Attachment

Question 1

What is reciprocity?

Answer 1

It is a response to the action of another with a similar action, where the actions of one partner evoke a response from the other partner.

The responses are not necessarily similar as in interactional synchrony.

Question 2

Research into reciprocity:

Answer 2

• Research in the 1970’s demonstrated that infants coordinated their actions with caregivers in a kind of conversation.
• From birth, babies move in a rhythm when interacting with an adult almost as if they were taking turns, as people do when having a conversation - one person leans forwards and speaks and then it is the other person’s turn. This is an example of reciprocity.
• Brazelton (1979) suggested this basic rhythm is an important precursor to later communications.

Question 3

How does reciprocity link to attachment?

Answer 3

The regularity of an infant’s signals allows a caregiver to anticipate the infant’s behaviour and respond appropriately.

This sensitivity to infant behaviour lays the foundation for later attachment between caregiver and infant.

Question 4

What is interactional synchrony?

Answer 4

When 2 people mirror each other’s, actions, facial and body movements. This also includes behaviour and body movement which is described as synchrony.

Question 5

How was Meltzoff and Moore’s study conducted on interactional synchrony?

Answer 5

A controlled observation, they selected 4 different stimuli (3 different facial expressions + a hand) and observed the baby’s reaction.

This reaction was recorded and shown in slow-motion to an independent observer who had no knowledge of what the infant had seen.
Each observer was asked to record every tongue protrusion and head movement using behavioural categories.

Each recording was watched twice to increase reliability of the intraobserver and interobserver and every score 0.92

Question 6

What were the findings of Meltzoff and Moore’s study?

Answer 6

Meltzoff & Moore proposed that imitation is intentional.

However psychologist Jean Piaget believed that true imitation only develops near the end of your first year and anything before this is ‘response training’ - they are just repeating a behaviour because it was rewarded.

When a baby copies the actions of its caregiver, the caregiver smiles and this is rewarding.

Question 7

How does interactional synchrony link to attachment?

Answer 7

Those that go through the process of mimicking may have closer bonds than those who do not go through the mirror process.

Question 8

Name all 4 stages of development:

Answer 8

1) Indiscriminate attachment
2) The beginning of attachment
3) Discriminate attachment
4) Multiple attachments

Question 9

Outline indiscriminate attachment:

Answer 9

• From birth to around 2 months old infants respond similarly to all objects - animate and inanimate.
• Towards the end of this period infants show a greater preference for social stimuli, such as smiling faces and to be more content when with people.
• During this period of time, reciprocity and interactional synchrony play a role in establishing the infants relationships with others

Question 10

Outline the beginning of attachment:

Answer 10

• Around the age of four months infants become more social.
• They prefer human company to inanimate objects and can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people.
• However, they are still relatively easily comforted by anyone, and do not yet show anxiety with strangers (stranger anxiety).
• The most distinctive feature of this phase is their general sociability (enjoyment of being with people).

Question 11

Outline discriminative attachment:

Answer 11

• By seven months old most infants begin to show a distinctly different sort of protest when one particular person puts them down (separation anxiety).
• Equally, they show especial joy at reunion with that person and are most comforted by them.
• They are said to have formed a specific attachment to one person, their Primary attachment figure.
• Around the same time, the infant also begins to display stranger anxiety.

Question 12

Outline multiple attachments:

Answer 12

• Very soon after the main attachment is formed, the infant also develops a wider circle of multiple attachments depending on how many consistent relationships they have.
• Schaffer and Emerson found that within one month of first becoming attached, 29% of the infants had multiple attachments to someone else. These are called secondary attachments.
• Infants also display separation anxiety in these relationships. By the age of 1 the majority of infants had developed multiple attachments, with one-third of the infants having formed 5 or more secondary attachments.

Question 13

What did Schaffer and Emerson find through their research?

Answer 13

• They found that primary attachments were not always formed with someone who spend most time with the child.
• They observed that intensely attached infants had mothers who responded quickly and sensitively to their ‘signals’ and who offered their child the most interaction. Infants who were poorly attached had mothers who failed to interact.
• They concluded that it is quality of the relationship, not quantity, that mattered most in the formation of attachment.

Question 14

How did unreliable data affect Schaffers and Emerson’s research?

Answer 14

• The data collected by Schaffer and Emerson may be unreliable because it was based on mothers’ reports of their infants.
• Some mothers might have been less sensitive to their infants’ protests and therefore were less likely to report them.
• What is particularly important is that this would create a systematic bias which would challenge the validity of the data.

Question 15

How did a biased sample affect Schaffers and Emerson’s research?

Answer 15

• The sample was biased in a number of ways.
• First, it was from a working class population and thus the findings may apply to that social group and not others
  Second, the sample was from the 1960s.
• Parental care of children has changed considerably since this time.
• More women go out to work so many children are cared for outside the home, or fathers stay at home and become the main carer.
• Research shows that the number of dads who choose to stay at home and care for their children and families has quadrupled over the past 25 years.
• It is likely that, if a similar study to that of Schaffer and Emerson was conducted today, the finding might be different.

Question 16

Are multiple attachments equivalent to one or two attachments?

Answer 16

• Bowlby’s view was that an infant forms one special emotional relationship.
• Subsidiary to this are many other secondary attachments which are important as an emotional safety net, and also important for other needs.
• For example, fathers may offer a special kind of care and relationships with siblings are important in learning how to negotiate with peers.
• By contrast, Rutter (1995) has argued that all attachment figures are equivalent.
• He believes that all attachments integrated to produce an infant’s attachment type.

Question 17

What is imprinting?

Answer 17

Imprinting is a phenomenon in which certain animals (especially those mobile from birth) attach themselves to and follow the first moving object they see.

Question 18

What was the aim of Lorenz’s experiment?

Answer 18

To study animal behaviour to test the effect of imprinting

Question 19

Outline the procedure of Lorenz’s experiment

Answer 19

• Lorenz took gosling eggs and divided them into two groups.
• One group was left with their natural mother whilst the others were placed in an incubator.
• When the incubator eggs hatched the first living being they saw was Lorenz and they soon started following him around.
• To test the effect of imprinting Lorenz marked the two groups to distinguish them and placed them together, they had become imprinted on him. Both Lorenz and their natural mother were present.

Question 20

What were the findings from Lorenz’s experiment?

Answer 20

• The goslings quickly divided themselves up, one following their natural mother and the other group following Lorenz.
• Lorenz’s brood showed no recognition of their natural mother.
• Lorenz noted that this process of imprinting is restricted to a very definite period of the young animal’s life, called a critical period.
• If a young animal is not exposed to a moving object during this early critical period the animal will not imprint.
• Suggests animals can imprint on a persistently present moving object seen within its first two days.
• Lorenz observed that imprinting to humans does not occur in some animals

Question 21

Outline the generalisability to humans in relation to Lorenz’s experiment

Answer 21

Although some of Lorenz’s findings have influenced our understanding of human development, there is a problem with generalising from findings on birds to humans.

For example, mammalian mothers show more emotional attachment to young than do birds - this means that it is not appropriate to try and generalise any of Lorenz’s ideas to humans.

Question 22

Outline why some of Lorenz’s observations have been questioned

Answer 22

Later researchers have questioned Lorenz’s observations - for example, the idea that imprinting has a permanent effect on mating behaviour.

Guiton found that chickens who imprinted on yellow washing up gloves would try mate with them as adults (which Lorenz predicted). but that with experience, the chickens preferred mating with other chickens.

This suggests that the impact of imprinting on mating behaviour is not permanent as Lorenz believed.

Question 23

What did Harlow test?

Answer 23

Harlow (1958) tested the idea that a soft object serves some of the functions of a mother.

Question 24

Outline the procedure conducted by Harlow

Answer 24

In one experiment, he reared 16 baby monkeys with two wire model ‘mothers’.
In one condition milk was dispensed by the plain wire mother whereas in a second condition, the milk was dispensed by the cloth covered mother.

Question 25

Outline the findings from Harlow’s experiment

Answer 25

The baby monkeys cuddled with the soft object in preference to the wire one and sought comfort from the cloth mother when frightened, regardless of which one dispensed milk.

Showed that ‘contact comfort’ was of more importance to the monkeys than food when it came to attachment behaviour.

Question 26

Can Harlow’s findings be applied to humans?

Answer 26

Although monkeys are clearly much more similar to humans than Lorenz’s geese, they are not human.
Psychologists disagree on the extent to which studies of non-human primates can be generalised.

Question 27

what are the ethical issues of Harlow’s experiment?

Answer 27

the monkeys suffered greatly as a result of this experiment.
this species is considered similar enough to humans to be able to generalise the findings. which also means that their suffering was presumably quite human like.

The counter argument: Harlow’s research was sufficiently important to justify the effects.

Question 28

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 28

Classical conditioning involves learning to associate two stimuli together so that we to respond to one in the same way as we do to the other.

Question 29

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 29

Operant conditioning involves learning to repeat behaviour, or not, depending on its consequences.

Question 30

Describe father’s being the primary attachment figures

Answer 30

• Schaffer and Emerson - fathers were far less likely to be primary attachment figures than mothers because they spend less time with their infants.
• Lamb - studies have shown little relationship between father accessibility and infant-father attachment
• Due to biological or social factors.
• Oestrogen underlines caring behaviour so women are more oriented towards interpersonal goals than men.
• However, Frodi showed videotapes of infants crying and found no differences in psychological responses of men and women.
• Men do form secure attachments with their children, as is the case in single male parent families.

Question 31

Describe father’s as being secondary attachment figures

Answer 31

Fathers have a role to play as important secondary attachment figures.

Research has highlighted that fathers are more playful, physically active and better at providing challenging situations for their infant.

A lack of sensitivity from fathers can be seen as positive as it fosters problem solving by making greater communicative and cognitive demands on children.

Question 32

What is learning theory?

Answer 32

A set of theories from the behaviourist approach to psychology, that emphasise the role of learning.

Explanations for learning of behaviour include classical and operant conditioning.