Attachment

Question 1

Define interactional synchrony

Answer 1

Interactional synchrony is when a mother and infant reflect each others emotions and actions in a coordinated way

Question 2

Identify Schaffers stages of attachment

Answer 2

• Asocial
• Indiscriminate
• Specific
• Multiple

Question 3

Describe various roles of the father which research has shown us

Answer 3

• Grossman (2002) found that fathers have more of a play and stimulation role
• Tiffany Field (1978) found fathers can be primary caregivers and adopt the behaviours of mothers

Question 4

Define an internal working model and explain its importance

Answer 4

An internal working model is the mental representation a child has of how the relationship with their primary caregiver is. Bowlby believes these have a powerful effect on future relationships as internal working models serve as models for other relationships. Children will later form relationships similar to and in line with their internal working models.

Question 5

Give a limitation of research into internal working models

Answer 5

There is a theoretical problem with research related to internal working models. Internal working models are unconscious yet the methods used to study them - self-report methods - are conscious. Therefore the self-report technique cannot really be a goof method to assess them.

Question 6

What method is used to measure attachment types in children ?

Answer 6

Ainsworth’s strange situation

Question 7

What are the behaviours Ainsworth uses to judge attachment?

Answer 7

• Proximity seeking
• Exploration & secure base behaviour
• Stranger anxiety
• Separation anxiety
• Response reunion

Question 8

List the episodes to the strange situation

Answer 8

1. Caregiver and infant play
2. Caregiver sits whilst infant plays
3. A stranger enters and talks to the caregiver
4. Caregiver leaves the infant and stranger together
   5.Caregiver returns and the stranger leaves
5. Caregiver leaves the infant alone
6. Stranger enters
7. Caregiver returns and greets the infant

Question 9

List three attachment types

Answer 9

• Secure attachment (Type B)
• Insecure-avoidant (Type A)
• Insecure-resistant (Type C)

Question 10

What personality will an insecure-resistant child tend to develop?

Answer 10

A controlling and argumentative personality

Question 11

What can we conclude from Harlow’s research?

Answer 11

Monkeys have an innate, unlearned need for contact and comfort, suggesting that attachment concerns emotional security more than food. Contact comfort is associated with lower levels of stress and a willingness to explore

Question 12

Describe the two laws of Bowlbys monotropic theory

Answer 12

• Law of continuity - the more constant and predictable the relationship is with the mother, the stronger the attachment
• Law of accumulated separation - for there to be no future problems and the attachment to be secure and healthy, there should be no separation between the mother and infant

Question 13

Define imprinting

Answer 13

Imprinting is when a young animal eventually comes to recognise another animal or a person or thing as a parent

Question 14

Give two examples of cultural variation studies into attachments

Answer 14

• Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg (1988) did a meta - analysis of 32 studies in 8 countries which looked into proportions of attachment types.
• Simonella et al (2014) - Italian study where the strange situation was used to measure attachment in 70 6-12 month old babies

Question 15

define maternal deprivation

Answer 15

describes the emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child ad his or her mother

Question 16

Give a limitation of Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation

Answer 16

Bowlby failed to properly distinguish between deprivation and privation. Rutter (1981) attempts to distinguish between the two saying the privation is the failure to form an attachment in the first place whereas deprivation is the loss on an attachment after it has formed. Rutter argues that privation is more likely to lead to long term damage rather than deprivation, as Bowlby’s theory states .

Question 17

Give three effects of institutionalistation

Answer 17

• poor peer interactions
• disinhibited attachment
• mental retardation

Question 18

define social releasers

Answer 18

Social pleasers are a set of innate ‘cute’ behaviours

Question 19

Outline the learning theory explanation of attachment

Answer 19

Through classical conditioning, attachment can start through a child learning to associate a mother with food which brings pleasure to the child. Through operant conditioning this association can be strengthened. By positive reinforcement - when a baby cries the mother feeds the baby so this reinforces the crying behaviour in the child. Also by negative reinforcement from the mother’s side as the baby stops crying when the mother feeds it, the mother continues to feed the baby to prevent it crying.