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Psychology > Attachment > Flashcards

Attachment Flashcards

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1
Q

Attachment

A

An emotional bond between 2 people in which each seeks closeness and feels more secure when in the presence of the attachment figure.

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2
Q

Reciprocity

A

A form of interaction between the infant and caregiver involving mutual responsiveness, with both infant and mother responding to each other’s signals, and each elicits a response from the other.

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3
Q

Interactional synchrony

A

When 2 people interact and tend to mirror what the other is doing in terms of their facial and body movement (emotions and behaviours).

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4
Q

Stages of attachment - Schaffer and Emerson (1964) study (x2, with detail)

A
  • Longitudinal study (60 babies, first 18 months of life, visited once a month in their own home)
  • Observed with a caregiver on 3 measures:
    1. Stranger anxiety
    2. Separation anxiety
    3. Social referencing (checking with carer for new things)
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5
Q

Stages of attachment - Schaffer and Emerson

A
  1. Asocial
  2. Indiscriminate attachments
  3. Specific attachments
  4. Multiple attachment
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6
Q

Stages of attachment - Asocial (x3)

A
  • 0-6 weeks old
  • Many stimuli elicit to favourable reactions such as smiling, not just social stimuli
  • Happy to be with any adult
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7
Q

Stages of attachment - Indiscriminate attachments (x5)

A
  • 6 weeks - 7 months
  • Enjoy human company
  • Upset when interaction ceases
  • Equal response to any caregiver
  • From 3 months more smiles at familiar caregiver and more easily comforted by them
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8
Q

Stages of attachment - Specific attachment (x5)

A
  • 7-9 months
  • Preference for single attachment (usually mother)
  • Looks to them for protection, security, comfort
  • Fear of stranger and separation anxiety (some more intense)
  • Attachment formed
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9
Q

Stages of attachment - Multiple attachment (x8)

A
  • 10 months onwards
  • Enjoy human company
  • Increasingly independent
  • Several attachments to those who respond to signals
  • Time spent with people less important
  • Intensely attached infants had attachment figures who responded quickly and interacted, played and communicated
  • 50% mother main attachment
  • Father for most of the rest
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10
Q

Harry Harlow - studies on dependencies in monkeys - findings (x4)

A
  • Even though the infants received nourishment from the wire mother, they still spent more time with the terry cloth mother (the bond is not purely physiological)
  • The infants who grew up with the terry cloth mother exhibited emotional attachment and what is considered as normal behaviour when presented with stressful variables. When they felt threatened, they went to the cloth mother.
  • Monkeys did not go to the wire mother for comfort.
  • They were willing to explore an unknown environment with the cloth mother present, but with the wire monkey they felt distressed and anxious.
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11
Q

Harry Harlow - studies on dependencies in monkeys - conclusions (x2)

A
  • Rhesus monkeys have an innate, unlearned need for contact comfort, suggesting that attachment concerns emotional security more than food.
  • Contact comfort is associated with lower levels of stress and a willingness to explore,indicating emotional security.
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12
Q

Harry Harlow - studies on dependencies in monkeys - behavioural differences (between monkeys with surrogate mothers compared to normal mothers) (x5 behaviours, x2 conclusions)

A
  1. They were much more timid
  2. They didn’t know how to act with other monkeys
  3. They were easily bullied and wouldn’t stand up for themselves
  4. They had difficulty with mating
  5. The females were inadequate mothers
  • These behaviours were only observed in monkeys left with the surrogate mothers for more than 90 days.
  • Less than 90 days: the effects could be reversed if placed in a normal environment where they could form attachments.
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13
Q

Harlow - critical period for attachment (x3)

A
  • 90 days
  • Behavioural differences were only observed in monkeys left with the surrogate mothers for more than 90 days.
  • Less than 90 days: the effects could be reversed if placed in a normal environment where they could form attachments.
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14
Q

Behavioural explanation of attachment (x4)

A
  • Dollard and Miller, 1950
  • All behaviour is learned - including attachment
  • Classical conditioning (association of stimulus)
  • Operant conditioning (food becomes the primary reinforcer as it ‘stamps in’ the behaviours associated with attachment, the food giver becomes the secondary reinforcer as the child seeks the person who can provide the reward)
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15
Q

Bowlby’s attachment theory (x6)

A
  • A child has innate needs to attach to one attachment figure
  • Social releaser - crying
  • There is a ‘sensitive’ period: a child should receive continuous care from the primary attachment figure for the first 2 years
  • An internal working model is created
  • Monotropy and hierarchy - one primary attachment figure
  • Continuity hypothesis
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16
Q

Bowlby’s internal working model (features)

A

Primary carer’s behaviour towards child —> child’s ‘working model’ of itself:
- Positive and loved —> secure
- Unloved and rejected —> avoidant
- Angry and confused —> resistant

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17
Q

Internal working model (definition) (x2)

A
  • A cognitive framework comprising mental representations for understanding the world, self and others, and is based on the relationship with a primary caregiver.
  • It becomes a prototype for all future social relationships and allows individuals to predict, control and manipulate interactions with others.
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18
Q

Konrad Lorenz - Theory of imprinting in psychology (1935) (x6)

A
  • Investigating the mechanisms of imprinting, where some species of animals form an attachment to the first large moving object that they meet
  • 1/2 of eggs placed under goose mother, and 1/2 hatched in an incubator
  • 1/2 followed the mother goose, 1/2 regarded Lorenz as their mother
  • Geese follow the first moving object they see (imprinting)
  • Suggests that attachment is innate and programmed genetically
  • Lorenz believed that once imprinting had occurred, it cannot be reversed, nor can a gosling imprint on anything else
19
Q

Critical period (definition)

A

A fixed and crucial time during the early development of an organism when it can learn things that are essential to survival. These influences impact the development of process such as hearing and vision, social bonding, and language learning.

20
Q

Bowlby - Maternal deprivation hypothesis (x4)

A
  • Critical period: 0-2 years (continuous) until aged 5
  • If no attachment formed: irreversible consequences, increased aggression, less intelligence
  • Continued disruption of attachment between infant and primary caregiver could result in long term cognitive, social and emotional difficulties.
    —> Consequences: delinquency, depression, affectionless psychopathy (difficulty in showing empathy or concern for others), aggressive behaviour
21
Q

Mary Answorth - The strange situation (aims, procedure)

A
  • Determine the nature of attachment, attachment behaviours and attachment styles
    1. Mother, baby experimenter (<1 min)
    2. Mother, baby
    3. Stranger enters
    4. Mother leaves
    5. Mother returns and stranger leaves
    6. Mother leaves: infant is alone
    7. Stranger returns
    8. Mother returns and stranger leaves
22
Q

Mary Ainsworth - The strange situation (interactional behaviours recorded) (x7)

A
  • Proximity and contact seeking
  • Contact maintaining
  • Avoidance of proximity and contact
  • Resistance to contact and comforting
    Plus:
  • Exploratory behaviours (e.g moving around the room, playing with toys)
  • Search behaviours (e.g following mother to the door)
  • Affect displays negative (e.g crying, smiling)

Observations were recorded every 15 seconds and placed into behavioural categories (they also measured the intensity of the behaviours).

23
Q

Mary Ainsworth - The strange situation - Attachment styles

A
  • Secure type B (70%)
  • Resistant (15%)
  • Avoidant (15%)
24
Q

Attachment styles - secure type B (x4)

A
  • Distressed when the mother leaves
  • Avoidant of stranger when alone, but friendly when the mother is present
  • Positive and happy when mother returns
  • Uses the mother as a safe base to explore their environment
25
Q

Attachment styles - resistant (x4)

A
  • Intense distress when the mother leaves
  • The infant avoids the stranger - shows fear of the stranger
  • The infant approaches the mother, but resists contact, may even push her away
  • The infant cries more and explores less than the other 2 types
26
Q

Attachment styles - avoidant (x4)

A
  • No sign of distress when the mother leaves
  • The infant is okay with the stranger and plays normally when the stranger is present
  • The infant shows little interest when the mother returns
  • The mother and stranger are able to comfort the infant equally well
27
Q

Caregiver sensitivity hypothesis

A

Attachment style is dependent on behaviour that the mother shows towards them.

28
Q

Schaffer and Emerson (1964) - Multiple attachments and the role of the father study findings (x3)

A
  • 65% - first attachment was to mother
  • 30% mothers joint first / 27% fathers joint first
  • 3% fathers first specific
29
Q

What explains the respective roles (mother and father)? (x2)

A
  1. Biological factors - oestrogen promotes interpersonal goals
  2. Social factors - sex stereotypes on sensitivity to other prevails (mothers nurture, fathers ‘play’)
30
Q

Factors affecting the relationship between fathers and children (x4)

A
  1. Degree of sensitivity - Fathers who show sensitivity to their children’s needs have more secure attachments.
  2. Type of attachment with own parents - Single parent fathers tend to form similar attachments with their children that they had with their own parents.
  3. Marital intimacy - The degree of intimacy a father has with his partner affects the type of attachment he has with his children.
  4. Supportive co-parenting - The amount of support a father gives to his partner in helping to care for children affects the type of attachment he will have with his children.
31
Q

Ainsworth - Maternal sensitivity scale (x3)

A
  • Mothers who were more accepting, cooperative and accessible tended to have more securely attached infants.
  • Infants of rejecting mothers who paid less attention when the infant entered the room, tended to have avoidant infants.
  • Mothers who were occupied with their own activities when holding the infant tended to have resistant infants.
32
Q

Rutter et al (2010) - Romanian Orphan Studies - Aim

A

To examine the long term effects of institutionalisation in a longitudinal study, beginning in the ERA (English and Romanian Adoptees).

33
Q

Rutter et al (2010) - Romanian Orphan Studies - Method (x2)

A
  • 165 Romanian orphans were compared against a control group of 52 British children adopted at the same time.
  • All were assessed in terms of their physical, intellectual, emotional and social development at the ages of 4, 6, 11 and 15 years.
34
Q

Rutter et al (2010) - Romanian Orphan Studies - Results (IQ)

A
  • When they first arrived, 1/2 of the Romanian orphans showed damage to intellectual development (low IQs).
  • At age 11 they showed different improvements in IQ depending on the age of their adoption.
    —> Adopted by 6 months - IQ 102
    —> Adopted between 6 months and 2 years - IQ 86
    —> Adopted after 2 years - IQ 77
35
Q

Rutter et al (2010) - Romanian Orphan Studies - Results (Disinhibited attachment)

A

Those adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment. Those adopted before 6 months did not show this.

36
Q

Disinhibited attachment

A

This includes symptoms such as clinginess, attention seeking and indiscriminate behaviour directed to all adults.

37
Q

Rutter et al (2010) - Romanian Orphan Studies - Conclusion

A

Institutionalisation can have severe long-term effects on development, especially if children are not provided with adequate emotional caregiving (i.e adopted by 2 years old).

38
Q

Zeenah et al (2005) - Procedure (x4)

A
  • Assessed attachment in 95 children aged 12-31 months who had spent most of their lives in institutional care (90% on average).
  • They were compared to a control group of 50 children who had never lived in an institution.
  • Their attachment type was measured using the Strange Situation.
  • Carers we’re also asked about unusual social behaviour.
39
Q

Zeenah et al (2005) - Findings (x3)

A
  • Almost 3/4 of the control group were classified as being securely attached to their caregivers.
  • Less than 1/5 of the infants from the experimental group were deemed to have a secure attachment.
  • Almost 2/3 of these infants appeared to have a disinhibited attachment.
40
Q

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1998) - Procedure (x4)

A
  • Meta analysis of 32 studies (27/32 were individualistic cultures)
  • 1990 infants
  • 8 countries
  • Comparing attachment types around the world
41
Q

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1998) - Findings (x3)

A
  • Secure attachment was the most common type of attachment, in all the cultures examined.
  • Japan and Israel (collectivist cultures) showed higher levels of insecure-resistant attachment in comparison to other cultures.
  • Germany (an individualistic culture) showed higher levels of insecure-avoidant attachment, in comparison to other cultures.
42
Q

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1998) - Conclusion

A

Most babies across all cultures have a secure attachment.

43
Q

Takahashi (1990) - Procedure (x3)

A
  • Replicated the Strange Situation
  • 60 middle class Japanese infants and mothers
  • Using the same standardised procedure and behavioural categories
44
Q

Takahashi (1990) - Findings (x6)

A
  • Revealed distinct cultural differences in how the infants responded to the 8 stages of the procedure
  • 0% insecure-avoidant
  • Infants became severely depressed in the ‘infant alone step’ (unnatural and broke cultural norms)
  • 32% insecure-resistance
  • 68% secure
  • 90% of infant-alone steps had to be stopped due to excessive infant anxiety

Psychology (14 decks)

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