attachment Flashcards
classical conditioning
learning through association
generalisation
generalising the conditioned response to any stimulus
Watson and Raynor
- gave a baby different animals, like a rat and dog etc
- made a loud noise when the baby went to touch the animals
- baby associated fear with the animals
Dollars and Miller
babies associate happiness with parents, as they tend to their needs, so they become attached
operant conditioning
learning through consequences
reinforcers
make it more likely to occur
punishers
make it less likely to occur
positive
is when something is added
negative
is when something is taken away
Skinner
Rats in a cage have a lever which they press to get food, but abandon the behaviour when no more food comes
extinction
abandoning behaviour when its no longer rewarding
secure attachment
a caregiver meets their needs, is emotionally avaliable and supportive
insecure resistant
a caregiver was there inconsistently and was often unable to meet their needs
insecure avoidant
caregivers were neglectful and unresponsive and children had to look after themselves
Strange Situation
- ainsworth 1970
- 100 middle class infants aged between 9-18 months from America
disorganised attachment
isn’t secure and takes elements from each type
Hawthorne effect
demand characteristics for observations
stranger anxiety
secure = avoids stranger when alone resistant = avoids stranger all the time avoidant = interacts normally
separation anxiety
secure = distressed resistant = very distressed avoidant = no reaction
reunion behaviour
secure = easily comforted resistant = isn’t easily comforted avoidant = no reaction
explorative behaviour
secure = explores but uses mother as a safe base resistant = won’t explore avoidant = independent
Ijzendoorn and Krooneberg
- meta analysis of 32 strange situations over 8 cultures
- secure attachment is the most common type
- Germany = avoidant
- Japan = resistant
Takahashi
- strange situation with 60 middle class japanese families
- had to be stopped early as it was unethical
- no avoidant
- 32% insecure
Jin
conducted in Korea, found that children were mostly secure, more insecure resistant and only one was avoidant
Harlow
- 1959
- monkeys raised with cloth and wire mothers
- wire mothers fed them
- seeks comfort and spent all the time with cloth mother
Lorenz
- 1935
- hatched geese and spent all the time with them
- they followed him around and saw him as a mother
critical period
- 2 years
- the set amount of time a baby imprints on someone in
Schaffer and Emerson (stat)
37% of babies formed their first attachment with somebody other than who fed them
overt
participants are aware and have consented
covert
don’t know they’re being observed
naturalistic observation
observing participants in natural settings, with high ecological validity
participant observation
observer participates in a cultural tradition or new social group
controlled observation
takes place with selected participants
event sampling
recording every time you see a certain behaviour
time sampling
different time intervals decide when you observe
instantaneous sampling
already know the time and place to observe
content analysis
turning qualitative data in quantitative data
Schaffer and Emerson
- 1964
- 60 babies from Glasgow for the first 18 months of their lives
- attachments made with carers who were sensitive to their signals
Asocial stage
0-6 weeks
similar responses to objects and people
indiscriminate attachment
6 weeks - 6 months
able to distinguish between people and has stranger anxiety
discriminate attachments
7 months +
shows a preference for one care giver and looks to people for security and comfort
multiple attachment
10 months +
attachments towards several people
attrition
sample gets worn down over time
Meltzoff and Moore
- 1977
- 2/3 week old infants mimicking facial and hand gestures
- supports monotropic attachment
Murray and Trevathen
- 1985
- they showed 2 month old infants their mothers via a video call
- played them pre recording
law of accumulated separation
no amount of separation is right for a child (Bowlby)
44 thieves study
- Bowlby 1944
- tested IQ and emotional attitudes of 44 thieves and children with emotional problems
- social workers interviewed a parent about childs early life
44 thieves findings
- more than half of thieves had been separated from mothers for more than 6 months during first 5 years
- 14 thieves were affection less psychopaths
affectionless psychopathy
a lack of emotional development leading to lack of concern for others, guilt and inability to form relationships
Rutter et al
- 2007
- 165 orphans in the uk
- children adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment
- adopted before 6 months caught up before age 4
3 stages of monotropic attachment
- monotropy
- social releasers
- internal working model
Peter Smith (1998)
used questionnaires on 196 children aged 7-11 in London and found secure were unlikely to be involved, avoidant were the victims and resistance were the bulies
Gerard McCarthy (1999)
studied 40 women who had been assessed when they were infants and found secure and the best relationships, avoidant struggled to maintain friendships and avoidant struggled with intimicay
Hazan and Shaver (1987)
analysed 620 replies to a love quiz asking questions about current relationships, general experiences and what best describes their feelings
- secure had long lasting romantic relationships
- avoidant were jealous and had a fear of intimacy
Zimmerman (2000)
assessed infant attachment type and adolescent attachment to parents and found no relationship between the quality of attachment
