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Pyschology Paper 1 > Attachment! > Flashcards

Attachment! Flashcards

1
Q

Define reciprocity:

A

Where an infant responds to the actions of another person.

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2
Q

Define interactional synchrony:

A

Where an infant mirrors the actions of another person in turns, such as their facial expressions and body movements.

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3
Q

Which psychologists suggested the importance of reciprocity in caregiver-infant interactions?

A

Feldman and Eidelman

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4
Q

What did Feldman and Eidelman suggest about the importance of reciprocity in caregiver-infant interactions?

A
  • Babies have periodic ‘alert phases’ that signals they are ready for interaction
  • Mothers pick up on this 2/3 times.
  • Frequency increases from 3 months
  • Focuses on verbal signals and facial expressions.
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5
Q

Which psychologists investigated the importance of interactional synchrony in caregiver-infant interactions?

A

Meltzoff and Moore

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6
Q

How did Meltzoff and Moore investigate the importance of interactional synchrony in caregiver-infant interactions?

A
  • Argued that mother and infant interact in such ways that their actions and emotions mirror each other
  • Observed infants observing their mother do 1 out of 3 distinctive actions e.g. frowning, sticking out tongue
  • Positive correlation was found between mother and infants actions.
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7
Q

What did Isabella suggest about Meltzoff and Moore’s investigation into interactional synchrony?

A

Found that better synchrony was shown by infants who had high levels of attachment to their PCG

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8
Q

Name the three evaluation points for researching mother-infant interactions and are they a strength or limitation?

A

1) Controlled observations = strength
2) Unable to fully observe infants behaviour = limitation
3) Observation doesn’t tell us the purpose = limitation

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9
Q

Explain controlled observations as a strength for researching mother-infant interactions:

A
  • Observations of mother-infant interactions are well controlled as both the mother and infant are being recorded from multiple angles meaning the research has good validity.
  • Ensures very fine details of infants behaviour can be analysed.
  • Infants behaviour will not change in response to controlled observations.
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10
Q

Explain unable to fully observe infants behaviour as a limitation for researching mother-infant interactions:

A
  • When studying infants behaviour we cannot know for certain what is being observed purely based on hand movements or changes in expression.
  • Cannot conclude that the behaviours seen in mother infant interactions have a special meaning.
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11
Q

Explain observations don’t tell us the purpose for researching mother-infant interactions.

A
  • Observations of mother-infant interactions don’t tell us the purpose of synchrony and reciprocity
  • Feldman states that synchrony simply describes behaviours that occur at the same time, but doesn’t have a clear purpose
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12
Q

What did Schaffer and Emerson suggest about parent-infant attachments?

A
  • Most infants become attached to their mother first (7 months)
  • Later form secondary attachment to other CGs
  • By 18 months 75% infants formed secondary attachments to their fathers
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13
Q

What did grossman conclude about the role of the father in parent-infant attachment?

A
  • Father attachment is less important than mother attachment
  • Fathers typically adopt the role of play and stimulation
  • Positive correlation between quality of fathers play and adolescent attachments
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14
Q

Which psychologist carried out research on fathers as primary caregivers?

A

Field

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15
Q

Explain the method of Field’s experiment into fathers as the primary caregiver:

A

Filmed 4 month old infants in face-face interactions with PCG mothers, PCG fathers and secondary CG fathers.

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16
Q

Explain the findings of Field’s experiment into fathers as the primary caregiver:

A
  • PCG fathers and mothers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than the secondary CG fathers.
  • Fathers can be the PCG; attachment is formed from the level of responsiveness not gender of PCG.
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17
Q

Name the 3 evaluation points for research completed into fathers as the primary caregiver and if they are a strength or a limitation:

A

1) Inconsistent findings on role of father = limitation
2) Why aren’t children without fathers different? = limitation
3) Why don’t fathers usually become the PCG = limitation

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18
Q

Explain ‘inconsistent findings on role of the father’ as a limitation for research into fathers as the primary caregiver:

A
  • Different researchers are interested in different research questions
  • Means psychologists cannot actually answer the question, “what is the role of the father?”
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19
Q

Explain ‘why aren’t children without father different?’ as a limitation for research into fathers as the primary caregiver:

A
  • Grossman found that fathers as secondary attachment figures had an important role in their children’s development
  • Other studies found that children growing up in single or same-sex parent families do not develop any differently.
  • Suggests fathers role as a secondary attachment figure is not important.
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20
Q

Explain ‘why don’t fathers usually become the PCG?’ as a limitation for research into fathers as the primary caregiver:

A
  • Traditional gender roles mean that women are expected to be more caring and nurturing than men- therefore fathers don’t feel as if they should act like this.
  • Biologically it could be that female hormones create higher levels of nurturing, so women are biologically predisposed to be the PCG.
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21
Q

Explain the method of Schaffer and Emerson’s research into attachments in infancy:

A
  • Observed 60 infants from Glasgow each month for a year then at 18 months
  • Measured separation anxiety and stranger anxiety
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22
Q

Explain the findings of Schaffer and Emerson’s research into attachments in infancy:

A
  • Found that around 7 months, 50% infants displayed separation/stranger anxiety
  • Infants were most attached to the individual who was most responsive to their needs
  • By 10 months 80% infants had multiple attachments
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23
Q

Name the three evaluation points for Schaffer and Emerson’s research into attachments in infancy and give if they are a strength or a weakness:

A

1) Ecological validity = strength
2) Longitudinal design = strength
3) Limited sample characteristics = limitation

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24
Q

Explain ecological validity as a strength for Schaffer and Emerson’s research into attachments in infancy:

A
  • Carried out in families’ own homes and most of the observation was done by parents during ordinary activities
  • Behaviour of the babies was unlikely to be affected by the presence of observers, so the participants behaved naturally while being observed.
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25
Q

Explain longitudinal design as a strength for Schaffer and Emerson’s research into attachments in infancy:

A
  • Same children were followed up and observed regularly.
  • Means the study had better internal validity as it does not have the confounding variables that a cross-sectional design would have.
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26
Q

According to Schaffer and Emerson how many stages of attachment are there?

A

4

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27
Q

Name the 4 stages of attachment in order:

A
  • Asocial stage
  • Indiscriminate stage
  • Discriminate stage
  • Multiple attachment stage
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28
Q

Explain stage 1 (asocial stage) of Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment:

A
  • 0 to 2 months
  • Observable behaviour between infants and objects
  • Infants have a preference for being with familiar people
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29
Q

Explain stage 2 (indiscriminate stage) of Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment:

A
  • 2 to 7 months
  • Infants display more social behaviour
  • Shows separation/stranger anxiety
  • Will accept comfort from anyone
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30
Q

Explain stage 3 (discriminate stage) of Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment:

A
  • 7 to 12 months
  • Show significant stranger anxiety, especially when not with attachment figure
  • Have formed primary attachment
31
Q

Explain stage 4 (multiple attachment stage) of Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment:

A
  • After 12 months
  • Have multiple attachments
  • Most infants have formed secondary attachments
32
Q

Name the three evaluation points for Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment and if they are a strength or limitation:

A

1) Problem studying asocial stage = limitation
2) Problem measuring multiple attachments = limitation
3) Conflicting evidence on multiple attachments = limitation

33
Q

Explain problem studying asocial stage as a limitation for Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment:

A
  • At the asocial stage infants have poor coordination and are generally immobile.
  • It is difficult to make judgements about infants based on observations of their behaviour.
34
Q

Explain problem measuring multiple attachments as a limitation for Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment:

A
  • Just because an infant gets distressed when an individual leaves the room does not necessarily mean that the individual is an attachment figure.
  • Bowlby states that children have attachment figures as well as playmates, in which infants may get distressed when they leave the room.
  • Observation does not leave us with a way to distinguish between behaviour shown towards secondary attachment figures and between playmates.
35
Q

Explain conflicting evidence on multiple attachments as a limitation for Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment:

A
  • Unclear when infants become capable of developing multiple attachments
  • Bowlby states an infant will develop a primary attachment and then later attachments.
  • In collectivist cultures where multiple caregivers are the norm, infants form multiple attachments from the start
36
Q

Which psychologist carried out research into animal imprinting?

A

Lorenz

37
Q

Explain Lorenz’s procedure of research into animal imprinting:

A
  • Randomly divided a clutch of goose eggs
  • Half of the eggs were returned to the mother goose and natural environment (control)
  • Half of the eggs were hatched in an incubator where the first moving thing they saw was Lorenz
38
Q

What were the findings of Lorenz’s research into animal imprinting?

A
  • Control eggs followed mother goose, incubator eggs followed Lorenz
  • When the 2 groups were mixed the hatchlings divided into their original groups
  • Lorenz concluded that the birds attached to the first moving thing they saw within the critical period.
39
Q

Which psychologist carried out research into animal sexual imprinting?

A

Lorenz

40
Q

Explain the procedure and findings of Lorenz’s research into animal sexual imprinting:

A
  • Hatchling peacock saw a giant tortoise as its first moving thing
  • Adult peacock would only display courtship behaviour towards giant tortoises.
  • Concluded the peacock had undergone sexual imprinting
41
Q

What are the 3 evaluation points for Lorenz’s research into animal imprinting and state if they are a strength or limitation:

A

1) High external validity = strength
2) Cannot generalise to humans = limitation
3) Questionable observations = limitation

42
Q

Explain high external validity as a strength for Lorenz’s research into animal imprinting:

A
  • The experiment was highly controlled, increasing replicability and reliability.
  • High control and external validity, establishing cause and effect.
43
Q

Explain cannot generalise to humans as a limitation for Lorenz’s research into animal imprinting:

A
  • Not appropriate to generalise findings from birds onto humans.
  • Research shows that mammalian mothers show more emotional attachment to young than birds do
44
Q

Explain questionable observations as a limitation for Lorenz’s research into animal imprinting:

A
  • Researchers have questioned some of Lorenz’s conclusions.
  • Guiton found that chickens who imprinted on a yellow sponge would try to mate with it as adults, but would eventually learn to prefer mating with chickens
  • Suggests the impact of imprinting on mating behaviour is not as permanent as Lorenz believed.
45
Q

What psychologist done research on the importance of contact comfort?

A

Harlow

46
Q

Explain the method of Harlow’s research into the importance of contact comfort:

A
  • Reared 16 baby monkeys with 2 wire model mothers
  • 1 mother dispensed milk, 1 mother was covered in cloth
  • Monkey was frightened
47
Q

Explain the findings of Harlow’s research into the importance of contact comfort:

A
  • When distressed the monkey sought contact comfort from the cuddled cloth-covered mother over milk-dispensing wire mother
  • Concluded that contact comfort is more important than food in attachment
48
Q

Explain Harlow’s research and findings into maternally deprived monkeys as adults:

A
  • Followed monkeys who had been deprived of a real mother until adulthood.
  • Found monkeys who were reared with the wire mother were more dysfunctional, aggressive and less social than monkeys reared with cloth-covered mother.
  • Wire mother monkeys were unskilled at mating so bred less, showing behaviour of neglecting their young.
49
Q

What did Harlow suggest about the critical period for attachment in his monkey study?

A
  • Attachment must form within 90 days
  • After this attachment is impossible and damage done by early deprivation is irreversible
50
Q

Name the 3 evaluation points for Harlow’s research on the importance of contact comfort and state if they are a strength or a limitation:

A

1) Real life application = strength
2) Theoretical value = strength
3) Ethical issues = limitation

51
Q

Explain real life application as a strength for Harlow’s research on the importance of contact comfort:

A
  • Important applications in a range of practical contexts.
  • Helps social workers understand risk factors in child neglect and abuse, and so to intervene to prevent it.
  • Understand the importance of proper attachment figures for baby monkeys in zoos and breeding programmes.
52
Q

Explain theoretical value as a strength for Harlow’s research on the importance of contact comfort:

A
  • Deepend psychologists understanding of human mother-infant attachment.
  • Shows that attachment does not develop as a result of being fed but as a result of contact comfort.
  • Shows the importance of the quality of childhood attachments for later social development and the ability to maintain adult relationships and successfully rear children.
53
Q

Explain ethical issues as a limitation for Harlow’s research on the importance of contact comfort

A
  • Received severe criticism for the ethics of his research.
  • The monkeys suffered greatly because of his research. As the species is similar enough to generalise findings, it is also presumed that the suffering they experienced was quite human-like
  • Harlow himself referred to the wire monkeys as ‘iron maidens’.
54
Q

What type of approach is the learning theory of attachment?

A

Behaviourist.

55
Q

Which two process explains the learning theory of attachment and the maintance of developed behaviour?

A
  • Classical conditioning
  • Operant conditioning
56
Q

Explain how babies associate their mother with pleasure through the learning theory of attachment

A
  • Milk (unconditioned stimulus) = Pleasure (unconditioned response)
  • Mother (neutral stimulus) = No conditioned response
  • Milk (unconditioned stimulus) + Mother (neutral stimulus) = Pleasure (unconditioned response)
  • Mother (conditioned stimulus) = Pleasure (conditioned response)
57
Q

What is classical conditioning?

A

Learning through association.

58
Q

What is operant conditioning?

A

The maintance of learnt behaviour through positive and negative consequences.

59
Q

Explain how operant conditioning reinforces learnt behaviour for milk from their mother:

A
  • Hungry infant will cry as it is distressed.
  • Infant is positively reinforced for crying through being fed- association is made between crying and being fed.
  • Attachment is developed between mother and infant.
  • Caregiver is negatively reinforced as feeding the infant stops it from its unpleasant crying.
60
Q

Name the three evaluation points for the learning theory of attachment and state if they are a strength or limitation:

A

1) Contradicting evidence (Schaffer and Emerson) = limitation
2) Contracting evidence (Harlow) = limitation
3) Contradicting evidence (Lorenz) = limitation

61
Q

Explain contradicting evidence (Schaffer and Emerson) as a limitation for the learning theory of attachment:

A
  • Schaffer and Emerson found that infants developed a primary attachment to their biological mother even though others did most of the feeding.
  • Ignores other factors that create attachments e.g. reciprocity and interactional synchrony.
62
Q

Explain contradicting evidence (Harlow) as a limitation for the learning theory of attachment:

A
  • Harlow found that when distressed, monkeys preferred the cloth covered mother over the milk-dispensing mother.
  • Suggests that contact comfort is more important in attachment than food.
63
Q

Evaluate the learning theory of attachment (2 points):

A

1) Schaffer and Emerson - babies developed a primary attachment to their biological mother even though others did most of the feeding
2) Harlow - Distressed monkey went to the cloth-covered monkey over the milk-dispensing mother for comfort
- Lorenx

64
Q

Explain contradicting evidence (Lorenz) as a limitation for the learning theory of attachment:

A
  • Lorenz found that the geese imprinted on the first moving thing that they saw.
  • Goes against LTOA as attachment is instantaneous and is not through classical and operant conditioning.
65
Q

Define law of continuity:

A

The idea that the constant and predictable care of a child will lead to better quality attachment.

66
Q

Define law of accumulated separation:

A

The idea that the effects of any separation add up and reduce the quality of attachment.

67
Q

Using the acronym, magic scissors cut ice, name the 4 main points of Bowlby’s theory of attachment:

A

M = Monotropy
S = Social releasers
C = Critical period
I = Internal working model

68
Q

What is monotropy?

A

The idea that a special attachment bond is formed with one person, usually the mother.

69
Q

What are social releasers?

A

Behaviours that infants are biologically pre-programmed to do, which attract the attention of their mother, such as cooing and smiling.

70
Q

What did Bowlby mean by the critical period in humans?

A

If a child doesn’t form an attachment by the age of two, then an attachment will never form.

71
Q

What is meant by the internal working model?

A

Our mental model about how relationships work based on our relationship with our caregiver.

72
Q

Name the 3 evaluation points for Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment and state if they are a strength or a limitation:

A

1) Internal working model is valid = strength
2) Controversial statements = limitation
3) Critical period is over emphasised = limitation

73
Q

Explain internal working model is valid as a strength for Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment:

A
  • Bailey assessed attachment in 99 mothers and their infants by measuring the mothers attachment to their own mother and to their infants.
  • Found that mothers with poor attachments to their own parents were more likely to have poorly attached infants.
74
Q
A

Pyschology Paper 1 (9 decks)

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