Need To Know Attachment Flashcards
(90 cards)
Privation
-child has never had an attachment to a caregiver
Deprivation
- an attachement between the child and the caregiver is broken
What is a secure base
- A place where a child can explore world
- have a safe haven to return when threatened
Monotropy
-idea that one relationship that the infant has with their primary attachment figure is of special significance in emotional development
Bowlbys monotropic theory
- theory suggests attachment is important for a childs survival
- attchment behaviours in both babies and caregivers have evolved through natural selection
- means infants are biologically programmed with innate behaviours that ensure that attachment occurs.
Bowlby’s evolutionary theory
-suggests children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others, because this will help them to survive.
Evaluation
evidence for monotropy is mixed
- shaffer and Emerson:
- babies didnt attach to one person at first but significant minority formed attachments at the same time.
- Contradictory of bowlbys assertion that babies only form one attachment to a primary caregiver and this attachment is unique
- Attachment to mothers predicts later behaviour
- this could be because mother is primary attachment not the different attachment quality
Evaluation - monotropy
Monotropy is socially sensitive
- law of accumulated separation:
- having substantial time away from primary carer risks poor quality attachment that will disadvantage child in range of ways
- Feminists argue mothers are blamed for everything that goes wrong in child’s life
- this law pushes mothers into making lifestyle choices
Evaluating bowlbys theory
Attachment is innate
- Lorenz
- Newly attached goslings imprint and follow the first moving thing they see
Evaluation of Bowlby as theory - There is a critical period for attachment formations
- Rutter et al
- Romanian orphans form attachments to adopted parents in first year of life
- Older children form attachments more slowly but are still able to form them
- probably a sensitive period for attachment formation rather than a critical period.
Evaluating Bowlbys theory
Attachments form as monotropy and hierarchy
- Efe Tribe of Congo are breastfed by many women in village but form stable attachment to their natural mother.
- Fox
- Infants in Israeli kibbutzim are cared for by a metaplet but return to their natural mother at night
- strongest attachment is mother despite most care being provided by a substitute carer.
Evaluating bowlbys theory
There is a continuity between infant, childhood and adult attachments
- hazan and shaffer
- used love quiz
- found continuity between childhood attachment styles and later adult relationships
- Securely attached children had close and loving adult relationships
- Insecure avoidant children had insecure adult relationships with jealousy and lots of rejection.
Shaffer & emerson Glasgow babies
Advantages
- Gives mothers pov of child’s progress in attachment
- longitudinal study so has wide range of results and findings
- field study so was quite high in ecological validity and mundane realism
- Gives other factors other than food being main source of attachment
Shaffer & emerson Glasgow babies
Disadvantages
- mothers reported back to researchers so may not have been truthful of babies progress
- Social desirability bias is risk factor of study
- Cant be generalised to all infants
- Doesn’t support role of food coming into attachment
- Unreliable as mothers may have lied and didn’t want to accept that their baby may have only been attached to them because of food.
Shaffer & emerson Glasgow babies
Evaluation
- study is unreliable as its not performed in controlled environment but conducted in child’s home
- shows lack of control and cant be generalised to all children as babies used came from same working class home
- mothers may have lied to achieve social desirability bias among others
The strengths of learning theory
- Classical conditioning can be done with humans and animals
- Pavlov provides evidence to suggest that we learn to attach
- Skinner proved operant conditioning
- Adequate explanation of learning to attach
Stages of Attachment ages
- Asocial 0 - 6 wks
- Indiscriminate Attachments 6 wks to 7 mths
- discriminate Attachments 7 - 9 mths
- Multiple Attachment 10 mths and onwards
three main attachment styles
- secure (type B)
- insecure avoidant (type A)
- insecure resistant (type C)
Separation Anxiety experience for secure attachment type
- Distressed when mother leaves
Separation Anxiety experience for insecure resistant attachment type
- Intense distress when mother leaves
Separation Anxiety experience for insecure avoidant attachment type
- No sign of distress when the mother leaves
Attachment definition
- An emotional bond between two people
- two way process that endures over time
- leads to certain behaviours like clinging and proximity seeking
- serves function of protecting an infant
Caregiver definition
-Any person who is providing care for a child like a parent
Interactional synchrony definition
-Takes place when infants mirror actions or emotions of another person eg facial expressions