Attachment

Question 1

What is attachment?

Answer 1

-Is the bond that an infant forms with primary caregiver, and is characterised by proximity, feelings of comfort etc.

Question 2

What is attachment styles?

Answer 2

-The idea that bonding takes different forms

Question 3

Why are attachment behaviours?

Answer 3

-The idea that which attachment style a child has is examined by looking at responses to certain situations

Question 4

Describe the importance of human attachment and evolution

Answer 4

-Humans born into word in vulnerable state
-Due to species large brain size, human babies are born long before their brain has fully developed
-Means that they need intensive care during early childhood
-They have 12 years until they hit puberty
-Brain development still continues to the age of around 25 years

Question 5

What is the time until sexual maturity for different species?

Answer 5

-Gorilla - 7-8 years (17.5/20% of lifetime)
-Baboon - 5-8 years (16/27% of lifetime)
-Lemurs - 20 months (16/25% of lifetime)
-Humans - 13-17 years (32/43% of lifetime)

Question 5

Why does this differ?

Answer 5

-As the brain and body proportion increases, so does the time taken until sexual maturity occurs
-Later sexual maturity = elongated childhood = more care needed by the adults

Question 6

Describe human attachment

Answer 6

-In evolutionary history, not only biological parents but also other family members have cared for a growing infant
-Nowadays, we institutionalise non-parental care in nurseries
-Creates need for infant to bond with adults who can care for them

Question 7

What did the attachment theory originate from?

Answer 7

-Different experiment such as Lorenz (1952) and Harlow (1958)

Question 8

According to Bowlby, what are the 5 phases of attachment?

Answer 8

1) First few months - Orienting towards people indiscriminately
2) 5-7 months - Orienting and preferentially engaging with caregiver e.g. smiling
3) 7-9 months - Going to caregiver e.g. crawling and expressing distress e.g. crying when separated from them, which is the onset of attachment occurring
4) 2-3 years - Goal corrected partnership where child also accommodates to caregivers needs e.g. waits until they come back
5) 4 years + - Switch from physical proximity to emotional closeness

Question 9

What lifelong significance does attachment have?

Answer 9

-Bowlby thought that initial attachment with caregiver would create ‘internal working model of attachment’ that influences a person’s perception of other relationships
-Follow Freud’s views of stability of attachment on how early childhood experiences can influence their future

Question 10

Describe the evidence by Farley (2002) for lifelong significance of attachment

Answer 10

-Meta-analysis of 27 samples, included 1410 participants in total
-Aged between 12 months and 21 years
-Attachment style at 12 months does predict attachment later in their lives
-Effect diminishes with age

Question 11

According to Ainsworth attachment style, how does a Type A child act?

Answer 11

-Dismissive and Avoidant
-Seperated - Not distressed
-Reunion - Ignores and turns away

Question 12

According to Ainsworth attachment style, how does a Type B child act?

Answer 12

-Secure
-Separated - may be distressed by recovers quickly
-Reunion - seeks proximity and interacts

Question 13

According to Ainsworth attachment style, how does a Type C child act?

Answer 13

-Anxious and Ambivalent
-Separated - Either distressed or oblivious
-Reunion - seeks proximity but resists interaction

Question 14

According to Ainsworth attachment style, how does a Type D child act?

Answer 14

-Disorganised
-Separation and reunion - No obvious pattern, inconsistent and bizarre responses

Question 15

What are the 4 key principles of attachment?

Answer 15

-The universality hypothesis (true in all cultures)
-The normativity hypothesis (true in most cultures)
-The sensitivity hypothesis
-The competence hypothesis

Question 16

What is the universality hypothesis?

Answer 16

-When given opportunity, most infants become attached to at least one specific caregiver

Question 17

What is the normativity hypothesis?

Answer 17

-Most infants are securely attached but it isn’t threatening to human health and survival

Question 18

What is the sensitivity hypothesis?

Answer 18

-Attachment security depends on sensitive and prompt responses to the infants signals

Question 19

What is the competence hypothesis?

Answer 19

-Secure attachment leads to positive outcomes

Question 20

What is the reason for cultural differences (Universality and Normativity hypothesis)

Answer 20

-Western middle class assumption that sign of healthy maturity is individual autonomy
-Differences in socialisation goals e.g. societies approach to strangers and stranger anxiety
-Wide variety in caregiving arrangements

Question 21

What is the reason for cultural differences (Sensitivity and Competence hypothesis)

Answer 21

-Varied support for sensitivity (parental responsiveness determines attachment) and competence (attachment has long term impact) hypothesis
-Definition of sensitivity is crucial as specific cultures may have different views and engagement styles

Question 22

What positive outcomes have been found of attachment?

Answer 22

-Longitudinal studies follow ppts from infancy through childhood, and they have found that secure attachment at infancy is associated with;
-More curiosity and problem solving at age 2 (Oppenheim et al., 1998)
-Social confidence at age 3 and empathy at age 5 (Oppenheim et al., 1988)
-Fewer internalising and externalising behaviours at age 3 (McCartney et al., 2004)
-Social competence, internalising and externalising behaviours similarly in males v females and high socio-economic status v low socio-economic status (Groh et al., 2017)