Attachment

Question 1

What is attachment

Answer 1

Attachment is an emotional bond between two people. It is a two-way process that endures over time.

Question 2

Caregiver-Infant Interactions (AO1) (reciprocity and interactional synchrony)

Answer 2

• Reciprocity (turn-taking) is a two way, mutual process where each party responds to the others signals to sustain interaction. The behaviour of one part causes a response from the other essentially. Studies have demonstrated that infants coordinate their actions with their caregiver’s actions in a kind of conversation.
• Interactional synchrony is when adults and babies respond in time to maintain communication. The caregiver and infant mirror each other through their actions. Research has found infants at 2-3 weeks imitated facial and hand gestures after seeing adults do the same thing. Dummy placed in baby mouth- saw adult display facial/hand expression - removed dummy and saw association between adult and infant

Question 3

Caregiver and infant interactions (AO3)

Answer 3

Pros:
- Murray and Trevarthen (1985) - mothers interact with baby over video monitor - baby then showed tape of mother who couldn’t respond - babies tried to attract mothers attention but failed so gave up - shows baby want mother to reciprocate
- Abravanal and Deyong (1991) showed babies a puppet that looked like a human mouth and made faces with it. Infants showed little response showing they don’t imitate anything they see (interactional synchrony)

Cons:
- babies can’t use language so psychologists don’t know if they’re actually communicating so they have to rely on inference
- expressions tested like smiling and sticking out tongue are frequently made by infants. Infants may not have deliberately imitating what they saw
- there are difficulties investigating caregiver-infant interaction:
1. Lack of validity with lab experiments, babies show stronger attachment here than at home
2. Studies are observational so may be observer bias (countered using more that one observe which provides inter-rate reliability)
3. Practical issues, infants need to sleep and eat so research can’t take too long
4. Extra-care needs to be taken relating to ethics

Question 4

Stages of attachment (AO1)

Answer 4

Shaffer and Emerson (1964) investigated development of attachment in infants after studying 60 infants over 2 yrs. they found there were 4 stages:

1. Pre-attachment (0-3 months) - from 6 weeks infants come attracted to other humans and prefer them objects. Shown by smiling at people
2. Indiscriminate attachment (3-7 months) - infants discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar ppl and smile more people at those they know. They still allow strangers to handle them
3. Discriminate (7+ months) - develop specific attachment to primary attachment figure (usually mum) and stay close to them. Show separation protest (distress shown by infants when primary attachment figure leaves) and stranger anxiety (distress when approached by someone they don’t know). Who the Primary attachment figure is depends on quality of relationship rather than time spent
4. Multiple attachments (7+) - after first attachment develops infants develop them with other major caregivers known as secondary attachments. Fear of strangers weaken but primary attachment figure bond stays the strongest

Question 5

Stages of attachment AO3

Answer 5

Only cons:
- data collected by shaffer and Emerson unreliable as it was based on mothers reports (could be less sensitive to infants protests and then would be less likely to report them)
- biased sample as it included infants from working-class population so can’t apply findings to other social groups AND only included infants from individualistic cultures and not collectivist cultures aswell where attachments could be formed differently
- no temporal validity as conduced in 60s so care of children has changed. Stigma of women staying home to care for child is not the case anymore
- stage theories inflexible and don’t account for individual differences, infants can form multiple attachments first rather than one single one

Question 6

Role of father ao1 and AO3

Answer 6

Lack of research about role of father. Some shows they provide play and stimulation to complement mother who provides emotional support.

Shaffer and Emerson found fathers less likely to be primary attachment figure for a few reasons:
- spend less time with infant
- less psychologically equipped to form intense attachment. This could be due to biological factors (female hormone oxytocin underlies caring behaviour) or societal norms (stereotypes that it’s feminine to be sensitive to needs of others)

Shaffer and Emerson (1964) found that 75% of infants studied had formed an attachment with their father at 18 months. Fathers can even be their primary attachment figure (Field, 1978). The role of the father in a single-parent family is more likely to adopt the traditional maternal role, to be the primary caregiver and a nurturing attachment figure.

AO3:

There is inconsistency in the research as to the importance of the role of the
father. Research investigating the effects of growing up in a single female or
same-sex parent family show there is no effect on development, and therefore
suggests the role of the father is not important.

• It seems the father is less important to later development than the mother in
  terms of nurture. Grossman (2002) found that the early attachment to the
  mother was a better predictor of what the teenage relationship was like than
  the early attachment with the father. However, if the father had engaged in
  active play with the child when they were young, the adolescent relationship
  with BOTH parents was strengthened.
• Research also questions whether the father plays a distinct role. Studies show
  that the father in a single parent family is more likely to adopt the traditional
  maternal role and can be their child’s primary attachment figure.
• Field (1978) conducted research which compared the behaviours of primary
  caregiver mothers with primary and secondary caregiver fathers. Face-to-face
  interactions were analysed from video footage with infants at four months of
  age. Overall, it was observed that fathers engaged more in game playing and
  held infants less. However, primary caretaker fathers engaged in significantly
  more smiling, imitative grimaces and imitative vocalisations than secondary
  caregiver fathers. The behaviour of primary caregiver fathers was comparable
  with that of mothers’ behaviour. This demonstrates that there is flexibility in
  the role of the father and how men can respond to the different needs of their
  children.

Question 7

Types of attachment AO1

Answer 7

Strange situation - Ainsworth et al (1970) investigated differences in attachments between infants and their caregivers. It was a controlled observation which took place in a room that had been furnished with some toys. They observed infants in different scenarios (mother and baby, stranger enters, mother leaves then returns). They found 3 types:

1- Type A (insecure-avoidant) - 20% of babies had this. They largely ignore caregiver and explore room, show no separation protest, no reunion joy when they come back and show no stranger anxiety. Caregiver and stranger treated in same way

2 - Type B (secure) - 70% showed this. Use caregiver as safe base while exploring room and play with toys. Show separation protest even when not completely alone, show reunion joy and stranger anxiety but still accepts comfort from stranger

3- Type C (insecure-resistant) - 10% showed this. Very fussy and cry, don’t explore room (very clingy), extreme separation protest but show no reunion joy. Also show extreme stranger anxiety

Question 8

Strange Situation AO3

Answer 8

Pros:
- can be replicated as study had high control and standardised procedures

Cons:
- culturally bias as carried out in USA. In Germany children were encouraged to be independent and behaviours such as crying wee seen as spoilt and didn’t reward them. Children show less anxiety when separated because of this and thus would be classed as avoidant

• validity question, argued that proximity seeking is measure of insecurity and not security
• gender bias, only carried with mothers as primary caregiver they could be more securely attached with father. Main and Weston (1981) showed behaviour is different depending on what parent they’re with
• lacks ecological validity as babies attachment is much stronger in a lab than at home

Question 9

Cross-cultural variations (AO1) meta analysis study

Answer 9

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) conducted a meta-analysis of 32 studies into attachment to see if attachment occurs in the same way across all cultures. Used the strange situation to measure attachment in individualistic cultures (USA, UK, and Germany) and some collectivist cultures (Japan, China, and Israel).

Carried out on babies under 2yrs and main findings were:

• secure attachment was the most common attachment style in all of the
  eight countries studied.
• the second most common attachment style was insecure-avoidant, except
  in Israel and Japan where avoidant was rare but resistant was common.
• the lowest percentage of secure attachments was in China.
• the highest percentage of secure attachments was in Great Britain.
• the highest percentage of insecure-avoidant attachments was in West
  Germany.
• overall variations within cultures were 1.5 times greater than the
  variation between cultures.

Question 10

Cultural variation in attachment AO3

Answer 10

Pros:
- study is meta-analysis, large sample used so increases validity

Cons:
- culturally bias, methodology used was developed in USA and may not be valid in other cultures. Ainsworth assumed willingness to explore shows secure attachment which may not be the case in other cultures

• The infants from Israel in this study lived on a Kibbutz (closed community) and did not come into contact with strangers. This could be the reason why these children showed severe distress when confronted with strangers and so were classed as resistant
• compared countries not cultures. Compared USA with Japan for example but there’s many sub-cultures within these countries. Study of attachment in Tokyo were similar to USA but in more rural areas in Japan there were more insecure-resistant infants
• gender bias, studies in this meta-analysis looked at attachments to mothers but not father, where secure attachment could me more present. Doesn’t measure overall attachment rather than attachment to one individual. Main and Weston (1981) showed children behave differently depending on what parent they’re with

Question 11

Learning theory of attachment AO1

Answer 11

According to learning theory all behaviours is learned rather than it being innate or inherited. Learnt through classical conditioning maintained through operant

Classical:

• food is unconditioned stimulus and produced pleasure which is the unconditioned response
• person providing food is NS and over time become associated with pleasure gained from food
• Person become CS and produces pleasure which is the CR
• this is how attachment bond developed and is why children feel pleasure when with caregiver

Operant conditioning:

OC Strengthens attachment
- positive reinforcement received for crying or when hungry as they’re fed
- caregiver receives negative reinforcement for feeding their baby when they cry as it makes the crying stop

Question 12

Learning theory AO3

Answer 12

Pros:

• plausible and scientific as it’s an established theory. Likely that association between person who needs something and the person providing them leads to strong attachments

Cons:

• Harlow (1959) study separated infant monkeys from mothers and put them in cages. Milk was provided by a wire mesh or one made with comfortable cloth. Monkeys clung to comfortable cloth even if it didn’t even provide milk. Shows comfort is more than food when determining infant attachment
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found food isn’t necessary. Babies are attached to those who play with them. 39% of cases even though mother fed them, babies were more attached so someone else
• This theory explains how attachments form but not why they form. According to Bowlby’s theory of attachment infants form an attachment to their caregiver to ensure they are protected.
• learning theory is environmentally reductionist as it explains a complex behaviour in a simp,e way. Infant caregiver relationship is very sophisticated and they’re many types of attachment. Unlikely that the attachment is merely the result of food being provided. It is also environmentally deterministic as is states early learning determines later attachmetn behaviour

Question 13

How does Bowlby’s theory explains why attachments form

Answer 13

Principle behind it is that attachment between infants and their caregivers is an instinct that has evolved because it increases of babies’ survival and parents’ passing on genes thus making it adaptive.

Question 14

How do attachments form according to Bowlby

Answer 14

• infants have an innate drive to become attached to an adult. Innate behaviours have a critical period where they MUST occur or they will have difficulty forming attachments (b4 2yrs)
• Bowlby suggested attachment is determined by caregivers sensitivity. More responsive and co-operative caregivers provide stronger attachment
• social releases (behaviours that elicit care giving like smiling and crying) are important and ensure attachments develop. Babies display them to encourage caregivers to look after them
• Bowlby argued infants have a special emotional bond (MONOTROPY) which is often with the biological mother. Also form secondary attachments which are an emotional safety net and are vital for healthy psychological + social development

Question 15

Consequences of attachment relating to Bowlby

Answer 15

• infants use monotropy to form a internal working model (mental view of relationships)
• secure relationships ensure positive working models and mean current and future generations relationships will be positive and secure
• continuity hypothesis proposes individuals who are securely attached in infancy remain socially and emotionally competent as secure childhood leads to a positive internal working model

Question 16

Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory AO3 (5)

Answer 16

Only cons:

• Schaffer and Emerson (1964) suggest multiple attachments more common than monotropy. By 18 months only 13% of infants had only one attachment
• monotropy is said to be socially sensitive. Feminists argue that it’s a outdated view as is sets up blame on mothers for anything that goes wrong in the child’s life as it places a heavy burden on them and pressures them to stay at home and give up careers. Bowlby saw the role of the father as economic
• critical period criticised as adopted kid still form attachments after ages of 2 yrs. Found by Tizard and Hodges (1989)
• impossible to test as Bowlby’s argument has been in the same form throughout evolutionary history, making it unscientific
• Kegan (1984) argued that attachment isn’t determined by caregivers sensitivity but rather innate temperament. According to him some kids are better at forming attachments than others due to innate characteristics. Rovine (1987) found that infants who had been judged to have signs of behavioural instability between one and three days old were later more likely to have an insecure attachment

Question 17

What is Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?

Answer 17

• Bowlby (1953) proposed children who suffer from prolonged emotional deprivation caused by absence of primary attachment will have long term intellectual, social and emotion difficulties (low IQ, delinquency, affectionless psychopathy) and even mental health issues
• according to continuity hypothesis effects are irreversible and will continue to adulthood because of a lack of an internal working model , can lead to bad parenting
• negative impacts of maternal deprivation occur if separation is before the critical period (2.5yrs). Risk of up to 5 yrs old (sensitive period) if there’s no substitute mother figure

Question 18

Bowlby research + findings (1944)

Answer 18

RESEARCH
- analysed case history of his patients where he worked. All children attending this clinic were emotionally maladjusted
- studied 88 of these children, half were those caught stealing and other half were a control group
- he suggested 14 of the thieves were affectionless psychopaths (lack affection, shame and responsibility for actions)

FINDINGS
- those who were affectionless psychopaths had experienced frequent early separations from mother (foster care, stays in hospital etc)
- 12/14 of AP experienced frequent separations compared to 5/30 of the thieves not classed as AP
- almost none of control group experienced early separations

Question 19

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation (AO3)

Answer 19

Pros:

• before Bowlby’s (1953) theory hospitals wouldn’t allow parents to visit children during stays/ only allowed infrequent visits like 1 a week. This had a damaging effect on the child but now the parents are encouraged to stay with their children - proves his theory
• research support backing him up
  1. Spitz (1945) examined children in a poor orphanage in South America. Staff overworked, undertrained and gave kids no attention. Children displayed anaclitic depression (sadness, loss of appetite, sleeplessness)
     2. Skodak and Skeeles (1949) found children in institutions where they were only physically looked after scored bad on a IQ test. They placed the children in a different institution that prodivded emotional care and IQ score improved by 30 points

Cons:

• maternal deprivation effects shown to be reversible. Children who never formed attachments and were adopted after 4 were still able to form attachments to new parents (Tizard et al 1989)
• Bowlby didn’t distinguish between deprivation (when figure is lost) and privation (when attachment was never there). Latter could be cause of extreme negative effects observed in some studies

Question 20

Harlow AO1

Answer 20

Harlow (1959) conducted landmark study on attachment

Procedure:
- created two wire ‘mothers’. One wrapped in soft cloth
- 8 monkeys separated from mother placed in cage with 2 wire mothers
- 4 received milk from the cloth mother, other 4 received milk from exposed wire mother
- over 165 days time monkeys spend with each of 2 mothers was measured
- observations made of monkeys responses to being frightened by mechanical teddy and how they coped with exploring new room with toys

Findings:

• 8 monkeys spend most time with soft cloth mother, regardless of whether they were being fed or not
• monkeys fed by exposed wire mother only stayed for milk then went back to soft cloth mother
• when frightened by teddy all monkeys clung to soft cloth mother
• when playing with new toys monkeys kept one foot on soft cloth
• when exploring room had to stay with soft cloth mother

Question 21

Evaluation of Harlow (1959) AO3

Answer 21

Pros:

• backed up by other experiments, Schaffer and Emerson (64) also found that food isn’t necessary for attachment to form. Babies attached to people who play with them not feed, 39% of cases baby attached to someone else even tho mother fed them

Cons:

• unethical, monkeys removed from their mothers which is very traumatic and they were also deliberately scared. Led to long term emotional harm, when encountering other monkeys they froze or fled and also had difficulty caring for their own young
• problematic to extrapolate findings from this study to attachment in human infants. Humans are physiologically different from monkeys and have other influences like culture, society, peers etc
• attachment bond between human infants and their attachment figures is complex compared to monkeys. Several types of attachment for humans (secure, avoidant, resistant)

Question 22

Lorenz (1935) AO1

Answer 22

Lorenz was an ethologist who wanted to investigate imprinting. This is the instinct in several species of animals to attach to the first moving thing they see after they are born.

Procedure:

• in 1935 took a clutch of goose eggs and divided them into 2 groups
• one was left to hatch with natural mother, other in an incubator
• first thing the eggs in incubator saw was Lorenz
• marked the 2 groups to distinguish and brought them back together

Findings:

-geese quickly divided themselves, one followed natural mother other followed Lorenz
- geese in incubator showed no recollection of mother
- found that process of imprinting is restricted to definite period of young animals life (critical period)
- if not exposed to moving object during critical period the animal wont imprint
- found imprinting to be irreversible and long lasting as one of the geese imprinted on Jim slept on his bed every day
- discovered that early imprinting had effect on later mate preferences (sexual imprinting). Animals choose to mate with same kind of object upon they were imprinted

Question 23

Lorenz (1935) AO3

Answer 23

Pro:

• other studies support idea that animals are born with instinct to attach to first moving object they see. Gutton (1966) showed chickens imprint to gloves if they were fed by them during first few weeks alive

Con:

• imprinting more reversible than Lorenz thought. Gutton (66) found he could reverse the imprinting in chickens (yellow glove). After spending time with own species they were able to engage in normal sexual behaviour

Question 24

Insitutional Care AO1 (def and study)

Answer 24

Institutional care is when a child’s living arrangements are outside the family (hostels, orphanages and hospitals etc). Children raised in these institutions can adopt the rules and norms of the institution, which could impair functioning and lead to a loss or personal identity (deindividuation)

STUDY:

Rutter et al (2010) tested 165 Romanian children who spent early yrs in orphanages before being adopted (so they suffered from effects of institutionalisation) at regular intervals (4,6,11 and 15). Tested physical, cognitive and social development, comparing results to 52 British children adopted b4 6 months of age

FINDINGS AND CONC:

• at time of adoption Romanian orphans lagged behind brits on all measures
• by 4, Romanians adopted before age of six months had caught up to brits but a significant number who were adopted AFTER 6 months lagged behind at age 4
• this study suggests that long-term consequences of institutionalisation can be less severe if child is adopted before 6 month but is more severe if child was adopted after 6 months

Question 25

Effects of Institutionalisation (6)

Answer 25

1. Delayed Intellectual Development – Children raised in institutions can have a low IQ and concentration problems aswell as delayed language development
2. Disinhibited Attachment - Children raised in institutions may not know what appropriate behaviour towards strangers is. They can be overly affectionate and attention-seeking.
3. Emotional Development – Children raised in institutions can have difficulty managing their anger (e.g. they have more temper tantrums than other children).
4. Lack of Internal Working Model - Children raised in institutions may have difficulty interacting with peers and forming close relationships. As adults they will have impaired adult relationships and can struggle to parent their own children.
5. Children raised in institutions have Quasi-Autism because they struggle to understand the meaning of social contexts and can have obsessional behaviours. Have reduced empathy
6. Delayed Physical Development – Children in institutional care are usually physically small. Research has shown that a lack of emotional care rather than poor nourishment is the cause of what has been called deprivation dwarfism.

Question 26

Effects of institutionalisation evaluation (AO3)

Answer 26

Pros:
- studies that have investigated the effects have enhanced our understanding of negative consequences of institutional care and has led to improvements in these places with more emotional care being provided

• studies into this have led to changes in the adoption process. In past mothers were encouraged to nurse children for as long as possible before giving them up, now most are adopted within first week of life (less than 6 months)

Cons:

• can’t generalise studies of Romanians to everyone else as there was poor standard of care back then. Bad physical conditions and lack of cognitive stimulation
• possible negative effects of institutional care can be reduced by sensitive parenting. Le Mare and Audet (2006) conducted study of 36 Romanian orphans adopted to families in canada. They were physically smaller than control group at age 4 but difference disappeared by 10
• conditions in studies of Romanian orphans were not randomly allocated, so participant variables between children can influence results, children adopted due to characteristics, which is why they were less affected by institutional care, which lowers validity

Question 27

Influence of early attachment on childhood relationships AO1 (about sroufe et al)

Answer 27

Procedure:
Sroufe et al (05) carried out a study known as the Minnesota parent-child project. Began in 1975 and mother child pairs continue to be studied today

• since 1975 mothers’ and childrens’ behavour assessed using questionnaires and observations. They were videotaped (intra-observer reliability) while playing
• mother knew about it (social desirability bias) and two observers analysed recordings (inter-observer reliability)

Findings:

• as children those classed as securely attached as infants were:
• rated highest for social competence
• less socially isolated
• more popular with peers
• more empathetic

Infants early attachment creates internal working model of what relationships are and what they should expect. Securely attached people have positive internal working model so form relationships and maintain them better

No attachment during critical period results in lack of internal working model for attachment. Leads to attachment disorder where there’s no preferred attachment figure, and an inability to interact. Evident from 5 yrs and caused by severe neglect or frequent caregiver change

Question 28

Sroufe et al evaluation (AO3)

Answer 28

Pro:

• reliable study, many other studies such as Simpson et al (2007) have found similar results where securely attached infants had higher social competence as children etc

Cons:

• deterministic as it doesn’t take account of peoples free will to make conscious decisions about their behaviour. Study claims early experiences has fixed effect on later childhood relationships
• studies contradicting early attachment affect later relationships (Tizard and hodges 1989, adopted children past 4 could form attachments to new parents)

Question 29

Hazan and Shaver (1987) AO1

Answer 29

Hazan and Shaver designed study to test connection between a person’s infant attachment style, their internal working model, and their adult attachment style.

Procedure:
- placed “love quiz” in newspaper.
- asked qs about relationship w parents (infant attachment)
- asked qs towards love (internal working model)
- asked qs about current relationship experiences (adult attachment style)
- got 620 responses

Findings:
- adult attachment styles similar to infant attachment
- relationships between internal working model and their adult attachment style (positive internal working model tended to be securely attached adults)
- positive correlation between adult attachment style and love experiences
- securely attached adults had happy experiences and were most enduring (10 yrs compared to 6 yrs for avoidant and 5 yrs for resistant)

Question 30

Hazan and Shaver study evaluation AO3

Answer 30

Only cons:

• unreliable study other studies failed to find correlation between infant and adult attachment style (Farley 2002 study found correlations form .5 to as low as .1)
• study is correlation also rather than experimental so you can’t determine cause and effect. It is impossible to say that infant attachment styles determine adult attachment styles. It could be that there is a third variable that affects both, such as a person’s innate temperament.
• This study relies on participants’ memories about their early lives in order to assess their infant attachment style, which can be flawed making study less valid