Attachment Flashcards

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1
Q

What is reciprocity?

A

When babies and careers mutually respond to each other’s behaviour.

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2
Q

What is interactional synchrony?

A

Detailed mimicry and mirroring between care and baby which forms the basis of communication.

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3
Q

What did Meltzoff and Moore aim to study?

A

Whether babies and adults show interactional synchrony.

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4
Q

What was a conclusion of the Meltzoff and Moore study?

A
  • Early IS may strengthen the bonds between parents and infants.
  • A close bond may be vital for the baby’s survival.
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5
Q

How many mothers and children did Isabella study?

A

30

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6
Q

What did Murray and Trevarthen (1985) investigate in 1985?

A

When babies show IS, whether they are mimicking movement patterns or trying to communicate.

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7
Q

In Murray and Trevarthen’s study, the babies showed signs of distress when the mother didn’t respond in synchrony, what does this suggest?

A

Babies are actively trying to communicate.

Not responding can cause problems in the child’s emotional development.

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8
Q

In Schaffer and Emerson’s study (1964) on the development of attachment, how often were the children observed?

A

Every 4 weeks until they were one year old, and then again at 18 months old.

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9
Q

What are the 4 stages of attachment and what age is the child at each stage?

A
Pre-attachment (birth-2 months)
Indiscriminate attachment (2 to 7 months)
Discriminate attachment (7 to 9 months)
Multiple attachments (9 months upwards)
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10
Q

In Scaffer and Emerson’s study, what percentage of children’s primary attachment figure was the not the same person who fed, bathed and changed the baby?

A

39%

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11
Q

What is a problem with Schaffer and Emerson’s study?

A

It was done over 50 years ago, so there is limited temporal validity.

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12
Q

Give an example of a situation where children formed multiple attachments before single ones?

A

Israeli Kibbutzim children.

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13
Q

Why the strange situation devised?

A

To study attachment in controlled conditions.

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14
Q

What are the 4 stages of the strange situation?

A

1) child alone with carer
2) carer leaves room
3) stranger anxiety
4) reunion

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15
Q

What 3 characteristics does a baby show if they’ve developed an attachment?

A

Separation distress
Proximity seeking
Stranger anxiety

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16
Q

What are the ethical issues of Ainsworth and Bell’s study (1970)?

A

Child is put under stress

Categorising a child as insecure could cause the caregiver stress.

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17
Q

How many studies were in Vanljzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s (1988) meta-analysis?

A

32 studies

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18
Q

What were the conclusions made in Vanljzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s (1988) meta-analysis?

A

The most common type of attachment in all cultures was secure, which suggests children have an instinctive drive to form an attachment.
Cultural differences in parenting styles may also influence attachment.

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19
Q

What is a strength of Vanljzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s (1988) meta-analysis?

A

Nearly 2000 children were analysed, which increases the validity of the conclusions that can be drawn as the impact of animalises is likely to be reduced.

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20
Q

What is a problem with Vanljzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s (1988) meta-analysis?

A

Some of the countries involved in the meta-analysis only have a small number of people in their study, e.g. China’s study used 25 children.
This study does not tell us why some cultures vary in their patterns of attachment.

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21
Q

Bowing argued early attachments create internal working models about relationships which continue to affect later relationships, what is an internal working model?

A

A mental representation of the world and relationships which influence how we feel and behave.

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22
Q

Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998) used questionnaires to assess attachment type and bullying in 196 children (7-11 years), what were the results of their study?

A

Securely attached children were least likely to be involved in bullying; insecure avoidant were most likely to be the victims; insecure resistant were most likely to be the bullies.

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23
Q

What theory does Quinton’s (1984) study using 50 women raised in institutions give evidence for?

A

The influence of early attachments on parenting.

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24
Q

What was the aim of Hazan and Shaver’s (1987) study?

A

To test if there was a relationship between childhood attachments and adult relationships.

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25
Q

What process was Lorenz’s (1935) study of formation in goslings interested in?

A

Imprinting

26
Q

What later evidence did Lorenz found out about the goslings once older?

A

They would attempt to mate with Lorenz, so the gosling’s late sexual behaviour was affected.

27
Q

What was the aim of Harlow and Zimmerman’s (1959) study?

A

To investigate whether a baby monkey is more likely to become attached to a ‘fake mother’ that gives food or to one that is soft, but does not provide food.

28
Q

What were the results of Harlow and Zimmerman’s (1959) study?

A
  • monkeys spent significantly long on the soft mother than the food mother.
  • if the monkey was scared it ran to the soft mother
  • if the monkey was scared and just the food monkey was there it would just cower in the cage
29
Q

What are the conclusions that can be made from Harlow and Zimmerman’s (1959) study?

A

Comfort is a large factor in attachment formation.

Infants are pinnately predisposed to form attachments to sources of comfort and security.

30
Q

What were the results of Harlow’s (1965) study on the effects of raising newborn monkeys in isolation from other monkeys for varying amounts of time?

A
  • disturbed as adults
  • rocked repetitively, self harmed, hugged their own bodies
  • monkeys became aggressive and fearful of other monkeys
  • they had abnormal sexual behaviours and were abusive to their young
31
Q

What were the ethical criticisms of Harlow and Zimmerman’s (1959) study?

A

Severe distress and suffering was caused to the infant monkeys
They suffered severe long term negative consequences

32
Q

What is privation?

A

When a child has been prevented from forming an attachment in their early years.

33
Q

What 3 phases of distress did the children, Bowlby observed experience?

A
  • Protest: when child is separated from their carer they cry, scream, struggle.
  • Despair: child stops struggling, apathy, not engaging with others, cannot be comforted by others, attempts to comfort themselves.
  • Detachment: child begins to respond to other, but superficially or unemotionally. If parent returns they may ignore or reject parent.
34
Q

When Rutter (2007) studied children from Romanian orphanages, what did he aim to study?

A

To investigate the short and long term effects of poor quality institutional care and privation on children’s social, emotional and physical development.

35
Q

How many children did Rutter (2007) study?

A

165

36
Q

What were the conditions of the control group Rutter (2007) used in his study?

A

52 UK children who were all adopted before reaching 6 months of age.

37
Q

What are the practical implications of Lorenz’s (1935) study?

A
  • Whooping Cranes were an endangered American species, people encouraged them to migrate away by imprinting the young birds on microlights.
  • If a ewe’s lamb had died, the pelt can be tied on to an orphaned lamb to encourage the ewe to bond and raise the orphaned lamb.
38
Q

What occurs during classical conditioning of attachment formation?

A

The child associates the pleasure of being fed with the parent who is feeding them. So the child has associated the unconditioned response with the neutral stimulus.

39
Q

What are the four key features to Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment?

A

He argued attachments are:

  • Are innately programmed
  • Have a critical period
  • Continue to influence later relationships
  • Have one bond stronger than others
40
Q

Problems with the critical period of Bowlby’s monotropic hypothesis.

A

Now thought children can form attachments after supposed critical period, it is more likely that there is a sensitive period.

41
Q

What are the practical implications of Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment?

A
  • Attempts are made to foster or adopt children as early as possible.
  • New born babies are encouraged to have immediate skin contact with the mother or father whenever possible to encourage initial bonding.
  • Parent are now able to visit their child in hospital.
42
Q

What were the 2 studies on the roles of fathers, and what did they consist of?

A

Geiger (1996) - found fathers consist in more games and can’t detect low levels of stress
Field (1978) - observed mothers and fathers and found if the father was the primary caregiver, the child reacted to them much like they would if the mother was the primary caregiver

43
Q

What is a culture?

A

The rules, beliefs, moral values and customs that are common to certain groups of people.

44
Q

What is an internal working model?

A

A mental representation of the world and relationships which influence how we feel and behave.

45
Q

What is a schema?

A

A cognitive framework which mentally organises information about a concept.

46
Q

What is the learning theory of attachment?

A

That attachments are learned through interaction with caregivers who provide food, warmth and comfort.
Nurture approach.

47
Q

What is Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment?

A

The desire to form attachments has evolved as it helps the infant to survive.
Nature approach.

48
Q

When does classical conditioning occur?

A

When a response that would occur naturally in response to a stimulus becomes associated with another stimulus.

49
Q

When does operant conditioning occur?

A

When a behaviour has been strengthened or weakened as a result of the rewards or punishments.

50
Q

What is the maternal deprivation hypothesis?

A

Disruption of the attachment bond with the mother (or mother substitute) leads to serious, permanent damage to emotional and intellectual development.

51
Q

What is seperation?

A

Short term, temporary separation from an attachment figure.

52
Q

What is disruption of attachment?

A

When an attachment has formed between the caregiver andchild - but the attachment has been broken either temporarily or on a more permanent basis.

53
Q

What is privation?

A

When a child has been prevented from forming any kind of attachment in their early years.

54
Q

What is institutional care?

A

Residential (24hr) care in an orphanage, children’s home or other unit with other children and paid members of staff.

55
Q

What is institutionalisation?

A

The adverse/negative effects on children of being placed in an institution, these effects may be on the child’s cognitive, emotional or social development.

56
Q

What practical applications are there of Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment?

A

1) Attempts are made for children to be adopted or fostered as early as possible so they can have a secure attachment.
2) Skin to skin contact is encouraged with new borns and carers.
3) Parents can now stay with children in hospital.

57
Q

What was the aim of Harlow and Zimmerman’s (1959) study?

A

Investigate whether a baby monkey is more like to favour a comfort mother or a food mother.

58
Q

What method was used in Harlow and Zimmerman’s (1959) study?

A

16 newborn rhesus monkeys were separated from their mothers at birth and reared in isolation.
Conditions slightly differed but there was wire food mother and a soft cloth mother.

59
Q

What results were found in Harlow and Zimmerman’s (1959) study?

A

Monkeys spent significantly longer on the soft mother than the food mother.
when scared the monkey ran to the soft mother, or to the corner of the cage if it wasn’t there.
Monkeys left alone died.

60
Q

Suggest evidence that supports the theory of innate programming.

A
  • Lorenz found goslings had an innate tendency to imprint.
  • Research found that babies prefer to stare at face like stimuli than non-face like stimuli.
  • Adults are attracted to babies faces.
  • Oxytocin is released during labour and breastfeeding.
61
Q

Why cannot we not test innate programming?

A

Evolution takes years and we cannot chart our evolutionary changes as fossils do not indicate attachment.