Attachment Flashcards
Define interactional Synchrony
Adults and babies respond in time, mirroring each other, to sustain communication
Define reciprocity
A two way caregiver infant process where each party responds to the other elicit a response
What was the Aim of Meltzoff and Moores study?
To investigate how early infants are able to mirror adults (interactional synchrony)
What method was used in meltzoff and moores interactional synchrony study?
Six infants aged 12-21 days were shown 3 facial gestures and one manual gesture. Their responses were recorded and presented to neutral observers who scored them
What were the results and conclusion of Meltzoff and Moores interactional Synchrony study?
The results showed that infants of this young age were able to mirror all 4 gestures so it suggests that synchronised behaviours are innate
What was the aim of Brazleton et als study?
To investigate the reciprocal social interactions between mothers their young children
What method was used by Brazleton et al in their reciprocity study?
12 mother infant pairs were seen repeatedly over a 5 month span during which they were videotaped and coded. Mothers would come from behind a curtain to play with their infant for 3 minutes then the mother would leave for 30 seconds then return for another 3 minute interaction, however the mother remained still faced this time
What were the findings from Brazleton Et als study into reciprocity?
When mothers carried out face to face interaction, infants moved in smooth circular patterns, however when still faced infants movements became jerky and averted their mothers glaze, followed by a short period of attempting to get their mothers attention
What was concluded from Brazleton et als reciprocity study?
Reciprocal behaviours are crucial to attachment formation
What are the evaluation points for caregiver infant interactions? AO3
++ supporting research (brazleton / meltzoff and moore
+ well controlled procedures
- low population
How is it a strength that supporting research of reciprocity and interactional synchrony have well controlled procedures? AO3
P: a strength of research is that it is a controlled observation and therefore is a highly controlled procedure
E: the interactions are filmed from different angles which means fine details can be recorded and analysed
E: this is a strength of research into caregiver infant interactions because several researchers can rewatch the clips to ensure all behaviour is recorded
L: therefore findings about caregiver interactions have high internal validity
How is a limitation of supporting research into caregiver interaction that they have low population validity? AO3
P: a criticism of the research into caregiver infant interactions is that the supporting research has low population validity
E: meltzoff and Moores sample consisted of 6 infants and Brazleton studied 12 mother infant pairs which are both relatively small sample sizes which may not be representative
E: this is a limitation because the findings about caregiver interactions may be difficult to generalise to other infants so conclusions drawn may not be valid
L: therefore this reduces the validity of the claim that caregivers and infants communicate via interactional synchrony and reciprocity
According to Schaffer and Emerson what % of infants firm their first attachment with their father?
3%
What did Grossmans longitudinal study conclude?
The qualify of attachment with father was less important in the attachment type of teenagers than quality of attachment with their mothers, however the quality of fathers play was related to the children’s attachment which suggests fathers have a different role in attachment, more to do with play and stimulation than nurturing
What did Field conclude about gender of caregivers?
The key to attachment relationship is not the gender of the parent but level of responsiveness
What did field conclude about the role of the father (hint: positive state / sole caregiver)
Children prefer interacting with fathers when they are in a positive emotional state but with mothers when distressed and need of comfort. When the father is a sole caregiver they adapt quickly to the sensitive emotional needs of the child
What are the evaluation points for the role of the father? AO3
+ practical application - antenatal classes
+ grossmans longitudinal study
- not objective
- low population validity (Schaffer and Emerson)
How has research into the role of the father produced successful applications in antenatal classes? AO3
P: a strength of research into the role of the father is that it has led to successful application such as male partner involvement in antenatal classes
E: by valuing fathers more, men feel more able to be sensitive to the needs of their children which in turn leads to better social and emotional development of children
E: this is a strength because it improves the quality of life for people as adults and refuses problems later in life which also reduces welfare and NHS costs
How is Grossmans longitudinal research a strength of the role of the father? AO3
P: a strength of Grossmans research into the role of the father is that it was carried out longitudinally
E: the same families were followed up at 3 time points over a ten year period
E: this is a strength as the findings will not be affected by confounding variables such as individuals differences so Grossmans study has high internal validity
L: therefore, Grossmans study is strong evident to support that the role of the father is different to the role of the mother since the father is more involved in play and stimulation than nurturing
How is a limitation of research into the role of the father that it is not objective? AO3
P: a limitation of research into the role of the father is that social biases may prevent objective research
E: preconceptions about how fathers behave are created by common discussions and these stereotypes may cause unintentional observer bias which leads to observers seeing what they expect rather than reality
E: this is a limitation of the research into the role of the father because the conclusions drawn may be due to bias and lack validity
How does research into the role of the father have low population validity? AO3 (Schaffer and Emerson)
P: a limitation of Schaffer and Emerson’s research into the role of the father is that it has low population validity
E: the sample consisted of babies from working class families in Glasgow which is a deprived city which is often associated with single mothers or stay at home mothers of which the father is absent in both, so the sample may not be representative of babies from middle class families. These babies may have different experiences in terms of how much time at home they spend with their mother and father
E: this is a limitation because findings about the role of the father may be difficult to generalise to all babies
L: so Schaffer and Emerson’s study is weak evidence to support the claim of the role of the mother and father being different
What are the 4 stages of attachment identified by Schaffer?
- Asocial
- Indiscriminate
- Specific / discriminate
- Multiple
What is the asocial stage of attachment?
Whilst babies are happier in the presence of other humans, their behaviour towards humans and other non human objects remains the same
What is the indiscriminate stage of attachment?
Babies will show a preference for human and prefer familiar people but will accept attention and affection from all adults equally
What is the specific / discriminate stage of attachment?
At this stage both separation and stranger anxiety forms and babies have formed a specific attachment to a caregiver (65% of the time the mother)
What is the multiple stage of attachment?
Babies begin to form multiple attachments other to their main attachment
What was the aim of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
To investigate the age at which attachment forms
What method was used in Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
Baby and mother pairs were visited every month for their first year and again at 18 months. The mothers were asked questions about their babies reaction when separated from them and in the presence of a stranger
What sample was used in Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
60 mother baby pairs from Glasgow
What were the findings from Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
Attachment behaviours were loosely linked to age. By 6-8 months most babies started to show separation anxiety from their attachment figure indicating that their first attachment had formed:
65% with mother
3% with father
27% shared first attachment
By 18 months 87% of the babies had atleast 2 attachments and 31% were attached to 5 or more people
What were the 3 conclusions of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
- Attachment develops in different stages
- The mother is not always the main attachment figure
- Attachments are formed through those who displayed sensitivity and responsiveness rather than those who spent the most time with the child or who fed the child
What are the evaluation points of Schaffers stages of attachment? AO3
+ supported by research (Schaffer and Emerson)
+ longitudinal research
- low population validity
- self report
How is being longitudinal a strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s research? AO3
P: a strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s research is that it was carried out longitudinally over 18 months
E: the same children were followed up and observed regularly rather than observing different children so individual differences were avoided
E: this is a strength because the study does not have the issue of individual differences between the participants acting as confounding variables and therefore the findings have internal validity
Have does Schaffer and Emerson’s research have low population validity? AO3
P: a limitation of Schaffer and Emerson’s research is that it has low population validity
E: the sample consisted of babies from Glasgow, a deprived Scottish city which is often associated with single or stay at home mums. Therefore the sample may not be representative of middle class family where the father is present more
E: this is a limitation of the research because the findings and stages of attachment may be difficult to generalise to all babies in the population
L: so the results have low external validity
Why is self report data a limitation of Schaffer and Emerson’s study? AO3
P: a limitation of as Schaffer and Emerson’s study is that the data collected was self report from the mothers
E: for example, the mothers might have been less sensitive to their infants protests and are less likely to report them. In addition, the mothers may have given socially desirable answers and may not want to disclose that the child is or is not attached to the father
E: this is a limitation because conclusions drawn about the stages of attachment may lack internal validity
How old is a baby in the Asocial Stage of Attachment?
Few weeks old
How old is a baby in the indiscriminate stage?
2-7 months
How old is a baby in the specific / discriminate stage of attachment?
From 7 months onwarsa
When does a baby enter the multiple attachments stage?
Between 8-12 months
what was the aim of Lorenz animal imprinting study?
To investigate if a certain attachment behaviour (imprinting) is innate
What method was used to Lorenz animal imprinting study?
Lorenz carried out a field experiment with a large clutch of goose eggs which were randomly divided into 2 conditions
Condition 1: half of the eggs were hatched with the mother present and in their natural setting
Condition 2: other half were hatched with lorenz present and when hatched lorenz imitated a mothers quacking sounds
To ensure imprinting had occurred lorenz put all the gosling together under an upturned box and allowed them to mix
What did lorenz find from his animal imprinting study?
Lorenz found that when the box was removed the gosling returned to their respective mothers - geese followed the first moving object they saw during a 12-17 hour critical period after hatching
What animal did lorenz use in his animal study?
Geese / gosling
What animal did Harlow use in his animal study?
Baby rheus monkeys
What was the aim of Harlow contact comfort study?
To investigate the importance of contact comfort in understanding attachment behaviours
What method was used in Harlows contact comfort study?
Baby rheus monkeys were removed from their real mothers very soon after birth and kept in complete isolation. 16 babies were used in 4 conditions
Condition 1: a cage containing a wire monkey producing milk and a towelling mother producing no milk
Condition 2: a cage containing a wire mother producing no milk and a towelling mother producing milk
Condition 3: a cage containing a wire mother producing milk
Condition 4: a cage containing a towelling mother producing milk
The animals were studied for 165 days and behaviour was recorded including time spent with mother. There were also fear conditions when the monkeys were presented with scary mechanical animals to observe whether they would use their retrospective mothers as a safe base
What were the findings of Harlows contact comfort study?
All monkeys spent more time with the cloth mother even when she had no milk and would only go to the wire mother when hungry, once fed returning to the cloth mother. During fear conditions the infant took refuge with the cloth mother as a safe base.
What was concluded from Harlows study?
Infants do not develop attachment to the person who feeds them but the person who offers contact comfort
What are the evaluation points for animal studies? AO3
+ studies have high control (lorenz and Harlow)
+ practical applications (Harlow)
- difficulty extrapolating
- contradicted by learning theory
How do animal studies have high control? AO3
P: a strength of animal studies is that they establish cause and effect.
E: both Harlow and Lorenz had high control over extraneous variables so we can be confident that the IV (wife/cloth mother) / (real mother or lorenz) affected the DV (ammount of time spent with mother) / (what caused the geese to separate into groups)
E: this is a strength as the studies are unlikely to be effected by confounding variables and we can therefore be confident that the findings that contact comfort is important when forming attachment and findings thay imprinting occurs have high internal validity
What practical application does Harlows study have? AO3
P: a strength of Harlows study is that his findings have helped social workers understand the importance of early attachment to later development
E: awareness of possible long term risk factors from infant neglect (including effects of monkeys deprivation being permanent and grew up less sociable and more aggressive) means that social workers are better placed to make suitable interventions in the cases of neglect since they know the long term detrimental impact of it
E: this is a strength as humans have benefited from the research and are less likely to develop abnormally since the consistent presence of an early attachment figure has become widely accepted
How is difficulty of extrapolation a limitation of animal studies? AO3
P: a limitation of the studies is that they used animals to investigate attachment behaviours
E: lorenz study investigated imprinting using Geese and Harlow investigated contact comfort using baby Rheus monkeys
E: this is a limitation because we might not be able to generalise the results to humans as they might not be able to generalise results to humans as they might not behave the same as geese or monkeys due to differences in complexity of intelligence and communication in humans. As such these studies can’t be used as evidence to help us understand human behaviour
How does learning theory contradict animal studies? AO3
P: a limitation of both studies is that their findings are contradicted by learning theory
E: Lorenz found that Gosling made attachment through process of imprinting and Harlow found that contact comfort was important for forming attachment. Learning theory contradicts these findings, claiming that attachment is formed through classical conditioning and operant conditioning on the basis of food and not as a consequence of contract comfort or imprinting
E: this is a limitation because the conclusions drawn by Harlow and Lorenz may not apply to all humans
What does Bowlbys theory claim?
Attachment is an innate process that gives a survival advantage
Define social releasers
Set of biologically predisposed behaviours on the part of the baby which encourage the adult to feel love towards the child e.g. crying
Bowlby claimed there was a critical period. Define this
A short window of opportunity where attachment can form between 6 and 30 months, if an attachment has not developed then it is unlikely one will ever develop
What does the monotropic theory suggest?
A child’s emphasis is on one caregiver
What is the internal working model?
The infant forms a mental representation of their relationship with their caregiver and this shapes how they form relationships later in life
What is the continuity hypothesis?
The treatment of a child by their primary attachment caregiver may well lead them to expecting and accepting similar treatment in relationships later in life
What are the evaluation points for Bowlbys Monotropic theory? AO3
+ research support - Hazan and Shaver
- contradictory research - Schaffer and Emerson
- ignores temperament
- contradicted by Learning theory
How does Hazan and Shaver support Monotropic theory? AO3
P:a strength of Bowlbys theory is that there’s research to support the continuity hypothesis and the internal working model
E: for example, Hazan and Shaver created a love questionnaire to explore the idea that there is a continuity between early attachment types and quality of romantic relationships. They collected information about their child attachment types and their attitude and experience of adult relationships. They found that those who were securely attached as infants tended to have long lasting adult relationships. On the other hand people who were insecurely attached as infants found adult relationships more difficult
E: this supports the idea that childhood experiences have a significant impact on people’s later relationships and suggests that the continuity hypothesis and internal working model has at least some validity
How is Schaffer and Emerson contradictory research? AO3
P: a limitation of Bowlbys theory is that there is evidence to suggest that a monotropic relationship is not as common as Bowlby suggests
E: Schaffer and Emerson found that while most babies did form singular attachments, 27% formed joint attachments
E: this is a limitation because it contradicts the claim that babies naturally form one attachment to a primary caregiver which limits the validity of the explanation
How does monotropic theory ignore the importance of temperament? AO3
P: a limitation of Bowlbys monotropic theory is that temperament may be an important factor in the development of later social behaviours
E:temperament can be regarded as a child’s genetically influenced personality. This means that innately some babies are more anxious or sociable than others. Such differences may influence how relationships are conducted throughout life
E: this is a limitation of monotropic theory because if temperament does have a significant impact on how people conduct relationships this would suggest that Bowlby has exaggerated the importance of a child’s early experiences
How is monotropic theory contradicted by Learning theory?
P: a limitation of Bowlbys theory of attachment is that it ignores the nurture side of the nature vs nurture debate
E: Bowlbys theory claims that attachment has evolved as a behaviour to enhance survival and is therefore innate whereas learning theory claims attachment is learned through reinforcement and association
E: this is a limitation of Bowlby monotropic theory since it suggests the theory might not be a complete and valid explanation of attachment
What were the 4 behavioural categories in the strange situation?
- safe base behaviour
- separation anxiety
- stranger anxiety
- reunion behaviour
What was the aim of Ainsworths strange situation?
To investigate key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a child’s attachment to a caregiver
What sample was used in strange situation?
100 middle class American infants
What method was used in strange situation?
Using a controlled observation in a room with a 2 way mirror, psychologists observed the infants behaviour and used behavioural categories to judge the type of attachment. There were 8 stages lasting 3 minutes.
What were the findings from strange situation?
66% were securely attached
22% were insecure avoidant
12% were resistant insecure
What were the typical behaviours of a securely attached child?
- stay fairly close to caregiver and use caregiver as a safe base while exploring
- will be wary of stranger and demonstrate moderate stranger anxiety
- demonstrate moderate separation anxiety, showing some distress
- easily comforted by caregiver when distessed
What behaviours are typical of an insecure avoidant attached infant?
- will move relatively far away from the caregiver and be willing to explore
- very low stranger anxiety
- unconcerned when caregiver leaves the room
- avoid eye contact upon return and ignore caregiver not seeking any comfort
What behaviours are typical of an insecure resistant attached infant?
- will stay very close to the caregiver and not be willing to explore the room
- extreme stranger anxiety
- extremely distressed when caregiver leaves the room
- will seek physical contact on return and reject all attempts to be comforted
What was concluded from strange situation?
There is a clear association between the mothers behaviour and the infants attachment type which has been termed the caregiver sensitivity hypothesis
What is the typical caregiver behaviour for a securely attached infant
Sensitive, emotionally responsive and supportive
What is the typical behaviour of a caregiver when the infant is insecure aviodant attachment type
Rejecting - often does not respond adequately to the child’s needs
What is the typical caregiver behaviour when an infant is insecure resistant attachment type?
Inconsistent - sometimes does not respond to the child’s needs
What are the evaluation points for the strange situation? AO3
+ high predictive validity
- does not measure attachment
+ high reliability
- cultural differences
How does strange situation have high predictive validity? AO3
P: a strength of strange situation as a measure of measuring attachment is that its outcome predicts several aspects about a babies later life
E: for example, a large body of research has shown that babies assessed as secure tend to have better outcomes than others. In childhood this can be better achievement in school and less involvement in bullying and in adulthood can be seen through better mental health.
E: this is a strength because it suggests that strange situation has high predictive validity and measures something real and meaningful in a babies development
Counter point - How does strange situation not measure attachment? AO3
P: however a limitation of strange situation is that some psychologists claim that it does not measure attachment types
E: for example, Kagan suggested that genetically influenced anxiety levels could account for variations, e.g. an infant might be clingy due to being anxious not because of an insecure resistant attachment type
E: this is a limitation because it means that strange situation may not actually be a valid tool for measuring attachment
How does strange situation have High reliability? AO3
P: a strength of the strange situation as a method of measuring attachment is that it is a reliable technique
E: for example, Bick found it is a reliable technique with a 94% inter rater reliability; virtually all observers were seeing the same way
E: this is a strength because we can be confident that the attachment type of an infant identified in strange situation does not depend on who is observing the child and therefore can be deemed as reliable
How does strange situation demonstrate culture bias? AO3
P: a limitation of strange situation as a method of assessing attachment types is that it may be culturally biased
E: cultural differences in children’s experiences mean they may respond differently in the strange situation. For example, takahashi found that Japanese babies were extremely distressed when separated from their mothers as traditionally they are hardly separated, demonstrating an insecure resistant attachment type when they are securely attached. Whereas children in Germany are encouraged to be independent and may appear insecure avoidant when they are securely attached
E: this is a limitation of using the strange situation to assess attachment type as it suggests that it may not be valid in cultures outside of America
What was the aim of Van Ijzendiorns meta analysis?
To investigate if the types of attachment across cultures and yk see if attachment types are universal or culture bound
What method was used in Van Ljzendoorns study?
Researchers located 32 studies in 8 countries of attachment where strange situation had been used to investigate proportion of infants with different attachment types. The sample consisted of 2000 children and data was meta analysed
What country had the most secure attachment type in Van Ljzendoorns meta analysis?
Great Britain - 75%
What country had the most avoidant attachment type in Van Ljzendoorns meta analysis?
Germany - 35%
What country had the most insecure resistant attachment type in Van Ljzendoorns meta analysis?
Israel 29%
What was concluded from Van Ljzendoorns meta analysis?
Secure attachment is the most common universally which suggests aspects are innate
Cross cultural differences suggest some aspects of attachment are influenced by culturally specific child rearing practices
What was the aim of Takahashis study?
To investigate the validity of using the strange situation to study cultural variations in attachment
What method was used in Takahashis study?
Replicated Ainsworths strange situation in China and Japan
What did Takahashi find in his study?
He found that a greater incidence of insecure resistant attachment type than compared to western cultures
What was concluded from Takahashis study?
- although his study showed cultural variation in the ways infants responded to separation, the test of attachment did not have the same meaning for Japanese children as it did for the original American Child Participants
- Japanese mothers never leave their infants alone, explains why children demonstrated separation anxiety, this may lead them to be wrongly categorised as insecure resistant when they are securely attached to
What are the evaluation points for cultural variations in Attachment? AO3
+ large sample size
- counter point - unrepresentative sample
+ indigenous researchers
Temperament may be confounding variable
How is a strength of Cultural variations in attachment the sample size? AO3
P: a strength of Van Ljzendoorns meta analysis is that it has a very large sample size and so has high population validity
E: for example, their sample consisted of 2000 babies and their attachment figures
E: this is a strength because the large sample size increases the internal validity of the findings because it reduces the impact of biased methodology or unusual participants over the meta analysis
How is the sample of Van Ljzendoorns meta analysis a limitation? AO3
P: a limitation of the research is that the sample may not be representative of the attachment type in any given country
E: for example, since the sample from each country was so small they could not account for the sub groups within the country, such as social class ethnicity and whether they are from urban or rural areas
E: this is a limitation because the findings of their meta analysis relating to the attachment type typical in any given country may not apply to all groups within that country. This means that the findings of the meta analysis have low external validity
How is a strength of cultural variations in attachment that the researchers are indigenous? AO3
P: a strength of Van Ljzendoorns meta analysis is that the research was mostly conducted by ingenious psychologists
E: for example, they included research from a German team and Takahashi who is Japanese, this means that potential problems in cross cultural research can be avoided e.g. misunderstandings of the language used by participants, having difficulty explaining instructions
E: this is a strength because there is a high chance that the researchers and participants communicated successfully which increases the validity of data collected about cultural variations in attachment
How might temperament be a confounding variable in cultural variations in attachment? AO3
P: a limitation of the research by Van Ljzendoorn is that they used studies that used the strange situation as a method of measuring attachment, so the findings may be affected by confounding variables
E: Kagan argued that temperament of a child is more important on a child’s behaviour in strange situation
E: this is a limitation because it suggests that atleast some of the findings of the research may be invalid
What are the 3 important strands of Bowlbys maternal deprivation theory?
- Value of maternal care
- Critical period of up to 2 1/2 years or even up to 5 years
- Long term consequences e.g. affectionless psychopathy / low IQ / delinquency
What was the aim of Bowlbys 44 thieves study?
To investigate the link between maternal deprivation and affectionless psychopathy
What method was used in Bowlbys 44 thieves study?
Bowlby interviews 44 juvenile delinquents aged 5-16 who had been referred to the clinic for petty theft. Within this group Bowlby identified a group who he described as affectionless psychopaths. He also used a control group of 44 non delinquents who had been referred for emotional reasons. The interview included collecting information about their early childhood e.g. any separation
What were the findings of Bowlbys 44 thieves study?
86% of the affectionless psychopaths had experienced extended separations from their mother during the critical period as compared with 17% of the other thieves and 4% of the control group
Furthermore, almost none of the control participants had experienced early separations whereas 39% of the thieves had
What was concluded from Bowlbys 44 thieves study?
The findings suggest a link between early separations and affectionless psychopathy
What are the evaluation points for Bowlbys maternal deprivation theory? AO3
+ practical application
- researcher bias
- social desirability
- conclusions are correlational
What practical application does Bowlbys maternal deprivation theory have? AO3
P: a strength of Bowlbys MDH is that it has led to successful practical applications
E: the MDH led to a dramatic change in the care of children in hospitals with parents being encouraged rather than discouraged to go visit their children and staying with them in the hospital
E: this is a strength because the theory has made a positive contribution to the real world and the development of thousands of children. This has also been of economic benefit since it also reduces costs of social services for children and adults
How is researcher Bias demonstrated in Bowlbys 44 thieves study? AO3
P: a limitation of the MDH is the poor quality of evidence it is based on
E: Bowlby conducted both the family interviews and assessments for affectionless psychopathy sooner in advance which teenagers he expected to show signs of psychopathy
E: this is a weakness because his findings may have been unconsciously influenced by his own expectations meaning that his conclusions about Maternal deprivation may not be valid
L: so Bowlbys research is weak evidence to support the MDH as a valid theory
How is it a limitation that Bowlbys study used self report? AO3
P: a limitation of Bowlbys study is that it may have been subject to memory or social biases due to self report methodology
E: Bowlby interviewed the children and their mothers, collecting information from their early life, especially any extended separations during the critical period
E: this is a limitation because the mothers and their children had to think back many years so their memory of any extended separation may have been distorted. Additionally, mothers may have demonstrated socially desirable behaviour by downplaying the length of time separated and their child’s reaction
L: therefore, Bowlbys research is weak evidence to support the MDH as a valid theory
How are Bowlbys conclusions correlational in Bowlbys 44 thieves research? AO3
P: a limitation of Bowlbys 44 thieves research is that is it correlational
E: the research does not establish that the frequent separation caused the affectionless psychopathology so there could be a 3rd variable which influenced the children to engage in criminal behaviour e.g. peers
E: this is a limitation because the findings that maternal deprivation leads to problems later may not have internal validity
L: therefore Bowlbys research is weak evidence to support the MDH as a valid theory
What are the main 2 effects of institutionalisation?
- disinhibited attachment
- intellectual delay
What is disinvited attachment?
Disinhibited attachment is when the child is equally friendly and affectionate towards people they know well or who are strangers.
Rutter claimed this to be due to Orphans having 50 carers during the sensitive period so were not able to form a secure attachment
What was the aim of Rutters Romanian Orphan study?
To investigate to what extent good care makes up for poor early experiences in childhood
What method was used in Rutters Romanian Orphan study?
165 Romanian Orphans adopted in Britain were longitudinally assessed at 4,6,11 and 15 years of age and compared to 52 British children adopted at around the same time for their physical cognitive and emotional development
What were the findings of Rutters Romanian Orphan study in terms of Intellectual delay?
Half the orphans showed intellectual delay when they came to the UK. At age 11 recovery rates were compared to their age of adoption
- before 6 months had mean IQ of 102
- between 6 months and 2 years had mean IQ of 86
- after 2 years had IQ of 77
What were the findings of Rutters Romanian Orphans study in terms of disinhibited attachment?
The frequency of disinhibited attachment was related to age of adoption:
- apparent in children after 6 months
- rare in children adopted before 6 months
Behaviours included being clingy, attention seeking and indiscriminate towards strangers
What was concluded from Rutters Romanian Orphans study?
The findings support the view that there is a sensitive period in the development of attachments, a failure to form attachment before 6 months seemed to have a long lasting effect in terms of their IQ and attachment
What was the aim of Zeanas early intervention project?
To investigate the type of attachment in children who have been institutionalised
What was the method used in Zeanahs early intervention project?
Researchers used strange situation in 95 children aged 12-31 months who had spent their lives in institutional care. They were compared to a control group of 50 children who had never experienced institutional care
What were the findings of Zeanahs early intervention project?
74% of control group were found to be securely attached compared to 19% of institutional group
44% of institutional group were classified as disinhibited attachment compared to 20% of control group
What was concluded from Zeanahs early intervention project?
These findings support the view that children who are raised in institutions are less likely to show secure attachments perhaps due to not having a primary caregiver
What are the evaluation studies of Romanian orphan studies? AO3
+ practical application (only 1 or 2 key workers per child)
+ reliability of findings
- long term effects unclear
- socially sensitive research
What is the practical application of Romanian Orphan studies? AO3
P: a strength of Romanian Orphan Studies is that they have led to successful practical applications
E: for example, these studies have led to significant improvements in how children are looked after in institutions. Nowadays, each child is assigned 1 or 2 key workers. Additionally the adoption process has shortened from years to months
E: this is a strength because the studies have made a positive contribution to the real world by improving the well being of thousands of children
How are the Romanian Orhan studies reliable? AO3
P: a strength of Romanian Orphan studies is that the findings are reliable
E: Morison and Elwood found exactly the same results with a group of Romanian Orphans adopted by Canadian parents
E: this is a strength as it shows Rutter and Zeanahs conclusions regarding the effects of institutionalisation have external reliability
How are long term effects of Romanian Orphan studies unclear? AO3
P: a limitation of Romanian Orphan studies is that the long term effects of early experiences are not clear
E: it is too soon to say whether the children have suffered long or short term effects since the Orphans were only followed into their mid teens. The children who experienced intellectual delay may catch up in adult hood since those adopted earlier appear to have to problems
E: this is a limitation of the research into the effects of institutionalisation because the conclusions drawn may not be valid
How is Romanian Orphan studies socially sensitive research? AO3
P: a limitation of research into effects of institutionalisation is that the findings may be socially sensitive
E: Rutters study claims that children who have been institutionalised and adopted after 6 months of age are less intelligent than children who have been adopted before that age. Zeanahs conclusion claims children raised in institutions are more likely to have insecure attachments
E: this is a limitation since the findings could be upsetting, especially for the children who were adopted later
Summarise the internal working model?
Bowlby believed that early attachment provides a blueprint for later relationships through Schemas formed in the first attachment relationship.
There are 3 main features of the internal working model:
1. Viewing others as trustworthy
2. Viewing self as valuable
3. Viewing self as effective in communication
What was the aim of Sroufe et als Minnesota study into the influence of early attachment?
To investigate whether the attachment type in infancy is associated with the quality of friendships later in childhood
What method was used in Sroufe et als study into the influence of early attachment?
The sample consisted of 200 mothers who were viewed at a moderate risk for parenting difficulties due to challenges associated with poverty. Assessments were made of the early attachment at both 12 and 18 months using the strange situation procedure. Participants behaviours including peer relationships were followed into late adolescence
What was found in Sroufe et als Minnesota study into the influence of early attachment?
Securely attached children were rated most highly for social competence in later childhood, being less isolated and more popular than insecurely attached children
What was concluded from Sroufe et als Minnesota study into the influence of early attachment?
Sroufes research supports the claim that early attachment influences later childhood social behaviour
What are the 2 evaluation points of Sroufes study into the influence of early attachment? AO3
+ Longitudinal research
- use of strange situation is a confounding variable
How is a strength of Sroufes study that it is longitudinal research? AO3
P: a strength of the Minnesota study is that it is longitudinal
E: the same participants were studied from infancy regarding their attachment behaviours, to adolescence regarding their peer relationships
E: this is a strength since the study does not have the problem of individual differences between participants acting as a confounding variable so the findings have high internal validity
L: therefore, the research is strong evidence to support the theory that early attachment does influence later relationships
How is the use of strange situation a confounding variable in the Minnesota study? AO3
P: a limitation of the Minnesota study is that using the strange situation means the findings may be affected by this is a confounding variable
E: for example, Kagan conducted research arguing that temperament of the child is more important in the strange situation
E: this is a limitation as it suggests that the findings of the Minnesota study may not be valid
L: therefore, the research is not strong evidence to support the theory that early attachment does influence childhood relationships
What was the aim of Hazan and Shavers study into the influence of early attachment?
To Investigate whether attachment type in infancy is associated with romantic relationships much later in life
What method was used in Hazan and Shavers study into the influence of early attachment?
620 people replied to a love quiz and their responses were analysed. The quiz was comprised of 3 different aspects of relationships:
1. Respondents current relationship
2. Respondents general love experiences e.g. number of previous partners
3. Respondents attachment type (based on answer of 3 statements to best describe their feelings towards their PAF)
What were the findings of Hazan and Shavers study into the influence of early attachment?
- 56% of respondents were securely attached and were more likely to have positive and longer lasting relationships
- 25% were identified as insecure avoidant and tended to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy
What was concluded from Hazan and Shavers study into the influence of early attachment?
The findings suggest that attachment type was reflected in their romantic relationships in adulthood, which supports the claim that early attachment does influence adult relationships
What are the evaluation points for Hazan and Shavers study into the influence of early attachment? AO3
+ supporting research
- retrospective data
- social desirability bias
- correlational research
What other research supports the findings from Hazan and Shavers research into the influence of early attachment? AO3
P: a strength of the theory that early attachment does influence adult relationships is that there is supporting research
E: McCarthy found support for the theory that secure attachment in childhood leads to good romantic relationships and friendships in adulthood
E: this is a strength because it demonstrates that theory does have some validity since the research demonstrates that early attachment does influence adult relationships
How is retrospective data a limitation of Hazan and Shavers research into the influence of early attachment? AO3
P: a limitation of Hazan and Shavers research is that it makes use of retrospective data which may be susceptible to memory bias
E: Hazan and Shavers asked participants to recall information regarding their feelings towards their primary attachment figure from many years earlier. They may not have recalled this information accurately
E: this is a limitation because if the information recall was not accurate then the results would be confounded. As a result the findings and conclusions of the study lack internal validity
How might the findings of Hazan and Shavers research into the influence of early attachment be influenced by social desirability bias? AO3
P: a limitation of Hazan and Shavers study is that participants may respond with socially desirable answers
E: for example, Hazan and Shaver asked participants about the number of romantic partners they have had and their feelings towards their primary attachment figure. Participants may lie about this e.g. downplay the ammount of partners they have had or their negative feelings towards their caregiver to present themselves in a more positive light
E: this is a limitation because if participants were not honest in their answers then this would confound the results so the findings may not be fully valid
What is the issue of Hazan and Shavers research into early influences of attachment being correlational research? AO3
P: a limitation of research into the theory that early attachment affects childhood and adult relationships is that it is correlational
E: this means that it cannot demonstrate a cause and effect relationship between early and later relationships. So there may be other variables e.g. temperament which influence later relationships
E: this is a limitation of the research because it means that the support it provides for the theory that early attachment influences later relationships is limited in its value
