Attachment Flashcards

Question

What does the learning theory suggest?

Answer 1

That attachments are based on the principles of operant and classical conditioning. First attachments are quite often formed to the person who looks after child, feeds, changes, cuddles when they're scared. First attachment figures are powerful sources of pleasure for baby as well as removing emotional and physical distress like cold, hunger and pain.

Answer 2

Schaffer and Emerson found 39% of babies attachment formed was not to person feeding and caring for them but to those who are sensitive, rewarding and play with them. Quality of interaction important not food Harlows monkeys- Wire mother and soft mother. Monkey would always use soft mother as a safe base and go to it when a loud noise was played and they were frightened. Only go to wire monkey when hungry. Clinging to mother could be important, suggests theres more to attachment than food and rewards.

Answer 3

``` Internal working model Monotropy Sensitive period Social releasers Innate Imprinting Safe base for exploration ```

Answer 4

A template for all future relationships

Answer 5

The tendency for infants to form a single strong bond of attachment. Special attachment to one person

Answer 6

A time when the child is particularly sensitive to forming an attachment. Bowlby stated an infant must form a bond in the first 3 years of life.

Answer 7

Important for cognitive development. When frightened

Answer 8

Social signals the infant performs such as smiling, cooing in order to form an attachment with its caregiver

Answer 9

A trait or characteristic that is there when you are born

Answer 10

Dollard and Miller say it's down to nurture and babies are innately driven to satisfy the need for food. Bowlby saw attachment as a result of nature Dollard and Miller say attachment is a by product of satisfying hunger Bowlby states attachment is important as it confers with other survival and emotional benefits. Dollard and Miller state the learning theory emphasises how behaviours are reinforced by experience Bowlby states the innate nature of behaviours such as social releasers (crying) Dollard and Miller learning theory says the only thing that matters is meeting the babes physiological needs For bowl by the emotional sensitivity of the caregiver is important in explaining to whom the baby forms an attachment and its quality

Answer 11

Learning theory- dependent on food and begin satisfied love not necessary Evolutionary theory- innate, nature, dependent on love and emotion

Answer 12

Schaffer and Emerson 1964

Answer 13

Schaffer and Emerson- Primary attachment formed first Lorenz- one attachment, geese followed Fox- attachment to parents first

Answer 14

Klaus and Kennell Lorenz- Geese imprinted

Answer 15

Schaffer and Emerson- Attachment to most responsive Klaus and Kennell- skin to skin contact

Answer 16

Hazan and Shaver- How parents relationships influence

Answer 17

Schaffer and Emerson- Attachment not necessary to feeder Harlow- Love isn't learnt and can't be unlearnt Lorenz- Imprinting Fox- Attachment to parents not feeders

Answer 18

Harlow- Monkeys go to cloth and not wire with food.

Answer 19

Tested hypothesis that early skin to skin contact led to closer bonds being formed between new mothers and babies.

Answer 20

Field experiment- K+K took 2 groups of young mother in North American maternity hospital and followed them from birth for a year babies removed for mothers shortly after birth and kept in nursery unit. Control group: routine contact and mothers saw baby after delivery and for feeds Experimental group: extended contact, 1 extra hour of contact after birth and extra 5 over next 3 days K+K Visited after a month and a year

Answer 21

``` Sensitive period (bowbly) Contact comfort (social releasers, Bowlby) ```

Answer 22

Anxious Avoidant

Answer 23

Anxious-ambivalent/ Resistant

Answer 24

Neutral, not distressed when mother leaves

Answer 25

Neutral, avoids interaction with mother one return

Answer 26

Distressed when mother leaves

Answer 27

Easily comforted when reunited with mother

Answer 28

Extremely distressed when mother leaves room

Answer 29

Seeks to be with mother when she return but not easily soothed

Answer 30

Surveyed a large number of respondents to a newspaper advert about their romantic relationships and childhood memories. Found that their relationships tended to echo their memories of early relationships with their parents. If they remembered their mothers begin sensitive and responsive they tended to have secure and happy relationships. Those who had negative memories of early attachment were more likely to report being clingy or being distant int heir relationship.

Answer 31

Studied children raised in an Israeli Kibbutz where children are reared communally. From an early age children lived in a children's house where they were cared for by a nurse who fed them e.t.c They spent only an hour each evening with their parents but the children were still strongly attached to parents and showed weak attachment to nurses

Answer 32

Conducted a number of studies where monkey infants were separated from their mothers and placed in isolation. In the cages there were 2 artificial mothers, a wire one that dispensed milk and a soft cloth one that didn't. The monkeys spent most of their time clinging to the cloth mother and would go to it if startled.

Answer 33

Mary Ainsworth and Bell in 1970

Answer 34

- mother leaves child in strange room - child approached by stranger - mother returns

Answer 35

100 middle class American infants

Answer 36

Controlled observation

Answer 37

Separation anxiety: the unease the infant shows when caregiver leaves The infants willingness to explore Stranger anxiety- infants response to strangers presence with caregiver Reunion behaviour- way caregiver was greeted by infant on return

Answer 38

Ainsworth and Bell (1970) conducted an experiment to measure the secure and insecure attachment. The experiment involved using a sample of 100 middle class American infants and their mothers. They placed the infant and mother in a strange room where they played with toys. A stranger enters the room and engages with the infant and the mother then leaves the room. The stranger continues to interact wight he infant until the mother returns and greets the child. After the child is left alone again and then the stranger returns and the mother follows. They observed the separation anxiety the infant showed and the willingness of the infant to explore. The strangers anxiety was observed which is the infants response to presence of stranger . The reunion behaviour of the infant was observed when the caregiver returned.

Answer 39

RESULTS not method: 22%-type A 66%- type B 12%-type C Ainsworth and Bell found that when measuring secure and insecure attachments that 66% of the infants showed type B attachment which is a secure attachment. This was clear as they were distressed when the mother left the room but easily comforted upon return. 22% of infants showed type A attachment which is anxious and avoid ant behaviour as the infant avoids interaction when mother returned but wasn't distressed when she left. Only 12% of infants were type c attachment displaying anxious and resistant attachment as the infant was extremely distressed when the mother and seemed to be with the mother upon return but not easily soothed.

Answer 40

100 American middle class infants Type A attachment- 22% Type B attachment- 66% Type C attachment- 12%

Answer 41

``` Same 3 types A,B,C everywhere in world Type B (secure) is most common Ratios varied significantly ```

Answer 42

Great Britain and Sweden

Answer 43

West Germany

Answer 44

Given more independence when younger

Answer 45

Israel and Japan

Answer 46

Review of lots of studies- analysis of analysis

Answer 47

One study that has research into cross-cultural variations in attachment was conducted by van I Jzendoorn and Kroonenberg. they used a meta analysis for their study which included data from 32 studies in 8 different countries. All the studies used the strange situation procedure to study attachment. Due to using a meta analysis they calculated an average percentage for the different attachment types in each country.

Answer 48

``` Parenting Religion siblings limited sample few studies not representative of whole culture ```

Answer 49

Not representative of whole worlds cultures as - all countries studies were in the northern hemisphere - all MEDC - only 8 countries used

Answer 50

Good reliability, consistent results Has been criticised to be highly artificial (controlled observation) therefore lacking ecological validity Lacks validity as not looking at general attachment but just attachment to the mother Ethical issues- child put in deliberate distress Sample is biased- not generalisable to non Americans and working and upper class infants

Answer 51

Controlled observation 1) Mother, baby and experimenter (2) Mother and baby alone. (3) Stranger joins mother and infant. (4) Mother leaves baby and stranger alone. (5) Mother returns and stranger leaves. (6) Mother leaves; infant left completely alone. (7) Stranger returns. (8) Mother returns and stranger leaves.

Answer 52

Repeatable controlled method natural behaviour (no demand characteristics from infant) Works to distinguish types A,B,C minimised by operationalising attachment behaviour

Answer 53

``` Can't determine cause and effect, may be a third affecting factor No independent variable extra subjectivity between cultures not representative (bad mood, weather) Carer might show social desirability Observations are always subjective ```

Answer 54

Japan- child rarely separated from mother so find strange situation very stressful. Avoidant behaviour is considered rude and discouraged China- limited sample only 36 ppts Few studies- Great Britain, Sweden,China only one study carried out

Answer 55

To consider whether it is appropriate to use the strange situation procedure on Japanese children

Answer 56

Ethical issues: -potential psychological harm to infants Validity: -limited sample of only middle class -home reared infants so may not be appropriate to generalise results to all Japanese children Cross cultural differences: Japanese children are taught such behaviour is impolite and discouraged from it

Answer 57

Protest Despair Detachment

Answer 58

Bowlby in 1944- A study of 44 juvenile thieves

Answer 59

Bowlby interviewed 44 adolescents who were referred to a child protection program in London because of stealing- i.e. they were thieves. Bowlby selected another group of 44 children to act as ‘controls’. N.b. controls: individuals referred to clinic because of emotional problems, but not yet committed any crimes. He interviewed the parents from both groups to state whether their children had experienced separation during the critical period and for how long.

Answer 60

To investigate the long term effects of maternal deprivation on people in order to see whether the criminals have suffered deprivation. According to the Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis, breaking the maternal bond with the child during the early stages of its life is likely to have serious effects on its intellectual, social and emotional development.

Answer 61

- More than half of the juvenile thieves had been separated from their mothers for longer than six months during their first five years. - Control group only 2 had had such a separation. None of the control group were affectionless psychopaths. He also found several of the young thieves (32%) showed 'affectionless psychopathy' (not able to care for others). In a later paper, he reported that 60 children who had spent time apart from their mothers in a tuberculosis sanatorium before the age of 4 showed lower achievement in school.

Answer 62

The results suggest a link between early separations and affection less psychopaths. Maternal deprivation appears to lead to affection less psychopathy in its most severe form. In its less severe form it leads to antisocial behaviour. Affectionless psychopaths show little concern for others and are unable to form relationships. Bowlby concluded that the reason for the anti-social behavior and emotional problems in the first group was due to maternal deprivation.

Answer 63

Findings support the MDH (maternal deprivation hypothesis)

Answer 64

- Variables not manipulated so extraneous variable may have affected results like diet, parental income, education - Retrospective data: Data collected from clinical interviews of, and retrospective data on, those who had and had not been separated from their primary caregiver. Retrospective data is less reliable as dependent on memories which could be inaccurate - Researcher bias: Bowlby designed and conducted the experiment himself. This may have lead to experimenter bias. Particularly as he was responsible for making the diagnosis of affectionless psychopathy.

Answer 65

The importance of a continuous relationship between a child and mother. Relationships that are discontinuous become unstable and less predictable which disrupts the development of the relationship. The child's continuous relationship must occur during the critical period.

Answer 66

The child can suffer from privation which is the lack of ever having had any attachment could be more down to family discord leading to antisocial behaviour.

Answer 67

Cockett M and Tripp J

Answer 68

To investigate the effects of family reordering and discord on children and what factors reported as particularly difficult during reordering

Answer 69

152 children and parents were assessed and divided into 3 groups. 1st group of reordered families, separated and joined other families. 2nd group- still intact families suffering serious discord 3rd group- intact families suffering no serious discord 3 groups matched for age,sex, socio economic status and maternal education. Children in each group assessed by interviews and questionnaires on their self image, social life, school success, behaviour and health and in depth questioning about experiences of family reordering, how their parents prepared them for separation and keeping in touch with absent parent.

Answer 70

Children of reordered families came out worse then intact families with discord and lastly intact families without discord last. Children who had 3 or more successive reordering were worse but only a small minority of children had been prepared for parental split and even less had regular contact with absent parent. Children who had several reordering tended to have less support from extended families

Answer 71

That parental separation and divorce are more harmful to children than parental discord. It is likely that the poor outcomes for children in reordered families could be minimised by preparation before the event and by proper contact after the event.

Answer 72

Curtiss- Genie study | Koluchuva's study- Twins

Answer 73

- Identical twins, mother died at birth - they went into foster care until 18 months, 6 months with aunt - at 18 months they went with stepmother and real father and were locked in a unheated room, starved and had no human company but each other until aged 7. - Discovered at age 7, had no speech, terrified of people and serious health problems - Attended school for kids with learning difficulties for intensive rehabilitation and were fostered - adopted by 2 sisters who provided a secure and permanent home for them - The twins developed average intelligence and formed strong emotional bonds

Answer 74

- Strapped to a potty for 13 years, no human contact or communication, punished every time she made a noise - Found when 13, had appearance of a 6/7 year old, unsocialised primitive, made no sound and not able to walk - Genie never achieved good social adjustment or language despite intervention and being placed with multiple foster families.

Answer 75

- Longitudinal studies of children in institutional care - Case studies of children raised in extreme isolation - Studies of reactive attachment disorder, a category of mental disorder attributed to a lack of early attachments

Answer 76

Hodges and Tizard

Answer 77

To investigate the effects of early privation on subsequent social and emotional development and to test the maternal deprivation hypothesis. Study aimed to follow the same children over a long period of time to collect reliable information linking early experiences to later outcomes for the same individuals

Answer 78

Longitudinal study, natural experiment, IV = attachment experiences 65 children placed in an institution when they were less than 4 months old, policy made about caregivers forming attachments with children to suggest children would experience early privation AT age 4, 24 of the children adopted, 15 returned to natural home and rest remained institutionalised At age 8 and 16 there were interviews for children who were adopted or returned home their parents, teachers and friends were interviewed. Data also collected from a control group of normal peers

Answer 79

Some differences between adopted and restored children, adopted children had close attachments to parents and good family relationship but less true for restored children. Similarities in behaviour of the adopted and restored children outside the family. Both group were more likely seek adult attention and approval than control children , both groups less successful in peer relations

Answer 80

Evidence that doesn't support the Maternal deprivation hypothesis. Recovery is possible given the right circumstances e.g. adopted families really want a child. Children who returned home the parents might have felt ambivalent about them. It does support the MDH in a way, may be the adopted children that got on well with their families because the families made special efforts with them whereas they not experience this outside the home and thus were unable to form relationships as easily or well.

Answer 81

Random allocation used Children selective for adoption may have been more attractive or social Children's temperament =confounding variable Can't determine a causal relationship between effects of early privation on later social and emotional development Longitudinal study- ppts drop out, someone less motivated more likely to drop out and less well adjusted. Leaves study with biased sample, can't generalise findings

Answer 82

He studied Institutionalised children in South American orphanages and hospitals. Institutions were poor and staff rarely interacted with kids. A third of of the children died before age 1, the rest showed signs of anaclitic depression, apathy, withdrawal and helplessness. Could have been reversed if period of maternal deprivation was less than 3 months but no longer He compared children living in an orphanage with other living in a prison setting but cared for by mothers. Physical conditions in orphanage were better the children were developmentally inferior. Children raised in prison did better.

Answer 83

Within 2 years 37% of the orphanage children were dead whereas 5 years later all the prison children were still alive

Answer 84

That in addition to Bowlbys claim that "maternal care is important to mental health as vitamins are to physical health" that maternal care remarkably can even be protective of physical health to.

Answer 85

``` Spitz Tizard and Hodges Dontas et al Quinton and Rutter Rutter ```

Answer 86

- Ethical: not possible to conduct true experimental research - Can't randomly allocate children to conditions - Extraneous variables: researchers may be unaware - Hard to draw conclusions about cause and effect - Researchers have to study existing studies of privation

Answer 87

- Can be case studies of children who have been ill treated (Genie, Czech twins) - Extreme case, unusual and children normally suffered abuse as well as neglect

Answer 88

- They involve larger samples of children who have been placed in institutions - Can be seen as natural experiments - Correlations do not entail cause and effect

Answer 89

``` Extraneous variables- no cause and effect Individual differences- Parents and kids Subjective- Observation, interviews Longitudinal- bias sample Location- country, urban ```

Answer 90

``` Social stimulation Opportunity for sharing Peers are more able to friendly More facilities, variety Experience for independence ```

Answer 91

``` Aggression towards others Opportunity for selfishness Peers are less sociable Fewer Facilities Unhappy when left (separation anxiety) Facilities provoke fights Adult attention Expensive ```

Answer 92

Peer relations: Quality of care in daycare

Answer 93

Pre school improved behaviour | Type of pre school affected child development intellectually regardless of social background

Answer 94

Big sample-3000 Longitudinal-ppts can drop out natural experiment- no cause and effect

Answer 95

Found no evidence of attachment differences between child cared for at hem by minders than those cared for in daycare. Children more social if in group based day care

Answer 96

Sammons (2003) When children spend 20+ hours per week in daycare they show more Antisocial behaviour Risk increases at 40+ hours

Answer 97

The more time the child spends with their mother the less aggression, more time in daycare= more aggressive