attachment- 1 Flashcards
what is reciprocity
first interaction in caregiver-infant attachments- when infants and caregivers respond to each other in a form of turn taking -through this both infant+ caregiver become aware of and able to anticipate the actions of the other- forming the foundation for the attachment bond
outline attachment
close emotional two way bond, early interactions help form this bond
what does reciprocity challenge
the idea that infants are passive recipients of care- infants contribute to the formation of attachment
outline melzoff and moore’s conclusions from their observation
argued that interactional synchrony is a purposeful action to help form the attachment bond connection
-however correlation from study doesn’t equal causation
outline interactional synchrony
infants will mirror the actions or emotions of another person- imitation- melzoff and moore believe it is an innate response
strength-research support- interactional synchrony
melzoff and moore- controlled observation, adults displayed behaviours to 2-3month old infants,
- found an association between adults and infants movements
- low internal validity, the imitation was not immediate, babies may have just ben making faces
limitation- melzoff and moore’s observation
inferring from observations leads to rich interpretation- reading too much into something
strength - research into stages of attachment- design
schaffer - studied 60 infants, monthly intervals for 18 months through observations, interviews and diaries kept by mothers
-longitudinal design avoids cross-selectional design, which would have required studying different participants for each stage
-design controls for participant evs, and strengthens IV
limitation- schaffers research into stages of attachment- external validity
conducted in 1964 on 60 babies and mothers from Glasgow in a working class area
-low temporal validity
-low population validity- small sample size, ethnocentrism, unrepresentative/ generalisable
what are the 4 stages of attachment
asocial stage, indiscriminate attachment, specific attachment, multiple attachment
how long does the asocial stage last
from birth until 2.5 months
how long does the indiscriminate stage last
2.5- 6 months
how long does the specific stage last
7 months onwards
how long does the multiple attachments stage last
10 months onwards
examples of healthy attachments
separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, social referencing
outline the asocial stage
infants show similar behaviour to human and non-human objects
-progress to showing preference to people and social stimuli
outline the indiscriminate attachment stage
infant show preference to people over indiscriminate objects
-however do not display separation anxiety-shows no specific attachment has been made
outline the specific attachment stage
infants show special preference to specific attachment figure
-infant looks to particular person for security, comfort and protection
-infant will spend more time looking at this person and will show stranger anxiety and separation anxiety
outline the multiple attachment stage
attachment behaviours are displayed towards several different people
describe the hierarchy of attachment in the multiple attachment stage
the variation in strength and importance of the attachment to the infant
outline the aim of lorenz’s research
investigate phenomena of imprinting in geese
-imprinting occurs when a young animal narrows it social preference to an object as a result of exposure to that object
outline the procedure of lorenz’s research
naturalistic setting, randomly assigned a clutch of goose eggs to either be hatched with their mother or in an incubator next to Lorenz
outline the findings of lorenz’s research
goslings followed whomever they hatched with- even when mixed together they split back into who they had been hatched with
outline the conclusions of lorenz’s research
provide evidence for phenomena of imprinting
- geese will develop strong social preference for which ever moving object they see when they first hatch
-innate behaviour- happens without time to learn, responsive to environment- combination of nature nurture
outline the critical period
geese would not imprint beyond 13-16 hours, from lorenz’s variations
-critical period in which imprinting can occur
outline the aim of Harlow’s research
investigate the relative importance of feeding or ‘contact comfort’ for the development of infant attachment
outline the procedure of Harlow’s research
raising infant rhesus monkeys with two ‘surrogate mothers’
-surrogates were both wire frames shaped like adult monkeys, one was covered with a soft cloth
- Harlow varied which of the surrogates dispensed milk and observed which surrogate the infants would cling to
outline the findings of Harlow’s research
contact comfort was more important to the development of attachment than food
-observed significant long-term problems in infants raised by surrogates, experienced difficulties socialising and mating- if they did become parents, they tended to neglect, and sometimes even attack, their young
- this showed the necessity of contact comfort for healthy psychological development
outline Harlow’s further research into contact comfort in psychological development
raised monkeys in complete social isolation for varying lengths of time.
-found that monkeys raised in complete isolation always experienced some level of social impairment, but those raised in isolation for more than 90 days, had irreversible social impairments
limitation- animal studies into attachment- generalisation
Lorenz’s and Harlow’s research was conducted on animals which are very different from humans, physiologically and behaviorally
-clinging is a matter of survival in young rhesus monkeys, but not in humans, whilst freshly hatched goslings are far more physically capable than newborn humans
-Differences such as this may be significant enough to mean that generalising findings from animal studies on attachment to humans may be impossible
-the issue of generalisation isn’t the same for all animal studies of attachment- On a biological level, all mammals have essentially the same brain structures as humans,
Geese, in contrast, are more closely related to reptiles than mammals
- arguably these issues are more significant for Lorenz’s research, Given the close relationship between humans and primates.
limitation- animal studies into attachment- ethical issues
-in harlow’s research the animal subjects experienced significant suffering- highly distressed, long-term consequences in terms of their ability to socialise, mate and parent
-Lorenz’s research, whilst less overtly cruel, still caused geese to be raised in a way that was unnatural, and thus had the potential for harm
- several ethical issues -Animals lack language, so they cannot give informed consent or exercise their right to withdraw, harm experienced by animals violates the ethical principle of protection from harm.
- may be ethical justifications for harming animals-Harlow’s findings provided evidence for the importance of contact-comfort in childcare and this led to reforms in how children, especially in institutions, were cared for
-Lorenz’s research provided insight into the existence of a critical period, which helped researchers appreciate the importance of early care for human infants
strength- animal studies into attachment- experimental control
Due to ethical issues associated with experimenting on humans (especially infants), attachment researchers cannot directly manipulate how children are raised
- forced to rely on research where “naturally” neglected or abused children are studied outside the laboratory-animal studies do not face the same restrictions
-researchers can use animal studies to study variables they would otherwise be forbidden from manipulating and use experimental controls- standardize the level of contact and food given by the wire surrogate
- allow for the direct manipulation of variables in relatively controlled conditions, they have high internal validity-infer causal connections that would be problematic outside of an experimental context
outline learning theory’s exp for attachment
blank slate assumption- attachment is not innate, infant driven to form attachments because caregiver satisfies innate drive to reduce hunger
-cupboard love- caregiver only loved because they satisfy need for food
outline classical conditioning in learning theorys exp for attachment
caregiver initially neutral stimuli, and food is unconditioned stimulus, which produces an unconditioned response of pleasure
-caregiver feeds infant in conditioning stage, repeatedly pairing caregiver and food
- attachment develops after conditioning, when infant forms association between caregiver and pleasure from eating
outline operant conditioning in learning theorys exp for attachment
infants cry due to positive reinforcement
-initially infants cry for no reason- after caregiver responds by feeding the crying is rewarded and reinforced
-parent has removal of negative stimuli, crying, so is negatively reinforced to feed the child
outline primary and secondary reinforcers in learning theory’s exp for attachment
the most important (primary) reinforcer is food, since it satisfies the infants innate drive, eventually, the infant sees the caregiver as a secondary reinforcer, meaning the caregivers presence becomes rewarding in itself
strength- learning theory’s exp for attachment- research support
Dollard and Miller- in their first year, babies are fed 2000 times, generally by their main carer
-2000 feedings would allow babies to associate their carer with food through classical conditioning, also provide many opportunities to positively reinforce the infant’s attachment behaviour of crying when they want to attract their carer
-provides limited support -study involves no manipulation of variables, so it’s impossible to say that the feeding is causing an association to develop, findings do not rule out the possibility that attachment to the caregiver is partly or even entirely biologically determined
limitation- learning theory’s exp for attachment- animal studies
Harlow found that infant rhesus monkeys preferred to cling to a soft cloth-covered ‘surrogate mother’, even if an uncovered surrogate was the source of food
- challenges the central claim ; that desire for food is the basis for attachment
-monkey’s preference for the cloth-covered surrogate demonstrated that contact-comfort was a more powerful motivator than hunger
-challenges the central claim that attachment is not an innate drive, infants sought out contact comfort without any conditioning
-suggests that attachment figures are a primary reinforcer
-debatable whether findings derived from an animal study are necessarily generalisable to humans- the behaviourists who developed learning theory did argue that we can understand human behaviour by studying animal behaviou
outline monotropy
concept of monotropy refers to the warm, loving relationship (i.e., an attachment) an infant shares with one person, usually, but not necessarily, its mother
- means an attachment to the main caregiver.
outline Bowlby’s evolutionary exp for monotropy
human infants and their parents have an innate need to form a monotropic relationship
- infants are born with the need to establish and maintain a monotropic relationship, as the close bond is a survival necessity for infants -naturally selected in our ancestors
- infants are born with a set of innate behaviours (e.g., sucking, clinging, following, crying, and smiling) called social releasers
- aid the survival of an infant by drawing the caregiver back to the infant and maintain the monotropic relationship
- ancestors of humans who were born with these social releasers and then grew up to be adults who felt the need to respond to the social releasers of their children
outline Bowlby’s social releasers
infants are born with a set of innate behaviours (e.g., sucking, clinging, crying) called social releasers
-these behaviours aid the survival of an infant by drawing the caregiver back to the infant; helps to maintain the monotropic relationship that is essential to the infant’s survival
-social releasers gives a survival advantage, meaning these behaviours were naturally selected
outline Bowlby’s critical period
-first two year’s of a child’s life represented a critical period, during which a child must form a monotropic relationship
-if the child does not, they will experience long-term and irreversible consequences for their social, emotional and intellectual development
- key factor in forming an attachment in the critical period was emotional sensitivity- caregiver who is emotionally sensitive will respond to their child’s social releasers
outline Bowlby’s internal working model
internal working model explains how disruption of the monotropic relationship during the critical period has long-term consequences
-IWM made of ; a child’s mental representation of their self-worth and their expectations of how others will behave towards them
-formed in response to the child’s experience of care (or lack of) from their primary carergiver, especially during the critical period
- monotropic figure responds to the child’s social releasers informs their IWM
outline the impact of Bowlby’s IWM on later development and relationships
IWM formed in childhood can influence their experiences in later relationships because it acts as a template for future relationships.
-child who receives good quality care from their caregiver will internalise a representation of others as dependable and their self as worthwhile
strength- bowlbys claim that the need to form monotropic relationships is innate- research support
Lorenz- raised goslings so that the first moving object they saw was either their mother or him- found the goslings would automatically follow the first moving object they saw, a phenomenon he called imprinting
- If we see imprinting as the goose version of forming a monotropic relationship, then this finding supports Bowlby’s claim that the need to form a monotropic relationship is innate
- issues with generalising from Lorenz’s research undermines its support for Bowlby’s monotropic theory, debatable the extent to which the innate imprinting behaviour demonstrates that human attachment to a monotropic figure is also innate
strength- Bowlby’s claims of the importance of critical period- research support
Harlow- infant rhesus monkeys raised in complete isolation always experienced some level of social impairment, but for those raised in isolation for more than 90 days, the damage was irreversible
-provides clear evidence for the importance of a critical period in attachment in monkeys- total isolation meant they were left isolated from a caregiver who could respond to their needs
-the damage to their social capabilities after 90 days strongly suggests there is a critical period
-findings provide support for Bowlby’s claim that we must form a monotropic relationship within a critical period, or otherwise we will sustain irreversible long-term damage
-issues with generalising from Harlow’s research undermines support- findings relate to rhesus monkeys, may not generalise to humans
- monkeys are a species that share a close evolutionary heritage with humans, so generalsing from their behaviour to humans may still be appropriate
strength- Bowlby’s Internal working model- research support
Bailey- interviewed 99 mothers with one-year old babies and found that mothers who rated their attachment to their mothers as good were more likely to have good quality attachments with their babies
-can be explained using Bowlby’s concept of IWM- mothers who rated their attachment as ‘good’ would be likely to have developed an IWM in which parental relationships are positive.
-explains why they developed good quality attachments with their own children
-study relied on mothers assessing their own attachment experiences retrospectively, it may lack validity as the participants may not be able to accurately recall what their early experiences of care were like
what is Ainsworth’s strange situation
controlled observation by Mary Ainsworth to investigate individual differences in attachment behaviours in young children
- child observed in series of stages, each designed to recreate the flow of familiar and unfamiliar people in a child’s life
outline Ainsworth’s strange situations stages
Stage 1 - Mother and child enter the playroom
Stage 2 – The child is encouraged to explore
Stage 3 – Stranger enters and attempts to interact
Stage 4 – Mothers leaves while the stranger is present
Stage 5 – Mother enters and the stranger leaves
Stage 6 – Mothers leaves
Stage 7 – Stranger returns
Stage 8 – Mother returns and interacts with child
what did the researcher observe in Ainsworth’s strange situation
- how the child explores the room
- childs reaction to caregivers departure (level of separation anxiety)
- childs reaction when near stranger (level of stranger anxiety)
- childs reaction to reunion with caregiver
outline type a attachment- insecure avoidant
caregiver frequently fails to respond to childs needs
- leads child to believe communication of needs has no influence
outline type b attachment- secure
caregiver reliably and effectively responds to childs needs
outline type c attachment- insecure resistant
caregiver unpredictably responds to childs needs- childs behaviours will be an attempt to take control of unpredictive interaction
what percentages of children were found with each attachment type in the strange situation
type a-15%
type b-70%
type c-15%
strength - strange situation- reliability
inter-rater reliability in a team of trained Strange Situation observers- was agreement about the attachment type on 94% of tested babies
-Strange Situation is reliable as there was a high level of consistency between the observers, meaning they were able to watch the same child and reach the same conclusions about what behaviours were occurring and what attachment type the child had
-reliability is an essential condition for validity -strong reliability increases the chance that it provides a valid tool for measuring individual differences in attachment
limitation- Ainsworth’s 3 attachment types- limited exp
- Main- identified a fourth attachment type called the disorganised attachment
-challenges Ainsworth’s conclusions as her research only identified three attachment types, her exp of individual differences in attachment were limited
-identification of the disorganised attachment type only came about through research involving the Strange Situation, which suggests it is a useful research tool for understanding individual differences in attachment - modern attachment researchers have now largely discarded the idea that there are discrete attachment types- two key attachment dimensions – avoidance and anxiety – along which all people vary
- new understanding suggests Ainsworth’s idea of attachment types was limited as not everyone fitted neatly into the different types-new understanding was only possible because of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation research that established individual differences in attachment do exist
outline the aim of van ijzendoorns study
investigated whether cultural differences affect individual differences in attachment types
outline the procedure of van ijzendoorns study
cross cultural- compared attachment behaviours of children in different countries
- meta-analysis of 32 separate strange situation studies from 8 countries
outline the findings of van ijzendoorns study
secure attachment was most common in all countries
-uk highest- 75% secure, china lowest- 50% secure
-intra-cultural variation was almost 15 times greater than cross cultural variations
-findings consistent with ainsworths- secure most common and insecure-avoidant and insecure- resistant least common
strength- van ijzendoorns study- important implications for understanding of attachment
-find that across all cultures, the secure attachment type was the most common, but he also found considerable variations in attachment types between and within cultures
-dominance of the secure attachment supports Ainsworth’s research
-also supports Bowlby’s monotropic theory- suggested that humans have an innate need to form a secure attachment to their main caregiver
- expect most infants to form a secure attachment type, regardless of the culture they were raised in
-cultural variations observed by Van Ijzendoorn suggest Ainsworth’s original research was limited- conclusions on individual differences in attachment were culturally biased, conclusions were based on research within one culture
-Bowlby- over-emphasizing the role of nature in explaining attachment behaviours-findings challenge Bowlby’s monotropic theory as they suggest that nurture has an important effect on individual differences in attachment behaviours
limitation- van ijzendoorns study- limited analysis
only considered three attachment types- missing additional attachment type, disorganised attachment type
- conclusions on cultural variations are limited, as he only considers variations in three attachment types, not four- failure to consider the disorganized attachment type may challenge the validity of Van Ijzendoorn’s findings
-researchers may have incorrectly labelled some children with this attachment type as either resistant or avoidant- they would have been categorised incorrectly, thereby undermining the validity of his findings on the cultural variations of the attachment types
- findings are less relevant today as modern attachment researchers no longer measure individual differences in attachment through attachment types
-not everyone fits inside particular attachment type- in only analysing cultural variations through the lens of attachment types, Van Ijzendoorn’s research may be overly simplistic
outline Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory
believed young children should “experience a warm, intimate, and continuous relationship with his caregiver in which both find satisfaction and enjoyment”
-children who do not experience this relationship have suffered ‘maternal deprivation’ and may suffer significant and irreversible mental health consequences
-He likened good maternal care to vitamins, and its absence to malnutrition
outline the most servere form of maternal deprivation and its consequences
complete deprivation occurs when the child grows up without one main person to care for them
-consequences for the child’s intellectual, physical and social development
- most severe consequence-affectionless psychopathy, characterized by a lack of concern for others, lack of guilt and inability to form meaningful and lasting relationships
outline less severe forms of maternal deprivation and their consequences
partial deprivation can happen if the child is temporarily removed from the care of its mother- might also happen if the child remains with a mother who is unable to properly care for it
- less severe, but can still harm the child’s emotional development, resulting in anxiety, depression, and neediness
strength- Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory- animal studies
Harlow- infant rhesus monkeys raised in extended isolation in bare wire cages left monkeys with profound abnormalities in their later development -became irreversible if the monkeys were isolated for long enough
-provides clear evidence in support of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
-monkeys suffered what Bowlby would describe as complete deprivation, as they were raised without a mother figure, harm suffered to their emotional and social development was, just as Bowlby claimed, significant and irreversible
- findings relate to rhesus monkeys, so may not be generalisable to humans
-may offer weak support for Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
limitation- bowlbys maternal deprivation theory- mixed support
Rutter-children adopted from Romanian orphanages experienced negative consequences for their intellectual development, social development , and physical development
-findings provide some support , as the Romanian orphans experienced complete deprivation, and this deprivation did result in significant harm, However, Rutter’s findings did challenge Bowlby’s claim that maternal deprivation would necessarily result in irreversible harm
-children who were adopted before the age of 6 months were able to catch up with the control group, demonstrating that good quality care can undo the effects of maternal deprivation
- found no evidence of the affectionless psychopathy that Bowlby claimed was a consequence of the complete deprivation, which we would expect to see in the Romanian orphans if Bowlby was right
what is institutionalisation
the effects of living in an institutional environment
-Such places often lack the emotional care of a family environment
outline the aim of rutters English and Romanian adoptee study
To investigate the short and long-term effects of institutionalisation on development
outline the procedure of rutters study
165 Romanian children who spent early lives in Romanian orphanages before being adopted in the UK, and a control group of 52 non-institutionalised British children who had been adopted in the UK before the age 6 months
outline rutters design
used a longitudinal design- continued to study the differences between the British and Romanian adoptees over many years
-several conditions- firstly, the adoptees in the study had either come from Romanian or British institutions, Secondly, the age at which the Romanian children were adopted varied, with some adopted before 6 months and some after
-Rutter measured the physical, cognitive and social development of the adoptees at ages 4, 6, 11 and 15
outline the physical findings of rutters exp
All Romanian orphans showed signs of malnourishment upon arrival
-After being adopted, they all caught up with the control group by age 6
outline the cognitive findings of rutters exp
average IQ of the Romanian adoptees was below average, However, they all made improvements after being adopted
-those adopted before 6 months caught up with the control group by age 4, However, the average IQ of those adopted between 6 months and two years never caught up with the control group or the group of Romanian orphans who had been adopted before 6 months
outline the social findings of rutters exp
Those adopted after 6 months often displayed a disinhibited attachment style, meaning they showed indiscriminate friendliness
-This disinhibited attachment style was rare amongst those adopted before 6 months
outline rutters conclusions
Institutionalisation can be physically, socially and cognitively damaging to a child’s development
- outcomes for all institutionalised children can be greatly improved if they are adopted
-the extent of these improvements does depend on when adoption happens- children adopted before 6 months, the effects of institutionalisation were not long-lasting, but those adopted after 6 months were more likely to experience long-lasting negative effects
limitation- rutters Romanian adoptee study- natural exps
one of the variables studied in the ERA was the age of adoption, varies naturally, so wasn’t manipulated by the researchers- researchers weren’t able to randomly allocate participants to different conditions
-researchers were unable to effectively control for participant extraneous variables, may have had a confounding effect as they may have influenced other variables in the study, as well as other aspects of their subsequent development
- use of a natural experiment undermines the internal validity and ultimately undermines the credibility of this research’s conclusions on the effects of institutionalisation
- difficult to see how research into institutionalisation can be done more effectively- it would be ethically impossible to randomly allocate participants to grow up in an institution
strength- rutters ERA study-longitudinal design
Unlike cross-sectional research, longitudinal designs require the researcher to study the same group of participants over an extended period
- advantage of this design is that it controls for participant extraneous variables, since the participants remain the same throughout the study, any changes that are present over time are not attributable to individual differences
-this means the conclusions generated by Romanian orphan research on the effects of institutionalisation are more likely to be valid
outline the influence of early secure attachment on childhood relationships
children who have had positive attachment experiences will form an IWM that includes positive expectations of others and high self-worth
This is likely to lead them to engage confidently and positively with their peers, meaning they are unlikely to become bullies or be the victim of bullying
outline the influence of early insecure attachment on childhood relationships
children who have had negative attachment experiences will form an IWM that that could include negative expectations of others and/or low self-worth
This might result in peers perceiving them as vulnerable, meaning they could be a victim of bullying
- or perceiving peers negatively, meaning they could be hostile and engage in bullying
outline the influence of secure attachment on adult relationships
have an IWM that views themselves and others positively, This leads to a secure adult attachment style characterised by low levels of avoidance and anxiety in their romantic relationships
outline the effect of insecure attachment on adult relationships
insecure resistant- IWM that views others positively but themselves negatively, leads to an adult attachment style characterised by low levels of avoidance (i.e., a strong desire for intimacy) but high levels of anxiety (e.g., fearing rejection)
- insecure avoidant IWM that contains negative thoughts about others, adult relationships are characterised by avoidance, meaning they may avoid developing romantic relationships, or develop relationships which have low levels of intimacy
strength- early attachments effects on adult relationships- research support
Kirkpatrick and Davis- studied 300 dating couples for three years, found that those identified as having a secure attachment in childhood were more likely to have stable and satisfying relationships
- findings confirm the predictions of attachment theory on the link between early attachment and later relationships
-Bowlby argued, IWMs remain relatively stable as people age- those with insecure attachments as children would develop internal working models that would lead to relationship difficulties in later life
-especially compelling as this study has a large sample size, increases the likelihood that the participants in this study are representative of other adults in romantic relationships, meaning this study’s findings has high external validity
limitation- research into effects of early attachment on later relationships- methodological issues
rely on participants providing retrospective self-report data and developing correlations
-validity of self-report data is questionable as it depends on participants being honest-may be complicated by social desirability bias
- validity of the data on early attachment experiences is even more questionable, as it requires participants to accurately recall distant childhood experiences
-correlation does not show causation- does not necessarily mean that the negative early attachment experiences caused the later problems with relationships
outline the historical role of the father
role of the father has been seen as one of provider, rather than as an important attachment figure
-might explain why historically, attachment researchers have focused their investigations on the role of the mother in the formation of attachment (mother-child attachment)
limitation- role of the father- research support
Schaffer- found that after most infants had developed a specific attachment to their mother by around 7 months of age, 75% went onto form an attachment to their fathers by the age of 18 months
-demonstrates that fathers do have a role as attachment figures, and therefore challenges the claim the traditional view that fathers are merely providers
-does also show that the role of the father is as a secondary attachment figure,less important than the role of the mother
-25% of the children in Schaffer’s sample hadn’t formed an attachment to their father, further demonstrating the relatively less important role of fathers in the formation of attachment compared to mothers
- study was conducted in the 1960s, a time when more traditional gender roles meant that fathers typically had less involvement as caregivers, findings may not generalise to today’s societies- This means Schaffer’s research may lack temporal validity
outline Bowlby and Ainsworth’s belief of the role of the father
Bowlby argued that the development of a healthy attachment depended on children receiving emotionally sensitive care from their mother, but he did suggest this care could be provided by a ‘mother substitute’ such as a father
- Ainsworth made a similar point when she argued the security of a child’s attachment depended on the emotional sensitivity of the caregiver
- her claim was based on observations of mothers’ behaviour in the Strange Situation, her theory left open the possibility that emotionally sensitive fathers could take on the role of the main attachment figure
limitation- Bowlby’s and Ainsworth’s claims about the role of the father- biological approach
men have lower levels of oestrogen than women, In women, increases in oestrogen levels (e.g., during pregnancy and after childbirth) have been linked to an increase in caring behaviour
-suggests the role of the father is less important for the formation of a secure attachment, as women’s higher oestrogen levels may make them innately better suited to providing the emotionally sensitive behaviour required for the formation of a secure attachment
-researchers have also found that men exposed to infants may experience elevated levels of prolactin, hormone that stimulates parental behaviour in a variety of birds and mammals
- men take on an active fathering role, they experience physiological changes that may make them biologically suited to forming a secure child-father attachment
-caring behaviour is complex and influenced by a range of psychological, social, and environmental factors beyond hormone levels- explanations of the role of the father as an attachment figure may be overly simplistic if they only focus on levels of hormones
limitation- research into the role of the father- socially sensitive
Sieber and Stanley- socially sensitive research has the potential for social consequences both for the participants and for the social groups connected to the research
-research that found fathers cannot act as primary attachment figures may lead to the exclusion of fathers from the role of main carer- might lead to stigma against single father households or gay men co-fathering children
- it could have implications for women, who may feel pressured to take on the role of the traditional stay-at-home mother, rather than returning to the workplace
- research into the role of the father has economic implications, as it could affect the extent to which women are employed in the economy
- this doesn’t mean research into the role of the father should be stopped, but researchers need to be careful in how they phrase their findings, so as to avoid the potential for harmful interpretations by the public or policy makers
