Attachments Flashcards
(118 cards)
1
Q
THE LEARNING THEORY OF ATTACHMENT
What does the learning theory of attachment assume?
A
Attachments are learnt, acquired, we learn to be attached to a primary caregiver
2
Q
THE LEARNING THEORY OF ATTACHMENT
What conditioning did Dollard and Miller put forward?
A
Operant conditioning
3
Q
THE LEARNING THEORY OF ATTACHMENT
What did Dollard and Miller, 1950, suggest?
A
When an infant is hungry it feels discomfort, the creates a drive to reduce the discomfort. When the discomfort is reduced they feel a reward.
4
Q
THE LEARNING THEORY OF ATTACHMENT
Describe operant conditioning, direct rewards
A
Food produces a response of pleasure and reduces the uncomfortable drive state caused when an infant is hungry.
5
Q
THE LEARNING THEORY OF ATTACHMENT
What type of love is the learning theory?
A
Cupboard love
6
Q
THE LEARNING THEORY OF ATTACHMENT
Describe classical conditioning
A
Food to pleasure
Food plus mother to pleasure
Mother to pleasure, an attachment is formed
7
Q
THE LEARNING THEORY OF ATTACHMENT
What was Schaffer and Emerson’s criticism?
A
The person who fed you may not be the primary attachment figure, fewer than half the infants in their study attached to the person who fed them
8
Q
THE LEARNING THEORY OF ATTACHMENT
Give two A03 negatives
A
Harlow’s monkeys: creature comfort
Reductionist: overly simplistic explanation for complex human behaviours
9
Q
THEORIES OF ATTACHMENTS: NATURE
What does this theory assume?
A
Attachments are instinctive, adaptive for survival
10
Q
THEORIES OF ATTACHMENTS: NATURE
What was Bowlby’s evolutionary theory?
A
Emergence of homosapiens at least 250000 years ago, we form monotropic reciprocal attachments
11
Q
THEORIES OF ATTACHMENTS: NATURE
Define MISS
A
Monotropy
Internal working model
Social releases
Sensitive period
12
Q
THEORIES OF ATTACHMENTS: NATURE
Define monotropy
A
A child has an innate (i.e. inborn) need to attach to one main attachment figure. This is called monotropy. This concept of monotropy suggests that there is one relationship which is more important than all the rest.
13
Q
THEORIES OF ATTACHMENTS: NATURE
Define monotropy
A
A child has an innate (i.e. inborn) need to attach to one main attachment figure. This is called monotropy. This concept of monotropy suggests that there is one relationship which is more important than all the rest.
14
Q
THEORIES OF ATTACHMENT: NATURE
Define an internal working model
A
According to Bowlby, an internal working model is a mental representation of our relationship with our primary caregiver that becomes a template for future relationships and allows individuals to predict, control and manipulate their environment.
15
Q
THEORIES OF ATTACHMENT: NATURE
Define an internal working model
A
According to Bowlby, an internal working model is a mental representation of our relationship with our primary caregiver that becomes a template for future relationships and allows individuals to predict, control and manipulate their environment.
16
Q
THEORIES OF ATTACHMENT: NATURE
Define social releases
A
Babies are born with the tendency to display certain innate behaviors (called social releasers) which help ensure proximity and contact with the mother or attachment figure (e.g., crying, smiling, crawling, etc.) – these are species-specific behaviors.
17
Q
THEORIES OF ATTACHMENT: NATURE
Define the sensitive period
A
Bowlby believed that if development of an attachment did not take place in the first 2.5 years of life it wouldn’t be possible thereafter
18
Q
THEORIES OF ATTACHMENT: NATURE
What is the continuity hypothesis?
A
The continuity hypothesis suggests that infants who have a secure relationship with their caregiver will grow up being more emotionally and socially competent than infants with insecure attachments.
19
Q
THEORIES OF ATTACHMENT: NATURE
Give two positives of this theory
A
RWA: adoption procedures
Harlow’s monkeys
20
Q
THEORIES OF ATTACHMENT: NATURE
Give one negative of this theory
A
Non falsifiable: speculative and retrospective, memory can be flawed
21
Q
HARLOW AND HARLOW CONTACT COMFORT
Is it nature or nurture?
A
Nurture
22
Q
HARLOW AND HARLOW CONTACT COMFORT
What did Harlow believe?
A
Comfort and security rather than food were crucial for factors involved in attachment
23
Q
HARLOW AND HARLOW CONTACT COMFORT
What monkeys did Harlow use?
A
8 rhesos monkeys
24
Q
HARLOW AND HARLOW CONTACT COMFORT
What did Harlow do?
A
Separate the monkeys from their mother and isolate them in separate cages, each were provided with two surrogate mothers made of wire cylinders, one made of soft towelling ‘contact comfort’ and the other left bare
25
HARLOW AND HARLOW CONTACT COMFORT
| What did four off the monkeys receive?
Milk from a bottle attached to a wire mother and four from a cloth mother. The groups drank the same amount and gained weight at the same weight.
26
HARLOW AND HARLOW CONTACT COMFORT
| What did Harlow conclude?
Comfort and security were the basis for attachment rather than food
27
HARLOW AND HARLOW CONTACT COMFORT
| What happened to the monkeys later in life?
They became indifferent or abusive to other monkeys, which supported the continuity hypothesis
28
HARLOW AND HARLOW CONTACT COMFORT
| What did the monkeys have difficulty doing?
Mating, and neglected their children, caused privation
29
HARLOW AND HARLOW CONTACT COMFORT
| Give two negatives of this theory
Extrapolation: humans more complicated than monkeys
| Ethics
30
KONRAD LORENZ 1935
| Define imprinting
A permanent bond
31
KONRAD LORENZ 1935
| What did Lorenz do?
He divided a group of goose eggs into two, one group saw their mother first, the other Lorenz, he marked each group to know which where which
32
KONRAD LORENZ 1935
| What did Lorenz goslings do?
Followed him around and became distressed without him
33
KONRAD LORENZ 1935
| Give two negatives of this theory
Cannot generalize onto humans
| Ethics: playing with nature
34
CAREGIVER - INFANT ATTACHMENTS
| Define an attachment
An attachment is a strong, enduring, emotional and reciprocal bond between two people, particularly infant and caregiver
35
CAREGIVER - INFANT ATTACHMENTS
| Non verbal communication: describe research into reciprocity
Research in the 1970s demonstrated infants coordinated actions w caregivers in a kind of conversation. Smiling is an example
36
CAREGIVER - INFANT ATTACHMENTS
| Reciprocity: What was Trevathen's suggestion?
These actions were important for the development of social and language skills
37
CAREGIVER - INFANT ATTACHMENTS
| Reciprocity: Describe Tronick et al's experiment
Tronick asked mothers to enjoy dialogue with their babies, then stop and maintain a static face. Babies would try tempt their mothers into interactions by smiling, and then become distressed when she didn't join in.
38
CAREGIVER - INFANT ATTACHMENTS
| Give the two types of non verbal communication
Reciprocity and interactional synchrony
39
CAREGIVER - INFANT ATTACHMENTS
| What is interactional synchrony?
When baby and caregiver mirrored facial and body movements. This includes imitation of emotion.
40
CAREGIVER - INFANT ATTACHMENTS
| Describe Meltzoff and Moore's observations
They observed the beginnings of interactional synchrony in infants as young as two weeks
41
CAREGIVER - INFANT ATTACHMENTS
| Describe Meltzoff and Moores experiment
An adult displayed one of three distinct behaviours or gestures, the child's response was then filmed an associations were made with the actions of the infants
42
CAREGIVER - INFANT ATTACHMENTS
| What was Isabella et al's positive?
Securely attached mothers and infant pairs showed more instances of interactional synchrony in the first year of life. This suggests strong emotional attachments associated with high levels of synchrony.
43
CAREGIVER - INFANT ATTACHMENTS
| Describe one positive
Filmed observations: information is static, no recall failure, reliability
44
CAREGIVER - INFANT ATTACHMENTS
| Give one negative
Ethics: baby distress
45
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| Who and when conducted the Glasgow Baby Study?
Schaffer and Emerson: 1964
46
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| Describe the Glasgow baby study
A longitudinal study, observed babies for 18 months. Looked at interactions between baby and caregivers.
47
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| Describe children used in Glasgow baby study
60, aged 5 to 23 weeks, observed every four weeks until they are one, then again at 18 months
48
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| What are the four stages of attachment
- Asocial
- Indiscriminate
- Specific attachment
- Multiple attachment
49
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| Describe asocial
0-6 weeks, baby recognising and forming bonds with parents, little observable social behaviour, few produce protest
50
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| Describe indiscriminate
2-7months, more observable social behaviour, will accept company from any adult, generally happy in others company
51
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| Describe specific attachment
7-9 months, no start to display signs of anxiety with strangers, has formed a specific bond w primary caregiver
52
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| Describe multiple attachment
10 months plus, children begin to attach to others. By 18 months many attachments formed
53
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| What happened within one month?
29% of infants formed an attachment
54
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| What happened by 6 months
This rose to 78%
55
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| Describe responsiveness
This appeared to be the key to attachment. Intensely attached infants had mothers who responded quickly to their demands and interacted w their child. Infants were weakly attached to mothers who failed to interact.
56
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| Describe the role of the father (Schaffer and Emerson)
Schaffer and Emerson found that dads were far less likely to be the primary attachment figure
57
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| Describe Frank et al's research
Both parents often share the role of primary attachment figure. Dad's can be the primary attachment figure but this is not common.
58
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| What do women have which men do not?
Maternal instincts
59
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| Describe Gehar's research
Asked a series of questions relating child, mum's are more hardwired to put child first whereas dad's become more stressed and have to place thought
60
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| What was concluded about the role of the father?
Men are not psychologically equipped to form intense attachments
61
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| Give one positive of this theory
Influential: long lasting
62
STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
| Give two negatives of this theory
- Population validity: generalization of British families, small sample sizes
- Temporal validity: men less house orientated, 60 years ago, careers orientated
63
AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION
| What is a strange situation
An observational technique that places an infant in different situations in order to research the quality of attachment to their caregiver
64
AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION
| Describe Ainsworth's strange situation
A controlled observation of around 100 middle class infants and their mothers, observed in a purpose built laboratory and recorded on tape
65
AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION
| What were the four things Ainsworth was wanting to assess?
- Exploration behaviour
- Separation anxiety
- Reunion behaviour
- Stranger anxiety
66
AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION
| Describe the method
Mother and infant go into a room
The infant is free to explore and the mother sits
A stranger enters and tries to engage w the infant through play and talk
The mother leaves the room, stranger tries to comfort and play w child
The mother returns and stranger leaves
Mother leaves room
The stranger re enters the room and tries to comfort and play w infant
The mother re-enters room and stranger leave
67
AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION
| What did the procedure provide to Ainsworth?
A means of looking at stranger anxiety, separation anxiety and the infants behaviour towards the mother. This led to Ainsworth developing three types of broad attachment.
68
AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION
| What were Ainsworth's three types of broad attachment?
Securely attached, insecure avoidant, Insecure resistant
69
AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION
| What percentage made up each attachment type in Ainsworth's strange situation?
Secure - 66%
Avoidant - 22%
Resistant - 12%
70
AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION
| Describe secure attachments
Infant would explore unfamiliar room, subdued when mother left and greeted her positively on return, moderate avoidance of stranger but friendly when mother was present, mothers were described as sensitive
71
AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION
| Describe insecure - avoidant
Did not orientate towards mother and unconcerned by her absence, showed little interest when mother returned, avoided the strangers but not as strongly as they avoided their mother, mothers sometimes ignored infants
72
AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION
| Describe insecure resistant
Showed intense distress, particularly when mother was absent, rejected mother when she returned, showed ambivalent attitudes towards stranger, mothers appeared to behave ambivalently towards infants
73
AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION
| Describe insecure resistant
Showed intense distress, particularly when mother was absent, rejected mother when she returned, showed ambivalent attitudes towards stranger, mothers appeared to behave ambivalently towards infants
74
AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION
| What did this study show?
- Significant individual differences between infants
- Distinct correlation between mothers behaviour and attachment type
- Most US children securely attached
- Sensitive mothers were the most securely attached
75
AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION
| Give two positives of this experiment
- Influential
| - Controlled observations
76
AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION
| Give one negative of this experiment
Ethics: purposeful infant distress
77
CROSS CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN ATTACHMENT STYLES
| In a 16 marker, what must you mention first?
Ainsworth, four behaviour categories, 3 attachment types
78
CROSS CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN ATTACHMENT STYLES
| Describe Ijzendoom and Kroonenburg's research
Meta analysis of 32 studies of attachment behaviour, secure attachment highest in every country, insecure - resistant highest in Israel and Japan, insecure - avoidant highest in Germany
79
CROSS CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN ATTACHMENT STYLES
| Describe Grossman and Grossman's research
German infants tended to be classified as insecure rather than secure, different childrearing practices, infants do not engage in proximity seeking behaviour, appear insecurely attached
80
CROSS CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN ATTACHMENT STYLES
| Describe Takahashi's research
Conducted his own situation, 60 Japanese infants, same levels of secure as Ainsworth but no evidence of insecure - avoidant. High levels of insecure resistance, so distressed on being alone 90% of infants had to be stopped
81
CROSS CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN ATTACHMENT STYLES
| Give two biases of these studies
- Cultural bias: portraying American ideas onto rest of the world, ethnocentric western assumption, affects validity
- Subcultural bias: use middle class rather than working or upper class, different parenting styles
82
CROSS CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN ATTACHMENT STYLES
| Give one negative of this theory
Rothbaum: parachute effect, sweeping generalizations, not a valid population depiction
83
BOWLBY'S THEORY OF MATERNAL DEPRIVATION
| Describe what Bowlby's study was
A study in Maternal Deprivation and Juvenile Delinquency 1946: a disruption to an attachment
84
BOWLBY'S THEORY OF MATERNAL DEPRIVATION
| Describe Bowlby's sample
An opportunity sample of 88 children selected from the clinic where Bowlby worked. He picked up suitable children from consecutive referrals.
85
BOWLBY'S THEORY OF MATERNAL DEPRIVATION
| What were 44 of these children?
Juvenile thieves, referred to Bowlby because of their stealing
86
BOWLBY'S THEORY OF MATERNAL DEPRIVATION
| What were the other 44 of the children?
A control group who had been referred to him due to emotional problems, rather than asocial behaviour
87
BOWLBY'S THEORY OF MATERNAL DEPRIVATION
| Describe the types of children in study
Half the children in each group aged 5-11, the other half 12-16. All children roughly matched for IQ.
88
BOWLBY'S THEORY OF MATERNAL DEPRIVATION
| Define the phrase 'affectionless psychopathy'
Lacking the ability to emphasise w other people
89
BOWLBY'S THEORY OF MATERNAL DEPRIVATION
| Of the thieves diagnosed w affectionless psychopathy, what had 86% of them experienced?
A long period of maternal separation before the age of 5 years
90
BOWLBY'S THEORY OF MATERNAL DEPRIVATION
| What did Bowlby conclude?
Maternal separation/deprivation in a child's early life caused permenant emotional damage
91
BOWLBY'S THEORY OF MATERNAL DEPRIVATION
| Give one positive of this theory
Influential w RWA: hospital procedures, after WW2 this research was used to encourage women to stay at home and not go to work
92
BOWLBY'S THEORY OF MATERNAL DEPRIVATION
| Give two negatives of this theory
Deterministic: early childhood experiences
| Non falsifiable and retrospective: memory can be flawed and cannot scientifically test
93
THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION: THE ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDY
Define privation
A failure to form attachments
94
THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION: THE ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDY
Define an institution
A place dedicated to a given task, people may live in these for weeks, months, or years
95
THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION: THE ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDY
What was Rutter et al's study?
A longitudinal one, comparing Romanian orphans adopted by UK families against UK born adoptees placed w families before they were 6 months old
96
THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION: THE ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDY
Describe Romanian orphanages
Poor, children in there as old as 1-2 weeks
97
THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION: THE ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDY
How many children were used from Romania
165: 111 adopted by the age of two, 54 between two - four
98
THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION: THE ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDY
How big was the UK group?
54, adopted before 6 months old
99
THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION: THE ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDY
Give four characteristics of the orphans in the Romanian condition
- Disinhibited attachment
- Deprivation dwarfism
- Lower IQ
- Poor parenting
100
THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION: THE ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDY
Define disinhibited attachment
- More likely to attention seek
- Lack of fear of strangers
- Inappropriate physical contact
- Lack of proximity seeking behaviour
101
THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION: THE ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDY
Describe deprivation dwarfism
Gardener: malnourished physically and mentally
102
THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION: THE ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDY
Describe lower IQ
Skodak and Skeels: 30 points lower than average
103
THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION: THE ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDY
At what points were the follow ups?
4, 6, 11 and 15 years
104
THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION: THE ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDY
Give two positives
- Case study: rich, qualitative data
| - RWA: care in institutions
105
THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION: THE ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDY
Give one negative of this study
Generalization
106
INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS
| Define the continuity hypothesis
The idea that early childhood attachment and experience shapes relationships w peers and then later romantic relationships
107
INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS
Childhood relationships
Describe the Minnesota study
Followed pps from infancy to late adolescence and found continuity between early attachments and later emotional and social behaviour.
108
INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS
Childhood relationships
Describe the findings of the Minnesota study
Securely attached children were rated most highly for social competency. Later in childhood they were more popular than securely attached children.
109
INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS
Childhood relationships
Describe the Myron-Wilson and Smith study
Found I-A children most likely to be bullied, and I-R most likely to be the bullies. Questionnaire of 196 children aged from 7-11.
110
INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS
Childhood relationships
What did Hartup et al argue?
Children w a S-A are more sociable and popular a nursery than insecurely attached children, who tend to be reliant on teachers
111
INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS
Later romantic relationships
Who conducted "the love quiz" and what did it investigate?
Hazen and Shaver, designed to test the internal working model
112
INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS
Later romantic relationships
Describe the procedure
Analysed 620 replies to a love quiz printed in a local newspaper, the quiz had three sections: current relationships, general love experiences, attachment types
113
INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS
Later romantic relationships
Describe avoidant
Avoid long term attachments, don't believe in soulmates, relationships unnecessary
114
INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS
Later romantic relationships
Describe avoidant
Avoid long term attachments, don't believe in soulmates, relationships unnecessary
115
INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS
Later romantic relationships
Describe secure
More successful long term relationships, believe in soul mates, love and commitment
116
INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS
Later romantic relationships
Describe resistant
Very quickly in and out of relationships, prone to be jealous and possessive
117
INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS
| Give one positive
Positive correlation established w continuity hypothesis
118
INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS
| Give two negatives
Doesn't consider individual differences, eg learning difficulties
Questionnaires, self report technique, validity
