Attachment (Social Influence) (Module 2)

Question 1

What is this topic about?

Answer 1

This topic focuses on the emotional development of children and what helps and hinders emotional development meaning the bonds that we create with the people around us. And the devastating effects of attachment deprivations.

Question 2

Define attachment

Answer 2

A close emotional relationship between 2 people characterised by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity (closeness)- Shaffer

Question 3

Who is the main attachment for a baby?

Answer 3

Mother

Question 4

True or false

The baby can still form emotional bonds with other people not just the mother only

Answer 4

True

Like the father or grandparents

Question 5

Who is the founding father of the theory of attachment?

Answer 5

Bowlby

Question 6

What is Bowlby’s attachment theory called?

Answer 6

5 phases of Attachment Development

Question 7

Explain the 5 phases of attachment theory of Bowlby

Answer 7

1) Initially the baby responds the same way to everyone

2) At around 5 months, the baby will start to discriminate between people for ex: smiling mainly at the mother

3) At around 7 months, the baby remains close with the mother, and shows separation anxiety/separation protest, meaning the baby becomes upset when the mother leaves: ex: the baby starts to cry when the mother leaves the room

4) From 3 years onwards, the child recognizes the caregiver’s needs: for example when the caregiver is cooking, the child instead of demanding attention might understand that the caregiver has something important to do

5) From 5 years onwards, the child internalises the bond he or she has with its mother or caregiver and the bond remains strong even when the child does not see the caregiver for some time: ex: school time

Question 8

What are the 3 main types of attachment?

Answer 8

Secure
resistant
avoidant

Question 9

Who came up with these 3 types of attachment?

Answer 9

Ainsworth and Bell

Question 10

What procedure did Ainsworth and Bell come up with?

Answer 10

Strange Situation procedure

Question 11

Explain the strange situation procedure

Answer 11

It consisted of observing the child’s reaction to a stranger,the seperationfrom the mother,and his or her reunion with mother.

This will give us clues to which type of attachment the mother and child have

Early attachment formed during early childhood years is crucial because they reflect our future social and emotional involvement with others.

Question 12

Explain secure attachment

Answer 12

The infant immidiatley feels distressed by the mother’s absence (seperation anxiety)

However when the mother re-enters the room,the infant seeks contact with the mother and immediatley calms down

Therefore there is a clear difference between the reaction to themother vs the reaction to the stranger

Therefore, it can be concluded that the carer is emotionally availble,sensotitve and supportive to the child’s needs. Therefore the child has a postitive working model.

Ainsowrth concluded (caregiving hypothesis): secure attachment of the infant to its mother is stronger if the mother is very senesitive to the child’s needs

Question 13

Explain resistant attachment

Answer 13

The child feels very insecure and distressed in the presence of the mother

Show distress and resistance when the mother returns to the room

Very distrustful to the stranger

Inconsistent caregiver: the caregiver has a negative self-image and the child exaggerates their emotional responses to gain attention (the child wants attention and tries to gain attention but they are unsure that their needs will be met)

Mothers of resistant infants tend to vary in the treatment to their infant so the infant cannot rely on the mother’s emotional support.

Question 14

Explain avoidant attachment

Answer 14

The infant does not seek contact with the mother and shows little distress when separated from the mother .
Treat the stranger the same way as the mother (STILL AVOID CONTACT WITH THE MOTHER WHEN SHE RETURNS

Caregiver rejects: they have a negative working model of being unacceptable and unworthy. (caregiver is rejecting the child)

Mothers of avoidant infants are not sensitive to the needs of their baby,they are either uninterested,self-centred,rigid and often reject the infant.

Question 15

Explain disorganised and disoriented attachment

Answer 15

A mix between resistant and avoidant
Usually the child is confused and worried
The carer probably abuses the child

Child’s internal working model: those who love me hurt me.

Question 16

Who came up with disorganised and disoriented type of attachment

Answer 16

Main et al

Question 17

What did Freud’s psychoanalytical approach conclude about infants and attachment in general?

Answer 17

Freud concluded that babaies get so atatched to their mothers or caregivers because they know from eperience that the mother will satsfy all of their needs. (the mother is a source of food as well as comfort love and safety)

For example: according to the psychosexual theory of development (Freud) during the oral stage (0-18 months) ,the baby gets satisifaction from oral experiences such as sucking on the mother’s breast.

Question 18

What experiment did the behaviourist approach come up with to try and explain attachment, and who came up with this experiment?

Answer 18

Harry Harlow came up with the monkey’s experiment.

This experiment consisted in getting new-born monkeys to choose between 2 substitute mothers. One of them was made out of wire and provided milk,whilst the other was made out of cloth but did not provide milk. The monkeys spent most of their tme clinging to the mother which was made out of cloth rather than the other.

Thus Harry Harlow concluded that babies need more safety and comfort rather than food.

Question 19

What is the dimensional approach?

Answer 19

Frayley and spiejer: concluded that it is better if dimensions are used instead of categories in order to conclude what type of attachment style a chld has with its mother or caregiver, because dimesnions are more accurate because they nclude individual diffrences in attachment behaviour.

Question 20

What do we mean by cross-cultural differences in terms of attachment?

Answer 20

This means that there are some children who are from a specific country have more of a secure attachment style than other children from a completely different country who may show more of an avoidant attachment style

This is because not every single country has the same type of attachment style. (attachment differs between diffrent cultures)

Question 21

How did researchers study cross-cultural different in terms of attachment? What were the results?

Answer 21

Researchers conducted the strange situation procedure in 4 diffrent countries: United states,Germany,Japan and Israel.

Children from America had the highest % of secure attachment

Children from Germany: they were less likely to show secure attachment styles ,most of them were anxious or avoidant. Germans prefer that their children are independant,non-clinging and obedient

Children from Japan: none of them showed avoidant attachment: because japanese mothers are very resistant in leaving their child with strangers so this was a new experience for the child

Israel: few were avoidant however most israeli kids they are looked after by strangers but their bond with their mother remains strong

Question 22

Give an advantage of secure attachment

Answer 22

Associated with healthy emotional and social development

Question 23

Give a disadvantage of resistant,avoidant,disorganized attachment

Answer 23

Can be associated with externalising symptoms such as aggression or anti-social behaviour

Question 24

Give another disadvantage of avoidant attachment

Answer 24

Internalising symptoms such as anxiety or depression

Question 25

Give 1 advantage of resistant AND avoidant attachment

Answer 25

Resistant: these individuals are very vigilant to threats + they respond faster to threats+ they are better in detecting deceit Avoidant: these individuals are better at self-preservation and are therefore more likely to find escape routes when danger looms

Question 26

Who came up with the maternal sensitivity hypothesis and what does this theory state?

Answer 26

Ainsworth et al (caregiving hypothesis) Concluded that secure attachment is strong if the mother is very sensitive to the child's needs. The mother's sensitivity is crucial because our childhood attachment style will influence our social and emotional development. Therefore she concluded that mothers of securely attached children are very sensitive to their child's needs and are emotionally expressive as well. Ex: baby starts crying, they immediately tend to the child's needs.

Question 27

What did De Wolff and Van izjendoorn conclude about the maternal sensitivity hypothesis?

Answer 27

They found a weak link between the child's attachment and the mother's sensitivity. They concluded that stimulation (mother's actions to the baby) and attitude (positive emotions to the baby were also essentials. However they ignored other factors such as genetics or the temperament of the child which also influences attachment style.

Question 28

What does the paternal sensitivity theory conclude?

Answer 28

When they researched paternal sensitivity, they found a positive link between the father and the attachment of the child. HOWEVER, this association is actually smaller than that of the mother, therefore the mother is STILL the most important figure in attachment

Question 29

What does the Temperament Hypothesis by Kagan state?

Answer 29

Kagan concluded that its not just the maternal sensitivity that comes to play when speaking about attachment. The child's role also is essential Temperament hypothesis refers to the personality of the child which influences their attachment with their mother due to genetic factors. For example: research has shown that identical twins show more agreement in attachment than fraternal twins. Other studies showed that infants with behavioural instincts like shaking or tremors were less likely to become securely attached (Its not just the "carer's fault", the child's role also comes into play)

Question 30

What do we mean by gene-environment interaction in terms of attachment?

Answer 30

This means that the genetic make-up of the child and the mother's responsiveness to the needs of her child influences the infant's attachment Nowadays we believe that attachment is influenced by a complex interaction between the genetics of the infant and the mother's sensitivity to the needs of her child which influences the infant's attachment (Both genetics and the environment influence attachment)

Question 31

Apart from the 5 stages of attachment development, what other theory did Bowlby come up with?

Answer 31

Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis

Question 32

Define privation

Answer 32

The child never formed a close attachment to anyone

Question 33

Define Deprivation

Answer 33

When the child has formed a close bond with the mother/caregiver but is then separated

Question 34

Give 2 examples where deprivation can occur

Answer 34

Divorce or death of a parent

Question 35

According to Bowlby, what does his theory of Maternal Deprivation hypothesis state

Answer 35

According to his theory, if the bond between the mother and the child is broken ,this leads to serious long term developmental effects on the child, which are permanent and irreversible. (According to Bowlby, it negatively influences the child,intellectual,social and emotional development

Question 36

What other 2 assumptions did Bowlby make?

Answer 36

Monotropy Hypothesis Critical period

Question 37

What do these 2 assumptions by Bowlby state?

Answer 37

Monotropy hypothesis: Infants form only one strong attachment which is mainly the mother Critical period: According to Bowlby, he concluded that the infant must form an attachment with mother between 1-3 years. Afterwards, it is not possible to form an attachment with the mother or caregiver. The maternal deprivation hypothesis is a very negative theory because it does not take into consideration that secure attachment can still be formed after 3 years

Question 38

True or false Bowlby was criticized

Answer 38

True

Question 39

Who criticised Bowlby?

Answer 39

Rutter

Question 40

What did Rutter conclude?

Answer 40

Rutter argued that privation was a little bit worse than deprivation (more serious effects) He concluded that many of these effects were due to privation and not deprivation 2) Rutter argued that its also not deprivation alone that causes these long term effects but also the REASONS behind the deprivation. : children who were separated due to housing problems or physical illness were better adjusted than those separated due to psychiatric illness 3) He argued that having deprived children placed in a loving family can change the negative effects of maternal deprivation.

Question 41

Provide evidence for Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis

Answer 41

Bowlby's research was based mainly on children in orphanages who lived in very poor conditions and received little attention from the staff. The maternal deprivation hypothesis was based on 2 other researches called Goldfarb and spitz. Spitz did his research in orphanages and other institutions where most children received very little attention and warmth from the staff. Due to these conditions, the children became apathetic and suffered loss of appetite. On the other hand,Goldfarb compared groups of infants from a poor and inadequately staffed orphanage. The frstgroup consisted of children who only spent a few months and the orphanage before being fostered, whilst the other group consisted of kids who spent at least 3 years at the orphanage. The group of kids which spent the longest time at the orphanage did less well than the others on intelligence tests. (more loners and more agressive) Therefore, it can be argued that maternal deprivation was responsible for these effects. However these effects can also be due to the little stimulation that the children received from the staff.

Question 42

Give evidence rejection Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis

Answer 42

Rutter Schaffer and emerson's reserach showed that only a few children have only one strong attachment to their mother: 59% had already formed strong attachments by 10 months. BECAUSE BOWLBY IN HIS MONTROPHY HYPOTHESIS ARGUED THAT INFANTS ARE ABLE TO FORM 1 STRONG ATTACHMENT WHICH IS NOT TRUE.

Question 43

What did Tizard conclude?

Answer 43

Bowlb argued that the negative effects of maternal deprivation are irreversible however tizard found evdence which rejects this. He studied children who had been in an institution for at least 2-7 years. Some of these children got adopted and others returned to their families. Most of the adopted children were still able to form loving relationships with their adoptive parents and family relationships were as good as their ordinary families. However the children who returned to their actual family,didnt have such a good relationship with their parents ,because the latter often weren't sure that they even wanted their children back. Little affection was shown between the parents and the children

Question 44

What can be concluded regarding Tizard's findings?

Answer 44

That the long-term effects of deprivation depended on what happens AFTER a period of deprivation and privation.