ATTACHMENT (3)

Question 1

how do infants learn to interact with other people?

Answer 1

interactional synchrony
reciprocity

Question 2

what is meant by interactional synchrony?

Answer 2

this is when an infant mirrors the actions of their care-giver
Examples of this would be facial expressions or hand gestures
They are said to ‘copy’ their care-giver

Question 3

what are the two researchers that look into interactional synchrony

Answer 3

Meltzoff and Moore
Isabella et all

Question 4

Outline Meltzoffs research into interactional synchrony

Answer 4

Meltzoff and Moore (1977)

Used infants as young as two weeks old and observed them via a camera
The infants observed a parent do 2 or 3 of four actions
Opening mouth, poking tongue out, frowning and waving a finger
Independent observers were asked to view the footage and state what they saw the infant actually do
This was a ‘Double Blind’ as the observer did not know what the aim of the experiment was
This was to check if the infant really did poke their tongue out at a certain time as it was felt the Primary Care Giver (PCG ) and/or experimenter would be biased
A positive correlation was found between the infant’s actions and those of the PCG: Copying/imitating was felt to be occurring

Question 5

Outline Isabella et el research into interactional synchrony

Answer 5

Assessed Interactional synchrony in 30 infants: PCG dyads using the Meltzoff and Moore method used
Found that the better synchrony was shown by those infants who had high levels of attachment to their PCG
This shows that interactional synchrony is important and is linked to strong, securely attached relationships

Question 6

Evaluate interactional synchrony by meltzoff

Answer 6

This research has strong face validity as it looks to be true: It makes sense we learn at a young age how to interact with others for our own survival
The use of the ‘double blind’ observer who looked at the tapes for Meltzoff and Moore meant less biased results
The camera may have had an effect on the participants, especially the infant, as it may have been intrusive and noisy
Was it just a coincidence?
We can never be really certain if the infant poked out their tongue or frowned as they were copying or if it was for another reason, unrelated to the PCG’s actions

Question 7

-0-0vv what is Reciprocity

Answer 7

Reciprocity

It is when the caregiver and infant respond to each other’s signals appropriately
The simplest example is a smile; the caregiver smiles and the infant smiles back

Question 8

Evaluate caregiver-infant interactions

Answer 8

STRENGTHS

Babies can distinguish between objects and humans.

Murray and Trevartgen, mothers interacted with two-month old infants through live video chat in real time, then did it pre-recorded, babies showed acute distress, showing reciprocity important

LIMITS

problems testing infant behaviour

although infant behaviour can be observed, difficult to have reliable observations, making it difficult to distinguish between general activity and activity as part of a conversation, lacks validity

Question 9

Stages and descriptions of attachment as put fowards by Schaffer and Emerson

Answer 9

Asocial (0-6 weeks)

Infants respond to people and objects the same
But they do show a preference for faces and eyes (Fantz 1961)

Indiscriminate Attachment (6 weeks-6 months)

Preference begins to now be shown for familiar faces
Primary and secondary caregivers are preferred

Specific Attachment (7 months +)

The attachment between the Primary Care Giver (PCG) has now formed
All the signs of attachment are observed: Stranger and stranger anxiety, proximity seeking behaviour and clinginess

Multiple Attachment (10/11 months)

Within a month after attachment begins in stage 3, then multiple attachments begin
This, from Schaffer and Emerson’s research, is usually with the father
It can also be with grandparents, siblings and anyone else who has regular contact with the infant

Question 10

There are three pieces of research into the role of the father, Outline Geiger

Answer 10

Research into the role of the father
Geiger (1996)

fathers had a different role from the mother

The mum is associated with care and nurturing the child

The dad is more about fun and playing with the child

‘the fun dad’

Question 11

There are three pieces of research into the role of the father, Outline Grossman:

Answer 11

Grossman (2002)

longitudinal study looking at how the quality of relationships between parents and children changed from infancy to the teenage years

found that the early attachment to the mother was a better predictor of what the teenage relationship was like

father is less important to later development than the mother in terms of nurture

However, Grossman found that if the father had engaged in active play with the child when they were young, the adolescent relationship with BOTH parents is strengthened

supporting Geiger’s work

Question 12

There are three pieces of research into the role of the father, Outline Field:

Answer 12

Field (1978)

Field found that if the father was the main PCG from before attachment began (before 6 months) then they took on more of a maternal role

They were seen to be more nurturing and caring than the traditional father role

there is flexibility in the role of the father and how men can respond to the different needs of their children

Question 13

Evaluate the role of the father

Answer 13

Why don’t more men become the PCG if they are capable of this as Field suggested?

Is this a nature or nurture issue as men lack estrogen or maybe they are less socialised to take the caring role?

Goodsell and Meldrum (2009) found that the having a secure attachment with both parents is linked
Children tend to need both and so it is not really a case of one being better or more suited: Both are needed
Practical applications: If the father can take the role of the mother as well, then this has implications for society:
Paternity/maternity leave
Custody of children: Men gaining more equality in this
Role modeling parental skills in young men
More societal acceptance of the single father

Question 14

Evaluate stages of attachment

Answer 14

STRENGTH

Longitudinal design - over long duration, rich in-depth data, more internal validity

Limitations

population and temporal validity, biased becuase only from working class population, sample from the 60s, and only from Glasgow.

Difficult to study the asocial stage

Question 15

Outline Lorenz

Answer 15

Lorenz was an ethologist who looked at the phenomenon of Imprinting in goslings.
Imprinting is the idea that some species attach to the first moving object they see when they are born.
This is often found in most species of birds, particularly ducks and geese.
The idea was that if baby animals can attach after such a short space of time: Literally in seconds, then attachment must be innate.
It is a quality that these animals are born with, posing the question is it innate in humans.

Question 16

Outline Lorenz study on imprinting

Answer 16

The Study on imprinting

Lorenz took a batch of 12 fertilised geese eggs and split them into two groups of six
One group (the control group) remained with the mother until they hatched
The second/experimental group was placed into an incubator and Lorenz stayed close when they were due to hatch
He was to be the first moving object they saw
It was later observed that if you mixed the two groups they would automatically split into their original groups
The ‘Lorenz goslings’ were observed to follow him everywhere
Even as adults the goslings still sought out Lorenz as their ‘mother’

Question 17

Evaluation of Lorenz

Answer 17

Lorenz does support the idea of a critical period as he found the goslings needed to imprint within 30 hours or an attachment would not be possible
This will later support Bowlby’s idea of the human infant’s critical period of 30 months
However, humans are more complex compared to goslings and so attachment is not likely to be such a quick process in humans: Birds have different survival requirements and develop into maturity much faster than a human
Human attachment needs to take longer as often the mother cannot be with the baby for several hours, days, or even weeks due to the nature of human childbirth and the impact it has on the health and wellbeing of the mother
However, wherever possible the mother is encouraged to hold the infant as soon as possible after giving birth to encourage development to begin
The study has high ecological validity as it was a field study
It is also highly reliable and has been repeated both experimentally as well as noted anecdotally (the duckling who has made a puppy her mother in China is especially cute!)
However, small sample sizes do limit how far we can generalise the results

Question 18

Outline Harlow study on infant monkeys

Answer 18

Baby rhesus monkeys were taken from their mothers as soon as they were born
They were then placed in a cage with two ‘surrogate mothers’: One made of comfortable, terry cloth and one made of wire
The wire mother had a bottle of milk inside of it so the monkey could feed on her
It was observed how long the monkey spent with each ‘mother’
The monkeys tended to spend most of their time with the cloth mother, only going to the wire mother to feed
If the baby monkey was frightened it would immediately cling to the cloth mother for support
They also used the cloth mother as a safe space to explore the cage
From this Harlow et al concluded that infants needed comfort more than food for attachment

Question 19

Evaluation of Harlows love in infant monkeys

Answer 19

Incredibly influential in how we saw infant-caregiver relationships
The monkeys raised in that experiment suffered psychological damage from being without an adequate primary caregiver that proved to be irreparable in adulthood: They often self-harmed and could not attach to their own offspring
This highlighted the need for a ‘responsive’ caregiver
However, due to these developmental issues, the experiment is highly unethical
It caused immense psychological harm to the infant monkeys, that could never be repaired
There are also questions about validity: Is this really attachment?
Attachment is complex, linked to a range of emotions and biological needs: Was Harlow really seeing ‘love’ for a cloth mother in this experiment
If he was not, then the experiment is not really about attachment/love and so is not valid
It is also not reliable as it can never, nor should be, repeated

Question 20

What is the learning theory of attachment?
what does SLT think about attachment

Answer 20

Attachment is not innate
Attachment is learned
Attachment depends on who feeds the baby i.e. ‘cupboard love’

Question 21

How does classical conditioning work with infants and attachment?

Answer 21

The infant is hungry and this is not a comfortable feeling so they crave food
The food is the unconditioned stimulus
The food gives the infant pleasure so pleasure is the unconditioned response
The Primary Care Giver (PCG) provides the food and, to start with, is the neutral stimulus
When the infant has been fed several times by the PCG, they begin to associate the PCG with food
The PCG is now the conditioned stimulus and the conditioned response is pleasure
The attachment has begun as the infant wants the PCG around, not due to food anymore, but because they like having them around

Question 22

How does operant conditioning work with infants and attachment?

Answer 22

We learn via rewards, punishments and reinforcement
Infants learn that they can receive attention from the PCG if they cry, laugh, giggle etc
These behaviours are positively reinforced for the infant: As it is rewarded, the infant repeats the action even more
The child learns that whatever it wants; food, a changed nappy, a cuddle, it can receive if it behaves in the right way
The PCG is also rewarded as a negative reinforcer is removed: the infant stops crying
This means that the PCG is also likely to repeat the behaviour as it is rewarding, and something unpleasant is removed

Question 23

operant conditioning also states there is a primary and secondary drive, outline what is meant by this.

Answer 23

A primary drive is something the infant needs, biologically, to survive, such as food
A secondary drive is a stimulus that reinforces behaviour after it has been associated with the primary drive
In this case, food is the primary reinforcer and the PCG is the secondary drive as they provide the food
The attachment begins when the infant forgets about the primary drive and looks for the secondary drive- the PCG

Question 24

Evaluation of learning theory as an explanation for attachment

Answer 24

STRENGTHS

Learning theory has some explanatory power, infants do learn through association and reinforcement, may not be food but may be attention

WEAKNESSES
Animal studies (Harlow and Lorenz) do not support learning theory explanations:
The goslings in Lorenz imprint within minutes of being born so have no time to learn
Harlow’s monkeys prefer the cloth mother that provides comfort to the mother that provides food

Schaffer and Emerson also demonstrated that food was not a factor in the attachment:
In over 1/3rd of cases, the mother did not do all of the day-to-day care for the infant such as feeding or bathing/nappy changing
Yet in all cases, she became the PCG
Schaffer and Emerson stated that the attachment was more about who was the most sensitive and loving in responding to the baby: Clearly the mother in these cases

Therefore the learning theory is highly reductionist in only looking at food as the main drive behind attachment

Question 25

what does innate mean in terms of attachment and why is it important

Answer 25

This is the idea that we are born with the ability to attach.

It is too important to be left to chance or to be learnt.

If we do not attach to our PCG then as infants, we die out.

If we do not attach to our offspring then they die and so does our genetic survival.

Question 26

what is continuity and why is it important

Answer 26

This is the idea that the attachment you have in your infancy will impact later relationships.

Securely attached children tend to grow up to have more stable relationships.

Question 27

Outline the 5 key ideas of bowlbys monsters tropic attachment

Answer 27

MONOTROPY
ADAPTIVE
INTERNAL WORKING MODEL
CRITICAL PERIOD
SOCIAL RELEASERS

Question 28

Monotropy

Answer 28

This is the idea that you only ever really form one main attachment in the life.

It will be your initial attachment with your PCG and will form the template for all future attachments.

The opposite idea is that of Multiple Attachments.

Question 29

Strength of bowlby’s monotropic theory.

Answer 29

Lorenz’s gosling experiment supports the idea of attachment being innate as the geese attach so quickly

There is biological evidence for the critical period- a developing fetus needs to have developed limbs by day 28
If there are biological ‘milestones’ that need to be reached in development, then why not psychological ones
Continuity is supported by Hazan and Shaver- Love Quiz as well as Sroufe’s study of women raised in institutions and the issues they face with child-rearing
Ainsworth (1967) supports the idea of monotropy from her Uganda study as she found the infants there also attached to one main figure

Adoptive agencies make it priority to try place children at youngest age possible

Question 30

Limitations of Bowlby’s monotropic theory.

Answer 30

The critical period was found to be a little too strict and now it is seen as an ideal, but children can attach later

Rutter (1998) found that children in his Romanian orphanage study were able to attach at ages well above 3
Therefore, the term was changed to the sensitive period
Some feel that monotropy may be given too much importance as a theory

Thomas (1998) argues that a range of carers for the infant makes more sense
They can assist with both development and protection

Alternative hypothesis suggests that temperament (their innate emotional personality) explains their attachment behaviour, not fully a product of the caregivers sensitivity

Question 31

Outline the critical period according to bowlby

Answer 31

This is the idea that an attachment has to take place within a certain time scale, otherwise, it will never happen for the infant
It is based on the biological idea of time scales in the physiological development of a fetus
For example, the limbs of a fetus need to be shown to be developing in the fourth week of pregnancy: After day 28 if this has not happened then it will not

Question 32

The issues with the critical period by Rutter

Answer 32

Rutter (1998) found, in his study of Romanian orphans that the children had been kept in horrendous conditions, with minimal contact with adults
Their ability to form attachments had been limited as a result
However, it was found that when they were adopted into stable homes, attachments did begin to form, even though some of these children were a lot older than the 2.5 years Bowlby discussed

Rutter admitted that it took time and was more difficult the older the child was, however, attachments were still made with children as old as 7 or 8
Bowlby’s theory of the critical period was severely challenged

Question 33

outline the sensitive period and explain why it was introduced

Answer 33

As a result of these controversies as well as other research indicating Critical was too strong a concept, Bowlby amended the theory
He renamed it Sensitive Period
The sensitive period means it is ideal to attach in the first 2.5 years but it is not essential
It is possible to attach later, as Rutter demonstrated

Question 34

What is the internal working model

Answer 34

The IWM is an internal representation of how we see ourselves as well as how we expect others to react to us
It is like a schema of ourselves: A packet of knowledge on how we view ourselves, how worthy as a person we feel we are and how we expect others to see us
These mental representations are formed in our early childhood, mostly through our interactions with our Primary Care Giver (PCG)
It will impact how we interact with others and form relationships for the rest of our lives as well as explain why we all react and behave so differently to others: Our early experience shapes us

Question 35

How does secure attachment form with the internal working model

Answer 35

Secure attachment and IWM
If an infant has a secure attachment, then they grow up feeling loved by their PCG and knowing they are worthy of love
Their IWM will be positive and tells them they have worth and are lovable
In later life they expect people to treat them well as this is what they experienced as an infant
If someone treats them badly, they find it easier to cope with this as they can accept it may not be their fault
They are worthy of love, and so if someone rejects them they can accept it and see that it may not be due to them: They can move on

Question 36

How does insecure avoidant attachment occur with the IWM

Answer 36

Insecure Avoidant Attachment and IWM
If an infant has had an insecure-avoidant attachment, then they will feel ignored by their caregiver and so will ignore them back as a means to protect themselves from getting hurt
This will continue into adulthood
Their IWM will lead them to expect that they will be rejected by others and they have little self-worth
To protect themselves from hurt, they will remain aloof and not really be able to get close to others
If they feel they are about to be rejected by someone, they will probably end the relationship first (reject first) so they can deal with the loss more easily: It was me not them
As a result, the IWM makes it hard for them to have fulfilling relationships with others

Question 37

How does insecure Resitsnt attachment occur with the IWM

Answer 37

Insecure Resistant Attachment and IWM
If an infant has had an insecure resistant attachment then they will have grown up believing they had to make a fuss to get attention
As they had a PCG that was ambivalent, one day loving and the next cold, they learned that crying and making a fuss was a good way to gain attention
Their IWM will form so that they believe this is how they must be in later relationships: Clingy and possessive to keep the person interested, just as they behaved to get the PCG’s attention
This will make later relationships problematic as they will be too clingy and possessive and so likely drive people away from them
Yet when they are ‘rejected’ their IWM will make them believe that they need to try harder to ‘win’ the person back: In reality, this will probably make things worse

Question 38

d

Answer 38

This largely comes from the studies into continuity, which back up the issues that people have in later relationships
Mary Main interviewed a lot of participants about their childhood and their later relationships
From this, she developed a theory of adult attachment styles
Main found that there is a link between childhood attachment styles and adult attachment styles, so supporting the IWM

Question 39

outline the procedure in ‘The Strange Situation’

Answer 39

A standardised room was used containing chairs, toys and a one-way mirror so the psychologists could film and observe without being seen
The room was standardised in that the furniture and toys were always in the same place and all participants had exactly the same layout
Only mothers were used as the Primary Care Giver (PCG) in this version
The mother and infant are left to play and the child is encouraged to explore
The stranger enters the room and attempts to interact with the infant
The mother leaves whilst the stranger is in the room
The mother returns and the stranger leaves
The mother leaves
The stranger returns
The mother returns and the stranger leaves

Question 40

What was Ainsworth looking for? 4 things.

Answer 40

How willing the infant was to explore the room?
How the infant reacted to the stranger?
How the infant reacted to being left?
How the infant reacted upon reunion with the mother?
All of these behaviours could be observed on several occasions

Question 41

Ainsworths strange situation results?

Answer 41

Ainsworth had three classifications for the infants she observed:
Type B Secure 70% of infants were classified as Secure
Type A Insecure Avoidant 15% of infants were classified as Insecure Avoidant
Type C Insecure Resistant 15% of infants were classified as Insecure Resistant

Question 42

what did Ainsworth conclude?

Answer 42

mother’s behaviour toward her infant will predict attachment type
She called this the Caregiver Sensitivity Hypothesis
The fact that the majority of infants in her study were securely attached seemed to support this hypothesis

Question 43

The positives of the strange situation

Answer 43

It is very reliable as it is very easy to repeat: Especially as everything is standardised
There is also inter-rater reliability as more than one observer was used and the experiment was filmed
Further evidence for reliability comes from other research that has found that the categories used to observe the infants also work and the classifications for attachment are also reliable
Independent observers come to the same classifications of attachment as the original observers in a study completed by Waters (1978)

Question 44

The negatives of the strange situation

Answer 44

The population validity is low as it was a relatively small sample and all the participants came from similar socio-economic and geographical backgrounds
This means it cannot be generalised
It lacks ecological validity: It does not represent tasks completed by caregivers-infants in real life
However, Ainsworth was aware of this: She calls the study ‘Strange’
She had to sacrifice ecological validity for the control of a lab observation
Is the Strange Situation valid in other cultures?
Ainsworth is judging children by Western standards and this may not be applicable to other cultures where child-rearing practices are different i.e. Japan
What if the mother was not the PCG?
A large assumption was made here as the infant may have had different attachment styles with the multiple attachments they probably already had
Other attachment figures were ignored

Question 45

Outline secure attachment

Answer 45

Between 66-70% of infants are classified as secure
The infants were happy to explore the room and play, using the Primary Care Giver (PCG) as a safe base
They were distressed when left by the PCG so demonstrated separation anxiety
The infant avoided the stranger and so showed stranger anxiety
On reunion with the PCG, they were happy and any upset disappeared very quickly

Question 46

Outline insecure avoidant attachment

Answer 46

18-20% of infants were found to be insecure avoidant
The infants were happy to explore the room and play but did not refer to the PCG as they did this
They showed no sign of distress when left by the PCG: There was no separation anxiety
The infant treated the stranger as they would the PCG, ignoring them, and so showed no stranger anxiety
On reunion with the PCG, they tended to ignore them and carried on with what they were doing

Question 47

Outline insecure resistant attachment.

Answer 47

Around 10-12% of infants were classified as insecure resistant
Sometimes referred to as Insecure Attachment Ambivalent
The infants did not explore the room and were reluctant to leave the PCG’s side, in case they were left
They were distressed when left by the PCG so demonstrated separation anxiety
The infant avoided the stranger and so showed stranger anxiety
On reunion with the PCG, they were not able to be calmed down and protested at the PCG as comfort was offered
They resisted the PCG’s attempt to calm them, often arching their back to move away from them, even though they were upset when left and clearly wanted the PCG to return

Question 48

Evaluate the strange situation

Answer 48

Other researchers around the world have found very similar to Ainsworth in terms of attachment types

has practical applications, circle of security project teaches caregivers to better understand infants signals of distress

There is strong evidence for the impact attachment types have on later relationships: Bowlby’s Continuity Theory, Hazan and Shaver’s Love Quiz, and Sroufe’s study of institutionalised women are just a few
However:

culturally biased methodology, does not apply to other cultures, it’s reductionist to assume that the whole population fits into one of the three attachment styles?

Main et al (1986) found a fourth type of infant who did not fit into the criteria for the existing three types
These infants often froze in the strange situation or displayed completely random behaviours that the existing categories from Ainsworth did not cover
Main categorised them as Type D: Disorganised and it was found that these were children who had suffered some form of abuse in early infancy
The fact that a 4th category was found some 16 years after the original raises issues about what else may have been missed

Question 49

what did van ijzendoorn conduct, and what were the results?

Answer 49

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg(1988) conducted a meta-analysis of strange situation

found that

Secure attachment (B) is the most commonly found attachment type in all countries studied
Insecure Avoidant (A) is the second most common attachment type in Western/industrialised/individualistic societies
Insecure Resistant (C) is the second most common attachment type in non-Western/non-industrialised/collectivist societies
There is more difference within a culture than between cultures

Question 50

strengths of van Ijzendoorns study

Answer 50

The method is quicker and cheaper than alternatives
Meta-analysis allows the researchers to obtain data from countries where language and cultural barriers may have been an issue i.e. China and Japan
The study is reliable as it can easily be replicated
As the research has a large sample from a variety of places, it can be said to be representative and, therefore, generalisable

Question 51

Limitations of Ijzendoorn

Answer 51

It is hard to check the validity of some of the studies as the researchers have no way of knowing if the data was collected in a scientific manner
There are a lot of countries, as well as continents, missing including Africa and a lot of Asia
So can we really generalise to all cultures?

There is an imbalance of studies used: There are so many for the US that those results are also the mean for the whole study
The Chinese study only had 25 infants, so we are using a tiny sample to represent around 20% of the global population

Question 52

consequences of maternal deprivation?

Answer 52

Delayed social development: Behaviour is often delinquent and outside of social norms
Delayed intellectual development: Due to the deprivation, children often have low cognitive functions and a low IQ
Delayed emotional development: Bowlby claimed that children who had maternal deprivation could not experience guilt or strong emotion is known as affectionless psychopathy

Question 53

what is the Procedure of the 44 thieves study?

Answer 53

Sample: 44 participants, consisting of teenage criminals accused of stealing
Participants were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy (lack of guilt for their actions, lack of empathy for their victims, lack of affection)
Researchers also interviewed the participant’s families to see if there was prolonged early separation (deprivation) from their mothers/ mother figure
There was a control group of 44 non-criminal teenagers who had emotional problems were also assessed to see how maternal deprivation affected the children who were not thieves

Question 54

Results of the 44 thieves study?

Answer 54

14 of the thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths
12 of the 14 had been affected by prolonged separation from their mothers in the first two years of their lives
Only 2 in the non-criminal group were subjected to prolonged separation
None of the control group were diagnosed as affectionless psychopaths

Question 55

strengths of 44 thieves study.

Answer 55

Bowlby’s maternal deprivation research and research on attachment led to many policy changes around institutions and how they treated children
Improving child welfare and ensuring it remains a focus became a key part of the child welfare policies based on this research
Children in the hospital were allowed to have their PCG stay with them, whereas before they were only allowed in during visiting hours
There was also an increase in the ratio of childcare workers per child and children were also allocated a key worker/nurse who would be there for them during their hospital stay
Other research supports Bowlby and shows t the impact of maternal deprivation
Gao et al. (2010) partially supported Bowlby, showing poor quality maternal care is linked with high rates of the psychopath in adults

Question 56

Limitations of the 44 thieves study?

Answer 56

Researcher bias, Bowlby himself carried out the interviews and research, which means he already knew what he was looking for from which teenagers
Bowlby used a lot of animal research to determine behaviour and then applied it to humans; however, humans have significant differences both biologically and psychologically, even compared to our closest evolutionary relatives, which shows that human behaviour cannot be explained by studying animals
Bowlby confuses early experiences of deprivation and privation
Rutter (1981) drew a distinct difference between them and pointed out that the severe damage Bowlby suggests happens with deprivation, is actually more likely due to privation
Deprivation: The loss of the primary attachment figure after the attachment has been developed
Privation: The failure to form any form of attachment in the first place
Most attempts to replicate Bowlby’s study have failed to produce similar results, Lewis (1954) found no association between separation and psychopathy in the 500 young people she studied

Question 57

Rutter et al. (2011)
Procedure. Romanian orphans.

Answer 57

Rutter et al. (2011) conducted a longitudinal study on 165 Romanian orphans adopted by British parents
Children were split into 4 groups;
Group 1: 58 children under the age of 6 months
Group 2: 59 children between the ages of 6 and 24 months
Group 3: 48 children over 48 months
Group 4: 52 British adoptees who were the control group
Each group was assessed at the ages of 4, 6, 11 and 15
At the start of the observations, over half of the Romanian children were suffering from severe malnutrition and a low IQ, showing delayed intellectual development, compared to the control group

Question 58

Conclusion of Rutter et el romanian orphans study.

Answer 58

Adoption after the first 6 months of life, means the child will have longer-term effects of institutionalisation
However, recovery is possible if they are able to form attachments
They may have slower development rather than irreversible damage
This challenges Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation as Rutter shows recovery is possible, difficult but possible
It has been found that children as old as 9 or 10 made a good recovery if they were adopted by sensitive, loving parents

Question 59

Findings of Rutter et els study

Answer 59

Age 6: those adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment (overly friendly behaviour towards unknown adults)
Age 11: 54% of those children who were adopted after 6 months, that had shown disinhibited behaviour, still showed disinhibited attachment
Symptoms of disinhibited attachment include attention seeking, clinginess and social behaviour directed indiscriminately towards all adults, whether familiar or unfamiliar.
Age of adoption was also a key factor in attachment type: Those adopted before 6 months, showed signs of a secure ‘normal’ attachment, whereas those older than 6 months displayed disinhibited attachment
Age 11: they found a significant difference between those children adopted before 6 months compared to those adopted later in terms of attachment style and IQ
The mean IQ score for those adopted before 6 months was 102, compared with a mean score of 86 for those children adopted between 6 months and 2 years but the mean score fell to 77 for those adopted after the age of 2

Question 60

Strengths of the Romanian orphans study

Answer 60

Due to research on institutions and the negative effects they have, policy changes were made to benefit children; for example, children’s homes now avoid having large numbers of caregivers for each child and instead now have one or two ‘key workers’ who play a central role in their emotional care.

In the Romanian orphans study there is a lack of confounding variables. The Romanian orphans had, in the main, been handed over by loving parents who could not afford to keep them.

The Romanian orphanage study allowed psychologists to study cause and effect, which is usually incredibly hard to do with adoptions studies, as those children being adopted have been removed for neglect or abuse reasons, however, this was not the case with the Romanian orphanages

Question 61

Limitations of the Romanian orphans study.

Answer 61

Hodges and Tizard (1989) stated the adverse effects of institutionalisation could be reversed if children were adopted by effective families or had adequate care. They found children who had been adopted by adequate families, often, coped better on measures of behavioural and peer relationships than those children returned to their biological families.

Children were not randomly allocated to conditions in this study, which means the more sociable children could have been adopted first.

This study could lack external validity as the quality of care was so poor in Romanian orphanages that it cannot be compared to others. This means the harmful effects seen in the studies of Romanian orphans may represent the effects of poor institutional care rather than institutional care in general.

There is a current lack of adult data on adult development. The latest data only looks at children in their early to mid-20s

Question 62

Outline Takahashi

Answer 62

reprated strange situation in Japan

found that Japanese infants were often seen as Type C, resistant. as they were rarely left by their PCG and so the strange situation was terrifying for them
This raises the question: If the strange situation is not valid in Japan due to child-rearing differences, is it valid elsewhere?