attachment Flashcards
what is attachment
strong emotional bond that develops over time, bond has to be 2 ways with frequent interactions and desire to be with each other
what are the three characteristics involved in attachment
proximity - stay psychically close to person
separation distress - show distress when separated
secure base behaviour - when we are independent of attachment yet still make regular contact
what is reciprocity?
description of how 2 people interact, mother infant interactions is reciprocal in that both infant and mother respond to each others signals and edict a response from the other
what is interactional synchrony?
when two people interact they tend to mirrorwhat the other is doing in terms of facial and body movements
describe meltzoff and Moore (1977) study on interactional synchrony
conducted first systematic study on interactional synchrony
found infants as young as 2 weeks imitated specific facial/hand gestures
this study was done by having an adult do 3 face/hand gestures. they found that there was an association between the infant behaviour and adults
why did jean Piaget believe interactional synchrony was pseudo imitation
although meltzoff and Moore proposed imitation was intentional Piaget (1962) believed that true imitation only develops at the end of the first year and anything before that is response training e.g repeating previous behaviour that was rewarded
what are strengths of caregiver - infant interaction studies?
babies unaware they are being filmed so no demand characteristics giving research good validity
controlled observations capture fine detail - filmed from a multitude of angles allows for fine detail to be picked up and analysed.
how do individual differences affect caregiver-infant studies
Isabella et al (1989) fond more strongly attached carer-infant pairs showed greater interactional synchrony. this tells us there are significant individual differences but doesn’t indicate the cause.
describe the procedure of Schaffer and Emerson (1964) study on stages of attachment
conducted a longitudinal study on 60 Glasgow middle class infants
children all studied in their homes with interactions with carer being observed then carers interviewed
mothers kept a diary of infants reaction to separation e.g left in a room, being put down
what where the results of the Schaffer and Emerson (1964) study
found the babies attachment developed in a sequence
up to 3 months - indiscriminate attachment predisposed to attach to any human
after 4 months - preference for certain people can distinguish primary/secondary caregiver
after 7 months - special preference for single attachment show stranger anxiety
after 9 months - multiple attachments become more independent
what conclusions can be made from Schaffer and Emersons (1964) study
attachments are likely to form best to people who respond best to babies signals
what is the first stage of attachment known as?
indiscriminate attachment - up to 3 months show greater presence for social stimuli
what is the second stage of attachment known as?
beginnings of attachment - after 4 months prefer human company over inanimate objects
what is the third stage of attachment known as?
discriminate attachment - 7 months show separation/stranger anxiety
what is the fourth stage of attachment known as?
multiple attachments - after 9 months develops wider circle of attachments
why does Schaffer and Emersons (1964) study have good external validity
study was carried out in the families home and most of observations done by parents so no stranger anxiety playing a role
what is paternal involvement?
amount of time fathers spend interacting being accessible or directly involved in daily care of their child
how do economic factors affect paternal involvement?
in parts of the world men have to work hundreds of miles away therefor impossible to be involved as they have to provide
how do cultural factors affect paternal involvement
men where expected to be breadwinners and not involved with care although involved in order to mentor, guide and play with child
how do biological factors affect paternal involvement
men usually lack the emotional sensitivity that women offer and therefor less attractive to the child
describe Lamb’s (1987) study findings on the role of the father
found children often prefer interacting with the father when in a positive emotional state
mothers are preferred when child is in a distressed state and seeks comfort. supporting the findings that fathers being preferred as playmates
what were the findings when children have secure attachments to their father
children go onto have better relationships with peers, less problem behaviours and can regulate emotions better
describe freeman et al (2010) study on paternal involvement
found male children are likely to prefer they father as attachment figure than female children
also found children are likely to be attached to fathers during late childhood
why do we conduct animal studies
so we can test things that may be harmful to humans
advantages of using animal studies
researchers can control animals environment
disadvantages of using animal studies
animals act differently to humans and therefor cannot be accurately generalised to humans
what is imprinting? (Konrad Lorenz 1935)
a innate readiness to develop a strong bond with mother which usually takes place during the first few hours after birth
what is the critical period (Konrad Lorenz 1935)
biologically determined period of time during which certain characteristics can develop outside the window
what was Lorenz (1935) procedure for his study on imprinting
split a large clutch of goose eggs into 2 batches
ones that hatched naturally and the other birthed in incubators
Lorenz made sure he was the first thing the newly hatched geese saw
lorenz marked all the geese so he could tell the difference then put a box over them geese before lifting it off again and recorded the behaviours
what where the findings of Lorenz’s study (1935)
immediately after birth naturally hatched geese followed their mother
incubator geese followed Lorenz
the bonds seemed to be irreversible
Lorenz stated how imprinting would only occur within a brief set period of time
how does Gaiton (1966) study support imprinting - evaluation
Gain demonstrated that chicks exposed to yellow gloves whilst being fed during the first few weeks became imprinted on gloves. this supports the view that young animals aren’t born with a predisposition to imprint on a specific object but on something that can move that is present during development stage
describe the procedure of harlows (1959) study on comfort v food (animals)
mothers separated from mothers at birth and placed in cages with access to two surrogate mothers, one made of wire and the other made of cloth.
there where 4 conditions they could be placed in 1. wire monkey with milk cloth without
2. cloth monkey producing milk wire not
3. just a wire monkey producing milk
4. just a cloth monkey producing milk
monkey as then scared to see what mother he ran to
what where the findings of harlows study comfort v food (1959)
monkeys preferred contact with the cloth monkey when given a choice regardless if they produced food or not. they showed signs of stress when left with wire monkey
what conclusions can be made on harlows study on comfort v food (1959)
attachment concerns emotional security rather than food. this tells us infants don’t form attachments to those who feed them rather who offers comfort contact
evaluate harlows comfort v food study (1959) on generalising results of animal studies
the ultimate aim of animal studies is to be able to generalise the conclusions to humans however we differ in many ways e.g having a conscious therefor it can be hard to generalise however Schaffer and Emerson (1964) backs up harlows findings as infants are more attached to comfort rather than who feeds them
what where the Long lasting effects harlows study (1959) had on the monkeys (disadvantages ethical issues)
they where socially abnormal - fled or froze when approached
they where sexually abnormal - didn’t show normal mating behaviour
what is classical conditioning - the learning theory
learning by association
food is an unconditional stimulus that produces an unconditional response
at outset caregiver is a neutral stimulus who produces no response
due to caregiver being paired with unconditional stimulus (food) through feeding they become associated so eventually mother can produce pleasure alone
the pleasure she brings is a conditioned response
what is operant conditioning - the learning theory
learning by reinforcement (learning to repeat behaviour)
dollars and millar (1950) found a hungry infant feels uncomfortable and this creates an urge to reduce discomfort
any behaviour that results in punishment (unpleasant consequences) unlikely to be repeated
food is a primary reinforcer as it directly satisfies hunger
person who supplies food is the secondary reinforcer
what problem did Schaffer and Emersons (1964) study show with the learning theory
found in 39% of cases the mother wasn’t the babies main attachment figure suggesting feeding is not the primary explanation for attachment going against TLT
describe Bowlbys theory of attachment
infants form one main attachment (monotropy) that attachment then provide an internal working model for future attachments that infants need to attach within the critical period (2 1/2 years)or there may be long lasting negative consequences
why do attachments form - bowlbys theory
important survival function - infant who is less attached = less protected
attachments go two ways parents must also be attached to their infants in order to ensure children are cared for and survive
what is the critical period - bowlby’s theory
babies have an innate drive to be attached during critical period of 3-6 months bowl by says sensitivity determines attachment
what is monotropy (bowlby)
when babies form one very special emotional attachment with mother or substitute mother like a nana
what are social releasers
social behaviour that elects caregiver and leads to attachment
as it makes the adult want to care for them e.g baby face, crying and laughing
what is the internal working model
through the monotropy attachment baby forms an internal working model which is a mental model enabling individual to predict and control their environment regarding attachment
what is the continuity hypothesis
individuals who are strongly attached in infancy continue to be socially and emotionally competent whereas those who aren’t strongly attached in infancy have more social and emotional difficulties in life
evaluate the claim on bowlbys theory that its a sensitive period rather than a critical period
according to bowl by its not possible to form attachments beyond critical period. studies show its less likely attachments will form after this period but still possible. researchers use the term sensitive period rather than critical period as its still possible
evaluate how their was been mixed evidence for monotropy (bowlbys theory)
bowlby believed babies generally form one special attachment to primary caregiver and only after this attachment was established could the child form multiple attachments
this is not supported by Schaffer and Emerson (1964) who found a significant majority of infants could form multiple attachments at same time
