attachment Flashcards
what is attachment
the strong affectional ties that bind a person to an intimate companion
what is the evolutionary explaination of attachment
babies are born completely helpless they cant feed themselves and cant defend themselves therefor it makes sense to form an attachment so someone else will look after them
why do we have an attachment to our parents (3)
- spend time with them
- look for caregiver when upset
- need them to stay alive
what are the signs of an attachment
- seeking proximity
- distress on seperation
- joy on reunion
what was lorenz interested in when studying attachment
how young animals attach to their mother and how this gave them an increased chance of survival
how did lorenz study attachment
he separated two sets of geese one half with mother and one half with him and he was the first thing they seen out of the incubator
once they all hatched he put both groups together and watched as they sorted themselves out and followed their mother
what did lorenz call it when the geese followed their mother and when does it occur
imprinting and it occurs between 13-16 hours after hatching if no imprinting has occured after 32 hours it never will
what is the time called where imprinting has to occur
critical period
does lorenz’s research occur to humans
no we are not precocial species (born able to feed themselves) so we are different
summarise harlows sample
young monkeys were raised by two kinds of surrogate monkey mother machines
one was made of soft terry cloth and provided no food
one was made of wire mesh and provided a baby bottle of milk
summarise harlows study 1 procedure
monkeys were removed from mothers at birth and placed in a cage with the two machine mothers
what did harlow find in study 1
monkeys spend more time with the cloth mother and would only go to the wire mother for food
if a frightening object was placed in the cage with them they went to the cloth mother for refuge supporting that sensitive response and security is more important than the provision of food
what was harlows study 3 procedure
monkeys were taken as babies and raised in isolation from birth with no contact for various lengths of time before being put with other monkeys to see the impact
what did harlow find in study 3
monkeys raised in isolation would clutch their own bodies and rock compulsively
they were initially scared of other monkeys then became aggressive and couldn’t socialise well
they tore their own hair out and bit themselves
harlow concluded that going through privation caused monkeys to be socially maladjusted
