Attachment Flashcards
Who were the 2 main researchers that used animals?
Harlow (monkeys) Lorenz (Geese)
What was the procedure of the Harlow’s monkeys experiment?
Laboratory experiment.
Rhesus Monkeys were raised in isolation.
They had 2 surrogate mothers- one which provided food and the other provided comfort.
The food ‘mother’ was made of wire mesh and had a milk bottle. The ‘comfort mother’ was made from cloth and had no milk bottle.
Harlow would frighten the monkeys to see which ‘mother’ it would go to.
What was the aim of Harlow’s experiment?
Whether baby monkeys would prefer a source of food or a source of comfort and protection as an attachment figure.
What were the findings from Harlow’s monkeys?
The monkey’s spent most of their time attached to the comforting mother.
They only used the feeding mother when in need of food.
What was the conclusion of Harlow’s monkeys?
Supplying food isn’t sufficient enough to form an attachment. The infant monkeys needed a responsive attachment figure, not just one that provided comfort.
What were the strengths of Harlow’s monkeys?
Proved that Infants need interaction and sensitivity.
Lab experiment- meant there were strict control variables- results wouldn’t have been affected.
What were the limitations of Harlow’s monkeys?
Ethics- Negative effects on the monkey’s social development.
Low ecological validity- monkeys were kept in isolation
Cannot generalise the findings to humans.
Use of animals- Cannot communicate with them (ethics again-protection from harm)
Stimulus objects differed- feeding mother was more scary looking, results may not be accurate.
What was the procedure for Lorenz’s experiment?
Lorenz took half a group of gosling eggs and hatched them in an incubator so that he was the first thing they saw when they woke up.
What was the aim of Lorenz’s experiment?
To see if imprinting occurs to the first object the infant sees.
What were the findings of Lorenz’s experiments?
The geese began to follow him everywhere and had no interest in their own mother.
There is a critical period for imprinting (2 days)
The effects of imprinting are long lasting.
Imprinting occurs between 13 an 16 hours after hatching.
What are the strengths of Lorenz’s experiment?
Supports the idea that young animals aren’t born with a predisposition to imprint on specific objects.
Indicates that imprinting is linked with the reproductive behaviour.
What is the definition of Reciprocity?
The coordination of movements between an infant and a carer in which one is eliciting responses.
It is important for later communications and is the foundations for later attachments.
It helps the carer to learn sensitivity and understand that child’s needs.
What is the definition of interactional synchrony?
When 2 people, an infant and a carer interact, they imitate each other. Leads to a conversion dance.
What is meant by the phrase ‘conversion dance?’
When the infant reacts in time with the caregivers speech
What is a strength of interactional synchrony?
Abravanel and DeYoung- found that infants between the ages of 5 and 12 weeks made very little response to objects and focused on imitating the carers, showing a specific response to humans.
What are the limitations of reciprocity and interactional synchrony?
Observing infants- could lead to psychological conditions in the infants future and be difficult to get accurate results as the infants unpredicted needs/moods may affect the results.
Keopke- Didn’t replicate the findings of Meltzoffe and Moore and found that infants could not distinguish live from videotape suggesting that infants are not responding to the adult.
What did Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis do?
Highlighted the importance of the relationship between the care giver and the infant within the first 5 years.
What happens if the relationship between caregiver and infant is disrupted?
Causes severe emotional disturbance and delinquency.
Has long term effects on emotional social and intellectual development
What did Bowlby’s 44 thieves experiment show?
Out of the 44 children, the 86% who were classified as affectionless psychopaths had long separations with their mothers.
Supports the importance of a continuous relationship for a child’s development
How did Bifulco’s research support Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis?
Found that women who were separated from their mothers at a young age were diagnosed with depression
Supports the theory of having a critical period
How does Bowlby’s 44 thieves limit his maternal deprivation hypothesis?
Bowlby ignored other factors that could cause delinquency such as media or environmental factors
What is the definition of secure attachment?
A strong contended bond between the infant and caregiver in which the infant will show distress at separation.
Portrays a healthy development and a positive working model of a relationship for the infant
What is an insecure attachment?
Attachment bond is weaker and results in an anxious and insecure relationship. There are 2 types- insecure avoidant and insecure resistant.
What is meant by insecure avoidant?
Little response to separation and reunion
