Attachment

Question 1

Define attachment

Answer 1

An emotional link between an infant and caregiver, each seek closeness and feel more secure when in the presence of the attachment figure. Interactions between a carer and an infant is where an attachment starts. It is the responsiveness of the caregiver to the infants signals that has a deep effect on the child.

Question 2

How do researchers recognise an infant has an attachment?

Answer 2

1) Proximity: People try to stay physically close to those they are attached to.
2) Separation distress: People are distressed when an attachment figure leaves their presence.
3) Secure base behaviour: We always ‘touch base’ with our attachment figure regularly return to their attachment

Question 3

What are the 2 caregiver - infant interactions?

Answer 3

1. Interactional Synchrony
2. Reciprocity

Question 4

What is interactional synchrony?

Answer 4

(mirroring actions) Caregiver and infant respond in time to keep communication going. e.g infant smiles, caregiver smiles back at the same time. This type of communication ensures infant and caregivers emotions and actions mirror each other’s.

Question 5

Who conducted research into caregiver - infant interactions?

Answer 5

Meltzoff and Moore

Question 6

Outline research into Caregiver - infant interactions

Answer 6

Meltzoff and Moore (77) conducted a controlled observation of forty two-week old babies to measure caregiver-infant interactions. An adult displayed one of three facial expressions or distinctive gestures, such as mouth opening or tongue protrusion. The child’s response was filmed and identified by an independent observer. A link was found between the facial expression/gesture of the adult and the response of the baby.

Question 7

What is reciprocity?

Answer 7

This is a two-way, mutual process where infant and caregiver take turns to respond to each other’s behaviours/signals, to sustain interaction (like a conversation). The behaviour of each party elicits a response from the other, E.g child puts arms out to be held - caregiver picks up.
Babies have ‘alert phases’ and signal when they are ready for interaction. Mothers pick up and act on these signals 2/3rd of the time (Feldman and Eidelman).Brazleton said both mother and baby initiate (start) the interaction and take it in turns to do so. He called this the ‘dance.’ He said it’s like when a couple dance together they respond to each other’s moves.

Question 8

AO3: Caregiver-infant interactions
Ecological validity

Answer 8

One potential criticism of the research into caregiver-infant intercations, is that much of the research lacks ecological validity. This is because the research takes place in controlled environments, such as a controlled observation with the caregiver and infant being filmed. Therefore, it is difficult to generalize the findings to real life cases of caregiver-infant interactions as the infant may not behave how they usually do in the real world, for example, they may interact with the parent more as they are the only familiar person in the room, or they may interact less as they feel uncomfortable or shy in an unfamiliar environment. Therefore, lowering the external validity of the research in to care-giver infant interactions. Discussion: However, some would argue that because the baby is young they may not notice the change in the environment, and this would not affect the validity.

Question 9

AO3: Caregiver-infant interactions
Extraneous Variables

Answer 9

Moreover, because the research takes place in controlled environments (controlled observation) this means that the research can be praised for having high control over extraneous variables. A potential extraneous variable that would be controlled is not having other adults in the room during observations of caregiver-infant interactions as it may distract the baby. This means that cause and effect can be established in the interactions between caregivers and infants, thus increasing the internal validity of the research in to caregiver-infant interactions.

Question 10

AO3: Caregiver-infant interactions
Bias

Answer 10

However, critics argue that the research in to caregiver-infant interactions can be prone to bias, as babies cannot speak, inferences must be drawn about their behaviour. This means that a psychologist may interpret this information in a way that fits their hypothesis, for example a baby may have wind but the psychologist may infer that this is a smile in response to their parents smile, reducing the internal validity of the research in to caregiver-infant interactions. In order to minimise this, there should be two observers present to agree on the findings.

Question 11

Who identified the stages of attachment?

Answer 11

Schaffer and Emerson

Question 12

What are the 4 stages of attachment?

Answer 12

Asocial
Indiscriminate
Specific
Multiple

Question 13

What was the aim of Schaffer and Emerson’s research?

Answer 13

To investigate the formation of early attachments (stages and multiple attachments), the age at which they develop and who they are directed to.

Question 14

Outline the procedure of research into the stages of attachment by Schaffer and Emerson

Answer 14

• Longitudinal study on 60 working class newborn babies and their mothers from Glasgow
• The babies and mothers were visited at their own homes every month for the first year of the baby’s life and again at 18 months
• Observations and interviews (with mothers) were used.

Attachment was measured in two ways:
* Separation anxiety - assessed by the infant being left alone in a room, or the researcher asking the mother how the infant reacts in this instance.
* Stranger Anxiety – assessed by the researcher starting each home visit by approaching the infant to see if this distressed the child.
* Researchers asked the mothers questions such as who infants smiled at, whom they responded to etc.

Question 15

What were the 2 ways that attachment was measured in Schaffer and Emerson’s research?

Answer 15

1. Separation anxiety
2. Stranger anxiety

Question 16

What were the findings of Schaffer and Emerson’s research into the stages of attachment?

Answer 16

There are 4 stages of attachment
1) Asocial (first few weeks) Babies behaviour to adults and inanimate objects was similar.
2) Indiscriminate (2-7 months) Babies show a preference to people over inanimate objects but usually do not show stranger or separation anxiety.
3) Specific – from around 7 months babies start to form attachments and show separation and strangers anxiety when separated. In 65% of cases this was with the mother.
4) Multiple – within 1 months of formin a specific attachment 29% of children formed multiple attachment. By 1 year most infants had multiple attachments. At 18 months 75% of children had an attachment with their father.

Question 17

What was the conclusion of research into the stages of attachment by Schaffer and Emerson?

Answer 17

Infants form attachments in stages, multiple attachments can be formed.

Question 18

What is the ASOCIAL stage of attachment?

Answer 18

First few weeks. The baby’s behaviour towards non-human objects and humans is quite similar. However, babies are happier when in the presence of other humans.

Question 19

What is the MULTIPLE stage of attachment?

Answer 19

Shortly after children show specific attachments, they usually extend this attachment behaviour to other adults whom they regularly spend time with. In Schaffer and Emerson’s study, 29% of children had multiple attachments within a month of forming a specific attachment. By the age of one year, the majority of infants have developed multiple attachments. At 18 months, 75% of infants had an attachment with their father.

Question 20

What is the SPECIFIC stage of attachment?

Answer 20

From around 7 months the majority of babies start to display stranger anxiety and separation anxiety when separated from one particular adult (the biological mother in 65% of cases). This is a specific attachment, and is not necessarily the person the child spends most time with, but the one who offers the most interaction and responds to the babies ‘signals’ the most.

Question 21

What is the INDISCRIMINATE stage of attachment?

Answer 21

From 2-7 months babies start to display more observable social behaviour. They show a preference for people over inanimate objects (smile more at them) and recognise and prefer familiar adults. Babies will usually accept cuddles and comfort from any adult, they usually do not show separation or stranger anxiety.

Question 22

AO3: Stages of Attachment
High Ecological Validity

Answer 22

A plausible strength of Schaffer’s research is that it has high ecological validity, this is because observations were carried out in the families’ own homes during ordinary activities by the parent such as leaving the room. This makes it easier to generalise the findings to real life examples of attachment as the childrens’ behavior is likely to be representative of everyday interactions. Therefore increasing the external validity of the research in to stages of attachment/multiple attachments.

Question 23

AO3: Stages of Attachment
Social desirability

Answer 23

However the research could be prone to social desirability bias as interviews were used to gather information, therefore the mothers could have lied about their child’s behaviour to present their parenting in the best possible light, for example they may say that the child is distressed when they leave the room even if they are not, so the results may have lacked internal validity and not measure the true stages of attachment/multiple attachments.

Question 24

AO3: Stages of Attachment
Culture bias

Answer 24

Moreover, Schaffer’s research can also be criticised for being culture bias as the sample used were all from the same city (Glasgow). Therefore it is difficult to generalise the findings of the stages of attachment to other cultures, for example, psychologists studying non-western (Collectivist) cultures where families often work together to look after a child have found that infants can form multiple attachments from the outset without forming a specific attachment first. Limiting the external validity of the research into the stages/multiple attachments.

Question 25

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

Answer 25

Grossman and Field

Question 26

What was Grossman’s study?

Answer 26

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

Question 27

What was Grossman’s first finding and conclusion?

Answer 27

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.

Question 28

What was Grossman’s second finding and conclusion?

Answer 28

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.

Question 29

What was the method used in Field’s study into the role of the father?

Answer 29

Controlled Observation

Question 30

Outline the procedure of Field’s study

Answer 30

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

Question 31

What were the findings of Field’s study?

Answer 31

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.

Question 32

What was the conclusion made by Field from his study into the role of the father?

Answer 32

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.

Question 33

AO3: Role of the Father
Practical Applications

Answer 33

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.

Question 34

AO3: Role of the Father
Traditional Gender roles

Answer 34

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.

Question 35

AO3: Role of the Father
Distinct Roles

Answer 35

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.

Question 36

Who studied attachment in Geese?

Answer 36

Lorenz

Question 37

Who studied attachment in Monkeys?

Answer 37

Harlow

Question 38

What was the aim of Lorenz’s study?

Answer 38

To investigate the effects of ‘imprinting’ on goslings

Question 39

What was the method used in Lorenz’s study into attachment in Geese?

Answer 39

Field

Question 40

Outline Lorenz’s procedure of attachment in geese

Answer 40

• 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.

Question 41

What were the findings of Lorenz’s research?

Answer 41

• 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).

Question 42

What was the conclusion made my Lorenz from his study of attachment in geese?

Answer 42

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.

Question 43

AO3: Lorenz
Animal Bias

Answer 43

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.

Question 44

AO3: Lorenz
Practical Application

Answer 44

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.

Question 45

AO3: Lorenz
Researcher Bias

Answer 45

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.

Question 46

What was the aim of Harlow’s study?

Answer 46

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

Question 47

What was the method used in Harlow’s study?

Answer 47

Lab

Question 48

Outline the procedure of Harlow’s study

Answer 48

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.

Question 49

What was the sample of Harlow’s study?

Answer 49

16 Rhesus monkeys

Question 50

What were the findings of Harlow’s study?

Answer 50

• 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.

Question 51

What was the conclusion made from Harlow’s research?

Answer 51

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

Question 52

AO3: Harlow
Practical application

Answer 52

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.

Question 53

AO3: Harlow
Animal Bias

Answer 53

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.

Question 54

AO3: Harlow
Ethical issues

Answer 54

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.

Question 55

Outline the learning theory of attachment

Answer 55

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.

Question 56

AO3: Learning theory
environmental reductionism

Answer 56

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.

Question 57

AO3: Learning theory
RTC by Harlow

Answer 57

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.

Question 58

AO3: Learning theory
RTC by Schaffer and Emerson

Answer 58

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.

Question 59

Outline the Monotropic theory of attachment

Answer 59

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.

Question 60

What are the 5 parts of the Monotropic theory?

Answer 60

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

Question 61

AO3: Bowlby’s Monotropic theory
RTS by Lorenz

Answer 61

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.

Question 62

AO3: Bowlby’s Monotropic theory
RTS by Hazan and Shaver

Answer 62

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.

Question 63

AO3: Bowlby’s Monotropic theory
RTC by Schaffer and Emerson

Answer 63

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.

Question 64

Who identified types of attachment?

Answer 64

Mary Ainsworth

Question 65

What type of observation did Ainsworth use?

Answer 65

Controlled

Question 66

What was Ainsworth’s sample?

Answer 66

100 middle-class American infants and their mothers.

Question 67

What were the 4 variables that Ainsworth used in her study?

Answer 67

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

Question 68

What did Ainsworth use to judge the child’s research?

Answer 68

Two-way mirror

Question 69

What is Separation Anxiety?

Answer 69

how the child reacts when mother leaves.

Question 70

What is Stranger Anxiety?

Answer 70

how the child reacts to being alone with a stranger

Question 71

What is Reunion Behaviour?

Answer 71

how the child behaves when the mother returns.

Question 72

Outline the procedure of Ainsworth’s study

Answer 72

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)

Question 73

What are the 3 types of attachment?

Answer 73

Secure
Insecure-avoidant
Insecure-resistant

Question 74

What were the findings of Ainsworth’s study?

Answer 74

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

Question 75

What did children with SECURE attachment show in Ainsworth’s study (use the 4 variables)?

Answer 75

 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.

Question 76

What type of primary caregiver are SECURE children associated with?

Answer 76

Responsive

Question 77

What did children with INSECURE-AVOIDANT attachment show in Ainsworth’s study (use the 4 variables)?

Answer 77

 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.

Question 78

What did children with INSECURE-RESISTANT attachment show in Ainsworth’s study (use the 4 variables)?

Answer 78

 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.

Question 79

What type of primary caregiver are INSECURE-AVOIDANT children associated with?

Answer 79

Unresponsive

Question 80

What type of primary caregiver are INSECURE-RESISTANT children associated with?

Answer 80

Inconsistent

Question 81

AO3: Ainsworth (types of attachment)
Ecological validity

Answer 81

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.

Question 82

AO3: Ainsworth (types of attachment)
High reliability

Answer 82

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.

Question 83

AO3: Ainsworth (types of attachment)
Imposed Etic

Answer 83

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.

Question 84

What is an Individualistic Culture?

Answer 84

(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.

Question 85

What is a Collectivistic Culture?

Answer 85

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

Question 86

Who conducted research into Cultural Variations in attachment?

Answer 86

Van Ijzendoorn

Question 87

What was the aim of Van Ijzendoorn?

Answer 87

To investigate cross cultural variations in attachment

Question 88

What was the sample of Van Ijzendoorn’s study?

Answer 88

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

Question 89

What was the procedure/method of Van Ijzendoorn’s study?

Answer 89

Meta-analysis

Question 90

Draw the table with the types of attachment and their % in different countries

Answer 90

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

Question 91

In which countries was SECURE attachment MOST common in?

Answer 91

UK
Sweden

Question 92

In which countries was SECURE attachment LEAST common in?

Answer 92

China
Germany

Question 93

In which countries was INSECURE-AVOIDANT attachment LEAST common in?

Answer 93

Japan
Israel

Question 94

In which countries was INSECURE-AVOIDANT attachment MOST common in?

Answer 94

Germany
Holland

Question 95

In which countries was INSECURE-RESISTANCE attachment MOST common in?

Answer 95

Israel
Japan

Question 96

In which countries was INSECURE-RESISTANCE attachment LEAST common in?

Answer 96

UK
Sweden

Question 97

What were the findings of Van Ijzendoorn’s study?

Answer 97

*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.

Question 98

What was the conclusion made from Van Ijzendoorn’s meta analysis?

Answer 98

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

Question 99

AO3: Cultural Variation (Van Ijzendoorn)
High Population Validity

Answer 99

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.

Question 100

AO3: Cultural Variation (Van Ijzendoorn)
Culture Bias

Answer 100

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.

Question 101

AO3: Cultural Variation (Van Ijzendoorn)
Imposed Etic

Answer 101

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.

Question 102

Define Maternal Deprivation

Answer 102

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.

Question 103

Outline Bowlby’s theory of Maternal Deprivation

Answer 103

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).

Question 104

What was the aim of Bowlby’s Juvenile thieves study?

Answer 104

To examine the link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation.

Question 105

What was the sample in Bowlby’s Juvenile thieves study?

Answer 105

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

Question 106

Outline the procedure of Bowlby’s Juvenile thieves study

Answer 106

• 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.

Question 107

What were the findings of Bowlby’s Juvenile thieves?

Answer 107

• 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.

Question 108

What was the conclusion made from Bowlby’s Juvenile thieves study?

Answer 108

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

Question 109

AO3: Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation
Retrospective data

Answer 109

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.

Question 110

AO3: Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation
RTC by Lewis

Answer 110

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.

Question 111

AO3: Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation
Practical Application

Answer 111

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.

Question 112

Define Institutionalisation

Answer 112

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.

Question 113

What are the 3 effects of Institutionalisation?

Answer 113

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

Question 114

Outline Reactive Attachment Disorder

Answer 114

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.

Question 115

Outline Disinhibited Attachment

Answer 115

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.

Question 116

Outline Cognitive Impairment

Answer 116

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.

Question 117

Who conducted a study on Romanian Orphans to see the effect of Institutionalisation?

Answer 117

Rutter et al

Question 118

What was the aim of Rutter’s research into the effects of Institutionalisation?

Answer 118

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

Question 119

Outline the procedure of Rutter’s research into the effects of Institutionalisation

Answer 119

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.

Question 120

What was the sample of Rutter’s study into the effects of Institutionalisation?

Answer 120

111 Romanian orphans who were adopted into British families

Question 121

What were the findings from Rutter’s research into the effects of Institutionalisation?

Answer 121

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).

Question 122

What was the conclusion made from Rutter’s research into the effects of Institutionalisation?

Answer 122

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

Question 123

AO3: Effects of Institutionalisation
Practical Application

Answer 123

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.

Question 124

AO3: Effects of Institutionalisation
High control over extraneous variables

Answer 124

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.

Question 125

AO3: Effects of Institutionalisation
Confounding variables

Answer 125

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 .

Question 126

What is the Internal Working Model?

Answer 126

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.

Question 127

Outline the influence of the Internal Working Model on CHILDHOOD relationships?

Answer 127

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.

Question 128

Outline the influence of the Internal Working Model on ADULT ROMANTIC relationships?

Answer 128

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.

Question 129

Outline the influence of the Internal Working Model on relationships WITH THEIR OWN CHILDREN?

Answer 129

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.

Question 130

AO3: Influence of early attachment on future relationships
RTS by Harlow

Answer 130

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.

Question 131

AO3: Influence of early attachment on future relationships
RTS by Harlow

Answer 131

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.

Question 132

AO3: Influence of early attachment on future relationships
Deterministic

Answer 132

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.

Question 133

AO3: Influence of early attachment on future relationships
Retrospective data