Attachment

Question 1

Define attachment

Answer 1

a close two way (reciprocal) emotional bond between two people in which each sees the other as essential for their own emotional security

Question 2

Name Maccoby’s 4 key behaviours that show that an attachment has been formed

Answer 2

seeking proximity
joy on reunion
separation distress
secure base behaviour

Question 3

Name a reason as to why we form attachments

Answer 3

for survival as infants are physically helpless

Question 4

Why do we form attachments in the short term

Answer 4

food, comfort, protection

Question 5

Why do we form attachments in the long term

Answer 5

for emotional relationships

Question 6

How old is an infant

Answer 6

under 2

Question 7

How long does an infant and PCG attachment take to form

Answer 7

7 months

Question 8

What 3 behaviours help develop this attachment

Answer 8

physical contact
mimicking (innate)
caregiverese

Question 9

What is reciprocity

Answer 9

when infants coordinate their actions to PCG in a kind of conversation
each responds and is able to elicit a response

Question 10

What did Tronick et al find with reciprocity

Answer 10

that when mothers stopped responding then babies cry and become frustrated

Question 11

What did Trevathen say about reciprocity

Answer 11

that turn taking is important for the development of social and language skills

Question 12

What is interactional synchrony

Answer 12

when people interact in a mirror pattern with emotions and behaviour

Question 13

What does Feldman define IS as

Answer 13

the temporal co ordination of micro level social behaviour

Question 14

What did Meltzoff and Moore (1977) observe

Answer 14

IS at 2 weeks, suggesting attachment is innate

Question 15

What did Isabella et al (1989) find

Answer 15

that more attached mothers and infants show more IS

Question 16

Evaluate IS and reciprocity

Answer 16

they are descriptive rather than explanatory, we don’t know how or why they are important
we cannot be certain of babies intentions, we have to assume

Question 17

Why do some say fathers cannot be PCG

Answer 17

they are not psychologically (no oestrogen), socially (social norms) or biologically (cannot breastfeed) equipped

Question 18

What do some say about the fathers role

Answer 18

that they are the ‘playmate’

Question 19

Who studies the fathers playmate role

Answer 19

Grossman (2002)

Question 20

What did Hardy (1999) say about fathers

Answer 20

they are less able to detect distress and cause of distress

Question 21

Explain Schaffer and Emersons (1964) stages of attachment method

Answer 21

60 babies
longitudinal design
All from Glasgow, skilled working class families
Babies and mothers were visited at home every month for the first year and again at 18 months
Measured stranger and separation anxiety

Question 22

Explain their findings

Answer 22

between 25-32 weeks, 50% showed separation anxiety usually to the mother, proving a specific attachment
Attachment was usually to the person who was most interactive and sensitive to infants signals
30 weeks 80% had specific attachments and 30% had multiple

Question 23

Name and explain the first stage

Answer 23

Asocial stage
first few weeks
baby recognises carer
similar behaviour towards human and non human 
shows some preference to familiar faces 
happier in presence of other humans

Question 24

Name and explain the second stage

Answer 24

Indiscriminate stage 
2-7 months 
more observable behaviours 
preference for human over non human 
prefer familiar faces 
no separation or stranger anxiety 
will accept comfort from anyone

Question 25

Name and explain stage 3

Answer 25

specific attachment 7+ months stranger anxiety specific attachment to PCG

Question 26

Name and explain stage 4

Answer 26

12+ months extend to secondary attachments 20% of babies had a secondary attachment within 1 month of forming a primary attachment

Question 27

Explain Lorenz's animal study

Answer 27

imprinting on first moving object | critical period is 4-25 hours after birth in precocial animals

Question 28

Are humans precocial or altrical

Answer 28

Altrical as we cannot walk when we are born

Question 29

Evaluate Lorenz

Answer 29

relevant as it shows attachment is innate | issue of extrapolation as we are different to birds

Question 30

Who's study suggested that Loren's sexual imprinting was overstated

Answer 30

Guiton et al (1966) as he found it wasn't permanent in chickens

Question 31

Explain Harlow's animal study

Answer 31

Monkeys prefer soft mother even if they were reared on wire mother monkeys reared on wire mother were dysfunctional Monkeys prefered contact comfort critical period was 90 days and any attachment was impossible after 90 days

Question 32

What did Bowlby find that aligned with Harlow

Answer 32

that if a human doesn't form an attachment in the first 2 years then they will have reduced intelligence and increased aggression

Question 33

Evaluate Harlow

Answer 33

it has significant theoretical value as it showed the importance of contact comfort over food and importance of good quality early attachments for later social development however he caused monkeys lots of stress and they have closely related emotions to humans

Question 34

Who suggested the Learning theory of attachment

Answer 34

Dollard and Miller (1950)

Question 35

Explain the learning theory

Answer 35

basic assumption that children attach to whoever feeds them | 'cupboard love'

Question 36

What is the LT a direct opposite to

Answer 36

evolutionary theory as ET is innate but LT is learnt

Question 37

Which experiments can link to LT

Answer 37

Pavlovs dogs and Skinners rats

Question 38

What is the primary and secondary reinforcer

Answer 38

P - food | S - mother

Question 39

Explain Sears et al (1957) contribution to LT

Answer 39

Drive reduction hunger is primary drive (innate biological motivator) attachment is secondary drive through association

Question 40

Evaluate LT of attachment

Answer 40

Harlows monkeys did not attach to mother who fed them Schaffer and emersons babies attached to mother and not primary care giver/ feeder Rejects importance of IS and reciprocity

Question 41

What theory did Bowlby reject

Answer 41

LT

Question 42

Which theory did Bowlby propose

Answer 42

Monotropic/evolutionary theory

Question 43

Why does he believe attachment is an innate system

Answer 43

as it gives us a survival advantage as the CG protects us from danger its adaptive

Question 44

What did Bowlby place emphasis on

Answer 44

the monotrophy, that one caregiver attachment is the most important supported by Schaffer and Emerson specific attachment stage

Question 45

What two laws did he propose

Answer 45

Law of continuity - more constant and predictable care is better Law of accumulated separation - separation adds up so no separation is safest, the more time spent together the better

Question 46

What are social releasers (ET)

Answer 46

'cute' behaviours babies are born with to activate the adult attachment system supported by Brazleton and IS

Question 47

How long was the critical period that Bowlby suggested

Answer 47

2.5 years

Question 48

What is the internal working model (ET)

Answer 48

child forms a mental representation of their relationship with PCG and this serves as a model for their future relationships also affects their later ability to parent (Bailey et al 2007)

Question 49

Evaluate Bowlby

Answer 49

puts pressure on mothers to be the PCG and not leave the child fathers are not mentioned or believed to be essential babies have genetically different behaviours

Question 50

Who set up a observation technique to observe a childs attachment to their caregiver

Answer 50

Mary Ainsworth 1969

Question 51

Explain the Strange Situation procedure

Answer 51

controlled observation | two way mirror

Question 52

What 5 behaviours are judged to show attachment

Answer 52

``` proximity seeking exploration/secure base stranger anxiety separation anxiety response to reunion ```

Question 53

What did Ainsworth 1978 identify as the three main types of attachment

Answer 53

secure attachment insecure avoidance insecure resistant

Question 54

Explain secure attachment

Answer 54

type B 60-75% shows good attachment

Question 55

Explain insecure avoidance attachment

Answer 55

``` type A no proximity needed no anxiety 20-25% may come from no response to signals ```

Question 56

explain insecure resistant attachment

Answer 56

``` type C need greater proximity high anxiety resist comfort when reunited 3% may come from wrong response to signals ```

Question 57

Evaluate the Strange Situation

Answer 57

good inter-rater reliability as the behavioural categories are easy to observe Culture-bound as Takahashi (1990) found that in Japan, japanese mothers are never separated from their babies and their reunion is so intense it is hard to observe Solomon (1986) found that their is another type of attachment (disorganised) where children display signs of A and C

Question 58

Outline what happens in the Strange Situation

Answer 58

``` baby encouraged to explore stranger tries to interact CG leaves CG returns and stranger leaves CG leaves stranger returns CG returns ```