Attachment

Question 1

What is a newborn baby’s alert phase?

Answer 1

From birth, babies and their mothers (or carers) spend a lot of time in intense and pleasurable interaction. Babies have periodic “alert phases” and signal when they are ready for interaction, to which mothers respond to half the time.

Question 2

What is interactional synchrony?

Answer 2

It takes place when mother and infant interact in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror the other.

Question 3

When does interactional synchrony begin?

Answer 3

Meltzof and Moore (1977) observed the beginnings of interactional synchrony in infants as young as two weeks old.
An adult displayed one of three facial expressions or one of three distinctive gestures and the child’s response was filmed.
An association was found between the expression/gesture and the action of the child.

Question 4

Why is interactional synchrony important?

Answer 4

It provides the necessary foundation for the mother-infant connection to be built upon in later years.
Isabella et al (1989) observed 20 mothers and infants together and assessed the degree of synchrony + the quality of mother-infant attachment.
The researchers found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-infant attachment.

Question 5

What is reciprocity?

Answer 5

It is where one person responds the other - but does not copy them. Brazelton has described it as a “dance”.
It tends to occur frequently, each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them

Question 6

Is the baby active or passive in forming attachments?

Answer 6

Traditional views of childhood have seen the baby as passive - receiving care from an adults. however the baby actually takes an active role. Both mother and child can initiate interactions and appears to take turns in doing so.

Question 7

What was the aim and procedure for Ainsworth’s study.

Answer 7

A-Assess quality of caregiver/child attachment
P- Took place in a quiet room with a two-way mirror so psychologists could observe (so Lab). They were looking for Proximity Seeking, Exploration and Secure base behaviour, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety, response to reunion with caregiver. The child and caregiver then went through 7 episodes that each lasted 3 minutes.

Question 8

What were the 7 episodes in Ainsworth’s study?

Answer 8

1. Child is encouraged to explore by caregiver
2. Stranger enters and talks to caregiver
3. Caregiver leaves
4. The caregiver returns, stranger leaves
5. Caregiver leaves child alone
6. Stranger returns
7. Caregiver returns

Question 9

What were the findings of the Ainsworth study?

Answer 9

Ainsworth found 3 types of attachment: B, A, C
B - Secure (around 60-75% of British toddlers). Happy to explore but seeks proximity with caregiver. Moderate separation anxiety and stranger anxiety. Requires and accepts comfort from caregiver on reunion.
A - Insecure-avoidant (20-25% of British toddlers) Explores freely, does not seek proximity. Little/no separation or stranger anxiety.
C - Insecure-resistant (3% of British-toddlers. Explores less and seeks greater proximity. Considerable stranger and separation anxiety. Resits comfort when reunited with caregiver.

Question 10

What 2 strengths for the Ainsworth study?

Answer 10

Predictive validity - Attachment type predicts later development, for example secure babies typically have more success in school and with romantic relationships. However insecure-resistant attachments lead to bullying and mental health problems. This increases the external validity of the study - as it can explain future outcomes.
Shows good inter-rater reliability. Different observers watching the same children generally agree on the attachment type. This may be because the strange situation takes place under controlled conditions and because behaviour categories are easy to observe. So we can be confident that the attachment type identified does not depend on who is observing them - increasing the reliability.

Question 11

What are 2 limitations of the Ainsworth study?

Answer 11

May be culture bound. The strange situation may not have the same meaning in countries outside the USA and Western Europe. Cultural differences in children’s experiences mean that they may respond different. Moreover caregivers from different cultures behave differently. Researchers have noted that Japanese mothers are rarely separated from their offspring, so infants show high levels of separation anxiety. This reduces the validity of the study as it cannot be expanded to cover all cultures (which some studies have tried to do).
Temperament may be a confounding variable. Ainsworth assumed that the main influence on separation and stranger anxiety was the quality of attachment. But some have suggested that temperament is a more important factor on behaviour in the strange situation. This challenges the internal validity of the study as the temperament of the child may be a confounding variable, so the the study may not be fully measuring attachment.

Question 12

What is the Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg study?

Answer 12

The researchers looked at the amount of secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant attachments across a range of countries. They also looked at differences within a country to get an idea of variations across a culture. They looked at 32 studies across 8 countries with 15 being in the US. Overall nearly 2,000 children were studied. The data was meta-analysed and the results were combined and weighted for sample size.
The study found that secure attachment is the most common classification in all countries (50% in china upto 75% in the UK). In individualist cultures rates of insecure-resistant were similar to Ainsworth’s original sample (under 14%) but this was not true for collectivist samples from China, Japan and Israel where rates above 25% (and insecure of insecure-avoidant attachment were reduced). This suggests that were cultural differences in the distribution of insecure attachment.
Variations between results of studies within the same country were actually 150% greater than those between countries. In the USA one study found 46% were securely attached compared to a sample as high as 90%.

Question 13

What is a strength of the van Ijzendoorn study?

Answer 13

Meta-analyses can end up with very large samples. The study ended up with nearly 2000 babies and primary attachment figures. This increases the internal validity as the impact of biased methodology or unusual participants is reduced.

Question 14

What are two weaknesses of the Van Ijzendoorn study?

Answer 14

It may not be representative of cultures. The meta-analysis made comparisons between countries, not cultures. Within any country there are different cultures that have different child rearing practises. For example another study by Van Ijzendoorn studied attachment in Japan. It found that in Tokyo results were similar to western countries, but in rural areas there were much more insecure-resistant individuals. This reduces the internal validity of the study - as it does not specify what cultural characteristics (and thus caregiving styles) needs to be specified.
The strange situation method may be biased towards American/British culture. It was designed by Ainsworth (american) and was based on Bowlby (who was British). Therefore the theory and assessment may only apply to other cultures. This would imposing a American/British etic and ignoring the uniqueness of other cultures. it also means that it ignores different cultural practises in child raising, for example in Germany a lack of pleasure on reunion is seen as a sign of independence.

Question 15

What is Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment?

Answer 15

Bowlby argued that attachment is innate and gives a survival advantage. Imprinting and attachment evolved to ensure young animals stay close to caregivers and protects them from hazards.
It is seen as monotropic because emphasis is placed on the child’s attachment to one caregiver, as this attachment will be different and more important.
He believed that it was important that the baby spent as much time as possible with the PCG. There are two reasons for this; Continuity the more constant a child’s care the better quality of attachment; accumulated separation the effects of every separation add up so ‘the safest dose is zero dose’.
Bowlby suggested that babies are born with a set of innate ‘cute’ behaviours that encourage attention from adults. The purpose of these releasers is to activate the adult attachment system. He recognised that attachment is a reciprocal.
He proposed that there is a system of about 2 years when the infant attachment system is active (he noted that is was a sensitive period). A child is maximally sensitive up until the age of 2. If an attachment has not formed at this time they will find it much harder to form ones later.
Bowlby argued that the child also forms an internal working model of the relationship with the primary attachment figure. This model serves as a template for what relationships should be like and may effect the child ability as a parent later on.

Question 16

What are two strengths of monotropy?

Answer 16

There is evidence for social releasers. Brazeltons study instructed PGC’s to ignore their babies social releasers. The babies (who were previously responsive) initially showed some distress, but eventually curled up and become motionless. This supports Bowlby’s ideas about the significance of infant behaviour eliciting responses from adults and the role of releasers in initiating social interaction.
There is support for an internal working model. The idea of internal working models predicts that patterns of attachment will be passed from one generation to the next . A study found that mothers with poor attachment to their own parents were more likely to have children who were poorly attached. This supports the idea of an internal working model of attachment being passed on through the families.

Question 17

What are two weaknesses of monotropy?

Answer 17

There is mixed evidence. A study found that most babies did attach to one person at first, but a significant minority formed multiple attachments. This contradicts Bowlbys theory that babies form one attachment to a PCG and that it is unique, Attachment to mothers better predicts later behaviour but this may be because the mother is the primary attachment, not because of different attachment quality.
It is socially sensitive. The law of accumulated separation states that having substantial apart from the PCG will risk a poor-quality attachment and will disadvantage the child. Feminists have argued that this blames the mother for anything that goes wrong with the child and pushes women into making lifestyle choices - i.e not returning to work. Bowlby saw himself as boosting the status of mothers and emphasising the importance of their role. Nevertheless this does make the research sensitive and could potentially be used to condemn mothers who work.

Question 18

What are the effects of institutionalisation?

Answer 18

The child forms a disinhibited attachment. The child is equally friendly and affectionate towards people they know well or who are strangers. This may be an adaptation to multiple caregivers.
It also leads to damage to intellectual development. Institutionalised children often show signs of retardation. This effect is not as pronounced if the children are adopted before 6 months of age.

Question 19

What was the procedure of the Rutter et al study?

Answer 19

Researchers followed 165 Romanian orphans who experienced very poor conditions before being adopted in England. It was a longitudinal study as it was testing how good care can make up for poor experiences in institutions. Physical, cognitive and emotional development was assessed at ages 4, 6, 11 and 15. The study also followed a control group of 52 adopted children.

Question 20

What did the Rutter et al study find?

Answer 20

Half of the orphans showed mental retardation when they came to the UK. At age 11 recovery rates were related to their age of adoption. Those adopted before six months had a mean IQ of 102, between six months and two years was 86. Those adopted after two years was 77.
The frequency of disinhibited attachment was also related to the age of adoption. Children adopted after the age of six months showed clinginess, attention-seeking behaviour and indiscriminate affection to strangers. It was rare in children adopted before six months. These findings support Bowlby’s theory that there is a sensitive period in the development of attachments - failure to form attachment before six months has long lasting effects.

Question 21

What was the Bucharest Early Intervention Project.

Answer 21

The researchers used the SSS to assess attachment in 95 children aged between 12-31 months who had spent most of their lives in institutional care. They were compared to a control group of 50 children who had never experienced institutional care.
It found that only 19% of the institutionalised group were securely attached and 65% classified disorganised attachment.

Question 22

What are two strengths of the Romanian Orphan studies?

Answer 22

It has important practical applications. The results have led to improvements in the way children are cared for in institutions. Children’s homes now avoid having large numbers of carers, instead they have one or two ‘key workers’ who play a central role. This gives the child a chance at developing normal attachments and avoid disinhibited attachments. Thus this increases the external validity of the studies, as they have led to practical applications.
Fewer confounding variables. Many of the previous orphan studies (before the Romanian orphans) had studied children that suffered loss or trauma before they were institutionalised. Neglect, abuse and bereavement meant it was hard to observe the effects in isolation. The children were affected by multiple factors functioning as confounding variables. In the case of Romanian orphans it is possible to study institutionalisation without these variables - as most were abandoned at birth. So the findings have increased internal validity.

Question 23

What are two issues with the Romanian orphan studies?

Answer 23

There are issues with generalisation. The conditions of the orphanages were so bad that the results may not apply to most situations of institutional care or deprivation.
The children were not randomly assigned. Rutter’s study was a quasi experiment as he did not intervene in the adoption study. So the children adopted may have been more sociable (which would be a confounding variable). The Bucharest Early intervention study did however control these issues (with orphans being randomly assigned to institutional care or fostering). Methodologically speaking this is better as it removes some of the confounding variables,and so increases the internal validity; however it does raise some ethical issues.

Question 24

What is Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation

Answer 24

Continued emotional care from the mother is essential,. Continual emotional care from a mother (or mother substitute) is essential for normal emotional and intellectual development.
Bowlby also believed that mother-love in infancy is ‘as important for mental health as vitamins and proteins are for physical health’.
Separation is different from deprivation. Separation means the child not being physically in the presence of the primary attachment. Deprivation means losing emotional care as a result of the separation. Deprivation can be avoided if alternative emotional care is offered.
There is a critical period during the first 30 months. If the child experiences deprivation during these months then psychological damage is inevitable.
If a child deprived of maternal care for to long during the critical period will suffer mental retardation and abnormally low IQ. One study found institutionalised children had lower IQs than those who were adopted. Lack of emotional care may also lead to affectionless psychopathy - the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others. This prevents the person developing normal relationships and is associated with criminality.

Question 25

What is the 44 thieves study?

Answer 25

The sample was 44 delinqunet teenagers accused of stealing. Families were also interviewed to establish any prolonged separations from mothers. All the ‘thieves’ were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy: characterised by a lack of affection, guilt and empathy.
14 of 44 thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths. Of these, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first two years of their lives.However only 5 of the remaining thieves had experienced separation. This shows that prolonged separation does cause affectionless psychopathy.

Question 26

What are three limitations of the maternal depravation theroy?

Answer 26

Sources of evidence for maternal deprivation are flawed. One study looked at war orphans who were tramatised and had poor after care. This may have caused later developmental difficulties rather than separation. Similarly, children growing up in poor quality institutions were deprived of many aspects of care (not just maternal care). Bowlby may have been biased as he carried out the assessments himself, knowing what he wanted to find. This may have produced biased results reducing the internal validity.
Another study partially replicated the study on a larger scale (500 young people).Prolonged maternal separation did not predict criminality or difficulty forming close relationships. This is a limitation for Bowlby’s theory as it suggests other factors may affect the outcome of separation.
Research suggests the critical period is more of a sensitive period. One case study looked at two boys isolated from 18 months (locked in a cupboard). But they were looked after by two loving adults and appeared to recover fully. This shows that deprivation can have good outcomes provided the child has good aftercare. Cases like the Czech twins show that the period may be more sensitive than critical.

Question 27

What is a strength of the maternal deprivation theory?

Answer 27

Animal studies have demonstrated maternal deprivation. Most psychologists criticise the theory, however one line of research supports it. One study showed that separating baby rats from their mother for even a day had a permanent effect on their development. However it may not be generalise to humans which reduces its validity.