Attachment Flashcards

Question

Which 2 researchers conducted research into the role of the father?

Answer 1

Grossman and Field

Answer 2

Carried out a longitudinal study looking at both parents’ behaviour and its relationship to the quality of children’s attachment into their teens.

Answer 3

The quality of infants’ attachment with their mothers, but not their fathers, was related to the childrens’ attachments in adolescence. Conclusion: suggesting that the fathers attachment is less important than the mothers.

Answer 4

However, the quality of father’s play with infants was related to the quality the childrens’ adolescent attachments. Conclusion: This suggests fathers have a different role in attachment- one that is more to do with play and stimulation, and less to do with nurturing, but is still important for the child’s wellbeing.

Answer 5

Controlled Observation

Answer 6

Field (1978) filmed 4 month old babies in face to face interactions with primary caregiver mothers, primary caregiver fathers, and secondary caregiver fathers.

Answer 7

Primary caregiver fathers, like mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than the secondary caregiver fathers. This behaviour seems to be more important in building an attachment to an infant.

Answer 8

It seems that fathers can be the more nurturing attachment figure and take on a traditionally maternal role. The key to the attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent.

Answer 9

Field’s research into the role of the father in attachment has practical applications. This is because the principles of the research, by Field, that responsiveness to the child’s needs, not gender, is most important when forming attachments can be used to advise parents. Many parents make decisions about who should take on the primary caregiver role, mothers may feel pressured to stay at home because of stereotypical views of mothers’ and fathers’ roles. Equally, fathers may feel pressure to go back to work rather than focus on parenting; in some families this may not be the best option economically as the mother may earn more money. Research into the role of the father can be used to offer reassuring advice to parents; for example fathers can become a primary attachment figure. This means parental anxiety about the roles of fathers can be reduced.

Answer 10

Finally, the fact that fathers tend not to become the primary attachment figure could simply be the result of traditional gender roles. On the other hand, it could be that female hormones (oestrogen) create higher levels of nurturing and therefore women are biologically predisposed to be the primary attachment figure for children. Therefore there are several explanations to consider when investigating the role of the father.

Answer 11

However, a potential criticism is that the study by Grossman found that fathers as secondary attachment figures had an important and distinct role in their child’s development of play and stimulation. However other studies (Macallum and Golombok 2004) have shown that children growing up in single-mother or lesbian-parent families do not develop any differently from those in two parent heterosexual families. This would seem to suggest that the father’s role may not be distinct. Counter point: However, it could be argued that parents in single-mother or lesbian-parent families simply adapt to accommodate the role played by fathers. Suggesting, when a father is present they do adopt a distinctive role, but families can adapt to not having a father present.

Answer 12

To investigate the effects of ‘imprinting’ on goslings

Answer 13

* Lorenz randomly divided the goose eggs. * Half of the eggs were hatched with the mother goose in their natural environment (control group). * The other half were hatched in an incubator where the first moving object they saw was Lorenz (experimental group). * Lorenz recorded the behaviour of the goslings – who they imprinted on.

Answer 14

* The incubator group that saw Lorenz first (experimental group) imprinted upon and followed Lorenz everywhere whereas the group who saw the mother goose first (control group) imprinted upon and followed her. * Lorenz identified a critical period (12-17 hours after hatching) in which imprinting needs to take place. If ‘imprinting’ did not occur within that time Lorenz suggests that chicks will not attach themselves to a mother figure. * In addition, goslings who imprinted on to humans would, as adult birds, attempt to mate with humans (sexual imprinting).

Answer 15

Goslings imprint on the first moving object that they see, there is a specific time period in which this needs to take place, otherwise they will not attach/imprint.

Answer 16

However, Lorenz’s research can be criticised for animal bias because it was conducted on animals (goslings) to investigate attachment. This is potentially a problem because human attachment behaviour may be more complex than animal attachment behaviour as human emotions are more sophisticated towards their offspring (babies) than birds’. For example, attachment in humans is a two way process, so it is not just the young who become attached to their mothers but also the mammalian mothers who show an emotional attachment to their young. Therefore there are issues with extrapolating the findings of Lorenz’s research in to attachment to humans.

Answer 17

Lorenz’s research into the effects of imprinting on attachment has practical applications. This is because the principles of the research, that goslings had to imprint within 12-17 hours otherwise they would not imprint at all and the fact that goslings who imprint on to humans later show sexual behaviour towards humans when they are adult birds shows the importance of this critical period on future relationships. (This is something which Bowlby also believed). Psychologists can use this information in order to promote the importance of early interactions between parents and infants and hopefully reduce issues later in life, therefore Lorenz’s research is an important part of applied psychology.

Answer 18

Moreover, Lorenz’s research may be criticised for researcher bias. Lorenz recorded his own observations of the birds so he may have chosen to only include findings that would support his theory of imprinting. Therefore this would lower the internal validity of the research as it may not be measuring the effects of imprinting on attachment.

Answer 19

To investigate whether food or comfort is more important in the formation of attachments

Answer 20

16 baby rhesus monkeys were separated from their mothers at birth and brought up in cages. The cages contained surrogate mothers – A wire mother with milk and a cloth mother with no milk. * The amount of time spent with mother was recorded * The monkeys were frightened with a loud noise to test which mother they preferred when stressed * The long term effects were recorded, such as sociability and relationships to their future offspring.

Answer 21

16 Rhesus monkeys

Answer 22

* Monkeys spent more time with the cloth mother than the wire mother. * When frightened the monkeys would go to the cloth mother. * The monkeys later in life had emotional damage such as being much more timid, being easily bullied, difficulty mating and females being inadequate mothers when they were older.

Answer 23

Contact comfort is the most important factor when forming an attachment.

Answer 24

A strength of Harlow’s research is that it has practical applications as it emphasises the importance of comfort in the formation of attachments. This finding can be used by social workers and clinical psychologists in understanding that a lack of bonding experience may be a risk factor in child development allowing them to intervene to prevent poor outcomes (Howe 1998) this research is an important part of applied psychology when explaining the formations of attachment.

Answer 25

However,some may argue the usefulness of this practical application may be limited as, Harlow’s research can be criticised for animal bias because it used animals (rhesus monkeys) to investigate attachment. This is potentially a problem because human attachment behaviour may be more complex than animal attachment behaviour as human emotions are more sophisticated towards their offspring (babies) than animals’. Therefore there are issues with extrapolating the findings of Harlow’s research in to attachment to humans.

Answer 26

Moreover, Harlow’s study raises ethical issues due to the harm inflicted on the monkeys. The monkeys suffered greatly as a result of Harlow’s procedures and were frightened, had emotional/social issues in later life and sometimes died, Limiting Harlow’s research into attachments in animals. Counter argument: However, Harlow argued the importance of the findings into the formation of attachments outweighed the distress caused to the monkeys as at the time of Harlow’s research, there was a dominant belief that attachment was due to physical (food) rather than emotional care. As such, Harlow’s research into attachment has gone on to create important practical applications, as described above.

Answer 27

MILK provided is an UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS (which the infant naturally needs to survive), which provides an UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE in the infant of pleasure. This response is AUTOMATIC and does not need to be LEARNT. The NEUTRAL STIMULUS is the FEEDER, through repetition of feeding the infant learns to associate the feeder with food and pleasure. Therefore, the FEEDER becomes a CONDITIONED STIMULUS, just the sight of the feeder will indicate to the child that they will get fed – this will produce the CONDITIONED RESPONSE of pleasure. Operant conditioning can be used to explain why babies cry for comfort, an important behaviour in building an attachment. When an infant is hungry and cries, this leads to a response from the caregiver – for example, feeding. This is positive reinforcement for the infant as the infant receives the reward of food, and the crying behaviour is reinforced. At the same time, when the caregiver feeds the infant, the crying stops, this is negative reinforcement for the caregiver as the negative stimulus of crying has been removed, and the feeding behaviour is reinforced. This mutual reinforcement strengthens an attachment.

Answer 28

The learning theory of attachment can be criticised for environmental reductionism. This is because the theory reduces the complex human behaviour of attachment down to simple basic units of learning to attach through stimulus, response and association. This neglects a holistic approach, which would take in to account how a person’s culture and social context would influence and explain their attachment, for example in collectivist cultures where families often work together to look after children children may form multiple attachments from the outset, not just with who feeds them. Therefore, the learning theory of attachment may lack validity as it does not allow us to understand the behaviour in context.

Answer 29

Research to contradict the learning theory of attachment was conducted by Harlow. Harlow found that monkey’s spent more time with the surrogate mother who provided them with comfort, rather than the surrogate mother who provided them with food. The same must be true for humans – after all, learning theorists believed that non-humans and humans are equivalent. Therefore contradicting the learning theory’s assumption that we learn to attach to the person who feeds us via associations, thus limiting the learning theory of attachment. Counter argument: However, Harlow conduected this research on animals and therefore it may not be appropriate to generalize the findings to attachments in humans, limiting the extent to which Harlow’s research can be used to criticize the learning theory of attachment.

Answer 30

Research to contradict the learning theory of attachment was conducted by Schaffer and Emerson, they found that babies tended to form attachments to their mother regardless of whether she was the one who usually fed them, attachment was more due to responding to babies signals and interacting with them. Furthermore, research by Field into the role of the father, has also shown that the best quality attachments are with the caregivers that are sensitive and responsive to the infants needs. Therefore evidencing that feeding the infant does not appear to be the most important factor in forming an attachment as the learning theory suggests.

Answer 31

ADAPTIVE= Bowlby suggests that attachment is an innate system, it is inherited in order to improve survival, therefore it is adaptive. Bowlby suggested infants are born ‘programmed’ to attach and parents are also ‘programmed’ to attach. SOCIAL RELEASERS= Bowlby states that infants are born with social releasers such as smiling, crying and looking ‘cute’, this triggers a response in a care giver and ensures interaction takes place to form an attachment. CRITICAL (sensitive) PERIOD= Bolwby propsed a critical period for attachment in an infant to take place, this is a biological period. If an attachment does not take place during the set developmental period of the first 2.5 years of life – THEN IT MAY NOT TAKE PLACE AT ALL MONOTROPY= Bowlby’s theory is described as ‘monotropic’ because he placed great emphasis on a child’s attachment to one caregiver. He believed this is the most important attachment in the childs development. Bowlby called this person the mother, but said it didn’t need to be the biological mother. INTERNAL WORKING MODEL=The internal working model is a ‘mental representation’ that the child forms of their relationship with their primary caregiver. This serves as a model/template for what relationships are like. A child uses their attachment relationship with their caregiver to build an expectation of what future relationships will be like. It therefore has a POWERFUL impact on the child’s future relationships. Future relationships (with peers, romantic partners and own children) mirror childhood attachments. Bowlby believes that Internal Working Models are passed on from one generation to the next , people base their parenting on their own experiences of being parented.

Answer 32

1. Adaptive 2. Social Releasers 3. Critical Period 4. Monotropy 5. Internal Working Model

Answer 33

Research to support Bowlby’s Monotropic theory of attachment comes from Lorenz, Lorenz studied imprinting on goslings and found a critical period of 12-17 hours in which imprinting had to take place otherwise it would not later. This supports Bowlby’s concept of a critical period, that infants must attach within the first 2.5 years of life otherwise it would be difficult to form attachments later, therefore strengthening Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment. However, critics would argue that this research to support may be limited as it was conducted on geese and therefore, as humans are more emotionally complex, the findings may not represent attachment behaviour in humans.

Answer 34

Research to support Bowlby’s monotropic theory and concept of an internal working model was conducted by Hazan and Shaver (1987) who created the ‘love quiz’. They found that securely attached children had happy and long lasting relationships in later life whereas insecurely attached children found it hard to form relationships and many were divorced. Therefore, this SUPPORTS the Internal Working Model as a feature of Bowlby’s monotropic theory as the first relationships acted as a template for future relationships. However, critics would argue that this research to support may also be limited as it was conducted using a questionnaire, in which participants may lie about their relationships in order to present them in the best possible light, reducing the internal validity of the research to support Bolwby’s monotropic theory.

Answer 35

Research to contradict Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory was conducted by Shaffer and Emerson who found evidence to support the view that children have multiple attachments. They found these multiple attachments may help children to develop socially, emotionally and cognitively. Therefore this CONTRADICTS the Monotropy proposed by Bowlby, and the idea that infants have one attachment, thus limiting his Monotropic Theory of attachment. However, Schaffer and Emerson did find that before making multiple attachments, children will form a specific attachment, which was with the mother in 65% of cases, which could somewhat support Bowlby’s idea of monotropy and one attachment with the mother.

Answer 36

Mary Ainsworth

Answer 37

Controlled

Answer 38

100 middle-class American infants and their mothers.

Answer 39

1. Willingness to Explore 2. Separation Anxiety 3. Stranger Anxiety 4. Reunion Behaviour

Answer 40

Two-way mirror

Answer 41

how the child reacts when mother leaves.

Answer 42

how the child reacts to being alone with a stranger

Answer 43

how the child behaves when the mother returns.

Answer 44

1. Parent (or caregiver) enters room with child, child explores for 3 minutes. 2. A Stranger enters and joins the parent and infant and tries to interact with the child. (measuring stranger anxiety) 3. Parent leaves the infant with the stranger. (measuring stranger and Separation Anxiety) 4. Parent returns and the stranger leaves. Parent settles the infant (measuring reunion behaviour) 5. Parent leaves the child alone. (measuring separation anxiety) 6. Stranger returns. (measuring stranger anxiety) 7. Parent returns and stranger leaves. (measuring reunion behaviour)

Answer 45

Secure Insecure-avoidant Insecure-resistant

Answer 46

Secure 70% Insecure-avoidant 20% Insecure–resistant 10%

Answer 47

 Willing to explore environment – uses mother as secure base.  Upset/subdued when mother leaves (separation anxiety)  Avoidant of stranger but friendly when mother present (stranger anxiety)  Positive/happy when mother returns (reunion behavior) Associated with a responsive primary caregiver.

Answer 48

Responsive

Answer 49

 Willing to explore environment  Unconcerned (indifferent) by mother’s absence (separation anxiety)  Unconcerend, often avoidant of mother and stranger (stranger anxiety)  Unresponsive when she returned (reunion behaviour) Associated with an unresponsive primary caregiver.

Answer 50

 Low willingness to explore environment.  Intensely distressed when mother left (separation anxiety)  Extreme fear of stranger (stranger anxiety)  Clinginess mixed with rejection on return (reunion behavior) Associated with inconsistent primary caregiver.

Answer 51

Unresponsive

Answer 52

Inconsistent

Answer 53

One potential criticism of Ainsworth’s research into attachment types, is that it lacks ecological validity. This is because the research takes place in a controlled environments, (room with two way mirror). Therefore, it may not be appropriate to generalise the findings to real life attachment types as the infant may not behave how they usually do in their natural environment, for example, they may explore the room less than they usually would, or be even more scared of a stranger as they feel uncomfortable or shy in an unfamiliar environment. Therefore, lowering the external validity of the research in to attachment types.

Answer 54

Ainsworth’s strange situation is praised for being high in reliability, this is because it was conducted in a controlled setting (room with two-way mirror) using a standardised procedure, for example each variable was assessed for 3 minute intervals, therefore the observation can be repeated again in the same conditions in order to check for consistent results into types of attachment, and has been carried out successfully in many different cultures.

Answer 55

However, the strange situation tool used to measure attachment has been criticised for Imposed Etic. It is based on American child-rearing practices and ignores practices in other cultures. For example, in Germany, it is common practice for independence to be encouraged in infants, these infants may show and insecure-avoidant attachment type, but that would be desirable in this culture. Therefore, the Strange Situation may not be appropriate to measure attachments types in other cultures.

Answer 56

(Western, such as United States and Europe) – emphasise personal achievement for the individual regardless of the expense of group goals, resulting in a strong sense of competition.

Answer 57

(Non-western, such as China, Korea and Japan) – empahisise family and work group goals above individual needs or desires.

Answer 58

Van Ijzendoorn

Answer 59

To investigate cross cultural variations in attachment

Answer 60

32 studies of the Strange Situation, from 8 countries using around 2000 children.

Answer 61

Meta-analysis

Answer 62

Country Number of studies Secure attachment % Insecure-avoidant % Insecure-resistant % Germany 3 57 35 8 UK 1 75 22 3 Holland 4 67 26 7 Sweden 1 74 22 4 Israel 2 64 7 29 Japan 2 68 5 27 China 1 50 25 25 USA 18 65 21 14 Overall 32 65 21 14

Answer 63

China Germany

Answer 64

Japan Israel

Answer 65

Germany Holland

Answer 66

Israel Japan

Answer 67

*The most common attachment type in all 8 countries was SECURE attachment. *The lowest percentage of secure attachment was in China, the highest was in Britain. *However, they found considerable DIFFERENCES in INSECURE types. INSECURE-AVOIDANT was the most dominant insecure attachment type in WESTERN cultures. *Where as INSECURE-RESISTANT was the most dominant insecure type in NON-WESTERN cultures, (with the exception of China.) *One of the most significant findings was that there was one and a half times/150% greater variation of attachment styles WITHIN cultures than BETWEEN cultures. For example in the USA, one study found 46% of the sample were securely attached, compared to another study in the USA that found 90% of the sample were securely attached.

Answer 68

These results show that there are CULTURAL VARIATIONS IN ATTACHMENT as insecure types were different. Although there MUST BE SIMILARITIES due to SECURE attachment

Answer 69

Van Ijzendoorn’s meta-analysis of cultural variations of attachment could be argued to have high population validity as it was a meta-analysis of 32 strange situation studies, using a large sample of 2000 infants. Therefore it is easier to generalise the findings to the rest of the target population, increasing the external validity of the research investigating cultural variations in attachment types.

Answer 70

However, critics would point out that although there was a large number of studies combined for this meta-analysis, the research can be criticised for culture bias as over half (18 out of 32) of the research studies were carried out in the US (individualistic, Western Culture) and only 5 of the studies were carried out in collectivist (non-western) cultures. Therefore it is difficult to generalise the findings across all cultures when explaining the different types of attachment.

Answer 71

Moreover, the strange situation tool used in this study has been criticised for Imposed Etic. It is based on American child-rearing practices and ignores practices in other cultures (that aren’t American) for example the lack of separation anxiety indicates an insecure-avoidant attachment type, in Germany this may be seen in a positive light as independence rather than avoidance or insecurity. Therefore, the Strange Situation may not be appropriate to measure attachments types across all cultures when investigating cultural variations in attachment.

Answer 72

The emotional and intellectual consequences of extended separation between a child and his/her mother or mother substitute, where a child loses an aspect of care, within the critical period.

Answer 73

THEORY Bowlby suggested the idea that continued nurture from a mother or mother substitute within the first 2.5 years of life (critical period) is important for healthy psychological development. If a child has extended periods of separation from the mother within the critical period, where an element of care is lost, then psychological damage is inevitable and irreversible. Bowlby proposed two kinds of psychological damage - intellectual damage and emotional damage. Intellectual damage includes cognitive impairment, such as an intellectual delay, shown by abnormally low IQ. Goldfarb found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions (less emotional care) compared to those who had been fostered (more emotional care). Emotional damage includes affectionless psychopathy, this is the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others. This prevents the person developing normal relationships and is associated with criminality. Affectionless psychopaths also lack remorse (cannot appreciate the feelings of victims).

Answer 74

To examine the link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation.

Answer 75

Opportunity sample of 88 children (44 juvenile thieves, 44 juvenile non-thieves) from a clinic that Bowlby worked at.

Answer 76

* Thieves were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy – lack of affection, lack of guilt for their actions, lack of empathy for their victims. * Families were interviewed to see whether the thieves had any prolonged early separation from their mothers. * A control group of 44 non-criminal but emotionally damaged young people was set up to see how often maternal deprivation occurred in the children who were not thieves.

Answer 77

* 14 of the 44 juvenile thieves (32%) were diagnosed as affectionless psychopaths. * Of this 14, 12 (86%) had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers within the first 2 years of life. * In contrast, only 5 (17%) of the remaining 30 thieves has experienced separation. * In the control group, only 2 out of the 44 (5%) had prolonged early separations.

Answer 78

Bowlby concluded that prolonged early separation/deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy.

Answer 79

However, one criticism of Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory is that the findings from Bowlby’s juvenile thieves study are based on retrospective data. It relies on the memory of the juvenile’s parents to recall the periods of separations in childhood. Therefore they could have lied about this information or simply forgotten it. This reduces the internal validity of Bowlby’s 44 juvenile thieves study and weakens the support the research provides for theory of maternal deprivation.

Answer 80

Morover, research to contradict Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory comes from Lewis (1954). She partially replicated the 44 thieves study on a larger scale, looking at 500 young people. In her sample a history of early prolonged separation from the mother did not predict criminality or difficulty forming close relationships. This therefore contradicts Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation.

Answer 81

However, a strength of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation has practical applications. The principle of the theory, that there are potential negative consequences of separation from a caregiver in early life has lead to changes in society, such as hospitals changing visiting hours and letting parents stay over night with their infants, in order to reduce the intellectual and emotional issues such as affectionless psychopathy. Therefore Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation is an important part of applied psychology.

Answer 82

Institutionalisation refers to children spending a long period of time living outside of the family home within an institution, for example, an orphanage. This can result in a loss of personal identity and the child adopting the rules and norms of the institution that can impair cognitive functioning.

Answer 83

1. Reactive Attachment Disorder 2. Disinhibited Attachment 3. Cognitive Impairment

Answer 84

An extreme lack of sensitive responsiveness from a parent in early life can lead to a child growing up unable to trust or love others. They become isolated and very selfish and unable to understand the needs of others can become sociopathic without a conscience, they can have a lack of remorse.

Answer 85

A condition in which children select attachment figures indiscriminately and behave in an overly familiar fashion with complete strangers, for example being friendly and affectionate. This is unsual behaviour as usually, young children would show signs of stranger anxiety. It seems to be caused by long periods of institutional care in early life, children may adapt to having multiple caregivers (all of whom are not seen enough to form a secure attachment) during the sensitive period for attachment formation. Institutionalised children often have other behavioural disorders too including attention seeking.

Answer 86

Cognitive impairment is a delay in intellectual development, an individual would have a low IQ and problems with concentration (Rutter et al), moreover they may have difficulty in learning new concepts and behaviours.

Answer 87

Rutter et al

Answer 88

To investigate whether loving and nurturing care could overturn the effects of institutionalisation the children had suffered in Romanian orphanages.

Answer 89

Longitudinal study which began in 1998. Physical, emotional and cognitive development were assessed at ages 4, 6 ,11 and 15. The age of adoption being the naturally occurring independent variable (IV) and the dependent variable (DV) was the children’s development (cognitive and emotional). Sample: 111 Romanian orphans who were adopted into British families Rutter studied three groups: 1. Adopted before the age of 6 months 2. Adopted between 6 months and 2 years 3. Adopted after the age of two (late adoptees). The Romanian oprhans were compared to a control group of 52 British adopted children.

Answer 90

111 Romanian orphans who were adopted into British families

Answer 91

At the initial assessment (when they arrived in the UK) 50% of the Romanian children showed signs of cognitive impairment and were severely undernourished. By the age of 4 years the children were making very good recoveries, however, those adopted later (older than two years) had a much higher level of disinhibited attachment. On the other hand, orphans adopted before 6 months were doing as well as the British adopted children (control group). At the age of 11, the mean IQ for those adopted later (after 2 years) was lower (77) than those adopted earlier (before the age of six months), showing cognitive impairment. Those adopted before the age of 6 months had a ‘normal’ IQ level (102).

Answer 92

Some negative effects of institutionalisation can be overcome by sensitive, nurturing care, more so if the adoption takes place earlier.

Answer 93

Research into institutionalisation has practical applications. This is because studying the Romanian orphans has led to improvements in the conditions experienced by children growing up outside their family home. For example, children’s homes now avoid having a large number of caregivers for each child and instead the children tend to have one or two ‘key workers’ who play a central role in the child’s emotional care. Moreover, institutional care is now seen as an undesirable option and considerable effort is made to accommodate children with foster carers or adoptive parents. This helps reduce the negative effects that can stem from institutionalisation such as disinhibited attachments as children are more likely to form a bond with a carer if they are spending more time with that person. Therefore, institutionalisation research is an important part of applied psychology as it has improved psychologists’ understanding of the effect of early institutional care and how to prevent the worst of these effects.

Answer 94

Compared to previous research into institutionalisation, Rutter’s research (and other Romanian orphan studies) have higher control over extraneous variables. In previous orphans studies, the children had often experienced trauma, neglect, abuse or bereavement before being institutionalised and it was difficult to tell if any long term effects were due to the neglect and abuse or the insititutional care. However, in Rutter’s research it the majority of the Romanian oprhans had been handed over by loving parents who could not afford to keep them, meaning it was possible to study the effects of institutionalisation without these confounding variables. Therefore, increasing the internal validity of the research into the effects of institutionalisation.

Answer 95

However, studying children from Romanian orphanages might have introduced different confounding variables. The quality of care in these institutions was extremely poor, with children receiving very little intellectual stimulation or comfort. This means that the harmful effects seen in studies of Romanian orphans may be due to the effects of poor instituitional care, rather than institutional care on it’s own .

Answer 96

Bowlby argues that the child forms a ‘mental representation’ (schema) of their early attachment relationship with their primary caregiver. This acts as a model for what relationships are like and future relationships will mirror them. If the child is raised by a loving primary caregiver who responds to their needs they are likely to have a secure attachment and view relationships as positive (positive internal working model) and have more successful later relationships. However if their first relationship is with an caregiver who is unresponsive to their needs they are more likely to have an insecure attachment and more problems in forming relationships (negative internal working model) and may not behave appropriately when they are in them e.g. arguing more or being too controlling. This mental representation of early attachment influences the nature of all their later childhood and adult relationships but also their relationship with their own children – attachment types are passed on through generations.

Answer 97

Attachment type is linked to the quality of peer relationships in later childhood. If a child has a secure attachment to their primary caregiver, they are more likely to have better quality relationships with their peers. However if they have an insecure attachment to their primary caregiver, they are more likely to have difficulties in making friends. Smith et al (1998) found that this early attachment could predict bullying behaviour with insecure-avoidant children being most likely to be victims of bullying and insecure-resistant child being most likely to be the bully.

Answer 98

Research has shown that the internal working model can also influence adult relationships. Hazen and Shaver created a questionnaire (The Love Quiz) which was printed in newspapers to study a person’s adult attachment and their attachment in early childhood. They found: 56% of participants were securely attached as children. They were most likely to have positive and longer lasting romantic relationships with partners they felt they could trust. 25% were seen as insecure-avoidant as children and these people reported more feelings of jealousy and feared intimacy (closeness). Finally, 19% were classified as insecure-resistant as children and these people fear being abandoned and can put too much pressure on their partner. They concluded that the patterns of attachment behaviour are reflected in adult romantic relationships.

Answer 99

An internal working model affects the ability to form a good relationship with their own children. People base their parenting style on their internal working model, so attachment tends to be passed on through family generations. Bailey et al (2007) found that mothers tended to have the same attachment style with their child as they did with their own mother.

Answer 100

Research to support the influence of early attachments on later relationships was conducted by Harlow, Harlow separated monkeys from their mothers at birth and raised them in cages, they therefore had no early attachments. Harlow found that the monkey’s found it very difficult to form relationships with other monkeys when they were older, for example they had diffulty mating and females were inadequate mothers. This supports the influence of early attachment on later relationships BECAUSE t shows that having a negative early attachment can lead to negative relationships later with partners and own children. However, critics would argue that Harlow’s research may not be representative of humans as humans are more emotionally complex than animals.

Answer 101

Research to support the influence of early attachments on later relationships was conducted by Harlow, Harlow separated monkeys from their mothers at birth and raised them in cages, they therefore had no early attachments. Harlow found that the monkey’s found it very difficult to form relationships with other monkeys when they were older, for example they had diffulty mating and females were inadequate mothers. This supports the influence of early attachment on later relationships BECAUSE t shows that having a negative early attachment can lead to negative relationships later with partners and own children. However, critics would argue that Harlow’s research may not be representative of humans as humans are more emotionally complex than animals.

Answer 102

The influence of early attachment on later relationships can be criticised for being deterministic. The theory states that our behavior (later relationships) is controlled and determined by early relationships, for example negative early attachments will lead to a person having negative attachments with their own children. However, this neglects the role of free will and choice an individual has. For example a person may choose to have a different type of relationship with their child to what they experienced from their parents. Therefore limiting the research in to the influence of early attachment on later relationships.