Attachment

Question 1

Bowlby’s monotropic theory

Answer 1

A theory of attachment proposed by John Bowlby, that suggests attachment is the result of evolutionary behaviours towards a primary caregiver. (Innate)
The acronym ASCMI summarises the theory

Question 2

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation

Answer 2

A theory for social deviance proposed by John Bowlby that suggests that constant separation from the child and primary caregiver results in permanent difficulties for the child in the future

Question 3

Critical period

Answer 3

A period of time (proposed by John Bowlby) within which if a child does not form an attachment, they will never form an attachment. (up to 2 years old)
Bowlby suggested that if an attachment is not formed in this time, it never will. If you do not form an attachment, you will be socially, emotionally, intellectually and emotionally stunted.
Bowlby demonstrated this with his 44 juvenile thieves study, where maternal deprivation was associated with affectionless psychopathy and intellectual disability

Question 4

Interactional synchrony

Answer 4

A type of interaction between a child and primary caregiver in which both the caregiver and infant mirror each other’s actions

Question 5

Insecure-avoidant attachment

Answer 5

A type of attachment identified by Mary Ainsworth in her Strange situation. This “Type A” attachment style is characterised by low anxiety in the presence of strangers and absence of the caregiver. Upon reunion with the caregiver, the child shows no interest in receiving comfort

Question 6

Insecure-resistant attachment

Answer 6

A type of attachment identified by Mary Ainsworth in her Strange Situation. This “Type B” attachment style is characterised by extreme anxiety in the presence of strangers and absence of the caregiver. Furthermore, the child will resist comfort from the caregiver.

Question 7

Institutionalisation

Answer 7

The long-term effects of growing up in an institution and being unable to create an attachment with a primary caregiver

Question 8

Internal working model

Answer 8

This is an area in the brain, a mental schema for relationships where information that allows you to know how to behave around people is stored. Internal working models are our perception of the attachment we have with our primary attachment figure. Therefore, this explains similarities in attachment patterns across families. Those who have a dysfunctional internal working model will seek out dysfunctional relationships and behave dysfunctionally within them.

Question 9

Learning theory (of attachment)

Answer 9

An explanation of attachment according to the behaviourist approach, attributing attachment to classical/operant conditioning. For example, a child associates their primary caregiver with food, and thus becomes a conditioned stimulus.

Question 10

Reciprocity

Answer 10

A type of interaction between caregiver and child in which both individuals respond to each other’s actions with mutual responsiveness, and elicit responses from each other.

Question 11

Secure attachment

Answer 11

A type of attachment identified by Mary Ainsworth in her Strange Situation. This type of attachment is characterised by a child that shows moderate anxiety in the presence of strangers and absence of their caregiver. The child accepts comfort from the caregiver upon reunion and uses their caregiver as a safe base from which to explore

Question 12

Attachment

Answer 12

A strong reciprocal emotional bond between an infant and a primary caregiver

Question 13

What is imprinting?

Answer 13

Lorenz demonstrated the concept of imprinting - this is where animals will attach to the first moving object or person they see directly after birth. Lorenz showed that imprinting occurred in a clutch of goose eggs, where half attached to and followed Lorenz after seeing him as the first moving person after birth. Imprinting/ the formation of an attachment must occur within the critical period of attachment development, which is usually the first 30 months of life, after which an attachment is not possible and the consequences of a failure to form an attachment are irreversible.

Question 14

What was the aim of Shaffer and Emersons study

Answer 14

To identify the stages of attachment/find a pattern in the development of an attachment between infants and parents

Question 15

Who participated in Schaffer and Emersons study?

Answer 15

60 babies from glasgow, all from the same estate

Question 16

What was the procedure of Schaffer and Emersons study?

Answer 16

● They analysed the interactions between the infants and carers
● They interviewed the carers
● The mother had to keep a diary to track the infant’s behaviours based on the following measures:
Separation Anxiety - signs of distress when the carer leaving, and how much the infant needs to be comforted when the carer returns
Stranger Anxiety - signs of distress as a response to a stranger arriving Social Referencing - how often the infant looks at their carer to check how they should respond to something new
● It was a longitudinal study lasting 18 months
● They visited the infants on a monthly basis and once again at the end of the 18 month period.

Question 17

What was the findings of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?

Answer 17

They found that the babies of parents/carers who had ‘sensitive responsiveness’ - (who were more sensitive to the baby’s signals) - were more likely to have formed an attachment.
They found that sensitive responsiveness was more important than the amount of time spent with the baby, so infants formed more attachments with those who spent less time with them but were more sensitive to their needs than those who spent more time with them but were less sensitive.
Infants who had parents who responded to their needs quickly and spent more time interacting with the child had more intense attachments. Those who had parents who did not interact with their child at all had very weak attachments.
Attachments seemed to form when the carer communicates and plays with the child rather than when the carer feeds or cleans the child.
They also used their findings to come up with the different stages of attachment

Question 18

What are the stages of attachment

Answer 18

Asocial (0-6 weeks)
Indiscriminate (6 weeks - 6 months)
Specific (6+ months)
Multiple (11+ months)

Question 19

Describe the asocial stage of attachment.

Answer 19

(0-6 weeks)
This is when the infant responds to objects and people similarly - but may respond more to faces and eyes

Question 20

Describe the Indiscriminate stage of attachment.

Answer 20

(6 weeks - 6 months)
This is when the infant develops mor responses to human company.
Although they cant tell the difference between different people, they can be comforted by anyone

Question 21

Describe the specific stage of attachment.

Answer 21

(6+ months)
This is when the infant begins to prefer one particular carer and seeks for security, comfort and protection in particular people. they may also show separation anxiety and stranger anxiety.

Question 22

Describe the multiple stage of attachment.

Answer 22

(11+ months)
This is when the infant forms multiple attachments and seeks security, comfort and protection in multiple people. They also show separation anxiety for multiple people

Question 23

Give a weakness of Schaffer and Emersons study. (Population validity)

Answer 23

Lacks population validity. Infants in the study all came from Glasgow and were mostly from working class families. In addition, the small sample size of 60 families reduces the strength of the conclusion we can draw from the study. Cannot be generalised, and so is a limited explanation of attachment development. Schaffer’s stages of attachment lack both population validity and temporal validity - parenting techniques have significantly changed since the 1950s, such as through the influence of Bowlby’s work on attachment, and so caution should be taken when generalising the findings.

Question 24

Give a weakness of Schaffer and Emersons study. (Internal validity)

Answer 24

May lack internal validity. It uses the self report method as the parents kept a daily diary. Therefore the accuracy of data collection may not be the best. The parents were busy so may not have included the full details. They may also be subject to social desirability bias, in that they would skew their reports so they appear to be closer to what they see as socially acceptable or desirable i.e. they may believe that it is better if the infant responds to them, so they would report that it happens sooner than it actually did, or they may intentionally not report any negative experiences they have. There may also be demand characteristics as they try to tailor their report to fit or go against what they think is the aim/hypothesis of the study. Therefore, caution should be taken when placing confidence in the conclusions drawn from this study.

Question 25

Schaffer and Emerson found that what percentage of infants had formed a secondary attachment to their father, as demonstrated by separation anxiety?

Answer 25

75% This suggests that the father is important, but is unlikely to be the first person to which the child develops an attachment to

Question 26

How may biology and society have an impact on the role of the father?

Answer 26

— It could also be that the gender of the primary caregiver is largely dictated by society, where women in particular are expected to be caring and sensitive, and biology, where women have higher levels of oestrogen and lower levels of testosterone compared to men. Therefore, this suggests that there are social and biological constraints on who the primary attachment figure is.

Question 27

How can fathers become a primary caregiver as suggested by Tiffany Field?

Answer 27

Field observed interactions between infants and their primary caregiver mothers and fathers, and found that primary caregivers regardless of gender were more attentive towards the infant and spent more time holding and smiling at them.

Question 29

What is sexual imprinting?

Answer 29

Sexual imprinting is also a similar idea, where animals will attach to and display sexual behaviours towards the first moving object or animal they see directly after birth. Lorenzi reported of a case of a peacock who was born surrounded by turtles, and so only desired to mate with turtles in later life.

Question 30

What is the problem with Lorenz's findings?

Answer 30

There are significant issues associated with trying to generalise findings from Lorenz’s studies. For example, mammalian attachment systems are different to that of birds, because mammals can potentially form attachments at any time during their lives and at a greater emotional intensity. Therefore, this suggests that such findings have low ecological validity because they cannot be generalised beyond the research setting within which they were found

Question 31

What is a weakness of Lorenz's theory on sexual imprinting?

Answer 31

— Sexual imprinting is not as permanent as Lorenz theorised. For example, Guiton et al demonstrated that chickens who’d imprinted on washing up gloves eventually learned to prefer to mate with other chickens, despite this initial imprinting. This means that learning and experience are more important factors in attachment formation than imprinting.

Question 32

How did Harlow conclude that contact comfort was more important that food in monkeys?

Answer 32

Harlow demonstrated the importance of contact comfort with monkeys and two 'Iron Maidens'. The researchers found that when the monkeys were scared, irrespective of which wire monkey was dispensing milk, the baby monkeys would always seek comfort from the cloth-bound mother. This led to the conclusion that contact comfort was more important than food in the development of attachments!

Question 33

What issues did Harlow report associated with his infant monkeys?

Answer 33

Harlow also reported developmental issues associated with the infant monkeys, even those who had the option of choosing the cloth-bound mother. The researchers found that such monkeys were less skilled at mating, were aggressive towards their own children and would be socially reclusive. This also demonstrated the importance of a secure attachment to a primary attachment figure within the critical period i.e. the first 30 months of life.

Question 34

What is a strength associated with Harlow's study?

Answer 34

Harlow’s research has significant practical value, especially in the design of zoos and the care of animals in shelters. His research demonstrated the importance of attachment figures and intellectual stimulation, alongside contact comfort, which means that zoos should ensure that animals have the opportunity to form such attachments in order to ensure healthy development.

Question 35

What ethical issues were associated with Harlows monkeys?

Answer 35

— Despite ethical issues not detracting from the quality or utility of the research (in terms of reliability and validity), there were some significant ethical breaches. For example, long-term psychological harm was inflicted upon the monkeys, in the form of later difficulties mating and forming secure attachments, which Harlow most likely envisioned. In such cases, a cost-benefit analysis should be conducted to assess whether the ethical costs are smaller or larger than the benefits of an improved understanding of attachment.

Question 36

What methodological issues are associated with Harlow's study?

Answer 36

There are methodological issues surrounding Harlow's study which may decrease the internal validity of the findings. these issues arise from the appearance of the wired monkeys, as the cloth monkey shows much more resemblance with an actual monkey than the wire monkey providing food. This causes us to question the validity of the findings as extraneous variables like the appearance and resemblance of the wire monkeys to an actual mother monkey may cause to infant monkeys to be more inclined to form an attachment to the cloth monkey over the food.

Question 37

Give a weakness of the learning theory of attachment

Answer 37

— There is contradictory evidence from animal studies. For example, Harlow demonstrated that contact comfort was more important than food in the development of an attachment, where the baby monkeys formed a primary attachment to the cloth-bound mother, regardless of which mother was dispensing milk. This suggests that there is no unconditioned stimulus (of food) and even if there is, it has very little influence upon the formation of attachments.

Question 38

What does Ascmi stand for?

Answer 38

A = Adaptive S = Social releasers C = Critical period M = Monotropy I = Internal working model

Question 39

What does adaptive stand for in ASCMI?

Answer 39

Attachments are an advantage, or beneficial to survival as it ensures a child is kept safe, warm and fed

Question 40

What does social releasers stand for in ASCMI?

Answer 40

These unlock the innate tendency for adults to care for a child because they activate the mammalian attachment system.

Question 41

What does monotropy stand for in ASCMI?

Answer 41

Monotropy – means ‘one carer’. Bowlby suggested that you can only form one special intense attachment (this is typically but not always with the mother). This attachment is unique, stronger and different to others. Maternal deprivation, which is characterised by a lack of a mother figure during the critical period for attachment formation, results in emotional and intellectual developmental deficits i.e. affection less psychopathy and intellectual disability

Question 42

How is monotropy socially sensitive research? (AO3)

Answer 42

— Monotropy is an example of socially sensitive research. Despite Bowlby not specifying that the primary attachment figure must be the mother, it often is (in 65% of cases). Therefore, this puts pressure on working mothers to delay their return to work in an effort to ensure that their child develops a secure attachment. Any developmental abnormalities in terms of attachment are therefore blamed on the mother by default. This suggests that the idea of monotropy may stigmatise ‘poor mothers’ and pressure them to take responsibility.

Question 43

How does Monotropy have low population validity?

Answer 43

— Monotropy may not be evident in all children. For example, Schaffer and Emerson found that a small minority of children were able to form multiple attachments from the outset. This idea is also supported by van Izjendoorn and Kronenberg, who found that monotropy is scarce in collectivist cultures where the whole family is involved in raising and looking after the child. This means that monotropy is unlikely to be a universal feature of infant-caregiver attachments, as believed by Bowlby, and so is a strictly limited explanation of some cases of attachments.

Question 44

What does the strange situation test assess?

Answer 44

How securely attached a child is to its caregiver, if its insecurely attached and to assess which type of attachment it has.

Question 45

How was Ainsworth's strange situation conducted?

Answer 45

This was a controlled observation conducted through a two way mirror. There were seven stages which each lasted 3 minutes. 1. The caregiver enters a room, places the child on the floor and sits on a chair. The caregiver does not interact with the child unless the infant seeks attention. 2. A stranger enters the room, talks to the caregiver and then approaches the child with a toy. 3. The caregiver exits the room. If the infant plays the stranger observes without interruption. If the child is passive, the stranger attempts to interest them in the toy. If they show distress the stranger attempts to comfort them. 4. The caregiver returns while the stranger then leaves. 5. Once the infant begins to play again, the caregiver may leave the room, leaving the child alone briefly. 6. The stranger enters the room again and repeats behaviour mentioned in step 3 (observing, engaging, comforting as needed) 7. The stranger leaves and the caregiver returns. The “strange situation” places the child in a mildly stressful situation in order to observe 4 different types of behaviour which are separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, willingness to explore and reunion behaviour with the caregiver.

Question 46

Describe a secure attachment seen in Ainsworth's strange situation.

Answer 46

This was the most popular attachment type (with both types of insecure attachments being equally as common). This was found when the infant showed some separation anxiety when the parent/caregiver leaves the room but can be easily soothed when the parent/caregiver returns. A securely attached infant is also able to play independently but used their parent/caregiver as a safe base to explore a new environment. This usually accounts for 65% of children

Question 47

Describe a insecure resistant attachment seen in Ainsworth's strange situation.

Answer 47

this is when the infant becomes very distressed and tries to follow them when the parent/caregiver leaves, but when they return, the infant repeatedly switches from seeking and rejecting social interaction and intimacy with them. They are also less inclined to explore new environments. This usually accounts for 15% of children, and so is the least common attachment type

Question 48

Describe a insecure avoidant attachment seen in Ainsworth's strange situation.

Answer 48

this is when the infant shows no separation anxiety when their carer leaves the room and shows no stranger anxiety when a stranger enters the room. They may show anger and frustration towards their carer and actively avoid social interaction and intimacy with them. They are able to explore and play independently easily, no matter who is present. This accounts for only 20% of children

Question 49

What were the ethical issues with Ainsworth's strange situation

Answer 49

There are ethical issues involved. 20% of children cried desperately at one point. This highlights how it is ethically inappropriate, as a large proportion of the participants could have experienced psychological harm. This is unethical as it could cause long term emotional damage to the child, for the sake of a simple study. Despite ethical issues not detracting from the quality of the research (i.e. in terms of validity and reliability), it is important to conduct a cost-benefit analysis to assess whether the ethical costs are smaller than the benefits of an improved knowledge within this subject field.

Question 50

GIve 2 weaknesses of Ainsworth's Strange situation (population validity and )

Answer 50

The study lacks population validity. It was primarily based on Western culture almost all of the studies were carried out in America. It therefore suffers from cultural bias, so we are less able to generalise the findings and criteria to other cultures. This is particularly the case due to the individualist-collectivist divide between Western and Eastern countries, alongside cultural differences in upbringing and the experiences which the child is exposed to. This suggests that the findings are culture bound and also lack ecological validity, because the results can only be generalised to the research settings within which they were found. It only measured the relationship type with one attachment figure They only used mothers and their child in the study. This can mean that the wrong attachment type for a child can be identified, as although they may not be so strongly attached to the mother, they may be securely attached with their father or an extended family member. The study wrongly assumes that the child will be closer to the mother than any other adult figure. Therefore, the study lacks internal validity, as it does not always correctly measure a child’s attachment type with their primary caregiver.

Question 51

Give a weakness and a strength of Ainsworth's strange situation.

Answer 51

The study also lacks ecological validity. It was conducted in a lab setting, so all the variables were highly controlled. Despite the strict control over confounding and extraneous variables increasing the confidence that can be placed in drawing a ‘cause and effect’ relationship between the two outcomes. This is not representative of real life so it lacks mundane realism and cannot be generalised to reality. However, the high control of variables means it is easily replicable so the findings are highly reliable. This increases confidence in the idea that the findings were not simply a ‘one-off’ but were statistically significant. This increases the confidence that can be placed in the attachment classification of children assessed using the Strange Situation!

Question 52

Who conducted a meta-analysis on 32 studies using 8 countries , all investigating the patterns of attachment across a variety of cultures.

Answer 52

Van Ijzendoorn

Question 53

State some results of Van Ijzendoorn's study

Answer 53

Secure - avoidant - resistant China - 50 - 25 - 25 Japan - 68 - 5 - 27 USA - 65 - 20 - 15

Question 54

Give a weakness of Van Ijzendoorn's study

Answer 54

— The Strange Situation has been criticised as being culture-bound, in that the sample was biased (only used American children) and so the findings are unlikely to be generalised to other cultures, such as collectivist cultures. This is an example of imposed etic because Ainsworth assumed that the stages of attachment she developed could be universally applied to all children across all cultures, whereas this is unlikely to be the case.

Question 55

Give a Strength of Van Ijzendoorn's study

Answer 55

+ The findings of van Izjendoorn and Kronenberg can be considered reliable due to the significantly large samples that they used i.e. 1990 children. This replicability increases the validity and faith in the conclusions drawn because it decreases the likelihood that the observed results were simply due to chance or a ‘one-off’.

Question 56

What is Privation?

Answer 56

Attachments are commonly disrupted in situations when a child is put in day care, has prolonged stays in hospital care or were put in institutional care to be separated from abusive/ neglectful or unintentionally absent parents. This can have temporary effects on the child, or permanent but fairly mild harm. Privation is when a child fails to form any attachments at all. This has been said to be more harmful to a child. One of the most common causes of privation has been institutional care

Question 56

Describe Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation

Answer 56

This is the theory that an attachment is essential for healthy psychological and emotional development. It states that there will be many negative consequences of maternal deprivation (being deprived/separated from a mother-like figure), such as: ● An inability to form attachments in the future (see the Internal Working Model) ● Affectionless psychopathy (being unable to feel remorse) ● Delinquency (behavioural problems in the child’s teenage years) ● Problems with cognitive (brain) development

Question 57

Bailey et al (AO3) Bowlbys theory on the Influence of Early Attachment on Childhood and Adult Relationships

Answer 57

This is supported by Bailey (2007). They found that the majority of women (out of the 99 studied) had the same attachment classification both to their babies and their own mothers. This supports the idea of continuity, as suggested by Bowlby. The internal working models that we develop in response to our first attachment to our primary attachment figure contain our perceptions of what a normal relationship looks like, and so we seek out such relationships in accordance with our internal working model.

Question 58

Give a weakness of Bowlbys theory on the Influence of Early Attachment on Childhood and Adult Relationships

Answer 58

It is reductionist and deterministic, due to suggesting that the influence of early attachments is deterministic, so a poor-quality attachment inevitably means that the individual will become bad parents themselves and be unable to form ‘normal’ romantic relationships and friendships in adulthood. it suggests that insecurely attached infants are doomed to grow up and have bad adult relationships, when this is of course not true. There are many cases of insecurely attached children growing to have strong happy relationships

Question 59

Give a strength of Bowlbys theory on the Influence of Early Attachment on Childhood and Adult Relationships

Answer 59

Research support link between early attachment type and success in later relationships. Fraley conducted a meta-analysis of studies- found correlations of up to 0.50 between early attachment types and later relationships. This demonstrates the link between some attachment types (e.g. insecure-anxious) and adult relationships being less clear than they were with other attachment types. This in turn suggests that some attachment types are more unstable over time, and so reduces the confidence that can be placed in Bowlby’s theories of attachment and continuity.