attachment Flashcards

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1
Q

what are the types of infant-caregiver interactions?

A
  • Attachment
  • Reciprocity
  • Interactional Synchrony
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2
Q

what is attachment?

A

where infants and caregivers develop deep and lasting emotional bonds - both members seek closeness and feel more secure with the other

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3
Q

what is reciprocity?

A

similar to a conversation, this is a mutual turn-taking form of interaction - both infant and caregiver interact by responding to each others signals and cues

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4
Q

what is interactional synchrony?

A

a simultaneous interaction between infant and caregiver who act rhythmically with coordinated behaviour and matching emotions

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5
Q

what is imitation?

A

where an infant directly copies the caregiver’s expression

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6
Q

what is sensitive responsiveness?

A

where the caregiver correctly interprets the meaning of the infant’s communication and is urged to respond appropriately

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7
Q

what are the strengths for infant-caregiver interactions?

A

-Meltzoff & Moore (an experimenter displayed facial features such as sticking tounge out to 12-21 day year olds and found they could observe and reciprocate through imitation)
- Condon & Sander (videotaped interactions with adults and newborns focusing on their response to adult’s speech. Finding evidence of interactional synchrony)
- many studies used multiple observers to provide inter-rater reliability and use of camera systems to document and slow down behaviours provides high internal validity

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8
Q

what are the weaknesses of infant-caregiver interaction?

A
  • infants cannot directly communicate their thoughts or emotions making findings in this research based of Inferences which are unscientific
  • social sensitivity is a concern when investigating childrearing techniques including norms around caregiver-infant interactions as some people may find their life choices criticised
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9
Q

what are the stages of attachment?

A

identified by Schaffer:
- Stage 1 (the asocial stage)
- Stage 2 (indiscriminate attachment)
- Stage 3 (specific attachment)
- Stage 4 (Multiple attachments)

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10
Q

what is the asocial stage?

A
  • 0-6 weeks
  • babies display innate behaviours (crying/smiling) that ensure proximity to any potential caregiver
  • anyone can comfort them
  • they do not prefer any individual caregiver
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11
Q

what is indiscriminate attachment?

A
  • 6 weeks-7 months
  • develop the ability to tell the difference between familiar and strangers
  • they smile more at familiar people
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12
Q

what is specific attachment?

A
  • 7-9 months
  • babies form a strong attachment to a primary caregiver (most often the mother)
  • separation anxiety and stranger anxiety develop
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13
Q

what is multiple attachments?

A
  • 9/10+ months
  • starts to form attachments with other regular caregivers
    stranger anxiety begins to decrease
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14
Q

what are the strengths of the stages of attachment?

A
  • Schaffer conducted a longitudinal study of 60 working class babies in Glasgow (found separation anxiety started around 35-32 weeks and stranger anxiety a month later. after 18 months 87% developed multiple attachments)
  • the observation was done in the families homes which increases the mundane realism
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15
Q

what are the weaknesses of the stages of attachment?

A
  • the study has low generalisability or temporal validity as it was only working class families in 1960’s Glasgow
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16
Q

what did schaffer identify about the father?

A

after 18 months 75% of infants had an attachment with their father - showing separation anxiety

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17
Q

what does Active Play mean in the role of the father?

A

fathers often engage in active play activities more than mothers - is thought to encourage risk taking behaviours

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18
Q

what happens when the father is the Primary Caregiver?

A

their interactional style changes to be more like mothers - increasing capacity for sensitive responsiveness

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19
Q

strengths of the Role of the Father

A
  • Field (found fathers focused more on game playing and less on holding and PCG fathers showed more sensitive response behaviours like a mother)
  • Verissimo (found a strong attachment to the father was the best predictor of the ability to make friends in school suggesting fathers play a key role in socialisation)
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20
Q

weaknesses of the Role of the Father

A
  • socially sensitive (theories argue the role of the mother cannot be replaced by the father e.g. Bowlby. meaning motherless families cannot fully provide the needs for infants)
  • economic implication (research could lead to legislation about maternity and paternity leave which could reduce the number of people in the workforce)
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21
Q

what is Learning theory?

A

Dolland and Miller theory of Cupboard love is based of learning theory and it argues that infants become attached to their caregiver because they provide food

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22
Q

what is classical conditioning in Learning theory?

A
  • food (UCS) and produces pleasure (UCR)
  • as the mother always is present at feeding she becomes associated with the pleasure of feeding making her change from the NS to the CS
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23
Q

what is operant conditioning in Learning theory?

A
  • positive reinforcement (when the parent feeds a crying baby the baby is likely to repeat the crying to get food)
  • negative reinforcement (the parent will feed the baby to avoid the punishment of them crying)
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24
Q

strengths of Learning theory

A
  • is has face validity (it makes sense that babies cry more when it gains them attention and food)
  • the behaviourist principles (are backed up a long history of well controlled research like Pavlov and Skinner)
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25
Q

limitations of Learning theory

A
  • Harlow (rejects the cupboard love theory as infant monkeys became attached to a cloth mother that did not provide milk rather than the wire mother that did)
  • reductionist (most parents would say their relationship with their kids is more complicated than the result of simplistic stimulus associations)
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26
Q

what are the two animal attachment theories?

A
  • Lorenz (imprinting)
  • Harlow (contact comfort)
27
Q

what was the procedure of Lorenz’s study?

A
  • Goose eggs were randomly divided
  • half of the eggs were hatched by Lorenz and half by the mother goose
28
Q

what were the findings of Lorenz’s study?

A
  • he found the goslings he had incubated and hatched had imprinted of him
  • when the goslings were placed in a box the ones who had imprinted on him would follow him
  • he found that goslings had a critical period of around 32 hours where if a gosling did not see a moving object in this time it would not be able to imprint
29
Q

what was the procedure of Harlow’s study?

A
  • 16 Rhesus monkeys were placed in cages with 2 surrogate mothers
  • one of the mothers provided milk and was made of wire (no comfort)
  • the other mother was made of cloth but provided no milk
  • time spent with each mother was recorded as well as who the monkey ran to when frightened
30
Q

what were the findings of Harlow’s research?

A
  • he found the infant monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth monkey and only went to the wire mother when in need of food
  • the monkeys returned to the cloth mother when frightened
  • in a follow up he discovered that maternal deprivation from his studies caused permanent social disorders
  • suggests monkeys have a biological need for physical contact (contact comfort)
31
Q

strengths of Animal Studies on Attachment

A
  • Howe (showed Harlow’s research has helped social workers and clinical psychologists by understanding that a lack of bonding experience can be a risk factor in child development)
  • Lorenz’s finding on the critical period have been influential (Bowlby argued there is a Critcal Period for humans - 6 to 30 months)
  • there are practical applications to each study (e.g. in childcare)
32
Q

limitations of Animal Studies on Attachment

A
  • the generalisation of animal behaviour to human psychology is problematic (different biology and social behaviour)
  • Harlow is criticised on ethical grounds for harm caused to the monkeys (some killed their children when older)
33
Q

what is Bowlby’s monotropic theory?

A

an evolutionary explanation of attachment - infants have an innate drive to form a strong attachment to their mother

34
Q

what are social releasers in monotropic theory?

A

signals used by babies to attract the caregivers attention - crying, smiling, cooing - mothers instinctually find these cute or distressing

35
Q

what is the Critical period in monotropic theory?

A

the 30 months period in which Bowlby suggests an infant must form a monotropic attachment - a lack of this causes negative social and intellectual consequences

36
Q

what is the Internal Working model in monotropic theory?

A

a schema for future relationships that a child forms based off its monotropic attachment to the mother

37
Q

strengths of monotropic theory

A
  • Bowlby’s ideas are applicable to childcare (immediate physical contact between the mother and the baby after birth is encouraged)
38
Q

limitations of monotropic theory

A
  • is based on Lorenz’s research (research on orphans if different to geese. fault in critical period can be recovered in humans not permanent damage)
  • internal working model is deterministic (success of future relationships is not dependent of infancy)
  • lacks temporal validity (based on nuclear family)
39
Q

what are Ainsworth’s types of attachment?

A
  • insecure avoidant (type A)
  • secure (type B)
  • insecure resistant (type C)
40
Q

what behaviours did Ainsworth identify to indicate attachment strength?

A
  • proximity to mother
  • exploration & safe base behaviour
  • stranger anxiety
  • separation anxiety
  • reunion response
41
Q

what were the 7 stages in the Strange Situation?

A
  • Mother and baby in the room
  • Stranger enters the room
  • Mother leaves the room
  • Mother returns and stranger leaves
  • Mother leaves
  • Stranger returns
  • Mother returns and stranger leaves
42
Q

what were the findings of the Strange Situation?

A

66% of infants were secure
22% insecure-avoidant
12% insecure resistant

43
Q

what are the characteristics of a secure infant?

A
  • happily explore but regularly return to Mother
  • show moderate separation and stranger anxiety
  • accept comfort from mother in reunion
44
Q

what are the characteristics of a insecure-avoidant infant?

A
  • explore more without returning to mother
  • little to no stranger and separation anxiety
  • make little to no contact with mother in reunion
45
Q

what are the characteristics of a insecure-resistant infant?

A
  • little to no exploration
  • high stranger and separation anxiety
  • resist comfort in reunion
46
Q

strengths of the Strange Situation

A
  • highly controlled observation (standardised procedures mean high replicability)
  • predictive validity (securely attached children tend to form better attachments in later life - showing higher generalisability)
47
Q

limitations of the Strange Situation

A
  • culturally limited
  • low ecological validity (due to being in a lab)
  • mother could show demand characteristics (know they are being watched)
  • cannot ask infants about their behaviour (lower internal validity)
48
Q

what was the procedure for the Cultural Variations in Attachment?

A

Van Ijzendoorn - conducted a large scale Meta Analysis of 2000 infants in 32 studies from 8 countries of the Strange Situation

49
Q

what were the findings of Van Ijzendoorn’s research?

A
  • Secure attachment was the most common in all countries (but varied from 75% in UK to 50% in China)
  • insecure avoidant was the second most common (was most common in Germany and least common in Japan)
  • Insecure resistant was the least common (varied from 3% in UK to 30% in Israel)
50
Q

what did Simonella find about the Strange Situation in Italy?

A
  • 76 12-month olds
  • 50% were secure
  • 36% were insecure avoidant
  • 14% were insecure resistant
  • they think it is due to mothers working long hours and using childcare
51
Q

what did Jin find about the Strange Situation in Korea?

A
  • 87 Korean children
  • most infants were secure
  • second most common was insecure resistant
  • only 1 was insecure avoidant
52
Q

what other Cultural variations of the Strange situation were there?

A
  • Takahashi in Japan (had high rates of insecure resistant 32%)
  • Tronik et al on an African Tribe (found most were insecure avoidant due to group living)
53
Q

strengths of Meta Analysis

A
  • Meta analysis includes a very large sample (increases the validity and generalisability of the findings)
  • use of Indigenous researchers (they will have better understanding of cultural background of the participants so will understand behaviours more increasing valdity)
54
Q

limitations of Meta Analysis

A
  • Confounding variables (environment may differ such as room size and toys in the room effecting the child’s behaviours - and the sample could effect behaviours such as differences in social status)
  • imposed etic (assuming the research is cross-culturally universal not ethnocentric)
55
Q

what is separation in Bowlby’s maternal deprivation?

A

when a child is not in presence of the primary attachment figure

56
Q

what is deprivation in Bowlby’s maternal deprivation?

A

when a child is deprived of emotional care (can still happen when caregiver is present) - this in turn causes harm

57
Q

what is the Critical Period in Bowlby’s maternal deprivation?

A
  • the first 2 1/2 years
  • if a child is deprived of emotional care for an extended period time during this period then Bowbly believed psychological damage was inevitable
58
Q

what effects did Maternal deprivation have on intellectual development?

A

if children were deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period they would experience delayed intellectual development (Low IQ)

59
Q

what effects did Maternal deprivation have on emotional development?

A
  • could lead to affectionless psychopathy as the inability to experience guilt or strong emotions toward others
  • prevents a person developing fulfilling relationships and is associated with criminality
60
Q

what was the procedure of Bowlby’s ‘44 Thieves’ study?

A
  • 44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing
  • All thieves were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy
  • Their families were also interviewed as to if the thieves had been subjected to prolonged early separations
  • the sample was compared to a control study of 44 non-criminal teens
61
Q

what were the findings of Bowlby’s ‘44 Thieves’ study?

A
  • 14 of the 44 were affectionless psychopaths
  • 12 of these had prolonged separations from their mothers in the first 2 years of their lives
  • Only 2 of the control group had prolonged separations
62
Q

what was the procedure of Goldfarb’s research into Maternal deprivation?

A
  • Followed up 30 orphaned children until age 12
  • 1/2 the children had been fostered before 4 months
  • the other half remained in the orphanage
  • at 12 their IQ’s were tested
63
Q

what were the findings of Goldfarb’s research into Maternal deprivation?

A
  • The fostered group had an average IQ of 96
  • The group who remained had an average of 68 (below the cutoff point for mental disability)
64
Q
A