Attachment Flashcards
What’s reciprocity
2 way mutual process, each party responds to eachothers signals. Interaction flows both ways between adult and infant
What’s internal synchrony
Adults and babies respond In time to sustain communication. (Emotions mirror eachother, same action same timez)
Evaluation (A03): Caregiver-infant interactions in humans: reciprocity and interactional synchrony.
Supporting Evidence
One strength of caregiver-infant interactions is that it has supporting Evidence. Evans and Porter (2009) studied reciprocity, syrnchrony and Attachment quality in 101 infants and their mothers for the first year after birth.Mothers and babies were invited into the lab on three occasions. At 12 months the quality of mother-infant attach ment was assessed. Babies judged to be securely attached tended to be those that had the most reciprocal interactions and the most synchrony. This suggests that care-giver interactions play a vital part in forming attachments.
Cultural Variations
A weakness of caregiver-infant interactions s that they are not found in all cultures, for example, Le Vine et al (1994) reported Kenyan mothers have little interaction or physical contact with their infants, but a high proportion of secure ttachments. Therefore, the majority Of the research into this area may be criticised for being etthnocentric (culture biased) and ignoring
how attachments may be formed within other cultures. This study weakens support for the idea that caregiver interactions are necessary for attach ment formation.
Bables are difficult to observe
One limitation of research into caregiver-infant interactions is that it is hard to interpret a baby’s behaviour. Young babies lack co-ordination and much of their bodies are immobile. The
movements being observed are just small hand movements or subtle changes in expression. It is difficult to be sure, for example, whether a baby is smiling orjust passing wind. It is also difficult to determine what is taking place from the baby’s perspective. This means we cannot be certain that the behaviours seen in caregiver-infant interactions have a special meaning
Another strength of caregiver-infant interactions is that it has supporting evidence. E-Meltzoff and Moore (1977) found that infants aged 2-3 weeks tended to mimic adults’ specific facial
expressions and hand movements. This mimicking of behaviour has also been observed in babies as young as 3 days old. This study suggests that coregiver interactions are an innate
ability, used to aid in the formation of attach ment.
Procedure and findings of schaffer and Emerson study
60 babies from skilled working class Glasgow homes were studied. The babies were visited every month for the first year and again at 18 months. The mothers were questioned about how the child behaved when they were separated and how they behaved with unfamiliar adults
Findings - between 25-32 weeks of age about 50% of the babies showed signs of separation anxiety towards a particular adult, usually the mother. By 40 weeks 80% of the bab8es had a specific attachment and almost 30% displayed multiple attachments
Schaffer’s Stages of Attachment Formation soname and say
- Asocial Phase (Birth-3months).Infants become attracted to other humans from six weeks old.They smile more at faces than objects.
- Indiscriminate (3-7 months) infants begin to recognise and prefer familiar faces, however they will accept comfort from any adult, therefore their attachment behaviour is said to be indiscriminate bc all adults are treated the same.
- Specific attachment (7-8 months) From around 7 months, infants start to develop anxiety around strangers and become distressed if separated From one specific adult(in 65% of rhe cases the mother). This is known as the primary attachment figure
4.Multiple attachments (9 months onwards) infant form multiple attachments with other people who they spent a lot of time with like their grandparents and children lled secondary attachments.
grandparents and other children. These relationships are called secondary attachments
(A01) The Role of the Father
Traditionally fathers have been seen to have played a minor role in the parenting of their children. For example, Bowlby (1951) believed that children have one specific bond and this is usually to the mother. But society has changed and most fathers go
On to become important attachment figures. For example, Schaffer and Emerson found that 75% of infants studied had formed an attachment with the father at 18 months.
Distinctive role for fathers
Karen Grossman (2002) conducted a longitudinal study of 44 families comparing the role of fathers’ & mothers’ contribution to their children’s attachment experiences at 6,10 and 16 years.
Fathers’ play style (whether it was sensitive, challenging and interactive) was closely linked to the fathers’ own internal working model of attachment. Play sensitivity was a better predictor of the child’s long-term attachment representation than the early measures of the of attachment type that the infant had with their father. Suggesting that the role of the father is as a playmate and not as a nurturing role.
Fathers as primary carers
Mothers have traditionally been seen, due to their perceived nurturing nature, as more able to show sensitive responsiveness, but it seems that males can quickly develop this ability when assuming the position of the main care providers.
There is evidence to suggest when fathers do take on the role of being the main caregiver, they adopt behaviours more typical of mothers. Field (1978) filmed 4-month babies in face-to-face interactions with their fathers. She found a difference in the interactions when the father was the primary rather than secondary caregiver; they spent more time smiling, imitating, and holding their babies than the secondary caregivers. So, it seems that fathers can be more nurturing attachment figure and the key to attachment is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the caregiver.
Evaluation (A03): Stages of Attachment
Conflicting evidence
A weakness of stages of attachment is that many researchers believe that Infants must establish one primary attachment before they develop further multiple attachments. However, there is evidence from cross cultural research to show that babies are capable of developing multiple attachments
trom birth. Cultures where this is more likely to occur are called collectivist cultures because families work together jointly in everything.Therefore, there is no agreement within psychology about when multiple attachments are formed.
Problems Measuring Attachment
One limitation of research into this area is that it is very difficult to measure the behaviour of very young children.This is particularly problematic during the asocial stage Evaluation the babies aren’t very mobile, which means there is very little behaviour to observe, Even when a child does become mobile, their behaviour could be incorrectly interpreted. E-For example, if a baby cries When the mother leaves the room, we presume that they are crying because they are attached to her, however, they make be crying because they are tired or hungry. This is a problem for Schaffer and Emerson’s stages because it is difficult to determine from an observation alone, whether the behaviour shown is due to the attachment fiqure, or some other reasons.
Good external validity
A strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s study is that it has good external validity. Schaffer and Emerson’s study was carried out in the families’ own homes and most of the observations were done by parents during ordinary activities and reported to researchers later. This means that the behaviour of the babies was unlikely to be affected by the presence of observers. There is an excellent chance that the participants’ behaviour naturally while being observed. This increases the external validity of the Schaffer & Emerson’s study.
Evaluation (A03): The Role of the Father
Real-world application
One strength of research into the role of the father is that it can be used to offer advice to parents. Parents and prospective parents sometimes agonise over decisions like who should
take on the primary caregiver role. For some, this can even mean worrying about whether to have children at all. Mothers may feel pressured to stay at home because of stereotypical views of
mothers and fathers’ roles. Research into the role of the father can be used to offer reassuring to parents. For example, heterosexual parents can be informed that fathers are quite
capaoie of becoming primary attachment figures, This means that parental anxiety about the role of fathers can be reduced.
Fathers are just playmates
A weakness of the role of the father is that fathers are not caregivers they are playmates. Research by Geiger (1996) found that a fathers’ play interactions were more exciting In comparison to a mothers’. However, the mothers play interactions were more affectionate an nurturing. This suggests that the role of the father is in fact as a playmate and not as a sensitve parent who responds to the needs of their children. These results also confirm that the mother takes on a nurturing role.
Conflicting evidence
A limitation of research into the role of the father is that findings vary according to methodology used. Longitudinal studies such as that of Grossman (2002) have suggested that fathers as
secondary attachment figures have an important and distinct role in their child’s development, involving play and stimulation. However, if fathers have a distinctive role we would expect that
children growing up in single-mother and lesbian-parent families would turn out in someway different from those in two-parent heterosexual families. In fact, studies (McCallum and Golombok, (2004) consistently show that these children do not develop differently from children in two-parent heterosexual families. This means that the question as to whether fathers have a
distinctive role remains unanswered.
Aim of lorenzs’ study
Lorenz wanted to investigate imprinting in attachment formation.
imprinting- where offspring follows the first large moving object they see
procedure of lorenz study
- Lorenz randomly split a batch of grey goose eggs into two groups.
- One group were hatched by their mother in a natural environment (control group).
The other group were hatched in an incubator where the first moving object they saw was Lorenz (experimental group). - The behaviour of the geese was then carefully observed.
- Lorenz also observed the effect of imprinting on adult mate preferences?
findings of lorenz study
1.The experimental group imprinted on Lorenz; demonstrated by the fact that
they followed him wherever he went.
2.The control group hatched imprinted on their mother.
3. When the two groups were mixed up, the control group continued to follow
the mother and the experimental group followed Lorenz.
4. Lorenz noted imprinting would only occur within a critical period (between 4 and 25 hours).
5. Lorenz reported that geese who imprinted on a human would later display courtship
behaviour towards humans.
evaluate lorenz study
Critical Period has been questioned
A weakness of Lorenz’s study is that research conducted by Sluckin (1966) questions the validity of the critical period.Sluckin replicated Lorenz’s research using ducklings instead of goslings. Like Lorenz, he got the ducklings to imprint on him.However, Sluckin kept one duckling in isolation well beyond Lorenz’s reported critical period. He found it was still possible to imprint this youngster. This suggests critical period was actually a sensitive period, but attachments could still be formed.
Imprinting can be reversed
A weakness of Lorenz is that research has shown that imprinting can be reversed. Guiton found that chickens who imprinted on yellow washing up gloves would try to mate with them as adults (as Lorenz would have predicted), but that with experience
they eventually learned to prefer mating with other chickens.This suggests that the impact of imprinting on mating behaviour is not as permanent as Lorenz believed.
Generalisability to humans .
One limitation of Lorenz’s studies is the ability to generalise findings and conclusions from birds to humans. The mammalian attachment system is quite different and more complex than that in birds. For example, in mammals attachment is a two-way process, so it is not just the young who become attached to their mothers but also the mammalian mothers show an emotional attachment to their young.This means that it is probably not appropriate to generalise Lorenz’s ideas to humans.
Aim of harlows study
Harlow wanted to find whether contact comfort was more important in attachment than food
Procedure of harlows study
1.Harlow reared 16 baby rhesus monkeys with two surrogate (for substitute) mothers. One of the “mothers” was made of wire and the other was covered in soft material. The wire mother produced milk whereas the cloth-covered mother did not.
2. The amount of time spent with each mother, as well as feeding time, was recorded.
3.The monkeys were deliberately frightened with a loud noise to test for mother preference during stress.
4. The long-term effects were recorded: E.g., the monkey’s behaviour in adulthood in terms of sociability and their relationship to their own offspring.
Findings of harlows study and conclusion
- The monkeys spent most of their time on their cloth mother even though she did not supply milk. The cloth mother provided “contact comfort” which was clearly preferable. The monkeys even stretched across to the wire mother to feed while still clinging to the cloth mother.
- When frightened, by a loud noise, the monkeys clung to the cloth mother.
- As adults, the monkeys were abusive to their offspring, even killing them in some cases. The monkeys were also more aggressive and less sociable than other monkeys
Conclusion: This study shows that “contact comfort” is of more importance to monkey than food when it comes to attachment.
Evaluation (A03) Harlow
Highly valued Research
A strength of Harlow’s study is that Harlow’s findings had a profound effect on psychologists understanding of mother-infant attachment; Harlow showed that attachment does not develop as the result of being fed by a mother figure (as the learning theory would suggest) but as a result
of contact comfort.Harlow also showed the importance of the quality of early relationships for later social development. Therefore, this research has led to important developments in the area of attachment.
Another strength is that the insight into attachment from Harlow’s research
has had important practical applications in a range of contexts. For example, it has helped social workers understand risks factors in child neglect and abuse and so intervene to prevent it. Therefore being able to apply our knowledge of animal research to real life situations.
Ethical Issues
However, an issue with the research is Harlow faced severe criticism for the
ethics of this research. The monkeys suffered greatly as a result of Harlow’s
procedures e.g. they were deliberately stressed and frightened. Rhesus monkeys are closely related to humans suggesting that these animals suffered more greatly than less developed animals such as geese.The unethical practices seriously undermine the credibility of psychology as a science.
However, a counter-argument is that Harlow’s research is sufficiently important to justify these negative effects. E.g., they have highlighted the importance of contact comfort in child
development.
Knowledge (A01) Explanations of Attachment: Learning Theory
Classical conditioning
learning theory argues that attachment is learnt through classical and operant conditioning.
Classical conditioning- The infant learns to associate the primary caregiver (usually the mother) with food.
1. Before conditioning
Food -> happy baby
Unconitioned Stimulus, unconditioned response
2. During conditioning
Mother + food -> happy baby
Neutral stimulus,unconditioned stimulus,unconditioned response
3. After conditioning
Mother -> happy baby
Conditioned stimulus -> conditioned response
The food is an unconditioned stimulus. Being fed produces feelings of pleasure. We don’t have to learn to like food so it is therefore an unconditioned response.
The caregiver starts as a neutral stimulus. In other words, the child does not respond any differently to the caregiver than any other adult.
However, when the caregiver repeatedly provides the food the child learns to associate this
person with food and pleasure. Thus, the neutral stimulus has become the conditioned stimulus.
The child now feels pleasure in the presence of the caregiver. This is a conditioned response, and an attachment is formed.
Operant conditioning and attachment as a secondary drive
Reinforcement produces an attachment. For example,
crying leads to a response from the caregiver, for example feeding. As long as the caregiver provides a pleasant response, crying is positively reinforced. This means The behaviour (crying) is likely to be repeated to ilicit the response (feed/ comtort)
This reintorcement is a two-way process At the same time as the baby is reintorced for crying, the caregiver receives negative reinforcement because the crying stops escaping from something unpleasant is reinforcing. So. attachment is reinforced for both infant and caregiver.
Attachment as a secondary drive
Hunger can be thought of as a primary drive. This is because
it is an innate, biological motivator. We are motivated to eat to reduce the hunger drive. It is suggested that, as caregivers provide food, the primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them. There fore, attachment is a secondary drive, learned by an association between the caregiver and satisfaction of a primary drive
Classical conditioning, positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement
Classical - theinfant learns to associate the comforting feeling of food with the caregiver
Positive - the infants rewarded for attaching to the caregiver by receiving food
Negative - the baby stops crying
Evaluation (A03) Explanations of Attachment: Learning Theory
Valuable Insights
One strength is that the learning theory provides a valuable insight into how an infant becomes attached to its main caregiver and the key role food plays in this interaction. Understanding of the role of food can lead to practical applications for example providing advice that if feeding is important in the attachment process, then anyone who wants to create an attachment e.g. the father should be involved where possible. L-This İs a strength as learning theory has helped to increase attachment between babies and their caregivers. Additionally, the Learning theory studies observable and testable behaviours, thus allowing for its theories to be scientifically measured and assessed.
Attachments formed without feeding
However, an issue is that many infants form attachments with people who DO NOT feed them.For example, research by Schaffer and Emerson found that in 39% of cases, the primary
attachment figure was not the person who fed them. Also many infants attach to parents who neglect or abuse them. This suggests that clearly, food is not the key factor in attachment,
weakening the explanations validity.
Contradictory research from animal studies
One limitation of learning theory explanations for attachment is lack of support from studies conducted on animals.for example, Lorenz’s geese imprinted on the first moving object they
saw regardless of whether this object was associated with food. Also, if we consider Harlow’s research with monkeys, there is no support for the importance of food. When given a choice,
Harlow’s monkeys displayed attachment behaviours towards a soft surrogate ‘mother in preference to a wire one which provided milk. This shows that factors other than association
with food are important in the formation of attachments.
x Generalisability to humans
Another issue with the learning theory is that the theory and research is largely based on studies using non-human participants. learning theorists argue that the principles of learning are the same in humans and animals; however, many psychologists argue that not all human behaviours
can be explained in terms of conditioning, especially attachment. For example, psychologists like Bowlby argue that attachments are a complex behaviour that is an adaptive behaviour that
alds survival. This suggests that the learning theory of attachment presents an overly simplified view of attachment, and many psychologists argue that attachment is far more complex than an infant forming an association between a mother and food.
EVALUATION (A03) Explanations of Attachment: Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory.
+ Support for internal working model
P-One strength of Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory is the idea of an internal working model is supported by evidence; Bailey et al assessed the attachment of 99 mothers to their babies and their own mothers.They found the majority had the same attachment class- ification both to their babies and their own mothers. This supports Bowlby’s view that an internal working model of attachment is passed through families.
×** Sensitive rather than critical period**
P-An issues with the theory is that critics argue that the idea of a critical period is not supported by evidence. Most psychologists instead suggest that there is a sensitive period where attachments are most likely to be developed but argue that they could be formed at other times. Research has demonstrated even children raised in isolation can go on to form attachments with caregivers after the critical period.
HOWEVER, Lorenz study SUPPORTS the idea of a critical period. He found that if imprinting did not occur within a few hours of the geese being hatched, it did not occur at all thus increasing the validity of Bowlby’s claim.
× Multiple attachments rather than monotropic bond
Another issue is that Bowlby’s claim that children form a single specific attachment is not supported by research. For example, Schaffer and Emerson found that by 10 months of age, most babies had formed
multiple attachments with parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. Bowlby also believed that the monotropic bond is in some way different to other attachments. However, it may be that this attachment is just stronger than other attachments, not necessarily of greater importance. This matters because the monotropic bond is very important to Bowlby’s theory, yet the research suggests it lacks validity.
/* Support for continuity*
A significant strength of Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory is its empirical support for the continuity hypothesis, as evidenced by Hazan and Shaver’s Love Quiz. Hazan and Shaver’s research demonstrated a clear link between early attachment styles and later romantic relationships, aligning with Bowlby’s assertion that early bonding experiences have a profound and lasting
impact on an individual’s emotional and relational development. These findings collectively underscore the enduring influence of early attachment experiences, thereby validating Bowlby’s proposition that early child-caregiver interactions shape future emotional and social outcomes.
Knowledge (A01) Explanations of Attachment: Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory.
John Bowlby (1988) rejected the learning theory as an explanation of attachment. Instead,
Bowlby proposed an evolutionary explanation - that attachment was an innate system (not learnt) that increases our chances of survival.
Monotropic bond: This attachment is to one specific caregiver. This is usually to the biological mother. The monotropic bond is more important than any other attachments that the child may form.
Internal Working Model: The monotropic bond acts as a template for all later relationships. This template, known as the internal working model, has a powerful effect on the nature of a child’s future relationships. Most importantly, the internal working model affects the child’s later ability to be a parent themselves, as it appears to be passed on through families. E.g., if a child is insecurely attached to its parents, they are likely to have a similar attachment to their own children.
Evolutionary principles: Bowlby’s explanation of attachment is based on evolutionary principles and argues that humans have evolved a biological need to attach to a caregiver to increase their survival chances. Infants show innate behaviours (eg. smiling and crying) which make attachment to a maternal figure possible. Bowlby called these behaviours social releasers because they bring out care giving behaviours from adults. E.g., you are more likely to feed a crying baby than one that lies peacefully in its cot.
whats the Internal Working Model in bowlbys monotropic theory AO1
The monotropic bond acts as a template for all later relationships. This template, known as the internal working model, has a powerful effect on the nature of a child’s future relationships. Most importantly, the internal working model affects the child’s later ability to be a parent themselves, as it appears to be passed on through families. E.g., if a child is insecurely attached to its parents, they are likely to have a similar
attachment to their own children.
Whats the Critical Period in bowlbys theory
: According to Bowlby the first 2.5 years of life are the critical period for attachment to develop. If the attachment does not develop (e.g. because of separation or death, it might
seriously damage the child’s social and emotional development.
Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’ and procedure p1
The Strange Situation was a technique devised by Mary Ainsworth to study attachment behaviours.
Procedure: The study took place in an unfamiliar room with one way glass, so the behaviour of the infants could be observed covertly. Infants were aged between 12 and 18 months. The sample comprised of 100 middle-class American families.
The behaviour used to judge the attachment included:
1. Proximity seeking: an infant with a secure attachment will stay fairly close to the caregiver.
2. Exploration: a secure attachment enables a child to feel confident to explore the room, using
the caregiver as a secure base.
3. Separation anxiety: does the child protest when separated from the caregiver?
4. Stranger anxiety: if the attachment is secure, you would expect the child to display anxiety
when approached by a stranger.
5. Reunion Response: this measures how the child reacts when finally reunited with the
caregiver.
Procedure of Ainsworths strange situation
The procedure had seven episodes, each lasting three minutes:
Beginning: Child and caregiver enter an unfamiliar playroom
1. The child is encouraged to explore.
Tests exploration and secure base.
2. A stranger comes in and tries to interact with the child.
Tested stranger anxiety.
3. The caregiver leaves the child and stranger together.
4. The caregiver returns and the stranger leaves.
Tests reunion behaviour and exploration base
5. The caregiver leaves the child alone
Tests separation anxiety..
6. The stranger returns.
Tests stranger anxiety
7. The caregiver returns and is reunited with the child. Tests reunion behaviour
Every aspect of participants’ behaviours was observed and videotaped, with most attention given to the reunion behaviours.
Strange situation ainsworth findings
Type A Insecure avoidant (25% of infants) -due to little engagement.
Exploration(mother present)- The child does not seek contact from the mother.
Separation anxiety - The child Seems unconcerned when the mother leaves
Stranger anxiety - the child shows few signs of distress and ignored or avoided the stranger
Reunion behaviour - the child ignores the mum on her return. Doesn’t require comfort
Type B Secure (65% of infants)
Exploration (mother present) mother is seen as a safe base from which the child can explore.
Separation anxiety - The child cries shortly after the mother leaves
Stranger anxiety - the child’s wary of the stranger and maintains closeness to its mother.
Reunion behaviour - the child seeks contact when the mother returns and is easy to comfort
Type C Insecure resistant (10% of infants)
Exploration(mother present)- The child is wary of their mother, and they don’t explore their environment.
Separation anxiety - The child shows intense distress when the mother has left.
Stranger anxiety - the child’s extremely distressed when left with the stranger.
Reunion behaviour - the child is ambivalent. (Seeking and rejecting mother)
Ealuation (A03) Ainsworth’s Strange Situation’ and Types of Attachment
Rellable measure
One strength is that the Strange Situation is a reliable measure of attachnment: it takes place under controlled conditions and the behavioural categories are easy to observe. Bick (2012) looked at the inter-rater rellability in a teamn of trained Strange
and found agreement on attachment type of 94% of tested babies. This means we can be confident that the attachment type of an infant identified in the Strange Situation does not Jst depend on who is observing them.
Lacks ecological validity:
One issue is that critics argue the findings are inaccurate as the
Strange Situation is an unreallistic situation for both the infant and caregiver. Some researchers suggests attachment types tend to be stronger in this controlled setting rather than in the child’s s Own home. They may cry less when in a familiar environment. This Reduces the ecological validity of the procedure and limits its applicability.
Culturally blased:
Another issue of the e Strange Situation is based on American attachment behaviours and ignores how child rearing practices in other cultures may affect behaviour n the strange situation. For example, Japanese infants are rarely separated trom tner parents, therefore, this can result in the child being wrongly classified as being insecure resistant. This reduces the external validity of the procedure and limits its applicability.
Gender bias
Only mothers usedm shaffer and emerson demonstrated that primary attachments aren’t always the mother. Invalid measure od attachment
Knowledge (A01) Cultural Variations in Attachment including Van ljzendoorn &Kroonenberg
Van ljzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) conducted this study to find out the proportions of secure, and insecure attachments across a range of countries. They also looked at the differences within the same countries to get an idea of variations within a culture.
Procedure and A01 of Van ljzendoorn and kroonenberg Cultural Variations
Meta analysis of 32 studies of attachment across 8 countries.
Used strange situation to classify infants as either secure, insecure avoidant, insecure resistant
Secure attachment was most common (75% in UK highest)
In Germany, rates of insecure avoidant were higher
In collectivist cultures rates of insecure resistant attachments were higher, highest in Israel
Findingsof kroonenberg and van ljzendoorn
There was wide variation between the proportions of attach ment types in different studies
In all countries secure attachment was the most common. However, the proportion varied from 75% in Britain, most higest.
Germany avoidance most highest
Israel resistant most highest
Variations between results of studies within the same country were actually 150% greater than those between countries. In the USA for example, one study found only 46% secure,t attached compared to one sample as high as 90%
Simonella et al (2014) Cultural Variations
A study was conducted in (taly to see whether proportions of babies of different attachment types
still matches those found previously.
Situation.
They assessed 76 12-month-olds using the Strange
They found 50% secure, and 36% insecure-avoidant. This is a lower rate of secure attachment
than found in many studies.
The researchers suggest this is because increasing numbers of mothers of very young children
work long hours and use professional childcare.
Conclusions: Secure attachment seems to be the norm in a wide range of cultures. However, the
research also clearly shows that cultural practices have an influence on attachment type.
Evaluation (A03) Cultural Variations in Attachment
Large sample:
A strength of Van ljzendoorn’ meta-analysis, is the large sample that was
Generated.Nearly 2000 mothers and babies were used in this study. This sample size ls a strength as it reduces the impact of poor methodology. Therefore, being able to generalise the findings to a larger population.
Individual studies
On the other hand, a criticism of Van ljzendoorn’s study is the number of studies in some countries. For example, only one study was conducted in China,
whereas 18 studies were conducted in the USA. This İs a problem because we are unable to generalise from such a limited sample to the entire country.
Indigenous researchers
One strength of the Van ljzendoorn’ meta-analysis is that most of the studies were conducted by psychologists from the same cultural background as the
participants. Such psychologists are known as indigenous researchers. For example, a Japanese psychologist studied attach ment in Japan. This type of research means that many of the potential problems in cross cultural research can be avoided, such as researchers’ misunderstandings of the language. This means that there is an excellent chance that researchers and participants communicated successfully - enhancing the validity of the data collected.
X Imposed etic:
Despite the advantage above, Van ljzendoorn’ meta-analysis has been criticised because it imposes a test designed for one culture to another cultures. The Strange Situation
was designed by Ainsworth (an American researcher) and is based on a British theory (Bowlby). Nevertheless, the test has been used worldwide to judge infants in other cultures. This is an example of imposed etic (when we create a theory, or test in one culture, usually Western,
and impose it on the rest of the world!).
For example, in the strange situation a lack of separation anxiety indicates an insecure avoidant attachment. However, in Germany, independent behaviour is encouraged and therefore a lack of separation anxiety is not a sign of insecurity. (Additionally, the greater
frequency of insecure resistant in Japan may result from the fact that Japanese infants are rarely separated from their mothers, so would find the situation more distressing than children
from other cultures.)This is a problem as it suggests that cross cultural comparisons using the strange situation’, may lack validity.
Knowledge (A01) Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation
Maternal deprivation is caused by prolonged separation from the mother figure which leads to poor psychological development
According to Bowlby, deprivation during the critical period (first 3 years of life) is particularly harmful. Deprivation results in irreversible long term negative consequences. These consequences include:
· Effects on Intellectual Development: Cognitive Delays and Low IQ - Goldfarb 1947 found maternally deprived children in orphanages had lower IQ than those who were fostered.
· Effects on Emotional development: Affectionless Psychopathy - Bowlby suggested these children would develop an inability to show affection or concern for others, acting on impulse with little regard for the consequence of their actions.
Bowlby’s 44 thieves study
Aim: This study examined the links between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation.
Procedure: The sample consisted of 44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing. All ‘thieves’ were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy. Their families were also interviewed in order to establish whether the ‘thieves’ had suffered prolonged early separation from their mothers.
A control group of 44 non-criminal but emotionally disturbed teenagers was set up to see how often maternal deprivation occurred in children who were not delinquent.
Results: Thieves: 14/44 were described as affectionless psychopaths. Of this 14, 12 had experienced prolonged separation in the first two years of life.
Control group: 2/44 had suffered maternal separation but 0/44 were categorised as affectionless psychopaths.
Conclusion: Prolonged separation/deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy.
Evaluation (A03) Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation
44 thieves evaluate it.
Sensitive rather than critical period:
Bowlby used the term ‘critical period’ because he believed prolonged separation inevitably caused damage if it took place within that period. However, later research has shown some cases of very severe deprivation have had good outcomes. For example, the case study of the Czech twins who were isolated from 18 months by being locked in a cupboard. Later they were looked after by two loving adults and appeared to fully recover and form good relationshiops with them. They then later achieved a good career. This shows severe deprivation can have positive outcomes, provided the child has some social interaction and good aftercare.It demonstrates that Bowlbys theory of the effects of maternal deprivation being irreversible is wrong as it shows they are reversible, as they did not grow to become affectionless psychopaths and were able to develop their cognitive process and intellectual process as they have good careers. Cases like this demonstrate that the period identified by Bowlby may be a ‘sensitive’ one but cannot be critical. This lowers Bowlbys validyt
Supporting Evidence:
Harlow’s study on rhesus monkeys could also be used to support Bowlby’s theory. In his study, the monkeys suffered maternal deprivation as they were removed from their real mothers. As adults, these monkeys were abusive to their offspring, even killing them in some cases. The monkeys were also more aggressive and less sociable than other monkeys, thus supporting the view that maternal deprivation has a detrimental effect on development.
P-The research has been criticised because it uses retrospective data. E-For example, family members were asked to recall events from the early life of the young teenagers in order to determine whether they had suffered prolonged separation. E-This is a problem because the family members may deliberately exclude certain events or may simply just forget some minor details. L-This matters because it casts doubt on the interval validity of Bowlby’s findings.
Romanian Orphan Studies: effects of institutionalisation AO1:
An institute is a place where someone lives outside the family home. For example, children’s home, hostel, mental hospital, or prison.
Institutionalisation causes harmful effects such as apathy, loss of personal identity and independence.
Rutter romanian orphans
Rutter followed a group of 165 Romanian orphans adopted in Britain.
Physical, cognitive and emotional development was assessed at ages
4,6,11 and 15 years. A group of 52 British children adopted around
the same served as the control group.
When they first arrived in the UK half the adoptees lagged behind
their British counterparts on all 3 measures of development. Those
who were adopted after the age of 2 scored a lower than average IQ
and at age 11, recovery depended on the child’s age when adopted:
Impaired social skills: Those adopted after 6 months showed signs of
disinhibited attachment. This is when the child shows equal
affection to strangers as they do people they know well. E.g. they
may hug or cuddle unknown adults. Attention seeking and clinginess
were also more common in the late adopted group.
A03 romanian orphans
✓ Real life application: P-There are important practical applications which have arisen as a result of the research conducted on the Romanian orphans. E-For example, orphanages and children’s care homes now avoid having large numbers of caregivers and try to ensure that each child is assigned a key worker. L-This means that children have the chance to develop normal attachments and helps avoid disinhibited attachment.
✓ Fewer Extraneous variable
: P-The research into Romanian orphans allowed psychologists to have a unique opportunity to study the effects of institutionalisation. Due to it having less extraneous variables than previous orphan studies which had used samples of children who were neglected, abused or suffered loss of their parents. E-It was therefore hard to identify which specific factors were affecting their emotional and intellectual development. L-In the
case of the Romanian orphanages there weren’t as many confounding variables so the research has higher internal validity.
× Romanian orphanages were not typical: Although the data gained from Romanian
orphanages has been useful, it is possible that conditions were so bad that the results cannot be applied to children in other types of institutional care. For example, the Romanian orphanages had particularly poor standards of care and extremely low levels of intellectual
stimulation. This is a limitation of the Romanian orphanage studies because the unusual situational variables that exist in these studies may prevent this research from beinggeneralised to other groups of adopted children
The influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships
AO1: Knowledge
Internal Working Model: The monotropic bond acts as a template for all later relationships. This template, known as the internal working model,
has a powerful effect on the nature of a child’s future relationships.
A child whose first experience is of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will assume that this is how relationships are meant to be
and will thus seek out fulfilling relationships in the future. However, if the first experience of a loving relationship is of an unreliable, insensitive
caregiver, then the child may seek out
dysfunctional relationships.
hazan and shaver early attachment on adult relationship
Aim: Hazen & Shaver investigated if the type of attachment that a
person had in infancy has an effect on the type of romantic
relationships they would form in the future.
Procedure: They analysed 620 replies to a ‘love quiz’ printed in an
American local newspaper.
The quiz had three sections:
Section 1: Assessment of their current or most significant relationship
Section 2: Assessment of their love life e.g. number of partners
Section 3: Assessment of their attachment type
Results:
Secure was the most common type of attachment (56%) on average
had lasting relationships of 10 years or more and had happy, friendly,
trusting relationships.
Avoidant (25%) of relationships, were jealous and feared intimacy
with an average length of 6 years.
Resistant (19%) of relationships, were obsessive in romantic
relationships, desire for intense closeness with an average length of
5 years.
The internal working model affects adult romantic relationships
AO3 hazan shaver
Relationships in adulthood with/as a parent
The internal working models also affects the child’s ability to parent their own children. Research shows that attachment types tend to be passed on through generations of a family. For example,
Bailey (2007) assessed the attachments of 99 mothers to their babies and their own mothers. The majority of women had the same attachment classification both to their babies and their own mothers. This support the importance of early relationships in one’s ability to parent successfully.
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Evaluation (A03) Adult relationships
✘ P-Link Decreases with Age: E-Insecurely attached children do not always
become insecurely attached adults; the link tends to decrease with age. This
seems to be because the average person will participate in several different
relationships which may alter their internal working model. In other words,
successful relationships may alter the internal working model of an adult who
had been previously insecurely attached to their parents.
Free Will vs. Determinism
Is it fair to say that all children who experience poor attachments with their parents are ‘doomed’ to experience unhealthy relationships as adults? Although a relationship has been found, this has never been 100% determined, so there must be other factors which contribute to formation of our adult relationships. E-This theory is suggesting that the effects of poor attachments as children will be long-lasting, but as adults, we have the cognitive ability to reflect on our past and recognise what unhealthy relationships look like, thus can choose to avoid these
in the future. L-Suggesting we have free will with forming adult relationships.
