Attachment AO3 Flashcards
(12 cards)
Evaluate the influence of early attachment on later relationships.
+Research support: Fearon and Roisman concluded infant attachment influenced development, e.g. disorganised attachment was most predictive for later development of things such as mental disorders, meaning insecure attachment appears to convey a disadvantage for children’s development. COUNTERPOINT: the Regensburg longitudinal study found no continuity of attachment type from age 1-16 years.
-Validity issues with retrospective studies: most studies assess attachment type in adulthood (not infancy) using self-report techniques which rely on honest answers, posing a potential risk to validity.
-Possible confounding variables: Parenting style and personality might affect both attachment and later development, so we can never be entirely sure if infant attachment is what influences later development.
Evaluate Romanian orphan studies and their research into institutionalisation.
+Real-world application: Findings have led to improvements in ways institutions care for children as children are instead designated one or two ‘key workers’ who play a central role, enabling them to develop normal attachments.
-Lack of data on adult development: Too soon to say whether children suffered permanent effects as there is only data going as far as their early twenties, so some children could potentially ‘catch up’.
-Social sensitivity: Late-adopted children were shown to have low IQ, subsequently affecting how they were treated by parents, teachers, etc. and potentially creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Evaluate Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation.
-Sources of evidence are flawed: The 44 thieves study was open to bias as Bowlby himself assessed both deprivation and psychopathy, knowing what he hoped to find. COUNTERPOINT: there is now some evidence to support Bowlby’s theory as Levy et al found that separating baby rats for one day had a permanent effect on their social development.
-Confused deprivation and privation: Children Bowlby studied (e.g. the 44 thieves) may have been prived (failing to form an attachment) rather than deprived (separation from an attachment figure), limiting his credibility.
-Conflicting evidence: Replications of Bowlby’s study have failed to replicate his findings, however, some research evidence has found links between poor maternal care and adult psychopathy which means there is an unclear link between maternal deprivation and psychopathy.
Evaluate cultural variations in attachment.
+Use of indigenous researchers: By doing this it aids in the communication between researchers and participants and helps to prevent misunderstandings, e.g. of instructions, meaning greater chance of successful communication which increases the validity of the study. COUNTERPOINT: this has not been true of all cross-cultural attachment research, e.g. Americans Morelli and Tronick investigated the Efe in Zaire, meaning there is a risk of communication errors.
-Confounding variables: Studies conducted in different countries may not be matched for sample characteristics (e.g. studies in different countries may use children of different ages) and environmental variables may also differ (e.g. using smaller rooms may encourage babies to explore more), meaning they tell us little about cultural differences in attachment.
Evaluate types of attachment found in the ‘Strange Situation’.
+Good predictive validity: COUNTERPOINT:
+Good inter-rater reliability:
-May be a culture-bound test:
Evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory as an explanation of attachment.
+Research support:
-The concept of monotropy lacks validity:
-Feminist concerns:
Evaluate learning theory as an explanation of attachment.
-Counter-evidence from animal studies:
-Counter-evidence from human studies:
Evaluate Lorenz’s study into imprinting.
+Applications to human behaviour:
-Generalising from birds to humans:
Evaluate Harlow’s study into contact comfort.
+Real-world value:
-Generalising from monkeys to humans:
-Ethical issues:
Evaluate the role of the father.
-Confusion over research questions: Psychologists cannot easily answer the question “what is the role of the father?” as some psychologists believe the father’s role is a secondary attachment figure, while others believe the father is a primary attachment figure with a “maternal” role.
-Conflicting evidence from different methodologies:
-Bias in this research:
Evaluate Schaffer’s stages of attachment.
+External validity: Most of the observations were made by parents during ordinary activities with the alternative being to have the observers present in the babies’ homes. This means it is highly likely that the participants behaved naturally during observations. COUNTERPOINT: mothers may have been biased in what they reported which resulted in an inaccurate recording, e.g. they might not have noticed when their baby was showing signs of anxiety.
+Real-world application to day-care: According to the early stages of attachment, babies can be comforted by any skilled adult, unlike in the later stages of attachment. Using these findings, parents can determine when to send their child to day care.
Evaluate caregiver-infant interactions.
+The use of filmed observations: Filming mother-baby interactions from multiple angles allows the fine details of behaviour to be recorded and analysed later, increasing the reliability of the study as it can be later replicated.
-Difficulty in observing babies: Babies are not very co-ordinated in terms of behaviour and what we observe is small gestures and changes in expression. This means it is hard to interpret the meaning of babies’ movements and that we cannot be certain that any particular interaction between caregivers and their baby is meaningful.
-Difficulty inferring developmental importance: Feldman points out that synchrony (and reciprocity) simply describe behaviours that occur at the same time and, although they can be reliably observed, we cannot determine their purpose and if they are important in development.
