ATTACHMENT Flashcards
complete --> reciprocity, interactional synchrony, Schaffer and Emerson, animal studies of attachment, learning theory of attachment, institutionalisation, influence of early attachment, Bowlby's monotropic theory, strange situation, maternal deprivation
attachment definition
strong emotional bond between a caregiver and infant, in which each seeks closeness and feels more secure when in the presence of the attachment figure
reciprocal and enduring
Maccoby’s characteristics
proximity seeking
separation anxiety
pleasure when reunited
general orientation of behaviour
proximity seeking
desire to be close to the person to whom you are attached
separation anxiety
distress that results from being separated from attachment figure
pleasure when reunited
relief and observable joy when reunited
general orientation of behaviour
child’s awareness of where that person is and the reassurance they feel from being close
caregiver-infant interactions
mother-infant bond develops in the first year of life
non-verbal communication lays foundation for attachment development
more responsive or sensitive, the deeper the attachment
reciprocity
develops at 3 months
two-way mutual process, respond to each other’s signals to sustain interactions (turn-taking)
increases in frequency and amount of attention paid to verbal and facial communication (3 months +)
elicits a response from the other
show sensitive responsiveness
Tronick et al ‘Still Face Study’
research into reciprocity
mother and baby would interact normally and get reactions out of each other
mother stares motionless at the baby and didn’t respond
baby tries to regain mother’s attention and becomes distressed and cries
interactional synchrony
caregiver and infant reflect actions and emotions of each other in a synchronised way
mirror facial and body movements
sustains communication and helps develop an attachment
Isabella et al
research into interactional synchrony
observed 30 mothers and infants together and assessed degree of synchrony
correlation established between stongly attached infants and greater interactional synchrony
reciprocity vs interactional synchrony
RECIPROCITY - turn taking in speech, respond to each other, elicit responses
INTERACTIONAL SYNCHRONY - mirroring behaviour, coordinating movement
Meltzoff and Moore
research into interactional synchrony
procedure
observed 2-week old infants
adult would display 1/3 expressions or gestures
infant’s response was filmed and identified
observers didn’t know what the infants had seen
Meltzoff and Moore
research into interactional synchrony
conclusions
found an association between adults and babies’ expressions and gestures
suggests this behaviour is innate rather than learnt
imitations were intentional and began to acquire understanding of others’ feelings and thoughts –> fundamental for social relationships
Meltzoff and Moore
research into interactional synchrony
strengths
controlled, overt, non-participant observation
used independent observer
could not see adults so did not know what the adults had seen
not influenced by each other
decreases bias (less inclined to be incorrectly convinced of what the baby is doing)
good replicability - standardised procedures, filmed for consistency
more ethical than experiment - not unreasonable interaction, no harm
Meltzoff and Moore
research into interactional synchrony
weaknesses
controlled experiment - unnatural behaviour
demand characteristics - would not affect babies who would understand or know how to act
caregiver-infant interactions evaluation
strengths
well controlled research studies
- interactions filmed from multiple angles –> fine details recorded and analysed
- conclusions more valid –> inter-rater reliability established from independent researchers who re-watched and compared results
practical applications
- understanding impact on attachment bond is useful to wider society
- can encourage closer attachments –> leads to better future relationships, less likely to develop mental health issues
- help implement programmes for parents
caregiver-infant interactions evaluation
weaknesses
interpretation issues
- Meltzoff and Moore - difficult to interpret facial expressions
- may be some differences in how far facial expressions are replicated
- assuming that babies are imitating what they see, but do not know why (could just be due to chance)
- other studies (Koepke) failed to replicate findings –> lacks replicability and consistency
purpose is unclear
- findings do not tell us why such behaviours occur
- some research suggests that interactions are helpful in development but some don’t
—— Le Vine reported that Kenyan mothers have little physical contact or interaction with infants, but they still develop secure attachments
- lacks population validity and generalisability
- not necessary for development
pseudo-imitation
- child only responding to expressions rather than interacting
- casts doubt on purpose of attachments and role in social development
social sensitivity
- interactions affect quality of attachment
- indicate that low interaction leads to insecure attachment which may lead into adulthood
- places blame of poor development on mother
cause and effect issues
- Isabella found association between strongly attached infants and caregivers and greater interactional synchrony
- can’t conclude why interactions or imitations occur
- only a correlation, no cause and effect established
stages of attachment
asocial
indiscriminate attachments
specific attachments
multiple attachments
Schaffer and Emerson aims
to investigate whether attachments develops through a series of stages
to see whether any stages found were common in all infants
Schaffer and Emerson procedure
longitudinal study
sample of 60 babies from working class in Glasgow
data collected through observations in homes every 4 weeks until the age of one and again at 18 months
interviews conducted with families
mothers asked to record evidence
Schaffer and Emerson
what 3 measures were mothers asked to record evidence for?
STRANGER ANXIETY - response to arrival of stranger
SEPARATION ANXIETY - distress level when separated from carer (e.g. full-blown cry or whimper)
SOCIAL REFERENCING - degree to which child used mother as a secure base
Schaffer and Emerson
results
mother was main attachment figure for half of the 18-month-olds (other half was the father)
at 8 months old, 50 had more than one attachment
20 either had no attachment with their mother or had a stronger attachment with someone else even though the mother was the main carer
Schaffer and Emerson
conclusions
infants do form attachments in stages and can attach to many people
suggests that attachment is innate (same trend at same age)
quality of care is important - may not attach to mother if others are more sensitive or caring (sensitive responsiveness)
Schaffer and Emerson strengths
large sample size = 60 babies
standardised interviews, can replicate to check consistency and reliability
good applicability - know what may cause distress or understand what is healthy / normal
Schaffer and Emerson weaknesses
lacks ecological validity and generalisability
- from Glasgow, working class families
- e.g. others may have a nanny or have different family dynamics
- only in individualistic community
interpreting behaviour is subjective
babies not all approached at same age
interviews influenced by social desirability, sensitive topic, reduced validity
asocial
0-6 weeks
many kinds of stimuli produce a favourable reaction in infant
towards end of this stage, infant learns to separate people from objects but doesn’t have any strong preference about who cares for them
indiscriminate attachments
within first 6 months
infant starts to clearly distinguish and recognise different people, smiling more at people they know compared to strangers
still not strong preference as to who cares for them
specific attachments
7-9 months
infant will form true, emotionally strong attachments with specific people
content when a specific person is around, distressed when they leave and happy when they return
may show stranger anxiety
multiple attachments
10 months +
infant can form attachments to many people
secondary attachments e.g. siblings, grandparents
some may be stronger than others and have different functions e.g. play or comfort
doesn’t seem to be a limit to the number of attachments infant can form
stages of attachment strengths
children with multiple attachments are at an advantage as they can form and conduct social relationships more easily
- have experience, if lose an attachment figure, have others to turn to
Harlow’s research into rhesus monkeys supports idea that quality of care is more important than caregiver’s presence
stages of attachment weaknesses
culturally biased
- Sagi found that infants raised in individualistic cultures were twice as close to their mothers in comparison to those raised by collectivist cultures
- Schaffer and Emerson’s study was only carried out in Glasgow so is difficult to universally apply
difficulty measuring multiple attachments
- baby may be distressed when individual leaves the room, does not mean they are ‘true’ attachment figure
- Bowlby pointed out that children have playmates as well as attachment figures and may get distressed when playmates leave
- contradicts Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment because observations does not distinguish between secondary attachment figures and playmates
during first week, babies have poor coordination and are immobile
- difficult to make judgements based on first observations
- e.g. how can we really know if they favour a smile just as much as an inanimate object based on little behavioural cues
- evidence hard to rely on
multiple attachments
infants tend to show attachment behaviours towards multiple, secondary attachment figures by one year old
tend to be people who spend regular time with the infant
typical attachment behaviours
stranger anxiety
separation anxiety
proximity seeking behaviours
imitation and interactional synchrony
role of the father
babies + fathers
less likely than mothers to be baby’s first attachment figure
–> Schaffer and Emerson found that most babies become attached to their mother at around 7 months
–> in 27% of cases the father was joint-first attachment figure
–> 3% of cases the father was the first sole attachment figure
also found that 75% of babies formed an attachment with their father by 18 months, suggesting that most fathers become important attachment figures
role of the father
father’s role in attachment
fathers have a different unique role to mothers that is still important for development
–> more to do with play and stimulation than emotional development
generally more playful, physically active and better at providing challenging situations for children
–> excite children and encourage risk-taking
–> create secure environment to learn bravery
complements mother’s role of being attuned to emotional needs
father’s role in attachment
research evidence
Grossmann carried out a longitudinal study where babies’ attachments were studied until they were teenagers
–> no link between father’s early attachment type and quality of attachment in adolescence but link was found with mothers
–> quality of attachment not linked to healthy attachment in adolescence
–> link between quality of play and quality of attachment
supports idea that father’s role is different
role of the father
fathers as primary attachment figures
baby’s first/primary attachment has special emotional significance as it forms the basis of all later close emotional relationships
–> some evidence that when fathers take on the role of the primary attachment figure, they are able to adapt into traditional maternal role
role of the father
strengths
supporting evidence that fathers can be primary attachment figures and the gender of the parent is unimportant
- Field found that primary caregiver fathers spend more time smiling, imitating and holding their babies than secondary caregiver fathers
- supports idea that fathers have the potential to be more emotion-focused primary attachment figure and can take on a traditional maternal role, providing the responsiveness required for a close emotional attachment
supporting evidence for father’s role in play and stimulation being important for healthy development
- Grossmann found that adolescent attachment to the father is related to the father’s play with infants
role of the father
weaknesses
inconsistency in research about distinctiveness of role of father
- Grossmann argued that role is play and stimulation
- Maccallum and Golombok found that children in single-mother and lesbian-parent families do not develop differently
- questions whether fathers have a distinctive role remains unanswered and many suggest that anyone can take the role of play and stimulation
preconceptions about the role of the father may lead to observer bias in research
- reduces validity of findings
research may not be generalisable
- individual differences
–> assume that all fathers are happy, playful and risk-takers whereas personality can affect e.g. depression means not in a positive, active mood
institutionalisation
- Refers to effects of growing up in an orphanage or children’s home.
- Living arrangements outside of family home may lead to loss of personal identity.
- May suffer from lack of emotional care and have difficulty forming attachments.
–> More children so less attention from carers
–> Likely to be cared for by multiple carers, so one primary attachment is not able to form.
institutionalisation context
Romania 1990s
Was a requirement of women to have 5 children to improve economic growth.
Abortion and contraception for women under 40 with fewer than 4 children was forbidden in 1966.
After the decree, birth rates rose significantly from 1967 to 1969 to catastrophic numbers.
Coupled with Romania’s poverty, many unwanted children were turned over to state orphanages.
Rutter’s ERA study (English and Romanian adoptees)
aims
- Examines development of children adopted into the UK from Romania in the early 1990s.
- Examine the extent to which children could recover when extreme deprivation in early life is followed by a middle childhood within a safe family environment.
Rutter’s ERA study (English and Romanian adoptees)
procedure
- Longitudinal natural experiment
- Random sample of 165 Romanian children placed in orphanages at 1-2 weeks with little adult contact. Most lived in institutions with conditions from poor to abysmal.
- Physical, cognitive and emotional development assessed at ages 4, 6, 11 and 15.
- A group of 52 British children adopted around the same time served as a control group.
Mean IQ aged 11
Romanian Orphans adopted before six months 102
Romanian Orphans adopted between six months and two years 86
Romanian Orphans adopted after two years 77
differences remained at age 16
Rutter’s ERA study (English and Romanian adoptees)
findings
intellectual development
- When they first arrived in the UK, half of the adoptees showed signs of delayed intellectual development / delayed cognitive functioning and were underweight.
- The control group did not show these deficits.
- Over time, the Romanian orphans showed improvements in physical and cognitive development, but rates of improvement varied dramatically according to the age in which the children had been adopted (differential rates of recovery).
Rutter’s ERA study (English and Romanian adoptees)
findings
attachment issues
Attachment issues
Romanian Orphans adopted before six months
Disinhibited attachment was rare.
Romanian Orphans adopted after 6 months
Showed disinhibited attachment attention seeking, clinginess and social behaviour indiscriminately towards familiar and unfamiliar adults.
Unusual to not show stranger anxiety.
* Disinhibited attachment persisted in many adoptees at age 6 and in over 50% at age 11.
Rutter’s ERA study (English and Romanian adoptees)
conclusions
attachment issues
- In institutions display disinhibited attachment as are cared for by many different caregivers and not enough by one to form an attachment.
- This can be overcome with sensitive subsequent care.
- Children in institutional care may have difficulty interacting with peers and forming close relationships due to a lack of an internal working model.
- May also have difficulty with affection and understanding the meaning of social contexts and may display obsessional behaviour (quasi autism).
Rutter’s ERA study (English and Romanian adoptees)
conclusions
intellectual development
- Children who experience extreme institutional deprivation will usually make a huge improvement in cognitive functioning following successful adoption, suggesting that effects can be overcome with sensitive and nurturing care.
- Damage could be recovered if attachment took place before 6 months.
- Sooner the children were adopted, the faster their intellectual development.
Bucharest early intervention project
- Attachment assessed in 95 children aged 12-31 months who had spent most of their lives in institutional care, 90% on average.
- Compared to control group of 50 children who had never lived in an institution.
- Attachment type measured using the strange situation.
- Carers asked to comment on social behaviours of children.
- Control group – 74% securely attached. Less than 20% disinhibited attachment.
- Institution group – 19% securely attached. 44% disinhibited attachment.
- Institutionalised children showed signs of disinhibited attachment where child seeks comfort and attachment from anyone without distinction – no preference for parents over strangers. Often clingy and attention seeking.
- Suggests that institutionalisation leads to disinhibited attachment – do not spend enough time with one particular caregiver for an attachment to form, but spend time with lots of caregivers.
institutionalisation evaluation
real life applications
Enhanced understanding of negative effects of institutionalisation where children are unable to develop normal attachments.
Disinhibited attachment comes from not spending enough time with a particular carer for an attachment to form.
Leads to improvements e.g. avoid having lots of caregivers for each child and ensure that one or two key workers play a central role for a child. Allows a normal attachment to form.
institutionalisation evaluation
lacks generalisability
Romanian orphanages had terrible conditions and poor standards of care with low levels of intellectual stimulation.
Romanian orphans were cared for in an unusual setting that differed greatly from more ‘typical’ orphanages.
Unusual situational variables lack generalisability and results cannot be applied to orphans in alternative environments
institutionalisation evaluation
validity issues
Significant validity issues
In the ERA study, children were not randomly assigned into groups
They were allocated determined by at which age they were adopted (before 6 months, between 6 months and 2 years, and after 2 years)
May have been some bias on who was adopted – those adopted first may have been more social and showed less disinhibited attachment. Results examining how attachment developed is not representative and valid.
However, in Bucharest Early Intervention study, Romanian orphans were randomly allocated to institutional care or fostering. Researchers directly manipulated who were adopted.
Reduces the impact of confounding variables, as more sociable children were more likely to be selected.
Increases validity
Actions of researchers influencing child staying in an institution makes them more likely to suffer negative effects e.g. lagging in intellectual development and attachment difficulties.
Ethical issues:
Research outcomes prioritised over children’s wellbeing.
Lasting effects for those adopted later in life
Long term psychological harm
institutionalisation evaluation
long term effects
Long term effects of institutionalisation are not yet clear
Studies such as Rutter have followed up orphans into their mid-teens and found some evidence of lasting effects of early experience, particularly those adopted late.
It is too soon to say with certainty whether children will experience long term effects.
May result in behaviour and attachment difficulties to children when the orphans become parents themselves.
However, Sigal et al investigated middle-aged adults who had been placed in an institution at birth or early childhood. They were more likely to never have married than a randomly selected group of adults (45% vs 17%), reported fewer social contacts, more psychological distress, including depression and higher rates of physical illness, including migraines and stomach ulcers.
Suggests that there are long-term effects on social behaviours, general wellbeing and mental and physiological illnesses.
Influence of attachment on childhood relationships
Includes affiliations with other people in childhood, including friends, classmates and adults such as teachers.
quality of peer relationships
- According to attachment theory, children with secure attachment types should be more confident in interactions with friends.
- Youngblade and Belsky found that 3-5 year old securely attached children were more curious, empathetic, resilient and self-confident, got along better with other children and were more likely to form close relationships.
- Hartup argues that children with a secure attachment type are more popular at nursery and engage more in social interactions with other children.
Insecurely attached children tend to be more reliant on teachers for interaction and emotional support. - Attachment type can be associated with quality of peer relationships in childhood.
bullying
- Myron-Wilson and Smith studied 196 children from London aged 7-11. They assessed attachment type and bullying using a questionnaire.
importance of Bowlby’s internal working model
- Continuity hypothesis suggests that there is consistency between early emotional experiences and later relationships, and children’s attachment types are reflected in later relationships.
- If a child has a secure attachment to a sensitive caregiver and a positive IWM, they are likely to see themselves as worthy of being loved. This provides the child with an adequate template for later attachments, so form secure relationships.
- If a child has an insecure attachment with a caregiver, they have an inadequate IWM and are likely to form future insecure relationships.
romantic relationships
- Continuity between early attachment styles and quality of later adult romantic relationships. This is based upon the idea of the IWM where infant’s primary attachment forms a model for future relationships.
- Influences person’s expectation of later relationships, affecting attitudes towards them.
romantic relationships
secure
Able to create meaningful, empathetic, and healthy attachments in the future.
Have happy, trusting and long-lasting relationships.
Openness regarding expressing emotions.
Comfortable depending on others and having others depend on them.
romantic relationships
insecure avoidant
Struggle to connect with others who attempt to connect or form a bond.
Distant and unlikely to open up, keep partner at arm’s length.
May enjoy company of others but actively work to avoid closeness due to feeling that they don’t or shouldn’t need others.
Less inclined to share feelings, affection not reciprocated.
Lack of commitment in relationships.
romantic relationships
insecure resistant
Crave intimacy but anxious whether partner will meet emotional needs.
Feel anxious about independence and crave security (needy and clingy).
Extreme sexual attraction to partner but highly jealous and requires constant reassurance.
Potentially controlling – lack of consistency from parent in infancy so can’t trust love provided and feel threatened.
Hazan and Shaver’s love quiz
- Questionnaire used to collect information from a volunteer sample of 620 people aged 14-82 in the USA. Was advertised as a ‘Love Quiz’ in the local newspaper.
- Looked at each person’s infant attachment type, assessed using a checklist.
- Looked at each person’s attitude towards loving relationships, assessed using multiple-choice questions.
- Readers asked to send off their completed ‘Love Quiz’. 1200 replies received and 620 were analysed.
- They found that those who were securely attached as infants tended to have long-lasting relationships, where they found others as trustworthy and had confidence in themselves as likeable.
- Insecurely attached people found adult relationships more difficult, tended to divorce, and suffered from jealously and fear of intimacy.
parenting style
- Research indicates an intergenerational continuity between adults’ attachment types and their children’s.
Children adopted the parenting styles of their own parents.
People tend to base their parenting style on internal working model so attachment type tends to be passed on through generations of a family. - Primary attachment in childhood acts as a blueprint for later relationships and affects success as a parent.
influence of early attachment
evaluation
practical applications
Useful practical applications e.g. in prevention or reduction of bullying
Insecure resistant (type C) children most likely to be bullies.
Insecure avoidant (type A) children most likely to be bullied.
Could focus on importance of parental relationships from early age to encourage secure attachments to prevent bullying.
Identify those at risk to discourage bullying e.g. identify insecure avoidant and support them in making friends to make them less vulnerable.
influence of early attachment
evaluation
practical applications
Useful practical applications e.g. supporting young adults with later attachments.
Insecure attachments are more likely to struggle with adult relationships due to a poor IWM.
This would allow for support to be put in place for individuals who did not form secure attachments in childhood in terms of showing them what healthy, trusting relationships should look like.
influence of early attachment
evaluation
self-report data
*Most research evidence comes from self-report data.
* Techniques have been used to retrospectively assess the quality of childhood relationships and assess the quality of adult relationships.
–> Social desirability may affect how honest people may be regarding something sensitive like childhood relationships or romantic relationships.
–> Childhood memories may not be easy to recall
–> Validity is low
*Furthermore, participants are being asked to report on relationships using their conscious understanding of them
–> Data may be invalid as they may not have conscious awareness
influence of early attachment
evaluation
cause and effect
Difficult to establish cause and effect relationships between early attachment types and the quality of later attachments.
Could be other important contributing factors that impact attitude towards loving relationships, such as childhood trauma, previous break-ups and mental health issues.
Research may only indicate a relationship between the two rather than causality.
influence of early attachment
evaluation
determinism
Explanation can be considered deterministic.
Suggests that there is no free will or conscious control over behaviour by suggesting that early relationships determine later ones.
This is problematic as it suggests that individuals have no control over poor relationship, which is not empowering and excuses bad behaviour like lack of commitment.
influence of early attachment
evaluation
hypothetical
The IWM is a hypothetical concept
Cannot measure, clearly define or observe it or its effects
Limits the credibility of the explanation as it is not empirical and is therefore unscientific.
Bullying
insecure-avoidant
They found that insecure-avoidant children were more likely to be victims of bullying
More likely to have difficulty fitting in with peers and spend more time alone, and so are more inclined to have experienced bullying.
Aren’t bothered about forming relationships so they may have no friends and become vulnerable to be picked on
Bullying
insecure-resistant
Insecure-resistant were more likely to be bullies
Insecure and jealous due to trust issues from inconsistent attachment with parents
Tend to be controlling and exert power over others
* Research demonstrated that children with parental insecure attachments were more likely to be involved in bullying than children with secure attachments.
bullying
secure
Securely attached children are not involved – more likely to form healthy relationships, rational and don’t feel the need to hurt others.
Developed positive template for relationships (internal working model)
