not behave the same as geese or monkeys, due to differences in the complexity of intelligence and communication in humans. As such, these studies therefore cannot help us to understand if humans need contact comfort in the same way as monkeys or if imprinting is instinctive to humans

Answer 21

Limitation of both studies is that their findings are contradicted by learning theory. Lorenz found that goslings made attachments through the process of imprinting and Harlow found that contact comfort is important for attachment. Learning theory contradicts these findings, claiming instead that attachment is formed through classical conditioning on the basis of food and not as a consequence of contact comfort or imprinting. Limitation because the conclusions drawn by Harlow and Lorenz may not apply to humans.

Answer 22

-Learned rather than innate, we are born as 'blank slates' and all behaviour can be explained in terms of experience -Attachment is learned through either operant or classical conditioning

Answer 23

-Learning through association -food in a UCS, being fed satisfies the babies hunger UCR -Caregiver begins as a NS, after many pairings of the mother and being fed, these two stimuli become associated. The baby has learnt to expect food from the caregiver who has become a CS -The baby will now feel positive emotions in the presence of the caregiver (CS) even when they aren't providing food. These positive emotions are the CR. -Consequently, the infant becomes attached to the caregiver because they are the UCS which produces the CR, this CR is the basis of the attachment

Answer 24

-Learning through consequences -Babies feel hunger which is unpleasant which motivates babies to eat (drive reduction). -babies cry to attract the attention of their caregiver and to encourage them to provide food. Crying is know as a social releaser. -Being fed produces pleasure, crying has therefore been positively reinforced as it leads to the provision of food. -consequently, the behaviour that led to being fed (crying) will be repeated to ensure that food will continue to be provided. Food therefore becomes the primary reinforcer. -The person who supplies the food - the caregiver - is associated with pleasure and so becomes a secondary reinforcer and is seen by the baby as a source of reward. -in addition, since hearing crying is unpleasant for the caregiver, they are also motivated to behave in a way designed to cause it to stop. -the removal of an unpleasant stimulus results in negative reinforcement. As a result, the caregiver is motivated to continue with the feeding process -therefore, the feeding process continues because of both positive and negative reinforcement. -Attachment occurs because the child learns to seek the person who rewards it.

Answer 25

(+)Explanatory power (-)contradiction of OC (-)Reductionist (-)Contradicted by Bowlby's theory

Answer 26

Strength of ... is that it does have explanatory power as it is evident that infants do learn through association and reinforcement. However, food may not be the only reinforcer. It may be that attention and responsiveness from a caregiver are also important rewards that assist in the formation of attachment. Such reinforcers are overlooked by the learning theory of attachment. As such, the theory that attachment is (at least to some extent) learned would seem to have at least some validity - although such learning may well be more complicated than resulting simply from the provision of food.

Answer 27

Some predictions of the theory are incorrect. Many instances of child abuse contradict OC. The learning theory of attachment would predict that neglect or punishment would decrease attachment behaviour. However, observations show that children continue to show strong attachment behaviours to cruel parents who punish rather than reward them. Limitation of the LT as it suggests that OC does not play an integral role in attachment formation and is therefore not a valid explanation of attachment.

Answer 28

Its focus on basic processes (stimulus-response links, reinforcement) would seem to be too simplistic to explain complex attachment behaviours. Limitation of LT because the formation of attachment cannot be explained by reducing it to a single factor -i.e. the provision of food.

Answer 29

It ignores the nature side of the nature-nurture debate. Bowlby's theory claims attachment has evolved as a behaviour that makes survival more likely and therefore is innate (nature). This contradicts LT which claims that attachment is learnt through reinforcement/association (nurture). Limitation of the LT of attachment as the existence of a plausible alternative explanation casts doubt upon its validity.

Answer 30

-Theory claims that attachment is an innate process that gives a survival advantage -Described certain 'social releasers' such as smiling, or the grip reflex around a finger, which encourage adults to attach to, feel love towards and care for their child as part of a reciprocal process. From an evolutionary perspective, these behaviours are advantageous to babies' chances of survival since they draw and retain the necessary adult attention and care. -He also claimed that there was a 'critical period' in which attachments must form, which is any time between 6 months and 2.5 years of age. This is a biologically determined period and, if attachment doesn't develop during the CP, then it may not develop at all -Monotropic theory places great emphasis on a child's attachment to one caregiver being different to, and more important than others. Bowlby called this figure the 'mother'. -Claimed that during early childhood the infant forms a mental representation of their relationship with their primary AF. This is called the 'internal working model' as it provides a model upon which the child will base all future relationships. As such, the IWM has a significant influence on an individuals expectations in relation to all future relationships. This means that the treatment of a child by their primary AF may well lead them to expect and accept similar treatment in other relationships later in life - 'the continuity hypothesis'.

Answer 31

Early attachment provides a blueprint for later attachments/relationships. A schema (a cognitive framework compromising mental representations for understanding the world, self, and others) is formed by the first attachment relationship which affects later relationships and a person's own success as a parent. There are three main features of the IWM: a model of others as being trustworthy, a model of the self as valuable, and a model of the self as effective when interacting with others. -the 'self-model' will determine how the individual sees themselves which will in turn impact their self confidence, self-esteem, and the extent to which they depend on others -The 'other-model' will determine how an individual perceives social interactions with other people and what they expect from them.

Answer 32

(-)Idea of monotropy not supported by all research (-)Ignores the significance of temperament (-)Contradicted by learning theory (-)Socially sensitive

Answer 33

There is evidence to suggest that a monotropic relationship is not as common as Bowlby suggests. Schaffer and Emerson found that whilst most babies did attach to one person first, a significant minority formed multiple multiple attachments at the same time - 27% formed joint first attachments. Limitation of Bowlby's theory because it contradicts the claim that babies naturally form one attachment to a primary caregiver (monotropy) which limits the validity of this explanation of attachment.

Answer 34

Temperament may be an important factor in the development of later social behaviours. Temperament can be regarded as a child's genetically-influenced personality. This means that, innately, some babies are more anxious or sociable than others. Such differences in temperament may influence how relationships are conducted through life - irrespective of early attachment experiences. Weakness of monotropic theory because if temperament does have a significant impact on how people conduct relationships this would suggest that Bowlby has exaggerated the importance of a child's early experiences.

Answer 35

It ignores the nurture side of the nature-nurture debate. Bowlby's theory claims attachment has evolved as a behaviour that would enhance survival and therefore is innate (nature). This contradicts the LT that claims attachment is learnt through reinforcement/association (nurture). Limitation of Bowlby's monotropic theory of attachment as this suggests the theory may not be a complete and valid explanation of attachment.

Answer 36

The law of accumulated separation states that having substantial time apart from a primary attachment figure risks a poor-quality attachment that will disadvantage the child in a range of ways. According to Bowlby, the mother is regarded as the primary AF. Limitation because it may make mother's feel they have to make certain lifestyle choices e.g, not returning to work when the child is born otherwise, they risk a poor attachment with their child. This could mean that they feel they cannot achieve financial independence. However, this was not Bowlby's intention - he saw himself as boosting the status of mothers by emphasisng the importance of their role.

Answer 37

Ainsworth -the sample consisted of 100 middle class American infants. Using a controlled observation, which took place in a room with a two-way mirror, psychologists observed the infants behaviour. The behavioural categories used to judge the type of caregiver-infant attachment included: -Safe base behaviour -Separation anxiety - how they respond when caregiver leaving room -Stranger anxiety - to presence of a stranger -Reunion behaviour - caregiver returning to the room The procedure had 8 stages, each lasting 3 minutes. They involved the infant being alone with the mother, the infant with mother and stranger, the infant alone with stranger, or the infant by themselves.

Answer 38

Type B (securely attached) = 66% Type A (insecure avoidant) = 22% Type C (resistant insecure) = 12%

Answer 39

1)Safe base - will stay fairly close to their caregiver and will use their caregiver as a safe base whilst exploring, returning regularly 2)Stranger anxiety - they will be wary of the stranger and move closer to their caregiver. Moderate stranger anxiety 3)Separation anxiety - they will be subdued when their cg leaves the room, showing some distress. 4)reunion behaviour - they will be easily comforted by their caregiver when distressed

Answer 40

1)Safe base - will move relatively far away from their cg and will be very willing to explore the room independently 2)Stranger anxiety - very low 3)Separation anxiety - unconcerned when cg leaves the room 4)reunion behaviour - avoid contact with the cg on their return, ignoring them and not seeking any comfort

Answer 41

1)Safe base - will stay very close to cg and will not be willing to explore the room and will cling to their cg instead 2)Stranger anxiety - very high/extreme 3)Separation anxiety - Extremely distressed when cg leaves the room 4)Reunion behaviour - will seek physical contact with their cg on their return yet will reject all attempts to be comforted by them.

Answer 42

'caregiver sensitivity hypothesis' Secure (B) - sensitive, emotionally responsive, supportive Insecure avoidant (A) - Rejecting - often does not respond adequately to the child's needs Insecure resistant (C) - Inconsistent - sometimes responds to the child's needs

Answer 43

maintains that a child's attachment style is dependent on the behaviour their mother shows towards them. 'Sensitive' mothers are responsive to the child's needs and responds to their moods and feelings correctly. They are more likely to have securely attached children. In contrast, mothers who are less sensitive towards their child, for example, those who respond to the child's needs incorrectly or who are impatient or ignore the child, are likely to have insecurely attached children. Securely attached infants are associated with sensitive and responsive primary care. Insecure-avoidant infants are associated with unresponsive primary care. The child comes to believe that communication of needs has no influence on the mother/father. Insecure resistant attached infants are associated with inconsistent primary care. Sometimes the child's needs are met, and sometimes they are ignored by the mother/father.

Answer 44

(+)High reliability (-)Strange situation does not measure attachment types (-)Ecological validity (-)Research suggests that there is a fourth category of attachment: Type D

Answer 45

A strength of the strange situation as a method of measuring attachment is a reliable research technique. Bick et al found it is a reliable research technique with up to 94% inter-rater reliability; virtually all observers were observing the same way. Strength because we can be confident that the attachment type of an infant identified in the strange situation does not depend on who is observing the child, and therefore the findings can be deemed reliable.

Answer 46

some psychologists suggest that the strange situation does not measure attachment types. Kagan suggested that genetically influenced anxiety levels could account for variations in attachment behaviour in the strange situation and later development. For example, an infant might be 'clingy' as a result of being anxious and not because of an insecure-resistant attachment type. Limitation because it means that the strange situation may not actually be a valid tool for measuring attachment.

Answer 47

The strange situation is carried out under controlled conditions in an unfamiliar environment to the child and not their own home. The findings of the observation may not represent the attachment type displayed when the infant is at home, e.g. a child might appear distressed in the strange situation due to the new environment and not due to separation from their caregiver or stranger anxiety. Limitation of the ss because the findings may not be valid as it might not be a valid method of assessing attachment type.

Answer 48

Later research by Main and Cassidy identified a further category of attachment - Type D. Type D infants tend to show inconsistent, confused, indecisive, disorientated behaviour as well as stereotypical signs of distress such as rocking. This suggests that the original three-type classification system was incomplete. This means that the strange situation may not be a valid measure of attachment type as it cannot identify Type D infants.

Answer 49

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg -The researchers located 32 studies in 8 countries of attachment where the strange situation had been used to investigate the proportions of infants with different attachment types. The sample consisted of 1,990 children. The data from these studies were meta-analysed. -Findings: 1)secure is the most common type in all countries, most is GB (75%) least China (50%). 2)There is considerable variation within countries, suggesting that some aspects of attachment are influenced by culturally specific child-rearing practices 3)Israel (29%) and Japan (27%) showed high levels of insecure resistant 4)West Germany showed higher levels of insecure avoidant (35%) 5)The variation within cultures was 1.5 times greater than the variation between cultures.

Answer 50

(+)Large sample (-)Unrepresentative sample (+)Indigenous researchers (-)Temperament may be a confounding variable

Answer 51

V & K's meta-analysis had a very large sample size and so has high population validity. Their sample consisted of 1,990 babies and their attachment figures. This large sample increases the internal validity of the findings because it reduces the impact of biased methodology or unusual ptps over the meta-analysis

Answer 52

the samples they used may not be representative of the attachment type typical in any given country. As the samples from each county were so small, they could not take account of sub-cultures apparent within them such as social class, ethnicity, culture, religion, or whether people came from an urban or rural location. Within any country there are many different sub-cultures, each of which may have different child-rearing practices. Limitation because the findings of their meta-analysis relating to the attachment type typical in any given country may not apply to all groups within that country. This means that the findings of this meta-analysis may have low external validity.

Answer 53

most of the studies were conducted by indigenous psychologists. For example, they included research from a German team and Takahashi who is Japanese. This means that many potential problems in cross-cultural research can be avoided e.g., misunderstandings of the language used by ptps, having difficulty communicating instructions to them or bias because of nation's stereotypes. Strength because there is a high chance that researchers and ptps communicated successfully, which increases the validity of the data collected about cultural variations in attachment.

Answer 54

they used studies that had used the strange situation as a method of measuring attachment, the findings may be affected by a confounding variable. Kagan has argued that temperament of the child is a more important influence on a child's behaviour in the strange situation. Limitation because it suggests that at least some of the findings of the research of Van Ijizendoorn and Kroonenberg may be invalid.

Answer 55

-Bowlby argued that the critical period happens before the ages of 2 and a half, but he also believed that there was a continuing risk up until the end of five years of age. Therefore, potential damage can be avoided if suitable emotional care is given by the mother substitute. However, he did believe that once disruption had occurred then this was irreversible, i.e. the effects were permanent. -The long-term effects of maternal deprivation on development: 1)Low IQ: MD during the critical period could cause learning difficulties characterised by abnormally low IQ 2)Emotional problems: MD during CP could cause mood disorders such as depression 3)Juvenile delinquency: cause criminal behaviour in youth such as theft 3)Affectionless psychopathology: characterised by the inability to experience guilt for their actions or feel empathy for others

Answer 56

Interviewed 'juvenile delinquents'. The children in sample ranged in age from 5 to 16. One group consisted of 44 children who had been referred to the clinic because they were caught stealing. Within this group of thieves, Bowlby identified a sub-group who he described as affectionless psychopaths. he also used a control group of 44 children who were not thieves but had been referred to the clinic for emotional problems. Bowlby interviewed the children and their parents, collecting info about their early life, especially any extended separations during the critical period. 86% of the affectionless psychopaths had experienced extended separations from their mother during the critical period as compared with only 17% of the other thieved and 4% of the control ptps. Furthermore, almost none of the control ptps had experienced early separations whereas 39% of all thieves had experienced early separations these findings suggest there is a link between early separations (MD) and affectionless psychopathy. Lack of continuous care may well cause emotional maladjustment or even mental disorder.

Answer 57

(-)Researcher bias (+)led to successful practical applications (-)Conclusions are correlational (-)Contradictory research

Answer 58

Poor quality of evidence it is based on. In his 44 thieves study, Bowlby conducted both the family interviews and the assessments for affectionless psychopath. This left him open to researcher bias because he knew in advance which teenagers he expected to show signs of psychopathy. Weakness because his findings may have been unconsciously influenced by his own expectations, meaning that his conclusions about MD may lack internal validity. In addition, Bowlby's original sources of evidence for MD may also lack validity. Therefore, Bowlby's research is weak evidence to support the MD as a valid theory.

Answer 59

The MDH led to dramatic changes in the care of children in hospitals with, for instance, parents being encouraged (rather than discouraged) to visit their children and staying with them. Strength because the theory has made a positive contribution to the real word and the development of thousands of children. This has also been of economic benefit because it also reduces costs of social services for children and adults.

Answer 60

The research cannot establish that it was the frequent separation from caregivers that caused affectionless psychopathy. There could be a third variable which influenced the children to engage in criminal behaviour e.g., their peers. Limitation of the study because the findings that maternal deprivation leads to problems later may not have internal validity. therefore, Bowlby's research is weak evidence to support the MDH as a valid theory

Answer 61

not all research suggests that maternal deprivation leads to later social, emotional, and behavioural problems. Bowlby's own study of children who stayed for long periods of time in a TB Hospital (the 'sanatorium' study) found no negative effects of the separation. Lewis (1954) replicated the 44 thieves study with a much larger sample and found little link between maternal separation and criminality or forming relationships. Limitation of the MDH because it shows that the results of the 44 juvenile thieves study do not, in fact, provide valid and reliable evidence for the view that maternal deprivation during childhood has lasting negative effects.

Answer 62

-Rutter -165 Romanian orphans adopted in Britain were longitudinally assessed for physical, cognitive, and emotional development at ages 4, 6, 11 and 15 years of age. -52 British children adopted around the same time served as a control group -Half of the orphans had an intellectual delay when they came to the UK. At age 11 recovery rats were related to their age of adoption: -Those adopted before six months had a mean IQ of 102 -Those adopted between six months and two years had a mean IQ of 86 -Those adopted after two years had a mean IQ of 77 -The frequency of disinhibited attachment related to the age of adoption -Apparent in children adopted after they were six months old: clinginess, attention-seeking and indiscriminate affection to strangers -rare n children adopted before the age of six months

Answer 63

-Zeanah et al -researchers used the strange situation to assess the attachment in 95 children aged 12-31 months who has spent most of their lives in institutional care. They were compared to a control group of 50 children who had never experienced institutional care -74% of the control were securely attached, with only 19% of institutional group -65% of institutional group were classified with 'diagnosed attachment' (type cannot be identified as they showed signs of all types interchangeably) -44% of the institutional group were classified with 'disinhibited attachment' as compared with only 20% of controls

Answer 64

(+)Practical applications - Rutter and Zeanah (+)Reliability of findings - Rutter and Zeanah (-)Long-term effects unclear (-)Socially sensitive research

Answer 65

These studies have led to significant improvements in how children are looked after in institutions. Nowadays, only one or two 'key workers' are assigned to look after each child. Additionally, the adoption process has been shortened from an average of years to months, and long-term as opposed to short-term fostering placements are much more frequently achieved than in the past. Strength because the studies have made a positive contribution to the real world and by improving the well-being of thousands of children as they have more stable, long-term substitute attachment bonds.

Answer 66

Morison and Elwood found exactly the same results with a group of Romanian orphans adopted by Canadian parents. Strength because it shows that both Rutter and Zeanah's conclusions regarding the effects of institutionalisation have external reliability. Therefore, this adds weight to the theory that institutionalisation can have long-term effects but that these effects can be reduced by early adoption.

Answer 67

it is too soon to say for certain whether children suffered long or short-term effects because the adopted orphans have only been followed into their mid-teens. The children who currently lag in intellectual development or display attachment difficulties may 'catch up' as adults. Equally, those children who were adopted earlier and currently appear to have no issues may experience problems as adults. Limitation of the research into the effects of institutionalisation because it may be that conclusions drawn may not be valid.

Answer 68

Rutter's study claims that children who have been institutionalised and adopted after 6 months of age are less intelligent than children who have been adopted before that age. Zeanah's conclusion claims that children who are raised in institutions are more likely to have insecure attachments to their carers. Limitation of the research because the findings could be upsetting especially for the children who were adopted later and their carers.

Answer 69

-Sroufe et al (2005) -To investigate whether attachment type in infancy is associated with the quality of friendship in later childhood. -Followed ptps from infancy to late adolescence. 200 mothers who were viewed as being at moderate risk for parenting difficulties due to the challenges associated with poverty. Assessments of the early caregiver relationship were made at both 12 and 18 months using the strange situation procedure. Ptps' behaviours including their peer relationship continued to be studied into late adolescence. -Securely attached children were rated most highly for social competence later in childhood, were less isolated and more popular than insecurely attached children. -This supports the claim that early attachment influences later childhood emotional/social behaviour

Answer 70

-Hazan and Shaver -To investigate whether attachment type at infancy is associated with romantic relationships much later in life -620 replies to a 'love quiz' printed in an American newspaper were analysed. The quiz assessed three different aspects of relationships: 1) Respondents' current and most important relationship 2) Respondents' general love experiences such as the number of partners 3) Respondents' attachment type by asking the respondents to choose which of the three statements best described their feelings (towards their primary attachment figure in infancy) -56% were identified as securely attached and were the most likely to have positive and longer lasting romantic experiences. -25% were identified as insecure avoidant and tended to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy -suggest tat attachment type was reflected in their romantic relationships in adulthood. Supports the claim that early attachment does influence adult relationships

Answer 71

(+)Longitudinal research - Minnesota study (-)Retrospective data - Hazan and Shaver (+)Findings supported by other research - H&Z (-)Correlational research - Both

Answer 72

The same ptps were studied (as opposed to studying different children of varying ages at the same time) from infancy regarding their attachment behaviours, to adolescence regarding their peer relationships. Strength because the study design does not have the problem of individual differences between the ptps acting as confounding variables and therefore the findings have high internal validity. Therefore, the research is strong evidence to support the theory that early attachment does influence childhood relationships.

Answer 73

which may be susceptible to memory bias. H&Z asked ptps to recall info regarding their feelings towards their primary attachment figure from many years earlier. Thy may not have recalled this info accurately. Limitation because, if the info recalled was not accurate, this would confound the results. As a result, the findings and conclusions of their study would lack internal validity.

Answer 74

McCarthy found support for the theory that secure attachment in childhood leads to good romantic relationships and friendships in adulthood. Strength because it demonstrates that the theory has some validity - the research demonstrates that early attachment does influence adult relationships.

Answer 75

This means that it cannot demonstrate cause and effect between early attachment and later relationships. there could be other variables (such as temperament) which affects later relationships. Limitation of the research because it means that the support it provides for the theory that early attachment affects childhood and adult relationships is of limited value.

Attachment Flashcards

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