Attachment

Question 1

What is the definition of an attachment

Answer 1

an enduring, two way, emotional tie to a specific other person normally between a parent and child

Question 2

How are attachments formed in the early stages of aa child’s development

Answer 2

• bodily contact
• mimicking
• caregiverese
• interactional synchrony
• reciprocity

Question 3

What stage of attachment is an infant at from birth to 3 months

Answer 3

pre-attachment phase- from 6 weeks old, infants become attracted to other humans rather than objects

Question 4

What stage of attachment is an infant at from 3 to 7/8 months

Answer 4

indiscriminate attachment- infants discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar people

Question 5

What stage of attachment is an infant at when they are 7/8 months

Answer 5

discriminate attachment- infants develop specific attachments and they stay close to particular people and they become stressed when separated form them

Question 6

What stage of attachment is an infant at when they are 9 months old and older

Answer 6

multiple attachments stage- infants form bonds with other major caregivers such as grandparents
- the fear of strangers weakens but attachment to mother still remains strong

Question 7

How has the role of the father in attachments seen now

Answer 7

-in the past, mothers tended to stay at home to look after the children when the father went out to work so therefore he played a minor role
- now, the father plays a more significant role as both parents tend to work so they share responsibility

Question 8

Factors affecting relationships between father and child

Answer 8

• degree of sensitivity- greater attachments if father shows more sensitivity to child’s needs
• type of attachment with own parents- fathers tend to act in a similar way to the way they were with their parents
• marital intimacy- how his relationship with the partner is
• supportive co-parenting- amount of support father gives his partner

Question 9

Definition of imprinting

Answer 9

a form of attachment where offspring follow the first large moving object

Question 10

Outline Lorenz study

Answer 10

• separated two sets of geese eggs
• half hatched with mother, half hatched under Lorenz’s supervision
• after birth, the geese with Lorenz followed him and the others followed the mother
• this shows imprinting is irreversible

Question 11

Outline Harlow’s monkey research

Answer 11

-he used baby monkeys by depriving them from their mother
- he used a wire mother with milk and a cloth/ soft mother without milk
- he then stimulated the monkeys
- his results show that the monkeys went for comfort instead of food
- this shows that attachment comes from emotional security rather than food

Question 12

What is learning theory

Answer 12

the belief that attachments develop through conditioning processes

Question 13

What is classical conditioning

Answer 13

occurs when a response produced naturally by a certain stimulus, becomes associated with another stimulus that is not normally associated with that particular response

Question 14

What is operant conditioning

Answer 14

learning occurring via reinforcement of behaviour, thus increasing the chances of it happening again

Question 15

What is the cupboard love theory

Answer 15

the belief that attachments are formed with people who feed infants

Question 16

What are the two types of learning theory

Answer 16

• classical conditioning
• operant conditioning

Question 17

describe how attachments for due to classical conditioning

Answer 17

1. before learning- UCS —> UCR
2. during learning- UCS+CS—> UCR
3. after learning- CS —> CR

Question 18

Describe operant conditioning

Answer 18

• based on ‘ Law of Effect
• where actions with a pleasurable outcome are likely to be repeated
• actions with less a pleasurable outcome are not likely to be repeated

Question 19

What is positive reinforcement

Answer 19

receiving something pleasurable for performing a certain behaviour

Question 20

What is negative reinforcement

Answer 20

not receiving something non- pleasurable for performing a certain behaviour ( e.g not getting detention for doing work)

Question 21

What is punishment

Answer 21

receiving something non-pleasurable for performing a certain behaviour (e.g getting detention for not doing work)

Question 22

What is Bowlby’s monotropic theory

Answer 22

the idea that infants have an inbuilt tendency to make an initial attachment with one attachment figure, usually the mother

Question 23

What are social releasers

Answer 23

innate, infant social behaviours that stimulate adult interaction and caregiving

Question 24

What is the critical period

Answer 24

a specific time period in which an attachment must form

Question 25

What are some social releasers in infants

Answer 25

crying- to attract the parents attention
looking, smiling, vocalising- to maintain parental attention and interest
- following and clinging- to gain and maintain proximity to parents

Question 26

What is the strange situation

Answer 26

the accepted observational testing method for measuring attachment types

Question 27

What is separation anxiety

Answer 27

the degree of distress shown by infants when parted from attachment figures

Question 28

What was Ainsworth’s aims

Answer 28

to see how infants between 9 and 18 months act under separation anxiety

Question 29

What was Ainsworth’s type A type of attachment

Answer 29

insecure-avoidant
- they are willing to explore
- low stranger anxiety
- unconcerned by separation
- avoid contact on return to caregiver
- caregivers are indifferent to infants needs

Question 30

What was Ainsworth’s type B type of attachment

Answer 30

securely attached
- they are willing to explore
- high stranger anxiety
- easy to calm and enthusiastic at return of caregiver
- caregivers are sensitive to infants needs

Question 31

What is Ainsworth’s type C type of attachment

Answer 31

insecure resistant
- they are unwilling to explore
- high stranger anxiety
- upset by separation then seek and reject comfort at return of caregiver
- caregivers are ambivalent to infants needs

Question 32

What are cultural variations relating to attachment

Answer 32

differences in child-rearing practices and attachment types between different cultural groupings

Question 33

What is Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis

Answer 33

if an attachment bond between an infant and the primary caregiver is broken even short term, it can result in serious and permanent damage to a child’s emotional, social and intellectual development

Question 34

What is short term separation

Answer 34

• it consists of brief, temporary separations from attachment figures (e.g attending day care)

Question 35

Describe the PDD model in short term separation

Answer 35

-Protest- immediate reaction to separation involving crying, screaming, kicking and struggling to escape
- Despair- protest is replaced by calmer more apathetic behaviour with anger and fear still inwardly felt
- Detachment- infant responds to people again but treats people wearingly

Question 36

What is privation in terms of long term deprivation

Answer 36

-privation is with children who have never formed an attachment bond
- its more likely to lead to lasting damage than deprivation but still can recover

Question 37

What is institutionalisation in terms of long term deprivation

Answer 37

the effect upon attachments of care provided by orphanages and residential children’s homes

Question 38

What is affectionless psychopathy

Answer 38

an inability to show affection or concern for others

Question 39

What is the continuity hypothesis

Answer 39

the idea that there is consistency between early emotional experiences and later relationships