Attachment Flashcards
What are the two types of caregiver-infant interactions?
Reciprocity and Interactional Synchrony
What is reciprocity?
Turn-taking
What is interactional synchrony?
Caregiver and baby reflecting each other in a co-ordinated way
What are the 4 evaluations of caregiver-infant interactions?
- Lab filmed observations
(Inter-rater reliability) - Difficult observing babies
Interactions may not have special meaning - Interactions do not tell us developmental importance
HOWEVER,
Isabella et al, good IS creates good quality later on attachments.
What are Schaffers 4 stages of attachment?
Asocial, Indiscriminate, Specific and Multiple
What are 3 evaluations on Schaffers stages of attachment?
- Lack of evidence on Asocial stage
(Babies are most immobile) - Real-world applications
(Organisation of daycare) - Strong external validity
(Observations made my parent in their home so limits distractions)
HOWEVER,
observations made by parents…bias and not objective observers
What are 2 evaluations over the role of the father?
- Confusion over question
- Real-life applications
What are the 2 animal studies of attachment?
Lorenz’s geese and Harlow’s monkeys
What is Imprinting?
Following the first moving object we see from birth
Explain the procedure of Lorenz’s research
- Divided a large clutch of goose egg
- Half hatched when mother goose was present in natural environment
- Half hatched in incubator where Lorenze was present
Explain the findings of Lorenz’s research
Incubator group followed Lorenz everywhere control group followed mother everywhere
What is Lorenz’s critical period?
Depending on the species, a few hours after hatching/birth
If does not occur in this time chicks do not attach themselves to a mother figure
What is sexual imprinting?
Courtship linked to whoever they imprint on with behaviour preferences
What was harlow’s procedure?
- 16 baby monkeys with two wired model ‘mothers’
- One condition milk dispensed from plain-wire mother
- Condition two milk dispensed by cloth-covered mother
What was Harlow’s findings?
Baby monkeys showed preference to cloth-covered mother regardless of who was dispensing milk
Shows ‘contact comfort’ was more important than food in attachment behaviour
What is the impact of maternally deprived monkeys?
Into adulthood it had a permanent affect
- Aggression and less sociable
Neglected and attacked there children
What was the critical period that Harlow discovered?
A mother figure must be introduced within 90 days for an attachment to be formed
What was Lorenz’s research evaluations?
- Generalisability to humans
- Research support
Chicks to shape combinations that moved in front of them, followed original more closely
What was Harlow’s research evaluations?
- Real-world value
Social workers and clinical psychologists and monkeys in zoos - Generalisability to humans
What is learning theory?
Classical and operant conditioning forms an attachment with the use of food as the motivator
What are the negative evaluations of learning theory?
- Evidence against from animal studies
Harlow’s monkeys went to cloth-covered despite who had milk - Evidence against from human studies
Schaffer and Emerson Attachment mainly to mother regardless of whether she fed them
Isabella et al and interactional synchrony
What are the 2 effects of institutionalisation?
- Intellectual disability
- Disinhibited attachment
What was Rutter et als research method on institutionalisation?
165 romanian orphans adopted by UK families
- Does good care make up for poor institutionalisation
E/P/C checks at ages 4,6,11,15,22-25
What was Rutter et als research findings on institutionalisation?
Found when arrived had delayed intellectual development and undernourished
- IQ lower as adopted age was higher
- Children adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment
name 3 disinhibited attachment behaviours
Clinginess, attention-seeking and no stranger anxiety
At what point in age did institutionalised children show a disinhibited attachment style?
after 6 months
What are 2 developmental effects of maternal deprivation?
Intellectual development - Abnormally low IQ
Emotional development - Affectionless psychopathy
What was Bowbly’s study on maternal deprivation?
44 thieves study
What were 3 attachment types from Ainsworth’s strange situation?
Insecure avoidant - A (no care)
Secure - B
Insecure resistant - C (too attached)
What were the behaviours observed in Ainsworth’s strange situation? (5)
Proximity seeking
Separation Anxiety
Stranger Anxiety
Exploration
Response to reunion
What is a limitation evaluation on Ainsworth’s strange situation?
Culture bound
- Developed in Britain and US (individualistic culture)
- Japan had high separation anxiety so more I-R
- Mother-baby separation is very rare in Japan
What did Bowlby’s monotropic theory emphasise?
A childs attachment to one particular caregiver
What are the 2 laws in Monotropic theory about time spent with a ‘mother figure’?
Law of continuity
Law of accumulated seperation
What does the Law of continuity suggest?
The more constant and predictable a childs care is the better the attachment quality
What does the law of accumulated separation suggest?
The effect of every separation from the mother add up
- The safest does is a zero dose
What are social releasers in Montropic theory?
Baby are born with innate cute features that e encourage attention from adults
(activate social interactions)
What does the internal working model suggest in Montropic theory?
Child forms a mental representation of their relationships with their primary attachment figure
Acts as a model for future relationships
What is support for the internal working model?
Bailey et al - 99 mothers and their 1 year old baby
- Found mothers with poor attachments to their own primary figures were more likely to poorly attach to their babies
What does Schaffer and Emerson say about the role of the father?
fathers less likely to be the first attachment compared to mother
- Study had only 3% attach soley to father first
What does Grossmann et al say about the role of the father?
For stimulation and play and less for emotional development
What is the conflict over the role of the father that can be rebuttled?
Grossman said for stimulation and play but this doesn’t explain same sex/ fatherless family children being normal
Families however can adapt to not having a father
What age is the indiscriminate attachment stage?
2-7 months
What age is the specific attachment stage?
Around 7 months
What age is the asocial attachment stage?
First few weeks of life
What are 3 critique evaluations of learning theory?
Counter evidence from animal studies - Harlows monkeys
Counter evidence from human studies - S&M mother despite who fed
Research shows babies have an active role in interactions that form attachment
What does it mean by imposed etic?
Trying to impose a test designed for one cultural context to another context
What does it mean by indigenous researchers?
Psychologists from the same cultural background as participants
What 2 things occurs in the asocial stage?
Can’t tell the difference between humans and objects
Baby begins forming bonds
What 3 things occur in the indiscriminate stage?
Show more social behaviours
Prefer humans over inanimate objects
Recognise and prefer familiar people
What 3 things occur in the specific stage?
Attention to 1 particular caregiver (usually the mother, 65% of cases)
Severe separation and stranger anxiety
What 2 things occur in the Multiple stage?
Secondary attachments
Age of 1 most secondary attachments should be formed
How many monkey babies were in harlows study?
16
Explain Harlows procedure?
16 baby monkeys could either be with a cloth covered wire monkey or wired monkeys with each condition having a different wired monkey dispensing milk
What is the eval that can be critiqued in learning theory?
Some conditioning may be involved to strengthen a bond
Warmth may be connected with a specific adult
HOWEVER,
suggests babies play a passive role in attachment which they don’t because they cause interactions
Summarise the law of accumulated separation?
‘The safest dose is therefore a 0 dose’
Summarise the law of continuity?
A more a child’s care is constant and predictable the stronger the attachment
In BMT what was the sensitive period for attachments to form in?
6 months
What is support for social releasers?
Brazelton et al; babies and their primary attachment figures
Caregivers instructed to ignore the baby’s social releasers which caused them heavy distress
They are important in emotional development
What is attachment type A
Insecure avoidant
What is attachment type C
Insecure resistant
Names 3 characteristics of an insecure avoidant attachment
No anxiety
Little/no caregiver interactions
20-25% of british babies
What % of babies are insecure avoidant?
20-25%
What % of babies are insecure resistant?
3%
Names 3 characteristics of an insecure resistant attachment
high anxiety
Seek greater proximity
3% of british babies
3 evaluations of Ainsworths strange situation
- Controlled settings
- Inter-rater reliability
- Cultural bound
What was the inter observer reliability in Ainsworths strange situation
Bick et al had observers and they agreed on the attachment style for 94% of cases
In Bowlbys 44 thieves study what were the findings?
14/44 had AP
12/14 had prolonged separations
5/30 remained also had prolonged separations
3 evaluations of institutionalisation
RWA
Lack of adult data
Due to POOR institutionalisation or just institutionalisation
Who found found the link between attachment types in infancy and adult relationships?
McCarthy
What did McCarthy find?
found the link between attachment types in infancy and adult relationships
What type of child forms the best future relationship?
Securely attached children
Why is the 44 thieves study flawed?
Fully carried out by Bowlby himself
- Open to bias
What is other support for bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation?
Levy et al
separating baby rats from their mothers caused serious social development problems
3 Evaluations of Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation
- Flawed evidence (BB 44)
- Other Support (rats)
- Critical vs Sensitive period (Czech twins)
What was Grossmans study on the father?
Longitudinal study from babies to teens
Attachment quality to mothers was related to adolescence. However fathers play has a role
What was Fields study and findings on the role of the father?
4 month baby and their interactions with primary caregiver
Found fathers have the potential to be emotional focused caregivers
Who 2 did research into cultural variations of attachment?
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg procedure on cultural variations?
32 studies with strange situation
8 countries
1990 children
Results meta-analysed
Summarised findings of Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg work?
Significant difference in attachment types between individualist v collectivist cultures
What was Lorenz study on peacocks in sexual imprinting
Peacocks reared in reptile house that imprinted on a tortoise
As adult the peacock had direct courtship towards giant tortoises (Lorenz called this sexual imprinting)
What is the Korean study and findings of the SS
Kyoung Jin et al
87 korean babies did the SS
- Similar S and IS to other countries
However, in IS, only 1 was avoidant and more were resistant
Similar to Japan and due to similar child rearing strategies
2 issues with attachment research on later relationships (eval)
Retrospective studies - self-report techniques
McCarthy forgot about genetic influences and parenting styles
What kind of study did Grossman conduct for role of the father?
Longitudinal study
Babies to teens attachment
Found fathers for stimulation rather than nurture
What % of fathers are the primary attachment according to S+E?
3%
What % of fathers attachment in the first 18 months according to S+E?
75%
What was Lorenzs critical period for imprinting to take place
A few hours since birth
How many monkeys were in Harlows research
16
What was changed in harlows research conditions
Which wired monkey was dispensing food
Explain Harlows critical period
90 days a mother had to be introduced to the baby monkey before damages becomes irreversible
After this attachment would become impossible
What is drive reduction in learning theory
Hunger is a primary drive as it becomes generalised to them (its innate and biological)
- We are motivated to eat to reduce the hunger drive
Attachment is a secondary drive learnt by association to a caregiver
What type of conditioning could be involved in learning theory eval?
Warmth and Comfort with a particular adult
(influence babies choice of main attachment figure)
4 parts in Bowlbys monotropic theory
Monotropy
Social releasers
Critical period
Internal working model
What is the support for the IWM?
Bailey et al
99 mothers and their 1yr old baby
What are 2 influences on later relationships
Internal working model
Attachment type
What was McCarthys study on relationships in adulthood
40 adult women assessed since babies to establish their early attachment type
Secure has the best adult and romantic rs
I - R had problems maintaining rs
I - A struggled with intimacy in romantic rs
What were the findings of McCarthys study on relationships in adulthood
Secure has the best adult and romantic rs
I - R had problems maintaining rs
I - A struggled with intimacy in romantic rs
What are the 2 study people in relationships in adulthood
McCarthy (women babies)
Bailey et al (99 mothers)
Explain the relationships in childhood aspect
Attachment type associates with the quality of peer relationships in childhood
What did Kerns find in relationships in childhood
Securely attached children formed the best quality childhood attachment whilst insecure had friendship difficulties
Wilson and Smith procedure study on relationships in childhood
Assessed attachment type and bullying involvement on 196 children aged 7-11 through a questionnaire
Wilson and Smith findings from the study on relationships in childhood
Secure = not involved in bullying
I-R = more likely to be bullies
I-A = more likely to be victims
What 3 things were assessed in Rutters romanian orphans
Physical, emotional and cognitive development
What ages were assessed in Rutters Romanian orphans
4
6
11
15
22 - 25
Who conducted the korean study in cultural variations?
Jin et al
What age ish is the asocial stage
first few weeks of life
How did Field view the father
Father has the potential to be the emotionally focused primary attachment figure
What age ish is the indiscriminate stage
2-7 months
What age ish is the specific stage
7 months
Define ‘interactional synchrony’
The temporal co-ordination of micro-level social behaviour
(carrying out the same act simultaenously)
Define ‘reciprocity’
The responses of a caregiver and infants signals
Who found the inter-rater reliability in the strange situation?
Bick et al
What are alert phases?
A babies signal that they are ready for interaction
(mothers usually pick up on them 2/3 of the time - Feldman)
How did Brazelton describe reciprocity?
Like a couples dance
Where each partner responds to the other persons move
