Attachment Flashcards
Why do we use animal studies?
Animal studies look at the formation of early bonds between non-human parents and their offspring. This behaviour is present in multiple species so can help us understand human attachment.
Konrad and Lorenz - procedure
Lorenz divided a clutch of goose eggs into 2 groups: half were left with their mother and half with Lorenz in an incubator
Lorenz was the first living thing that the goslings saw when they hatched
Konrad and Lorenz - findings
The incubated goslings imprinted on him and followed him around and had no recognition of their real mother
The group left to hatch imprinted on their mother
Konrad and Lorenz - conclusion
Early attachment is irreversible and long lasting
Konrad and Lorenz - implications
Imprinting has to happen in the critical period and if it doesn’t they will never imprint and they can struggle with relationships later in life
Early attachment affects experiences later in life
The goslings had a sexual preference for what they imprinted on later in life
Konrad and Lorenz - evaluation
Generalisability - attachment in mammals works differently to attachment in birds, in mammals it is a two way process
Guiton - rubber glove study
Chicks had a glove instead of a mother throughout the critical period that provided food and interaction
They imprinted and followed the glove
When they grew up they tried to mate with gloves
However, through repeated socialisation attempts, the birds developed relationships with other birds and took on ‘typical’ behaviour
Harlow - procedure
8 orphaned infant monkeys were placed with a wire mother and a cloth mother, one of which had a feeding bottle for 165 days
Harlow recorded the time spent with the mother and their responses when scared
Harlow - findings
In both groups the monkeys spent more time with the cloth mother and went to the cloth mother when scared regardless of who fed them
Harlow - conclusions
Food is not the deciding factor in attachment, but comfort and contact are
Harlow - implications
As the monkeys grew up they developed abnormally
They were scared of other monkeys and were sexually abnormal
They did not cradle their own babies and struggled to behave appropriately
This led to the proposal of the ‘critical period’, attachment needs to occur in the first few months or there will be negative consequences
This has led to greater understanding in social work and the care of captive monkeys
Harlow - evaluation
Theoretical value: there are implications of this research on our understanding of human attachment and the importance of attachment in early relationships and later social development
Attachment is not the result of provision of food but of the provisions of comfort
Practical value: (Howe) Harlow’s research developed our understanding of risk factors in child neglect and abuse and highlights the importance of caring for animals in captivity
Ethical issues: the monkeys suffered emotional distress
Can we generalise to humans? If so the suffering could also be generalised to humans
Harlow’s ’pit of despair’
He placed the monkeys in an isolation chamber where they were fed but cut off from all contact and stimulation for up to a year
They developed intense depression
They lost their sex drive so Harlow inseminated them but they rejected their children, chewing off their finger and toes and biting off their heads
What is attachment?
Attachment is a two way strong emotional bond that endures over time
Sullivan et al
Attachment serves as a dual function
1) survival - attachment ensures that infants engage in proximity seeking and so gain comfort and protection
2) learning about the world and relationships - the quality and pattern of attachment care regulates infant brain function and behaviour, and so determines long term emotional regulation
What is reciprocity?
A description of how two people interact
Mother and infant interaction is reciprocal in that both infant and mother respond to each others signals and elicit a response from each other, the interaction is non-verbal and has a turn taking rhythm to it
What is the alert phase?
This is when reciprocity is more likely to happen. Babies have alert phases throughout the day which the mother picks up on
What is active involvement?
Babies and caregivers both take an active role and both can initiate interactions
What is interactional synchrony?
Mother and infant reflect both the actions and emotions of the other and do this in a co-ordinated synchronised way
Occurs when a caregiver and baby interact in such way that their actions mirror one another
Meltzoff and Moore
They observed 18 infants (9 male; 2-3 weeks old)
The experimenter modelled and action and the infants’ reaction was recorded (adults were not on video)
There were 4 stimuli (3 faces and 1 hand gesture)
Independent judges told to identify the behaviour of the infant
All scores were greater than 9.2 showing that infants often imitated the actions of the adults
This supports interactional synchrony
Inter-dependent observers
Independent observers report observing the same behaviour without conferring showing that inter-observer reliability is high
What does a healthy attachment look like?
Caregiver responds to needs and provides comfort
The baby communicates needs and will show stress when they disappear
Baby will want to be close and interact and will be comforted when reunited
What does an unhealthy attachment look like?
Avoid interaction and shows minimal response to parenting
Little response to separation and strangers
May be generally anxious
Over friendly and may not seek caregivers attention
Has extreme reactions
What is inter-observer reliability?
The extent to which two or more observers are observing and recording behaviour in the same way
Strengths of observational research
Reflects real life better
High external validity
High ecological validity
Can be recorded and re-watched
Babies don’t know they are being observed
