1.3 - Attachment (set C Strange Situation, Istitutionalisation and Early Attachment)

Question 1

Explain the role of Mary Ainsworth regarding Bowlby’s research?

Answer 1

Provided important evidence for his theory - eg the concept of the attachment figures as a secure base

• Ainsworth was particularly focused on different attachment types - her method of assessing attachment types continues to be the standard test

Question 2

Explain the aim of the strange situation?

Answer 2

Ainsworth (1971-1978) devised the strange situation to be able to systematically test the nature of attachment

• aim to see how infants aged between 9 and 18 months behave under conditions of mild stress

Question 3

Outline the procedure of the strange situation?

Answer 3

Consists of 8 episodes - each designed to hilight certain behaviours (secure-base behaviour, separation anxiety, reunion behaviour and stranger anxiety)

• data recorded using one way mirror, observations were of 12-18 month olds and their mothers

Question 4

Outline what took place between each stage of the strange situation and the behvaiour recorded - Give steps 1 - 3?

Answer 4

1 - mother and infant go into room together

2 - mother sits down, placing the child on the floor where its free to explore - tests secure-base

3 - stranger enters the room and talks to mother, before leaning towards infant and trying to engage with them - tests for stranger anxiety

Question 5

Outline what took place between each stage of the strange situation and the behvaiour recorded - Give steps 4 - 6?

Answer 5

4 - mother leaves baby alone with stranger, who tries to comfort it and play with it - tests for separation anxiety

5 - mother returns, stranger leaves - tests reunion behaviour

6 - mother leaves the room, infant is alone - tests separation anxiety

Question 6

Outline what took place between each stage of the strange situation and the behvaiour recorded - Give steps 7 and 8?

Answer 6

7 - the strange returns, tries to comfort the child - tests stranger anxiety

8 - mother returns, stranger leaves - tests reunion behaviour

Question 7

Outline the finings of the strange situation experiment?

Answer 7

clear distinct patterns in the way infants behaved - developed and classified infants into 3 groups (insecure avoidant, secure attachment and insecure resistant)

Question 8

Give the 3 types of attachments - give the percentage of infants for each one?

Answer 8

• insecure avoidant attachment - 20%
• secure attachment - 68%
• insecure resistant - 12%

Question 9

Outline features of insecure avoidant attachment (type A)?

Answer 9

• explores but does not come back and use mother as a safe base (secure base)
• Infant shows no signs of distress when mother leaves (separation anxiety)
• Infant is not distressed with the stranger and plays with the stranger (stranger anxiety)
• infant shows no interest and avoids contact when mother returns (Reunion behaviour)

Question 10

Outline features of secure attachment (type B)?

Answer 10

• will use mother as a safe base to explore the environment (secure base)
• Mildly distressed when mother leaves (separation anxiety)
• Wary of stranger when alone but friendly when mother is present (stranger anxiety)
• Happy when mother returns (reunion behaviour)

Question 11

Outline features of insecure resistant attachment (type C)?

Answer 11

• infant does not explore (secure base)
• Infant shows signs of intense distress (separation anxiety)
• Complete avoidance with stranger, significant distress when interacting with the stranger
• Child seeks/approaches mother, but resists contact, pushes her away (reunion behaviour)

Question 12

Give the 4 types of behaviours assessed?

Answer 12

• use of parent as secure base
• separation anxiety
• stranger anxiety
• reunion behaviour

Question 13

Give 2 strengths for Ainsworth strange situation experiment?

Answer 13

• observations are reliable - high inter-observer reliability (almost perfect agreement between panel of judges)
• real world application - intervention strategies can be developed to tackle situations where disordered patterns of attachment develop

Question 14

Give 2 weaknesses for Ainsworth strange situation experiment?

Answer 14

• low internal validity - criticism over wether it measures the attachment type of a child or wether it measures the quality of one particular relationship (may be different between father and mother)
• later research found Ainsworth overlooked a fourth attachment type - original conclusion were oversimplified and did not account for all attachment behaviours

Question 15

Explain how cultural variations contrast to Bowlby’s theory?

Answer 15

Bowlby suggested attachment evolved to provide protection for the infant, enhancing its survival - this would imply secure attachment should be the optimal form for all humans - not the case, type of attachments varies in different cultures

Question 16

Explain a major way culture can differ between regions - give an example of two types of cultures?

Answer 16

Individualist culture (western) values independence and the importance of the individual - collectivist cultures (Japan) emphasise the importance of group and community

Eg insecure avoidant more common in individualist culture

Question 17

Studies of cultural variations experiments

Question 18

Explain the procedure of the meta-analysis experiment carried out by van IJzendoorn and kroonenberg?

Answer 18

Conducted meta-analysis of the findings from 32 studies on attachment behaviour (over 2000 strange situation classifications in 8 countries)

• observing wether there would be evidence of inter-cultural differences (differences between different cultures/countries) and intra-cultural differences (differences within same cultures)

Question 19

Explain the findings from the meta-analysis carried out by van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg?

Answer 19

• Secure attachment was the most common classification in every country
• insecure-avoidant attachment was second most common in every country - expect Japan and Israel (collectivist)

Question 20

What can be concluded about attachment types from van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s meta-analysis?

Answer 20

Global pattern across cultures is similar to that found in the US - secure attachment is the ‘norm’, most common in all countries

• suggests secure attachment is ‘best’ for healthly social and emotional development
• supports view attachment is innate and biological

Question 21

What 2 strengths of IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s meta-analysis?

Answer 21

• overall the sample size is large - less chance of confounding variables affecting results (involved 1990 babies)
• Secure attachment were the most common in all cultures studies - showed the findings were consistent

Question 22

What 3 weaknesses of IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s meta-analysis?

Answer 22

• 18 out of the 32 studies were carried out in America - skewed sample / unrepresentative of global population
• Strange situation was designed for US, ethnocentrism (designed around a certain culture and does not represent the global population)
• The socio-economic status of the infant may influence results

Question 23

Outline findings from Grossman and Grossman study on cultural differences?

Answer 23

Found higher levels of insecure attachment amongst German infants than in other cultures

• German culture involved keeping some interpersonal distance between parents and infants - so infants do not engage in proximity-seeking behaviours in the stranger situation so appear insecurely attached

Question 24

Outline findings from Takahashi’s study on cultural differences?

Answer 24

• found similar rates of secure attachment to ainsworth
• found 0 infants were insecure avoidant and that infants were particular distressed being left alone (90% didn’t compete the whole procedure due to extreme stress)

Question 25

what can be concluded from Grossmanns and Takahashi’s study on cultural differences?

Answer 25

• there are cross-cultural differences in raising children producing different reactions to the strange situations
• the strongest attachments are still formed with the infants mother

Question 26

Explain how Grossmanns and tekahashis study on cultural differences is evidence that Ijzendoorn and kroonenbergs study is not generalisable?

Answer 26

Findings show cross-cultural differences in raising children produce different reactions to the strange situations

Eg - prominent collectivist culture meant infants were not exposed to being alone much and therefore struggle when they experience it

Question 27

Outline Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?

Answer 27

• proposed that prolonged emotional deprivation would have long term consequences in terms of emotional development
• Deprivation from main caregiver (mother) during critical period (5 years) will result in harmful effects

Question 28

Explain Bowlbys beliefs regarding maternal deprivation?

Answer 28

• believed continuous care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development
• Separation from this adult causes serious damage - as the internal working model may be impacted - leading to inability to be a good parent ext

Question 29

Explain the procedure of Bowlbys 44 juvenile thieves study?

Answer 29

He studied 88 children at his clinic (44 had been caught stealing) and the other 44 were the control group

• Bowlby suggested some of the ‘thieves’ were psychopaths as they lacked normal signs of affection, shame or responsibility which enabled them to be thieves

Question 30

Explain the findings of the 44 juvenile thieves study conducted by bowlby?

Answer 30

• those diagnosed as affections thieves had experienced frequent early separations from their mothers (86% of the affectionless thieves)
• 39% of all thieves experienced early separations
• almost none of the control participants experienced early separations

Question 31

What can be concluded from the 44 juvenile thieves study conducted by bowlby?

Answer 31

Early separations are linked to affection-less psychopathy - lack of continuous care may cause emotional maladjustment

Question 32

What did bowlby say was the long term consequence of maternal deprivation?

Answer 32

Emotional maladjustment or event mental health problems (eg depression)

• supported by the findings from the 44 thieves study - 39% of all thieves had experienced separations (consisting of continual or repeated visits in foster homes or hospitals with little family visits)

Question 33

What did Bowlby say about the critical period regarding maternal deprivation?

Answer 33

Denial of care and separation towards the infant will only lead to emotional damage if it is during the critical period (2.5 years)

• risk can be up to 5 years if their is no substitute mother person

Question 34

What did Bowlby say about the value of maternal care?

Answer 34

Well-feeding and keeping the infant safe and warm is not enough instead they need a ‘warm, intimate and continuous relationship’ with the mother to ensure normal mental health

Question 35

Outline the real world application of Bowlbys work on maternal deprivation - mention spitz and wolfs research as evidence?

Answer 35

Changed how children were looked after in hospitals - no longer separated from parents

Spitz and wolf research found that babies separated from mothers in prison at 3 months but received regular visits thrived, while those that received no visits in the orphanage displayed development delays

Question 36

Outline 4 consequences of maternal deprivation?

Answer 36

• risk of becoming an affection less psychopathy
• Turing to delinquency and committing small crimes eg vandalism,antisocial behaviour ext
• Lower cognitive abilities
• Problems forming relationships

Question 37

Explain the findings from Bowlby and Robertsons further research on maternal deprivation?

Answer 37

Observed children experiencing intense distress when separated from their mothers - found three progressive stages of distress

• protest
• despair
• detachment

Question 38

Outline the 3 different stages of distress investigated by Bowlby and Robertson - explain the features of each?

Answer 38

• protest - child cries, and protests angrily when the parent leaves , tries to cling onto the parent
• despair - child’s protesting begins to stop appear calmer although still upset, refuses other attempt to comfort
• detachment - child begins to engage with other people, reject caregiver on return

Question 39

Outline the advantages/strengths of Bowlby’s work on maternal deprivation?

Answer 39

• provides research support for his maternal deprivation hypothesis
• His research is influential in this area of attachment
• Has impact child care practises (eg adoption or orphanages)

Question 40

Outline the disadvantages/weaknesses of Bowlby’s work on maternal deprivation?

Answer 40

• research for the 44 thieves is only correlational - can’t say the separations from the mother caused the behaviour
• Failed to explain why the two in the control (who had prolonged separation) did not become delinquent
• Investigator effects - Bowlby got the children from his clinic to participate - could have tried to prove his hypothesis

Question 41

outline the problem of Bowlby’s research on maternal deprivation regarding the fact it was conducted at his own clinic - how could he have avoided this?

Answer 41

Investigator effects - he got the children from his clinic to participate - may have picked the children he thought would best prove his hypothesis is true

• could have overcome investigator bias by using random sampling or having someone else pick the names