Attachment

Question 1

What are the key words to use in Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment?
(Hint: ISSMIC)

Answer 1

I= Innate
S= Social releaser
S= Sensitive period
M= Monotropy
I= Internal working model 
C= Continuity hypothesis.

Question 2

What behaviours were observed in Ainsworth’s Strange Situation?

Answer 2

Proximity / contact seeking
Avoidance of contact
Resistance to contact

Exploratory behaviours
Separation anxiety
Stranger anxiety
Re-union behaviours.

Question 3

Name characteristics of a securely attached child.

Answer 3

• Baby can only be comforted by mother.
• Shows some distress to strangers.
• Mother acts as a secure base for exploratory behaviour.

Question 4

Name characteristics of an insecure-resistant child.

Answer 4

• Sometimes have high stranger anxiety

- Both seeks and resists intimacy and social interaction

Question 5

Name characteristics of an insecure-avoidant child.

Answer 5

• Does not show much emotion to the stranger or the mother leaving.
• Very exploratory
• Avoids contact with caregiver.

Question 6

Rutter (1995) Aim

Answer 6

To see what extent good care can make up for the damage caused by institutions.

Question 7

Rutter (1995) Findings

Answer 7

At age 11 mean IQ:
Before 6 months = 102
Before 2 years = 86
After 2 years = 77
Also:
- At time of adoption, children were physically smaller (“Deprivation dwarfism”)
- Signs of disinhibited attachment (clingy, over-familiar with strangers)

Question 8

Smaller studies of the effects of institutionalisation (can be used as research support)

Answer 8

Quinton - Women in institutions: Many had mental illnesses and had severe problems parenting. Suggests continuity hypothesis/ internal working model.
Zeanah-Bucharest intervention: Similar findings to Rutter (however it was suggested that the differences in development lessened over time)

Question 9

General conclusion of Rutter (Supported by other studies)

Answer 9

Intellectual development can be recovered providing an infant is adopted at an early enough age.

Question 10

Strength of Rutter study (1995) on effects of institutionalisation

Answer 10

Real world applications, e.g. institutions have fewer caregivers per child and provide more attention in hopes of creating more secure attachments during the critical period.

Question 11

Weaknesses of Rutter study (1995) on effects of institutionalisation

Answer 11

• Cannot generalise outside of Romania
• Cannot generalise to other institutions (due to conditions in the orphanages being abnormally bad)
• Groups were not randomly selected (Confounding variable: children adopted before 6 months may naturally have been more sociable/likeable in the first place)

Question 12

Grossman (2002) and Varissmo (2011) concluded what about the role of the father affecting friendships?

Answer 12

The relationship with the father seems to affect childhood friendships (while the mother seems more prevalent in adolescent relationships).

Question 13

What are a few suggested reasons for differences in the role of the father to the role of the mother?

Answer 13

• Gender stereotypes of the father “going out to work” and the mother childrearing
• Fathers are not psychologically equipped to be so responsive while mothers show more emotional sensitivity
• Biological explanation - females have oestrogen which promotes nurturing behaviours.

Question 14

White (1992) Suggested the role of the father was?

Answer 14

• Act as a playmate
• Provide a challenge and stimulation
• Encourage physical activity
• A lack of sensitivity may be POSITIVE as it provides a challenge for the child and provides character building

Question 15

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Aim and Procedure

Answer 15

Aim: To investigate cultural differences in attachment types
Procedure: A meta analysis of 32 studies in 8 different cultures in which infants/caregivers were put through the Strange Situation

Question 16

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Findings

Answer 16

Most common in ALL cultures: Secure
Least common in ALL cultures: Insecure- resistant
Insecure-avoidant very HIGH in Germany, very LOW in Japan.

Question 17

State weaknesses of Van Ijzendoorn’s study.

Answer 17

• Variation in studies within cultures were 1.5x greater than within cultures, so conclusive results cannot be drawn.
• Some cultures had very small sample sizes, e.g. China only consisted of 36 babies being studied.

Question 18

State strengths of Van Ijzendoorn’s study.

Answer 18

+ There was overall a large sample size of around 2000 babies from the meta analysis.
+ Supports Bowlby’s theory that attachment is innate (as secure is the most common everywhere).
- However, Van Ijzendoorn stated that this similarity may be caused by mass media rather than an innateness.

Question 19

Grossman and Grossman - Cultural differences in Germany

Answer 19

Investigated why Germany had a high level of insecure-avoidant children.
- Due to different parenting: Parents keep a psychological distance from their children to promote independence. This is perceived by the SS to be Insecure-avoidant.

Question 20

Takahashi - Cultural differences in Japan

Answer 20

Investigated why Japan had a high level of insecure-resistant children.

• 90% of the experiments had to be stopped due to huge separation anxiety.
• Due to parenting: Children spend hardly any time away from the caregiver so show immense distress to being alone. The SS perceives this as insecure-resistant.

Question 21

Weakness of the Strange Situation when used in other countries?

Answer 21

Imposed ethics - the American Strange situation makes assumptions about what is “secure” that other cultures do not. This makes the test inappropriate in many cultures, e.g. non-western collectivist cultures.