Attachment

Question 1

What is attachment?

Answer 1

It is a close bond between two individuals in which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security.

Question 2

What are the three behaviours that we can use to recognise attachment?

Answer 2

1. Proximity - people try to stay physically close to those whom which they are attached.​
2. Secure-base behaviour - Even when we are independent of our attachment figures we tend to make regular contact with them. Infants display secure-based behaviour when they regularly return to their attachment figure while playing.​
3. Separation distress - People are distressed when an attachment figure leaves their presence.

Question 3

Explain the element of reciprocity in caregiver-infant interactions

Answer 3

Reciprocity is when each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them.​
Mothers and babies take it in turns to initiate interactions.​

Question 4

What evidence is there to support reciprocity?

Answer 4

Tronick’s “Still-Face Paradigm” (1978) tested whether infants are active contributors to social interaction.​
Infants underwent three stages: ​

1. Normal interaction​
2. Still-face episode​
3. Reunion​

Infants show increased gaze aversion, less smiling and more negative affect during the still face episode compared to normal interactions.​ This shows the relationship between non-verbal communication and children showing the reciprocity they need.​

Question 5

Explain the element of interactional synchrony in caregiver-infant interactions

Answer 5

Interactional synchrony takes place when mother and infant interact in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror the other.​

Question 6

What evidence is there to support interactional synchrony?

Answer 6

Meltzoff and Moore (1977) – an adult displayed one of three facial expressions to babies as young as two weeks old. An association was found between the expression or gesture the adult had displayed and the actions of the babies.​

Question 7

Give an example of evaluation for caregiver-infant interactions

Answer 7

• It lacks validity because it is difficult to distinguish between general activity and specific imitated behaviours. We don’t know for certain that behaviour seen in mother-infant interactions have a special meaning.
• Controlled observations are used to study it so it lacks ecological validity and the behaviour may be artifical.

Question 8

What are Schaffer’s stages of attachment?

Answer 8

Stage 1 : Asocial
First few weeks of life
Babies behaviour towards objects and humans is similar. Forming first bonds.

Stage 2 : Indiscriminate Attachment
2-7 months
Preference being with other humans. Accepts cuddles and comfort from any adult.

Stage 3 : Specific Attachment
From 7 months
Attachment to one specific person (primary attachment figure). Includes stranger anxiety and separation anxiety.

Stage 4 : Multiple Attachments
1+ year
Bonds with people they see often - secondary attachments.

Question 9

Evaluate Schaffer’s stages of attachment

Answer 9

• Good external validity (observations were natural in environment and behaviour) ➜ COUNTERPOINT issues with asking mothers to be the “observers”
• Real world application (day care settings)
• Poor evidence for asocial (babies have poor coordination and are immobile)
• Generalisability ➜ looked at one sample which had unique features in terms of cultural + historical context. in other cultures e.g. collectivist cultures multiple attachments from an early age is the norm

Question 10

What is the Glascow study/ Schaffers and Emerson’s research?

Answer 10

Rudolf Schaffer & Peggy Emerson (1964)

Involved 60 babies (31 male and 29 female).​ All from skilled working class families in Glasgow.

Researched babies in their homes every month for the first year and again at 18 months. They interviewed the mother and observed the children.​

The researchers asked mothers questions about the kind of protest their babies showed in 7 everyday separations e.g. adult leaving the room.​

This was designed to measure attachment.​

They also assessed “stranger anxiety”.

The results provided support for the stages of attachment.
At around 25-32 weeks, 50% of children showed clear separation anxiety towards their mothers, expected of the discriminate attachment stage.
Furthermore, by 40 weeks, 80% of the children had a specific attachment stage and 30% had started to form multiple attachments.​

Question 11

What is the reason for the differences between the role of mothers and fathers?

Answer 11

• Gender stereotypes - fathers as breadwinners, mothers stay at home
• Fathers are less psychologically equipped - mothers are more sensitive
• Biological explanation - females produce oestrogen which promotes nurturing behaviour
• Traditions

Question 12

Evaluate the role of the father

Answer 12

• McCallum and Golombok - Single parent or same-sex parents children do not develop differently from two parent heterosexual ones
• Tiffany Field
  Filmed 4 month old babies in face to face interactions with primary caregiver mothers/fathers and secondary caregiver mothers/fathers.

Findings:
- Both primary caregiver mothers and fathers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding their babies than secondary
- Fathers have the potential to be more emotionally focused primary attachment figures but only show this when given the role of primary caregiver

Question 13

NAMED STUDY
Konrad Lorenz - Imprinting

Answer 13

Aim: to understand the phenomenon of imprinting in birds

Procedure: randomly divided a large clutch of goose eggs into 2 groups

1. Control group - stayed with the mother
2. Experimental group - placed in an incubator and Lorenz was the first moving object they saw

Findings: when the two groups were mixed they continued to follow the mother and the experimental group followed Lorenz.
This supports the idea of imprinting.
Furthermore, the experimental group birds became adults they displayed unusual mating behaviours, directing mating behaviours towards humans rather than other geese

Evalutation:

• Limitation - The attachment system for mammals is different and more complex than in birds so it isn’t really appropriate to apply it to humans. For example, the mammal attachment is a two-way process, the mothers also show an emotional attachment to their young
• Limitation - Ethical issues such as taking away offspring from mother and birds mating behaviours altered
• Strength - Provides valuable insights into the process of imprinting in birds. His observations and experiments helped us understand how animals form attachments and recognize their parents or caregivers. This research has broader implications for understanding animal behavior and the role of early experiences in shaping social bonds

Question 14

NAMED STUDY
Harlow’s Research - The importance of contact comfort

Answer 14

Aim: to investigate the effects of maternal deprivation on infant monkeys

Procedure: 16 rhesus monkeys divided into 4 groups:

1. Wired mother dispensing milk and towel covered soft mother not dispensing milk
2. Wired mother not dispensing milk, towel covered soft mother dispensing milk
3. Wired mother dispensing milk
4. Towel covered soft mother dispensing milk

Observed how much time was spent with each mother + reaction when scared (who they went to)

Findings: spent more time clinging to a soft, cloth covered mother which provided no food rather than one made of wire but provided babies with food. This suggests contact comfort is more important than food in the development of attachments.
Maternal-deprived monkeys were more aggressive as adults, found interacting with other difficult and were sometimes cruel to their own young.

Evaluation:

• Limitation - Ethical issues such as maternal-deprived mother killing her own baby, anxiety and stress the monkeys went through, the monkeys cant consent to the experiment. This means it cannot be repeated to get more results.
• Strength - Real-world application such as for social workers and clinical psychologists in understanding that a lack of bonding experience may be a risk factor in child development
• Limitation - Whilst the rhesus monkeys are more similar to humans than geese, the human brain and behaviour is still more complex meaning it’s hard to generalise Harlow’s findings to humans

Question 15

What is the learning theory?

Answer 15

Commonly called ‘cupboard love’ as it emphasises the importance of the attachment figure as a provider of food

Question 16

Explain classical conditioning within the learning theory

Answer 16

Food (unconditioned stimulus)
Being fed results in pleasure (unconditioned response)
Caregiver (neutral stimulus)

Caregiver is associated with food so now produces pleasure
Caregiver = conditioned stimulus
Pleasure = conditioned response

Question 17

Explain operant conditioning (learning theory)

Answer 17

Crying leads to a response from the caregiver (e.g. feeding) as long as the caregiver provides the correct response crying is reinforced. The baby then directs crying for comfort towards the caregiver responds with comforting ‘social suppressor behaviour’
2-way process because as the baby is reinforced for crying the caregiver receives negative reinforcement because they escape something unpleasant (crying).

Question 18

How is attachment a secondary drive?

Answer 18

Learning theory believes in drive reduction.
Hunger = primary drive as it is biological so we eat to reduce hunger drive
Robert Sears suggests caregiver is generalised with drive of hunger thus attachment is a secondary drive between caregiver + satisfaction of a primary drive

Question 19

What are limitations of the learning theory?

Answer 19

• counter evidence from animal studies. Lorenzo’s geese imprinted on fist moving object regardless of food. Harlow’s monkeys displayed attachment behaviour toward a soft surrogate mother instead of the one producing milk. Food isn’t the most important factor
• counter evidence from human studies. schaffer + Emerson found babies form main attachment to their mother regardless of who feeds them.

Question 20

What are strengths of the learning theory?

Answer 20

• some conditioning may be involved conditioning (association with comfort) may influence choice of primary attachment figure

Question 21

What is monotropy (Bowlby’s theory)?

Answer 21

One particular attachment is different in quality and importance than others

Question 22

What does law of continuity state?

Answer 22

The more consistent and predictable a child’s care the better the quality of attachment

Question 23

What does the law of accumulated separation state?

Answer 23

The effects of every separation from the mother adds up

Question 24

What are social releasers?

Answer 24

Innate cute behaviours that elicit care
example - smiling

Question 25

What is the critical period (Bowlby)?

Answer 25

Around 6 months-2 years

Question 26

What is the internal working model?

Answer 26

Mental representation of primary attachment relationship is a template for future relationships
example - a child whose first experience is a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to form an expectation that all relationships are like that and bring that to future relationships

Question 27

What are limitations of Bowlby’s theory?

Answer 27

• validity of monotropy challenged - primary attachment may be stronger but not different in nature
• feminist concerns - law of continuity + accumulated separation suggest that mothers who work may negatively affect to child’s emotional development

Question 28

What are strengths of Bowlby’s theory?

Answer 28

• support for social releases - babies became upset and lay motionless when social releases were ignored (Brazelton et al)
• support for internal working model - Bailey et al assessed attachment in 99 mothers and their 1-year-olds, measured mothers attachment to their primary attachment figure also assessed babies attachment and found mothers with poor attachment to their primary figure were more likely to have poorly attached babies.

Question 29

Describe procedure of the strange situation

Answer 29

• 7 stages last 3 min each, controlled observation
  1. Baby encouraged to explore (tests exploration + secure base)
  2. Stranger comes in, talks to caregiver + approaches baby (tests stranger anxiety)
  3. Caregiver leaves baby + stranger together (tests stranger + separation anxiety)
  4. Caregiver returns, stranger leaves (tests reunion + secure base behaviour)
  5. Caregiver leaves baby alone (tests separation anxiety)
  6. Stranger returns (tests stranger anxiety)
  7. Caregiver returns (tests reunion behaviour)

Question 30

Describe the findings of the strange situation

Answer 30

Secure attachment (type B) - enthusiastic greeting, generally content, moderate stranger + separation anxiety
insecure-avoidant attachment (type A) - don’t seek proximity or show secure base-behaviour, low stranger + separation anxiety, little effort to contact caregiver when reunited + might even avoid it
insecure-resistant attachment (type C) - seek greater proximity, explore less, high stranger + separation anxiety but resist comfort when reunited with caregiver

Question 31

What are strengths of strange situation?

Answer 31

• good predictive validity - research has shown type B tend to have better outcomes than others both in later life + school (McCormick et al). Type B also have better mental health I’m adulthood (Ward et al). Measures something real + meaningful in a baby’s development
• good reliability Bick et al had a trained team of of observers + agreed on attachment type in 94% of cases. Proximity seeking + stranger anxiety involve large movements so easier to observe. Attachment type doesn’t depend on subjective judgements.

Question 32

What are limitations of strange situation?

Answer 32

• counterpoint to good predictive validity - measures something important however may not be attachment which means strange situation may not measure attachment
• may be culture-bound - developed in Britain + USA. Takahashi - high level of separation anxiety, disproportionate number classified as insecure-resistant. This was because unusual nature of experience in Japan as mother separation is very rare.

Question 33

Describe the procedure of van Ijzendoorn + Kroonenberg’s research

Answer 33

• located 32 studies of attachment (strange situation).
• conducted in 8 countries (15 in USA)
• data meta-analysed

Question 34

Describe findings of IJzendoorn + Kroonenberg’s research

Answer 34

• secure attachment most common, proportions varied - 75% Britain, 50% China
• individualist cultures rates of insecure-resistant were all under 14% (like Ainsworth)
• collectivist cultures from china, Japan, Israel where rates were above 25% (insecure-avoidant reduced)
• variations within countries = great than those between countries

Question 35

Describe Italian study (procedure + findings)

Answer 35

• assessed 76 babies ages 12 months using strange situation
• found 50% = secure, 36% = insecure avoidant. This is a higher of insecure-avoidant + lower rate of secure that has been found previously
• concluded this was because mothers work long hours + use professional childcare

Question 36

Describe Korean study (procedure + findings)

Answer 36

• Kyoung Jin et al assessed 87 babies using strange situation.
• most babies secure (similar to other countries)
• however more more of those classified as insecurely attached were resistant and only 1 was avoidant
• similar to Japan, Korea + Japan have similar child-rearing styles meaning this can be explained by their similar child-rearing styles

Question 37

What are strengths of the research on cultural variations?

Answer 37

• indigenous researchers indigenous psychologists that are from the same cultural background as the participants. This avoids the issues such as difficulty communication + bias because of a stereotype. Enhances validity.

Question 38

What are limitations of the research on cultural variations?

Answer 38

• confounding variables studies not typically matched for methodology when meta-analysed. Environment variables may differ e.g. size of room, toys. This impacts results because proximity seeking may be impacted by size of the room which may lead to a child wrongly being classified as avoidant.
• imposed etic occurs when an idea or technique that works in one culture is imposed on another. Example = strange situation, in Britain + USA lack of affection on reunion my indicate avoidant attachment whereas in Germany this behaviour is independence not insecurity. Behaviours measured in strange situation may not have meanings in different cultural contexts.

Question 39

What is the difference between separation v deprivation?

Answer 39

Separation = child not being in presence of primary attachment figure. This is only an issue if the child is then deprived of emotional care

Question 40

What is the critical period (Bowlby)?

Answer 40

First 2 and a 1/2 years
- if separated from mother + absence of suitable substitute care (so deprived) then psychological damage was inevitable.

Question 41

What effects does maternal deprivation have on development?

Answer 41

• intellectual development would experience delayed intellectual development characterised by abnormally low IQ. Goldfarb found lower IQ in those who remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered (more emotional care)
• emotional development affectionless psychopathy is the inability to experience guilt or strong emotions towards others. Also lack remorse.

Question 42

Describe procedure of Bowlby’s research on maternal deprivation

Answer 42

• 44 thieves interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy
• families of thieves also interviewed to see if thieves had prolog owned separation from their mothers
• sample compared to a control group of 44 non-criminal but emotionally disturbed young people

Question 43

Describe the findings of Bowlby’s research on maternal deprivation

Answer 43

• 14/44 thieves = affectionless psychopaths + 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in their 1st 2 years of life.
• 5/remaining 30 had experienced separation
• control group 2/44 experienced separation
• concluded prolonged early separation/deprivation led to affectionless psychopathy

Question 44

What are limitations of Bowlby’s research on maternal deprivation?

Answer 44

• flawed evidence Bowlby carried out interviews when he already knew which thieves he expected to show signs of affectionless psychopathy. His other source (Goldfarb) researched children in wartime orphanages. This study has confounding variables because children experienced trauma + institutional care as well as prolonged separation.
• critical v sensitive period evidence suggests good quality aftercare can prevent most or all damage. Koluchova reported Czech Twins expiring severe physical + emotional abuse from age 18 months - 7 years old. Received excellent care in their teens + recovered fully. Lasting harm is not inevitable so this period is better seen as a ‘sensitive period’

Question 45

Describe procedure of Ritter et al’s research

Answer 45

• followed group of 165 Romanian orphans for years as part of English + Romanian adoptee (ERA) study.
• orphans adopted by families in UK
• physical, cognitive + emotional development assessed at ages 4, 6, 11, 15 + 22-25
• 52 children adopted around UK = control group

Question 46

Describe findings of Ritter et al’s research

Answer 46

• when arriving in uk 1/2 adoptees showed signs of delayed intellectual development + majority = severely undernourished
• age 11 adopted children showed different rates of recovery related to age of adoption
• mean IQ of children adopted before 6 months was 102 compared to 86 of those adopted between 6 months + 2 years + 77 for those adopted after 2 years
• differences remained at age 16
• ADHD was more common in 15 + 22-25 year old samples (Kennedy et al)
• those adopted after 6 months showed signs of dishinibited attachment (symptoms include attention-seeking, clinginess + social behaviour directed to all adults)
• those adopted before 6 months rarely showed disinhibited attachment

Question 47

Describe procedure of Zeanah et al’s research

Answer 47

• 95 Romanian children aged 12-31 months who had spent most of their lives in institutional care
• compared to control group of 50 who haven’t lived in an institution
• attachment type measured using strange situation
• carer asked about unusual social behaviour such as clingy, attention-seeking behaviour directed at all adults (measuring dishininited attachment)

Question 48

Describe findings of zeanah et al’s research

Answer 48

• 74% of control group classed as securely attached
• 19% of institutional group securely attached
• 44% of institutional group were disinhibited attached
• less than 20% of control group was disinhibited attached

Question 49

What are limitations of Romanian orphanage studies?

Answer 49

• lack of adult data latest data is from children to their early to mid 20s. Don’t know long term affects of institutional care. It will take a long time to collect this data due to longitudinal design of the study. It’s possible late-adopted children may ‘catch up’.
• fewer confounding variables many orphan studies before Romanian orphans. Many children studied in orphanages experienced traumatic, difficult to disentangle effects of neglect, physical abuse etc. However Romanian orphans were typically given by loving parents who couldn’t afford them. Less likely results were confounded by other early negative experiences. (Higher internal validity)

Question 50

What are strengths of Romanian orphan studies?

Answer 50

• real-world application studying Romanian orphans improved understanding of effects of early institutional care + how to prevent worst effects. (Langton) led to improvements in conditions experienced by looked-after children. Institutional care is now seen as undesirable. Considerable effort made to accommodate children into foster care or adoption. Disinhibited attachment avoided.

Question 51

How were attachment types associated with quality of peer relationships in childhood?

Answer 51

• (Kerns) securely attached form best quality friendships whereas insecurely attached have friendship difficulties
• Wilson + smith assessed attachment type + bullying involvement using standard questionnaires in 196 children aged 7-11 in London. Secure children unlikely to be involved in bullying, insecure-avoidant likely to be victims, insecure-resistant likely to be the bullies

Question 52

What 2 major adult experiences are effected by internal working model?

Answer 52

Romantic relationships McCarthy studied 40 adult women, securely attached had best adult friendships + romantic relationships, insecure-resistant had problems maintaining friendships, insecure-avoidant struggled with intimacy

Parental relationships with your own children Bailey et al considered attachment of 99 mothers to their babies + their own mothers (assessed using strange situation + mothers attachment to mother assessed using an interview). Majority of women had same attachment type as their baby + mother

Question 53

What are the strengths of research into attachment and later relationships?

Answer 53

• research support reviews of such evidence e.g. Fearon + Roisman concluded early attachment predicts later attachment, emotional well-being + attachment to their own children. Insecure-avoidant leads to disadvantages for any aspect of development. Secure attachment leads to advantages for future development.

Question 54

What are limitations of research into attachment + later relationships?

Answer 54

-validity issues with retrospective studies most research on link between early attachment + later development aren’t longitudinal. Interviews are typically used on adult or adolescent participants relying the research on honesty. This means measures of early attachment used in most studies may be confounded with other factors making them meaningless
-confounding variables parenting style may influence both attachment + later development. Alternatively genetically-influenced personality may be an influence on both factors. Cannot be entirely sure what factor is influencing later development.