3 - attatchment

Question 1

what is the definition of attachment?

Answer 1

an emotional relationship between two people in which each seeks closeness and feels more secure when in the presence of the attachment figure

Question 2

what is reciprocity?

Answer 2

infant and caregiver are both contributors and are responding to eachother

Question 3

what did Feldman say about reciprocity?

Answer 3

reciprocity can be seen in actions from 3 months old

Question 4

what is interactional synchrony?

Answer 4

where actions and emotions between caregiver and infant mirror each other

Question 5

what did Feldman say about interactional synchrony

Answer 5

temporal coordination of micro-level social behavious

Question 6

what was Meltzoff and Moore’s observation?

Answer 6

observed whether new born babies would mirror their parent just after birth
parent would make a face or a and gesture, ten a dummy was removed from the babies mouth and their response was filmed
often, there was an association between tr two, showing reciprocity

Question 7

AO3 of observations of infants

Answer 7

P - conclusions from observations of infants can be problematic
E - Faces of infants are almost constantly moving and the behavioural categories in Meltzoff and Moore’s observation occur frequently for different reasons
E - This makes it hard to identify the difference between imitated, synchronized, or just general behaviour

however, observations by M and M since then, measured infant responses by filming infants and then by asking an observer to judge the infant’s behaviour from the video
E - This highlights the difficulties in testing infant behaviour, but also ways of increasing internal validity

Question 8

AO3 of observations of infant’s behaviour

inferences

Answer 8

P - Other limitations are that inferences are made to attempt to explain these interactions and they don’t tell us the purpose of these interactions
E - Infants are unable to communicate their thoughts and emotions, so findings and conclusions are based on inferences made from observations of behaviours
E - This is unscientific and leads to bias if experimenters are looking for particular behaviour. Shows us what happens, not why it happens

Question 9

AO3 of ethical implications of M&M’s research

Answer 9

P - there could be some ethical implications (not limitations)
E - Research could be socially sensitive. Isabella et al found that high levels of interactional synchrony were associated with better mother-infant interactions and attachments
E - This may lead to mothers or fathers feeling guilty for being a ‘bad parent’ and returning to work
L - Therefore, negative portrayal of working mothers could result in distressing consequences such as guilt

Question 10

what were the aims of Schaffer and Emerson’s observational study?

Answer 10

to investigate the formation of early attachment (in particular the age they were formed)

Question 11

what was the procedure of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?

Answer 11

studied 60 infants, visiting their homes every 4 weeks for 12 months and then again when the infant was 18 months old. They recorded and then analyzed children’s reactions during seven everyday situations where adults would naturally be separated from their infants.

Question 12

what were the findings of Schaffer and Emerson’s observation?

Answer 12

• by 6 months, about 50% of babies showed separation anxiety towards their care giver
• attachment tended to be the care giver who was most interactive and sensitive to the baby’s needs
• by 9 months, 80% of babies had a specific attachment to primary care giver and 30% had multiple attachments

Question 13

what are the 4 stages of parent-infant attachment?

Answer 13

1 - asocial stage
2 - indiscriminate stage
3 - specific attachment
4 - multiple attachments

Question 14

what age is the asocial stage and what are behavioural characteristics?

Answer 14

up to 2 months
- infants produce a similar response to all objects, whether they are animate or not
- begin to show preference to social stimuli e.g. smiling

Question 15

what age is the indiscriminate stage and what are behavioural characteristics?

Answer 15

2-7 months
- more social
- easily comforted by anyone
- prefer human company
- begin to distinguish familiar with non familiar
- no stranger anxiety

Question 16

what age is the specific attachment stage and what are behavioural characteristics?

Answer 16

7 month +
- start to show separation anxiety
- show joy when reunited with comfort person
- specific attachment to primary attachment giver
- displays stranger anxiety

Question 17

what age is the multiple attachment stage and what are behavioural characteristics?

Answer 17

10-12 months
- wider circle of multiple attachments such as dad, grandparents, family etc.

Question 18

strengths of the development attachment research carried out by Schaffer and Emmerson
Ecological validity

Answer 18

P - a strength of this research is that it has high ecological validity
E - This is because the research was carried out in the baby’s own home and with their mother in a daily setting
E - this is likely to reflect real life behaviour as the infant’s behaviour would be usual as they’re in their usual environment

Question 19

limitation of the development attachment research carried out by Schaffer and Emmerson
population/temporal validity

Answer 19

P - the findings cant be generalised beyond the sample used and wouldn’t be currently valid
E - the sample used was from a working-class population so findings mat not apply to further socio-economic groups
- also the research was carried out in 1964 and now more mothers go to work and it is more common for a father to be the primary carer
E - research has shown that the number of fathers who stay at home had quadrupled over the last 25 years
L - this suggests that Bowlby may have been wrong about the hierarchy of attachment

Question 20

limitation of the development attachment research carried out by Schaffer and Emmerson
cultural variations

Answer 20

P - there are many differences between cultures in terms of the way people act and relate to eachother
E - In individualist cultures such as the UK, each person is primarily concerned with their own needs and close family. In collective cultures such as Israel, they are more focused on the needs of groups rather than individuals
- Sagi et al compared attachments in infants raised in communal environments and others raised in family based sleeping arrangements
- they found that the closeness with mothers was almost twice as common in family based than community
E - this suggests attachment isn’t completely biological and the stage model applies mostly for individualistic cultures.

Question 21

what did Schaffer and Emerson find about fathers?

Answer 21

they found they were less likely to be the primary attachment figure than mothers
this could be due to
- amount of time spent with infant
- claim they aren’t physiologically equipped
- lack emotional sensitivity
- biological reasons
- social expectations and stereotypes

Question 22

AO3 on what Schaffer and Emerson’s findings on fathers role

Answer 22

P - Hrdy found that the men were less able to detect low levels of infant distress in comparison to mothers
E - however Frodi showed videotapes of infants crying and found no physiological difference in the responses form men and women
E - this provides mixed evidence

Question 23

What is said about the importance of fathers as a secondary attachment figure

Answer 23

they are often more playful, physically active and provide more challenging situations for their child whereas the mother is often more affectionate and nurturing

Question 24

what was the procedure of Lorenz’s research?

Answer 24

• he took a clutch of gosling eggs and divided them into 2
• one group was left with their natural mother, and the others were left in an incubator
• the incubator eggs saw Lorenz first and followed him
• to test the imprinting, he marked each group to identify who they would all follow

Question 25

what were the findings of Lorenz’s study?

Answer 25

• Goslings quickly divided themselves up and followed the carer they had seen first
• said the imprinting is restricted to a very definite period of an animal’s life - critical period
• has to be within the first 2 days of hatching

Question 26

supporting evidence of Lorenz’s study
AO3

Answer 26

• Guiton exposed chickens to a yellow rubber glove while feeding them for the first couple of weeks
• they became imprinted on the gloves
• supports the idea that young animals are not born with any predisposition, but probably on any moving thing that is present during the critical window
• also found that the male chickens later tried to mate with the gloves

Question 27

conflicting evidence as to whether imprinting is irreversible
AO3

Answer 27

• Guiton found that imprinting may be more ‘plastic’ and changeable
• the chickens who had imprinted to the gloves, engaged with normal sexual behaviour when exposed to other chickens for a while

Question 28

what was the method of Harlow’s monkey study?

Answer 28

• He separated infant monkeys from their mothers at birth and raised them with 2 dummy mothers
  1 - a wire mother with a feeding nozzle
  2 - cloth covered version with no food
• he wanted to see which the monkeys would spend more time with
• which they would go to when they were scared

Question 29

what were the findings of Harlow’s study?

Answer 29

• all 8 monkeys spent most their time with the cloth covered monkey whether it had food or not
• when frightened, all monkeys clung to the cloth covered mother

Question 30

what was the conclusion of Harlow’s study?

Answer 30

Infants don’t develop an attachment to their feeder, but the person offering contact comfort

Question 31

what were the long lasting effects on the monkeys from Harlow’s study?

Answer 31

1- being timid
2- unpredictable with other monkeys
3- difficulty with mating
4- females became inadequate mothers

Question 32

AO3 of Harlow’s study
Confounding variables

Answer 32

P - the 2 stimulus objects varied in more than one way, not just whether they were covered in cloth or not
E - The heads were also very different, this varied systematically with the independent variable. The reason they preferred the cloth mother could also have been due to its face
E - Therefore, the conclusions lack internal validity

Question 33

AO3 of Harlow’s study
Generalising animal studies

Answer 33

P - the ultimate aim is to be able to generalise the conclusions to human behaviour
E - However, humans differ in many other ways, such as our decision making
- However, other studies such as Schaffer and Emmerson also found that the time spent with infants is more valuable than the food provider
E - This demonstrates that although animal studies are useful, we should seek confirmation by looking at human research

Question 34

what is the idea of classical conditioning causing attachment?

Answer 34

learning through association
food is an unconditioned stimulus, leading to the unconditioned pleasure response.
The caregiver (neutral stimulus) gives the infant food, and the infant learns to associate the caregiver with the food­ so the caregiver
becomes a conditioned stimulus. The conditioned response is pleasure when with caregiver

Question 35

what is the idea of operant conditioning causing attachment?

Answer 35

positive reinforcement - baby is given food to stop it from crying
negative reinforcement - baby stops crying when mother feeds it. Takes stress and anxiety away from mother

leads to continuing behaviour to avoid discomfort

Question 36

strength of using learning theory as an explanation for attachment

Answer 36

P - one benefit is that is does explain some elements of attachment
E - Infants do learn through association and reinforcement, but food may not be the main reinforcer
- It may be that attention and responsiveness from the caregiver are more important rewards in attachment
E - Learning theory may not provide a complete explanation but there is still some value of the theory

Question 37

limitation of using learning theory as an explanation for attachment

Food

Answer 37

P - the main limitation is that food may not always be the key element in the formation of attachment
E - There is strong evidence to show that feeding has nothing to do with attachment as Harlow’s experiment suggests. And though the research isn’t carried out with humans, it’s supported by Schaffer and Emerson’s research
E - Learning explanation is too simplified and ignores other factors

Question 38

what were the 4 things measured in Ainsworth’s strange situation?

Answer 38

1. separation anxiety
2. stranger anxiety
3. reunion behaviour
4. willingness to explore

Question 39

what was the aim of Ainsworth et Al’s study?

Answer 39

observe attachment security in children within the context of infant-caregiver relationship

Question 40

how may stages were there in Ainsworth’s study and how long did they each last?

Answer 40

8 stages
each lasting 3 minutes

Question 41

how old were the infants used in Ainsworth’s study
How many were there
Where were they from?

Answer 41

9-18 months
100 middle class American families

Question 42

what were the 8 steps of Ainsworth’s study?

Answer 42

1. mother and child are introduced to the room
2. mother and child are left alone and child can investigate the toys
3. A stranger enters the room and talks with the mother. The stranger gradually approaches the child with a toy
4. other leaves the child alone with the stranger, and the stranger interacts with the child
5. Mother returns to greet and comfort the child
6. The child is left on his own
7. The stranger returns and tries to engage with the child
8. Mother returns, greets and picks up the child. The stranger leaves inconspicuously.

Question 43

what level of willingness to explore does each attachment type have?
1. secure
2. insecure avoidant
3. insecure resistant

Answer 43

1. high
2. high
3. low

Question 44

what level of stranger anxiety does each attachment type have?
1. secure
2. insecure avoidant
3. insecure resistant

Answer 44

1. moderate
2. low
3. high

Question 45

what level of separation anxiety does each attachment type have?
1. secure
2. insecure avoidant
3. insecure resistant

Answer 45

1. some are easy to soothe
2. indifferent
3. distressed

Question 46

what is the behaviour at reunion of each attachment type?
1. secure
2. insecure avoidant
3. insecure resistant

Answer 46

1. enthusiastic
2. avoids contact
3. seeks and rejects

Question 47

what percentage of infants are in each attachment type?
1. secure
2. insecure avoidant
3. insecure resistant

Answer 47

1. 66%
2. 22%
3. 12%

Question 48

What is a limitation of Ainsworth’s strange situation results?

Answer 48

P - it seems that Ainsworth et Al overlooked a fourth type of attachment
E - Main and Solomon analysed over 200 a strange situation videotapes and proposed the ‘insecure-disorganised’ type D
This meant some infants don’t have a consistent type of attachment and lack a coherent strategy for dealing with the stress of separation
For example, some show very strong attachment behaviour which is followed by avoidance or looking fearful.
They found that the actual results were
62% secure
15% insecure-avoidant
9% insecure-resistant
15%- insecure-disorganised
E - this suggests Ainsworth’s original conclusions were oversimplified and don’t account for all attachment types

Question 49

What is a strength of Ainsworth’s study?
RWA

Answer 49

P - intervention strategies can be developed to tackle situations where disordered patterns of attachment exist between an infant and caregiver
E - for example, the Circle of Security project teaches caregivers to understand infant’s signs of distress and increase understanding of anxiety
- this shows a decrease in number of caregivers classed as disordered from 60% to 15%
- and an increase in infants classed as securely attached from 32% to 40%
E - This supports research on attachment types as research can be used to improve children’s lives

Question 50

What was Van IJzendoor and Kroonenberg’s study?

Answer 50

They completed a meta analysis on 32 studies using Ainsworth’s strange situation technique
- attachment types both between and within cultures were studied
- over 2,000 babies studied

Question 51

what was the aim of Van IJzendoor and Kroonenberg’s study?

Answer 51

to identify whether patterns of attachment are universal or subject to cultural influence

Question 52

what were the results of Van IJzendoor and Kroonenberg’s study?

Answer 52

1. on average, findings were consistent with Ainsworth’s original study
2. 6/8 countries produced findings which were proportionally consistent with Ainsworth and Bell
3. Japan and Israel revealed higher incidence of resistant than avoidant children
4. China had lowest rate of secure attachment (50%)

Question 53

what was the main difference between western and non-western cultures?
in terms of insecure attachment

Answer 53

western - mostly avoidant
non-western - mostly resistant

Question 54

why were GB’s results how they were?

Answer 54

we are encouraged to be independent and not reliant so there is more explorational behaviour and used to being looked after by strangers at day care meaning there is less stranger anxiety

Question 55

why were Japan’s results the way they were?

Answer 55

They are a collectivist culture and children are rarely left by their mothers so distress is perhaps shock rather than insecure attachment

Question 56

why were Germany’s results the way they were?

Answer 56

German culture is very independent and parents seek independent, non-clingy infants, who obey parent’s commands

Question 57

What is a strength of V.I and K’s meta analysis? AO3

methodology

Answer 57

One strength of the methodology of their study was that all the studies in the meta-analysis were carried out in the same way, using the strange-situation technique. This means that comparrisons are aided my the stangardised procedure and increases the reliability of the results. Also, it means comparisons can be made across cultures.

Question 58

AO3 on represantivity of global population

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg

Answer 58

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s study was representative to a certain extent as they analysed a variety of cultures. However, Africa, South America, And Eastern Europe were not included in their study. Furthermore, overall findings are misleading as adisproportionately high number of studies were in the usa (18/32.) Therefore, overall findings would have been distorted

Question 59

What is ethnocentrism

Answer 59

seeing the world only from one’s own cultural perspective, and believeing that this one perspective is both normal and correct.

Question 60

What is a limitation of Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s study?

ethnocentrism

Answer 60

Applying strange situation procedures and behavioural categories is ethnocentric. Cross cultural research judges and categorises infant behaviour in categories from an American study. Other cultures may see certain behaviours in a different way to another. For example, an infant exploring the playroom alone would be classified as avoidant but in Germany, this would be seen as an independent child.

Question 61

What is Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?

Answer 61

A warm, intimate and continuous relationship with a mother (figure) is necessary for healthy psychological and emotional development.
Mother love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health

Question 62

What ages will ‘repeated and prolonged separation’ impact a child?

Answer 62

• before 2 and a half
• children cope better after 5

Question 63

What are some long term consequences of maternal deprivation?

Answer 63

• inability to form attachments in the future (internal working model)
• affectionless psychopathy (inability to feel remorse)
• Delinquency (behavioural problems in adolescence)
• problems with cognitive developments
• Emotional or mental health problems e.g. depression

Question 64

What was the aim of the 44 Juvenile thieves study?

Answer 64

Investigate the relationship between maternal deprivation and affectionless psychopathy

Question 65

What was the procedure of the 44 juvenile thieves study?

Answer 65

• Bowlby studies 88 children from the Child Guidance clinic in London who were maladjusted
• 44 of which had been caught stealing
• he suggested some thieves were affectionless psychopaths
• families were interviewed to establish any prolonged separation from mothers
• 44 teenagers were assessed and interviewed

Question 66

what is an affectionless psychopathy?

Answer 66

Someone who lacks affection, shame or sense of responsibility

Question 67

What were the results of the 44 thieves study?

Answer 67

Individuals diagnosed as affectionless thieves had frequent early separation from their mothers.
86% of thieves experienced frequent early separation (12/14)
Almost no control pp’s experienced early separation but 39% of the thieves had

Question 68

What is a strength of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?

Real world application

Answer 68

• Bowlby’s research had a huge positive impact on post-war thinking about children and how they are looked after in hospital
• Before, children were separated from their parents when in hospital. Visiting was not allowed. Robertson filmed a 2 year old girl called Laura during her 8 day stay at hospital and she was seen to be frequently destressed.
• Bowlby and Robertson’s work led to a large change in the way we look after children.

Question 69

Limitation of Bowlby’s theory

Deprivation vs Privation

Answer 69

P - Rutter criticised Bowlby’s view of deprivation
E - he claimed that Bowlby didn’t make it clear whether the child’s attachment had been formed but broken (deprivation) or never formed in the first place (privation). Rutter believed a lack of an attachment bond would have more serious consequences
E - This lack of clarity, negatively affects the validity of research findings.

Question 70

Limitation of Bowlby’s deprivation theory

Individual differences

Answer 70

P - Bowlby’s theory also assumes that all children are affected by emotional disruption in the same way.
E - Barrett reviewed various studies on separation and concluded that securely attached children become especially distressed. A similar conclusion was drawn by Bowlby himself. During a prolonged stay in the hospital, children were visited once a week so experienced early disruption. When assessed as teens, the group were 63% more maladjusted.
E - this suggests that the children who coped better may have been more securely attached and more resiliant.

Question 71

What is the definition of institutionalisation?

Answer 71

behaviour patterns that develop to fit in with an institution

Question 72

what are some effects of institutionalisation?

Answer 72

• physical underdevelopment
• intellectual underdevelopment (IQ)
• negative internal working model
• disinhibited attachment (low levels of anxiety and over friendly to strangers)

Question 73

What was the aim of Rutter and Songua-Barke’s study?

Answer 73

investigate the extent to which good care can make up for poor early experiences in institution

Question 74

What was the procedure of Rutter and Songua-Barke’s study?

Answer 74

165 Romania infants were either adopted at >6 months, between 6 months and 2 years, or between 2 years and 4 years, and a British control group of before 6 months.
They were then tested for effects of privation when they were 4, 6, 11, and 15 (cognitive abilities, weight, IQ and social development)

Question 75

What were the findings of Rutter and Songua-Barke’s study?

Answer 75

• At adoption, all Romanian orphans lacked behind the Brits on all levels of development
• Children adopted under the age of 6 months had caught up with the English adoptees
• Many adopted after 6 months shows disinhibited attachment
• Consequences of institutionalisation were more severe if infants couldn’t form attachments after 6 months

Question 76

What was the conclusion of Rutter and Songua-Barke’s study?

Answer 76

• effects of privation can be reversed if attachment is possible before 6 months
• long term effects are more permanent if adoption doesn’t happen within 6 months

Question 77

AO3 of Rutter and Songua-Barke’s study
longitudinal research

Answer 77

• spread out over many years of the children’s lives
• lots of planning and waiting for results but the benefits are large
• without these cases we may assume there are major effects due to institution care but that is not always the case

Question 78

AO3 of Rutter and Songua-Barke’s study
individual differences

Answer 78

P - individual differences weren’t recognised and considered
- may not be true that children are unable to recover
- some children aren’t as strongly effected as others
- Rutter said that maybe some children recieve special care in the institutions
- not able to conclude that institutionalisation inevitable leads to an inability to form attachment

Question 79

AO3 of Rutter and Songua-Barke’s study
RWA

Answer 79

• improvements in adoption/ child care policies
• research from Bowlby and Robertson changed the way children are looked after in hospital
• in the past, mothers were encouraged to nurse their baby for a specific amount of time before giving it up for adoption but by the time of attachment, babies were already attached
• now, babies are adopted withing the first week of birth if possible

Question 80

what are the 3 main behaviours influenced by the internal working model?

Answer 80

1. childhood friendships
   e.g. Minnesota child-parent study (individuals who were classified as securely attached in infancy had higher rates for social competence in later childhood, were less isolated, mor popular, and more empathetic)
2. parenting skills
   e.g. Harlow (Monkeys who grew up without mothers developed to be socially abnormal - froze or fled when approached by other monkeys. Sexual abnormality - didn’t show normal mating behaviour or cradle their own babies)
   e.g. Quinton et al (1984, compared a group of 50 women who’d been brought up with a bad home life, to 50 who had been brought up well. Ex-­institutionalised women experienced problems as parents and more
   of them had children in care than the control group.)
3. Mental health
   e.g. Bowlby T of MD (long term consequences of deprivation was emotional maladjustment or even mental health problems such as depression.)
   e.g. Romanian Orphans (Disinhibited attachment, anaclitic depression, reactive disorder)

Question 81

Who did the ‘love quiz’?

Answer 81

Hazan and Shaver

Question 82

what was the aim of the love quiz study?

Answer 82

design a study to test the internal working model’s effect on later romantic relationships

Question 83

what was the procedure of the love quiz?

Answer 83

H+S placed a ‘love quiz’ in a small town paper.
It asked questions about current attachment experiences and history to identify current and childhood attachment types
assessment of IWM
620 responses, 205 men, 415 women

Question 84

what were the findings from the love quiz?

Answer 84

Attachment in relationships were similar to those found in infancy
56% secure
25% avoidant
19% resistant
- positive correlation between attachment type and love experiences
secure = happy, friendly, trusting, relationships lasted 10 years on average
insecure resistant = obsessive, jealous, emotional highs and lows
insecure avoidant = fear of intimacy, jealousy, emotional highs and lows

Question 85

What are AO3 evaluation points for the research methods used in the love test

Answer 85

1. volunteer / self selected sampling (the participants volunteered after reading an advert. Unlikely to represent a general population. Likely to get people with extremes of experiences)
2. Questionnaire / self report (people tend to answer untruthfully. Partly because of social desirability bias)
3. Retrospective / asking about past relationships (our recollection of recent and past events is not reliable)

Question 86

AO3 of the influence of early attachments
retrospective classification

Answer 86

P - one criticism of studies of early attachment e.g. Hazan and Shaver is that they rely on retrospective classification
E - When adults are asked questions about their early lives, their recollection is likely to be flawed due to non-accurate memories.
However, longitudinal studies support them. For example, ongoing longitudinal studies found securely attached infants were more emotionally attached to their parent in early adulthood.

Question 87

AO3 of the influences of early attachments
Research is correlated

Answer 87

P - The research linking the internal working model / early attachment with later relationship experiences is correlational rather than experimental.
E - therefore, we can’t claim that the relationship between early attachment and later love styles is due to cause and effect. It is possible that they are both caused by something different such as innate temperament.
E - This means that research can’t claim that the IWM determines later relationships