Attachment Flashcards
Complete
What are the names of the psychologists for attachment?
Schaffer, Lorenz, Harlow, Bowlby, van Ijzendoorn
What is an attachment?
A strong, long-lasting, emotional tie or bond between two people
What identifies an attachment?
Proximity seeking, separation distress, pleasure on reunion
What is reciprocity?
Turn taking behaviour, action and reaction, like a conversation, behaviours can differ
What is interactional synchrony?
Co-ordinated behaviour/emotions, as if they were one, mirroring, at the same time
What was Meltzoff and Moore’s aim?
To investigate interactional synchrony in caregiver-infant interactions
What was Meltzoff and Moore’s procedure?
Controlled observation, adult model displayed 3 facial expressions, 1 hand movement, a dummy prevented response, recorded
What were Meltzoff and Moore’s findings? (caregiver-infant interactions)
There was an association between the infant behaviour and that of the adult model as young as 3 days old
What were Meltzoff and Moore’s conclusions?
Imitation behaviours aren’t learnt overtime, interactional synchrony must be innate
Who did the Glasgow Baby Study?
Schaffer and Emerson
What was the aim of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
A longitudinal study to investigate the development of attachments
What was the sample in Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
60 infants from working class families in Glasgow and their mothers
What was the procedure of Schaffer and Emerson’s study? (not with sample)
Naturalistic observation, looked at separation distress and stranger anxiety, mothers visited monthly for first year (then at 18 and 24 months), self report infant’s response to being alone
What were Schaffer and Emerson’s findings?
Attachments develop slowly over first year, single then multiple, created the stages of attachment
What were Schaffer and Emerson’s conclusions?
It is the quality of the relationship that is important not quantity
What are the 4 stages of attachment?
Asocial, indiscriminate, specific, multiple
How long does the asocial stage last?
From birth to 2 months
What is the asocial stage like?
Infants respond in same way to animate and inanimate objects
When is the indiscriminate attachment stage?
2-7 months
What is an infant like in the indiscriminate stage?
Enjoy being with people, recognise familiar people, no preference of person
When is the specific attachment stage?
7-12 months
What is the specific attachment stage like?
Primary attachment figure, dislike everyone else, joy on reunion, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety
By 6-8 months how many babies (not %) showed separation anxiety towards a specific adult?
30 (half)
Who will be the primary attachment figure? (Schaffer and Emerson)
The person who responds quickly and sensitively to the infant’s needs
When is the multiple attachments stage?
Shortly after the main attachment is established
What is the multiple attachments stage?
Small group of attachments, identified with separation anxiety
By 40 weeks/10 months, what percentage of babies displayed multiple attachments? (Schaffer and Emerson)
30%
By 40 weeks/10 months, what percentage of babies displayed a specific attachment? (Schaffer and Emerson)
80%
Who said 1 primary attachment is vital?
Bowlby (1950s) - monotropy
Why are Bowlby’s views on multiple attachments outdated?
1950s, childcare was mothers role, lacks temporal validity
What did Bowlby suggest regarding if multiple attachment are important?
Unimportant, only first one matters/is vital for healthy development
Who said that multiple attachments are possible?
Schaffer (1960s)
By 18 months what percentage of babies had 5 or more attachments? (Schaffer and Emerson)
31%
Who said attachments have a hierarchy?
Schaffer, 1 attachment may be stronger than the others
Who said multiple attachments can be beneficial?
Silverstein and Ruiz (2000s)
How can multiple attachments be beneficial?
It can help babies whose mothers have post-natal depression, the child will be less likely to be depressed as an adult
What is a strength of research into caregiver-infant interactions?
Well controlled procedures, filmed
Inter-observer reliability of 0.92
Valid data
Are there demand characteristics of research into caregiver-infant interactions?
No, don’t know or care they are being observed as they are babies
Why can’t we draw firm conclusions from caregiver-infant interactions research?
Babies move constantly, so is it intentional?
No cause and effect, observation since unethical to experiment
Why is caregiver-infant interactions research socially sensitive?
Suggests development disadvantaged for infants with working mothers or mothers with post natal depression. It deems them bad mothers
What are practical applications of research into caregiver-infant interactions?
Adoptive parents taught how to bond in therapy, research shows therapy group had stronger bonds
What is a strength of research into stages of attachment?
Naturalistic so the way data was collected meant no behaviour adapted, so no demand characteristics, valid
What are 2 methodological issues of research into stages of attachment?
Self report methods, inaccurate data due to overemphasis
Sample was biased, working class, not generalisable
How is research into stages of attachment culturally biased?
Western individualist cultures. In collectivist child care is shared so no specific attachment
How is research into stages of attachment socially sensitive?
Families labelled as abnormal if multiple attachments comes first (links to cultural differences)
How is research into stages of attachment outdated?
Done in 1963, lacks temporal validity, fathers involved, mothers work, same sex couples, grandparents involved
What are two reasons why fathers play a less important role than mothers?
Social factors and biological factors
Who argued that fathers play a less important role than mothers?
Schaffer and Emerson
What social factors play a role in explaining why fathers play a less important role?
Cultural expectations, it is feminine to be nurturing and sensitive, also they work, mothers stay home the first couple years
What biological factors play a role in explaining why fathers are less likely to be the primary caregiver?
Men produce very little oestrogen (caregiving behaviour) and oxytocin (bonding), so less sensitive
What percentage of babies had their father as their first attachment in Schaffer and Emerson’s research?
3%
What is the supporting evidence for fathers playing a less important role than mothers?
Hrdy - father less able to detect low levels of infant distress, so are less nurturing/sensitive
What is the challenging evidence for fathers playing a less important role than mothers?
Field - 4mo, primary mothers same as primary caregiver fathers, secondary less smiles, imitations, holds. Level of responsiveness influences quality of attachment, not gender
What is the challenging evidence for fathers playing an important but different role from mothers?
Hrdy - father less able to detect low levels of infant distress, less nurturing/sensitive
What is the supporting evidence for fathers playing an important but different role from mothers?
Field.
Geiger - fathers’ play exciting, mothers’ play affectionate and nurturing, father is playmate, mother is nurturer
What is the quality of fathers’ play with infants related to? (father’s role is important but different)
The quality of children’s attachment in adolescence
What two ways does a father’s role differ from a mother?
Playmate, disciplinary figure
What is the role of the father in terms of play? (father’s role is important but different)
Physically active, challenging situations, problem-solving, communication.
Important for cognitive and social development
What is the role of the father in terms of boundaries? (father’s role is important but different)
Set clearer boundaries, teach to respect others’ boundaries.
Children without fathers show aggression and risk-taking at school.
Important for preventing negative developmental outcomes
What is the third theory on the role of the father?
We don’t know as there are many factors that influence the role of the father: cultural, socio-economic, quality/strength of relationship, more useful to view as specific to individual families.
Difficult to research too, experiment unethical, no cause and effect, many different roles in society
What was Lorenz’s aim?
To investigate the effect of imprinting in newly hatched geese
What Lorenz’s procedure?
Randomly divided 12 eggs into 2 groups, A left with mother, B with him, he was first moving object they saw, then put together to see if they would follow him
What were Lorenz’s findings?
Group A followed mother, B followed him, imprinted to him, displayed mating rituals to him. If imprinting didn’t occur in few hours, chicks did not attach
What were Lorenz’s conclusions?
Imprinting is limited to a critical period, otherwise they won’t imprint.
It is irreversible, and has an effect on mate preferences.
Imprinting is adaptive behaviour
What is the supporting evidence for Lorenz’s ideas?
Guiton’s chickens, animals imprint on any moving object (rubber gloves). Reliable
What is the challenging evidence for Lorenz’s ideas?
Guiton’s chickens, not permanent, they moved away from gloves to other chickens. Overstated permanence
What is a criticism of Lorenz’s research? (not ethics or challenging evidence)
Geese and humans are different, cannot generalise to humans. e.g. geese imprint, humans attach, also humans can’t walk when born
What was Harlow’s aim?
To investigate whether or not attachment is based on food/being fed
What was Harlow’s procedure?
8 newborn monkeys isolated, 2 surrogate ‘mothers’, 1 wire with bottle, 1 cloth, recorded time spent with each mother and responses when frightened
What were Harlow’s findings?
All preferred cloth, when frightened clung to cloth, when feeding spent as little time on wire as possible, long-lasting effects: unable to socialise/mate, rejected offspring
What were Harlow’s conclusions?
Infants attach not to person who feeds them, but to person who offers comfort through contact.
First attachment has profound long-lasting effects
What is the worst thing to describe the surrogate monkey mother as?
Sensitive/insensitive as they are inanimate
What were the practical applications that arose from Harlow’s research?
Infants need more than food to be psychologically healthy, policy changes in hospitals + children’s homes
Proved cupboard love theory incorrect
What were the methodological issues with Harlow’s research?
Faces of mothers were different, cloth looked more like a monkey, this is a confounding variable, invalid
Why can’t we generalise Harlow’s conclusions?
Monkeys and humans are different, humans make conscious decisions
Why were Harlow and Lorenz’s research unethical?
Long-lasting damage (especially to the monkeys)
Why do attachments form according to the learning theory?
Attachments develop because we learn to feel close to someone else (nurture)
What is the 2 process model of learning theory of attachments?
There isn’t one, there is no order, simply operant and classical conditioning both involved
How do infants learn to attach through classical conditioning?
Learns to associate caregiver with feeding/comfort because the caregiver feeds them, eventually feel pleasure with caregiver when not being fed
How many feeds does it take for an attachment to form according to the learning theory of attachments?
5-7 feeds
Do we form attachments through punishment, reinforcement or both?
Only reinforcement
Who will the strongest attachment form with according to the learning theory of attachments?
The person who does the most primary care (feeding)
What do we expect attachments to do over time according to the learning theory of attachments?
Get stronger (until a point)
How are infants operantly conditioned to form an attachment according to the learning theory of attachments?
They coo, smile, or cry which brings a positive response from the caregiver, this acts as reinforcement (can be negative or positive reinforcement) e.g. cry when hungry, gets fed, negative reinforcement of reduction of hunger
How are caregivers operantly conditioned to form an attachment according to the learning theory of attachments?
Negative reinforcement: reduction of crying after feeding a hungry infant
Positive reinforcement: reward of smiles/coos after feeding a hungry infant
What is a strength of the learning theory of attachments?
Used scientific methods, controlled, evidence can therefore be confidently used to support theory
How does Harlow’s research act as challenging evidence to the learning theory of attachments?
Preferred the cloth ‘mother’ that did not provide food but instead provided comfort through contact, food isn’t main factor
How does Schaffer and Emerson’s research act as challenging evidence to the learning theory of attachments?
No preference of caregiver until 7 months, suddenly attach, 39% of main attachment figures weren’t the primary caregiver
What is a weakness of the learning theory of attachments? (apart from challenging evidence studies)
Alternative explanation: Bowlby, much stronger model that is supported and has practical applications, LT largely rejected by scientific community
(also cannot account for importance of biology)
Which acronym is used for Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
ASCMI
Adaptive
Social releasers
Critical period
Monotropy
Internal working model
Why do attachments form according to Bowlby?
Attachments develop because they have an evolutionary function (nature)
How are attachments adaptive in Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
An infant that is not attached is less protected as they begin to walk, therefore the drive to attach is innate/instinct
What are social releasers?
Natural behaviours that bring about instinctive care-giving behaviours in adults e.g. smiling, crying, looking cute (all babies are inherently cute)
What is a critical period?
If an attachment doesn’t form within a certain time period, it will never form, child will suffer irreversible developmental consequences (e.g. less intelligent, more aggressive)
How long is the critical period according to Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
From birth until approximately 2.5 years old
What is monotropy in Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
The tendency to form one special attachment (with the person who responds most sensitively to the baby’s needs)
What is the internal working model?
A schema/template for relationships on which all future relationships are based, generates expectations on what relationships should be like
What is the internal working model formed from?
The first primary attachment
What is the continuity hypothesis in Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
Emotionally secure infants who form strong bonds go on to be emotionally secure, trusting, and socially confident adults with strong bonds
(In short: similarity between first attachment and all future attachments)
What is the supporting evidence for the idea that attachments are adaptive?
Anecdotal - infants begin to crawl at 6 months, attachments form at 6-7 months, so infant wants to stay close to attachment figure, increasing chances of survival
What is the supporting evidence for the idea of monotropy?
Schaffer and Emerson - babies form a specific attachment to a primary figure, even though they also form other attachments
What is the supporting evidence for the idea of the internal working model and continuity hypothesis?
Hazan and Shaver - those who had secure attachments as babies had happier and more trusting romantic relationships as adults.
Kerns - same as above but with friendships as children
(also Harlow - monkeys failed to socialise properly)
What is the challenging evidence for the idea of a critical period?
Romanian Orphanage Studies - it was possible to form an attachment after critical period had ended and they developed normally, he overstated critical period, also it is deterministic
Bowlby then said ‘sensitive period’ of up to 5 years, when they are most receptive to forming attachments
What is the challenging evidence for the idea of monotropy?
Schaffer and Emerson - infants able to form multiple attachments (and this could be beneficial)
What are practical applications of Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
Parental suites in hospitals
Early adoption before end of critical period (within 6 months otherwise sent to foster parent)
Better care in institutions
How many types of attachment did Ainsworth identify?
3 classifications: A, B, C
What is type A attachment?
Insecure-avoidant
What is type B attachment?
Secure
What is type C attachment?
Insecure-resistant
What are secure attachments like in terms of separation anxiety?
Distress when separated
What are secure attachments like in terms of reunion?
Seeks immediate proximity, easily comforted
What are secure attachments like in terms of response to stranger?
Wary of stranger
What are insecure-avoidant attachments like in terms of separation anxiety?
Little distress when separated
What are insecure-avoidant attachments like in terms of reunion?
Little pleasure
What are insecure-avoidant attachments like in terms of response to stranger?
Unresponsive to stranger, similar response to mother
What are insecure-resistant attachments like in terms of separation anxiety?
Extreme distress when separated
What are insecure-resistant attachments like in terms of reunion?
Not comforted, clingy and angry
What are insecure-resistant attachments like in terms of response to stranger?
Very wary of stranger
What can an insecure attachment result in?
Negative self-image, poor internal working model
What are secure attachments like in terms of exploration of environment?
Uses mother as a base to explore from
What are insecure-avoidant attachments like in terms of exploration of environment?
Happy to explore with or without mother
What are insecure-resistant attachments like in terms of exploration of environment?
Explores less than the others, staying close to mother
When writing about an infant’s emotions do we say appears or is? e.g. infant appears/is unbothered
Appears, we cannot know what they are internally thinking
How is it thought that secure attachments develop?
Caregiver responds sensitively and quickly to infant’s needs
How is it thought that insecure-avoidant attachments develop?
Caregiver ignores infant, so infant expects little and becomes independent/self-reliant (in a negative way)
How is it thought that insecure-resistant attachments develop?
Inconsistent caregiver, so infant unsure if they will respond to their needs
What was Ainsworth’s study called?
The Strange Situation
What was Ainsworth’s aim?
To investigate differences in types of attachment
What is ‘individual differences in attachment’ another way of saying?
Differences in types of attachment
What was Ainsworth’s sample? (in her first study)
100 middle-class American mothers and their babies
What was Ainsworth’s procedure?
Controlled observation, each infant observed with its mother as a series of prearranged activities took place
How long were the stages in the Strange SItuation?
3 minutes each
What was stage 1 of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation and what did it test?
Mother and infant left to explore lab (toys) - tests exploration and a secure base
What was stage 2 of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation and what did it test?
Stranger enters, approaches infant - tests stranger anxiety
What was stage 3 of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation and what did it test?
Mother leaves unobtrusively - tests separation anxiety and stranger anxiety
What was stage 4 of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation and what did it test?
Mother returns, stranger leaves - tests reunion behaviour (and exploration and a secure base)
What was stage 5 of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation and what did it test?
Mother leaves - tests separation anxiety
What was stage 6 of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation and what did it test?
Stranger returns - tests stranger anxiety
What was stage 7 of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation and what did it test?
Mother returns, stranger leaves - tests reunion behaviour
What were Ainsworth’s findings?
Attachments into 3 types
What percentage of infants were type A attachment in Ainsworth’s study?
22% insecure-avoidant
What percentage of infants were type B attachment in Ainsworth’s study?
66% secure
What percentage of infants were type C attachment in Ainsworth’s study?
12% insecure-resistant
What were Ainsworth’s conclusions?
There are individual differences in types of attachment
The majority (of her sample) are securely attached
The mother’s behaviour is important in the type of attachment that the baby forms
What is a strength of Ainsworth’s findings and conclusions?
High inter-observer reliability - consistent
What is a criticism of Ainsworth’s findings and conclusions?
Challenging evidence - later studies using Strange Situation found a fourth attachment type: insecure-disorganised (combination of avoidant and resistant) - lack validity
What is an issue with Ainsworth’s findings and conclusions?
Socially sensitive - implies bad mothers if insecurely attached
What is a practical application of Ainsworth’s findings and conclusions?
Circle of Security Project teaches parents how to understand children’s needs better so they become securely attached improving their lives/futures
What are 2 criticisms of the Strange Situation as a research tool?
Overt observation could lead to demand characteristics from the mothers - inaccurate classifications
Artificial setting - low ecological validity, not generalisable to real life
What is an issue with using the Strange Situation as a research tool?
Culturally biased, American middle class, not generalisable
What is a strength of the Strange Situation as a research tool?
Led to further research into attachment, used in numerous studies, replicable
What was Van Ijzendoorn’s aim?
To investigate whether there are differences in attachment behaviour between and within countries/cultures
What was Van Ijzendoorn’s procedure?
Meta-analysis of 32 studies in 8 countries. 2000 babies’ classifications
What were Van Ijzendoorn’s findings?
Differences between countries are generally small
More variation within countries 1.5x more
What were Van Ijzendoorn’s conclusions?
Secure attachments are the ‘norm’ n all countries and are best for healthy social/emotional development
Also support Bowlby’s theory that attachment is an innate process
What was the most common attachment type across all countries? (in Van Ijzendoorn’s study)
Secure - average 65%
Which country had the highest percentage of insecure-avoidant attachments? (what was this percentage compared to the average?) (in Van Ijzendoorn’s study)
West Germany at 35% compared to 21% average
Which country had the highest percentage of insecure-resistant attachments? (and what was this percentage compared to the average?) (in Van Ijzendoorn’s study)
Israel at 29% compared to 14% average
Japan at 27%
Both of these had lowest insecure-avoidant
What did another study show about Japan’s attachment types?
Secure: 68%
Insecure-avoidant: 0%
Insecure-resistant: 32%
Why might Japan have a low percentage of insecure-avoidant attachments?
Collectivist culture
Babies are never left alone, so not used to it and therefore react
Why might Germany have a higher percentage of insecure-avoidant attachments?
Individualist culture
Babies raised to be independent, so used to being alone, don’t react
What is a strength of Van Ijzendoorn’s study of cultural variations in attachment?
Large sample size, reduces impact of anomalous results, increases accuracy, generalisable
What is a weakness of Van Ijzendoorn’s study?
Compares countries, not cultures, not appropriate to draw conclusions on cultural variations
Which 2 criticisms of the Strange Situation can be used to criticise Van Ijzendoorn’s study?
Controlled, lab, demand characteristics, flawed method, inaccurate results
Responses to the Strange Situation are influenced by the child’s upbringing rather than attachment type
Why is Van Ijzendoorn’s study not representative?
8 countries not enough to generalise to every country so lacks validity
18/32 were in the USA so biased
What did Van Ijzendoorn overstate/understate?
Overstated differences between countries
Understated differences within countries
What is the acronym for Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?
CIMIC
Critical period
Irreversibility
Monotropy
Internal working model
Consequences
What did Bowlby say was just as important for mental health as vitamins are for physical health?
‘Mother love in infancy’
Translation: emotional care
What is maternal deprivation?
When a child and mother are separated repeatedly or for prolonged periods of time so an (already formed!) attachment is disturbed
What kind of relationship should an infant have with their mother according to Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory?
A ‘continuous’ relationship
When will separation have an effect according to Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory?
Only during the critical period
How can long-term effects be avoided according to Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory?
Suitable substitute emotional care from only 1 person (so an attachment can form)
If a child suffers maternal deprivation, what happens?
Long-term consequences in emotional and social development
What long-term consequences can maternal deprivation have?
Lower IQ
Delinquency (criminal behaviour)
Affectionless psychopathy
What was Bowlby’s study into maternal deprivation?
44 thieves study
What was the aim of Bowlby’s study into maternal deprivation?
To investigate the long term effects of early deprivation on social and emotional development
What was the procedure of Bowlby’s study into maternal deprivation?
The children and their parents were interviewed about the children’s early lives
What were the findings of Bowlby’s study into maternal deprivation?
86% of the affectionless psychopath thieves had experienced maternal deprivation.
17% of the other thieves
4% of the others
What were the conclusions of Bowlby’s study into maternal deprivation?
Early separations from the mother are associated with later problems in social and emotional development
Can lead to extremely anti-social acts
What was the sample of Bowlby’s study into maternal deprivation?
88 boys between 5 and 16, referred to a clinic for behavioural problems. 44 were thieves, 14 of the thieves were affectionless psychopaths, the other 44 were disturbed but hadn’t committed anti social acts
What is the supporting evidence for Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory?
Bowlby’s 44 thieves study
What did Rutter suggest as a criticism for Bowlby’s 44 thieves study?
The negative effects of separation depend more upon the reasons for being parted and how the families coped
Death dealt with better than messy divorces yup
Family conflict good example
What did Rutter suggest as a criticism for Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory?
Failed to distinguish between privation and deprivation, privation effects are more severe - could be the cause of affectionless psychopathy - questions accuracy
What is the difference between privation and deprivation?
Privation: the failure to form any attachment bond
Deprivation: the loss of an attachment bond
What is the challenging evidence for Bowlby’s claim that without substitute emotional care, maternal deprivation inevitably leads to maladjustment?
Another of Bowlby’s study - hospitalisation with strict regimes, little emotional care, only weekly visits from parents, found no difference with control group in forming social relationships
What are the practical applications of Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory?
Prior to theory: parents discouraged from visiting kids in hospital.
Now: encouraging parents to stay overnight with child, also promotes quicker recovery due to reduced anxiety
What does institutionalisation mean?
Children are being raised outside of the family home in some form of institutional care e.g. orphanages, children’s homes
What were the Romanian orphan studies
Many orphans in poor conditions, British families would adopt them, psychologists seized the opportunity to use as a natural experiment
What was the aim of Rutter’s research?
To investigate the effects of institutional care (and privation) on the physical, cognitive, and social development of children
What was the procedure of Rutter’s research? (+ sample)
Natural experiment, 165 adopted Romanian orphans.
111 were less than 2, 54 were less than 4
Development was assessed at ages 4, 6, 11, 15.
Compared to a control group of 52 British children adopted (less than 4 years old) in the UK around the same time
What were the findings of Rutter’s research?
At adoption Romanian orphans were less developed.
Those adopted before the age of 6 months caught up.
Those adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment
What were the conclusions of Rutter’s research?
Institutionalisation can have short-term effects, may persist if do not form a substitute attachment.
The longer they are in care, the worse the effects
What is disinhibited attachment?
A disorder whereby a child shows behaviours such as attention-seeking behaviour towards all adult, lack of fear of strangers, inappropriate physical contact, lack of checking back to parent in stressful situations, and had problems with peers
What did Zeanah et al study?
Compared attachment types of a group of 12-31 month old Romanian orphans that had spent 90% of their lives in an institution using Strange Situation to a group of Romanian children who hadn’t spent any time there
What did Zeanah et al find?
19% were securely attached (control: 74%)
44% showed disinhibited attachment disorder (control: 20%)
In summary what are the effects of institutionalisation?
Disinhibited attachment disorder (Rutter + Zeanah)
Problems with peers - emotional and social problems (Rutter)
Physical underdevelopment (Rutter)
Cognitive impairment (Rutter)
Lack of secure attachment (Zeanah)
What are the practical applications of Rutter’s research?
Changes in adoption policies and practices, most adopted in first week
What are 3 methodological issues with the Romanian orphan studies?
No cause and effect, experiment would be unethical
Confounding variables: poor physical conditions and lack of cognitive stimulation
Unrepresentative: orphans may been chosen due to happier/healthier
What is attrition?
Participants dropping out
What is a criticsim of Rutter’s longitudinal study?
Suffers from attrition, leads to a biased sample, skewed set of results
Who studied the influence of early attachment on childhood relationships?
Myron-Wilson and Smith, Kerns, Sroufe
What did Bowlby predict about the influence of early attachment on childhood relationships?
Infant attachments correlate with later attachments; continuity hypothesis and internal working model
What did Kerns find about the influence of early attachment on childhood relationships?
Correlation between attachment type and quality of peer relationships in childhood
What did Myron-Wilson and Smith find about the influence of early attachment on childhood relationships?
Questionnaires of 196 children aged 7-11 in London.
Secure children less likely to be involved in bullying.
Avoidant children more likely to be victims.
Resistant children more likely to be bullies
What did Sroufe find about the influence of early attachment on childhood relationships?
Continuity between attachment type and social competence.
Secure children less isolated, more popular, more empathetic
What did Bowlby predict about the influence of early attachment on adult relationships?
Infant attachments correlate with later attachments; continuity hypothesis and internal working model
Who studied the influence of early attachment on adult relationships?
Hazan and Shaver, McCarthy, Bailey et al
What did McCarthy find about the influence of early attachment on adult relationships?
40 women who had been classified as infants.
Correlation between attachment type and maintaining friendships.
Avoidant struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships
Resistant struggled to maintain friendships
What did Bailey et al find about the influence of early attachment on adult relationships?
Looked at attachment type of 99 mothers with their own infants and their own mothers (interview).
Majority had the same for both; supports internal working model/continuity hypothesis
What was Hazan and Shaver’s aim?
To investigate the internal working model and the influence of early attachment on adult relationships
What was Hazan and Shaver’s procedure?
‘Love Quiz’ 620 responses from men and women.
Questions on how they felt in romantic relationships, specific questions about their romantic experiences, questions about their relationship with their parents to determine their attachment type
What were Hazan and Shaver’s findings?
Positive correlation between attachment type and love experiences.
56% were secure; happy, trusting, enduring relationships
25% were avoidant; jealousy, fear of intimacy
Positive correlation between internal working model and attachment type: secure had a positive iwm
What were Hazan and Shaver’s conclusions?
Supports Bowlby’s concept of internal working model and continuity hypothesis.
Emphasizes importance of secure attachments
What is challenging evidence for Hazan and Shaver’s research (Love Quiz)? (not named researcher)
Another study found that 20 years later, weak correlations of 0.1, reduces confidence in their findings
What is a criticism of research into influence of early attachment on future relationships?
Correlational, no cause and effect, only a link identified.
e.g. Hazan and Shaver cannot say love style or quality of romantic relationships are directly caused by the internal working model
What is an alternative explanation for the link between early attachment and future relationships?
Temperament hypothesis: some infants born more trusting and friendly, reduces confidence in continuity hypothesis
How is research into the influence of early attachment on future relationships deterministic?
If insecurely attached - doomed to unhealthy relationships.
Psychologists favour the view that humans have free will and can change potential negative outcomes by influencing our behaviour
Why is it an issue that research into influence of early attachment on future relationships comes from self-report methods?
Subject to demand characteristics - private topic.
Retrospective data impacted by poor memory too.
Inaccurate findings
