Attachment - Booklet 3

Question 1

aim for ainsworth’s strange situation

Answer 1

-observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a child’s attachment to a caregiver

Question 2

procedure for ainsworth’s strange situation

Answer 2

-100 middle-class american infants
-controlled, non participant observation
-controlled laboratory setting with two-way mirror for psychologists to observe 6 different attachment behaviours
-8 episodes lasting 3 mins each

Question 3

list the attachment behaviours for ainsworth’s strange situation

Answer 3

*proximity
*secure base behaviour
*exploration
*stranger anxiety
*separation anxiety
*response to reunion

Question 4

list the episodes for ainsworth’s strange situation

Answer 4

1. mother and child enter play room
2. child encouraged to explore
   (exploration+secure base)
3. stranger enters and attempts to interact
   (stranger anxiety)
4. mother leaves while stranger is present
   (separation+stranger anxiety)
5. mother enters and stranger leaves
   (reunion behaviour, exploration, secure base)
6. mother leaves
   (separation anxiety)
7. stranger returns
   (stranger anxiety)
8. mother returns and interacts with child
   (reunion behaviour)

Question 5

findings for ainsworth’s strange situation

Answer 5

-infants behaviour falls into 1 of 3 categories:
secure - 70%
insecure avoidant - 15%
insecure resistant - 15%

Question 6

describe secure attachment

Answer 6

-explore happily but seek proximity back to caregiver (secure base)
-moderate separation + stranger anxiety
-require + accept comfort in reunion stage

Question 7

describe insecure avoidant attachment

Answer 7

-explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour
-little separation + stranger anxiety
-no comfort at reunion

Question 8

describe insecure resistant attachment

Answer 8

-seek greater proximity and explore less as see mother as secure base
-huge separation + stranger anxiety
-reisist comfort in reunion stage

Question 9

conclusion of ainsworth’s strange situation

Answer 9

-sensitivity and responsiveness of mother is what leads to attachment type (maternal/caregiver sensitivity hypothesis)
sensitivity is the ability to:
1. notice childs signals
2. correctly interpret signals
3. respond to signals promptly and appropriately
-more sensitive = more secure attachment

Question 10

AO3 points for ainsworth’s strange situation

Answer 10

-high reliability due to controlled observation
-small, limited sample
-lacks ecological validity
-ethical issues

Question 11

AO3 - the use of a controlled observation in the strange situation allows high reliability

Answer 11

-researchers had a high degree of control over the environment and extraneous variables
-so the study was easy to replicate
-inter-rater reliability was good as bick et al looked at inter-rater reliability in trained strange situation observers and there was 94% agreement
-matters because we can be confident the attachment type of an infant does not just depend on who is observing as the behavioural categories are easy to observe

Question 12

define inter-rater reliability

Answer 12

-the consistency in findings between two or more researchers

Question 13

AO3 - the strange situation had a small, limited sample

Answer 13

-white, middle class american child-mother pairs
-unrepresentative of other cultures
-culture bound test as the strange situation does not have the same meaning in countries outside the USA
-cultural differences in childhood can lead to different responses - eg in japan separation is rare so separation anxiety is high
-matters as the procedure may not be effective to research attachments in other cultures
-also the results on attachment types may not be valid in other cultures as cannot generalise

Question 14

AO3 - the strange situation lacks ecological validity

Answer 14

-laboratory experiment
-so a controlled, artificial environment
-cannot be sure the behaviour of the child is reflective of their natural behaviour
-matters because the observational research lacks mundane realism so lacks ecological validity so cannot be applied to real life attachment

Question 15

AO3 - counter - the strange situation lacks ecological validity

Answer 15

-an artificial environment was necessary to sustain control and prevent the influence of extraneous variables during the observation

Question 16

AO3 - ethical issues with the strange situation

Answer 16

-unfamiliar environment
-procedure causes distress for child
-lack of protection from harm as psychological harm may continued after the research as the baby may have kept crying
-matters as it reduces the value of the research

Question 17

AO3 - counter - ethical issues with the strange situation

Answer 17

-attachment behaviours investigated were common everyday situations so the babies were not under more distress than normal
-unfamiliar environment and procedure necessary to ensure natural responses

Question 18

define an individualist culture

Answer 18

-value the individual over the ‘collective group’
-encourages the child’s individual qualities
-1/2 primary caregivers
eg western cultures: germany, uk, usa

Question 19

define a collectivist culture

Answer 19

-value the collective group over individuals
-child has multiple caregivers
eg: japan, china

Question 20

aim for van ijzendoorn’s research

Answer 20

-investigate cross cultural variations in attachment types

Question 21

procedure for van ijzendoorn’s research

Answer 21

-large scale meta-analysis
-analysed 32 separate strange situation studies from 8 countries
-analysed 2000 babies in total

Question 22

name the countries investigated in van ijzendoorn’s research

Answer 22

-west germany
-israel
-japan
-china
-usa
-great britain

Question 23

findings for van ijzendoorn’s research

Answer 23

-secure attachment is most common type in both cultures
-insecure avoidant second most common in individualist cultures
-whereas insecure resistant second most common in collectivist cultures

Question 24

conclusion for van ijzendoorn’s research

Answer 24

-incidental finding that there is variation within the same countries
eg some studies in america showed large variation in % of secure attachments
-secure attachment is most common in all countries supporting attachments are innate
-attachment type is influenced by cultural child-rearing processes

Question 25

AO3 points on van izjendoorn's research

Answer 25

-research into cultural variations has strong supporting evidence -the use of meta analysis makes it ethically sound -the research compares countries not cultures -the research may not be truly representative

Question 26

AO3 - van ijzerdoorns research has strong supporting evidence

Answer 26

-italian study by simonella found that the rate of secure attachment types was lower than in previous studies due to an increase in mothers working and having their children in childcare -cultural changes can make a dramatic difference to patterns of secure and insecure attachment, suggesting the research is valuable as there are consistencies in cultural variations

Question 27

AO3 - the use of meta-analysis makes the research ethically sound

Answer 27

-the original research is unethical as the unfamiliar environment causes distress so there is a lack of protection from harm. -but by using a meta-analysis rather than replicating the research, it prevents psychological harm for new participants -strengthens the ethical nature of the research meaning the quality of the research can be maintained

Question 28

AO3 - van izjendoorns research compares countries not cultures

Answer 28

-within any country there are many different cultures with different child rearing practices -analysis by van izjendoorn found that distributions of attachment type in Tokyo were similar to the western studies, whereas a more rural sample had an over-representation of insecure-resistant -so we need to be cautious when using this research to describe 'cultural variations' as comparisons between countries have little meaning

Question 29

AO3 - van izjendoorns research may not be truly representative

Answer 29

-the meta analysis used 8 countries and a total of 32 studies -this large sample was not representative as it had an unbalanced number of studies from collectivist and individualist cultures: 1 study in china 15 studies in the us -the uneven sample means the sample may not account for variations within countries of collectivist cultures -so it can be difficult to generalise as the findings may not be fully representative of the country as a whole

Question 30

define maternal deprivation

Answer 30

-the emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and their mother -prolonged separation from a child and their mother during the critical period

Question 31

describe bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation

Answer 31

-a strong attachment to a mother figure was essential for psychological, emotional and intellectual development -the critical period is the first 2.5 years of life -deprivation only occurs if the child is separated from their primary attachment figure for an extended period of time in the absence of substitute emotional care

Question 32

describe and explain when maternal deprivation is most detrimental

Answer 32

-during the critical period (2.5 years) -if an attachment is not formed during this time there are irreversible consequences

Question 33

describe the consequences of maternal deprivation

Answer 33

-physically underdeveloped; small, thin, deprivation dwarfism -cognitively/intellectually underdeveloped -emotionally underdeveloped; temper tantrums, unable to control emotions -socially underdeveloped ; struggle to make friends and have relationships

Question 34

aim for bowlbys 44 juvenile thieves study

Answer 34

-investigate whether prolonged maternal separation led to juvenile delinquency

Question 35

procedure for bowlbys 44 juvenile thieves study

Answer 35

-88 children referred to his clinic (as a psychiatrist) group 1 - 44 juvenile thieves group 2 - 44 juveniles with emotional problems -groups were matched in terms of age and IQ -each child given psychological tests: intelligence, emotional attitude towards these tests -while this happened, a social worker interviewed their mother for a psychiatric history of the child's life eg separation from mother -both reports given to bowlby who interviewed child then mother -also reviewed school reports

Question 36

findings from bowlbys juvenile thieves research

Answer 36

-14 children from juvenile thieves group were affectionless psychopaths (lacked empathy, little affection) -12 of 14 had prolonged separation from mother in first 2 years -2 of control group had prolonged separation and 0 were psychopaths

Question 37

conclusion from bowlbys juvenile thieves research

Answer 37

-maternal deprivation theory - early separation of a child from their primary caregiver during a critical period, can have irreversible consequences for the child's development -law of accumulated separation- every separation a child has from their caregiver adds up 'the safest dose is zero dose' -irreversibility - complete recovery is impossible

Question 38

AO3 points on bowlbys maternal deprivation theory

Answer 38

-animal research by Harlow supports the maternal deprivation theory -the results of the research may not be representative of typical maternal deprivation -counter evidence from Czech twins -evidence from genie -has practical applications -lacks temporal validity

Question 39

AO3 - harlows research supports the maternal deprivation theory

Answer 39

-harlow studied maternal deprivation using 'motherless monkeys' -these monkeys ignored or abused their offspring and were antisocial -found effects of maternal deprivation could be reversed if lasted less than 90 days -validates bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation as it provides supporting evidence from a controlled environment; supports critical period + effects of MD

Question 40

AO3 - counter - harlows research supports the maternal deprivation theory

Answer 40

-may not be valid as it was conducted with monkeys -biologically and cognitively different to humans -results of critical period may not be valid to extrapolate to humans

Question 41

AO3 - harlows research may not be representative of typical maternal deprivation

Answer 41

-researcher bias as bowlby was the psychiatrist who carried out the interviews for affectionless psychopathy and the family interview - he already knew what he hoped to find -partial replications of the study with larger samples found maternal deprivation was not associated with criminal activity -results may be inaccurate as researcher bias may affect the validity of the results as counter evidence shows different results

Question 42

AO3 - counter - harlows research may not be representative of typical maternal deprivation

Answer 42

-the effects of researcher bias may not have been very strong as bowlby did not conduct all assessments since a social worker interviewed for psychiatric history and school reports were used

Question 43

AO3 - counter evidence for bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation

Answer 43

-the czech twins had severe deprivation, then when fostered by aunt, were able to form a secure attachment -returned to father + abusive wife and were dwarfed, lacked speech, rickets, didn't understand pictures (predicted no recovery by doctors) -adopted by loving couple and full recovery was made -bowlbys theory not fully valid as maternal deprivation was reversible outside of critical period so critical period may be sensitive period

Question 44

AO3 - genie supports bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation

Answer 44

-genie shows the consequences of maternal deprivation as she was physically underdeveloped : at 13, the size of a 6 year old, unable to talk -validating bowlbys theory as irreversible consequences due to absence of care in critical period

Question 45

AO3 - bowlbys MDT has practical application

Answer 45

-highlights importance of sensitive emotional care within critical period -childcare practices assign caregivers to children -hospital visiting hours extended -maternity + paternity leave -findings are beneficial to society as have led to social changes

Question 46

AO3 - bowlbys MDT lacks temporal validity

Answer 46

-research conducted in 1930s when there was no NHS, no child benefits, poverty was high so majority of criminal cases were theft -less poverty so theft is less common and children raised differently -less association between maternal deprivation and juvenile delinquency -undermines bowlbys theory as can't be generalised