Psychology - Explanations of attachments Flashcards
(41 cards)
What are the behaviors that suggest people have an attachment, and who said this/when?
Maccoby (1980) Seeking proximity Distress on separation Joy on reunion General orientation of behavior towards other person
Lorenz (year)
1935
Lorenz (findings)
Goslings will imprint - form a rapid attachment to the first large moving object seen after birth
Critical period in geese is 32 hours - after this no attachment formed
Lorenz (method)
Divided fertile geese eggs - one group saw mother after hatching the other saw him
Short time after hatching he put the geese together and they went immediately split into 2 groups and went to their ‘mother’
Klaus and Kennell (year)
1976
Klaus and Kennell (experiment)
Followed 2 groups of young mothers in North America from the birth of their children until 1 year of age
Control group had routine contact
Experimental group had extended skin-to-skin contact
Klaus and Kennell (findings and conclusion)
Extended contact mothers showed more soothing behaviors like cuddling, and maintained closer proximity to their babies
These behaviours suggested a closer bond between mother and baby
Indicated there may be a sensitive period
Sensitive period
Period of time shortly after birth that may be important for bonding to take place
Schaffer and Emerson (year)
1964
Schaffer and Emerson (experiment)
Looked at development of attachments in 60 babies in Glasgow born to working class families Considered two types of behaviour: stranger distress, separation anxiety Used variety of methods like interviewing mothers about babies response upon separation and observation of if baby reacted when they approached to collect data Asked mothers to rate baby's behaviour using a 4-point scale from 'no protest shown' (0) to 'cries loudly every time' (3) on seperation
Schaffer and Emerson (results - When attachment takes place)
Stages loosely linked with age
6-8 months babies start to show separation anxiety to indicate attachment
Stranger distress seemed to follow 1 month later
Most went on to form multiple attachments with people they saw regularly
Schaffer and Emerson (results - who they attach to first)
65% was with mother
3% with fathers
27% joint mother and father
In 40% of attachments the person who cared for the child is not the first attachment
Stage and age in development of attachements
Asocial (0-6 weeks) Indiscriminate attachments (6 weeks to 6 months) Specific attachments (7 months) Multiple attachments (10/11 months onwards)
Asocial stage
0-6 weeks Don't prefer specific people Bias towards human like stimuli Prefer to look at faces and eyes Learn to discriminate familiar people from unfamiliar people by their smell and voice
Indiscriminate attachments
6 weeks-6 months
Babies more sociable
Can tell people apart
No fear of stranger yet
Stage of developments of attachments (acronym)
Any
Island
Sinks
Muchly
Specific attachments
7 months onwards
Begins to show separation anxiety
Stranger distress shown
Multiple attachments
10/11 months onwards
Follow soon after first attachment is made
Shows attachment behaviours to several different people like siblings and parents
Operant conditioning
Skinner
Any behaviour that produces a reward will be repeated (positve reinforcement)
Behaviours that stop something unpleasant will be repeated (negative reinforcement)
How can oparent conditioning be applied to attachments?
Newborn baby will cry if hungry or cold
Sound of baby crying is uncomfortable to caregiver so they go to baby
Positive reinforcement for baby
Negative reinforcement for carer
Forms a system where baby cries when it needs something to make carer come to it
Classical conditioning
Pavlov
Learning through association
Unconditioned stimulus - unconditioned response
Conditioned stimulus - conditioned response
How can classical conditioning be applied to attachments?
Milk (unconditioned stimulus) causes pleasure (unconditioned response) in baby
The carer who provides the milk becomes associated (conditioned stimulus)
Over time the carer cause pleasure milk would (conditioned response)
Studies against feeding being key in formation of attachments - why
Harlow and Zimmerman - Monkeys
Schaffer and Emerson - 39% of attachments not mother
Bowlby - evolutionary
Harlow and Harlow (year)
1958
8 monkeys raised in isolation
Surrogate mothers- cloth one and wire/food one
Scared them to see if they attached to a surrogate
Cloth one