attachment

Question 1

what are the two caregiver and infant interactions

Answer 1

interactional synchrony and reciprocity

Question 2

what is reciprocity

Answer 2

Interactions between caregivers and infants are not simply one-way, they are reciprocal. For example, when the baby smiles, it will often make the mother smile back and vice versa. These kinds of reciprocal interactions strengthen the emotional connection between infant and caregiver.

turn taking

Question 3

what is interactional synchrony

Answer 3

The reciprocal interactions between infant and caregiver are somewhat synchronised. For example, you might pull a funny face, the baby laughs, and then you laugh back. These kinds of interactions are rhythmic and co-ordinated, with both infant and caregiver ‘taking turns’ in a similar way to how adults take turns to speak in conversations.

Question 4

supporting evidence for reciprocity

Answer 4

Meltzoff and Moore (1977) found that infants copy the hand movements and facial expressions of caregivers, which supports mimicking as a feature of caregiver-infant interactions.

Question 5

who identified the stages of attachment

Answer 5

Schaffer and Emerson

Question 6

what are Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment

Answer 6

1. pre-attachment
2. indiscriminate attachment
3. specific attachment
4. multiple attachment

Question 7

when is the pre-attachment stage

Answer 7

birth - 3 months

Question 8

when in the indiscriminate stage

Answer 8

3 - 8 months

Question 9

when is the specific attachment stage

Answer 9

8 months

Question 10

when is the multiple attachment stage

Answer 10

10 months onwards

Question 11

what is the pre-attachment stage

Answer 11

From a very early stage, babies enjoy the company of other people and prefer humans over objects and other non-human things. However, the baby is not able to tell the difference between different human faces.

Question 12

what is the indiscriminate stage

Answer 12

After about 3 months, the baby can tell the difference between different human faces and starts to prefer familiar ones. However, the baby does not mind unfamiliar faces and will allow a stranger to handle them without getting upset.

Question 13

what is the specific attachment stage

Answer 13

From about 7 or 8 months, the baby’s attachment to its primary caregiver (e.g. its mother) is particularly strong. The baby demonstrates separation anxiety (distress from being away from its primary caregiver) and a fear of strangers.

Question 14

what is the multiple attachment stage

Answer 14

After around 9 or 10 months, the infant will begin forming attachments to other familiar faces, such as grandparents and other children. However, the strongest emotional attachment is with the primary caregiver (usually the mother).

Question 15

two opposing views on the role of the father

Answer 15

primary caregiver OR playmate

Question 16

procedure of lorenz’s experiment

Answer 16

Lorenz split a clutch of goose eggs into two groups:
One group of goslings hatched naturally by the mother.
The other group hatched in an incubator, and Lorenz himself was the first moving object the newly hatched goslings experienced.
Lorenz marked the goslings so he could tell which ones were in which group.
Then, the goslings were placed together under a box.
When the box was lifted up, their behaviour was recorded.

Question 17

results of lorenz’s experiment

Answer 17

The naturally hatched goslings followed their mother immediately after birth, whereas the incubator goslings followed Lorenz about.
In the box test, the naturally hatched goslings went straight to their mother once the box was lifted up, whereas the incubator goslings went straight to Lorenz.

Question 18

A03 of lorenz

Answer 18

Relation to other theories: The fact that the imprinting always occurred within 4-25 hours after birth could provide support for Bowlby’s concept of a critical period for newborn baby humans to form attachments.

Methodological concerns: Geese are very different to humans and so is unclear from this study the extent to which imprinting occurs in newborn baby humans (if at all).

Question 19

harlow’s procedure

Answer 19

**16 baby monkeys **were separated from their natural mothers.
In place of the natural mother, the monkeys were put into cages and given surrogate mothers in 1 of 4 possible setups:
1. A wire mother who produced milk and a soft towel mother who did not produce milk.
2. A wire mother who did not produce milk and a soft towel mother who did produce milk.
3. Only a wire mother who produced milk.
4. Only a soft towel mother who produced milk.
Harlow recorded how much time the monkeys spent with each mother and how much time they spent feeding.
Harlow would occasionally expose the monkeys to a loud noise to test which mother they preferred under stress.

Question 20

results of harlows experiment

Answer 20

Monkeys spent more time with the soft towel mother regardless of whether it produced milk or not.
When exposed to the loud noise, monkeys would cling on to the soft towel mother for comfort.
Monkeys with only the wire mother exhibited physiological signs of stress such as diarrhoea.
suggest monkeys are born with an innate need for comforting via physical contact and that this physical contact is more important for attachment than food

Question 21

A03 harlow

Answer 21

Ethical concerns: Harlow’s experiments have been criticised as unethical due to the harm inflicted on the monkeys.
Methodological concerns: As an animal study, it is unclear whether the results can be generalised to human beings.
applications: shows how neglect can impact development/ relationship with own kids; as monkeys without a cloth mother neglected their own kids and even killed them

Question 22

learning theory of attachment

Answer 22

classical and operant conditioning

Question 23

classical conditioning in attachment

Answer 23

a naturally pleasurable stimulus (in this case, feeding) becomes associated with a neutral stimulus (in this case, the caregiver). Because the pleasurable stimulus (feeding) occurs at the same time as the neutral stimulus (the caregiver’s presence), the infant eventually learns to associate the caregiver with pleasure even without food:

Question 24

operant conditioning in attachment

Answer 24

For example, reducing the unpleasant feeling of hunger may negatively reinforce attachment towards the caregiver.

Question 25

strengths of learning theory of attachement

Answer 25

Theoretical support: The learning theory of attachment is based on behaviourism, which has some supporting evidence. For example, Pavlov demonstrated classical conditioning in dogs, which may apply to humans and attachment behaviours.

Question 26

weaknesses of learning theory of attachement

Answer 26

Conflicting evidence: S**chaffer and Emerson (1964) found that 39% of infants developed a primary attachment to someone other than the mother **(the person who fed them).
**Harlow’s research on monkeys **also challenges the learning theory of attachment because the monkeys were more attached to the comforting mother than the feeding mother, which may translate to human attachment too.

Reductionist: Although conditioning may explain some behaviours, to explain all attachment behaviour in terms of conditioning may be overly reductive. For example, the learning theory of attachment ignores all the cognitive processes and emotions that influence attachment.

Question 27

what is bowbly’smonotropic theory

Answer 27

argued that humans evolved an innate capacity to form an attachment to one (hence monotropic) attachment figure from birth – usually the mother. Although infants may develop other attachments beyond this, these attachments are secondary and much less important.

Bowlby’s explanation of monotropic theory is evolutionary: In a dangerous environment, infants would die if left to fend for themselves, so nature selects for those babies who naturally behave in ways that form bonds with caregivers who will protect them.

Question 28

what is bowbly’s monotropic theory

Answer 28

this critical period is 12 months after birth. Although some infants may develop attachments after this time, Bowlby believed all infants must develop attachments within 3 years. According to Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis, forming an attachment to the mother in this critical period is essential for healthy psychological development.

Question 29

bowbly: internal working model

Answer 29

Bowlby’s theory says that an infant’s monotropic (primary) attachment forms a template for all relationships that follow. This template is known as the internal working model and is a cognitive framework through which the individual understands themself and their expectations for relationships to other people. The internal working model also creates some consistency between the emotional experiences of early life and the emotional experiences of later relationships.

Question 30

strengths of monotropic theory

Answer 30

, Lorenz’s observation that imprinting in newborn goslings could only occur 4-25 hours after birth provides support for a critical period in human infant development. This imprinting behaviour is also monotropic: the goslings became attached to a single person (or large moving object) only. However, as an animal study, it is unclear how much Lorenz’s findings translate to humans.

Question 31

weaknesses of monotropic theory

Answer 31

Conflicting evidence: In contrast to Bowlby, Schaffer’s stages of attachment show that most babies develop multiple attachments after 10 months, rather than just the one monotropic attachment proposed by Bowlby. Further,* Rutter’s Romanian orphan* studies suggest that infants can form attachments even after the critical period proposed by monotropic theory.
Stereotypical: Bowlby’s monotropic theory supports the sex-role stereotype that women should stay home looking after children. However, some research suggests that fathers can fulfil this role instead.

Question 32

what are the 3 types of attachment

Answer 32

secure, insecure avoidant and insecure resistant

Question 33

what is a secure attachment type

Answer 33

children who show some distress when their caregiver leaves but are able to compose themselves quickly when the caregiver returns. Children with secure attachment feel protected by their caregivers, and they know that they can depend on them to return.

Question 34

what is an insecure-avoidant attachment type

Answer 34

Children who develop an ‘avoidant’ attachment pattern are thought to maintain proximity to their caregiver by ‘down-regulating’ their attachment behaviour: they appear to manage their own distress and do not strongly signal a need for comfort.

Question 35

what is an insecure-resistant attachment type

Answer 35

extremely distressed by the separations and cannot be soothed at reunions, essentially displaying much distress and angry resistance to interactions with the caregiver

Question 36

stages of ainsworths strange situation

Answer 36

1. Mother + infant
2. Mother + stranger + infant
3. stranger + infant
4. Mother + infant
5. infant
6. stranger + infant
7. Mother + infant

Question 37

ainsworths strange situation study

procedure

Answer 37

involved 106 infants 9-18 months old and their mothers. The aim of this study was to test the infants’ stranger anxiety, separation anxiety, and reunion behaviour. Ainsworth also wanted to observe infants’ exploration behaviour

Question 38

A03 stange situation

Answer 38

Replicable and reliable: Ainsworth’s procedure has a clearly defined procedure with operationalised variables. This enables researchers to replicate the study and verify the reliability of the findings.
Questions of ecological/external validity: The strange situation procedure is conducted in a laboratory and follows a script that may be unlike real life separations. For example, Brofenbenner (1979) found infants were more distressed when separated from parents in the laboratory situation than at home due to the unfamiliar environment. As such, findings from these studies may lack ecological validity when applied to real-life attachments.
Ethical concerns: Some may argue that the strange situation procedure is unethical as it involves deliberately causing stress to infants. On the other hand, this stress caused is similar to everyday experiences for infants (e.g. being left at pre-school or with a babysitter).

Question 39

secure attachment % in strange situation

Answer 39

70%

Question 40

how secure attchment acts in the strange situation

Answer 40

Stranger anxiety: The infant is happy and plays as normal when both the mother and stranger are present, but becomes distressed when the mother leaves them alone with the stranger.
Separation anxiety: The infant becomes distressed when the mother leaves.
Reunion behaviour: The infant is calmed and becomes happy again once reunited with the mother.
Exploration behaviour: The infant uses the mothers as a ‘base’ from which to safely explore the room and return to.

Question 41

insecure avoidant % in strange situation

Answer 41

15%

Question 42

how insecure avoidant attchment acts in the strange situation

Answer 42

Stranger anxiety: The infant does not become distressed when left alone with the stranger and carries on playing as normal.
Separation anxiety: The infant does not become distressed when the mother leaves.
Reunion behaviour: The infant carries on playing and is indifferent when the mother returns.
Exploration behaviour: The infant explores its environment, but does not treat the mother as the base from which it explores and returns to.

Question 43

insecure resistant % in strange situation

Answer 43

15%

Question 44

how insecure resistant attchment acts in the strange situation

Answer 44

Stranger anxiety: The infant avoids the stranger even when the mother is also present.
Separation anxiety: The infant becomes distressed when the mother leaves.
Reunion behaviour: The infant seeks the mother when she returns, but resists direct contact (e.g. pushing her away)
Exploration behaviour: The infant is much less likely to explore its environment.

Question 45

who conducted a meta analysis on the strange situation

Answer 45

Van Ijzendoorn

Question 46

where was the data of the meta-analysis of attachment from

Answer 46

data from 32 studies across 8 countries.

Question 47

results of Van Ijzendoorn meta-analysis

Answer 47

These results suggest that culture does play a part in attachment styles. For example, studies in Western cultures (e.g. Germany, Britain, USA) tended to observe significantly** higher insecure-avoidant** attachment styles. In contrast, Japan, China, and Israel had significantly higher insecure-resistant attachment styles.

However, in many cases, intra-cultural differences were often greater than inter-cultural differences For example, while one USA study observed 94% of infants had insecure-avoidant attachments, a different USA study observed that just 47% of infants had insecure-avoidant attachments.

Question 48

what is bowbly’s depreivation theory

Answer 48

, Bowlby argued that if infants are separated from their mothers for a long time (deprivation) during the critical period (e.g. when the mother dies) then it will permanently damage the infant’s psychological development. For example, he believed that maternal deprivation can lead to aggression, social maladjustment, and depression.

Question 49

support for maternal deprivation

Answer 49

44 thieves
Of the 44 thieves, 17 (39%) had been separated from their mothers before age 2
In comparison, just 2 children in the control group (4.6%) had been separated from their mothers before age 2
Further, Bowlby identified 14 of the thieves as ‘affectionless psychopaths’, and of these 14 affectionless psychopaths, 12 (86%) had been separated from their mothers for more than 6 months before age 2.

Question 50

strengths of maternal deprivation

research [x2]

Answer 50

Goldfarb (1943) also supports the maternal deprivation hypothesis. Goldfarb found that children raised in orphanages (i.e. without mothers) for the first 3 years of life suffered intellectually and socially in later life.

+44 thieves

Question 51

weaknesses of maternal deprivation

Answer 51

**Methodological **concerns: Bowlby’s study took the form of interviews with the subjects. However, this method has been criticised for researcher bias as Bowlby’s own theories and pre-conceived ideas may have influenced the questions he asked and his interpretations of the answers. For example, Bowlby’s expectation that maternal deprivation could cause a child to become an ‘affectionless psychopath’ could have biased him to diagnose children who were separated from their mothers as such. Because of this, Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis may not be valid.
Reversible: Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis argued that the effects of deprivation in the critical period permanently damage the infant’s psychological development. However, Rutter’s Romanian orphan study suggests these effects are largely reversible, which weakens support for Bowlby’s hypothesis.
Alternative explanations: Although Bowlby and Goldfarb (1943) demonstrate correlations between maternal deprivation and poor psychological development in later life, this does not prove maternal deprivation causes poor psychological development. For example, it could be that poor conditions in the orphanages (e.g. poverty, crowding, etc.) are what caused poor psychological development in these children rather than maternal deprivation specifically.

Question 52

effects of institutionalisation

Answer 52

Delayed language development
Mental retardation/low IQ
Disinhibited attachment (e.g. treating strangers the same way they would their primary caregiver)
Delayed physical development (e.g. reduced growth)
Difficulties forming relationships in adulthood

Question 53

who did the romanian orphan studies

Answer 53

Rutter 1998

Question 54

key aim of romanian orphan study

Answer 54

was to see whether the effects of such extreme privation in early life could be overcome with love and care.

Question 55

procedure of romanian orphan study

Answer 55

The subjects were 111 children who had been placed in Romanian orphanages before 2 weeks of age. Rutter and colleagues studied these children according to 3 categories:
* Children adopted into British families before 6 months old
* Children adopted into British families between 6 months and 2 years of age
* Children adopted into British families after 2 years of age
The control group was 52 British children adopted into British families
The study was a longitudinal study: it would measure the physical and cognitive development of infants at ages 4, 6, and 11

Question 56

findings of romanian orphan study

Answer 56

• By age 4, the Romanian orphans adopted before 6 months old had caught up (physically and cognitively) with the British orphan control group
• By age 4, the Romanian orphans adopted after 6 months old had made significant physical and cognitive progress but had not fully caught up with the British orphan control group. Many of the orphans in this group displayed disinhibited attachments
• A subsequent follow up at age 6 found the developmental improvements were maintained but not improved upon
• And at age 11, around 50% of the children who had displayed disinhibited attachments early on were still doing so

Question 57

conclusuion of findings of romanian orphan study

Answer 57

findings suggest institutionalisation can be largely reversed if the infant is shown love and care. However, the longer the infant goes without forming an attachment, the more likely they are to suffer permanent developmental issues.

Question 58

AO3 romanian orphan studies

Answer 58

• Rutter did not have much information on the infants’ lives in orphanages prior to adoption and so relevant experiences in these institutions could have been missed. This lack of information makes it difficult to determine the extent of each orphan’s privation and identify which aspects are most important for development.
• Bowlby’s **maternal deprivation hypothesis argued that the effects of deprivation in the critical period permanently damage **the infant’s psychological development, but Rutter’s findings suggest these effects are largely reversible.
• also a chance that more socialable children were chosen first

Question 59

what is the continuity hypothesis

Answer 59

the theory that attachments in early life form the basis for attachments later on, i.e. that there is continuity between early and later attachments.

Question 60

how does early infant attachment affect childhood

Answer 60

Youngblade and Belsky (1992) conducted a longitudinal study of 73 children. They found that children who had demonstrated secure attachment styles at 1 year old **(as measured using the strange situation procedure) were more likely to have close friendships and get along well with other children by ages 3-5. The continuity between infant attachment and child friendships is also supported by *Laible et al (2000), who found that *adolescents who scored highly for parent attachment were also more likely to score highly for peer attachment too.

Question 61

how does early infant attachment affect adulthood

romantic relationships

Answer 61

Hazan and Shaver (1987) conducted a study to test for continuity between infant attachment styles and romantic attachments as adults. Participants completed questionnaires that asked them to say which of 3 statements best applied to their feelings on romantic relationships – and each of these 3 statements would correspond to one of Ainsworth’s attachment styles (secure, insecure-avoidant, and insecure-resistant). Participants were also asked to complete a checklist on childhood relationships with parents, with answers again corresponding to Ainsworth’s attachment styles.

The researchers found correlations between infant attachment styles and views on romantic relationships. For example, participants who were identified as securely attached infants from the childhood checklist tended to have longer lasting relationships and lower divorce rates as adults compared to those with insecure infant attachment styles. Both insecure attachment styles were more vulnerable to loneliness, with insecure-resistant types being most likely to be lonely. Adults who had insecure-avoidant attachment styles as infants tended to believe that love is rare and felt that they did not need romantic partners to be happy.

Question 62

strengths of continuity hypothesis

Answer 62

supporting evidence:
1. Hazan and Shaver
2. Youngblade and Belsky

Question 63

weaknesses of the continuity hypothesis

Answer 63

Alternative explanations: The continuity between infant attachment and relationships in adulthood could be explained in other ways besides the continuity hypothesis. For example, Kagan and Snidman (2004) instead argue for the temperament hypothesis: The idea that humans have innate and biologically determined personality traits. These innate character traits are present from birth and are consistent into adulthood, and it is these innate character traits that influence both infant and adult relationship styles rather than a learned internal working model as proposed by Bowlby.
association doesn’t mean causality - . A third environmental factor such as parenting style might have a direct effect on both attachment and the child’s ability to form relationships with others. Alternatively, the child’s temperament may influence both infant attachment and the quality of later relationships. This is a limitation because it is counter to Bowlby’s view that the internal working model caused these later outcomes.
opposing evidence - Zimmerman (2000) found that there was very little relationship between quality of an infant’s attachment and adolescent attachment to parents. This is a problem because this is not what is expected if internal working models were important in the development of future relationships.