Attachment

Question 1

Define reciprocity

Answer 1

• responding to the action of another with a similar action

Question 2

Define caregiver

Answer 2

• any person who is providing care for a child (parent)

Question 3

Define attachment

Answer 3

• an emotional bond between two people

Question 4

What did Brazelton suggest about caregiver and infant interactions

Answer 4

• regularity of an infants signals allows a caregiver to anticipate the infants behaviour and respond appropriately

Question 5

Define interactional synchrony

Answer 5

• when two people interact they tend to mirror what the other is doing

Question 6

What study is used to show interactional synchrony

Answer 6

• Meltzoff and Moore
• found that infants as young as 2-3 weeks old imitated specific facial and hand gestures
• they found that the behavioural response was innate

Question 7

Describe the 4 stages of the development of attachment

Answer 7

developed by Schaffer and Emerson

1) indiscriminate attachments (similar response to all objects)

2) the beginnings of attachment (prefer human company, can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar)

3) discriminate attachment (form a primary attachment figure, display stranger anxiety)

4) multiple attachments (develops multiple attachments, how many consistent relationships they had)

Question 8

Describe the role of the father in attachment

Answer 8

• far less likely to be primary attachment figures
• this may be due to less time spent with the infant
• fathers are more playful
• women have the hormone oestrogen (caring)

Question 9

Describe Lorenz Study for animal studies of attachment

Answer 9

• goose eggs incubated so first thing they saw was their natural mother (Lorenz)
• goslings imprinted on Lorenz and followed him

findings:
- if the animal is not exposed to a moving object during this time then imprinting will not happen later on

Question 10

Describe Harlows Study for animal studies of attachment

Answer 10

• two wired mothers each with a different head, however one was additionally wrapped with cloth
• eight infant rhesus monkeys studied over 165 days
• for four of the monkeys the milk bottle was with the clothed mother and for the other four it was with the plain wired mother
• observations made on the time spent with each mother and also how they reacted when they were frightened
• all 8 monkeys spent most of the time with the cloth mother wether or not milk bottle was attached
• develop attachments with not only mothers who feed them but mothers who comfort them as well
• all motherless monkeys were socially abnormal and sexually abnormal

Question 11

What are the three theories of learning

Answer 11

-state that all behaviours are learnt rather than innate
classical conditioning
operant conditioning
social learning theory

Question 12

describe classical conditioning

Answer 12

• A neutral stimulus (mother) that has no response is paired to a unconditioned stimulus (food) that has a response of pleasure
• with these two together it eventually produces a conditioned response

Question 13

Describe operant conditioning

Answer 13

• reduction of discomfort is rewarding (negative reinforcement
• the behaviour that led to the escape of discomfort is more likely to be repeated in the future as it was rewarding
• the thing that directly reduces the discomfort is seen as the primary reinforcer (food)
• something that is involved in reducing the discomfort is seen as the secondary reinforcer (mother who gives food)

Question 14

Describe the social learning theory

Answer 14

• learning through observation of others and imitating rewarding behaviour

Question 15

Define the critical period

Answer 15

• attachment from around 3-6 months, after this period forming attachments can become increasingly difficult

Question 16

Define the term social releaser

Answer 16

• behaviour or characteristic that elicits caregiving and leads to attachment

Question 17

Define the term Monotropy

Answer 17

• infants have one special emotional bond (secondary attachments for safety nets)

Question 18

Define the term continuity hypothesis when referring to infants and attachments

Answer 18

• emotionally secure infants go on to be emotionally secure adults

Question 19

What are the consequences of attachment and the internal working model

Answer 19

• according to monotropy the infant only has one special bond, as a result the infant forms a mental representation

1) in the long term it generates expectations about what intimate, loving relationships are like
2) in the short term it can give the infant an insight into caregivers behaviour and enables the child to influence the caregivers behaviour

Question 20

Define the internal working model

Answer 20

• template for future attachments

Question 21

What are the 3 types of attachment

Answer 21

• insecure avoidant (Type A)
• secure attachment (Type B)
• insecure resistent (Type C)

Question 22

Describe attachment type A

Answer 22

• insecure avoidant
• avoid social interaction and intimacy
• little response to separation

Question 23

Describe attachment type B

Answer 23

• secure attachment
• not likely to cry when caregiver leaves
• some distress when left with stranger

Question 24

Describe attachment type C

Answer 24

• Insecure resistent
• seeks and resists intimacy and social interaction
• immediate distress at separation
• at reunion they can resist

Question 25

Describe Mary Ainsworth’s study (Strange situations)

Answer 25

• aim was to see how infants aged between 9-18 months behave under different conditions

Procedure:
- 8 episodes, each designed to highlight certain behaviours
- the three behaviours were (Separation anxiety, stranger anxiety and reunion anxiety)
- data collected using a recorder or one way glass
- every 15 seconds infants behaviour is recorded based on 5 behavioural categories and then rated on a scale of 1-7

Findings:
- the 3 types of attachment were formed
- 66% were secure
- 22% were insecure avoidant
- 12% were insecure resistant

Question 26

What is the study used for cultural variations in attachment and explain it

Answer 26

Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg
- interested to find out wether there were inter-cultural differences or intra-cultural differences(within the same culture)
- meta-analysis of the findings from 32 studies of attachment
- 2000 strange situations in 8 different countries

Findings
- secure attachment was the most common in every country
- insecure avoidant was next most common in countries other than Israel and Japan
- collective of all the results confirms that attachment is innate and a biological process

Question 27

Describe cultural similarities

Answer 27

• Tronick et al (African tribe)
• infants lived in extended family groups
• infants were breastfed and looked after by other women
• at six months they still only showed one primary attachment

Question 28

Describe cultural differences

Answer 28

Grossmann and Grossmann
- found higher levels of insecure attachment amongst german infants than in other cultures
- as these infants do not engage in proximity seeking behaviour

Takahashi
- used strange situations to study 60 Japanese infants
- similar rates of secure attachments
- however no evidence of insecure avoidant but high levels of insecure resistant

Question 29

Define Deprivation

Answer 29

• loss of emotional care, normally provided by a primary caregiver

Question 30

Define the value of maternal care

Answer 30

• Bowlby believed children need a warm, intimate and continuous relationship with a mother

Question 31

In Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation what are the consequences of an infant who is denied care at a young age

Answer 31

• frequent of prolonged separations mean the infants could become emotionally disturbed
• this only applies during the critical period of development
• separation will only have this affect if it happens before the age of 2 and a half years and if there is no substitute mother
• overall damage can be prevented with suitable substitute emotional care by a mother substitute

Question 32

What are the long term consequences of deprivation

Answer 32

• emotional maladjustment or even mental health issues such as depression

Question 33

Describe Bowlby’s 44 Juvenile thieves study

Answer 33

procedure:
- all the children that participated were emotionally maladjusted
- 88 children
- 44 been caught stealing and the other half were the control group
- Bowlby suggested that some of the thieves were affectionless psychopaths

Findings
- those diagnosed as being affectionless had experienced frequent early separations from there mothers
- 86% of the affectionless thieves experienced frequent seperations

Question 34

Define affectionless psychopaths

Answer 34

• lacked normal signs of affection, shame or sense of responsibilitiy

Question 35

Define institutionalisation

Answer 35

• the effect of institutionalised care
• for example an orphanage
• possible effects could be social, mental and physical underdevelopment

Question 36

Describe Rutter and Sonuga-Barkes’ study on Romanian Orphans

Answer 36

Procedure:
- 165 Romanian children who spent their lives in Romanian institutions
- Of the group 111 were there before the age of two
- 54 by the age of four
- tested regularly (Ages: 4,6,11,15)
- assessing their physical, mental and social development
- control group was 52 British Children who have been in institution since 6 months

Findings:
- at the time of adoption the Romanian orphans compared to the British control group were smaller, weighed less and were mentally retarded
- By the age of 4 some of them had caught up to the British

Question 37

Describe some other studies for effects of institutionalisation

Answer 37

• Canadian study: orphans were physically smaller at adoption, but recovered by 10 years old
• Romanian Study: Institutionalised children showed signs of disinhibited attachment

Question 38

Effects of Institutionalisation

Answer 38

• physical underdevelopment
• poor parenting
• interllectual under functioning
• disinhibited attachments

Question 39

Describe the role of the internal working model

Answer 39

• similar to a schema
• based on their attachment history
• expectations about current and future relationships

Question 40

Describe Hazan and Shavers’ study to test the internal working model

Answer 40

Procedure:
- Placed a love quiz in a newspaper
- quiz asked about current attachment experiences and about attachment history
- also asked questions about attitude to love
- 620 responses, 205 men/415 women

Findings:
- 56% classified as secure
- 25% as avoidant
-19% as resistent
- securely attached adults: love experiences were happy, friendly, trusting and more enduring 10 years compared to avoidant and resistant that were 5 and 6 years
- securely attached individuals tended to have a positive internal working model

Question 41

Name and describe some behaviours influenced by the internal working model

Answer 41

• childhood friendships: securely attached infants have higher expectations that others are friendly and trusting
• poor parenting: lack of internal working model, individual lack of reference point to form relationships
• romantic relationships: individuals were securely attached had longer lasting romantic relationships
• Mental health: attachment disorder has been recognised as a mental health issue