Attachment. Flashcards
Bowlby’s monotropic theory.
A theory of attachment proposed by John Bowlby, suggests attachment is the result of evolutionary behaviours towards a primary caregiver.
Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation.
A theory for social deviance proposed by John Bowlby suggests that constant separation from the child and primary caregiver, results in permanent difficulties for the child in the future.
Critical period.
A period of time (proposed by John Bowlby) within which if a child does not form an attachment, they will never form an attachment.
Interactional synchrony.
A type of interaction between the child and primary caregiver in which both mirror eachothers actions.
Harlow’s monkeys:
Wire/cloth mother.
Prefer food or comfort- comfort.
Harlow’s monkeys:
Evaluations.
-Lab experiment (control variables)
-They grew up to have social/ emotional disturbance.
-Growing up insolation effected their development.
-Lack of ecological validity.
-Ethical issues.
Schaffer and Emerson- 5 stages of attachments.
- 0-3 months- Asocial
- 6 weeks -7 months- indiscriminate.
- 7-11 months- discriminate.
- 7-9 months- specific attachment.
- 10+ months- multiple attachments.
60 Glasgow babies, studied them every 4 weeks until they were 18 months old.
1/2 primary attachments to mother, 1/3 to father.
Geiger (1996)- role of the father.
He found that the way fathers play with their children is more exciting and pleasurable than mothers. This supports the view of the father as a playmate.
Bowlby- What did he come up with?
~Evolution- biological need for attachment.
+ Harlow’s monkeys.
~Monotropy- main attachment, ‘safe-base’.
~Infant attachments are templated for future relationships.
~Critical period.
~Maternal deprivation.
-Schaffer and Emerson.
-Harlow: no monotropic bond.
Secure attachement.
Strong.
Insecure attachment.
Weak
Insecure- avoidant:
Not distressed when left, will allow comfort from strangers.
Insecure- resistant:
Uneasy around caregivers, upset if they leave.
Ainsworth’s strange situation.
Study 12-18 month olds in a room with their mothers.
15% insecure-avoidant: didn’t mind if mum left.
70% secure attachment: avoid strangers.
15% insecure-resistant: hard to comfort when mum returns.
Ainsworth’s strange situation.
Evaluations.
+ Lab study.
- The mom may not be their main attachment figure.
Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg.
Cultural variations.
Meta analysis of 52 SS studies.
-There is more difference in attachment types within the countries.
-Secure attachment: Common
-Insecure-avoidant: highest in Germany- independence.
-Insecure- resistant: most common in Japan.
SS is not suitable cross- cultures- they don’t show the characteristics of the child.
Bowlby- How long is the critical period?
3 years.
Bowlby- 44 Thieves Study.
Studied 44 adolescent thieves and a control group of 44 teens who haven’t stolen.
-17 thieves had separated from their mothers before the age of 2, and only two were in the control group.
-14 thieves were shown to be ‘affectionless psychopaths’, and 12 out of that 14 experienced separation at a young age.
-Shows deprivation has harmful long-term effects.
Bowlby- 44 Thieves Study.
Evaluation.
-Could any other factors affect it- poverty?
+ Other evidence: Goldfarb- orphans show to have a lower IQ and are less socially developed.
Curtiss (1977)- Genie.
-No attachments, abused by parents until she was found at 13.
-Physically undeveloped
-Could only speak in sounds.
-Social and intellectual skills never developed.
Rutter et al (2007)- Romanian orphan study.
111 orphans were adopted by British families- 52 were followed for this study for a prolonged period.
-Assessed at ages 4, 6 and 11.
-Those who were adopted before 6 months developed emotionally, just as any British orphan would.
-Those adopted after 6 months, showed social problems and signs of being insecure-avoidant.
Hazen and Shaver- Love quiz.
Analysed 620 responses to find a correlation between childhood attachment and future relationships.
-Secure = happy and trusting.
-Insecure-avoidant = fear intimacy.
-Insecure-resistant= worried they wouldn’t be loved (Supports internal WM).
Quinton et al.
Long-term effects of privation on women who were in an institution- struggle with parenting.
Frued and Dan.
6 children from WW2 concentration camps were studied, they never formed attachments yet continued to have normal IQ levels and relationships.
