Attachment Flashcards
1
Q
What is a bond?
A
A set of feelings that tie one person to another
2
Q
What is ‘Atricial’?
A
Humans are born with early development, so we need to bond with adults to protect us
3
Q
What is an attachment?
A
A close, two way emotional bond between two individuals, where the individuals see each other as essential for their own security
4
Q
Can attachments be seen?
A
No
5
Q
Can bonds be seen?
A
No
6
Q
What are the 2 main types of caregiver-infant interactions?
A
Interactional Synchrony
Reciprocity
7
Q
What is reciprocity?
A
A care-giver and baby both respond to each others signals, and elicit a response from the other.
This is also known as turn-taking.
8
Q
What is an example of reciprocity?
A
A baby smiles –> the caregiver talks back to the baby –> the baby responds by laughing/gargling etc.
9
Q
Who are the 4 researchers for reciprocity?
A
Feldman and Eidelman
Finegood et al
Feldman
Brazelton et al
10
Q
What did Feldman and Eidelman suggest?
A
Babies have alert phases, where they signal they are ready for a spell of interaction.
Mothers pick up on these signals 2/3 of the time.
11
Q
What did Finegood et al find?
A
Mothers’ abilities to pick up on signals was dependent on her skills and external factors such as stress
12
Q
What did Feldman suggest?
A
At around 3 months old, the interactions become frequent and the mother and baby must pay close attention to each others’ verbal signals and facial expressions
13
Q
What did Brazelton et al suggest?
A
Babies have active involvement.
The baby and caregiver both initiate interactions and take turns in initiating. The baby has an active role.
Described interactions as a dance
14
Q
What is Interactional Synchrony?
A
The temporal co-ordination of micro level social behaviour.
(when two people interact and perform the same action in unison, mirroring what the other is doing)
15
Q
Who are the two researchers for interactional synchrony?
A
Meltzoff and Moore
Isabella et al
16
Q
What did Meltzoff and Moore research?
A
The beginnings of interactional synchrony
17
Q
How old were the babies in Meltzoff and Moore’s study?
A
From 2 weeks old
18
Q
What procedure did Meltzoff and Moore use?
A
They filmed babies’ responses to an unfamiliar adult model who displayed 3 facial expressions and 3 distinctive gestures.
19
Q
What did Meltzoff and Moore find?
A
Babies mirrored the gestures and facial expressions of the model more times than was expected
20
Q
What did Isabella et al research?
A
The importance of interactional synchrony on attachment
21
Q
What was Isabella et al’s procedure?
A
Observed 30mothers and babies together to assess interactional synchrony.
Also assessed the quality of the mother and baby’s attachment
22
Q
What did Isabella et al find?
A
There was a positive correlation between the amount of interactional synchrony and quality of attachment.
23
Q
Evaluate caregiver-infant Interactions
(need 3)
A
Good - High control. Observations for Interactional Synchrony were filmed in controlled conditions. This means it can establish inter-rater reliability as the responses can be re-watched and analysed later by multiple people. This means they are unlikely to miss anything, so there should be good reliability and validity.
Bad - Difficult to interpret babies’ behaviour.
Babies are fairly immobile, so it may be difficult to distinguish between their emotions. We can’t be sure their actions are from the care-givers’ action, and we can’t be certain of meaning.
Bad - These concepts don’t tell us about infants’ development. These ideas are just pointing out patterns in babies, they don’t tell us the relevance to future development or attachments.
HOWEVER
Good - Isabella et al found the more interactional synchrony a baby showed, the stronger the quality of attachment. This suggests that actually these concepts could be linked to the quality of attachment.
24
Q
Who were the researchers for the role of the father?
A
Schaffer and Emerson
Grossman et al
Field
25
What is a 'father'?
The closest male caregiver to an infant
26
What did Schaffer and Emerson find? (Role of the Father)
Most babies become attached to their mother at 7 months old
3% of cases fathers were the primary attachment
27% of the time mothers and fathers were joint primary attachments
75% of the babies formed an attachment with their father by 18 months
27
What percentage of babies had fathers as their primary attachment figures?
3%
28
What percentage of babies had joint primary attachments with their mothers and fathers?
27%
29
By what age had most children formed a primary attachment with their mother?
7 months old
30
What percentage of babies had formed an attachment with their father within the first 18months?
75%
31
What was Grossman et al's procedure?
Completed a longitudinal study of babies' attachments with their mother and father until they were teenagers.
Looked at the parents' behaviour and the relationship of their behaviour and the quality of their babies' later attachments.
32
What did Grossman et al find about the emotional role of the father?
The quality of mothers' attachments directly related to the quality of the babies' adolescent attachments and relationships.
The quality of the fathers' attachments had no influence, suggesting the fathers' attachment is less important.
33
What did Grossman et al find about the quality of play?
The fathers' quality of play with babies directly related to the quality of the babies' adolescent attachments and relationships.
This suggests fathers have a different role to do with play and stimulation rather than emotional development.
34
What did Field research?
Fathers as primary attachment figures
35
What are primary attachments?
Special attachments with emotional significance.
They form the basis of all future emotional relationships.
36
What was Field's procedure?
They filmed 4month old babies in face-to-face interactions. There were 3 groups:
Primary caregiver mothers
Primary caregiver fathers
Secondary caregiver fathers
37
What did Field find?
Primary caregiver mothers and fathers spent more time holding, smiling at and imitating their babies (interacting with them).
38
What do Field's findings suggest?
Fathers have the potential to be emotion focused primary caregivers
39
Evaluate the Role of the Father
Good - Real World Application
- The findings can be used to offer advice to parents
- Stereotypical views may expect mothers to stay at home and adopt primary caregiver roles, but research can offer reassurance that fathers are capable of being primary caregivers
- Can reassure single fathers or gay couples that they can be the primary caregiver and it won't affect their child's development
Bad - Inconsistent Findings
- There is conflicting evidence depending on the methodology
- Longitudinal studies see fathers as secondary caregivers (Grossman), but observations say fathers can be primary caregivers
- If fathers do have a distinct role, we would expect single mothers and lesbian parent families to have babies turn out differently, but they don't.
- If fathers do not have a distinct role, we would expect single fathers and gay parent families to have babies turn out differently, but they don't.
- This suggests we are unsure of what the role of the father actually is.
Bad - Possible Observer Bias
- Stereotypical gender preconceptions may cause unintentional bias where researchers see what they want to see.
- This may mean findings lack validity and are not representative of the role of the father today, as they may have been based off older schema surrounding gender roles
40
What are 2 negatives of the role of the father?
Inconsistent Findings
Possible observer bias/reliance on schema
41
What is 1 positive of the role of the father?
Real World Application to offer advice and reassurance to parents
42
Who researched the stages of attachment?
Schaffer and Emerson
43
Why did Schaffer and Emerson study the stages of attachment?
To develop an account of how attachment behaviours change as babies get older.
44
How many stages of attachment did Schaffer and Emerson identify from their observations?
4
45
What was Schaffer and Emerson's sample?
60 Glaswegian babies
46
What type of study was Schaffer and Emerson's?
Longitudinal observation
47
How often did Schaffer and Emerson visit the babies and mothers at home?
Every month for 1 year, and again at 18months old
48
What was Schaffer and Emerson's procedure?
- They asked the mothers' questions about the kind of protest their babies showed in everyday separations to test separation anxiety
- They asked the mothers' about the babies anxiety response to unfamiliar people to test stranger anxiety
- The mothers' observed the babies and wrote a diary to tell Schaffer and Emerson
49
What 2 characteristics did Schaffer and Emerson observe/look for?
Stranger anxiety
Separation anxiety
50
How did Schaffer and Emerson gather the information on the babies?
The parents observed and recorded their babies' behaviour in a diary
51
What are the 4 stages of attachment?
Asocial
Indiscriminate
Specific attachment
Multiple attachment
52
What age is the Asocial Stage of attachment?
The first few weeks
53
What age is the indiscriminate Stage of attachment?
2-7 months
54
What age is the specific stage of attachment?
From 7months onwards
55
What age is the multiple stage of attachment?
Shortly after the specific attachment is formed (usually around 9months)
56
What are the key characteristics of babies in the asocial stage?
- similar behaviour towards animate and inanimate objects
- show some signs they prefer to be with people, particularly familiar adults (parents)
- recognises and forms bonds with carers
57
What are the key characteristics of babies in the indiscriminate stage?
- prefers humans to inanimate objects
- recognises and prefers familiar adults
- displays more obvious and observable social behaviours
- accepts comfort from anyone
- no stranger or separation anxiety
58
What are the key characteristics of babies in the specific attachment stage?
- display classic signs of attachment to one person
- stranger anxiety is shown (especially when their primary caregiver is absent)
- separation anxiety is shown from their primary caregiver
- a specific attachment is formed with their primary caregiver (someone who responds to signals with the most skill and offers the most interaction)
59
Who is a primary caregiver?
Someone who responds to signals with the best skill and offers the most interaction
60
What percentage of primary caregivers are the mother?
65%
61
What are the key characteristics of babies in the multiple attachment stage?
- babies extend their attachment behaviour to people they spend the most regular time with (they form secondary attachments)
- by 1, most babies have formed multiple attachments
62
What percentage of children form secondary attachments within a month of their primary attachment?
29%
63
By what age have most children formed multiple attachments?
1 year old
64
Evaluate Schaffer and Emerson's stages of attachment
Good - Real World Application
- Helps with daycare
- Parents can use the time frames of the stages of attachment to see that starting daycare with unfamiliar adults may be problematic until the multiple stage of attachment
Bad - Culture Bias
- Based off of Glaswegian babies and the UK's child rearing style
- Stages of attachment may be different in collectivist cultures, or even in other parts of the UK
- We should be careful to generalise
Bad - Observer Bias
- The mothers were recording and reporting the findings of their babies
- They may have been biased with what they noticed and recorded due to social desirability or demand characteristics
- They would not want to look like a bad mother
IN ADDITION
- The babies are fairly immobile in the asocial stage, so behaviour would have been difficult to observe or interpret
- Babies may have had stranger and separation anxiety, but just not been able to express it due to their lack of movement
- This may mean babies were wrongfully classed as asocial
65
What are the 2 animal studies in attachment?
Lorenz's greylag geese
Harlow's rhesus monkeys
66
What are the 2 explanations of attachment?
The learning theory of attachment
Bowlby's Monotropic Theory
67
What does the learning theory include?
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
68
What does Bowlby's monotropic theory include?
Adaptive
Social Releasers
Critical Period
Monotropic Bond
Internal Working Model
69
Who suggested the Monotropic Theory?
Bowlby
70
Who are the researchers for the explanations of attachment?
Bowlby (monotropic theory)
71
Which side of the Nature/Nurture debate is the learning theory of attachment?
Nurture.
It believes attachment is learned through stimulus-response associations from our environment
72
Which side of the Nature/Nurture debate is Bowlby's monotropic theory?
Nature.
He believes we are born with the innate drive to form an attachment for our survival
73
Why did Bowlby refute the learning theory of attachment?
If it were true, a child would love whoever feeds them, and this isn't true
74
What is Monotropy?
The emphasis of a child's attachment to one caregiver - their primary caregiver
75
What were Bowlby's 2 principles in his monotropic theory?
1) The law of accumulated separation
2) The law of continuity
76
What is the law of accumulated separation?
The effects of every separation from the mother adds up.
The best dose is a zero dose.
77
What is the law of continuity?
The more constant and predictable a child's care is, the better the attachment will be.
78
What are Social Releasers?
Innate 'cute' features a baby is born with that encourage social interaction from adults so they attach.
Attachment is a reciprocal process (works both ways), so the babies must encourage the parent to attach
79
What is the critical period?
A suggested period of time (from 6 months to 2 years) in which an attachment should be formed.
If attachments are not formed during this period, it will be harder to form one in later life and there may be detrimental effects to the child's later attachments
80
What is an Internal Working Model?
Mental representations of the world (attachments), that acts as a template for future life.
A child forms a mental representation of their relationship with their primary attachment figure which acts as a template for future relationships, as well as influences their own parenting style.
81
Evaluate Bowlby's Monotropic Theory
Bad - Social Sensitivity.
- It could have a negative impact on working mothers by suggesting their lack of presence will have a detrimental impact on their child's later relationships.
- This could also have negative implications for the economy by discouraging mothers from going back to work until the critical period is over or a primary attachment has been formed.
Good - Research Support for Social Releasers
Brazelton et al: Active Involvement
- Found babies trigger and initiate interactions with social releasers
- When parents were told to ignore these social releasers, the babies became distressed and some lay motionless
- This suggests social releasers are important and are designed to help form an attachment
Bad - Could lack validity
- Schaffer and Emerson found 27% of children attached to both their mother and their father primarily
- This suggests some elements may be affected by factors other than biological factors as the bond is not always monotropic
- This matters because it may mean some areas of his theory ignore other factors
82
What is Classical Conditioning?
Learning through associations
83
What is the mapping for Classical Conditioning
UCS --> UCR
NS --> NR
UCS + NS --> UCR
(over time)
CS --> CR
84
What is an example of Classical Conditioning for attachment?
The cupboard love theory:
Mother --> No response
Milk --> Pleasure
Mother + Milk --> Pleasure
(over time)
Mother --> Pleasure
85
What is operant conditioning?
Learning through consequence/reinforcement
86
What are the 3 elements of operant conditioning?
Positive Reinforcement
Negative Reinforcement
Punishment
87
What is positive reinforcement?
A pleasant consequence to a behaviour makes the behaviour more likely to be repeated
88
What is negative reinforcement?
Performing a behaviour in order to avoid something unpleasant makes the behaviour more likely to be repeated
89
What is punishment?
An unpleasant consequence to a behaviour makes the behaviour less likely to be repeated
90
What is an example of Operant Conditioning in attachment?
Negative reinforcement:
Mother feeds baby to stop the baby crying and is more likely to feed the baby again when it cries to avoid the unpleasant sound.
Positive reinforcement:
The baby receives food for crying so is more likely to cry again for food due.
91
Evaluate the Learning Theory of Attachment
Bad - there is counter evidence from Animal studies:
- Harlow found that Rhesus Monkeys prefer contact comfort to food. When scared, they ran to the cloth mother for safety rather than the model with food.
- Lorenz found that geese imprinted regardless of associations.
Bad - There is counter evidence from Human studies:
- Schaffer and Emerson found humans are more likely to primarily attach to their mothers regardless of food
- Isabella et al found a positive correlation between levels of interactional synchrony and quality of attachment
- This suggests food isn't the only or main factor in attachment
Bad - Environmental Determinism:
- It suggests all attachment behaviour is caused by simple stimulus-response associations from the environment
- It removes the possibility of free will and the concept of active involvement
92
What did Rutter study?
The effects of institutionalisation on emotional and intellectual development
93
What is institutionalisation?
The psychological effects of being raised in an institutional setting, leading to a lack of attachment formation due to the inadequate emotional care provided
94
What was the Romanian Orphan Crisis?
Romanian women were required to have 5 children, but many could not afford to keep them. This meant they ended up in poorly conditioned orphanages until lots were adopted by British parents.
95
What was the type of Rutter's study?
A longitudinal naturalistic study
96
What was Rutter's procedure?
He followed 165 Romanian Orphans adopted in Britain.
He assessed physical, cognitive and emotional development at ages 4, 6, 11, 15 and 22-25 years old.
He compared the orphans' development with a control group of 52 children from the UK adopted around the same time.
97
How many Romanian Orphans did Rutter study?
165
98
How many British Orphans were in Rutter's control group?
52
99
What ages were the orphans assessed at?
4, 6, 11, 15, and 22-25 years old
100
Who studied effects of Institutionalisation?
Rutter
101
What were the 3 groups of orphans in Rutter's study?
- Adopted before 6 months
- Adopted between 6 months and 2 years
- Adopted after 2 years
102
What was Rutter's aim?
To investigate the extent to which good care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions
103
What were Rutter's initial findings?
- Half the adoptees showed delayed intellectual development and were malnourished
- At age 11, the children showed different rates of recovery that depended on the age they were adopted by
104
What was the intellectual and emotional development of children adopted before 6 months?
Mean IQ of 102
Rarely showed disinhibited attachment
105
What was the intellectual and emotional development of children adopted between 6 months and 2 years?
Mean IQ of 86
Often showed disinhibited attachment
106
What was the intellectual and emotional development of children adopted after 2 years?
Mean IQ of 77
Often showed disinhibited attachment
107
What were the 2 main effects of institutionalisation Rutter found?
Intellectual disability (Mental Retardation)
Disinhibited attachment
108
What are the key characteristics of Disinhibited Attachment?
Clinginess
Attention Seeking
Indiscriminate social behaviour towards all adults
109
Which group of adoptees were most likely to show disinhibited attachment?
Those adopted after 6 months
110
Why did the adoptees show disinhibited attachment?
They lived with multiple caregivers during the sensitive period.
They did not spend enough time with one person to form a specific attachment
111
Which group of adoptees suffered least from Mental Retardation?
Those adopted before 6 months.
These children were likely to catch up with the ability of the control group by the age of 4.
112
When can intellectual and emotional damage be recovered?
If the child is adopted before 6 months, as this is when attachments form
113
Evaluate the Effects of Institutionalisation on Attachments
(need 3)
Good - Real World Application for Social Services
- Knowing about the critical period and effects of no specific attachment has helped to encourage mothers to keep their babies until the critical period has passed before sending them to daycare
- It has also helped speed up the adoption process so babies can be adopted as early as 1 week old, so they can form primary attachments to their adoptive mother
Bad - Culture Bias
- Romanian orphans were compared to British orphans
- There may already be differences between the intellectual and emotional development of Romanian and British children, so it is unfair to compare the two
- This suggests the research support may lack validity or generalisability
Good - Longitudinal Study
- By following the children through life, we can see the short term and long term effects of institutionalisation
- This suggests we have a strong, comprehensive idea of the effects of institutionalisation, and we can use our knowledge to find solutions
Bad - Social Sensitivity
- The adoptee's data about their personality and IQ was published
- This could mean their teachers and parents might treat them differently or lower their expectations or standards for them
- This could create a negative self schema and stop the children from reaching their full intellectual or emotional development
114
What main concept does the influence of attachment and later relationships include?
The Internal Working Model
115
How can the Internal Working Model influence later relationships?
The first attachment creates a mental representation of a relationship that is used for all future relationships.
The child assumes this is how a relationship is meant to be, so will always seek out relationships similar to their primary attachment.
116
Who are the 3 researchers for attachment in childhood?
Kerns
Sroufe
Wilson and Smith
117
What did Kerns suggest?
Securely attached children are more inclined to have good quality relationships with their peers.
Insecurely attached children are more likely to struggle making and maintaining friendships.
118
What is Sroufe's study called?
The Minnesota Child-Parent Study
119
What did Sroufe find in the Minnesota Child-Parent study?
Infants who were rated high in social competence in childhood were more popular and empathetic, and less isolated.
Securely attached children have positive expectations that those they relate to will be friendly and trustworthy in return, making it easier for them to make friends.
120
What did Wilson and Smith study?
Attachment and the influence on bullying
121
What was Wilson and Smith's Procedure?
They assessed 7-11 year olds' attachment types and their involvement in bullying by using questionnaires.
122
What did Wilson and Smith find?
Secure children were least likely to be involved in bullying
Insecure-Avoidant children were most often victims
Insecure-Resistant children were most often bullies
123
Who Researched Relationships in Adulthood?
Bailey et al
124
What did Bailey et al do?
- Assessed attachment types of 100 mothers and infants through the strange situation.
- Interviewed the mothers about their attachment with their own mother to establish their attachment type
125
What did Bailey et al find?
Most women had the same attachment type with their mother and their child, suggesting attachment and parenting style is passed on through generations
126
What animal study can be used to support later adult relationships?
Harlow's monkeys. The maternally deprived monkeys experienced later difficulties finding mates and having children.
127
Who researched Romantic Relationships in Adulthood?
Hazan and Shaver
128
What was Hazan and Shaver's aim?
To see the association between attachment and adult romantic relationships
129
What was Hazan and Shaver's Procedure?
- Analysed 620 responses to a 'Love Quiz'
- The quiz had 3 sections:
1) Assessing current and most important relationships
2) Assessing general love experiences (Number of partners)
3) Assessing attachment type by selecting 1 of 3 statements to best describe their feelings
130
What were the percentages of attachment types in Hazan and Shaver's Love Quiz?
56% Type B
25% Type A
19% Type C
131
What were Hazan and Shaver's findings?
Type B were most likely to have good, long lasting relationships
Type A tended to have jealousy and a fear of intimacy
132
Evaluate the influence of attachment and later relationships
Bad - Early attachments are usually assessed retrospectively
- Most studies are not longitudinal, they just ask adolescent or adult participants about their attachments with their parents to identify the attachment type.
- This may mean the adult attachment type is actually being assessed
- This could mean there are confounding variables, so the research may lack validity
Bad - Methodological Issues
- Most techniques are interviews
- Interviews are self report techniques, and this could mean there is an element of demand characteristics or social desirability
- This matters because it could question the validity of the theories due to there being possible confounding variables
Bad - Psychic Determinism
- The theories like the internal working model suggest all behaviour is a result of childhood attachments
- This removes any free will or environmental factors, which could be negative as there might be other additional explanations that are being ignored.
133
Who came up with Maternal Deprivation?
Bowlby
134
What is Separation?
Not being in the presence of a primary attachment figure
135
What is Deprivation?
Bonds are severed and this causes harm
136
What can extended separation cause?
Deprivation
137
What is the Critical Period?
A sensitive period in which a child should form a primary attachment.
Bowlby suggested it was between 6 months and 2 years, but it can be extended to 2 and a half years.
138
How long is the Critical Period?
From 6months to 2 years old
139
What happens if a child is separated from their mother/primary caregiver during the critical period?
Psychological damage is inevitable and irreversible if suitable substitute care is not provided
140
What are the 2 main effects of maternal deprivation on development?
Damaged Intellectual Development
Damaged Emotional Development
141
What happens to Intellectual Development if there is maternal deprivation?
There is delayed intellectual development
The child usually has abnormally low IQ
(Rutter supports this with his findings from the Romanian Orphan Study)
142
What happens to Emotional Development if there is maternal deprivation?
The child can have affectionless psychopathy
It prevents fulfilling relationships
Their personality is associated with criminals as they lack remorse and empathy
143
What is Affectionless Psychopathy?
The inability to feel guilt or strong emotion towards others
144
How was Affectionless Psychopathy researched?
Through Bowlby's 44 thieves study
145
What was the aim of Bowlby's 44 thieves study?
To investigate the link between maternal deprivation and affectionless psychopathy
146
What was Bowlby's procedure for the 44 thieves study?
Sample: 44 teenagers accused of stealing
- He interviewed them for signs of affectionless psychopathy by looking for lack of guilt, affection and empathy
- He interviewed their families to find out if there were any prolonged early separations from the thieves and their mothers
- He compared these to a control group of 44 emotionally-disturbed youths
147
What were the findings of Bowlby's 44 thieves study?
14 out of the 44 were affectionless psychopaths
12 of these 14 experienced prolonged separations from their mothers in the first 2 years of their lives
5 of the remaining 30 thieves experienced separations
2 from the control group had experienced separations
148
What was the conclusion from Bowlby's 44 thieves study?
Prolongued early separations cause affectionless psychopathy
149
How many of the 44 thieves were affectionless psychopaths?
14
150
How many of the 14 affectionless psychopaths had experienced prolonged early separation?
12 had experienced separation within the first 2 years of their lives
151
How many of the 30 remaining thieves had experienced prolonged early separation?
5
152
How many of the 44 control group had experienced early separation?
2
153
What does Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation include?
Critical Period
Separation and Deprivation
Effects on Emotional and Intellectual development - IQ and Affectionless Psychopathy
Bowlby's 44 thieves study
154
Evaluate Bowlby's theory of Maternal Deprivation
Good - research support from Harlow
- Harlow followed maternally deprived monkeys - those who had not formed a primary attachment with their mother within the critical period
- He found they were more aggressive and less likely to mate
- If they mated, they were likely to kill or harm their young, suggesting maternal deprivation has long lasting, detrimental effects
HOWEVER Bad - Animal extrapolation
Bad - Possible observer bias/flawed methodology
- Bowlby conducted every interview himself
- This means he knew which teenagers experienced separations and which he suspected to be affectionless psychopaths
- He could have intentionally or unintentionally recorded those who matched his hypothesis criteria as affectionless psychopaths, so his results may lack objectivity and validity
Bad - Case study evidence refutes the effects of maternal deprivation
- The Czech twins suffered abuse, isolation and neglect as they were locked in a cupboard until they were 7 years old (long after the critical period)
- When they were discovered and helped, they were successful in relationships and school, and now both have healthy jobs and loving families
- This goes against the ideas that maternal deprivation has long term effects on intellectual and emotional development
HOWEVER
Case studies are idiographic, so we should not generalise the findings to a whole population or general law as it may not be true for everyone
155
Who created the Strange Situation?
Mary Ainsworth
156
What type of experiment is the Strange Situation?
A controlled observation.
(covert for the baby as they were observed through a 2 way mirror or by cameras)
157
What was the aim of the Strange Situation?
To measure the security of attachment a child displays towards a caregiver
158
What did Ainsworth and Bell use to observe the behaviours?
Behavioural Categories
159
What behavioural categories were used in the Strange Situation?
Proximity Seeking
Exploration and Secure Base Behaviour
Stranger Anxiety
Separation Anxiety
Reunion Behaviour (response to reunion)
160
What is Proximity Seeking?
How close to the mother the baby stays
161
What is Exploration and Secure Base Behaviour?
How much the baby explores, and how much they go back to their mother in between exploring (use her as a secure base)
162
What is Stranger Anxiety?
How the baby reacts to an unfamiliar adult
163
What is Separation Anxiety?
How the baby reacts to being away from their mother (being separated)
164
What is Reunion Behaviour?
How the baby responds and greets their mother when she returns after separation
165
What is the procedure of the Strange Situation?
Each stage happened around 3 minutes apart:
Mother and baby are in the room together:
1) Baby is encouraged to explore
2) Stranger enters and tries to interact with the mother and baby
3) Mother leaves the stranger with the baby
4) Mother returns and stranger leaves
5) Mother leaves baby alone
6) Stranger returns
7) Stranger leaves and mother returns and is reunited with her baby
166
What did Ainsworth find?
There were distinct patterns in babies behaviour, allowing her to classify 3 types of attachment
167
What are the 3 types of attachment?
Type B - Secure attachment
Type A - Insecure-Avoidant attachment
Type C - Insecure-Resistant attachment
168
What percentage of British babies are Type B?
60-75%
169
What percentage of British babies are Type A?
20-25%
170
What percentage of British babies are Type C?
3%
171
What are the characteristics of Type B?
Moderate Separation anxiety
Moderate Stranger anxiety - friendlier when mother present
High exploration using mother as secure base
Positive reunion behaviour
172
What are the characteristics of Type A?
Low/No Separation anxiety
Low/No Stranger anxiety
High exploration without using mother as secure base
No reunion behaviour - no effort made to visit mother when she returns
173
What are the characteristics of Type C?
High Separation anxiety
High Stranger anxiety
Low exploration
Approaches caregiver for reunion but resists their comfort
174
What type of attachment is the highest in all countries?
Type B
175
Which countries have Type C as the second highest type of attachment?
Japan and Israel
176
Which countries have Type A as the second highest type of attachment?
Germany, USA and Britain
177
Evaluate Ainsworth's Strange Situation
Good - The outcome predicts a number of aspects of later development
- Wilson and Smith's research show Type B babies are less likely to be involved in bullying in school, and Sroufe suggests Type B babies are likely to have high intelligence
- Research also shows Type B babies have better adulthood mental health
- This suggests the strange situation measures something meaningful in a baby's development
Bad - It could have culture bias
- The Strange Situation is a British and American procedure based on individualist ideals and child rearing techniques
- This could mean it is not applicable for other countries or collectivist cultures as there could be different cultural norms
- This suggests we should not generalise the Strange Situation procedure or findings
Bad - Ainsworth may have oversimplified the attachment types
- Main and Solomon identified a fourth attachment type - Type D: Disorganised attachment
- They identified type D as being a mix of resistant and avoidant behaviours usually due to unusual experiences such as neglect and abuse
- This matters because it could mean that some children are mis classified, or that attachment types are not fully understood in the Strange Situation
178
What did Main and Solomon do?
Identified a fourth attachment type: Type D
179
What is Type D attachment?
Disorganised Attachment
180
What are the characteristics of type D attachment?
A mix of resistant an avoidant behaviours
Most Type D children go on to develop psychological disorders
181
Who researched Cultural Variations of Attachment?
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg
182
What did Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg do?
Investigated the proportions of the types of attachment by using a meta analysis
183
How many studies of the Strange Situation did Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg use?
32
184
How many countries were the Strange Situations in Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg's analysis use?
8
185
How many results did Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg have to analyse?
1,990
186
What is a Meta Analysis?
Combining and analysing findings from multiple studies to draw an overall conclusion
187
What did Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg find?
- Secure attachment (type B) was the most common in every country
- The proportions of Securely attached children varied in each country
- There was a wide variation in the attachment type proportions in each Strange Situation study they used
- Individualist cultures had lower than 14% type C attachment
- Collectivist cultures had over 25% type C attachment
- Variations of results within the same country were 150% greater than the variations between countries
188
What percentage of individualist cultures had type C attachment in VI+K?
less than 14%
189
What percentage of collectivist cultures had type C attachment in VI+K?
more than 25%
190
How much greater was the variation of attachment types across countries compared to between countries?
150%
191
Who researched cultural variations of attachment?
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg
Simonelli
192
What did Simonelli do?
Tested 76 12 month old babies with the strange situation in Italy
193
What did Simonelli find?
There was lower Type B and higher Type A than most studies
194
What does Simonelli's findings suggest?
Attachment types aren't static and vary in line with cultural changes
Cultural practices have an influence on attachment types
195
Evaluate Cultural Variations of Attachment
Good - most of the researchers were indigenous (e.g. Simonelli was Italian conduction and Italian study)
- This means there shouldn't be any cross-cultural problems such as misunderstanding language or relying on unfair stereotypes
- This should enhance validity
Bad - Imposed Etic
- Researchers like Simonelli and Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg tried to apply the test designed for Americans to other cultures
- Normal child-rearing techniques may differ across cultures - for example, normal German child-rearing techniques are harsher and firmer than normal British child-rearing techniques, but the same attachment types are applied
- This suggests it could be an imposed etic if we try to apply the same attachment types to every culture
Bad - Confounding Variables
- A meta analysis was used for different research across cultures
- This could mean different methodology was used, and environmental variables may differ
- This matters because there is a lack of standardisation, and comparisons may be unfair
196
What animals did Harlow research?
Baby Rhesus Monkeys
197
What animals did Lorenz research?
Greylag geese
198
What was Lorenz's procedure?
Lorenz random divided greylag geese eggs into 2 conditions:
1) Control condition - eggs were hatched by the mother and the mother was the first large, moving object the geese saw
2) Experimental condition - Lorenz hatched the eggs in an incubator and he was the first large, moving object the geese saw.
- He marked the geese so he knew which condition was which
- He recorded his movements and the geeses' movements
He tested imprinting by placing all geese under a cardboard box to see who they went to after the box was removed
199
What were Lorenz's findings?
Straight after hatching, the control condition followed their mother and the experimental condition followed Lorenz, showing instant imprinting
The control condition ran straight to the mother goose when the box was removed
The experimental condition ran straight to Lorenz when the box was removed, suggesting imprinting is an irreversible attachment
200
When did Lorenz suggest the critical period for geese imprinting was?
4-25 hours after hatching
201
What did Lorenz conclude?
Imprinting is an irreversible form of attachment
202
What theory did Harlow test?
The cupboard love theory
203
What is the Cupboard Love theory?
The idea that attachment occurs with whoever provides food, and you love that person so you can have food to survive
204
What was Harlow's procedure?
- He reared 16 baby Rhesus Monkeys with 2 model 'mothers':
1) One mother was wire and dispensed milk (cupboard love theory)
2) The other mother was cloth and did not dispense milk (contact comfort)
- After observing the monkeys for a while, he scared them with a loud, mechanical monster to see which model the monkey sought protection from
- He also followed the monkeys who were maternally deprived through later life to see the effects of maternal deprivation
205
What were Harlow's findings?
- Baby monkeys preferred the cloth mothers and cuddled with it frequently
- When scared, the monkeys ran to the cloth mother to seek contact comfort and protection
- This shows contact comfort was more important than food
206
What did Harlow find with the monkeys who were maternally deprived?
He found there were severe effects on their future development.
They were:
-Dysfunctional
- Aggressive
- Less social
- Unskilled at mating
Some even neglected or killed their offspring
207
Evaluate Animal Studies of Attachment
Good - There is research support for imprinting
- Guiton fed chicks with rubber gloves and found they became imprinted
- Some showed signs of sexual imprinting as they tried to mate with the gloves
- This suggests imprinting is an important phenomenon for attachment
Good - There is real world application
- Harlow has helped social workers understand that a lack of bonding may be a risk in child development
- This has allowed people to intervene and put new rules in place to prevent poor development
Bad - Animal Extrapolation
- Geese are not mammals, and humans do not experience imprinting
- Although monkeys are mammals, they have different brain structures, so we cannot assume something as complex as attachment would be the same for humans
- This means we should not generalise the findings onto humans
