Attachment Flashcards
Too help me revise it :)
What is interactional synchrony?
What is reciprocity?
Attachment definition
Interactional synchrony is where infant and caregiver mothers actions and emotions mirror each other and happen at same time.
Reciprocity- Mother and infant respond too each other and both have the capability too generate a response form the other.
Attachment is a strong emotional bond between 2 individuals that works both way. Both view the other as necessary for them to be emotionally secure
Lorenz’s geese study
12 geese split into 2 groups. Half were raised naturally by the mother whereas Lorenz took half and put them in an incubator and the 1st moving object they saw was Lorenz. Then he mixed them and saw who followed the mother and who followed Lorenz. They went to one who reared them.
Lorenz suggested critical period of a few hours that imprinting had too occur within.
If no imprinting has occurred within this critical period then no attachment will form.
Study had some ethical issues as geese were unable too live normal lives as were attached too Lorenz and some tried too mate with objects associated with Lorenz such as a pair of rubber gloves. Would ∴ no longer be able to reproduce.
Animals studies are hard too generalize too humans due too supposedly our far superior intelligence due too factors such as our more developed cerebral cortex.
Study also proves idea of imprinting .
Effects were permanent showing attachments are enduring.
Harlow’s monkey’s
16 monkeys, 2 wire mothers. One providing milk and the other covered in cloth so providing comfort. Monkeys went to cloth mother over milk mother until completely necessary too feed showing that monkey’s prefer comfort over food/ comfort and contacts more important
These monkeys grew up showing aggressive tendencies showing that separation from actual mother during critical period can cause deprivation and aggressive behavior.
This theory goes against the cupboard love theory.
Study carried out on monkeys not humans so hard too
generalize as humans more intelligent, more developed cerebral cortex etc.
Study has real life application as showed the importance of attachment figures so has helped change ways institutions such as orphanages are run.
Hazan and Schaver Love quiz:
Looks at relationship between type of attachment and your adult relationships
Questionnaire love quiz in local newspaper with 620 replies then their responses analyzed.
3 criteria it studied were:
- Attachment type
- General love experience
- Response too current or most important relationship
56% showed they’re securely attached, 25% insecure avoidant, 19% insecure resistant
Those with secure attachment had better relationships that generally lasted longer
Those that insecure avoidance showed jealousy generally and had a fear of intimacy
Bowlby’s theory of attachment explain
Suggests attachments an innate process (it is inherited) and provides us a survival advantage - it helps prevent is getting in danger.
Monotropic means that the primary attachment figure has greater significance/ importance than all others. More time the infant spends with the primary attachment figure the better quality the attachment will be and the better for the infant.
Babies are born with behaviors called social releasers which are cute innate behaviors such as smiling that encourage attachment from the adult.
Bowlby suggested there was a critical period of 2 years that if you did not form an attachment within this time frame then you may not form an attachment at all.
Your first attachment you make forms a template/ guide for later attachments so quality of first attachment will ∴ affect later relationships.
Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation: explain including definitions of separation and deprivation
You need constant maternal care to ensure you get appropriate intellectual and emotional development. Bowlby thought that the infants attachment with the mother was just as important as factors such as the nutrition the child got. Separation from the mother could cause a state of maternal deprivation. Separation is where the child isn’t physically with the mother eg. they’re apart.
Deprivation is where you don’t receive appropriate emotional care because of the separation.
Bowlby suggests a critical period of 30 months where if the child does not form an attachment and instead experiences prolonged separation then the child will definitely experience psychological damage.
He suggest that if the child is deprived of maternal care they will experience low IQ (mental retardation) and affectionless psychopathy
Bowlby’s 44 thieves (linked to maternal deprivation)
44 juvenile thieves and their families interviewed assessed for affectionless psychopathy (lack of guilt or affection) and for prolonged separation during critical period. It was found that 14 out of 44 thieved showed affectionless psychopathy and 12 of these had experienced a prolonged separation during the critical period.
Control group compared too 0 out of 44 were psychopaths.
Study shows prolonged separation during critical period can cause deprivation and affectionless psychopathy.
Study perhaps partially limited due too fact it was retrospective data so p’s were having too recall information from the past perhaps reducing the accuracy of recall.
Study done on war orphans who had poor quality after care so perhaps this is what affected their behaviors not separation so perhaps prolonged separation in critical period doesn’t cause affectionless psychopathy and deprivation.
Has real life application as has helped changed care system too help try and prevent children experience deprivation so children now given far more 1:1 interaction.
Perhaps flawed due too koluchova twins locked in cupboard 18 months-7 years (during critical period ∴ yet experienced full recoveries showing flaws in critical period.)
Learning theory of attachment explain referring to feeding, attachment etc?
explain drive reduction?
Created by Dollard and Miller and suggests whoever feeds the child is the person the child forms an attachment too (cupboard love theory). Links to Pavlov’s dogs + skinner’s rats
Suggests classical conditioning plays a role in attachment with the child associating food with relief of hunger and with happiness. Then the neutral stimulus of the person who feeds the child is associated with the feeling of pleasure so they become a conditioned stimulus. Then baby get pleasurable response of food from them.
Shows operant conditioning through why babies cry when they’re hungry. The baby cries until they receive food from the caregiver (+ reinforcement) and the caregiver receives (- reinforcement) when the unpleasant stimulus of crying’s removed. This strengthens the attachment between the two.
Drive reduction suggests hunger is our primary drive and we will try and eliminate this hunger. Attachments supposedly a secondary drive. If the caregiver supplies food this will help eliminate the primary drive and so will help allow the secondary drive too occur and strengthen attachment.
Name the 4 stages of attachment
Asocial stage, indiscriminate attachment, specific attachment, multiple attachment.
Outline 4 stages of attachment
Asocial stage- First few of weeks of life. Acts v. similarly too humans and objects. Slight preference to humans and familiar adults.
Indiscriminate attachment- 2-7 months.
Prefer humans over objects however act the same too all. No stranger or separation anxiety
Specific attachment: 7 months onwards
Developed separation anxiety when separated from a certain adult.
Formed primary attachment figure- 65% of time is the mother.
May also experience stranger anxiety
Multiple attachment: Happens by 1 year and this is the stage when secondary attachment starts too other adults than the primary attachment figure occur. 29% of babies have secondary attachment figure within a month of forming primary attachment figure. By age of 1 most babies have formed multiple attachments
Schaffer + Emmerson study related too stages of Attachment
60 Glasgow babies visited every month at home for year then at 18 months. Measure stranger/separation anxiety when leaving the room and with the presence of unfamiliar adult.
Found generally that the primary attachment figure was the mother. 50% of babies experienced separation anxiety between 25-32 weeks.
Primary attachment figure wasn’t the person who spent the most time but instead the person who interacted the most (showed most reciprocity).
Ainsworth’s strange situation explain
It is a method to measure type/ quality of a child’s attachment to their caregiver.
Controlled observation procedure using two-way mirror through psychologists can measure infant behavior
5 categories used too assess attachment quality:
- Proximity seeking- Well attached infants remain closer too caregiver.
- Exploration- Strong attachment allows child too explore and use caregiver as point of safety.
- Well attached infants show stranger + separation anxiety.
- Response too reunion with caregiver after separation of short period of time. Well attached infants are enthusiastic
Procedure has 7 episodes including caregivers and stranger walking in and out of the room to measure stranger and separation anxiety and the other categories.
Found 3 main attachment types:
-Secure (60-75% of British toddlers)
This is where child experiences average stranger/separation anxiety, happy with exploring but seeks proximity at reunion and needs comfort at reunion.
-Insecure avoidant (20-25% of British toddlers)
Child explores freely but doesn’t need too secure proximity or security base from attachment figure.
Shows little or no stranger or separation anxiety.
Doesn’t need comfort at reunion.
Insecure resistant attachment- 3% of British toddlers
Child explores less and seeks greater proximity.
Great stranger and separation and stranger anxiety.
Refuses comfort at reunion.
Findings may be culture bound so may not be the same outside America and Western Europe. Children and caregivers may have varying behaviors in different cultures eg. Japanese babies rarely separated from mothers so can experience high levels of stranger anxiety.
Strange situation has good validity as it can help explain future behaviors and outcomes such as: eg. those who have secure attachment type are more likely too do well at school and have longer lasting romantic relationships.
Good inter rater reliability as several observers watched the same children and agreed on the attachment type so we can be certain that the attachment type observed is not dependent on whose observing them
Van Lijzendoorn and Kroonerberg
Tried to look at amounts of secure attachment, insecure avoidant and insecure resistant. in different countries and within same country. 32 studies from varying countries however 15 were from the USA. 1990 children in total and results meta-analysed.
Every country studied had secure attachment type as their most common. however percentages fluctuated eg. Britain 75% secure vs 50 % China. Insecure resistant generally least common however 3% Britain vs 30% Israel. Within culture had greatest variation with 46% secure American’s 1 study vs 90% in another.
Perhaps lacks pop val and experiences cultural bias as 1 in China vs 15 studies in US.
Meta-analysis is ethical as no other children at risk of being exposed to trauma.
However secondary data means may be not that specific to variable you’re measuring.
Romanian orphans studies:
What are the effects of institutionalization?
- The children may experience damaged intellectual development eg. Children who are institutionalized may experience symptoms such as mental retardation. These are less prevalent if adopted before 6 months of age.
- The child may experience disinhibited attachment style where they may act with same levels of affection and friendliness too those they know well and strangers.
Rutter et al study (Romanian orphans)
165 Romanian orphans had experienced poor conditions before adoption in Britain. Tried too measure extent good care could make up for bad early institution experiences.. Physical, emotional and cognitive development measure at 4,6,11 and 15.
Also had control group study of 52 adopted British children.
If adopted before 6 months had mean IQ of 102
6 months too 2 years mean IQ of 86 After 2 years mean IQ of 77.
Shows it’s best to be adopted before 6 months of age. This is further supported by the frequency of disinhibited attachment being very rare if adopted before 6 months however after 6 months it can be very apparent eg. they will show signs of clinginess, attention-seeking and indiscriminate affection to strangers.
Supports the idea of a sensitive period in attachment that if you do not form an attachment/ bond within this period (around 6 months according too this study) then you may experience long term effects such as affected cognitive ability eg. lower IQ/ mental retardation or disinhibited attachment.
Results of Romanian orphans study have real life application as have helped improved institutionalized care so child has more interaction with 1 caregiver instead of little with many.
Unusual situation though of how poor though the quality of care was makes it hard to generalize so lacks pop val.
Also Rutter et al study did not have any random allocation as Rutter didn’t interfere with adoption process. Meant that some parents who chose early may have chose more desirable children which could affect results.
