Attachment Flashcards
Attachment
emotional response between two people where each person seeks closeness and feels secure in the presence of the attachment figure
Stages of attachment
Schafer and Emerson
asocial- similar response to people and objects
indiscriminate- preference for human company
discriminate- preference of one caregiver- stranger+ separation anxiety
multiple- attach to multiple people
Schafer and Emerson
60 babies from working families in Glasgow
interviewed mothers and observed children
provided support for stages and showed that attachment happens in a series of stages
at 40 weeks- 80% specific attachment and 30% multiple
issues with questionnaires- demand characteristics, social desirability
Evaluation- S+E
high external validity- own homes, natural env lacks pop. validity as only in Glasgow crude measures (not specific) so not very accurate social desirability from mothers in interviews
Strange situation
standardised procedure assessing types of attachment
mum and infant enter room- explore
stranger enters and talks to mum- stranger anxiety
mum leaves + stranger interacts with child- stranger an
mum returns + stranger leaves - reunion
mum leaves + leaves child - separation anxiety
stranger returns- stranger anxiety
mum returns + stranger leaves- reunion
7 stages
Attachment types
secure (70%)- mother is safe base, moderate sep and str anxiety, positive reunion behaviour insecure av (15%)- mother not safe base, no reaction when parent left and no stranger anx, no reaction on reunion insecure res (15%)- stay close to mother, high sep and str anxiety, not easily comforted, reject comfort
Evaluation - SS
controlled observation so standardised with high reliability, control of variables, high internal vailidity but lacks ecological val.
high inter rater reliability (agreed in 94%) of cases; due to strict behavioural categories
observation was overt- demand characteristics/social desirability (mother)
may be affected by childs’ temperament or mood
new environment mat affect how child behaves
culturally relative due to the behaviours it tests as children in some cultures may have a lot of exposure to strangers
Types of cultures
individualistic- emphasises personal independence and achievement, strong sense of competition
collectivist- emphasises family and work goals above individual needs, interdependence between people
Cultural differences
Van Ijzendoorn+ Kroonenberg- completed meta analysis on 32 studies using strange situation- 8 countries
- secure attachment most common in all cultures
- secure highest in GB
- insecure avo highest in west Germany
- insecure res highest in Japan
found more variation within culture compared to between
intra cultural variation
Evaluation- VI+K
high validity as was secondary research, collected by people of same culture so researchers would understand the language, types of behaviour and culture
confounding variables eg different availability of equipment/room size could affect behaviour
more studies done in usa compared to other countries
Silmonella found lower rates of secure and higher avoidant in Italy- more recent and may be due to differences in childcareetc
strange situation may have been slightly different in different cultures eg room may have been different
Animal studies- Lorenz
studied imprinting using a batch of goose eggs, split into two batches- one control, with mother, one in an incubator who saw Lorenz as first moving object
- control followed mother, other followed Lorenz
- second group showed no recognition of real mother
-imprinting occurs 4-25hrs after hatching
shows attachment is innate, for survival and programmed genetically
once they imprint on something it cannot be reversed or they can’t imprint on anyone else
Evaluation- L
hard to generalise to humans as we don’t know that they act the same way- different caring process
Guiton found that chickens will imprint on a yellow washing up glove which supports lorenz as it is also what he found + the chicks tried to mate with the glove which shows sexual imprinting
supports how the imprinting cant be reversed/ cant imprint on anyone else
long lasting effects on geese- ethical issues
Animal studies- Harlow
used 16 rhesus monkeys with 8 in each cage
one cage got milk from wire mother
one cage got milk from cloth mother
both groups spent more time with cloth mother
separated monkeys- couldn’t interact with other monkeys
- difficulty mating and some killed their offspring
- contact comfort more important than food
- maternal deprivation can be reversed within 90 days
Evaluation-H
Howe used knowledge of Harlow’s research to help social workers understand risk of neglect with children and also with monkeys in zoos or sanctuaries
problems with generalisability
ethical issues and can have lasting effects on monkeys’s health
Role of the father
role of men and women in families has changed
S+E- most infants attach to mothers at 7 months and a second attachment forms about a month later
father was primary attachment- 3%
father was joint attachment- 27%
by 18 months 75% had attachment with father
Studies- rof
Grossman longitudinal study of babies through to their teens
mothers attachment was related to attachment with others in adolescence
fathers play role is related to attachments in adolescence- more of a play and stimulating role rather than emotional
Evaluation- rof
Field found fathers can also be nurturing- filmed babies interacting face to face with parents - spent more time smiling with PC father
- women are predisposed to be PA figures due to oestrogen levels
- mothers feel pressured to stay home with children due to traditional gender roles and research support