Attachment Flashcards
what is reciprocity
responding to the action of another with a similar action,
where the actions of one partner elicit a response from the other partner. (not necessarily similar as in interactional synchrony)
what is interactional synchrony
when 2 people interact they tend to mirror what the other is doing in terms of facial and body movements
define attachment
an emotional bond between 2 people. a two way process that endured over time and leads to certain behaviours such as clinging and proximity seeking and serves the function of protecting an infant
what did meltzoff and moore do in their study
selected 4 stimuli (3 faces and a hand gesture) and observed behaviour of infants in response
what is a criticism of meltzoff and moore and how was it overcome
difficulties in reliability testing infant behaviour as their mouths/ facial expressions are in fairly constant motion so difficult to distinguish between general activity and specific imitated behaviour
m&m asked an observer who had no idea what was being imitated to judge the behaviour from videos (increased internal validity)
what are the 4 stages of attachment (schaffer and emerson)
1) indiscriminate attachments
2) the beginnings of attachment
3) discriminate attachment
4) multiple attachment
what is stage 1: indiscriminate attachments
from birth - 2 months infants produce similar responses to all objects (animate or inanimate)
they begin to show preference to social stimuli (smiling face)
reciprocity and intersectional synchrony play a role in establishing the infants relationships with others
what is stage 2: the beginnings of attachment
4 months- become more social
prefer human company to inanimate objects and can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people but relatively easily comforted by anyone, don’t yet show stranger anxiety
what is stage 3: discriminate attachment
begin to show separation anxiety
they have formed their primary attachment figure
begins to display stranger anxiety
what is stage 4: multiple attachments
soon after main attachment is formed infant develops multiple attachments depending on how many consistent relationships they have
what did frodi et al (1978) do
showed videotapes of infants crying and found no differences in psychological responses of men and women
what are the cultural differences in attachment
individualist culture (UK and US) each person is most concerned with their own needs and immediate family needs
collectivist culture more focused on need of community- share possessions and childcare (multiple attachments more common)
what did schaffer and emerson do in their study
60 infants from working class homes in glasgow studied (5-23 weeks old) studied every 4 weeks until they were 1 mothers had to report infants response to separation in 7 everyday situations and to describe intensity of any protest
why might schaffer and emerson’s study be unreliable
based on mothers reports of their infants
creates systematic bias and so challenges validity
what is imprinting
an innate readiness to develop a strong bond with the mother that takes place during a specific time in development (usually first few hours after birth)
what is the learning theory
the name given to a group of explanations (classical and operant conditioning) which explain behaviour in terms of learning rather than unborn tendencies or higher order thinking
what is classical conditioning
learning through association
a neutral stimulus is consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus so it takes on the properties of this stimulus and is able to produce a conditioned response
what is operant conditioning
learning through reinforcement
what is the social learning theory
a further development of learning theory
learning though observing others and imitating behaviours that are rewarded
what is continuity hypothesis
the idea that emotionally secure infants go on to be emotionally secure, trusting and socially confident adults
what is the internal working model
a mental model of the world which enables individuals to predict and control their environment. in the case of attachment the model relates to a persons expectations about relationships
what is monotropy
the idea that the one relationship that the infant has with his/her primary attachment figure is of special significance in emotional development
what is a social releaser
a social behaviour or characteristic that elicits caregiving and leads to attachment
why is rutter et al’s findings critical of bowlby
because rutter et al found that the critical period is important for forming attachments but it is not impossible to form attachments outside of this period which is what bowlby suggested
what is caregiverese
a modified vocal language that carers use to speak to the infant
what did lamb discover that disputes bowlby’s theory of monotropy
infants form multiple attachments for different purposes
what is privation
when children are not given the opportunity to form attachment bonds
can negatively affect development
what are benefits of reciprocity
can help the child to learn how to communicate and also teaches the parent how to care for the child and respond to their needs more quickly and efficiently
what did schaffer and emerson discover about the role of the father
75% of infants formed a secondary attachment to their father in the first 18 months
what is sexual imprinting
an animal will attach and display sexual behaviour towards the first moving object or animal they see after birth
what is the ASCMI summary of bowlby’s theory of monotropic attachment
A- adaptive- attachments are an advantage or beneficial to survival as it ensures a child is kept warm, safe and fed
S- social releasers- unlock the innate tendency for adults to care for a child
C- critical period- attachment can form up tp 2.5-3 years old. (if an attachment is not formed in this time it never will)
M- monotroy- you can only form one special attachment
I- internal working model- those with a dysfunctional internal working model will seek out dysfunctional relationships
what is a secure attachment
showed some separation anxiety when caregiver left the room but can be easily soothed when they return. able to play independantly but uses caregiver as a base to explore new environment (65%)
what is an insecure resistant attachment
infant becomes very distressed when caregiver leaves and tries to follow them.when they return the infant switches from seeking and rejecting interaction and intimacy. less inclined to explore new environments (3%)
what is an insecure avoidant attachment
infant shows no separation anxiety when caregiver leaves the room and no stranger anxiety. they may show anger and frustration towards caregiver and actively avoid interaction and intimacy. they can explore and play independantly
what did van izjendoorn and kroonenburg do
meta analysis of 32 studies in 8 countries investigating patterns of attachment across a range of cultures
what is imposed etic
when researchers study human behaviour in different parts of the world using theories and studies developed in western cultures
what is bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
prolonged emotional deprivation would have long term consequences in terms of emotional development
what is the difference between deprivation and privation
deprivation is the loss of an attachment and privation is the failure to form one in the first place
outline bowlby’s 44 juvenile thieves study
out of 44 thieves, 14 displayed signs of affectionless psychopathy and 12 of these had suffered from maternal deprivation during the critical period
what is attachment disorder
when some children experience disruptions of early attachments it affects their social and emotional development:
- no preferred attachment figure
- inability to interact and relate to others, obvious before age 5
- experience of severe neglect or frequent change of caregiver
what are the 2 kinds of attachment disorders
reactive/ inhibited - shy and withdrawn, unable to cope with most social situations
disinhibited attachment- over friendly and attention seeking
what were the findings of tizard and hodges
children who remained in institutions had no strong attachments and problems relating to peers
adopted children formed strong attachments with adopted family but had problems with relationships outside family
children that returned home had poor family and peer relationships and behavioural problems
what does the continuity hypothesis state
the foundations provided by the primary caregiver help build the child’s future relationships
what did hazan and shaver find
a correlation between the childhood experiences of attachment and the current opinions of romantic love out of the 620 responses analysed
what are the factors of the father-child dynamic
1) degree of sensitivity
2) marital intimacy
3) supportive co parenting
4) single parent fathers
