Attachment Flashcards

1
Q

Reciprocity

A

A description of how two people interact
Mother – infant interaction is reciprocal in that both infant and mother respond to each other’s signals and each elicits a response from the other

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Interactional synchrony

A

Mother and infant reflect both the actions and emotions of the other and do this in a coordinated way

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is an attachment

A

A close two-way emotional bond between two individuals in which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Name researchers that looked into caregiver – infant interactions
Interactions synchrony

A

Meltzoff and Moore

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Meltzoff and Moore study procedure

A

Caregiver – infant interactions
Aim: to see if infants imitate the facial expressions and hand gestures of an adult
Covert, controlled
Selected 4 different stimuli and observed the behaviour of infants in response
To record observations an observer watched videotapes of the infants behaviour
Video was then judged by independent observers who had no knowledge of what infant had just seen
Each observer asked to note down all instances of tongue protrusions and head movements

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Meltzoff and Moore study findings

A

Infant copies what the adult did e.g. stuck out tongue when adults stuck out tongue
Each observer scored tapes twice so intraobserver and interobserver reliability could be calculated
All scores were greater than 92
Infants imitated the facial expressions and hand gestures of an adult matter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Name two caregiver – infant interactions

A

Reciprocity

Interactional synchrony

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Who studied reciprocity

A

Feldman and Eidelman

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Evaluate research into caregiver – infant interactions

A

Some researchers suggest the behaviour seen in caregiver – infant interactions are just imitations and the infant is not consciously and deliberately attempting to communicate in a social way
However the still face research studies suggest these interactions are deliberate. The fact that the infants work so hard to attract the caregivers attention and become so distressed when they don’t react to them clearly supports the idea that the infant is actively involved in the communications
Babies mouths are in fairly constant motion and therefore tend to display behaviours like opening their mouth or sticking out the tongue quite regularly. In M and M research, researchers could’ve been seeing accidental rather than intentional behaviours
Researchers can only really make educated guesses as to what the communications actually mean from the babies perspective. They cannot know for certain that they have any special meanings for them because the baby cannot tell them

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Why is research into caregiver – infant interactions socially sensitive

A

Because it suggests that children may be disadvantaged by particular child rearing practices
For example mothers who return to work shortly after a child is born, restricts the opportunities for achieving interactional synchrony, which Isabella et al showed to be important in the developing of infant – caregiver attachment
Consequently, this can be distressing to mothers who returned to work soon after their child was born who read the research

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Tronick et al

A

Still face experiment
The study emphasises the importance of early parent – infant interaction in attachment and the negative effects of non-responsiveness on the part of the mother – i.e. a lack of reciprocity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Isabella et al

A

Shows positive correlations between levels of synchrony and the quality of caregiver – infant attachment in their study of 30 mothers and infants

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Secure attachment

A

These children explore more happily but regularly go back to their caregiver (Proximity seeking and secure base behaviour)
They usually show moderate separation distress and moderate stranger anxiety
Securely attached children require and accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Insecure avoidant attachment

A

These children explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour
They show little or no reaction when their caregiver leaves and they make little effort to make contact when the caregiver returns
They also show little stranger anxiety
They do not require comfort at the reunion stage

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Insecure resistant attachment

A

These children seek greater proximity than others and so explore less
They show huge stranger and separation distress but they resist comfort when reunited with their carer

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Schaffer and Emerson study method

A

This study involves 60 babies – 31 male, 29 female
All from Glasgow and the majority were from skilled working-class families
The babies and the mothers were visited at home every month for the first year and again at 18 months
The researchers asked the mothers questions about the kind of protest the baby showed in seven every day separations e.g. adult leaving the room
This was designed to measure the infants attachment. The research also assessed stranger anxiety

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Schaffer and Emerson study findings

A

Between 25 and 32 weeks of age about 50% of the babies showed signs of separation anxiety towards a particular adult, usually the mother (this is called specific attachment)
Attachment tended to be to the caregiver who was most interactive and sensitive to infant signals and facial expressions (i.e. reciprocity) this was not necessarily the person with whom infant spent most time
By the age of 40 weeks 80% of the babies had a specific attachment and almost 30% displayed multiple attachments

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Stages of attachment identified by Schaffer

A

Asocial stage
Indiscriminate attachment
Specific attachment
Multiple attachments

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Asocial stage of attachment

A

Stage one
First few weeks
The baby is recognising and forming bonds with its carers
However, the babies behaviour towards nonhuman objects and humans is quite similar
Babies show some preference for familiar adults in that those individuals find it easier to calm them
Babies are also happier when in the presence of other humans

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Indiscriminate stage of attachment

A

Stage two
From 2 to 7 months babies displaying more observable social behaviour
They show a preference for people rather than inanimate objects, and recognise and prefer familiar adults
At this stage babies usually accept cuddles and comfort from any adult, and they do not usually show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety
Their attachment behaviour is therefore said to be indiscriminate because it is not different towards any one person

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Specific stage of attachment

A

Stage three
From around seven months the majority of babies start to display anxiety towards strangers and to become anxious when separated from one particular adult
At this point the baby is said to have formed a specific attachment
This adult is termed the primary attachment figure
This person is not necessarily the person the baby spends most time with but the one who offers the most interaction and responds to the baby signals with the most skill

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Multiple stage of attachment

A

Stage 4
Shortly after babies start to show attachment behaviour towards one adult they usually extend this attachment behaviour to multiple attachments with other adults with whom they regularly spend time
These relationships are called secondary attachments

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Evaluation of Schaffer and Emerson study

A
Good external Validity- carried out in families’ own homes. Most observations done by parents during ordinary activities 
Longitudinal design- Same children were followed up and observed regularly. High internal validity
Limited sample characteristics- families all from same district and social class in the same city over 50 years ago. Child rearing practices vary from one culture to another and one historical period to another. Not generalisable
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Problem with studying asocial stage of attachment

A

Difficult to study
Babies are pretty much immobile and have poor co ordination
Difficult to make judgements based on observations of behaviour

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Conflicting evidence on multiple attachments
Multiple attachment stage is difficult to assess through observations This was criticised by Bowlby who emphasised that children can have attachment figures and playmates They can become distressed when a playmate leaves the room, but this doesn’t mean they are attached to them
26
Measuring multiple attachment
Not clear when the stage occurs In cultures where multiple caregivers are the norm, it’s believed babies form multiple attachments from the outset (Van Ijzendoorn et al)
27
Ainsworth’s study
The strange situation
28
SS procedure
Controlled observation designed to measure the security of attachment a child displays towards a caregiver Takes place in room with quite controlled conditions with a two way mirror through which psychologists can observe infants behaviour Behaviours used to judge attachment included: – proximity seeking – exploration and secure base behaviour – stranger anxiety – separation anxiety – response to reunion The procedure has seven episodes, each of which lasts three minutes
29
Seven episodes in the strange situation
The child is encouraged to explore – tests exploration and secure base Stranger comes in and tries to interact with the child – test stranger anxiety The caregiver leaves the child and stranger alone – test separation and stranger anxiety The caregiver returns and the stranger leaves – tests reunion behaviour and exploration/secure base The caregiver leaves the child alone – test separation anxiety The stranger returns – tests stranger anxiety The caregiver returns and is re-united with the child – tests reunion behaviour
30
The strange situation findings
Ainsworth et al found that there were distinct patterns in the way the infants behaved. She identified three main types of attachment: – secure attachment – insecure – avoidant attachment – insecure – resistant attachment
31
Strange situation evaluation
High validity Good reliability The test maybe culture bound There is at least one more attachment type
32
Support for validity evaluation the strange situation
Attachment types as defined by strange situation is strongly predictive of later development Babies assessed as secure typically go on to have better outcomes in many areas, ranging from success at school to romantic relationships and friendships in adulthood This is evidence for the validity of the concept because it can explain subsequent outcomes
33
Good reliability evaluation the strange situation
SS shows very good interrater reliability. In other words different observers watching the same children in the strange situation generally agree on what attachment type to classify them with This may be because the strange situation takes place under controlled conditions and because the behavioural categories are easy to observe This means we can be confident that the attachment types of an infant identified in the strange situation does not just depend on who is observing them
34
The test maybe culture bound evaluation strange situation
There is some doubt about whether the strange situation is a culture bound test i.e. it does not have the same meaning in countries outside Western Europe and USA This is for two reasons, first, cultural differences in childhood experiences are likely to mean that children respond differently to the strange situation Second, caregivers from different cultures behave differently in the strange situation For example, the test doesn’t work in Japan because Japanese mothers are so rarely separated from their babies that as we would expect, there are very high levels of separation anxiety. Also in the reunion stage Japanese mothers rushed to their baby and scooped them up, meaning the child’s response was hard to observe
35
What does the strange situation measure evaluation SS
Measures a child’s response to the anxiety produced by being in an unfamiliar environment. That is not in doubt However, what is more controversial is whether the main influence on this anxiety is attachment as Ainsworth assumed Others have suggested that temperament, the genetically influenced personality of the child, is the more important influence on the behaviour in the SS than attachment It means that temperament may be a confounding variable
36
There is at least one more attachment type evaluation SS
Ainsworth conceived of three attachment types However someone else pointed out that a minority of children displayed atypical attachments that do not fall within types A, B or C behaviour This atypical attachment is commonly known as disorganised attachment Disorganised children display an odd mix of resistance and avoidant behaviours
37
What is the fourth attachment type
Disorganised attachment
38
How have cross cultural variations in in attachment been researched?
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg study
39
Van Ijzendoorn and kroonenberg study procedure
they located 32 studies of attachment where the strange situation Had been used to investigate the proportions of infants with different attachment types These 32 studies were conducted in 8 countries 15 in USA. Overall the studies yielded 1990 children Data from these studies wer meta analysed
40
Van Ijzendoorn and kroonenberg study findings
In all countries, secure attachment was the most common classification Insecure resistant was overall the least common, highest in Israel Insecure avoidant most common in Germany, least in japan Variations between results of studies within the same country were 150% greater than those between countries
41
Van Ijzendoorn and kroonenberg study evaluation
Large samples- increases internal validity by reducing impact of anomalous results Samples tend to be unrepresentative of culture- comparisons were actually made between countries not cultures Method of assessment is biased- based on American values. Imposed etic.
42
Lorenz’s research on imprinting procedure
Experiment He randomly divided a clutch of goose eggs Half the eggs were hatched with the mother goose in their natural environment Other half were hatched in an incubator where the first moving object they saw was Lorenz
43
Lorenz’s research on imprinting findings
The incubator group followed Lorenz everywhere whereas the control group followed their mother When the two groups were mixed up, control group continued to follow mother, experimental group followed Lorenz Lorenz identified a critical period in which imprinting needs to take place Depending on the species this can be as brief as a few hours after hatching or birth If imprinting doesn’t occur within that time Lorenz found that chicks do not attach themselves to a mother figure
44
Lorenz’s research on sexual imprinting
He observed that birds that imprinted on a human would often later display courtship behaviour towards humans
45
Lorenz’s research evaluation
Generalisability to humans- can’t generalise finding on birds to humans Some of his observations have been questioned- another researcher found that chicken imprinted on yellow washing up gloves would try to mate with them as adults, but that with experiences they eventually learned to prefer mating with other chickens Meaning impact of imprinting on mating behaviour isn’t permanent
46
Harlow’s research on the importance of contact comfort procedure
He tested the idea that a soft object serves some of the functions of a mother He reared 16 baby monkeys with two wire model mothers In one condition milk was dispensed by the plain wire mother whereas in a second condition the milk was dispensed by the cloth mother
47
Harlow’s research on the importance of contact comfort findings
It was found that the baby monkey’s cuddled with the soft object in preference to the wire one and sought comfort from the cloth one when frightened regardless of which dispensed milk This showed that contact comfort was of more importance to the monkeys than food when it came to attachment behaviour
48
Harlow’s research on maternally deprived monkeys as adults
He followed the monkeys that had been deprived of a real mother into adulthood to see if this early maternal deprivation had a permanent effect Monkeys were more aggressive and less sociable than normal monkeys and bred less often, being unskilled at mating As mothers, some of the deprived monkeys neglected their young and others attacked their children, even killing them in some cases
49
Harlow’s research on the critical period for normal development
He concluded that there was a critical period for thud behaviour A mother figure had to be introduced to an infant monkey within 90 days for an attachment to form After this time attachment was impossible and the damage done by early deprivation became irreversible
50
Harlow’s research evaluation
Theoretical value- many findings of great value Practical value- findings helped social workers understand risk factors in child neglect and abuse and so intervene to prevent it Ethical issues- monkeys suffered greatly. Can’t definitely be generalised to humans- monkeys are similar to humans but not the same
51
classical conditioning
involves learning to associate two stimuli together so that we begin to respond to one in the same way as we already respond to the other unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, neutral stimulus, conditioned stimulus and conditioned response
52
operant conditioning
involves learning to repeat behaviour, or not, depending its consequences. if a behaviour produces a pleasant consequence, that behaviour is likely to be repeated the behaviour has been reinforced
53
classical conditioning example - attachment
food serves as an US being fed gives us pleasure, we don't have to learn that, it is an UR a caregiver starts as a neutral stimulus when the same person provides the food over time they become associated with food when the baby sees this person there is an immediate expectation of food the neutral stimulus has become a CS once conditioning has taken place the sight of the caregiver produces a CR of pleasure
54
operant conditioning example - attachment
operant conditioning can explain why babies cry for comfort crying leads to a response from the caregivere.g. feeding as long as the caregiver provides the correct response, crying is reinforced the baby then directs crying for comfort towards the caregiver who responds with comforting social suppressor behaviour
55
learning theory
a set of theories from the behaviourist approach to psychology, that emphasise the role of learning in the acquisition of behaviour explanation for learning of behaviour include classical and operant conditioning
56
monotropic
term sometimes used to describe bowlby's theory. indicates that one specific attachment is different from all others and of central importance to the childs development
57
internal working models
the mental representations we all carry with us of our attachment to our primary caregiver they are important in affecting our future relationships because they carry our perception of what relationships are like
58
bowlby's monotropic theory
explains that attachment was an innate system that gave a survival advantage imprinting and attachment evolved because they ensure that young animals stay close to their caregivers and this protects them from hazards
59
bowlby's monotropic theory- monotropy
theory is described as montoropic because he placed great emphasis on a child’s attachment one particular caregiver, and he believed that the child’s attachment this one caregiver is different and more important than others Bowlby believed that the more time the baby spent with this mother figure – or primary attachment figure as we usually call them now – the better He put forward two principles to clarify this: The law of continuity The law of accumulated separation
60
Bowlby’s monotropic theory – social releases
Bobby suggested that babies are born with a set of innate cute behaviours like smiling, cooing and gripping that encourage attention from adults He called these social releasers because the purpose is to activate the adult attachment system i.e. make an adult feel love towards the baby Bowlby recognised that attachment was a reciprocal process. Both mother and baby have an innate predisposition to become attached and social releases trigger a response in the caregivers
61
Bowlby’s monotropic theory – the critical period
The interplay between infants and adults attachment systems gradually builds the relationship between infant and caregiver, beginning in the early weeks of life. Bowlby proposed that there is a critical period around two years when the infant attachment system is active. In fact Bowlby viewed this as more of a sensitive period. A child is maximally sensitive at the age of two but, if an attachment is not formed in this time, the child will find it much harder to form one later
62
Bowlbys monotropic theory – internal working model
Bowlby proposed that a child forms a mental representation of the relationship with the primary caregiver. This is called an internal working model because it serves as a model for what relationships are like. It therefore has a powerful effect on the nature of the child’s future relationships. Most importantly the internal working model affects the Childs later ability to be a parent them selves. People tend to base their parenting behaviour on their own experiences of being parented. This explains why children from functional families tend to have similar families themselves
63
Evaluation of Bowlby’s monotropic theory
Mixed evidence for monotropy-Some babies form multiple attachments without a primary attachment. Seus et al, other attachments may contribute as much as a primary one Support for social releasers- Brazleton et al, when social releasers ignore babies were upset Support for internal working models- Bailey et al, quality of attachments is passed on through generations in families Monotropy is a socially sensitive idea Temperament may be as important as attachment
64
Maternal deprivation
The emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and the mother or mother substitute Bowlby proposed that continuous care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development, and that prolonged separation from this adult causes serious damage to emotional and intellectual development
65
Bowlby‘s theory of maternal deprivation- separation versus deprivation
There is an important distinction to be made between separation and deprivation. Separation simply means the child not being in the presence of the primary attachment figure. This only becomes an issue for development if the child is deprived i.e. they lose an element of the care. brief separations, particularly when the child is with a substitute caregiver, and not significant for development but extended separations can lead to deprivation, which by definition causes harm
66
Bobby‘s theory of maternal deprivation – the critical period
Bowlby saw the first 30 months of life as a critical period for psychological development. If the child is separated from their mother in the absence of suitable substitute care and so deprived of her emotional care for an extended period during this critical period then psychological damage was inevitable
67
Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation – effects on intellectual development
Bowlby believed that if children were deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period they would suffer mental retardation, characterised by abnormally low IQ. This has been demonstrated in studies of adoption E.g. Goldfarb found lower IQ in children that had remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered and thus had a higher standard of emotional care
68
Bowlby‘s theory of maternal deprivation – effects on emotional development
Bowlby identified affection less psychopathy as the inability to experience guilt or strong emotions for others. This prevents the person developing normal relationships and is associated with criminality Affectionless psychopaths cannot appreciate the feelings of victims and so lack remorse for their actions
69
Bowlby’s 44 thieves study procedure
The sample in this study consisted of 44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing All thieves were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy: characterised by a lack of affection, lack of guilt about their actions and lack of empathy for their victims Their families were also interviewed in order to establish whether the thieves had prolonged early separations from their mothers A control group of non criminal but emotionally disturbed young people was set up to see how often separation/deprivation occurred in the children who were not thieves
70
Bowlby’s 44 thieves study findings
Bowlby found that 14 of the 44 thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths Of this 14, 12 had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first two years of their lives In contrast only 5 of the remaining 30 thieves had experienced separations Of the control group only 2 out of the 44 had experienced long separations It was concluded that prolonged early separation/deprivation caused effectionless psychopathy
71
Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation evaluation
Evidence may be poor- orphans have experienced other traumas. Bowlby may have been a biased observer Counter-evidence- Lewis: sample of 500, no link between early separation and later criminality A sensitive period- Bowlby exaggerated the importance of the critical period Animal studies show effects of maternal deprivation on social development Failure to distinguish deprivation from privation
72
Institutionalisation
A term for the effects of living in an institutional setting. E.g. hospital or orphanage. In such places there is often very little emotional care provided In attachment research we are interested in the effects of institutional care on children’s attachments and subsequent development
73
Effects of institutionalisation
Disinhibited attachment | Delayed intellectual development
74
Disinhibited attachment - institutionalisation
Children don’t discriminate between people they choose as attachment figures Overfriendly towards strangers, may be attention seeking and clingy. Unusual as most children show stranger anxiety in their second year Adapted to show this behaviour because of multiple caregivers in an institution- no consistent figure to learn so seek attachment from anyone
75
Delayed intellectual development - institutionalisation
``` Cognitive development (IQ) is also affected by emotional deprivation But can be reversed if adopted before 6 months as going into specific attachment at 7-9 months, so children who are adopted before 6 months can still make primary attachment + therefore reverse negative effects ```
76
Name the two Romanian orphan studies
Rutter et al | Zeanah et al The Bucharest Early Intervention project
77
Zeanah et al The Bucharest Early Intervention project procedure
Assessed the attachment type in 95 Romanian children aged between 12-31 months who had spent an average of 90% of their life in an institution and compared them to a control group who spent their life in a normal family The attachment type was measured using the Strange Situation
78
Zeanah et al The Bucharest Early Intervention project findings
74% of the control group was found to be securely attached but only 19% of the institutionalised group. 65% of this group were classified as showing disorganised attachment The description of disinhibited attachment applied to 44% of institutionalised children as opposed to less that 20% of the controls
79
Zeanah et al The Bucharest Early Intervention project conclusion
When in the strange situation with the carter, children from institutions are less likely to show secure attachment, suggesting that being institutionalised has effected them emotionally
80
Rutter et al study of Romanian orphans procedure
Natural experiment with naturally occurring IV being age of adoption Over 100 Romanian orphans previously in institutions adopted by uk families, some were adopted before the age of 6 months and some adopted later Random sample Control group of 52 uk children adopted before 6 months Adoptees tested at regular points (age 4, 6, 11 and 15 years) to measure their physical, cognitive and social development Info also gained through interviews with parents and teachers Romanian adoptees development was compared with gb control group
81
Rutter et al study of Romanian orphans findings
Romanian orphans who had been adopted later than 6 months are most likely to show disinhibited attachments As age of adoption increased IQ decreased Orphans were more likely to have low IQ and show disinhibited attachment if they were adopted after 6 months
82
Romanian orphans studies evaluation
Real life application- both institutional care and adoption practice have been improved using lessons from Romanian orphans Fewer extraneous variables- Romanian orphans had fewer negative influences before institutionalisation than e.g. war orphans Romanian orphanages not typical- conditions were so bad that results may not generalise to better institutions Ethical issues, especially Bucharest early interventions project Practical applications to adoption and institutional care practice