Attachment (5-9) Flashcards
1
Q
describe learning theory
A
- all behavior is learned rather than being innate or inherited from parents
- people learn behavior through two types of conditioning: classical conditioning, operant conditioning
2
Q
describe classical conditioning in relation to attachment
A
- An infant is born with certain reflex responses: food is an unconditioned stimulus and it produces the reflex of pleasure, which is an unconditioned response.
- The person providing food is a neutral stimulus but over time they become
associated with the pleasure gained from food. - The person becomes a conditioned stimulus that produces pleasure as a
conditioned response. - According to classical conditioning this is how the attachment bond develops and
is the reason children feel pleasure in their caregiver’s presence.
3
Q
describe operant conditioning in the context of attachment
A
- Operant conditioning strengthens attachment.
- The baby receives positive reinforcement (when behavior produces a pleasant consequence) for crying when they are hungry as the caregiver feeds them. The caregiver receives negative reinforcement (when behaviour removes something unpleasant) for feeding their baby when they cry as feeding the baby makes the crying stop.
4
Q
evaluate learning theory in the context of attachment
A
- strength: LT is plausible and scientific as it is founded in established theory. It likely that association between the provision of needs and the person providing those needs can lead to strong attachments.
- weakness: Harlow (1959) separated infant Rhesus monkeys from their mothers and put them in cages. Milk was provided either by a wire mesh ‘surrogate mother’ or one made of comfortable soft cloth. The monkeys clung to the soft cloth ‘mother’, especially when scared by an aversive stimulus, even if it did not provide milk. This suggests comfort is more important than food in determining whom a baby will attach to.
- weakness: Schaffer and Emerson (1964) also found that food is not necessary for attachment to form. They discovered that babies are often attached to people who play with them, rather than people who feed them. In 39% of cases even though the mother was the one who fed the baby the baby was more attached to someone else.
- weakness: This theory explains how attachments form but not why they form. According to Bowlby’s theory of attachment infants form an attachment to their caregiver to ensure they are protected.
- weakness: environmentally reductionist as it explains a complex human behaviour in an overly simplistic way. The infant and caregiver relationship is very varied, sophisticated and complicated and there are many different types of infant and caregiver attachment. Therefore it is very unlikely that attachment is merely the result of the caregiver providing the infant with food.
- weakness: environmentally deterministic because it states that early learning determines later attachment behaviours.
5
Q
why do attachments form?
A
- Bowlby’s theory is that attachment between infants and their caregivers is an instinct that has evolved because it increases the chances of both the babies’ survival and the parents’ passing on their genes. It is adaptive.
- Infants who are attached to their caregiver will stay close to them and so are well protected and will survive.
- Parents who are attached to their children will ensure they are well cared for and so survive, meaning that they will have successfully passed on their genes.
6
Q
in the context of Bowlby’s monotropic theory how do attachments form
A
- Infant’s have an innate drive to attach to an adult. Innate behaviours usually have a critical period in which they must occur or they never will. The critical period for attachment is before two years of age. Infant’s who don’t form an attachment during this time will have difficulty forming attachments later on.
- Bowlby proposed that attachment is determined by the caregiver’s sensitivity. Infants who are the most strongly attached tend to have a caregiver who is responsive, co-operative and more accessible then less closely attached infants.
- Social releasers (e.g. smiling/crying, they are behaviours that elicit care giving.) are important during this time to ensure that attachments develop between caregivers and their infants. Babies display them to encourage their caregivers to look after them.
- Bowlby argued infants will have one special emotional bond = monotropy. This bond is often with the biological mother.
- Infants also form secondary attachments that also provide an important emotional safety net and are vital for healthy psychological and social development.
7
Q
what are the consequences of attachment according to Bowlby’s monotropic theory
A
- The importance of the monotropic bond is that the infant uses this relationship to form a mental view of all relationships called an internal working model.
- If the montropic bond is secure = a positive internal working model and means that current (such as those with other children), future (such as those with the individual’s own children) and romantic adult relationships will be positive and secure.
- An insecure monotropic bond = fear of intimacy and lack of commitment in adult relationships.
- If an infant does not have an opportunity to form a monotropic bond then they have an inadequate internal working model for later relationships.
- Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory: disruption to the monotropic bond before the critical period leads to later emotional problems (e.g. lack of intimacy/commitment).
- The continuity hypothesis: individuals who are securely attached in infancy continue to be socially and emotionally competent because a secure childhood = positive internal working model.
8
Q
evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory
A
- weakness: Schaffer and Emerson (1964): multiple attachments are more common in babies than monotropy. They found that by 18 months only 13% of the infants had only one person they were attached to.
- weakness: Feminists (Erica Burman) have pointed out monotropy is socially sensitive. It places all responsibility on mothers, setting them up to take the blame for anything that goes wrong in their child’s life, also puts pressure on mothers to stay at home and give up their careers. Bowlby stated father’s role = primarily economic, this is outdated + sexist, many families view both parents as equally responsible for childcare, and in many families the father is the primary caregiver.
- Tizard and Hodges (1989): children who had never formed attachments by the age of 4, and were then adopted, could still form attachments to their new adopted parents. This contradicts “critical period before 2 years of age during which an attachment must form or it never will.”
- weakness: It is impossible to test Bowlby’s argument that attachment has persisted in the same form throughout our evolutionary history, making it unscientific.
- weakness: Kegan (1984) disagreed with Bowlby about the quality of an infant’s attachment being determined by the caregiver’s sensitivity. He explained infant’s attachments to their caregivers in terms of their innate temperament; some infants are better suited to forming attachments than others due to innate characteristics. Rovine (1987): infants who were judged as behaviorally unstable between 1-3 days old were later more likely to have an insecure attachment.
9
Q
describe Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation
A
- Bowlby (1953): children who suffer from prolonged emotional deprivation, caused by the absence of their primary attachment figure (usually mother) will have long-term intellectual (lower IQ), social (delinquency) and emotional (affectionless psychopathy) difficulties and even mental health issues (depression).
- continuity hypothesis: these effects are irreversible and will continue into adulthood due to a lack of an internal working model, which could even lead to an inability to be a good parent.
- The negative impact of maternal deprivation could occur if the separation occurs before the child is 2.5 years old (critical period). Although, there is a risk up to 5 years old (sensitive period) and there is no substitute mother-figure available to take over the emotional care of the child.
10
Q
describe the case study surrounding bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
A
- Bowlby (1944)
- Bowlby analysed the case histories of a number of his patients in the Child Guidance Clinic in London where he worked. All the children were emotionally maladjusted. He studied 88 of these children, half of whom had been caught stealing (44 thieves), the other half were a control group.
- Bowlby suggested that 14 of the thieves were affectionless psychopaths; they
lacked affection, shame and responsibility for their actions. Individuals who had been diagnosed as affectionless psychopaths experienced frequent early separations form their mothers (repeated stays in foster care, time in hospital etc.). - 12 of the affectionless psychopaths had experienced frequent separations from their mothers compared with only 5/30 of the thieves who weren’t classed as affectionless psychopaths. Almost none of the control group had experienced early separations from their mothers.
11
Q
evaluate (the case study surrounding) bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
A
- strength: Before Bowlby’s (1953) theory hospitals would not allow parents to visit their children during stays in hospital (or would only allow infrequent visits – e.g. 1/week). This often had a damaging effect on the child. Nowadays parents are encouraged to stay in hospital with their children.
- strength: Spitz (1945) examined children raised in a poor quality orphanage in South America. Staff were overworked, under trained and rarely gave the children attention or affection. The children displayed anaclitic depression (loss of appetite, sleeplessness and sadness).
- strength: Skodak and Skeeles (1949): children placed in institutions that only looked after them physically scored poorly on IQ tests. However, when they were transferred to a different institution (with emotional care) the IQ scores improved by almost 30 points.
- weakness: The effects of maternal deprivation have been shown to be reversible. Children who had never formed attachments and were adopted after the age of 4 were still able to form attachments to their new parents (Tizard et al. 1989).
- weakness: Bowlby did not really distinguish between deprivation (when the attachment
figure is lost) and privation (when the child has never formed an attachment). It could be the latter that causes the extreme negative effects observed in some studies.
12
Q
describe institutional care
what could it lead to?
A
Institutional care is when a child’s living arrangements are outside of the family.
Some children are raised in institutions, such as children’s homes, hostels, hospitals etc. Children raised in institutions can adopt the rules and norms of the institution, which could impair functioning and lead to a loss of personal identity (deindividuation).
13
Q
describe the procedure of the study surrounding institutional care
A
Rutter et al. (2010)
- 165 Romanian children spent their early lives in Romanian orphanages, before being adopted, and thus suffered from the effects of institutionalization.
- The adoptees were tested at regular intervals (ages 4, 6, 11 and 15) to assess their physical, cognitive and social development.
- Their progress was compared to (control group) 52 British children adopted in the UK before the age of 6 months.
14
Q
describe the findings and conclusion of the study surrounding institutional care
A
Rutter et al. (2010)
Findings - At the time of adoption the Romanian orphans lagged behind their British counterparts on all measures of physical, cognitive and social development. By the age of 4 the Romanian children adopted before 6mths old had caught up with their British counterparts. However, a significant number of individuals adopted after the age of 6mths still had significant deficits at age 4.
Conclusions - The long-term consequences of institutionalisation may be less severe if the children are adopted before six months and receive sensitive parenting. However, if children are not adopted by six months then the consequences of institionalisation are likely to be severe.
15
Q
describe six effects of institutionalization
A
- Delayed Intellectual Development – they have low IQ, concentration problems, and delayed language development. This means they may struggle at school because they cannot learn new behaviours and concepts as quickly.
- Disinhibited Attachment - the children may not know what appropriate behaviour towards strangers is. They can be overly affectionate and
attention-seeking. - Emotional Development – difficulty managing their anger (so more temper tantrums than other children).
- Lack of Internal Working Model - As children difficulty interacting with peers and forming close relationships. As adults impaired adult relationships and can struggle to parent their own children.
- Quasi-Autism - because they struggle to
understand the meaning of social contexts and can have obsessional behaviours. They can have lower frequency of pretend play and reduced empathy. - Delayed Physical Development – these children are usually physically small. Research has shown that a lack of emotional care rather than poor nourishment is the cause of what has been called deprivation dwarfism.
