Attachment Flashcards
1
Q
Attachment
A
- A strong two-way emotional bond that endures over time
2
Q
Function of attachment
A
- Serves a dual function (Sullivan et al, 2011)
- ensures survival and protection due to proximity seeking
- regulates infant behaviour and determines long term emotional regulation and learning about the world and relationships
3
Q
Healthy behaviours in attachment
A
- caregiver responsive to needs
- caregiver available as source of comfort/safety
- baby communicates needs to mother (crying)
- baby shows some distress when caregiver disappears
- baby wants to be close to on interact with mother
- baby comforted when reunited
4
Q
Unhealthy behaviours in attachment
A
- Avoids interaction
- little response to separation and strangers
- minimal response to parent
- may be very anxious generally
- inconsistent behaviour
- may not enjoy or seek caregiver’s attention
- over friendly or ‘disinhibited’
5
Q
Reciprocity
A
- When each person responds to the other and elicits a response. This interaction is non-verbal and there is a turn-taking rhythm to it
6
Q
Alert phase
A
- A period in the day where a baby is more alert and reciprocity is more likely to happen
7
Q
Active involvement
A
- Babies and caregivers both take an active role and both can initiate interactions
8
Q
Interactional synchrony
A
- Occurs when caregiver and baby interact in such a way that their actions mirror eachother
9
Q
Meltzoff and Moore
A
- 18 infants aged 2-3 weeks old
- experimenter modelled an action and the infant’s reaction was recorded
- judges watched this videos and identified the behaviour being displayed (didn’t know what the adult was doing)
- found there was an association between the adults behaviour and the infants response
- infant imitating the adult (interactional synchrony)
10
Q
Glasgow babes study - Schaffer and Emerson
A
- 1964
- studied the behaviour of babies and their caregivers - 60 infants from working class families
- aimed to find out how/when attachments develop and how they change over time
- contained self-reports and observations
- researchers visited monthly until the baby is one, they also assess stranger anxiety
11
Q
Glasgow babes findings
A
- As attachment strength increased, so did stranger anxiety. Both increased with age
- the most sensitive/responsive adult becomes the primary attachment
- 95% of infants are first attached to the mother (65% solely mother). The father tended to be a secondary figure
12
Q
Schaffer and Emerson - stage one
A
- Asocial stage
- 0-8 weeks
- similar responses to anything and anyone
- not yet attached
13
Q
Schaffer and Emerson - stage two
A
- Indiscriminate attachment
- 8 weeks - 6 months
- social behaviours towards humans and not objects
- no stranger anxiety due to no specific attachment
14
Q
Schaffer and Emerson - stage three
A
- Specific attachment
- 7+ months
- strong attachment with primary caregiver
- separation + stranger anxiety
- engages in proximity seeking
15
Q
Schaffer and Emerson - stage four
A
- Multiple attachments
- 12+ months
- wider circle of attachment created (emotional safety net)
16
Q
. The role of the father
A
- Geiger (1996)
- Mum associated with caring and nurturing whereas the playing and exploring is associated with the father
-both parents needed for secure attachment
17
Q
Biological factors to parental roles
A
- oestrogen creates higher levels of nurturing and therefore women might be biologically predisposed to be the primary attachment figure
18
Q
Social factors to parental roles
A
- Traditional gender roles and stereotypes: women are expected to be more caring and nurturing than men
19
Q
Grossman et al (2002)
A
- distinctive role for fathers
- longitudinal study (babies-teens) where the attachment to the mother seems to have more impact on later attachments
- however the father role is still important in play, stimulation and risk taking rather than emotional development
20
Q
Field (1978)
A
- Fathers can become the primary attachment figure and adopt the more emotional role associated with mothers
21
Q
Practical applications of the father as the primary attachment
A
- Paternity/maternity leave
- custody of children will be more equal
- role modelling parental skills in young men
- more societal acceptance of the single father/same sex parents
22
Q
Imprinting
A
- An innate readiness to develop a strong bond with the mother which takes place during a specific time in development (first few hours after birth/hatching)
- if it doesn’t happen at this time it probably won’t at all
23
Q
Lorenz’s study
A
- Divided a clutch of goose eggs into 2 groups: half left with mother and half with Lorenz
-the group with Lorenz had him as the first thing they saw
24
Q
Implications of Lorenz’s study
A
- Imprinting has to happen in a critical period and if not there can be a struggle with relationships in the future
- early attachment experience has important implications for later life
25
Q
Sexual imprinting
A
- Having a sexual preference for things similar to whatever they have imprinted on
26
Q
Guiton (1966)
A
- rubber glove study
- chicks imprinted on rubber gloves through critical period
- when they grew up the chicks tried to mate with the rubber gloves
- however after repeated socialisation the chicks developed relationships with other birds and took on typical behaviour
27
Q
Harlow’s study
A
- Orphaned infant monkeys placed with wine and cloth mother (one of which had a feeding bottle (IV)) for 165 days
- recorded time spent with mother and their responses when scared
28
Q
Implications of Harlow’s study
A
- As the monkeys aged they developed abnormally, they were scared of other monkeys and were sexually abnormal
- Harlow proposed a ‘critical period’ that attachment needed to happen in or there’d be consequences
- led to greater understanding in social work and the care of captive monkeys
29
Q
Learning theory of attachment
A
- Dollard and Miller (1950)
- attachment is a set of learnt behaviours gained through experience of the environment - behaviourist approach
- acquired through classical and operant conditioning
- we only love parents because they feed us (cupboard love)
30
Q
Drive reduction
A
- Primary drive - hunger - main motivator
- secondary drive - attachment - learned by associating the caregiver with the satisfaction of the primary drive
-factor of learning theory of attachment
31
Q
Evaluation of learning theory of attachment
A
- Lorenz and Harlow show food isn’t the biggest factor for attachment
- counter evidence from human research like Schaffer and Emerson and Isabella et al
-Bowlby offers a different explanation for attachment. Why rather than how
32
Q
Bowlby’s evolutionary (monotropic) theory of attachment
A
- Attachment is adaptive
- triggered by social releasers (features that encourage caregiving in adults
- occurs during a critical period (up to 2.5yrs)
- it’s monotropic (one special bond)
- contributes to our internal working model (mental template that affects other relationships)
- has long term consequences (continuity hypothesis)
33
Q
ASCMIC
A
- Adaptive
- Social releasers
- Critical period
- Monotropic
- Internal working model
- continuity hypothesis
34
Q
Strange situation episodes (ainsworth)
A
- 1: mum (m) and baby (b) introduced to room
- 2: m and b alone, b explores room
- 3: stranger (s) enters room, talks to m, approaches b and tries to interact, m leaves after 3 mins
- 4: s remains is room with b and interacts if needed
- 5: m re-enters and s leaves
- 6: m leaves, b is alone for 3 mins
- 7: s re-enters and interacts with b if needed
- 8: m returns and s leaves
35
Q
What did the strange situation observe?
A
- separation anxiety
- stranger anxiety
- reunion behaviour
- secure base and exploration
36
Q
Attachment types - type A
A
- Insecure-avoidant
- don’t seek proximity or show secure base behaviour
- little to no reaction to caregiver leaving or returning
- little stranger anxiety
- don’t seek comfort when reunited with caregiver
37
Q
Attachment types - type B
A
- Secure
- explore happily but go back to caregiver
- moderate separation anxiety and moderate stranger anxiety
- require and accept comfort from caregiver upon reunion
38
Q
Attachment types - type C
A
- Insecure-resistant
- greater proximity seeking and less exploration
- greater stranger and separation anxiety
- resists comfort upon reunion despite crying and calling for it
39
Q
Evaluation of attachment types
A
- Main and Solomon (1986)
- proposed a fourth type of attachment: insecure-disorganised
- lack of consistent social behaviour, very strong attachment can be followed by disorder
40
Q
Collectivist culture
A
- A community that prioritises the group over the individual. Groups live and work together sharing tasks, belongings and childrearing
41
Q
Individualist culture
A
- cultures that value independence and the importance of an individual. Attributes like self reliance, privacy and self-sufficiency are important
42
Q
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg study
A
- Meta-analysis of 32 studies resulting in over 2000 strange situation classifications in 8 countries
- analysed data to see differences between/within cultures
43
Q
Separation
A
- The child is not in the presence of the primary attachment figure. Brief separations, particularly where the child is with a substitute caregiver don’t have a significant impact on development
44
Q
Deprivation
A
- Means the child loses an element of the primary attachment figure’s emotional care/love this then becomes an issue for development
- extended separations can lead to deprivation, which causes harm
45
Q
Privation
A
- Never forming an attachment to a primary attachment figure/mother
46
Q
Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory
A
- Says that if a child is maternally deprived they will develop a low IQ, intellectual disability and affectionless psychopathy
- there is a critical period of 2.5 years (risk continues to 5) and it is irreversible (could affect child’s internal working model)
47
Q
Affectionless psychopathy
A
- Inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others, which prevents the person developing normal relationships
48
Q
Low IQ and intellectual disability
A
- Can be abnormally low as a result of deprivation
49
Q
Bowlby’s 44 thieves study
A
- Identified 44 thieves (14 of which were classic as psychopaths) and 44 control non-thieves for comparison
- recorded number who had experienced frequent separations from their mothers before the age of 2
50
Q
Findings + conclusion of 44 thieves
A
- 86% of affectionless thieves experienced frequent separations before age 2 compared to 17% of other thieves and 4% of controls
- maternal deprivation is linked to criminality and perhaps to emotionless psychopathy
51
Q
Evaluation of 44 thieves study
A
- Real world application to childcare in hospitals etc
- researcher bias as Bowlby did it himself
- fails to distinguish between privation and deprivation
- critical period should be viewed as the sensitive period. Case study of twins who were physically and mentally abused from 1-7 years, they recovered by the time they were teens
52
Q
Institutionalisation
A
- the act of and the effects of being in institutional care, such as an orphanage
53
Q
Rutter et al - ERA
A
- ERA=English and Romanian adoptee study
- longitudinal study of 165 Romanian children. 111 adopted by the age of 4 and the other 54 by the age of 4 to British parents
- tested at 4, 6, 11 and 15 to assess physical, cognitive and social development
- parents interviewed too
- compared to control group of 52 British adopted children
54
Q
Findings + conclusion of Rutter et al
A
- To start with, Romanian adoptees were developing slower than the British adoptees but many had caught up by 4
- significant deficits in children who were in care beyond 6 months like relationship problems and disinhibited attachments
- shows if the children have the opportunity to form attachments then the effects of institutionalisation are lesser
55
Q
Effects of institutional care
A
- Physical underdevelopment
- unhealthy attachment/relationship behaviour - disinhibited attachment (over friendliness and attention seeking)
- intellectual/cognitive development
-poor psychological functioning as adult resulting in parenting difficulty and stress
56
Q
Evaluation of Rutter et al
A
- real world application to understanding children in care and improving their lives
- lack of recent data doesn’t show us how they’re coping in their adult lives
- individual differences change how well they recover from institutionalisation
57
Q
Internal working model
A
- Cognitive framework made up of mental representations of the world, self and others
58
Q
Impact of early experience
A
- the internal working model becomes part of a child’s personality and affects their understanding of the world
- negative IWM or lack of leads to negative or uncertain expectations of others, ourselves and the world
- linked IWM to a range of behaviours including friendships, romances, parenting and mental health
59
Q
Childhood bullying behaviour
A
- childhood bullying can be predicted by attachment type
- 196 children aged 7-11 studied
- secure: unlikely to be involved in bullying
- insecure avoidant: likely to be victims
- insecure resistant: likely to be perpetrators
60
Q
Hazan and Shaver
A
- 1987
- the love quiz, 602 respondents
- asked about relationship history and childhood experiences
- used it to analyse people’s adult relationships and their attachment as children
61
Q
IWM - childhood friendships
A
- continuity between early attachment and later emotional/social behaviour. Those classified as secure were shown to be more empathetic, more socially competent and popular
62
Q
IWM - poor parenting
A
- harlow’s monkeys-poor attachment linked to poor parenting. Women raised in institutions experienced difficulties acting as parents
63
Q
IWM - romantic relationships
A
- link between early attachment type and later relationships (Hazan and Shaver, 1987)
64
Q
IWM - mental health
A
- lack of IWM can result in attachment disorder
65
Q
Bailey et al
A
- 2007
- assessed the attachment of 99 mothers to their children and their own mothers. They found out the majority of women had the same attachment type with their babies and their own mothers
66
Q
Evaluation of Meltzoff and Moore
A
- Difficult to interpret babies bahaviour and the meaning behind it
- imitation is intentional, infants made little response to objects in a study
- Isabella et al supports
67
Q
Isabella et al
A
- Interaction synchrony predicts the development of a good quality attachment
- high levels are good
- means that caregiver-infant interaction is important in development
68
Q
Schaffer and Emerson evaluation
A
- Good external validity, carried out by families in their own homes (but self report is not reliable)
- longitudinal design means better internal validity
- limited sample of 60 from same district and social class - not generalisable
69
Q
Lorenz findings + conclusion
A
- found that the group he incubated followed him around and showed no recognition of real mother (imprinted)
- concluded early attachment is irreversible and long lasting
70
Q
Evaluation of Lorenz
A
- lacks generalisability as attachments in mammals works different to birds (two way in mammals)
- has research against (Guiton)
71
Q
Harlow findings + conclusion
A
- monkeys spent more time with cloth mother and when scared they went to cloth mother
- concluded food is not the deciding factor in attachment but contact and comfort
72
Q
Evaluation of Harlow
A
- has theoretical value understanding mother-infant attachment. Attachment is not the result of food but comfort
- has practical value to understand child neglect and abuse as well as caring for animals in captivity
-ethical issues, abnormal monkeys when grown
73
Q
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg findings + conclusion
A
- secure was the norm
- then avoidant in individualist cultures and resistant in collectivist cultures
74
Q
Evaluation of Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg
A
- Cultural similarities may be due to global culture rather than innate biological factors
-there are many subcultures in countries, they found more variation within cultures than between them
-what appears as secure attachment in one country may look different in another country
75
Q
Evaluation of Ainsworth strange situation
A
- not generalisable to other cultures and child rearing practices
- real world application to teach caregivers about their infants behaviour
- ss may not measure attachment type but the quality of one relationship
- ethical issues
76
Q
Brazleton et al
A
- Supports Bowlby’s theory as primary attachment figures were told to ignore their infants social releasers which led the infant to be distressed then lay motionless
- shows infant social behaviour is there to elicit caregiving
77
Q
Evaluation of Bowlby’s monotropic theory
A
- attachment in humans develops later than animals due to being cared for by primary attachment figure so it’s not essential right away (attachment is adaptive)
- Brazleton et al proves social releasers for attachment
- Rutter et al says sensitive period may be better because attachments formed after 2.5 years isn’t impossible
78
Q
Classical conditioning
A
- learning through association
79
Q
Operant conditioning
A
- learning through consequences
- positive and negative reinforcement
80
Q
Hazan and Shaver findings + conclusion
A
- positive correlation between attachment type and love experiences
81
Q
Evaluation of Hazan and Shaver
A
- Self report is unreliable due to social desirability bias
82
Q
Evaluation of the influence of early attachment
A
- Supported by researched evidence like Bailey et al
- issues with validity due to retrospect
- it’s deterministic and states a persons relationships are doomed since attachment which isn’t true
