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Psychology A Level > Attachment > Flashcards

Attachment Flashcards

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1
Q

What did Meltzoff and Moore investigate ?

A

Interactional synchrony

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2
Q

What is interactional synchrony ?

A

Infant imitating the emotions and behaviour last of their caregiver. Both parties moving in the same pattern

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3
Q

What is reciprocity?

A

Coordinated actions from infants in response to their caregivers actions

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4
Q

Outline the procedure of Meltzoff and Moore’s experiment

A
  • An adult model displayed one of three mouth movements and a hand gesture
  • A dummy was removed from the infants mouth
  • the child’s expression was filmed and judged my independent observers
  • Mouth opening, termination of mouth opening, tongue protrusion and termination of tongue protrusion for looked for in the infant
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5
Q

What did Meltzoff and Moore find and conclude ?

A

An association was found between infant behaviour and the adult model so interactional synchrony is innate

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6
Q

Name three evaluation points for Meltzoff and Moore’s study

A
  • Difficult to accurately assess the behaviour of infants as their mouth and expressions are in constant motion
  • Other studies such as Marian et al have failed to replicate the study and found infants can’t distinguish recordings and interactions
  • Research Support: Murray and Trevarthen found infants as young as 2 months old demonstrated stress after being unable to get their caregivers attention
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7
Q

What did Schaffer and Emerson investigate?

A

The development of attachment

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8
Q

How many babies did Schaffer and Emerson study?

A

60 babies from working class backgrounds until they were 1 years old

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9
Q

Outline Schaffer and Emerson’s procedure

A
  • The infants studied in their own home monthly
  • Mothers reported their infants separation behaviour across different situations and the intensity of protest
  • Mothers were asked to explain whom protest was displayed to
  • Stranger anxiety measured by the infants response to the interviewer
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10
Q

What did Schaffer and Emerson find and conclude?

A
  • Stranger anxiety increases with child’s age
  • Specific attachments increase
  • The attachments formed are strong as they become uncomfortable with strangers
  • Specific attachments developed at a faster rate than stranger anxiety

Babies attachments develop in 4 key stages

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11
Q

Describe stage one of attachment

A

Indiscriminate attachment (Birth-2 months)- infants produce similar responses to all objects animate and inanimate. Reciprocity and interactional synchrony are beginning to be established

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12
Q

Describe stage 2 of attachment

A

Beginnings of attachment (4 months)- prefer human company to non human. Not yet showing stranger anxiety

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13
Q

Describe stage 3 of attachment

A

Discriminate attachment (7 months)- show separation anxiety. formed an attachment to primary caregiver

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14
Q

Describe stage 4 of attachment

A

Multiple attachments (9+ months)- takes place after the main attachment has been formed e.g. siblings, other relatives, neighbours

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15
Q

What is the role of the father?

A
  • less likely to be primary attachment figures
  • more playful and physically active
  • Psychologically unequipped?
  • Social factors?
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16
Q

Name three evaluation points for Schaffer and Emerson

A
  • it was based on the mothers response which can lead to socially desirable answers- reliable ?
  • sample from 1960s (parenting has changed since then, historical validity)
  • Individual differences e.g. a child who does not have a primary caregiver may have skipped a stage
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17
Q

What did Lorenz investigate?

A

The role of imprinting in the formation of attachments

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18
Q

What animal did Lorenz study?

A

Goslings

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19
Q

Outline Lorenz’s procedure

A
  • Lorenz took a clutch of gosling eggs and divided them into two
  • Half the eggs hatched in front of their mother and the other half were left in an incubator and hatched in front of Lorenz
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20
Q

What did Lorenz find ?

A
  • Goslings had imprinted on Lorenz as they began to follow him and the goslings that hatched in front of their mother followed her
  • He found imprinting is restricted to a time period called a ‘critical period’
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21
Q

What did Lorenz conclude ?

A
  • Imprinting is a process similar to attachment allowing precocial animals to bond with their caregiver
  • Imprinting is irreversible and long lasting later affecting sexual preferences
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22
Q

State two evaluation points for Lorenz’s study

A
  • Much research support e.g. Guiton’s study which showed chicks Imprinting on gloves used to feed them
  • However Guiton found that the effects can be reversed by spending time with their own species which challenges Lorenz who said Imprinting was an irreversible process
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23
Q

What animal did Harlow study?

A

Rhesus monkeys

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24
Q

Outline Harlow’s procedure

A
  • 8 rhesus monkey studied for 165 days
  • Two conditions: one wire monkey dispensed milk, another was wrapped in cloth
  • For four monkeys the cloth mother dispensed milk, for the other four the wire mother dispensed milk
  • Time measurements were made for the amount of time infant monkeys spent with each mother
  • Harlow also observed how the monkeys responded when scared
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25
Q

What did Harlow find?

A
  • Monkeys spent more time with the cloth mother
  • Monkeys who fed from the wire mother only spent a short time feeding
  • When frightened the monkeys clung/kept one foot on the cloth mother for reassurance
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26
Q

What did Harlow conclude?

A
  • motherless monkeys developed abnormally
  • sexual abnormality
  • critical period was 3 months
  • more than 6 months with a wire mother had irreversible effects
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27
Q

State three evaluation points for Harlow

A
  • The heads of the two mothers were different. The head of the cloth mother resembled a real monkey more which questions the internal validity
  • It is difficult to generalise the findings of animal studies to human behaviour
  • Harlow’s findings are supported by Schaffer and Emerson who found infants are not most attached to the person who feeds them
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28
Q

Describe the process of classical conditioning

A
  • Unconditioned stimulus leads to an unconditioned response
  • Neutral stimulus leads to no response
  • When a neutral stimulus is consistently and regularly paired with an unconditioned stimulus it leads to an association of the neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus
  • The neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus and leads to a conditioned response
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29
Q

Who first investigated classical conditioning?

A

Ivan Pavlov (Pavlov’s dogs)

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30
Q

What is operant conditioning?

A

Learning through rewards and punishment

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31
Q

What is positive reinforcement?

A

A behaviour that produces a reward will be repeated

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32
Q

What is negative reinforcement?

A

Any behaviour that switches off something unpleasant will be repeated

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33
Q

What is a punishment?

A

Any behaviour that produces an unpleasant outcome is less likely to be repeated

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34
Q

Who first investigated operant conditioning?

A

B.F Skinner (Skinner’s rats)

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35
Q

Who proposed the social learning theory?

A

Dale Hay and Jo Vespo

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36
Q

What is the social learning theory?

A
  • Suggested that modelling can be used to explain attachment behaviours
  • Children observe their parent’s affectionate behaviour and imitate it
  • Parents would also instruct children on how to behave in relationships
37
Q

State three evaluation points for learning theory?

A
  • Learning theory is based on research with animals and not all human behaviour (such as complex behaviour like attachment) can’t be explained by animals studies
  • The learning theory suggests that food is the key element in forming attachments but other studies such as Harlow suggest that comfort is more important
  • Even though the learning theory doesn’t provide a complete explanation, it does have some value as infants do learn through association and reinforcement, but food may not be the main reinforcer
38
Q

What kind of theory is Bowlby’s monotropic theory?

A

Evolutionary theory

39
Q

What does ASCMI stand for?

A 
Adaptive
Social releasers
Critical period
Monotropy 
Internal working model
40
Q

How is Bowlby’s theory adaptive?

A

Adaptive qualities give our species advantages that make us more likely to survive. If an infant forms an attachment they could be kept warm, fed and safe

41
Q

What are social releasers?

A

Social releasers can be physical (baby face) or behavioural (crying) and unlock adult tendency to look after them

42
Q

What is a critical period?

A

A period of time where the child should form an attachment. Bowlby said if this does not happen the child would be damaged for life

43
Q

What exact critical period did Bowlby specifize?

A

3-6 months

44
Q

What is monotropy?

A

Special, intense attachment that an infant forms with their mother

45
Q

What is the internal working model?

A

A template for future relationships based on the monotropic attachment

46
Q

State three evaluation points for Bowlby’s monotropic theory

A
  • Critical period- Rutter et al showed attachments are less likely to be formed beyond Bowbly’s critical period, however, it is not impossible. Therefore we should refer to it as a sensitive period instead
  • Temperament hypothesis- according to Bowlby, attachments are formed solely on the mother. However, Kagan suggests the child’s emotional personality (temperament) can explain attachment. Children with an easy temperament form attachments easily and children with difficult temperaments are less likely to
  • Continuity hypothesis (research support for internal working model)- The Minnesota parent-child study by Scroufe et al followed children through their lives and found children with strong attachments were more popular and formed better relationships in adulthood
47
Q

What did Ainsworth investigate?

A

Individual differences in attachment

48
Q

What was the sample for the Strange Situation?

A

White middle class infants aged one year-18 months

49
Q

How many stages did the Strange Situation consist of and how long did they last?

A

Eight stages lasting three minutes

50
Q

Name the procedure (8 stages) of the Strange Situation

A
  1. Child and mother in the room, infant allowed to explore
  2. Stranger joins mother and infant
  3. Stranger approaches infant
  4. Mother leaves stranger and infant
  5. Mother returns and stranger leaves
  6. Mother leaves, child alone
  7. Stranger returns and offers comfort
  8. Mother returns
51
Q

What 4 things were measured in the Strange Situation?

A
  • Stranger anxiety
  • Separation anxiety
  • Reunion behaviour
  • Safe base concept
52
Q

Name the three types of attachment Ainsworth found

A
  • Secure
  • Insecure-resistant
  • Insecure-avoidant
53
Q

What did securely attached children behave like?

A
  • Explores environment happily
  • Distressed when mother leaves
  • Avoidant of stranger but friendly when mother is around
  • Happy when mother returns
54
Q

What percentage of children were securely attached?

A

66%

55
Q

What did insecure-resistant children behave like?

A
  • Cries more
  • Shows intense distress when mother leaves
  • Shows fear of stranger
  • Resists contact with mother when she returns
56
Q

What percentage of children were insecure-resistant?

A

12%

57
Q

What did insecure-avoidant children behave like?

A
  • happy to explore
  • no signs of distress when the mother leaves
  • okay with the stranger
  • shows little interest in mother when she returns
58
Q

What percentage of children were insecure-avoidant?

A

22%

59
Q

What did Ainsworth conclude?

A
  • There are individual differences
  • Most American children are securely attached
  • Association between the mother’s behaviour and infant’s attachment type
60
Q

State three evaluation points for Ainsworth’s study

A
  • High reliability - high inter-observer reliability (agreement among observers). Ainsworth’s study had almost perfect agreement (.94)
  • Lacks internal validity - Main and Weston found that children behaved differently depending on the parent they were with. This means Ainsworth’s classification system may be wrong
  • However, Main later tested some children and re-assessed them age 9 and found that attachment type was chiefly influenced by the mother which supports the internal validity of the Strange Situation
61
Q

What did Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg investigate?

A

The existence of inter-culture and intra-culture differences in attachment

62
Q

How many studies did they use in their meta-analysis?

A

32 studies

63
Q

What did Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg find?

A
  • The difference between cultures was small

- The differences within cultures were 1.5 times greater than between cultures

64
Q

What did Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg conclude?

A
  • There is a global pattern of attachment of cultures of attachment
  • Secure attachment is the most common and healthiest type of attachment
65
Q

Does this study support of challenge Ainsworth?

A

Increases reliability for Ainsworth- supports

66
Q

State three evaluation points for culture variations in attachment

A
  • Similarities may not be innate- cultural similarities can be explained by mass media which spread ideas about parenting so children all over the world are exposed to similar influences
  • Challenging research- Takahashi carried on the SS on middle class Japanese children and found high levels of insecure resistant and no insecure avoidant because Japanese children are rarely separated from their mothers. They may appear insecurely attached by western standards but not Japanese standards
  • Nation rather than culture- They drew conclusions about cultures but weren’t actually studying cultures, ut countries. Studies conducted in cities would have different results from rural studies
67
Q

What are the three strands of maternal deprivation?

A

Value of maternal care- importance of an intimate and continuous relationship with a mother

Critical period- emotional disruption only occurs if it takes place before 2 and a half (continued risk up to 5)

Long-term consequences- deprivation leads to emotional maladjustment and mental health problems

68
Q

How many juvenile thieves did Bowlby study?

A

44

69
Q

Outline the procedure for the 44 Juvenile thieves

A
  • 88 children studied
  • half had been stealing and half were a control group
  • some of the thieves were classed as emotionless psychopaths
70
Q

What are the characteristics of an emotionless psychopath?

A

Lacking affection, shame or sense of responsibility

71
Q

What did Bowlby find?

A
  • The affectionless thieves had experienced frequent separations early in childhood
  • 86% of the affectionless thieves experienced frequent separations in childhood
  • None of the control group experienced early separations
  • 39% of the thieves had experienced early separations
72
Q

What did Bowlby conclude?

A
  • Early separations are linked to emotionless psychopathy

- lack of continuous care can lead to emotional maladjustment and mental disorders

73
Q

State three evaluation points for maternal deprivation

A
  • Real world application - before this theory children were separated from their parents when hospitalised and visitation was discouraged. Bowlby’s research helped reform how hospitalised children are cared for
  • Research support for long term effects- Bifulco et al. found that women that had been separated from their mothers at an early age were 10% more likely to develop mental health disorders than a control group
  • Too simplistic- Rutter argued that Bowlby’s theory was too simplistic because it doesn’t take into account whether the attachment has never been formed or has been broken (privation v deprivation)
74
Q

What is institutionalisation?

A

The effect of institutional care e.g. hospitals, orphanages

75
Q

What did Rutter and Songua -Barke investigate?

A

The effects of institutionalisation on Romanian orphans

76
Q

How many orphans did Rutter and Songua-Barke test?

A

165 orphans

77
Q

Outline Rutter and Songua-Barke’s procedure

A
  • 165 orphans tested in regular intervals
  • 111 adopted before 2 and a half
  • 54 adopted before 4
  • compared to 52 British counterparts who were adopted before 6 months
  • Physical, cognitive and social development assessed and compared
78
Q

What did Rutter and Songua-Barke find?

A
  • The Romanian orphans lagged behind socially, physically and cognitively, were smaller, weighed less and considered mentally retarded
  • By the age of 4 some of the Romanian children had caught up with their British counterparts
  • This was true for almost all children adopted before 6 months (critical period)
79
Q

What did they conclude?

A

There were long-term consequences for children who weren’t adopted by 6 months such as:

  1. Physical underdevelopment
  2. Intellectual underfunctioning
  3. Poor parenting- Quinton et al found that more children of ex-institutional women ended up in care
  4. Disinhibited attachment- treated near-strangers with inappropriate familiarity
80
Q

State three evaluation points for Rutter and Songua-Barke

A
  • Individual differences make it hard to generalise
  • Real life application - Helped to improve the lives of children in care. In the past a lot of children were adopted after the critical period for attachment formation passed so they struggled to form attachments. Now children are adopted within a week of birth and Singer et al found adoptive families were just as securely attached as non-adoptive ones
  • Longitudinal study- It was conducted over a long period of time so it was able to identify effects that may disappear over time with suitable care
81
Q

What did Hazan and Shaver investigate?

A

The internal working model. They wanted to find out if love in adulthood was related to the attachment type you formed as a child

82
Q

Outline the procedure of Hazan and Shaver’s study

A
  • Researchers placed a love quiz in a newspaper
  • The questions were asking about current attachment experiences and previous attachment history and attitudes towards love
83
Q

How many responses did they get?

A

620 responses:

  • 205 men
  • 415 women
84
Q

What did Hazan and Shaver find?

A

-56% classified as secure
-25% classified as avoidant
-19% as resistant
There was a positive correlation between attachment type and love experiences

85
Q

What are securely attached individuals like?

A
  • Believe in long-lasting love
  • Trust their partners
  • Confident that they are lovable
86
Q

What are avoidant individuals like?

A
  • Doubtful about the existence of love

- Believe love doesn’t happen in real life

87
Q

What are resistant individuals like?

A
  • Fall in love easily
  • But rarely find true love
  • Experience self-doubt
88
Q

What did Hazan and Shaver conclude?

A
  • There is a relationship between the conception of love and later attachment type
  • Securely attached adults have a positive internal working model
89
Q

State three evaluation points for Hazan and Shaver

A
  • The relationship between internal working model and later relationships is correlational (i.e. not one of cause and effect). It could be caused by something else like temperament
  • This study is based on retrospective classification (asking adults about their past) so may lead to less valid results as recollections are flawed
  • Longitudinal study - Simpson et al. conducted a longitudinal study and found securely attached infants had higher social competence, were closer to their friends at 16 and were more emotionally attached to their partners in adulthood suggesting attachment type does predict adult relationships

Psychology A Level (11 decks)

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