Attachment

Question 1

what is meant by an attachment?

Answer 1

-a close two-way emotional bond between two individuals in which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security

Question 2

how can an attachment be recognised?

Answer 2

-through the display of behaviours such as proximity to an attachment figure, separation distress / anxiety when an attachment figure leaves, and secure-base behaviour ( i.e. regularly returning to an attachment figure )

Question 3

what are the two main caregiver-infant interactions in humans?

Answer 3

-reciprocity = both caregiver and baby respond to each other’s signals and each elicits a response from the other, e.g. a caregiver responds to a baby’s smile by saying something which in turn elicits a response from his baby ( i.e. turn-taking )
-interactional synchrony = caregiver and baby mirror each others’ behaviour so their signals occur together, e.g. they both move their head or smile at the same time

Question 4

what does reciprocity involve?

Answer 4

-babies have periodic alert phases in which they signal ( e.g. by making eye contact ) that they are ready to interact, which shows that babies are active participants ( not passive ) as they don’t just respond to interaction, they also initiate it
-mothers typically pick up on and respond to their baby’s alertness around 2/3 of the time ( Feldman and Eidelman 2007 ), although this varies according to the skill of the mother and external factors such as stress ( Finegood et al. 2016 )
-from around 3 months, this interaction becomes more frequent and involves paying close attention to verbal signals and facial expressions ( Feldman 2007 )
-Brazelton et al. ( 1975 ) described reciprocity as a dance since each person responds to the other’s moves

Question 5

what does interactional synchrony involve?

Answer 5

-Meltzoff and Moore ( 1977 ) observed the beginnings of IS in babies as young as 2 weeks old
-an adult displayed one of three facial expressions or distinct gestures and the baby’s response was filmed
-they found that babies’ expression and gestures were more likely to mirror those of the adults than chance would predict ( i.e. a significant association )
-Isabella et al. ( 1989 ) observed 30 mothers and babies together and assessed the degree of synchrony and the quality of mother-baby attachment
-they found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-baby attachment ( e.g. the emotional intensity of the relationship )

Question 6

evaluate reciprocity and IS as caregiver-infant interactions in humans

Answer 6

-one strength is the use of filmed observations in research
-one limitation is that it is hard to interpret a baby’s behaviour
-another limitation is that simply observing a behaviour doesn’t tell us its developmental importance
-another limitation is that the social sensitivity of the research may outweigh the practical value

Question 7

why is it a strength that C-I interactions are usually filmed in a laboratory?

Answer 7

-E = observations can be recorded and analysed later by multiple observers, so it is unlikely that researchers will miss seeing key behaviours and the inter-rater reliability of observations can be established
-also, babies don’t know they are being observed, so their behaviour doesn’t change in response to observation ( no DCs )
-E = this means that the studies have good reliability and internal validity

Question 8

why is it a limitation that it is hard to interpret a baby’s behaviour?

Answer 8

-E = young babies lack co-ordination and are fairly immobile, so the movements being observed are just small hand movements or subtle changes in expression
-it is also difficult to determine what is taking place from the baby’s perspective, e.g. we cannot know if a hand movement is a response to the caregiver or a random twitch
-E = this means that we cannot be certain that any particular interactions observed between baby and caregiver are meaningful

Question 9

why is it a limitation that simply observing a behaviour doesn’t tell us its developmental importance?

Answer 9

-E = Feldman ( 2012 ) points out that ideas like synchrony and reciprocity simply give names to patterns of observable caregiver and baby behaviours, which may not be useful in understanding child development as it doesn’t tell us their purpose
-E = this means that we cannot be certain from observational research alone that reciprocity and synchrony are important for a child’s development
-counterpoint = Isabella et al. ( 1989 ) found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-baby attachment, suggesting that these early interactions are likely to have importance in development

Question 10

why is it a limitation that the social sensitivity of the research may outweigh the practical value?

Answer 10

-E = research into early interactions has allowed psychologists to improve the quality of C-I attachment, e.g. by Parent-Child Interaction Therapy ( Crotwell et al. 2013 ), but this research is socially sensitive because it can be used to argue that a mother returning to work soon after having a baby may risk damaging their baby’s development
-E = this means that the practical value may be outweighed by its negative social consequences

Question 11

what research is there on the stages of attachment?

Answer 11

-Schaffer and Emerson ( 1964 ) = 60 babies from Glasgow, most from working-class families, and their mothers were visited at home every month for a year and again at 18 months
-separation anxiety was measured by asking mothers about their children’s behaviour during seven everyday separations ( e.g. adult leaving the room ) and stranger anxiety was measured by asking mothers questions about their children’s anxiety response to unfamiliar adults
-findings = babies developed attachments through a sequence of four stages and the specific attachment tended to be to the person who was most interactive and sensitive to babies’ signals and facial expressions ( i.e. reciprocity ), not necessarily the person the baby spent the most time with

Question 12

what is stage 1 of attachment?

Answer 12

-asocial stage ( first few weeks ) = baby’s observable behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects is quite similar, but they are happier in the presence of other people
-some preference for the company and comfort of familiar people
-baby is forming bonds with certain people which form the basis of later attachments

Question 13

what is stage 2 of attachment?

Answer 13

-indiscriminate attachment ( 2-7 months ) = babies now display more observable social behaviour, with a preference for people rather than inanimate objects
-they recognise and prefer familiar people, but usually accept cuddles and comfort from any person
-no stranger or separation anxiety

Question 14

what is stage 3 of attachment?

Answer 14

-specific attachment ( from around 7 months ) = babies start to display the signs of attachment towards one particular person, including anxiety directed towards strangers and anxiety when separated from their attachment figure
-baby is said to have formed a specific attachment with the primary attachment figure, which is the person who offers the most interaction and responds to the baby’s signals with the most skill ( the mother in 65% of cases )

Question 15

what is stage 4 of attachment?

Answer 15

-multiple attachments ( by 1 year ) = babies start to show attachment behaviour ( e.g. stranger and separation anxiety ) towards other people who they regularly spend time with
-29% of babies had secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary attachment and by the age of one year the majority of infants had developed multiple secondary attachments

Question 16

evaluate Schaffer’s stages of attachment

Answer 16

-one strength is that Schaffer and Emerson’s study has ecological validity
-another strength is real-world application to day care
-one limitation is poor evidence for the asocial stage
-another limitation is that Schaffer and Emerson’s findings have low population validity

Question 17

why is it a strength that Schaffer and Emerson’s study has ecological validity?

Answer 17

-E = most of the observations ( not stranger anxiety ) were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to the researchers, so the babies weren’t distracted or more anxious as no observers were present in the babies’ homes
-E = this means that it is highly likely that the participants behaved naturally while being observed, increasing both internal and external validity
-counterpoint = mothers may have been biased in what they reported, e.g. they might not have noticed when their baby was showing signs of anxiety or may have misremembered it, meaning that the babies’ natural behaviour may not have been accurately recorded, reducing the validity of the findings

Question 18

why is it a strength that Schaffer and Emerson’s stages have practical application in day care?

Answer 18

-E = in the early stages ( asocial and indiscriminate attachment ), babies can be comforted by any skilled adult which makes day care straightforward, but if a child starts day care during the stage of specific attachments, care from an unfamiliar adult may be problematic and cause distress
-E = this means that Schaffer and Emerson’s stages can help parents to plan their use of day care

Question 19

why is it a limitation that the evidence for the asocial stage is flawed?

Answer 19

-E = young babies lack co-ordination and are fairly immobile due to their stage of physical development, which makes it difficult for mothers to accurately report signs of anxiety and attachment for this age group
-E = this means that babies may actually be quite social but, because of flawed methods, they appear to be asocial

Question 20

why is it a limitation that Schaffer and Emerson’s findings have low population validity?

Answer 20

-E = Schaffer and Emerson based their stages on a single but large-scale study of babies’ development conducted in working-class Glasgow, but child-rearing practices vary considerably according to cultural and historical context, e.g. multiple attachments are more the norm in collectivist cultures ( Van Ijzendoorn, 1993 )
-E = this means that some of the observations from this study may not generalise to other populations

Question 21

what is the difference between a primary caregiver and a primary attachment figure?

Answer 21

-primary caregiver ( PC ) = the person who spends the most time with a baby, caring for its needs
-primary attachment figure ( PAF ) = the person to whom the baby has the strongest attachment
-often the same person fulfils the two roles but not always

Question 22

what is meant by a father in attachment research?

Answer 22

-anyone who takes on the role of the main male caregiver, which can be but is not necessarily the biological father

Question 23

what did Schaffer and Emerson ( 1964 ) find about the role of the father?

Answer 23

-the majority of babies first became attached to their mother at around 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 first object of attachment with the mother
-however, most fathers do go on to become important attachment figures since 75% of babies formed a secondary attachment to their father by 18 months old ( indicated by the fact that the babies protested when their father walked away, i.e. separation anxiety )
-this suggests that the father is important but is unlikely to be the first person to whom the child develops an attachment

Question 24

what did Grossmann et al. ( 2002 ) find about a distinctive role for the father?

Answer 24

-they carried out a longitudinal study looking at parents’ behaviour and its relationship to the quality of childrens’ attachments into their teens and found that quality of attachment with the father was less important for adolescent attachments than the quality of attachment with the mother, which suggests that fathers may be less important in long-term emotional development
-the quality of fathers’ play with babies was related to the quality of adolescent attachments, which suggests that fathers have a different role in attachment, one that is more to do with play and stimulation and less to do with emotional care as infants turn to mothers to seek comfort and nurture ( PC ) whereas fathers provide challenging but safe situations for their children to learn to be brave ( SC )

Question 25

what did Field ( 1978 ) find about fathers as primary caregivers?

Answer 25

-she filmed 4-month-old babies and found that PC fathers, like mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding babies than SC fathers, which are all related to IS and part of the process of primary attachment formation -this suggests that fathers have the potential to be the more emotion-focused PAF and can take on the more nurturing roles that are typically associated with mothers when given the role of PC -therefore, the key to the attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent

Question 26

evaluate the role of the father

Answer 26

-one strength is that research findings can be used to offer advice to parents -one limitation is the lack of clarity over research questions -another limitation is conflicting evidence from different methodologies -another limitation is bias in this research

Question 27

why is it a strength that research findings can be used to offer advice to parents?

Answer 27

-E = heterosexual parents can be informed that fathers are quite capable of being primary attachment figures ( Field, 1978 ) so that either parent can stay at home or focus on work, and lesbian-parent and single-mother families can be informed that not having a father around doesn't affect a child's development -E = this means that parental anxiety about the role of fathers can be reduced and parenting decisions made easier

Question 28

why is it a limitation that there is a lack of clarity over research questions?

Answer 28

-E = some psychologists want to understand the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures, but others are more concerned with fathers as a PAF -the former have tended to see fathers as behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role, whereas the latter have found that fathers can take on a 'maternal' role -E = this makes it difficult to offer a simple answer as to the role of the father

Question 29

why is it a limitation that there is conflicting evidence from different methodologies?

Answer 29

-E = Grossmann et al. ( 2002 ) suggest that fathers as SAFs have a distinct role in their children's development, involving play and stimulation, but McCallum and Golombok ( 2004 ) suggest that fathers don't have a distinctive role since they found that children without a father don't develop differently -E = this means that the question as to whether fathers have a distinctive role remains unanswered -counterpoint = findings may be clear after all as it could be that fathers typically take on particular roles in two-parent heterosexual families, but other family structures adapt to not having fathers, meaning that there may only be a distinctive role for fathers when present

Question 30

why is it a limitation that there is bias in research into the role of the father?

Answer 30

-E = preconceptions about how fathers do or should behave can be created by discussions about mothers' and fathers' parenting behaviour, so stereotypes ( e.g. that fathers are more playful ) may cause unintentional observer bias whereby observers 'see' what they expect to see rather than recording objective reality -E = this means that observational studies of fathers may lack validity and conclusions cannot be trusted -counterpoint = psychologist-observers are highly trained and use techniques like dual observations to avoid bias and establish the inter-observer reliability of observations

Question 31

what was Lorenz's procedure?

Answer 31

-he randomly dividied a large clutch of goose eggs -half the eggs were hatched with the mother goose in their natural environment -the other half hatched in an incubator where the first moving object they saw was Lorenz -he mixed all goslings together to see whom they would follow -he also observed birds and their later courtship behaviour

Question 32

what were Lorenz's findings and conclusions?

Answer 32

-even when the two groups were mixed up, the incubator group followed Lorenz everywhere whereas the control group followed their mother -he identified a critical period in which imprinting needs to take place, which can be as brief as a few hours after hatching ( or birth ) depending on the species -if imprinting didn't occur within that time, chicks didn't attach themselves to a mother figure -sexual imprinting also occurs whereby the birds acquire a template of the desirable characteristics required in a mate, e.g. birds that imprinted on a human would often later display courtship behaviour towards humans and a peacock that imprinted on a giant tortoise would only direct courtship behaviour towards giant tortoises as an adult

Question 33

evaluate Lorenz's ( 1952 ) research on imprinting

Answer 33

-one strength is research support for the concept of imprinting -another strength is that imprinting can explain some human behaviour -one limitation is that his findings and conclusions cannot be generalised from birds to humans

Question 34

why is it a strength that there is research support for the concept of imprinting?

Answer 34

-E = Regolin and Vallortigara ( 1995 ) exposed chicks to simple shape combinations that moved ( e.g. a triangle with a rectangle in front ) and found that they followed these in preference to other shapes -E = this supports the view that young animals are born with an innate mechanism to imprint on a moving object present in the critical window of development

Question 35

why is it a strength that imprinting can explain some human behaviour?

Answer 35

-E = Seebach ( 2005 ) suggested that computer users exhibit 'baby duck syndrome', which is the attachment formed to their first computer operating system, leading them to reject others -E = this means that imprinting is a meaningful process in humans as well as birds

Question 36

why is it a limitation that Lorenz's findings and conclusions cannot be generalised from birds to humans?

Answer 36

-E = the mammalian attachment system is quite different and more complex than imprinting in birds, e.g. attachment in mammals is a two-way process so mammalian mothers show more emotional attachment to their young -E = this means that it may not be appropriate to generalise Lorenz's ideas about imprinting to humans, decreasing the population validity of findings

Question 37

what was Harlow's procedure?

Answer 37

-he reared 16 rhesus monkeys with two wire model 'mothers' -half had milk dispensed by the plain-wire mother -the other half had milk dispensed by the cloth-covered mother

Question 38

what were Harlow's findings and conclusions?

Answer 38

-the baby monkeys cuddled the cloth-covered mother in preference to the plain-wire mother and sought comfort from the cloth one when frightened regardless of which dispensed milk, which suggests that contact comfort was of more importance than food when it came to attachment behaviour -as adults, the monkeys who had been deprived of their real mothers suffered severe consequences, e.g. they were more aggressive, less sociable and less skilled in mating than other monkeys ( i.e. bred less often ), but when they did become mothers, some neglected or even attacked and killed their young -the monkeys reared with plain-wire mothers only were the most dysfunctional -a mother figure had to be introduced to a young monkey within 90 days for an attachment to form ( i.e. the critical period ) or attachment was impossible

Question 39

evaluate Harlow's ( 1958 ) research on the importance of contact comfort

Answer 39

-one strength is real-world value -one limitation is his findings and conclusions cannot be generalised from monkeys to humans -another limitation is that there are ethical issues

Question 40

why is it a strength that Harlow's research has real-world value?

Answer 40

-E = it has helped social workers and clinical psychologists understand that a lack of bonding experience may be a risk factor in child development, allowing them to intervene to prevent poor outcomes ( Howe, 1998 ) -also, we now understand the importance of attachment figures for baby monkeys in zoos and breeding programmes in the wild -E = this means that Harlow's research has benefitted both animals and humans and is practical as well as theoretical

Question 41

why is it a limitation that Harlow's findings and conclusions cannot be generalised from monkeys to humans?

Answer 41

-E = rhesus monkeys are much more similar to humans than Lorenz's birds, and all mammals share some common attachment behaviour, but the human mind and behaviour is still more complex than that of monkeys -E = this means that it may not be appropriate to generalise Harlow's findings to humans, decreasing the population validity

Question 42

why is it a limitation that there are ethical issues?

Answer 42

-E = Harlow's procedures caused severe long-term distress to his monkey participants due to maternal deprivation, e.g. they were more aggressive adults and bred less often, but when they did become mothers, some neglected or even attacked and killed their young -E = this suggests that, in spite of its useful applications, Harlow's research perhaps shouldn't have been carried out

Question 43

what are the two explanations of attachment?

Answer 43

-learning theory = a set of theories from the behaviourist approach to psychology that emphasise the role of learning in the acquisition of behaviour including through classical and operant conditioning -Bowlby's theory ( 1958, 1969 ) = an evolutionary explanation where attachment is an innate system that gives a survival advantage, so imprinting and attachment evolved through natural selection because they keep young animals safe by ensuring they stay close to adult caregivers

Question 44

what is Dollard and Miller's ( 1950 ) learning theory explanation of attachment sometimes called and why?

Answer 44

-the cupboard love approach because it emphasises the importance of the attachment figure as a provider of food, i.e. they proposed that children learn to love whoever feeds them

Question 45

what is the role of classical conditioning in attachment formation?

Answer 45

-it involves learning to associate two stimuli together -food serves as an UCS which produces an UCR of pleasure -a caregiver ( e.g. mother ) starts as a NS that produces no response / pleasure -however, when the caregiver provides food over time they become associated with food, so the NS becomes a CS -once conditioning has taken place, the sight of the caregiver produces a CR of pleasure -according to a learning theorist, the conditioned pleasure response is love, i.e. an attachment is formed and the caregiver becomes an attachment figure

Question 46

what is the role of operant conditioning in attachment formation?

Answer 46

-it involves learning from the consequences of behaviour, including positive ( if a behaviour leads to rewards, it is likely to be repeated ) and negative reinforcement ( if a behaviour reduces discomfort, it is likely to be repeated ) -this can explain why babies cry for comfort, i.e. an important behaviour in building attachment -PR = crying leads to a response from the caregiver ( e.g. feeding or cuddling ) and as long as the correct response is provided, crying is positively reinforced as it produces a pleasurable consequence -NR = at the same time as the baby is reinforced for crying, the caregiver receives NR because the crying stops, which causes their action of feeding or cuddling to be repeated to avoid the crying

Question 47

what is the role of drive reduction in attachment formation?

Answer 47

-when we feel discomfort, a drive to reduce this discomfort is created, e.g. hunger is a primary drive ( an innate, biological motivator ) which motivates us to eat -Sears et al. ( 1957 ) suggested that, as caregivers provide food, the primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them, therefore attachment is a secondary drive learned by an association between the caregiver and the satisfaction of a primary drive -the food is a primary reinforcer as it directly supplies a reward, and the caregiver who supplied the food becomes a secondary reinforcer, so the infant becomes attached to the caregiver as they are the source of food / reward

Question 48

evaluate learning theory as an explanation of attachment

Answer 48

-one strength is that elements of conditioning could be involved in some aspects of attachment -one limitation is counter-evidence from animal studies -another limitation is the lack of support from studies of human babies

Question 49

why is it a strength that elements of conditioning could be involved in some aspects of attachment?

Answer 49

-E = it seems unlikely that association with food is central to attachment, but conditioning may still play some role in attachment, e.g. a baby's choice of PAF may be determined by the fact that a caregiver becomes associated with warmth and comfort -E = this means that learning theory may still be useful in understanding the development of attachments -counterpoint = this explanation ignores the fact that babies take a very active role in the interactions that produce attachment, e.g. they initiate reciprocity during alert phases ( Feldman, 2007 ), suggesting that social learning theory may provide better explanations of attachment than conditioning

Question 50

why is it a limitation that there is counter-evidence from animal studies?

Answer 50

-E = Lorenz's geese imprinted on the first moving object they saw and Harlow's monkeys attached to a soft surrogate in preference to a wire one with milk, so in both of these studies, imprinting / attachment didn't develop as a result of feeding -E = this shows that factors other than association with food are important in attachment formation

Question 51

why is it a limitation that there is a lack of support from studies of human babies?

Answer 51

-E = Schaffer and Emerson ( 1964 ) showed that for many babies their main attachment wasn't to the person who fed them, and Isabella et al. ( 1989 ) found that high levels of IS ( unrelated to feeding ) predicted attachment quality -E = this suggests that other factors are more important in attachment formation than feeding

Question 52

what is meant by Bowlby's ( 1958, 1969 ) monotropic theory?

Answer 52

-a child's attachment to one particular caregiver is different from all others and of central importance to the child's development -therefore, he believed that the more time a baby spent with this mother-figure ( PAF ), the better

Question 53

what two principles did Bowlby propose to clarify his theory?

Answer 53

-the law of continuity = the more constant a child's care, the better the quality of their attachment -the law of accumulated separation = the effects of every separation from the mother add up, so 'the safest dose is a zero dose' ( Bowlby, 1975 )

Question 54

what are social releasers?

Answer 54

-a set of innate 'cute' behaviours ( e.g. smiling, cooing, gripping ) that encourage attention from adults and activate adult social interaction, i.e. make an adult attach to the baby -therefore, Bowlby recognised that attachment is a reciprocal process

Question 55

what is meant by a critical period?

Answer 55

-the time within which an attachment must form if it is to form at all -Bowlby extended Lorenz and Harlow's idea about critical periods in birds and monkeys to humans, proposing that there is a sensitive period of about 2 years when the infant attachment system is active

Question 56

how is the sensitive period proposed by Bowlby different from a critical period?

Answer 56

-a baby is maximally sensitive at 6 months and this may extend up to 2 years old, but if an attachment to a caregiver hasn't formed in this time, a child will find it much harder to form one later ( but not impossible )

Question 57

what is Bowlby's theory of an internal working model?

Answer 57

-a child forms a mental representation ( i.e. an IWM ) of their relationship with their primary attachment figure, which serves as a template / model for future childhood and adult relationships

Question 58

how does a child's IWM affect their future relationships?

Answer 58

-a child whose first experience is of a loving relationship with a reliable attachment figure will tend to form an expectation that all relationships are as loving and reliable, and they will bring these qualities to future relationships -in contrast, a child whose first relationship involves poor treatment may expect such treatment from others or treat others in that way, displaying avoidant or resistant behaviour -IWMs also affect the child's later ability to be a parent as people tend to base their parenting style on their own experiences of being parented, so mothers tend to have the same attachment classification to their babies as they had to their own mothers ( Bailey et al. 2007 )

Question 59

evaluate Bowlby's monotropic theory as an explanation of attachment

Answer 59

-one strength is evidence supporting the role of social releasers -another strength is support for the IWM -one limitation is that the concept of monotropy lacks validity -another limitation is that there are feminist concerns

Question 60

why is it a strength that there is evidence supporting the role of social releasers?

Answer 60

-E = Brazelton et al. ( 1975 ) instructed primary attachment figures to ignore their babies' social releasers and found that babies ( who were previously shown to be normally responsive ) became increasingly distressed and some eventually curled up and lay motionless -E = this supports the idea that social releasers play an important role in attachment development as they are used to elicit interaction from caregivers

Question 61

why is it a strength that there is support for the IWM?

Answer 61

-E = Bailey et al. ( 2007 ) studied 99 mothers and found that those with poor attachment to their own parents were more likely to have poorly attached 1 year old babies, which the IWM predicts as patterns of attachment are being passed from one generation to the next -E = this supports Bowlby's idea that mothers' ability to form attachments to their babies is influenced by their IWMs ( which in turn comes from their own early attachment experiences ) -counterpoint = there are other important influences on social development, e.g. genetic differences in anxiety and sociability affect social behaviour in both babies and adults ( Kornienko, 2016 ), suggesting that Bowlby may have overstated the importance of the IWM in later parenting style

Question 62

why is it a limitation that the concept of monotropy lacks validity?

Answer 62

-E = Schaffer and Emerson ( 1964 ) found that although most babies did attach to one person at first, a significant minority formed multiple attachments at the same time -also, the relationship with the PAF may simply be stronger than other attachments, rather than different in quality ( as Bowlby believed ) since other attachments to family members provide all the same key qualities ( e.g. comfort and a secure base from which to explore ) -E = this means that Bowlby may have been wrong to suggest that there is a unique quality and importance to a child's primary attachment

Question 63

why is it a limitation that there are feminist concerns?

Answer 63

-E = although Bowlby's theory drew attention to a mother's importance and had real-world applications ( e.g. day care ), the laws of continuity and accumulated separation imply that working mothers may damage their baby's development ( Burman, 1994 ) -E = this means that Bowlby's theory may have contributed to the oppression of women, particularly working mothers

Question 64

what is the Strange Situation?

Answer 64

-a controlled observation procedure in a lab with a two-way mirror or cameras through which psychologists can observe a baby's behaviour -it was designed by Ainsworth and Bell ( 1970 ) to measure the security of a baby's attachment to a caregiver

Question 65

what was Ainsworth and Bell's baseline sample?

Answer 65

-100 middle-class American infants and their mothers

Question 66

what five categories are used in the SS to judge attachment quality?

Answer 66

-proximity-seeking = well-attached babies stay close to a caregiver -exploration and secure-base behaviour = good attachment makes a baby confident to explore, using their caregiver as a point of safety -stranger anxiety = displayed by well-attached babies -separation anxiety = displayed by well-attached babies -response to reunion = well-attached babies greet the caregiver's return with pleasure and seek comfort

Question 67

what does the SS procedure consist of?

Answer 67

-7 episodes, each lasting 3 minutes: 1) baby is encouraged to explore in an unfamiliar playroom by caregiver 2) stranger enters, talks to caregiver and then approaches baby 3) caregiver leaves 4) caregiver returns and stranger leaves 5) caregiver leaves baby alone 6) stranger returns 7) caregiver returns and is reunited with baby

Question 68

what were Ainsworth and Bell's baseline findings?

Answer 68

-there were distinct patterns in the way that babies behaved, so they identified 3 main types of attachment ( i.e. secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant )

Question 69

what are the key features of secure attachment?

Answer 69

-type B = 60-75% of British toddlers -happy to explore but seeks proximity to caregiver ( moderate secure base ) -shows moderate separation and stranger anxiety -requires and accepts comfort from caregiver on reunion

Question 70

what are the key features of insecure-avoidant attachment?

Answer 70

-type A = 20-25% of British toddlers -explores freely but doesn't seek proximity or show secure-base behaviour -shows little / no separation and stranger anxiety -avoids contact at the reunion stage

Question 71

what are the key features of insecure-resistant attachment?

Answer 71

-type C = 3% of British toddlers -explores less and seeks greater proximity -shows considerable separation and stranger anxiety -resists comfort when reunited with caregiver

Question 72

evaluate the Strange Situation

Answer 72

-one strength is that it has good predictive validity -another strength is that it has good inter-rater reliability -one limitation is that it may not be a valid measure of attachment in different cultural contexts

Question 73

why is it a strength that the SS has good predictive validity?

Answer 73

-E = attachment type predicts later development, e.g. secure babies typically have greater success at school ( McCormick et al. 2016 ) whereas insecure-resistant attachment is associated with the worst outcomes, such as bullying ( Kokkinos, 2007 ) and adult mental health problems ( Ward et al. 2006 ) -E = this suggests that the SS measures something real and meaningful in a baby's development -counterpoint = Kagan ( 1982 ) suggested that genetically-influenced anxiety levels could account for variations in attachment behaviour in the SS and later development, meaning that it may not actually measure attachment

Question 74

why is it a strength that the SS has good inter-rater reliability?

Answer 74

-E = Bick et al. ( 2012 ) found 94% agreement on attachment type in a team of trained observers, which may be because the SS takes place under controlled conditions and the behavioural categories ( e.g. proximity-seeking and stranger anxiety ) are easy to observe since they involve large movements -E = this means that we can be confident that attachment type as assessed by the SS doesn't depend on subjective judgements

Question 75

why is it a limitation that the SS may not be a valid measure of attachment in different cultural contexts?

Answer 75

-E = the test might not have the same meaning in countries outside Europe and the US where it was created since cultural differences in children's experiences mean they respond differently to the SS, e.g. Japanese babies show separation anxiety because they aren't used to being left by their caregiver ( Takahashi, 1990 ), leading to misclassification as insecure-resistant -E = this means that it is difficult to know what the SS is measuring in some countries / cultures, limiting its external validity

Question 76

what is meant by cultural variations?

Answer 76

-the differences in norms and values that exist between people in different groups

Question 77

what are the two main types of cultures?

Answer 77

-individualist = value independence with each working toward their own goals, e.g. USA and Europe ( Western Cultures ) -collectivist = value cooperation with each working towards the family or group goals, e.g. Japan and Israel ( Eastern Cultures )

Question 78

what research is there on cultural variations in attachment?

Answer 78

-Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg ( 1988 ) = meta-analysis of 32 sample studies from 8 countries -Takahashi ( 1990 ) = replication of the SS in Japan using a sample of 60 middle-class Japanese infants and mothers

Question 79

what were the aims of Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg's research on attachment?

Answer 79

-to investigate whether attachment types ( secure and insecure ) are universal or culturally specific, and the differences within the same countries to assess cross-cultural and intra-cultural variation

Question 80

what were Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg's findings and conclusions?

Answer 80

-secure attachment was the most common classification in all countries, but ranged from 50% in China to 75% in Britain -avoidant attachment was more common in Germany ( 35% ) but rare in Israel ( 7% ) and Japan ( 5% ), demonstrating that universality is limited -intra-cultural variation was 1.5 times greater than cross-cultural variation, which they linked to differences in socio-economic factors within each country, so it is wrong to think of everyone in a culture as having the same practices since there are many sub-cultures within a culture, all with their own way of rearing children -6/8 countries produced findings that were consistent with Ainsworth and Bell ( 1970 ), which suggests that there may be innate characteristics that underpin C-I interactions

Question 81

what were Takahashi's findings?

Answer 81

-32% insecure-resistant and 68% secure -infants became severely distressed in the infant alone step as it was quite unnatural and broke cultural norms for them, so none were insecure-avoidant -90% of infant alone steps had to be stopped due to excessive anxiety

Question 82

evaluate cultural variations in attachment

Answer 82

-one strength is that most of the studies were conducted by indigenous psychologists -another strength is that Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg's meta-analysis used a large sample size -one limitation is that there are major ethical issues with using the SS in cross-cultural research -another limitation is that the meta-analysis may over-generalise cultural attachment patterns, ignoring subcultural differences within each country

Question 83

why is it a strength that most of the studies were conducted by indigenous psychologists?

Answer 83

-E = indigenous psychologists are those from the same cultural background as the participants, e.g. Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg included research by a German team ( Grossmann et al. 1981 ) and Takahashi ( 1990 ) who is Japanese, which aids communication between researchers and participants, helping to prevent misunderstandings ( e.g. of instructions ) and bias due to one nation's stereotypes of another -E = this means that it is very likely that researchers and participants communicated successfully, enhancing the validity of the findings -counterpoint = this hasn't been true of all cross-cultural attachment research, e.g. Americans Morelli and Tronick ( 1991 ) investigated the Éfe in Congo, meaning that the data from some countries might have been affected by communication errors or bias and hence lacks validity

Question 84

why is it a strength that Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg's meta-analysis used a large sample size?

Answer 84

-E = their study combined data from 32 studies across 8 countries, involving almost 2000 infants, which helps to reduce the impact of anomalous results and allows for a more representative overview of attachment types across cultures -E = this makes the findings more generalisable as they are less likely to be influenced by individual differences or researcher bias from a single study, increasing its reliability and strengthening its scientific credibility

Question 85

why is it a limitation that there are major ethical issues with using the SS in cross-cultural research?

Answer 85

-E = it may cause unnecessary distress to infants, e.g. in Japan, mothers rarely leave their infants alone so when subjected to the SS, they showed extreme distress, leading to 90% of infant alone steps being stopped early -E = this raises concerns about psychological harm as infants may experience high levels of anxiety that aren't ethically justifiable when there are alternative, less distressing methods ( e.g. naturalistic observations ), limiting the SS's practical application in cross-cultural attachment research

Question 86

why is it a limitation that the meta-analysis may over-generalise cultural attachment patterns?

Answer 86

-E = Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg found that intra-cultural variation was 1.5 times greater than cross-cultural variation which suggests that attachment types aren't even uniform within the same country, e.g. parenting styles in urban areas may be more similar to Western practices, whereas traditional child-rearing customs might be more common in rural areas -E = this indicates that classifying attachment by country may be misleading as it doesn't account for the diverse parenting practices within a single nation, reducing the validity of cross-cultural comparisons

Question 87

what is meant by Bowlby's ( 1951 ) theory of maternal deprivation?

Answer 87

-continuous emotional ( maternal ) care from a mother-figure is essential for normal psychological development of babies and toddlers -therefore, he believed that mother-love in infancy is 'as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health' -MD = the intellectual and emotional consequences of prolonged separation between a child and their mother-figure ( PAF )

Question 88

what is the difference between separation and deprivation?

Answer 88

-separation = the child not being physically in the presence of the PAF -deprivation = losing emotional care as a result of the separation, which can happen even if a mother is present and e.g. depressed -deprivation can be avoided if alternative emotional care from a substitute caregiver is offered, thus separation doesn't always cause deprivation

Question 89

what is the critical period proposed by Bowlby?

Answer 89

-if a child is separated from their mother-figure ( without substitute emotional care ) for an extended time during the first 2 1/2 years, then psychological damage is inevitable -also, there is a continuing risk up to the age of 5

Question 90

what are the effects of MD on development?

Answer 90

-intellectual = lack of maternal care may lead to delayed intellectual development, characterised by abnormally low IQ, e.g. Goldfarb found lower IQs in children from institutions compared to fostered -emotional = MD may also lead to affectionless psychopathy, i.e. the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion towards others, which prevents them developing fulfilling relationships and is associated with criminality

Question 91

what is Bowlby's ( 1944 ) 44 thieves study?

Answer 91

-aim = to investigate the link between affectionless psychopathy and MD -procedure = interviewed 44 delinquent teenagers accused of stealing for signs of affectionless psychopathy ( lack of guilt and empathy ) and compared them to a control group of 44 non-criminal but emotionally-disturbed young people -findings = 14/44 thieves were affectionless psychopaths and 12 of these had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first 2 years of their lives, whereas only 5 of the remaining 30 and 2/44 non-thieves had experienced separations -conclusions = prolonged early separation / deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy

Question 92

evaluate Bowlby's theory of MD

Answer 92

-one strength is support from animal studies -one limitation is that it is based on flawed evidence -another limitation is counter-evidence for Bowlby's critical period -another limitation is conflicting evidence for MD

Question 93

why is it a strength that there is support from animal studies for MD?

Answer 93

-E = all 16 of Harlow's monkeys were removed from their mothers a few hours after birth and raised by either a plain-wire or cloth-covered mother, and so they became aggressive, less sociable and bred less as adults, with the plain-wire ones being the most dysfunctional -E = this supports Bowlby's theory that MD inevitably affects emotional development, increasing its validity

Question 94

why is it a limitation that MD is based on flawed evidence?

Answer 94

-E = the 44 thieves study provides poor quality evidence because it was open to investigator bias since Bowlby himself assessed both deprivation and psychopathy, knowing what he hoped to find ( and thus may have asked leading questions or only recorded supportive information ) -also, Goldfarb's ( 1943 ) study of wartime orphans is flawed because his participants had experienced early trauma as well as MD, introducing CVs -E = this means that Bowlby's original sources of evidence for MD had serious flaws -counterpoint = there is some evidence from more recent studies to support his theory, e.g. Lévy et al. ( 2003 ) found that separating baby rats from their mother for as little as a day had a permanent effect on their social development, increasing its validity

Question 95

why is it a limitation that there is counter-evidence for Bowlby's critical period?

Answer 95

-E = a case study by Koluchová ( 1976 ) found that Czech twin boys who were isolated and abused from 18 months to 7 years old appeared to be fully recovered by their teens, showing that severe deprivation and emotional damage can have positive outcomes provided the child has some social interaction and good aftercare -E = this means that the period identified by Bowlby may be a sensitive one but it cannot be critical since lasting harm isn't inevitable

Question 96

why is it a limitation that there is conflicting evidence for MD?

Answer 96

-E = most attempts to replicate Bowlby's 44 thieves study ( e.g. Lewis 1954 ) have failed to reproduce his findings on psychopathy, but some more recent research ( e.g. Gao et al. 2010 ) has found links between poor maternal care and adult psychopathy -E = this means that the link between MD and later psychopathy is unclear, showing poor temporal validity

Question 97

what is meant by institutionalisation?

Answer 97

-the effects of growing up in an institution ( e.g. an orphanage or children's home ) where there is often very little emotional care provided

Question 98

what research is there on the effects of institutionalisation?

Answer 98

-Rutter et al. ( 2011 ) = English and Romanian adoptee study ( ERA ) -Zeanah et al. ( 2005 ) = Bucharest early intervention project ( BEI )

Question 99

what were the aims of the ERA?

Answer 99

-to investigate the extent to which good care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions

Question 100

what was Rutter et al.'s procedure?

Answer 100

-followed a group of 165 Romanian orphans who experienced very poor conditions before being adopted in the UK and a control group of 52 adopted children from the UK -assessed physical, cognitive and emotional development at ages 4, 6, 11, 15 and 22-25 years

Question 101

what were Rutter et al.'s findings and conclusions?

Answer 101

-half of the orphans showed delayed intellectual development when they arrived in the UK and at age 11 recovery rates were related to their age at adoption: mean IQ of those adopted before 6 months = 102 ( caught up with CG by age 4 ), between 6 months and 2 years = 86, after two years = 77 -these differences continued to be apparent at age 16 ( Beckett et al. 2010 ), so MD from institutionalisation leads to a lack of intellectual development -those adopted after 6 months showed signs of disinhibited attachment style, but it was rare in children adopted before 6 months, so MD leads to a lack of emotional development -this supports Bowlby's view that there is a sensitive period in the development of attachments as a failure to form an attachment before 6 months old ( and after 2 years ) appears to have long-lasting effects

Question 102

what is disinhibited attachment style?

Answer 102

-clinginess, attention-seeking and social behaviour directed indiscriminately towards all adults, both familiar and unfamiliar -Rutter ( 2006 ) explained this as an adaptation to living with multiple caregivers during the sensitive period for attachment formation

Question 103

what was Zeanah et al.'s procedure?

Answer 103

-assessed attachment in 95 Romanian children aged 12-31 months who had spent 90% of their lives in institutional care and a control group of 50 children using the SS -asked carers about unusual social behaviour including being equally friendly and affectionate towards familiar people and strangers

Question 104

what were Zeanah et al.'s findings and conclusions?

Answer 104

-19% of the institutional group were classed as securely attached compared to 74% of the control group -the description of disinhibited attachment applied to 44% of IG as opposed to less than 20% of CG, so MD leads to a lack of emotional development

Question 105

evaluate Romanian orphan studies

Answer 105

-one strength is real-world application -another strength is the lack of CVs -one limitation is the current lack of data on adult development -another limitation is social sensitivity

Question 106

why is it a strength that ROS have real-world application?

Answer 106

-E = studying the Romanian orphans has improved psychologists' understanding of the effects of early institutional care ( Langton 2006 ) and led to improvements in the care system, e.g. children's homes now avoid having large numbers of caregivers for each child by having one or two key workers who play a central role -E = this means that children in institutional care have a chance to develop normal attachments and avoid disinhibited attachment

Question 107

why is it a strength that ROS lack CVs?

Answer 107

-E = there were many orphan studies before the Romanian orphans became available to study ( e.g. during WW2 ) which often involved children who experienced loss or trauma before they were institutionalised, meaning that they were affected by multiple factors functioning as CVs, whereas most of the Romanian orphans had been handed over by loving parents who couldn't afford to keep them -E = this means that results were much less likely to be confounded by other negative early experiences, increasing their internal validity -counterpoint = the quality of care in the Romanian orphanages was remarkably poor, with children receiving very little intellectual stimulation or comfort, so the harmful effects seen in ROS may represent the effects of poor institutional care rather than institutional care, introducing new CVs

Question 108

why is it a limitation that there is a current lack of data on adult development?

Answer 108

-E = it is too soon to say for certain whether children suffered permanent effects because we only have data on their development as far as their early twenties so it will be some time before we have information about some key research questions ( e.g. orphans' ability to form and maintain romantic and parenting relationships ) since the same participants are being followed over a long period -E = this means that we cannot yet know what the long-term effects are for the Romanian orphans and it is possible that late-adopted children may catch up

Question 109

why is it a limitation that ROS are socially sensitive?

Answer 109

-E = the results show that late-adopted children have poor developmental outcomes ( e.g. low IQ ) and because the findings were published while the children have been growing up, their parents, teachers etc. might have lowered their expectations of them -E = this means that the adopted children may have been treated differently, potentially creating a self-fulfilling prophecy

Question 110

how does attachment type affect childhood relationships?

Answer 110

-Kerns ( 1994 ) = securely attached babies tend to go on to form the best quality childhood friendships, whereas insecurely attached babies later have friendship difficulties -Myron-Wilson and Smith ( 1998 ) = secure children are less likely to be involved in bullying, whereas insecure-avoidant children are most likely to be victims and insecure-resistant are most likely to be bullies

Question 111

how do internal working models affect adult relationships?

Answer 111

-McCarthy ( 1999 ) studied 40 adult women who had their early attachment type assessed = secure babies had the best adult friendships and romantic relationships, whereas those classed as insecure-avoidant struggled with intimacy and insecure-resistant had problems maintaining friendships -Hazan and Shaver ( 1987 ) analysed 620 replies to a love quiz in an American newspaper which assessed current and most important relationships, general love experiences and attachment type = secure respondents were the most likely to have good and longer-lasting RRs, whereas the avoidant ones tended to be jealous and fear intimacy, suggesting that patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in RRs

Question 112

evaluate the influence of early attachment on later relationships

Answer 112

-one strength is strong research support -one limitation is validity issues with retrospective studies -another limitation is possible CVs

Question 113

why is it a strength that there is strong research support for the influence of early attachment on later relationships?

Answer 113

-E = there are many studies showing a link between infant attachment type and later development, including bullying, success in RRs and parenting, and a review by Fearon and Roisman ( 2017 ) concluded that early attachment influenced development in many ways and disorganised attachment was most predictive e.g. of later mental disorder -E = this means that insecure attachment as a baby appears to convey disadvantages for future development -counterpoint = not all evidence supports this link, e.g. Becker-Stoll et al. ( 2008 ) found no evidence of continuity of attachment type from age 1 to 16 years, so it's not clear how strongly attachment influences later development

Question 114

why is it a limitation that there are validity issues with retrospective studies?

Answer 114

-E = most studies aren't longitudinal and so assess participants' attachment type in adulthood ( not in infancy ) using self-report techniques which rely on honest answers, introducing biases such as social desirability -E = this means that the measures of early attachment used in most studies may be confounded with other factors, reducing the internal validity of any findings

Question 115

why is it a limitation that there are possible CVs?

Answer 115

-E = some studies do make assessments of infant attachment and follow up children ( e.g. McCarthy ), assessing their later development, but they may be affected by CVs, e.g. parenting style and genetically-influenced personality might affect both attachment quality and later development -E = this means that we can never be entirely sure that it is early attachment and not some other factor that is influencing later development