Attachment

Question 1

definition

Attachment

Answer 1

A reciprocal long-lasting emotional bond between infant and caregiver in which noth parties seek closeness to each other and feel more secure when together

Question 2

definition

Reciprocity

Answer 2

Mutual turn taking form of interaction. Caregiver and infant respond to each others signals and cues.

Question 3

definition

Interactional synchrony

Answer 3

Simultaneous interaction between infant and caregiver.
act rhythmically with matching, coordinated behaviour and emotional states

Question 4

definition

Sensitive responsiveness

Answer 4

Caregiver correctly interprets the meaning of the infant’s communication and is motivated to respond appropriately

Question 5

AO3

Meltzoff and Moore

Answer 5

An experimenter displayed facial gesture such as sticking their tongue out to a 12-21 day old infants. Recording of the infant’s responses were recorded by people blind to the experiment. It was found infant responses matched the experimenter’s facial expressions. These results suggest the ability to observe and reciprocate via imitation is present from a very early age.

Question 6

AO3

Inferences - Infants

Answer 6

Infants cannot directly communicate their thoughts or emotions. Therefore, findings in caregiver interaction research depend on inferences, which are considered unscientific. Inferences make assumptions about infant’s internal mental states based on observed behaviour. Imitation may be an unconscious automatic reflex response rather than intentional.

Question 7

AO3

Social sensitivity

Answer 7

Some women may find their life choices criticised, such as mothers who decide to return to work shortly after giving birth and cannot develop a high level of interactional synchrony with their infant.

Question 8

Who came up with the stages of attachment?

Answer 8

Schaffer

Question 9

How many stages of attachment are there?

Answer 9

4

Question 10

when and what?

What is the first stage of attachment?

Answer 10

Asocial stage: 0 - 6 weeks

Babies display innate behaviours e.g. crying that ensure proximity to potential caregivers. They can’t distinguish between humans and inanimate objects.
Anyone can comfort them they do not have a preferred caregiver

Question 11

when and what?

What is the second stage of attachment?

Answer 11

Indiscriminate: 6 weeks - 7 months

Infants can tell the difference between objects and humans and familiar and unfamiliar individuals. They do not show stranger anxiety or separation anxiety.

Question 12

when and what?

What is the third stage of attachment?

Answer 12

Specific attachment/ discriminate stage: 7 - 9 months

Babies form a strong attachment to PCG. Separation and stranger anxiety develop.

Question 13

when and what?

What is the fourth stage of attachment?

Answer 13

Multiple attachments: 9/10months+

The infant starts to form attachments with other regular caregivers e.g. sibling and stranger anxiety starts to decrease.

Question 14

Schaffer and Emerson study

Answer 14

Longitudinal observation on 60 w/c babies and their families in Glasgow were studied. In the first year data was collected through monthly observations and interviews and an additional follow up at 18 months. Stranger and separation anxiety were tested behaviours.

Separation anxiety occured in most babies aged 25-32 weeks and stranger anxiety a month later.

In the 18 month follow up - 87% of babies had multiple attachments with the pcg as their stongest.

Question 15

Schaffer and Emerson sample

Answer 15

The babies were all from w/c backgrounds in glasgow in the 1960s. So the sample is not representative of much of the UK or the rest of the world and may lack temporal validity as childrearing practices have changed.

Question 16

Schaffer and Emerson - mundane realism

Answer 16

As the observations were carried out in their own homes the experience for the infants was normal - so the behaviour recorded was valid.

Question 17

The role of the father - active play

Answer 17

The father’s role as suggested by Schaffer is to emphasise stimulation and engage in more risk taking behaviours compared to the more comforting style of the mother.

Question 18

Schaffer - PCG - role of the father

Answer 18

Schaffer found that infants’ PCG was most frequently their mother alone (65%), 30% both parents and only 3% fathers’ alone.

However, at 18 months 75% of infants formed a multiple attachment with their father, showing signs of separation anxiety suggesting the father plays an important role.

Question 19

Role of the father - social sensitivity

Answer 19

Research that argues the role of the mother cannot be replaced by the father may lead to father led single families and families with two fathers to feel they cannot fully provide for the need of their infants.

Question 20

Economic Implications - Role of the father

Answer 20

Research assessing the importance of a fathers role could lead to legislation that ensures equal paternity and maternity leave. This may reduce the amount of males in the workforce, reduce economic activity and place pressure on businesses.

Question 21

What did Lorenz investigate?

Answer 21

Imprinting on goslings

Question 22

Procedure

Lorenz

Answer 22

Greylag goose eggs were randomly divided; half were taken to be hatched by Lorenz using an incubator and the other hallf were hatched naturally by their biological mother. In later studies he varied the time between the hatching and when the goslings observed their first large moving object.

Question 23

Findings

Lorenz

Answer 23

The goslings Lorenz hatched imprinted on him, following him rather than the mother goose. The goslings hatched by the mother imprinted on and followed her.

Lorenz placed all the goslings inside a box, when released from the box the ones who imprinted on Lorenz found him and continued to follow him.

He found that the gosling had a critical period of about 32 hours, if a gosling did not see a large moving object within these first few hours it lost its ability to imprint.

Question 25

What did Harlow investigate?

Answer 25

Contact comfort using monkeys | defies the cupboard love theory

Question 26

# Procedure Harlow

Answer 26

Infant monkeys were removed from their biological mothers and placed in cages with surrogate mothers. One surrogate mother provided milk but not comfort (its body was constructed of exposed wire). The other provided comfort (the wire was covered with a cloth) but not milk. Time spent with the mother was recorded, as well as which mother the infant ran to when frightened by a mechanical monkey.

Question 27

# Findings Harlow

Answer 27

The infant monkeys spent most of their time with their comfort mothers only visiting the food mother when they needed to eat but quickly returned to the 'comfort mother'. The infant monkeys returned to the comfort mother when frightened and monkeys without the cloth mother showed signs of stress-related illness. In follow up studies Harlow found that the maternal deprivation his studies caused resulted in permanent social disorders for the monkeys as adults, including difficulty in mating behaviour and raising their offspring.

Question 28

AO3 Animal Studies - Biology

Answer 28

The generalisation of animal behaviour to human psychology is problematic. Humans and animals have very different biology, and humans have various social and cultural experiences that influence their behaviour.

Question 29

AO3 Animal Studies - Contact comfort

Answer 29

Harlow's findings on contact comfort have been highly influential; Bowlby argued similar to monkeys, infants crave comfort from their mothers, attempting to form a monotropic relationship. If this fails , then Bowlby claims that human infants will grow into adults with poor socialisation, similar to monkeys without a cloth mother.

Question 30

AO3 Animal Studies - Critical period

Answer 30

Lorenz's findings on geese have been highly influential; Bowlby argued that there is a similar critical period for human infants of 6 - 30 months and if attachment does not form in that time, it will result in permanent social problems. However, later research on orphans, suggests unlike with geese, this period is sensitive not critical, important but later care can help with recovery.

Question 31

AO3 Animal Studies - Practical Applications

Answer 31

Knowledge initially gained from these studies and later developed by Bowlby has been applied to early childcare. Fore example, after birth immediate contact between the mother and the baby is highly encouraged, and social services actively investigate cases of infant neglect, understanding its long-term harm.

Question 32

AO3 Animal Studies - Ethical Issues

Answer 32

Harlow has been heavily criticised on ethical grounds for the harm caused to many intentionally orphaned monkey (primate) infants and for causing high-stress levels. The suffering was real and public knowledge of these studies has harmed psychology's reputation. However, some psychologists argue that the long-term benefits to millions of human infants resulting from Harlow's research justify the studies when considering a cost-benefit analysis.

Question 33

# Definition Cupboard Love Theory

Answer 33

It argues infants form an attachment to their caregiver because they learn that their caregiver provides food.

Question 34

# Classical Conditioning Explain how the infant forms an attachment to the PCG - Cupboard Love

Answer 34

The food is initially an UCS (unconditioned stimulus) which instinctively provides an UCR (unconditioned response) of pleasure As the PCG who is NS (neutral stimulus) is present every time the baby is fed, the PCG becomes associated with the pleasure of being fed. They change from a NS to a CS (conditioned stimulus) Now in the presence of the PCG (even without food) the infant experience a CR (conditioned response) of pleasure.

Question 35

Positive reinforcement in attachment

Answer 35

When a behaviour is made more likely when receiving pleasurable stimulus. In attachment when a parent feeds a crying baby, the baby is more likely to repaet the behaviour (crying) to get food.

Question 36

Negative reinforcement in attachment

Answer 36

When a behaviour is made more likely when removing an unpleasant stimulus The parent's feeding behaviour is negatively reinforced when by the baby stopping crying when fed

Question 37

# Learning theory AO3 Cupboard Love - Reductionist

Answer 37

Learning theory applied to human attachment behaviour is seen as environmentally reductionist. Behaviourists argue that the complex interactions between caregivers and their infants are just as the result of simplistic atimulus associations, learnt responses and patterns of reinforcement. Most parents would say their relationship with their child is more complicated, and they consciously choose to care for their infants.

Question 38

AO3 Cupboard Love - Animal studies

Answer 38

Harlow's research showed that infant monkeys did not become attached to the surrogate wire monkey that provided milk but to the but instead to the cloth mother that did not provide milk but some level of contact comfort. This suggests that attachment is not learnt but instinctual.

Question 39

Bowlby's Monotropic Theory

Answer 39

Evolutionary explanation of attachment. Bowlby argues infants have an innate drive to form an especially strong attachment to their mother and stay in close proximity. He argues this instinctual drive is vital to infants survival as their mother provides food and security

Question 40

Social releasers

Answer 40

Babies instinctively use signals (social releaser) such as crying and smiling, that attract the caregiver's attention - according to Bowlby mother's are biologically programmed to instinctively find these behaviours cute or distressing.

Question 41

Critical period

Answer 41

Bowlby suggests a strong monotropic attachment must form in the first 30 months after birth. A lack of monotropy results in permanent negative social, intellectual and emotional consequences for the infant

Question 42

Internal working model

Answer 42

Inspired by Freud's research on early childhood, Bowlby claims the child's monotropic attachment to its mother provides a blueprint for future relationships - a schema. It guides how to conduct future relationships such as if people can be trusted or if relationships are loving

Question 43

# how is it tested? Bowlby suggests stronger attachments in infant-caregiver relationships will form if...

Answer 43

Care is consistent It can be seen in safe-base behaviour. Infants with good attachments will use their mother as a base to explore, will show anxiety when the mother leaves or a stranger approaches

Question 44

AO3 Bowlby Alpha Bias

Answer 44

The exaggeration of gender differences. Bowlby argues the father's role is to provide resources for the family, whhile the mother's monotropic role is crucial which is reflective of the world view in the 1940s but now lacks temporal validity due to the changing nature of modern families.

Question 45

AO3 Bowlby Behaviourism

Answer 45

There are alternate explanations for attachment; behaviourists claim that the environment, not biology, creates attachment. The cupboard love theory suggests that attachment is based on the association of the mother with the food she provides ultimately feeling pleasure in her presence. Numerous well controlled experiments support the learning theory.

Question 46

AO3 Bowlby The Continuity Hypothesis

Answer 46

The continuity hypothesis suggests that the quality of infant attachment can predict those infants' later adult relationship styles due to the development of the internal working model. This is highly deterministic; people like to think that they have complete conscious control over their relationships, including the success of their relationships, not that this is set in infancy.

Question 47

Who came up with and what are the 3 attachment types?

Answer 47

Ainsworth Insecure avoidant (type A) Secure (type B) Insecure resistant (type C)

Question 48

Insecure Avoidant

Answer 48

Type A - Infants keep a safe distance from their mother, not using her as a secure base but exploring freely. - The infant displays low stranger anxiety, low separation anxiety - do not seek comfort when their mother returns after leaving. Their mothers seem to show little sensitive responsiveness to their needs

Question 49

Secure attachment

Answer 49

Type B - Infants use their mothers as a safe base as they explore their environment. - They show a moderate level of stranger anxiety and show separation anxiety - accept comfort when reunited Caregivers show sensitive responsiveness

Question 50

Insecure Resistant

Answer 50

Type C - Infants do not explore the environment and are clingy, seek closeness to their mother - They have high stranger and separation anxiety - At reunion infants appear ambivalent - with mixed emotions (mixed emotions) craving and rejecting their mother's comfort/attention. Mothers appear to be inconsistent with their sensitive responsiveness

Question 51

Ainsworth Procedure

Answer 51

106 infants and their mothers participated in the original structured observations. Conducted in a controlled lab setting room with toys - each stage lasted 3 minutes. 2 observers behind a one way mirror recorded infants responses at each stage. The stages assessed the infants proximity to their mother, willingness to explore, use of the mother as a secure base, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety, reunion response and the sensitive responsivenss of the mother.

Question 52

Stages of Ainsworth - Strange Situation

Answer 52

1. Observer introduces mother and baby to the room and leaves (secure base) 2. The baby explores - without the mother (secure base + exploration) 3. Stranger enters and approaches baby (secure base + stranger anxiety) 4. Mother leaves baby with stranger (separation anxiety + stranger anxiety) 5. Mother enters, stranger leaves (reunion) 6. Mother leaves (separation anxiety) 7. Stranger enters (separation + stranger anxiety) 8. Mother enters stranger leaves (reunion)

Question 53

Ainsworth findings

Answer 53

66% of infants were secure 22% insecure avoidant 12% insecure resistant

Question 54

AO3 Strange Situation Predictive Validity

Answer 54

The attachment styles found in SS have predictive validity; for example children classified as securely attached tend to have better social, emotional and academic outcome in later childhood and adulthood. McCarthy studied 40 adult women assessed with SS as infants and found that adults with the most long lasting and secure adult friendships and romantic relationships were those with secure attachments in infancy.

Question 55

AO3 Strange Situation Cultural bias

Answer 55

The SS was developed in one culture - American so it may be culturally bound - not valid when applied to other countries. An imposed etic is when researchers assume their own cultural standards apply to other cultures without considering the cultural context. For example, in some countries, children are taught to be more independent or are used to being cared by many caregivers; this infant would not show distress which may be misinterpreted by the SS as signs of an insecure attachment.

Question 56

# Procedure Van Ijzendoorn

Answer 56

Conducted a large meta analysis of 2000 infants in 32 studies in 8 countries; each study classified the attachment types of infants and mothers using the strange situation.

Question 57

Van Ijzendoorn Findings

Answer 57

General patterns: secure attachment was the most common type in all countries and insecure resistant was the least common. Avoidant was more common in individualistic western cultures and resistant in collectivist non-western cultures. There was more variation within countries than between countries. Individual findings: Germany had the most insecure avoidant infants (35%). Japan had the most insecure resistant (27%). China had the least secure infants (50%) UK had 22% avoidant, 3% resistant and 75% secure.

Question 58

Van Ijzendoorn's research suggests...

Answer 58

There is a globally prefered attachment style (secure) which may have biological bias. However, there are variations that parenting styles could explain. German families encourage independent behaviour resulting in infants showing little distress. Japanese mothers spend a significant amount of time with their infants explaing extreme resistant reactions to separation.

Question 59

AO3 SS and Van Ijzendoorn Temporal Validity

Answer 59

Their findings may lack validity due to the changing nature of family lif in the modern world. Simonelli et al. measured attachment using SS on modern Italian infant-mother pairs. It was found that compared to historical Italian families, there was a significantly lower percentage of secure infants and more avoidant. The researchers argue this suggests this change is a healthy coping mechanism due to the demands of modern life, with infants adjusting to a frequently absent mother by not constantly showing extreme emotion when separated.

Question 60

AO3 SS and Van Ijzendoorn Bowlby

Answer 60

As the dominant attachment style was secure across all the countries in the meta analysis, this may act as evidence for Bowlby's theory that there is a biological instinctive drive to parent in a way that produces a secure attachment type.

Question 61

Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation

Answer 61

Bowlby argues that if a child's monotropic attachment is disrupted during the critical period such as the prolonged separation from the mother, this deprivation will result in negative and irreversible consequences, affecting the infants social, emotional and intellectual skills. | The critical period is 30 months but a risk of up to 5 years.

Question 62

Consequences of deprivation

Answer 62

Deliquency: due to disrupted social development, behaviour is often outside acceptable norms such as petty crimes Affectionless psychopathy: due to disrupted emotional development, children are unable to show caring behaviour to others or empathy to other people's feelings and have little guilt for their harmful actions. Low IQ: due to disrupted intellectual development, cognitive developments are lower than peers.

Question 63

Bowlby 44 Thieves Procedure

Answer 63

Interviewed 44 thieves and a control group of 44 emotionally disturbed non-thieves to assess affectionless psychopathy and parents were asked about maternal deprivation during the critical period.

Question 64

Bowlby 44 Thieves Findings

Answer 64

It was found 14 thieves matched the criteria for affectionless psychopathy compared to none of the control group. 12 of the thieves had experience prolonged separation compared to only 2 of the control group. This suggests a correlation between deprivation and deliquency.

Question 65

AO3 Bowlby 44 Thieves Correlational

Answer 65

Research supporting maternal deprivation, including the 44 thieves study is correlational, deprivation could be linked to a third factor. Children who experience deprivation may also experience extreme poverty, have contact with criminal relatives who act as role models or have a family history of mental health problems.

Question 66

AO3 Bowlby Maternal Deprivation Practical Applications

Answer 66

Bowlby's work on attachment led to significant positive changes to policies related to child welfare, such as visiting hours for mothers in the hospital, the ratio of carers and infants in nurseries and the length of maternity leave. This has subsequently impacted the economy as nurseries are more expensive. Social sensitivity should also be considered as the focus on mat rather than pat leave may have resulted in an increase in the gender pay gap with women missing opportunities for development and promotion.

Question 67

AO3 Bowlby Maternal Deprivation Gender Bias

Answer 67

Monotropy may exaggerate the mothers role as a PCG, which displays alpha bias, underestimating the role of the father as an attachment figure. Schaffer's work shows children quickly move on from one specific attachment, with 87% of infants in her study having multiple attachments by 18 months. Other research indicates important roles for the father in early attachment such as encouraging risk taking, developing socialisation and even taking on sensitive responsiveness when acting as a PCG.

Question 68

# definition Privation vs Deprivation

Answer 68

The total lack of care resulting in the inability to form attachments vs Not receiving suitable emotional care from a PCG (frequent/extended absences of the PCG)

Question 69

Rutter ERA Procedure

Answer 69

Conducted a longitudinal study of 165 Romanian orphans who were adopted into British families. The children were grouped into those under 6 months, between 6 months an 2 years and those 2+ A control group of British adoptees who had not experienced privation were included in the study. Each group was assessed at the ages of 4, 6, 11 and 15.

Question 70

Rutter Findings

Answer 70

At age 6: children adopted at 6 months showed disinhibited attachment (overly friendly to adults), more common in those adopted after 2. At age 11: Over half the children showed disinhibited at age 6 still displayed this behaviour. Children adopted after 6 months still showed significant delayed physical, emotional and intellectual development. Children adopted after 2 showed had an average IQ of 77 compared to 102 of those adopted under 6 months. In a small number of cases quasi-autism tendencies were identified. Intellectual problems continued at the 15 year follow up

Question 71

AO3 Bowlby Critical Period Rutter

Answer 71

Rutter's research suggests that adoption within the first 6 months is important as the rate of recovery depends on age at adoption, and the effects of privation in institutions are severe and long-lasting. However, many children even after being adopted after 2 showed recovery, suggesting that the critical period argued by Bowlby is actually a sensitive period.

Question 72

AO3 Orphan Studies Practical Applications

Answer 72

There have been pratical applications as a result of romanian orphan studies. This research has changed policies around adoption and care in orphanages and other institutional settings. For example critical workers in institutions giver a higher level of care to infants; there is a focus on ensuring an early age of adoption and adoptive families are carefully screened.

Question 73

Hazer and Shaver Procedure

Answer 73

Love Quiz 620 ppts responded to a newspaper love quiz. Questions included feelings on romance and categorised ppts adult relationships styles into secure (balance between closeness and independence), avoidant (avoiding intimacy) and resistant (couldn't cope well with independence). The questionnaire also assessed childhood attachment type.

Question 74

Hazer and Shaver Findings

Answer 74

It was found 56% had secure adult relationships, 25% avoidant and 19% resistant and there was a correlation between adult and child attachment types.