Attachment

Question 1

What is Attachment?

Answer 1

Attachment = An emotional bond between 2 people.

It’s a 2-way process that ensures over time.

It leads to certain behaviours such as distress on separation, and serves the function of protecting an infant.

Question 2

What is the Learning Theory of Attachment?

Answer 2

Behaviour is learnt rather than inborn.

Babies are “blank slates” and learn to become attached through classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

Question 3

What did Harlow 1959 do?

Answer 3

Demonstrated attachment was not based on the feeding bond between mother and infant as predicted by learning theory.

Two wire monkeys.
One soft cloth and one with bottle.
Rhesus monkeys. 🐒
Observations of responses when frightened.

All 8 spent most time with soft cloth mother. Those that fed from wire mother only spent short time getting milk before going back to soft cloth mother.

Infants don’t form attachments to who feeds them. Form attachments to who comforts them

Question 4

What is Operant Conditioning as an explanation for Attachment?

Answer 4

Once the infant has made an attachment with the caregiver who feeds them.
This will cause the infant to behave in a way which gets the caregivers attention (crying, smiling).
This makes the baby do the behaviour to get rewarded (fed) and therefore reinforcing the behaviour.

However, if the behaviour gets an unpleasant result and makes the infant unhappy (punishment) then the behaviour will not be reinforced and not likely to be repeated.

Question 5

What is imprinting?

Answer 5

An innate readiness to acquire certain behaviours during a critical period.

Question 6

What did Lorenz 1952 do?

Answer 6

Experiment with geese and two experimental conditions.
CONDITION 1: He was the first moving object seen by goose chicks.
CONDITION 2: mother goose was the first moving object seen by chicks.

Results: Chicks that saw him as the first thing followed him as if he was the mother. Performed mating displays, ignored other geese.
Chicks that saw his mother first followed her from young and performed mating rituals to other geese in adulthood.

Goose chicks have critical period within a few hours to imprint.
In some species imprinting is irreversible.

Question 7

Learning Theory - Classical Conditioning Diagram

Answer 7

UCS. UCR
Food. Pleasure

UCS. NS. UCR
Food. Mother Pleasure

CS CR
Mother. Pleasure

Question 8

Bowlbys Monotropic Theory of Attachment

Answer 8

Attachment is biological and instinctive

Forming an attachment may give one baby an survival advantage over another baby that doesn’t form an attachment.

This suggests there is an evolutionary advantage to forming attachments.

Question 9

Monotropic Theory key concepts

Answer 9

• Attachments are adaptive.
• Babies have social releases (crying, smiling).
• There’s a critical period for forming attachments.
• There is 1 strong bond formed (Monotropy).
• Babies have an internal working model.

Question 10

Monotropic Theory - Adaptive

Answer 10

Infants/babies behave in certain ways to their caregivers to aid survival.

E.g. Infants who stay close to their mothers are more likely to avoid dangers and therefore survive until sexual maturity.

Question 11

Monotropic Theory - Social Releasers

Answer 11

Infants are born with a drive to become attached.

They encourage caregiving from others by SOCIAL RELEASERS (facial features, smiles, cries).

Bonds are formed with adults who are most sensitive to these social releasers

Question 12

Monotropic Theory - Critical Period

Answer 12

Bowlby believed if mothering was delayed for 12months it was useless for most children.
If it was delayed for 2 1/2years it was almost useless for all children.

Question 13

Monotropic Theory - Monotropic

Answer 13

Bowlby believed infants form 1 special relationship (monotropy).
The first attachment relationship serves as an ‘ INTERNAL WORKING MODEL’ (or template) that is the basis for all expectations and rules regarding future relationships.

Question 14

Monotropic Theory - Internal Working Model

Answer 14

The Internal Working Model influences a child’s self-concept.
The Internal Working Model proposes there is a ‘Continuity Hypothesis’.

The Continuity Hypothesis provides one explanation that early patterns of attachment are related to later child characteristics.

Securely Attached = positive working model of themselves, based on feelings of security from their emotionally responsive caregiver.

Insecure Resistant+Insecure Avoidant = Negative self-image and exaggerate their emotional responses to gain attention, due to inconsistent/absent caregiver.

If the Internal Working Model isn’t formed, the lack of initial attachment will affect future relationships.

Question 15

What are the types of Attachment

Answer 15

Insecure avoidant

Secure attachment

Insecure resistant

Question 16

Insecure Avoidant characteristics in Strange Situation

Answer 16

• Low seperation anxiety
• Low stranger anxiety
• Avoids comfort from mother on reunion
• Explores freely without using primary care giver as a safe base. Keeps distance from primary care giver

Question 17

Secure attachment characteristics in Strange Situation

Answer 17

• High seperation anxiety
• High stranger anxiety
• Happy reunion behaviour, settles infant
• Use mother as safe base as they explore

Question 18

Insecure Resistant characteristics in Strange Situation

Answer 18

• very high seperation anxiety
• very high stranger anxiety
• rejects mum’s attention
• Wont explore, close to mum

Question 19

Cultural Variations in Attachments Findings

Answer 19

Findings:

• Great Britain 🇬🇧 had overal highest rate of secure.
• Secure attachmentwas most common in all countries.
• Insecure Avoidant was the 2nd most common in every country except Israel 🇮🇱 + Japan 🇯🇵.
• In west Germany 🇩🇪 they had the highest rate of insecure avoidant.

Variation between cultures was approx 1.5x greater than cross cultural variation.

Question 20

Strength of Cultural Variations in Attachment

Answer 20

P - Use of standardised methodology

E - Use of strange situation means that comparisons can be made across cultures, improving reliability.

E - In addition the analysis had a large sample (2000 babies and their primary attachment figure).

L - Large sample increase validity by reducing the impact of abnormalities caused by bad methodology.

Question 21

Criticism of Cultural Variations of Attachment.

Answer 21

P - May not be representative of all cultures.

E - Van Ijzendoorm & Kroonenberg made comparisons between countries not cultures. Within a country there could be many different cultures with different child rearing ways.

E - In a later study Van Ijzendoorm found attachment types in Urban Tokyo in similar proportions to Western studies and more rural sample over represented insecure-resistant attachment.

L - Comparisons between countries have little meaning as cultures have different ways of child rearing. Cultural characteristics of the countries need to be specified.

Question 22

Bowlbys Theory of Maternal Deprivation.

• Maternal Deprivation
• Critical Period
• Effects on Interllectual + Emotional development.

Answer 22

Maternal Deprivation = The emotional and interllectual consequences of separation between a child and its mother.

Critical period = 2 1/2 years of life that if a child is seperated from mother for this time then psychological damage is inevitable.

Deprivation effects on interllectual development = Mental retardation - low IQ.

Deprivation effetcs on emotional development = Affectionless psychopath - Inability to feel guilt.

Question 23

Support for Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation

Answer 23

P - Thieves study

E - In this study, Bowlby interviewed 44 thieves and compared them to a control group (had emotional problems). He also interviewed the parents to see if they have been sepersted during the critical period.

E - Found that more than 1/2 the thieves were seperated for 6months+ during first 5yrs.
In control group only had 2 ppts had such a long seperation.
Aslo found 32% of thieves has affectionless psychopathy, 0% control group.

L - Suggests seperation for 6months+ in first 5yrs can gave effects on child’s development

Question 24

Criticism of Bowlbys Maternal Deprivation

Answer 24

P - Counter evidence

E - Lewis (1954) replicated the 44 thieves study on a larger scale (500 young people).

E - Found that prolonged maternal separation didnt predict criminality or difficulty forming close relationships.

L - Limitation as it suggests other factors affect outcomes of early maternal seperation.

Question 25

Effects of Institutionalisation (Romanian Orphan Studies)

Answer 25

1. Disinhibited Attachment - Equally friendly to strangers as people they know.
2. Damage to Intellectual Development - Mental Retardation if adopted after 6months
3. Physical Underdevelopment - Physically smaller.
4. Poor Parenting - Have difficulty parenting in the future.

Question 26

Method of Strange Situation.

Answer 26

1. Caregiver, infant + observer (30seconds). Observer shows them room then leaves.
2. Caregiver and infant (3mins). Infant explores.
3. Stranger, caregiver+infant (3mins). stranger interacts with them, caregiver leaves.
4. Stranger and Infant (3mins) stranger plays with infant.
5. Caregiver and infant (3mins) first reunion, stranger leaves. Then caregiver leaves.
6. Infant alone (3mins) second separation.
7. stranger and infant (3mins) stranger interacts with infant.
8. caregiver and infant (3mins) 2nd reunion and stranger leaves.

Question 27

Strength of Strange Situation

Answer 27

P - Systematic Procedures.

E - Highly operationalised, observers have a clear view of how securely attached infant should behave, due to 4 specific characteristics that Ainsworth used.

E - For this reason, should have high replicability and therefore reliability can be checked.

L - This means that Strange Situation = reliable measure of attachment.

Question 28

Criticism of Strange Situation.

Answer 28

P - May be other types of attachment.

E - Ainsworth identified 3 types of attachment (secure, avoidant, resistant).

E - Research has found out some children display atypical attachment that doesn’t fit the attachment types identified by Ainsworth.
This is disorganised attachment - mix of resistant and avoidant.

L - This challenges Ainsworth’s initial attachment types and could questions if strange situation is useful method to identify these types.

Question 29

Practical Application of Strange Situation (issues).

Answer 29

P - Practical issues with ethics of SS.

E - Argued that mothers often leave their child for brief periods for example with babysitters, therefore procedure is not unethical.

E - However, the ethics of this research are questioned as child is exposed to stressful situation to see how they react.

L - Therefore, there are practical difficulties regarding the ethics of the procedures.

Question 30

Internal Working Model: Influence of Early Attachment on Childhood and Adult Relationships.

Answer 30

ITW = A mental representation of our self-concept and our relationship with our primary caregiver that becomes a template for future relationships (continuity hypothesis).
- E.g. the ITW developed from the child’s attachment type may create an un/loveable or view the world as un/trustworthy.

This will influence later relationships by providing the child with a way of reacting to the world.

Question 31

Influence of Early Attachment on Adult Relationships. (example of bullying).

Answer 31

• Securely attached = less likely to bully or be bullied. (confident to stand up to bullies).
• Insecure Avoidant = most likely victims of bullying.
• Insecure Resistant = most likely to be the bullies.

Question 32

Influence of Early Attachments on Adult Relationships + research method.

Answer 32

Hazan & Shaver’s Love Quiz.
The Quiz assessed:
- Attachment types.
- Beliefs of Romantic love (does it last forever? etc)

Ppts then classified by attachment type based on answers.

Question 33

Results of Hazan & Shaver’s Love Quiz - Influence of Early Attachments on Adult Relationships.

Answer 33

56% were securely attached who had happy + trusting relationships.

25% were insecure-avoidant who typically feared intimacy.

19% were insecure-resistant who were worried that partners didn’t really love them.

Question 34

Strength of Influence of Early Attachments on Later Relationships.

Answer 34

P - A Longitudinal Study supports continuity of attachment.

E - They assessed infant attachment at 1yr and 16yrs.

E - Found ppts who were securely attached as infants were closer to their friends and more attached to romantic partners in early adulthood.

L - The behaviour pattern continued and so supports attachment type does predict adult relationships.

Question 35

Criticism of Influence of Early Attachments on Later Relationships.

Answer 35

P - Issues with validity.

E - Many studies of attachment don’t use SS, but assess infant-parent attachment using interviews, and this doesn’t happen in infancy, but years later when the ppts recall may not be accurate.

E - Validity of interviews is limited because they depend on ppts being honest and realistic view of their own relationship.

L - Looking back in adulthood at early attachment lacks validity because it relies on accurate recollections that can be difficult to access.

Question 36

Practical Application of Influence of Early Attachments on Later Relationships.

Answer 36

P - Continuity Hypothesis has practical applications particularly for social work.

E - Research demonstrates that institutionalised women had difficulties parenting and their children were also more likely to be in care.

E - There is potential for social works to provide support + education to mothers with poor quality attachments to try to improve their attachments with their own children and prevent institutionalisation.

L - The means the IWM and CHypothesis has practical and economic benefits.

Question 37

Strength of learning theory of attachment

Answer 37

P - Strength of learning theory is that elements of conditioning could be involved in the formation of attachment.

E - The main problem with learning theory is that the idea that feeding provides the unconditioned stimulus, reinforced, or primary drive.

E - However, many aspects of human development are affected by conditioning, so it seems plausible that would still play a role in attachment. For example, associations between the primary caregiver and comfort could be part of what forms attachment.

L - This is important because conditioning may still explain attachment behaviour through comfort.

Question 38

Critisism of learning theory of attachment

Answer 38

P - Human research shows that feeding is not an important factor.

E – Schaffer & Emerson Showed that for many babies, a primary attachment was not the person who fed them.

E - This shows that feeding is not the key element to attachment, so there is no unconditioned stimulus or primary drive involved.

L - This evidence suggests that other factors more important than food in the formation of attachment.

Question 39

practical application of learning theory of attachment

Answer 39

P - Learning theory of attachment has improved the position of the father.

E - All attachment figures are of equal importance. It is the person who feeds the baby who’s the most important rather than emphasising the prominence of the mother.

E - This has important economic implications, as there’s less pressure for mothers to remain at home as the theory doesn’t emphasise the role as being vital for healthy development in contrast to Bowlby.

L – This measn that the learning theory of attachment has economic implications.

Question 40

support for monotropic theory of attachment

Answer 40

P - There is support for the concept of the internal working model

E - Hazen and Shaver demonstrate relationship between infant attachment and adult relationships suggesting that quality of a child’s first attachment is crucial.

E - This is because it provides a template that will affect the nature of all future relationships including romantic, friendships and parental.

L - This correlation between the initial and later relationships provides support for Bowlby’s internal working model.

Question 41

Critisism of monotropic theory of attachment

Answer 41

P - The evidence for monotropy is mixed.

E – Schaffer & Emerson Found that most babies did attach to one person at first, but a significant minority formed multiple attachments at the same time.

E - This challenge is Bowlby’s assertion that babies from one attachment to a primary caregiver and that this attachment is unique.

L - This means that the concept of monotropy Is overstated; Fathers are of equal importance to mother. When the primary caregiver and many babies full multiple attachments.

Question 42

Practical applications of monotropic theory of attachment

Answer 42

P - The concept of monotropy Has economic consequences because of implications for mothers lifestyles.

E - Bowlby States is substantial time part from a primary attachment figure, risk, poor quality attachment that would disadvantage child in a range of ways.

E - Feminists argue that mothers are blamed for anything that goes wrong in a child’s life and pushes mothers into making lifestyle choices, eg not returning to work.

L - although Bowlby’s claim was to boost the status of the mother. The implication is that the mother is less likely to be separated from the baby for work, and this imposed the economy.

Question 43

behavious to judge strange’s attachment types

Answer 43

Proximity seeking: An infant with a good attachment will stay close to the caregiver.

Exploration behaviour: Good attachment enables a child feel confident to explore using caregiver a secure base.

Stranger anxiety: One of the signs of becoming closely attached is a display of anxioty when a stranger approaches.

Separation anxiety: Another sign of becoming attached is to protest at separation from caregiver.

Reunion behaviour: Reunion with caregiver after separation for a short period of time under controlled conditions.

Question 44

Issues and debates of cultural variations of attachment

Answer 44

P - The strange situation may be biased towards American/British culture as designed by an American researcher based on a British theory.

E - Trying to apply a theory or technique designed for one culture to another is known as imposed etic. Which disregards the notion of cultural emetic.

E - The idea that a lack of pleasure or reunion indicates insecure attachment is an example of an imposed etic as in Germany, this behaviour is seen more as independence than avoidance.

L - This means the methods used in cross cultural research into attachment is cultural bias.

Question 45

Issues and debates of Bowlby’s maternal deprivation

Answer 45

P – Bowlby’s That the negative effects of maternal deprivation are irreversible seems overstated and deterministic.

E - However, later research suggests is not the cage. The case study of twin boys from Czechoslovakia, who were isolated from the age of 18 months until they were seven years old and left in a cupboard. Subsequently they were looked after by two loving adults and appeared to fully recover.

E - Cases like this show that the period identified by Bowlby may be a ‘sensitive’ One and not a critical one, which means that the effects of maternal deprivation do not last forever. If the child receives supportive and responsive care, these effects may exist for a limited time.

L - This just that negative outcomes of deprivation are not. A reversible lessening support for Bowlby’s Maternal deprivation hypothesis.