Attachment: Evaluation

Question 1

Caregiver -Infant Interactions AO3

Answer 1

• problems testing infant behaviour as they are in cosntant motion
• failure to replicate Meltzoff anf Moore eg Marian et al (live vs taped interactions)
  + intentionality supported - no response to inanimate object (Anravanel and DeYong)
• individual differences - security of attachment associated with interactional synchrony (Isabella et al)

Question 2

Development of Attachment AO3

Answer 2

• unreliable data - mothers of less securely attached infants would be less sensitive and possibly less accurate in their reports, a systematic bias
• biased sample - working class population from 1960s, results may not generalise
• challenging monotropy - Rutter argued that all relationships equivalent
• cultural variations - infants raised in collectivist environment showed less maternal attachment than in individualist/family based homes (Sagi et al)
• stage theories of development - may be too inflexible

Question 3

Lorenz AO3

Answer 3

+ research support - imprinting on yellow rubber gloves (Guiton et al)
- criticisms of imprinting - may not be irreversible and may be little more than just learning

Question 4

Harlow AO3

Answer 4

• confounding variable - wire mother faces different, varied systematically with independent variable
• generalising to humans may not be justified but findings confirmed eg Schaffer and Emerson
• ethics - benefits may outweigh costs, but doesn’t challenge findings

Question 5

Learning Theory AO3

Answer 5

• animal studies - lack external validity because simplified view of human attachment
• attachment isn’t based on food - harlow showed it was contact comfort, supported by Schaffer and Emerson
  + learning theory can explain some aspects of attachment - attention and responsiveness are rewards
• alternative explanation - bowlby

Question 6

Bowlbys Theory AO3

Answer 6

• attachment is adaptive - human infants form attachments when they start to be mobile
• a sensitive period rather than critical (Rutter et al)
  + multiple attachments - bowlbys views aren’t contradictory because secondary attachments contribute to one single internal working model
  + continuity hypothesis - securely attached infents later classed as more empathetic and more popular

Question 7

Strange Situation AO3

Answer 7

• other types of attachment - disorganised (type D) (Main and Solomon)
  + high reliability - inter-observer reliability > .94
  + real world applications - Circle of Security Project
• low internal validity - children behave differently depending on which parent (Main and Solomon) though attachment type may be related to primary attachment figure

Question 8

Cultural Variations AO3

Answer 8

• results relate to countries yet within countries there are cultural differences eg rural v urban Japanese
• cross-cultural research - uses tools developed in one country in a different setting where it has a different meaning (imposed etic)
• culture bias - Rothbaum argues that attachment theory generally has a western bias

Question 9

Bowlby’s MDH AO3

Answer 9

• emotional rather than physical separation is harmful
  + support for long term effects - women who experienced early separation more liekly to experience depression later in life
• individual differences - some children more resilient eg securely attached children in TB hospital
• deprivation v privation - loss of care may not have as serious consequences as total lack of attachment

Question 10

Romanian Orphan Studies AO3

Answer 10

• individual differences - some children appear to recover despite no apparent attachments within sensitive period
  + real life application - adoption should be as early as possible and then infants securely attached
  + logitudinal studies - show that some changes take a while to become apparent, current studies show some recovery possible
• deprivation only one factor - most institutionalised children experience multiple ‘risks’ thus maternal deprivation shouldnt be over exaggerated
• effects may just be due to slower development - fact that children appear to recover suggests effects simply slow down development

Question 11

Influence of Early Attachment AO3

Answer 11

• correlational research - internal working model may not cause later relationship experiences, temperament may be intervening variable
• retrospective classification - childhood attachment type based on memory of childhood which may be inaccurate, though support from longitudinal study (Simpson et al)
• overly determinist - past attachment experiences do not always determine the course of future relationships
• low correlations - a meta-analysis of studoes suggest correlations between early attachments and later relationships may be as low as .10 (Fraley)