attachment

Question 1

what is reciprocity?

Answer 1

an action or signal from a caregiver/infant elicits a response from the other

Question 2

what are attachments?

Answer 2

an emotional tie between two people, usually a mother and a child
the relationship is reciprocal

Question 3

what are the attachment behaviours?

Answer 3

• seeking proximity
• distress on separation
• joy on reunion
• person used as safe base to explore world

Question 4

what are the 2 explanations of attachment?

Answer 4

• learning theory (nurture)
• bowlby’s theory (nature)

Question 5

what are the 5 concepts of bowlby’s theory?

Answer 5

• adaptive
• social releasers
• critical period
• monotropy
• innate programming

Question 6

outline of bowlbys theory

Answer 6

he believes that infants are born with an innate tendency to form attachments in order to increase their chances of survival

Question 7

what year was Bowlby?

Answer 7

1958

Question 8

what’s bowlby’s adaptive theory?

Answer 8

forming attachments helps to ensure the survival of a child
gives our species an ‘adaptive advantage’ - provides safety, food and warmth

Question 9

examples of Bowlby’s adaptive theory in infant behaviours

Answer 9

rooting - their head turns towards their cheek when stroked, followed by sucking reflexes so they can take in food
breathing - they will move their arms and legs when something covers their face to protect their oxygen intake
body temp - they shiver and tuck their legs into their bodies to stay warm and to cool off they will push off layers and decrease their movement

Question 10

what are social releasers?

Answer 10

actions which unlock an innate tendency in adults to care for them
- physical (‘baby face’)
- behavioural (crying, cooing, smiling)

Question 11

what is the critical period?

Answer 11

if a child doesn’t form an attachment during this time then the child would have damage to their PIES

Question 12

how long is the critical period?

Answer 12

between 0 - 2 1/2 years old

Question 13

what is monotropy?

Answer 13

that infants form one very special attachment with their mother
it is a special, intense attachment
if no mother then the mother - subsitute

Question 14

what is the internal working model?

Answer 14

that all the future relationships will be based on their early attachement relationships
it forms a ‘model’ / basis for all ones in the future

Question 15

why did bowlby reject learning theory of attachment?

Answer 15

he said: ‘were it true, an infant of a year or two should take readily to whoever feeds them and this is clearly not the case’

Question 16

what is the law of continuity?

Answer 16

states that the more constant and predictable a child’s care, the better the quality of their attachment

Question 17

what is the law of accumulated separation?

Answer 17

states that the effects of every separation from the mother add up ‘and the safest dose is therefore a zero dose’

Question 18

what two principles clarify Bowlby’s monotropy theory?

Answer 18

• the law of continuity
• the law of accumulated separation

Question 19

what are limitations of Bowlby’s theory?

Answer 19

• validity of monotropy is challenged
• feminist concerns

Question 20

what are strengths of Bowlby’s theory?

Answer 20

• support for social releasers
• support for internal working model

Question 21

how is the validity of monotropy challenged?

Answer 21

Schaffer + Emerson (1964): significant majority of infants formed multiple attachments at the same time and may provide all the same key qualities of the special mother bond

Question 22

what are the feminist concerns of Bowlby’s theory?

Answer 22

Burman (1994): the belief that mothers who work may negatively affect their child’s development sets up their blame for anything that goes wrong in the child’s life
also feeds into the patriarchal view that women shouldn’t work

Question 23

what is the support for social releasers?

Answer 23

Brazelton et al (1975)

Question 24

what is Brazelton et al (1975) research to support social releasers?

Answer 24

they observed babies trigger interactions with adults using social releasers
researchers then instructed the primary attachment figures to ignore the social releasers and the infants became increasingly distressed

Question 25

what is the support for internal working model?

Answer 25

Bailey et al (2007)
Hazan and Shaver (1987)

Question 26

what was Bailey et al (2007) research to support internal working model?

Answer 26

assessed attachment relationships of 99 mothers and their 1 yo
they measured the mother’s attachment to their own primary caregivers and assessed the attachment quality of the babies
found that mothers with poor attachment themselves were more likely to have primary attached babies

Question 27

what was Hazan and Shaver (1987) research to support internal working model?

Answer 27

used a questionnaire called ‘The Love Quiz’
used 620 participants - who volunteered from a newspaper ad
they examined current attachment experiences and attachment history
found a positive correlation between attachment type and later love experiences