Attachment (Paper 1) ✓ Flashcards
Friday 16th May - 9:15 → 11:15
1
Q
Definition of reciprocity
A
The turn taking behaviour that takes place during a conversation. Behaviour of one person results in a response from the other person. Behaviours are not necessarily the same.
e.g. Caregiver coos at a baby and the baby responds with a gurgle
2
Q
Definition of international synchrony
A
Co ordinated behaviour we see between an infant and their caregiver. Focusses on both behaviour and emotions. Infant and caregiver are said to be in tune with each other.
e.g when a caregiver smiles at an infant they smile back
3
Q
Aim of Meltzoff and Moore’s study
A
To investigate interactional synchrony in caregiver infant interactions
4
Q
Procedure of Meltzoff and moore’s study
A
- Controlled observation
- an adult model displayed 1 of 3 facial expressions or a hand movement
- A dummy was placed in the infant’s mouth during the display to prevent a response
- The dummy was then removed and the infant’s response was filmed
- Film was judged by an independent observer who made notes on all instances of facial movements
5
Q
Findings/ conclusion of Meltzoff and Moore’s study
A
There was an association between the infants behaviour and that of the adult model in infants as young as 3 days old
This suggests that interactional synchrony must be innate
6
Q
2+/2- research into caregiver infant interactions
A
+ Uses observations which are well controlled. Very fine details of behaviour can be recorded and analysed so accuracy is improved
+ Observations are deemed very reliable. Meltzoff obtained a correlation coefficient of 0.92 for inter observer reliability
- It is not possible to draw firm conclusions as infants have poor motor control so some of the reciprocal or interactional behaviour may occur by chance
- Socially sensitive as it suggests that infant’s social development may be disadvantaged if they lack opportunities to achieve interactional synchrony. Implies mothers should not return to work too soon
7
Q
Aim of schaffer and emerson’s study
A
A longitudinal study to investigate the development of attachment
8
Q
Procedure of Schaffer and emerson’s study
A
- 60 infants from working class families in glasgow were studied for their first year
- Mothers were visited monthly and asked to report their infant’s response to separation in 7 everyday situations
- Reported any protest from the infant by rating it on a scale and to whom this protest was directed
9
Q
Findings/ conclusions of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
A
- Identified 4 stages of attachment (Asocial, indiscriminate, Specific, Multiple)
- The quality of the relationship and interactions are important to the formation of strong emotional bonds and healthy attachments (quality over quantity)
10
Q
Asocial stage of attachment
A
- Birth - 2 months
- Infants respond in the same way to all objects
- Begin to show a preference for social stimuli
- Seem to be more content when with people
- Reciprocity and Interactional synchrony play a role in building bonds and relationships with others
11
Q
Indiscriminate Stage of attachment
A
- 2 months - 4 months
- Infants become much more social and enjoy being with people
- Are able to distinguish between animate and inanimate objects
- Recognise familiar people
- Have no preference for anyone in particular
- Happy in the presence of strangers
12
Q
Specific stage of attachment
A
- 7 months
- Infants begin to demonstrate separation anxiety when left by a particular person and feel joy upon reunion
- Most comforted by primary attachment figure
- Begin to display stranger anxiety
13
Q
Multiple stage of attachment
A
- 8 months - 1 year
- Attachments are formed with other friends and relatives (secondary attachments)
- Separation anxiety occurs when left by these people
14
Q
+/3- research into stages of attachment
A
+ Study took place in family’s own homes so baby’s behaviour would be unaffected by research
- Self report method was used so data may not be accurate
- Biased sample as only used working class mothers and babies
- Lacks temporal validity as childcare has changed since research was conducted
15
Q
Bowlby’s theory about multiple attachments
A
- a single, primary attachment relationship is vital for the healthy psychological development of a child
- Mainly the role of the mother
16
Q
Schaffer’s theory about multiple attachments
A
- Infants are capable of multiple attachments
- Suggested that mothers and fathers have an important role to play
17
Q
Silverstein and Ruiz’s theory about multiple attachments
A
- Looked at the benefits of having a healthy attachment bond with a grandparent in children who have a mother suffering from depression
- The stronger the attachment with a grandparent, the less likely the child of a depressed mother is to experience depression in adulthood
18
Q
Argument that fathers play a less important role than mothers
A
- Fathers do form secure attachments with their children however fathers are less likely to be primary attachment figures than mothers
- Social factors suggest that it is feminine for men to be sensitive to the needs of others and also may spend more time at work away from the family
- Biological factors suggest that men produce little oestrogen in comparison to women so are less nurturing
19
Q
+/- fathers play a less important role than mothers
A
+ Supp ev: Fathers were less able to detect infant distress
- It is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent that influences the quality of attachment
20
Q
Argument that fathers are just as important as mothers but their role is different
A
- Grossman: Fathers tended to be more physically active with their children and better at providing challenging situations and encouraging problem solving and communication
- Fathers set clearer boundaries than mothers
21
Q
+ fathers are just as important as mothers but their role is different
A
+ Geiger found father’s play interactions were more exciting in comparison to mother’s and that mother’s play was more affectionate and nurturing
22
Q
Procedure of Lorenz
A
- Divided 12 goose eggs into 2 groups
- Group 1 left with the mother and she was the first moving object they saw after hatching
- Group 2 was incubated and when they hatched the first moving object they saw was Lorenz
- After some time he placed both groups of goslings together to see whether the goslings would follow him or their mother
23
Q
finsings of Lorenz
A
- Group 1 immediately followed the mother around and group 2 immediately followed Lorenz around
- When he placed the goslings together they quickly divided themselves up
- If imprinting did not occur within a few hours after hatching, the chicks did not attach to the mother figure
24
Q
Conclusions of Lorenz
A
- The process of imprinting is limited to a critical period (if the young is not exposed to a moving object during this time frame then it will not imprint)
- Process is irreversible, long lasting, and has an effect on later mate preferences
- Imprinting is an adaptive behaviour
25
+/- Lorenz
+ Leghorn chicks fed using yellow gloves imprinted on the gloves. Adult male chicks tried to mate with the gloves
- Inapropriate to generalise findings from goslings onto humans. Babies are unable to follow their mother around like goslings do
26
Procedure of Harlow
- 8 newborn rhesus monkeys were taken away from their mothers and studied for 165 days
- Monkeys were kept in isolation and given a wire mother with a milk bottle or a wire mother covered in a soft cloth
- Amount of time spent with each mother was recorded and their responses when frightened
27
Findings of harlow
- Monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth mother
- When feeding they spent a minimal amount of time getting milk and then returned to the soft mother
- clung to cloth mother when frightened
- Monkeys were unable to socialise and did not show normal mating behaviour in future
28
Conclusion of harlow
- Infants do not develop an attachment to the person who feeds them but the person who offers comfort through contact
29
+/3- harlow
+ Prac app: policy changes within hospitals and childrens homes leading to more effective care for children
- Heads of surrogate mothers were different and cloth mother had a more monkey like face
- caused long term social and emotional damage to the monkeys
- Cannot generalise from monkeys to humans as we cannot confidently say that humans form attachments in the same way
30
What do learning theorists believe about attachment
Infants learn and develop attachments with their caregivers as a result of their experiences and interactions
31
Classical conditioning in attachment
UCS (food) --> Unconditioned response (content baby)
NS (mother) --> UCS (baby)
NS+ UCS (milk bottle) --> UCR
CS (Mother) --> CR (content baby)
32
Operant conditioning in attachment for the infant
- Learn to smile, cry, and coo because it brings about a positive response from their caregivers: likely to be repeated (Positive reinforcement)
33
Operant conditioning for the caregiver
- Infant crying because its hungry is unpleasant to the caregiver
- By attending to their child's needs and feeding it, the infant stops crying (Negative reinforcement)
- When infant is fed and no longer crying, it smiles and coos at caregiver (positive reinforcement)
34
+/3- learning theory of attachment
+ Can be tested using scientific methods of investigation so evidence from research can be confidently used
- Harlow's study found that food was not the main factor in forming an attachment
- Attachment appears suddenly at the same age in all infants but learning theory proposes that the attachment would gradually increase in strength
- Bowlby's theory emphasises the importance of evolution in the formation of attachments. Learning theory has largely been rejected by the scientific community
35
Bowlby's monotropic theory
Adaptive - attachment increases chances of survival
Social releasers - infants display natural behaviours that bring about a care giving response in adults
Critical period - if an attachment has not developed between birth and 2.5 years then it will never form
Monotropy - a special attachment forms with the person who responds most sensitively to the baby's needs
Internal working model - the first primary attachment creates a type of schema for relationships
36
2+/- Bowlby's monotropic theory
+ Sup ev: infants form an attachment at an age when its most vital to their survival
+ Schaffer and emerson found that babies do form a specific attachment
- Bowlby's critical period may not be accurate: Children in institutions could still form attachments and develop normally
37
Secure attachment
- strong emotional bond experienced by the infant towards the caregiver
- Harmonious and cooperative interactions
- Characterised by a desire to remain close to carer when distressed
- Carer is used as a safe base from which to explore
- Some distress upon separation
- pleasure and easily soothed when reunited
- wary of strangers
- Good relationships in later life
38
Insecure avoidant attachment
- avoidance of interaction and intimacy with caregiver and others
- happy to explore surroundings
- develops due to caregiver ignoring infant
- little distress when caregiver leaves
- little pleasure upon return
- unresponsive to carer and strangers
39
Insecure resistant attachment
- both seeking and resisting interaction and intimacy with caregiver
- develops due to an inconsistent caregiver
- extreme, immediate distress when left by caregiver
- Distressed by stranger
- Conflicting desire for proximity with stranger but also anger towards comfort when carer returns
-
40
Procedure of Ainsworth's strange situation
- 100 middle class american mothers and their babies
- Controlled observation
- Each infant was observed with its mother in a specially arranged room
o a stranger entered the room (response to stranger)
o the mother left the child alone with a stranger (separation anxiety)
o the mother returned to the room (reunion)
41
Findings of Ainsworth's strange situation
Secure (66%) - Response to stranger: wary/ Separation: distress/ reunion: seeks proximity, easily comforted
Insecure avoidant (22%) - response to stranger: unresponsive/ Separation anxiety: little distress/ Reunion: little pleasure
Insecure resistant (12%) - response to stranger: very wary/ separation anxiety: extreme distress/ Reunion: not comforted, clingy and angry
42
+/2- Ainsworth's findings and conclusions
+ High inter observer reliability
+ Prac app: can be used to improve children's lives and futures
- Another type of attachment may have been overlooked (insecure disorganised attachment)
43
+/3- Strange situation as a research tool
+ Has led to further research into attachment, has been used in numerous studies around the world
- Overt observation may have influenced mothers behaviour and caused children to act differently
- Artificial setting so lacks ecological validity
- Lacks population validity as only american infants were studied
44
Procedure of Van Ijzendoorn
- Conducted a meta analysis of 32 studies of attachment using strange situation
- 8 different countries
- Findings from 2000 SS classifications were analysed
45
Findings of Van Ijzendoorn
- Differences between the countries were generally small
- Secure attachment was most common type in every country
- Insecure avoidant was next most common in all countries apart from japan and israel
- More variation within countries than between them
46
Other research into cultural variations in attachment: Japan
- 60 middle class mothers and babies were observed using SS
- Results were almost the same % of children with secure attachment in the US
- Higher % of insecure resistant in Japan
- No babies were classified as insecure resistant in Japan
47
Other research into cultural variations in attachment: Germany
- Using SS, research studies have found that although majority showed secure attachment, there was a higher percentage of insecure avoidant compared to the US
48
+/- research into cultural variations in attachment
+ Large sample size which allows us to generalise
- Only included 8 countries which means you cannot draw large scale conclusions
- Controlled observation so mothers are aware they are being observed
- Culturally biased as does not differentiate between different types of upbringing. SS is only a valid way to measure attachment type in cultures similar to US
49
Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation
When a child and their caregiver are separated repeatedly or for prolonged periods of time, the attachment becomes disrupted by not being physically together
50
Consequences of maternal deprivation according to bowlby
- An inability to form attachments in the future (see the Internal Working Model)
- Affectionless psychopathy (inability to feel remorse)
- Delinquency (behavioural problems in adolescence)
- Problems with Cognitive Development
51
Procedure of Bowlby's 44 thieves study
- 88 children between 5 and 16 who have been referred to a clinic for behavioural problems
- 44 of them were thieves
- 14 of these were 'affectionless psychopaths'
- Remaining 44 were emotionally disturbed by had committed no anti social acts
- The children and their parents were interviewed to find out about their early lives
52
Findings of Bowlby's 44 thieves study
- 86% of the thieves who were 'affectionless psychopaths' had experienced early, prolonged separations from their mothers
- Compared to just 17% of the other thieves
- Only 4% of the children who were not thieves had experienced such separations
53
Conclusions of Bowlby's 44 thieves study
- early separations from the mother are associated with later problems in social and emotional development
- being deprived of emotional care can lead to extremely anti social behaviour in the form of affectionless psychopathy
54
2+/2- Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation
+ Supporting evidence: 44 thieves study
+ Practical application: parents are encouraged to visit their children in hospital
- Negative effects of separation depend on the reason for being parted from the caregiver
- Doesn't distinguish deprivation (loss of attachment figure) from privation (failure to form attachment bond)
55
Procedure of Rutter et al
- Natural experiment
- 165 romanian children who spent their early lives in orphanages before being adopted by british families
- Their physical, social and cognitive development was assessed at ages 4, 6, 11, and 15
- They were compared to a control group of british children adopted in the UK around the same time
56
Findings of rutter et al
- At the time of adoption, the romanian orphan's development was behind that of the british group
- Almost all the romanian children who were adopted before the age of 6 months caught up with the british group in terms of development
- Many of the romanians adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment
57
Conclusions of rutter et al
- Institutionalisation can have some short term negative effects
- These effects may persist long term, in particular where children do not have the opportunity to form a substitute attachment
- Where children do have the opportunity to form a substitute attachment, especially before the age of 6 months, development may be normal
58
Zeanah et al's research
- compared the attachment types of a group of romanian children aged 21-31 months who had spent about 90% of their lives in an institution to a control group of romanian children who had never been in an institution
- 74% of the control group were assessed as being securely attached compared to only 19% of the institutionalised group
- 44% of the institutionalised group were assessed as showing disinhibited attachment compared to less that 20% of control group
59
6x effects of institutionalisation
- Disinhibited attachment
Problems with interacting or developing friendships with their peers
- Physical underdevelopment
- Cognitive impairment
- Lack of a secure attachment
- Problems with language
60
+/3- research into the effects of institutionalisation
+ Prac app: changes to adoption policies and practices
- orphans were also subjected to poor living conditions which may act as a confounding variable as it affects their development
- Unrepresentative of target population as not all orphans get adopted
- Study was longitudinal which means it may've suffered from attrition
61
Kerns
Peer relations in childhood
- found a correlation between attachment type and the quality of peer relationships in childhood
- Securely attached children tend to form the best quality childhood friendships
- Insecurely attached children tend to have later friendship difficulties
62
Sroufe
Followed ppts from infancy to late adolescence and found continuity between classification of an early attachment and social competence in later childhood
- Those who were classified as securely attached were less isolated, more popular with peers, and more empathetic
63
Myron Wilson and Smith
Bullying
- Found securely attached children were less likely to be involved in bullying
- Insecure avoidant children were most likely to be victims
- Insecure resistant children were most likely to be bullies
64
Hazan and Shaver
investigated the internal working model and the influence of early attachments on adult relationships
- Found a positive correlation between attachment type and love experiences
65
McCarthy
Friendships and romantic relationships
- Found a correlation between attachment type and maintaining friendships
- Individuals with a secure attachment type reported the best friendships and romantic relationships
- Insecure resistant reported problems maintaining friendships
- Insecure avoidant struggled with intimacy in relationships
66
Bailey et al
Parenting
- Found the majority of women had the same attachment classification both to their babies and their own mothers
67
3- influence of early attachment on relationships
- Many studies are correlational which do not allow causation to be determined
- Temperament could affect attachment type as some individuals are born trusting and friendly
- Determinist as it assumes that childhood experiences have a fixed effect on adulthood
