Attachment Flashcards
fathers as primary attachment figures research
field et al - filmed 4 month old babies with either
- primary mother
- primary father
- secondary father
primary mothers and fathers both spend more time smiling, imitating and holding the baby than secondary fathers, showing they can take up a maternal role
regolin et al
chicks exposed to simple moving shape combinations, and when shown other options, they followed the original most closely
types of attachment
ainsworth
secure
insecure avoidant
insecure resistant
bowlby’s critical period
6 months - 2 years
sensitive period
main et al
identified a 4th category - type D
disorganised, and show a range of all categories
often due to abuse and neglect
lewis et al
looked at 500 young people and found no relationship between early separation and later psychopathy
social releasers
bowlby
babies born with a set of innate ‘ cute ‘ mannerisms, which gain adults’ attention
maternal deprivation
emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and their mother
drive reduction
sears et al - food is orimary drive, attachment is secondary
insecure avoidant
type A
explore freely, but do not seek proximity
little or no reaction when caregiver leaves, little stranger anxiety
little effort to contact caregiver upon reunion, may even avoid fully
20-25%
alert phases + research
signal that they are ready for interaction
feldman et al - mothers pick up on these signals 2/3 of the time, and becomes increasingly frequent
finegood et al - although this is dependent on external factors like stress
importance of interactional synchrony
isabella et al observed 30 mother and babies together and measured attachment and int synchrony. found that there was a positive correlation
becker-stoll et al
followed 43 individuals from 1YO until 16 and found no evidence of continuity
harlow’s research into maternal deprivation
monkeys which were reared without a mother grew up to be more aggressive and unsociable, bred less than typical, and were unskilled at mating. as mothers they abused their young, even some killed
romanian orphan studies (background)
in 1990s, romanian women were required to have 5 children, which they could not afford to bring up, so ended up in institutions
many were adopted by british parents
stages of attachment
schaffer and emerson
- asocial - no distinction between objects and people
- indiscriminate attachment - 2-7 months, show clear preference to humans, prefer company from familiar people
- specific attachment - 7 months, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety and form primary attachment figure (mother in 65% of cases)
- multiple attachments - extend attachment to others. 29% formed this within 1 month of previous stage
attachment to father research
schaffer and emerson - 3% of babies the father was first attachment, in 27% father was joint first, 75% was attached to father by 18 months
insecure resistant
type C
seek greater proximity and explore less
high stranger and separation anxiety
resist comfort at reunion
3%
kroonenberg et al
meta analysis of 32 strange situation studies covering around 2000 children across 8 countries
secure in UK = 75%
secure in China = 50%
ins-res in individualistic = under 15%
ins-res in collectivist = above 25%
findings varied more within a country (150%) than with others
affectionless psychopathy
inability to feel guilt or remorse towards others
ainsworth’s research
strange situation (controlled observation)
used stranger / separation anxiety, response to reunion, proximity seeking and secure base behaviour to measure in 7 parts (each 3 mins each)
- baby enters with mother and encouraged to explore
- stranger comes in talks to mother and approaches baby
- baby and stranger alone
- caregiver returns and stranger leaves
- baby left alone
- stranger returns
- caregiver returns
monotropy
bowlby’s theory is monotropic, as it places emphasis on only one attachment to a particular caregiver, and believed the more time spent with this caregiver, the better
- law of continuity - the more constant and predictable a child’s care, the better the quality of their attachment
- the law of accumulated separation - effects of every separation from mother add up = best dose is a zero dose
rutter
deprivation vs privation
deprivation - solely the loss of primary attachment figure after attachment occured
privation - no attachment in the first place
attachment
a close, two way emotional bond between two individuals, in which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security
