Attachment (Paper 1) Flashcards

Question

# negative What is the problem with how Schaffer and Emerson assessed/measured multiple attachments? | Page 77 ## Footnote Investigating the formation of early attachments study: - tested attachment using seperation anxiety with these 'attachment' figures.

Answer 1

Just because a baby gets distressed when an individual leaves the room does not necessarily mean that the individual is a 'true' attachment figure. **Bowlby** (1969) pointed out that children have **playmates** as well as attachment figures and may get distressed when a playmate leaves the room but this does not signify attachment. This is a problem for Schaffer and Emerson's stages because their observation does not leave us a way to **distinguish between behaviour** shown towards **secondary attachment** figures and shown towards **playmates.** | A03

Answer 2

Schaffer and Emerson used simple behaviours - **stranger anxiety and separation anxiety** - to define attachment. Some critics believe these are too narrow as measurements of attachment. That **attachment is more complex than just two behaviours** and that therefore these measures are not valid. However, It is a **strength** that Schaffer and Emerson used the measures of attachment they did. Stranger anxiety and separation anxiety are **easy to observe**. This makes it possible to be **objective** about judgements of attachment. It also means that there should be **good inter-rater reliability – two or more observers will probably agree** on the attachment status of any child they observe. | A03

Answer 3

Stage I: Asocial stage (first few weeks) The baby is recognising and forming bonds with its carers. The baby's behaviour towards objects and humans is quite similar. but they show some preference for familiar adults since those individuals find it easier to calm them. Babies are also happier when in the presence of other humans. (This is not really an asocial stage even though Schaffer and Emerson used that term). | A01

Answer 4

Stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment From **2-7 months** babies display more observable social behaviour. They show a preference for people rather than inanimate objects, and recognise and prefer familiar adults. At this stage babies usually accept cuddles and comfort from any adult, and they do not usually show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety. Their attachment behaviour is therefore said to be indiscriminate because it is not different towards any one person. | A01

Answer 5

Stage 3: Specific attachment From **around 7 months** the majority of babies start to **display anxiety towards strangers** and to become **anxious when separated** from one particular adult (*their biological mother in 65% of cases*). At this point the baby is said to have formed a **specific attachment**. This adult is **termed the primary attachment figure**. This person is not necessarily the person the child spends most time with but the one who offers the most interaction and responds to the baby's 'signals' with the most skill. | A01

Answer 6

Stage 4: Multiple attachments Babies shorty after start to show attachment behaviour towards one adult. They usually extend this attachment behaviour to multiple attachments with other adults with whom they regularly spend time with. These relationships are called secondary attachments. In Schaffer and Emerson's study, **29% of the children had secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary (specific) attachment**. By the age of about **one years old** the majority of infants had developed **multiple attachments**. | A01

Answer 7

Studies carried out on non-human animal species rather than on humans, either for ethical or practical reasons. | A01 ## Footnote - practical because animals breed faster and **researchers are interested in seeing results across more than one generation of animals**.

Answer 8

Imprinting - whereby bird species that are mobile from birth (like geese and ducks) **attach to and follow the first moving object they see**. Lorenz identified a critical period in which imprinting needs to take place. Depending on the species this can be as **brief as a few hours after hatching (or birth**). **If imprinting does not occur within that time** Lorenz found that chicks **did not attach themselves to a mother figure.** Procedure: Lorenz set up a classic experiment in which he randomly divided a clutch of goose eggs. Half the eggs were hatched with the **mother goose in their natural environment**. The other half hatched **in an incubator** where the first moving object they saw was Lorenz. Findings: The incubator group followed Lorenz everywhere whereas the control group (hatched in the presence of their mother) followed her. When the two groups were mixed up the control group continued to follow the mother and the experimental group followed Lorenz. | A01

Answer 9

Lorenz also investigated the relationship between imprinting and adult mate preferences. He observed that birds that imprinted on a human would often later display courtship behaviour towards humans. In a case study Lorenz (1952) described a peacock that had been reared in the reptile house of a zoo where the first moving objects the peacock saw after hatching were giant tortoises. As an adult this bird would only direct courtship behaviour towards giant tortoises (like show its feathers to them rather then other peacocks). Lorenz concluded that this meant he had undergone sexual imprinting. | A01

Answer 10

Harlow worked with rhesus monkeys, which are much more similar to humans than Lorenz's birds. Harlow observed that newborns kept alone in a bare cage usually died but that they usually **survived if given something soft like a cloth to cuddle**. **Procedure**: Harlow (1958) tested the idea that **a soft object serves some of the functions of a mother**. In one experiment he reared **16 baby monkeys** with two wire model 'mothers'. In one condition milk was dispensed by the plain wire mother whereas in a second condition the milk was dispensed by the cloth-covered mother. **Findings**: It was found that the baby monkeys cuddled the soft object in preference to the wire one and sought comfort from the cloth one when frightened regardless of which dispensed milk. This showed that **'contact comfort' was of more importance to the monkeys than food when it came to attachment behaviour.** | A01

Answer 11

*Harlow et al followed the monkeys who had been deprived of a 'real' mother into adulthood - to see if early maternal deprivation had a permanent effect. They found severe consequences.* The monkeys reared with **wire mothers only** were the most dysfunctional; however, even those reared with **a soft toy as a substitute** did not develop normal social behaviour. They were more **aggressive** and **less sociable** than other monkeys and they **bred less often** than is typical for monkeys, being **unskilled at mating**. As mothers some of the deprived monkeys **neglected their young** and others **attacked their children**, even **killing them** in some cases. | A01

Answer 12

Harlow concluded that there was a critical period for this behaviour - a mother figure had to be introduced to an infant monkey within **90 days for an attachment to form**. **After this time attachment was impossible** and the damage done by early deprivation becomes irreversible. | A01

Answer 13

*Although some of his findings have influenced our understanding of human development, there is a problem in generalising from findings on birds to humans.* The mammalian attachment system is quite different from that in birds. e.g, **mammalian mothers show more emotional attachment to their young than birds do.** This means that it is not appropriate to try to generalise any of Lorenz's ideas to humans. | A03

Answer 14

*The idea that imprinting has a permanent effect on mating behaviour.* Guiton et al. (1966) found that **chickens imprinted on yellow washing up gloves would try to mate with them as adults** (as Lorenz would have predicted), but that **with experience they eventually learned to prefer mating with other chickens.** This suggests that the impact of imprinting on mating behaviour is **not as permanent as Lorenz believed.** | A03

Answer 15

Harlow showed that attachment does not develop as the result of being fed by a mother figure but as a result of **contact comfort.** He also showed the **importance of the quality of early relationships for later social development**, e.g the ability to have adult relationships and successfully raise children. | A03

Answer 16

The insight into attachment from **Harlow's research** has had important applications in a range of practical contexts. e.g, it has **helped social workers understand risk factors** in **child neglect and abuse** and so intervene to prevent it (Howe 1998). Of course these findings are also important in the care of captive monkeys; we now understand the importance of proper attachment figures for **baby monkeys in zoos and also in breeding programmes in the wild.** | A03

Answer 17

Harlow **faced severe criticism** for the ethics of his research. The monkeys suffered greatly as a result of Harlow's procedures. This species is considered similar enough to humans to be able to generalise the findings, which also means that **their suffering was presumably quite human-like**. Harlow himself was well aware of the suffering he caused - Harlow referred to the wire mothers as '**iron maidens' after a medieval torture device.** | A03 ## Footnote The counter-argument is that Harlow's research was sufficiently important to justify the effects.

Answer 18

**Monkeys are similar in some ways to humans. They are primates,** and it is likely that **attachment works in a similar way in all primates.** On the other hand, there are also key differences between humans and monkeys. **Humans** have much larger brains and are **psychologically more complex**. Humans can make conscious decisions about social interactions to a much greater extent than monkeys. The major argument against applying animal studies of attachment to humans is one of **generalisability; we simply don't know how similar attachment is in humans and monkeys.** The major argument for applying animal studies is that we can have tight control over the conditions in animal studies; **in humans we can only study existing cases of deprivation, not create those conditions for an experiment.** | A03 ## Footnote Although monkeys are clearly much more similar to humans than Lorenz's geese, they are not human. Psychologists disagree on the extent to which studies of non-human primates can be generalised to humans.

Answer 19

A group of explanations for how people learn and apply that knowledge. (including **Classical** conditioning and **Operant** conditioning) | A01

Answer 20

Learning **theorists John Dollard and Neal Miller** (1950) proposed that **caregiver-infant attachment can be explained by learning theory.** Their approach is sometimes called a 'cupboard love' approach because it emphasises the importance of the caregiver as a provider of food. Put simply **they proposed that children learn to love whoever feeds them.** | A01

Answer 21

Involves learning to associate two stimuli together so that **we** begin to **respond to one** in the **same way we already respond to the other.** For **attachment**: **Food** serves as an **unconditioned stimulus**. It is an unconditioned response (because it gives us pleasure). A caregiver **starts as a neutral stimulus** (something that produces a neutral response). But when the same person **provides the food over time** they become **associated with 'food'** (when the baby sees this person again there is an immediate expectation for food.) The neutral stimulus has **become a conditioned stimulus**. So that once conditioning has taken place the sight of the caregiver will keep producing a conditioned response of pleasure. | A01

Answer 22

Involves learning from the consequences of behaviour. There are 3 types of consequences for behaviour : * Positive Reinforcement * Negative Reinforcement * Punishment If behaviour produces a **pleasant consequence** , the behaviour is likely to be repeated again. The behaviour is said to be *reinforced*. If a behaviour produces an **unpleasant consequence** (punishment) it is *less likely to be repeated*. In the context of attachment, this means that **an infant learns to repeat behaviours which lead to positive outcomes.** | A01

Answer 23

An example of operant conditioning is the **research of Skinner** (1938). Skinner’s experiments involved putting animals, such as rats and pigeons, in cages. In one variation of the experiment, pressing the response lever caused food to come out of the food dispenser. The rat quickly learned this consequence and so would repeat the behaviour to get more food. This is an example of **positive reinforcement.** Another variation of the experiment demonstrated learning through **negative reinforcement.** In this set up, an electrified grid would cause pain to the rat but pressing the response lever would turn the grid off. Similar to the other experiment, the rats quickly learned to go straight to the response lever when placed in the box. These experiments demonstrated how learning through **positive and negative reinforcement increases the chances of a behaviour being repeated.** | A01

Answer 24

Drive Reduction - an animal is motivated to act in order to satisfy biological needs; once satisfied, the result is drive reduction. Primary Drive - innate drives such as for food and water. **Secondary Drive**- learned drives (motivators) acquired through association with a primary drive, such as money that enables primary drives to be satisfied. **Robert Sears** et al. (1957): When caregivers provide food, the primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to the baby **Attachment is a secondary drive**, learned by association As the caregiver satisfies their primary drives, the baby will become attached | A01

Answer 25

A range of animal studies has shown that actually *young animals do not necessarily attach to (or imprint on) those who feed them.* **Lorenz's geese** (page 78) **imprinted before they were fed** and maintained these attachments regardless of who fed them. **Harlow's monkeys** attached to a **soft surrogate** in preference to a wire one that dispensed milk. In both these animal studies it is clear that attachment does not develop as a result of feeding. The same must be true for humans, after all, learning theorists believed that non-human animals and humans were equivalent (the same in this aspect). | A03

Answer 26

Research with babies shows that feeding does not appear to be an important factor in humans. e.g, **Schaffer and Emerson's** study (page 78) Where many of the babies developed a primary attachment to their biological mother even though other carers did most of the feeding. These findings are a problem for **learning theory** as they show that feeding is not the key element to attachment and so **there is no unconditioned stimulus or primary drive involved.** | A03 ## Footnote unconditioned stimulus= naturally and automatically triggers a response without prior learning or conditioning. e.g a loud sound might cause a startled response. Primary drive= basic biological need for things such as food and water, sex and sleep.

Answer 27

Research into early infant-caregiver interaction suggests that the quality of attachment is associated with factors like **developing reciprocity and good levels of interactional synchrony** (e.g. Isabella et al. 1989 - see page 74). In addition, studies have shown that the **best quality attachments are with sensitive carers that pick up infant signals and respond appropriately**. These findings don't fit with the idea of 'cupboard love'. **If attachment developes purely as a result of feeding, there would be no purpose for complex interactions**. | A03 ## Footnote cupboard love= children learn to love whoever feeds them. Isabella et al's study: observed 30 mothers and infants together and assessed the degree of synchrony. found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better emotional intensity in the relationship of the mother-infant attachment.

Answer 28

Some elements of **conditioning** could still be involved. **As a whole, learning theory is not a good explanation** for infant-caregiver attachment. However, we do believe that many aspects of human development are affected by conditioning. **The problem with Learning theory is the idea that feeding provides the unconditioned stimulus, reinforcement or primary drive.** But **classical conditioning is still credible**. Comfort and social interaction is part of what builds the attachment. **e.g**, early in the development of attachment, the primary attachment figure could be chosen by reinforcement – they are the one that provides the most comfort (negative reinforcement) and engages most with pleasurable interaction (positive reinforcement). We could also see **attachment as a primary drive rather than a secondary one**; then drive reduction doesn't seem so silly. | A03 edit this info ## Footnote primary: fundemental need/want for things like food or water secondary: things that enables the primary drive to be satisfied e.g money

Answer 29

Dale Hay and Jo Vespo (1988) proposed a newer explanation for **infant-caregiver attachment** based on **social learning theory**. **The idea that social behaviour is acquired largely as a result of modelling and imitation of behaviour.** They suggest that parents **teach** children to love them by modelling attachment behaviour, e.g. hugging them, and instructing and rewarding them with **approval when they display attachment behaviour of their own**; e.g 'that's a lovely smile'. **Social learning theory is more credible than earlier learning theories as explanations of attachment** because the processes of **modelling, instruction and reward** can **all** be observed taking place in families. However, social learning theory still *cannot explain the importance & complexity of early interactions involving **synchrony** and **reciprocity***. Therefore **social learning theory is not the dominant theory of attachment.** | A03

Answer 30

Monotropic - That one specific attachment is different from the others, and of central importance to that child's development. | A01 ## Footnote A term sometimes used to describe Bowlby's theory

Answer 31

The mental representations we carry of our attachment to our primary caregiver. They are important in affecting our future relationships because they carry our perception of what relationships are like. | A01

Answer 32

Critical period - This refers to the time within which an attachment must form if it is to form at all. | A01 ## Footnote Lorenz and Harlow noted that attachment in birds and monkeys had critical periods. Bowlby extended the idea to humans, proposing that human infants also have a sensitive period after which it will be much more difficult to form an attachment.

Answer 33

John Bowlby rejected learning theory as an explanation for attachment because, 'were it true, an infant of a year or two should take readily to whomever feeds him and this is clearly not the case'. He looked into the work of Lorenz and Harlow for ideas and proposed an evolutionary explanation: That attachment was an **innate system** that gave a **survival advantages**. Imprinting and attachment evolved because they ensure that young animals stay close to their caregivers and this **protects them from hazards**. Millions of years ago this might have been wild animals, today it is traffic and electricity. | A01 ## Footnote Innate system= a defence system you are born with

Answer 34

Bowlby's theory (1958 - 1969) is described as monotropic because he **emphasied on a child's attachment to one particular caregiver**. He believed that the child's attachment to this one caregiver is different and more important than others. Bowlby called this person the '**mother**' but was clear that it **need not be the biological mother**. Bowly believed that the more time a baby spent with this mother-figure/ primary attachment figure - the better their attachment. *He put forward two principles to clarify this:* * **The law of continuity**: The more constant and predictable a child's care, the better the quality of their attachment. * **The law of accumulated separation**: The effects of every separation from the mother add up and the safest dose is therefore a zero dose'. (page 255). | A01

Answer 35

Bowlby suggested that **babies are born with a set of innate 'cute' behaviours** like smiling, cooing and gripping that encourage attention from adults. He called these **social releasers** because their **purpose is to activate the adult attachment system**, i.e. make an adult feel love towards the baby. Bowlby recognised that **attachment was a reciprocal process**. Both mother and baby have an innate predisposition to become attached and social releasers trigger that response in caregivers. The interplay between infant and adult attachment systems gradually builds the relationship between infant and caregiver. Beginning in the early weeks of life (page 88). Bowlby proposed that there is a **critical period around two years** when the infant attachment system is active. In fact Bowlby viewed this as more of a sensitive period. A child is maximally sensitive at the age of two but, **if an attachment is not formed in this time, a child will find it much harder to form one later**. | A01 ## Footnote predisposition= If you're predisposed to something, you're heading in that direction already - you already have a tendency to develop it. interplay= the way in which two or more things have an effect on each other.

Answer 36

Bowlby proposed that **a child forms a mental representation of their relationship with their primary caregiver**. This is called an internal working model because it serves as **a model for what relationships are like**. It therefore has a powerful **effect** on the nature of the **child's future relationships**. **e.g** A child whose first experience is of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to form an expectation that all relationships are as loving and reliable, and **they will bring these qualities to future relationships**. However, a child whose first relationship involves poor treatment will tend to form further poor relationships in which **they expect such treatment from others or treat others in that way**. Most importantly the internal working model **affects the child's later ability to be a parent themselves**. **People tend to base their parenting behaviour on their own experiences of being parented**. (This explains why children from functional families tend to have similar families themselves.) | A01

Answer 37

Bowlby believed that babies generally formed one attachment to their primary caregiver, and that this attachment was special, in some way different from later attachments. Only after this attachment was established could a child form multiple attachments. **This is not supported by Schaffer and Emerson- 'investigating the formation of early attachments' study** (1964). (page 76) who found that most babies did attach to one person first. but also a **significant minority appeared able to form multiple attachments at the same time**. Studies of mother & father attachment tend to show that attachment to the mother is more important in predicting later behaviour (e.g. Suess et al. 1992). (However, this could simply mean that attachment to the primary attachment figure is just stronger than other attachments, not necessarily that it is different in quality.) | A03

Answer 38

There is clear evidence to show that cute infant behaviours are intended to initiate social interaction and that doing so is important to the baby. **Brazleton et al**. (1975) observed mothers and babies during their interactions, reporting the existence of interactional synchrony. They then extended the study from an observation to an experiment. Primary attachment figures were **instructed to ignore their babies' signals** - in Bowly's terms, to ignore their social releasers. The babies initially showed some distress but, when the attachment figures continued to ignore the baby, some responded by curling up and lying motionless. **The fact that the children responded so strongly supports Bowlby's ideas** about the significance of infant social behaviour in evoking caregiving. | A03

Answer 39

The idea of **internal working models** is **testable** because it **predicts** that **patterns of attachment will be passed on from one generation to the next**. **Bailey et al**. (2007) tested this idea. They **assessed 99 mothers** with **one-year-old babies** on the **quality of their attachment to their own mothers** using a standard **interview procedure**. The researchers also assessed the attachment of the babies to the mothers by observation. It was found that the **mothers who reported poor attachments to their own parents in the interviews were much more likely to have children classified as poor according to the observations.** This **supports** the idea that, as Bowly said, an **internal working model of attachment was being passed through the families.** | A03

Answer 40

Because it has major implications for the lifestyle choices mothers make when their children are young. **The law of accumulated separation** states that having substantial time apart from a primary attachment figure risks a poor quality attachment that will disadvantage the child in a range of ways later. **Feminists** like **Erica Burman** (1994) have pointed out that this **places a terrible burden of responsibility on mothers**, setting them up to take the blame for anything that goes wrong in the rest of the child's life. It also pushes mothers into particular lifestyle choices like not returning to work when a child is born. This was **not Bowlby's intention** - he saw himself as boosting the status of mothers by emphasising the importance of their role. | A03 ## Footnote Before Bowlby's time people didn't think the mother's role was important and, in fact, many divorces were settled in favour of the father because mothers were not regarded as necessary. There is an interesting debate about whether this is a limitation of the theory. The inconvenience of an idea does not make it wrong! However, researchers do need to be very careful about promoting an idea that is likely to have negative social consequences.

Answer 41

**Temperament is a child's genetically influenced personality**. **e.g**, temperament researchers suggest that some babies are more anxious than others and some more sociable than others as a result of their genetic makeup (Kagan 1982). **These temperamental differences explain later social behaviour rather than attachment experiences**. Temperament researchers often accuse Bowlby of over-emphasising the importance of a child's early experiences + quality of their attachment. **Temperament** research is a problem for attachment researchers because it provides a **credible alternative explanation** for many of their observations. **e.g**, temperament can explain why some babies show much more stranger anxiety and separation anxiety than others. **However, temperament cannot explain the importance of responding to early interactions (reciprocity)** in developing good quality attachments so there is clearly a place for both attachment and temperament in developmental psychology. | A03

Answer 42

A controlled observation designed to test attachment security. Infants are assessed on their response while playing in an unfamiliar room, being left alone, left with a stranger and being reunited with a caregiver. | A01

Answer 43

Generally thought of as the most desirable attachment type, associated with psychologically healthy outcomes. | A01 ## Footnote In the Strange Situation procedure, this is shown by moderate stranger and separation anxiety and ease of comfort at reunion.

Answer 44

Low anxiety but weak attachment. | A01 ## Footnote In the Strange Situation procedure this is shown by low stranger + separation anxiety + little response to reunion (an avoidance by the caregiver).

Answer 45

Strong attachment and high anxiety. | A01 ## Footnote In the Strange Situation this is shown by high levels of stranger + separation anxiety + resistance to be comforted at reunion.

Answer 46

The Strange Situation was developed by Mary Ainsworth (1969): The **aim** was to be able to **observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a child's attachment to a caregiver.** **Procedure**: The Strange Situation is **a controlled observation** procedure designed to measure the security of attachment a child displays towards a caregiver. It takes place in a room with rather controlled conditions (i.e. **a laboratory**) with a two-way mirror through which psychologists can observe the infant's behaviour. **The behaviours used to judge attachment included:** * **Proximity seeking**: an infant with a good attachment will stay fairly close to the caregiver. * **Exploration and secure-base behaviour**: good attachment enables a child to feel confident to explore, using their caregiver as a secure base, i.e. a point of contact that will make them feel safe. * **Stranger anxiety**: one of the signs of becoming closely attached is a display of anxiety when a stranger approaches. * **Separation anxiety**: another sign of becoming attached is to protest at separation from the caregiver. * **Response to reunion**: with the caregiver after separation for a short period of time under controlled conditions. (The **procedure has seven episodes**, each of which last **three minutes**.) Beginning: Child and caregiver enter an unfamiliar playroom. 1. The child is encouraged to explore. (Tests exploration and secure base.) 2. A stranger comes in and tries to interact with the child. (Tests stranger anxiety.) 3. The caregiver leaves the child and stranger together. (Tests separation and stranger anxiety.) 4. The caregiver returns and the stranger leaves. (Tests reunion behaviour and exploration/ secure base.) 5. The caregiver leaves the child alone. (Tests separation anxiety.) 6. The stranger returns. (Tests stranger anxiety.) 7. The caregiver returns and is reunited with the child. (Tests reunion behaviour.) | A01

Answer 47

**Ainsworth et al**. (1978) found that there were distinct patterns in the way that infants behaved. **She identified three main types of attachment:** * **Secure attachment (Type B)**. These children explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver (proximity seeking and secure base behaviour). They usually show moderate separation distress and moderate stranger anxiety. Securely attached children require and accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage (when they see eachother again after the attachment figure had left the room). (About 60-75% of British toddlers are classified as secure) * **Insecure-avoidant attachment (Type A)**. These children explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour. They show little or no reaction when their caregiver leaves and they make little effort to make contact when the caregiver returns. * They also show little stranger anxiety. They do not require comfort at the reunion stage. (About 20-25% of toddlers are classified as insecure-avoidant.) * **Insecure-resistant attachment (Type C)**. These children seek greater proximity than others and so explore less. They show huge stranger and separation distress but they resist comfort when reunited with their carer. (Around 3% of British toddlers are classified as insecure-resistant.) | A01

Answer 48

Aim- observe key attachment behaviours as a means of **assessing the quality of a child's attachment to a caregiver**. procedure: Controlled observation, **labatory**. The behaviours used to judge attachment included: * Proximity seeking * Exploration and secure-base behaviour * stranger anxiety * seperation anxiety * response to reunion The procedure had **7 episodes all of which lasted 3 minutes**. Findings: Secure attachment (**Type B**) Insecure-avoidant attachment (**Type A**) Insecure-resistant attachment (**Type C**) | A01

Answer 49

Attachment type - defined by the 'Strange Situation' (the study) is strongly predictive of later development. Babies assessed as **secure typically go on to have better outcomes in many areas**, ranging from success at school to romantic relationships and friendships in adulthood. **Insecure-resistant attachment is associated with the worst outcomes** including bullying in later childhood (Kokkinos 2007) and adult mental health problems (Ward et al. 2006). This is evidence for the validity of the concept because it can explain the following outcomes. | A03

Answer 50

The Strange Situation shows very good **inter-rater reliability**, In other words different **observers** watching the same children in the Strange Situation **generally agree on what attachment type to classify them with**. This may be because the Strange Situation takes place under **controlled conditions** and because the behavioural categories are **easy to observe**. In a **recent study Bick et al**. (2012) looked at inter-rater reliability in a team of trained Strange Situation observers and found **agreement on** attachment type for **94% of tested babies**. This means we can be confident that the attachment type of an infant identified in the Strange Situation **does not just depend on who is observing them**. | A03 ## Footnote Inter-rater reliability refers to the degree of agreement or consistency between two or more raters or evaluators who are assessing the same phenomenon, behavior, or event.

Answer 51

Cultural differences in childhood experiences are likely to mean that children respond differently to the Strange Situation. Second, caregivers from different cultures behave differently in the Strange Situation. e.g Takahashi (1990) has noted that the test does not really work in Japan because Japanese mothers are so rarely separated from their babies that, as we would expect, there are very high levels of separation anxiety. Also in the reunion stage Japanese mothers rushed to the baby and scooped them up, meaning the child's response was hard to observe. | A03

Answer 52

There is **no doubt** that the Strange Situation **measures** a **child's responses to the anxiety produced by being in an unfamiliar environment.** However, what is **more controversial** is whether the **main influence on this anxiety is attachment**, as Ainsworth assumed. **or temperament** as Jerome Kagan says. The temperment of the child, is more important as an influence on behaviour in the Strange Situation than attachment. It means that temperament may be a confounding variable. **The Strange Situation is meant to assess attachment behaviour**. **If, however**, the behaviour it **measures** is also affected by **temperament** then it does not purely measure attachment, and so **its validity is not good**. (How much of a problem this would be depends on how big an effect temperament has on behaviour in the Strange Situation.) | A03 ## Footnote confounding variable= An external factor or variable that influences both the IV and DV that is not accounted for.

Answer 53

Ainsworth conceived of **3 attachment types**: insecure-avoidant, secure and insecure-resistant. However **Main and Solomon (1986) pointed out that a minority of children display atypical attachments that do not fall within types A, B or C behaviour.** This atypical attachment is commonly known as **disorganised attachment**. Disorganised children display **an odd mix of resistant and avoidant behaviours**. The existence of other attachment types does not necessarily challenge the Strange Situation as long as it can still assess those types. However, it is **a problem for Ainsworth's theory of attachment types as she only identified three types**. It is now widely accepted amongst attachment researchers that there are at least four attachment types. | A03 ## Footnote These four can be identified using the Strange Situation.

Answer 54

Cultural variations are the differences in **norms and values** that exist between people in different groups. | A01 ## Footnote In attachment research, we focus on the differences in the percentages of children who exhibit different attachment styles

Answer 55

Marinus van Izendoorn and Pieter Kroonenberg (1988) conducted a study to look at the proportions of **secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant attachments across a range of countries**. They also looked at the differences within the same countries to get an idea of variations within a culture. **Procedures**: The researchers located **32 studies** of attachment where the **Strange Situation had been used** to investigate the proportions of infants with different attachment types. These **32 studies** were **conducted in eight countries; 15 were in the USA.** Overall the 32 studies yielded results for **1,990 children**. The data for **these 32 studies were meta-analysed**, results being combined and weighted for sample size. **Findings**: There was **wide variation** between the proportions of attachment types in different studies. **In all countries secure attachment was the most common classification**. (However the proportion varied from 75% in Britain to 50% in China.) **Insecure-resistant was overall the least common type** (although the proportions ranged from 3% in Britain to around 30% in Israel.) **Insecure-avoidant attachments were observed most commonly in Germany and least commonly in Japan**. (The USA was found to have the biggest difference in studies. One study found that only 46% of children were securely attached, while another study found that 90% were securely attached. This is quite a gap compared to other studies done in other countries testing this. ) | A01 ## Footnote Meta-analysed= to combine the results of multiple studies on the same topic to get a more comprehensive understanding of a particular research question

Answer 56

**Simonella et al**. (2014) conducted a study in **Italy** to see **whether** the proportions of babies of different **attachment types still matches those found in previous studies**. The **researchers assessed 76, 12-month olds using the Strange Situation.** They found **50% were secure, with 36% insecure-avoidant**. This is a **lower rate of secure attachment than has been found in many other studies**. The researchers suggest this is because increasing numbers of mothers of very young children work long hours and use professional childcare. These **findings suggest that cultural changes can make a dramatic difference to patterns of secure and insecure attachment.** | A01

Answer 57

**Jin et al**. (2012) conducted a study to compare the proportions of attachment types in Korea to other studies. **The Strange Situation was used to assess 87 children**. The overall proportions of insecure and secure babies were **similar to those in most countries, with most infants being secure**. (Out of all the children who were classified as insecurely attached, only one of them displayed the avoidant attachment style.) This distribution is **similar to the distribution of attachment types found in Japan** (van Izendoorn and Kroonenberg 1988). The explanation could be that **Japan and Korea have quite similar child-rearing styles**. | A01

Answer 58

**Secure attachment seems to be the norm** in a wide range of cultures, supporting Bowlby's idea that attachment is innate (given to you since birth/ biological) and is the universal norm. However, the research also clearly shows that **cultural practices have an influence on attachment type**. | A01

Answer 59

A strength of combining the results of attachment studies carried out in different countries is that you can end up with a very large sample. e.g, in the van lizendoorn meta-analysis there was a total of nearly 2000 babies and their primary attachment figures. Even studies like those of Simonella et al. and Jin et al. had large comparison groups from previous research, although their own samples were smaller. **This overall sample size is a strength because large samples increase internal validity by reducing the impact of anomalous results caused by bad methodology or very unusual participants.** | A03 ## Footnote methodology= the procedures and designs used

Answer 60

The meta-analysis by van lizendoorn and Kroonenberg claimed to study cultural variation whereas, in fact, **the comparisons were between countries not cultures**. **Within any country there are many different cultures each with different child-rearing practices**. **[**An analysis by van Uzendoorn and Sagi (2001) found that distributions of attachment type in **Tokyo (an urban setting) were similar to the Western studies**, whereas a more **rural** sample had an **over-representation of insecure-resistant individuals**.**]** **This means that comparisons between countries** (such as Italy or Korea) **may have little meaning**; the particular cultural characteristics (and thus the caregiving styles) of the sample need to be specified. | A03

Answer 61

Cross cultural psychology includes the ideas of etic and emic. **Etic means cultural universals whilst emic means cultural uniqueness**. The Strange Situation was designed by an **American researcher** (Ainsworth) **based on a British theory** (Bowly's). There is a question over whether Anglo-American theories and assessments can be applied to other cultures. **Trying to apply a theory or technique designed for one culture to another culture is known as imposed etic.** **e.g** In Germany this behaviour might be seen more as independence than avoidance and hence not a sign of insecurity within that cultural context (Grossmann and Grossmann 1990). | A03

Answer 62

**Bowlby's explanation for cultural similarities** is that **attachment** is **innate and universal** and thus produces the same kind of behaviours all over the world. **van Izendoorn and Kroonenberg proposed an alternative possibility:** That small cross-cultural differences may reflect the **effects of the mass media**, where a large number of books and TV programmes that advocate similar notions of parenting are spread across countries. | A03 ## Footnote There is broad similarity in attachment patterns in a range of cultural contexts suggests that attachment is universal, as Bowlby said. There is also some variation, and Bowlby believed that the quality of attachment is influenced by the behaviour of the primary attachment figure towards the baby. So is also accounted for in his theory.

Answer 63

Since Kagan et al. (1986) suggested that attachment type is more related to **temperament** than to the relationship with the primary attachment figure. In which case would meam the Strange Situation is **not** assessing attachment it is **simply measuring anxiety**. If the Strange Situation is **affected by factors** other than attachment then it **lacks validity as a measurement tool**. | A03 ## Footnote If the heart of this research into cultural variations has used the Strange Situation and it lacks validity, then all the findings of this research are called into question and we may actually know very little about cultural variation in attachment.

Answer 64

The emotional + intellectual consequences of separation between a child and their mother (/mother substitute). | A01 ## Footnote Bowlby proposed that continuous care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development, and that prolonged separation from this adult causes serious damage to emotional and intellectual development.

Answer 65

He focused on the idea that the continual presence of nurture from a mother (/mother-substitute) is essential for normal psychological development of babies and toddlers, both **emotionally and intellectually**. Being separated from a mother in early childhood has serious consequences (maternal deprivation). | A01 ## Footnote Bowlby famously said that 'mother-love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health' (Bowlby, 1953 p. 240).

Answer 66

**Separation** simply means the **child not being in the presence of the primary attachment figure**. This only becomes an issue for development if the child is deprived, **i.e.** they **lose an element of her care**. Brief separations, particularly where the child is with a substitute caregiver, are not significant for development but **extended separations can lead to deprivation, which by definition** *causes harm*. | A01

Answer 67

first 30 months of life | A01 ## Footnote If a child is separated from their mother in the absence of suitable substitute care and so deprived of her emotional care for an extended period during this critical period then (Bowlby believed) psychological damage was inevitable.

Answer 68

**Intellectual development**: Bowly believed that if children were **deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period they would suffer delayed intellectual development, meaning abnormally low IQ**. **(**This has been demonstrated in studies of adoption. e.g, Goldfarb (1947) found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered and thus had a higher standard of emotional care**).** **Emotional development**: Bowlby identified affectionless psychopathy as the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others. This prevents the person developing normal relationships and is associated with criminality. **Affectionless psychopaths** cannot appreciate the feelings of victims and so lack remorse for their actions. - He believed this could happen if you're **deprived of a mother figures emotional care (making them emotionally deprived**) . | A01

Answer 69

**This study examined the link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation.** **Procedure**: The sample in this study consisted of 44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing. All 'thieves' were **interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy**: characterised as a lack of affection, lack of guilt about their actions and lack of empathy for their victims. Their **families were also interviewed** in order to establish whether the 'thieves' had **prolonged early separations from their mothers**. [A **control group** of non-criminal but **emotionally disturbed young people** was set up to see how often maternal separation/deprivation occurred in the children **who were not thieves**.] =-----------------------------= **Findings**: Bowlby (1944) found that **14 of the 44 thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths**. Of this **12/14** had **experienced prolonged separation** from their mothers in the first two years of their lives. In contrast only 5 of the remaining 30 'thieves' had experienced separations. [Of the **control group**, only **2 out of 44 had experienced long separations**.] It was **concluded that prolonged early separation/ deprivation, caused affectionless psychopathy**. | A01 ## Footnote Edit to make it make sense

Answer 70

Bowlby drew on a number of **sources of evidence** for maternal deprivation including studies of **children orphaned during WW2 who grew up in poor quality orphanages, and of course his 44 thieves study.** However, **these are all flawed as evidence**. War-orphans were **traumatised** and often had poor after-care, therefore these factors might have been the causes of later **developmental difficulties rather than separation**. Similarly, children growing up from birth in poor quality institutions were **deprived** of many aspects of care, **not just maternal care**. Furthermore the 44 thieves study had some major design flaws, most importantly **bias; Bowly himself carried out the assessments for affectionless psychopathy and the family interviews, knowing what he hoped to find**. | A03

Answer 71

**Hilda Lewis** (1954): partially replicated the 44 thieves study on a larger scale, looking at 500 young people. In her sample **a history of early prolonged separation from the mother did not predict criminality or difficulty forming close relationships**. This is a problem for the theory of maternal deprivation because it **suggests that other factors may affect the outcome of early maternal deprivation**. | A03

Answer 72

Bowlby used the term 'critical period' because he **believed that prolonged separation inevitably caused damage if it took place within that period**. However, **later research has shown that damage is not inevitable**. Some cases of very severe deprivation have had good outcomes provided the child has some **social interaction and good aftercare**. **e.g**, Jarmila Koluchová (1976) reported the case of twin boys from Czechoslovakia who were isolated from the age of 18 months until they were seven years old (their step-mother kept them locked in a cupboard). Subsequently they were **looked after by two loving adults and appeared to recover fully**. Cases like this show that the period identified by Bowly may be a 'sensitive' one but it **cannot be critical**. | A03

Answer 73

Although most psychologists are very critical of the theory of maternal deprivation, an interesting line of research has provided some support for the idea that maternal deprivation can have long-term effects. Levy et al. (2003) showed that **separating baby rats from their mother for as little as a day had a permanent effect on their social development though not other aspects of development**. | A03 ## Footnote Consistent with Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation, and suggests that separations from the primary attachment figure can have a significant effect on development. (However, these results are not supported by human research into separation from the primary attachment figure, suggesting that this type of animal study is not generalisable. e.g Lewis (1954,) did not find that separation led to relationship difficulties.)

Answer 74

Michael Rutter (1981) claimed that, when Bowly talked of 'deprivation', he was **muddling two concepts together**. Rutter drew a distinction between **deprivation**, which really means the loss of the primary attachment figure after attachment has developed whereas, **privation** is the failure to form any attachment in the first place. Rutter claimed that **the severe long-term damage Bowlby associated with deprivation is actually more likely to be the result of privation**. | A03 ## Footnote Bowlby's theory would be improved by making this distinction between deprivation and privation clear. He should have identified whether the children he studied were simply 'deprived' of emotional care in early childhood or whether they had not formed early attachments. Then he could see whether the consequences were different and reflect this in his theory.

Answer 75

A term for the effects of living in an institutional setting. The term 'institution' refers to a place like a hospital or an orphanage where children live for long, continuous periods of time. | A01 ## Footnote In such places there is often very little emotional care provided. In attachment research - we are interested in the effects it has on children's attachment and development.

Answer 76

**Context**: In Romania in the 1990s. Former President Nicolai Ceauçescu required Romanian women to have **five** children. **Many Romanian parents could not afford to keep their children and the children ended up in huge orphanages in very poor conditions**. After the 1989 revolution many of the children were **adopted, some by British parents**. Rutter's ERA (English and Romanian Adoptee) study. =------------= **Procedure**: Michael Rutter and colleagues (2011) have followed a group of **165** Romanian orphans adopted in Britain to test to what extent **good care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions**. **Physical, cognitive and emotional development has been** **assessed at ages 4, 6, 11 and 15 years**. **A group of 52 British children adopted around the same time have served as a control group**. =-----------------= **Findings**: When they first arrived in the UK half the adoptees showed signs of **delayed intellectual development** and the majority were severely **undernourished**. At age 11 the adopted children showed **differential rates of recovery that were related to their age of adoption**. The mean **IQ** of those children **adopted before the age of six months was 102**, compared with 86 for those adopted between six months and two years and 77 for those adopted after two years. These differences remained at age 16 (Beckett et al. 2010). In terms of attachment, there appeared to be a **difference in outcome related to whether adoption took place before or after six months**. Those **children adopted after** they were **six months** showed signs of a particular attachment style called **disinhibited attachment**. **Symptoms** include **attention seeking, clinginess** and social behaviour directed indiscriminately **towards all adults**, both familiar and unfamiliar. **In contrast those children adopted before the age of six months rarely displayed disinhibited attachment**. | A01 ## Footnote edit this

Answer 77

**Disinhibited attachment** is normal when you have spent most of your time in an institution. They are equally friendly and affectionate towards people they know well or who are strangers that they have just met. (This is highly unusual behaviour; when you remember that most children by the age of 2 show stranger anxiety.) **Rutter (2006) has explained disinhibited attachment as an adaptation to living with multiple caregivers during the sensitive period for attachment formation.** In poor quality institutions like those in Romania a child might have 50 carers none of whom they see enough to form a secure attachment. **Mental retardation (suffering IQ)**: In Rutter's study most children showed signs of retardation when they arrived in Britain. However, most of those adopted before they were six months old caught up with the control group by age four. **It appears that, like emotional development, damage to intellectual development as a result of institutionalisation can be recovered provided adoption takes place before the age of six months - the age at which attachments form** (see Shaffer's stages of attachment, page 76). | A01 EDITTT ## Footnote disinhibited attachment: where children don't discriminate between people they choose as attachment figures retardation= incomplete development of the mind which contributes to the overall level of intelligence

Answer 78

**Procedure**: Zeanah et al. (2005) assessed attachment in 95 **children** aged 12-31 months who had **spent most of their lives in institutional care** (90% on average). They were **compared to a control group of 50 children who had never lived in an institution**. Their attachment type was measured using the **Strange Situation**. In addition **carers were asked about unusual social behaviour** including clingy, attention-seeking behaviour directed inappropriately at all adults (i.e. **disinhibited attachment**). **Findings**: They found that **74% of the control group came out as securely attached in the Strange Situation**. However, only **19% of the institutional group were securely attached**, with **65% being classified with disorganised attachment**. The description of disinhibited attachment applied to 44% of institutionalised children as opposed to less than 20% of the controls. | A01 ## Footnote Disinhibited attachment: where children don't discriminate between people they choose as attachment figures

Answer 79

Studying the Romanian orphans has enhanced our understanding of the effects of institutionalisation. Such results have led to improvements in the way children are cared for in institutions (Langton 2006). e.g, orphanages and children's homes now avoid having large numbers of caregivers for each child and instead ensure that a much smaller number of people, perhaps **only one or two people, play a central role for the child**. This person is called a key worker. Having a key worker means that children have the chance to develop normal attachments and **helps avoid disinhibited attachment**. This shows that such research has been immensely valuable in practical terms. | A03

Answer 80

Although much useful data about institutionalisation has come out of Romanian orphan studies, **it is possible that conditions were so bad that results cannot be applied** to understanding the impact of better quality institutional care or indeed any situation where children experience deprivation. **e.g**, Romanian orphanages had particularly *poor standards of care*, especially when it came to forming any relationship with the children, and *extremely low levels of intellectual stimulation*. **This is a limitation of the Romanian orphan studies because the unusual situational variables means that the studies may after all lack generalisability.** | A03

Answer 81

There were many orphan studies before the Romanian orphans became available to study but **often these studies involved children who had experienced loss or trauma before they were institutionalised**. E.g, they may have experienced neglect, abuse or bereavement. **These children were often traumatised by their experiences and suffered bereavement**. It was very hard to observe the effects of institutionalisation in isolation because the **children were dealing with multiple factors which functioned as confounding participant variables**. In the case of **Romanian orphans** it has been possible to study institutionalisation **without these confounding variables, which means the findings have increased internal validity**. | A03 ## Footnote bereavement= the period of grief and mourning that follows the death of a loved one or other important person.

Answer 82

[A methological issue in the English and Romanian Adoptee project is that the **researchers did not interfere with the adoption process**, which means that children who were adopted adopted earlier may have been the more sociable, which is **a confounding variable**.] To control these variables, another major investigation of fostering versus institutional care, used **random allocation**. In the Bucharest Early Intervention project, Romanian orphans were randomly allocated to institutional care or fostering. This is **methodologically better** because it removes the confounding variable of which children are chosen by parents. Random allocation is a methodological strength as it increases the validity of results by eliminating the confounding variable of which children are chosen for fostering or adoption. However, **it raises an ethical issue because some children who would have been fostered had they been available had this opportunity removed**. Harm to those children would have been the inevitable result. **It is not ethical to allocate participants to experimental conditions which you know are likely to cause harm.** | A03 EDITTTT ## Footnote Such criticism does not challenge the findings of this study but are a criticism of the researcher for treating the humans in this study as if they were 'lab rats'.

Answer 83

After Rutter's study and others learning about the effects of institutionalisation, they followed up these orphans into their mid-teens and found some lasting effects from their early experiences, in particular those who were adopted late. However, **it is too soon to say with certainty whether children suffered short- or long-term effects**. It may be that the children who spent longer in institutions and currently lag behind in intellectual development or display attachment difficulties may still 'catch up' as adults. Equally, early-adopted/ fostered children who appear to have no issues now may experience emotional problems as adults. **Only when participants have been followed up for their entire lives will we have a good idea what the very long-term effects might be**. So for the moment any conclusions have to be tentative because these children may well catch up and lead fairly 'normal' lives. | A03

Answer 84

Affiliations with other people in childhood, including friends and classmates, and adults such as teachers. | A01

Answer 85

the relationships the child goes on to have later in life as an adult. These include friendships and working relationships but most critically relationships with romantic partners and that person's own children. | A01

Answer 86

The mental representations we all carry of our attachment to our primary caregiver. They are important in affecting our future relationships because they carry our perception of what relationships are like. | A01

Answer 87

(On page 82 we discussed the formation of the internal working model) John Bowlby (1969) suggested that a child having their first relationship with their primary attachment figure **forms a mental representation of this relationship**. This internal working model acts as a template for future relationships. The quality of the child's **first attachment is crucial because this template will powerfully affect the nature of their future relationships**. A child whose first experience is of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to assume that this is how relationships are meant to be. They will then seek out functional relationships and behave functionally within them, i.e. without either being **too uninvolved or being too emotionally close (which would be type A behaviour) or being controlling and argumentative (type C behaviour)**. **A child with bad experiences of their first attachment will bring these bad experiences to bear on later relationships**. This may mean they struggle to form relationships in the first place or they may not behave appropriately when they have them, **displaying type A or C behaviour towards friends and partners**. | A01 ## Footnote type A= Insecure-attachment type B= secure Type C= Insecure-resistant

Answer 88

Attachment type is associated with the quality of peer relationships in childhood. **Securely attached infants tend to go on to form the best quality childhood friendships** whereas **insecurely attached infants later have friendship difficulties** (Kerns 1994). In particular, **bullying behaviour can be predicted by attachment type**. Rowan Myron-Wilson and Peter Smith (1998) assessed attachment type and bullying involvement using standard questionnaires in 196 children aged 7-11 from London. * **Secure children** were very unlikely to be **involved in bullying**. * **Insecure-avoidant** children were the most likely to be **victims** * **insecure-resistant** children were most likely **to be bullies**. | A01

Answer 89

In a study of attachment for both romantic relationships and friendships Gerard McCarthy (1999): studied **40 adult women who had been assessed when they were infants** to **establish** their early **attachment type**. Those assessed as **securely attached** infants had the **best adult friendships and romantic relationships**. Adults classed as **insecure-resistant** as infants had particular **problems maintaining friendships** whilst those classed as **insecure-avoidant struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships**. | A01

Answer 90

They conducted a classic study in (1987): **Procedure**: They analysed 620 replies to a 'love quiz' printed in an American local newspaper. The quiz had three sections. The **first** assessed respondents' current or most important relationship. The **second** part assessed general love experiences such as number of partners. The **third** section assessed attachment type by asking respondents to choose which of three statements best described their feelings. **Findings**: **56%** of respondents were identified as **securely attached** with **25% insecure-avoidant** and **19% insecure-resistant**. Those reporting secure attachments were the most likely to have good and longer lasting romantic experiences. The avoidant respondents tended to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy. These findings suggest that patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in romantic relationships. | A01

Answer 91

Internal working models also affect the child's ability to parent their own children. People tend to base their parenting style on their internal working model so attachment type tends to be passed on through generations of a family. **Recall the study by Bailey et al. (2007, see page 83- monotropy meta-analysis)**. The majority of women had the same attachment classification both to their babies and their own mothers. | A01

Answer 92

Internal working models predict continuity between the security of an infant's attachment and that of its later relationships, i.e. **attachment type in infancy is usually the same as that characterising the person's later relationships**. **Evidence for this continuity is mixed. Some studies, like that by McCarthy (page 92), do appear to support continuity** and so provide evidence to support internal working models. **Not all studies, however, support internal working models. e.g, Zimmerman (2000)** assessed infant attachment type and teenager (adolescent) attachment to parents. **There was very little relationship between quality of infant and adolescent attachment**. | A03 ## Footnote This is a problem because it is not what we would expect to find if internal working models were important in development. internal working model= A mental framework that shapes how we view ourselves, others, and relationships based on our early attachment experiences.

Answer 93

Most studies of attachment to primary caregivers and other important people don’t use the Strange Situation. Instead, they assess infant-parent attachment later in childhood or even adulthood, using interviews or questionnaires. This creates validity problems. First, assessment relies on self-report techniques (the interviews/questionnaires) to assess the quality of their own relationships. Which therefore means we are relying on respondents to be honest and have a realistic view of their own relationships. And second, Looking back from adulthood to one's early relationship to a primary attachment figure probably lacks validity because it relies on accurate recollections. | A03

Answer 94

In studies linking infant attachment type to later relationships, it’s often assumed that early attachment **directly causes** later relationship quality. However, **alternative explanations exist. e.g, a third factor**, like **parenting style**, could influence both attachment and the ability to form relationships. Similarly, a child’s **temperament** (page 87) might affect both their early attachment and later relationships. This challenges Bowlby’s view that the internal working model is the primary cause of these outcomes. | A03

Answer 95

While it’s likely that the quality of infant attachment influences later relationships, some researchers, including Bowlby, may have overstated its significance. Ann Clarke and Alan Clarke (1998) argue that the impact of early attachment is 'probabilistic' — meaning that those with attachment issues are at greater risk of relationship problems, but they are not doomed to failure. Overemphasizing this risk can create overly pessimistic expectations about people’s futures. Socially sensitive research like this needs careful consideration. It could lead to harmful expectations that children or adults with early attachment issues are incapable of recovery, potentially making these expectations self-fulfilling. Some argue that it's better to foster hope for recovery, regardless of the evidence. | A03 ## Footnote On the other hand, understanding these risks might allow for interventions, such as providing extra emotional support, which could help individuals overcome challenges.

Answer 96

There is a theoretical problem with most research related to internal working models. **Internal working models are unconscious; we are not directly aware of their influence on us.** We would not really expect to get direct evidence about them by means of interviews or questionnaires because **people can only self-report what they are aware of**. When Pps self-report on their relationships they are **relying on their conscious understanding of those relationships. At best the self-report gives us indirect evidence about internal working models**. This is a **potential limitation** of most research involving the concept of internal working models. | A03 ## Footnote On the positive side self-report allows us to assess people's experiences of early relationships and their functioning in later ones. We can infer from this what sort of internal working models they have and how this affects them. So there is some value in using these self-report methods.

Attachment (Paper 1) Flashcards

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