Attachment Flashcards
Define attachment
a close two way (reciprocal) emotional bond between two people in which each sees the other as essential for their own emotional security
Name Maccoby’s 4 key behaviours that show that an attachment has been formed
seeking proximity
joy on reunion
separation distress
secure base behaviour
Name a reason as to why we form attachments
for survival as infants are physically helpless
Why do we form attachments in the short term
food, comfort, protection
Why do we form attachments in the long term
for emotional relationships
How old is an infant
under 2
How long does an infant and PCG attachment take to form
7 months
What 3 behaviours help develop this attachment
physical contact
mimicking (innate)
caregiverese
What is reciprocity
when infants coordinate their actions to PCG in a kind of conversation
each responds and is able to elicit a response
What did Tronick et al find with reciprocity
that when mothers stopped responding then babies cry and become frustrated
What did Trevathen say about reciprocity
that turn taking is important for the development of social and language skills
What is interactional synchrony
when people interact in a mirror pattern with emotions and behaviour
What does Feldman define IS as
the temporal co ordination of micro level social behaviour
What did Meltzoff and Moore (1977) observe
IS at 2 weeks, suggesting attachment is innate
What did Isabella et al (1989) find
that more attached mothers and infants show more IS
Evaluate IS and reciprocity
they are descriptive rather than explanatory, we don’t know how or why they are important
we cannot be certain of babies intentions, we have to assume
Why do some say fathers cannot be PCG
they are not psychologically (no oestrogen), socially (social norms) or biologically (cannot breastfeed) equipped
What do some say about the fathers role
that they are the ‘playmate’
Who studies the fathers playmate role
Grossman (2002)
What did Hardy (1999) say about fathers
they are less able to detect distress and cause of distress
Explain Schaffer and Emersons (1964) stages of attachment method
60 babies
longitudinal design
All from Glasgow, skilled working class families
Babies and mothers were visited at home every month for the first year and again at 18 months
Measured stranger and separation anxiety
Explain their findings
between 25-32 weeks, 50% showed separation anxiety usually to the mother, proving a specific attachment
Attachment was usually to the person who was most interactive and sensitive to infants signals
30 weeks 80% had specific attachments and 30% had multiple
Name and explain the first stage
Asocial stage first few weeks baby recognises carer similar behaviour towards human and non human shows some preference to familiar faces happier in presence of other humans
Name and explain the second stage
Indiscriminate stage 2-7 months more observable behaviours preference for human over non human prefer familiar faces no separation or stranger anxiety will accept comfort from anyone
Name and explain stage 3
specific attachment
7+ months
stranger anxiety
specific attachment to PCG
Name and explain stage 4
12+ months
extend to secondary attachments
20% of babies had a secondary attachment within 1 month of forming a primary attachment
Explain Lorenz’s animal study
imprinting on first moving object
critical period is 4-25 hours after birth in precocial animals
Are humans precocial or altrical
Altrical as we cannot walk when we are born
Evaluate Lorenz
relevant as it shows attachment is innate
issue of extrapolation as we are different to birds
Who’s study suggested that Loren’s sexual imprinting was overstated
Guiton et al (1966) as he found it wasn’t permanent in chickens
Explain Harlow’s animal study
Monkeys prefer soft mother even if they were reared on wire mother
monkeys reared on wire mother were dysfunctional
Monkeys prefered contact comfort
critical period was 90 days and any attachment was impossible after 90 days
What did Bowlby find that aligned with Harlow
that if a human doesn’t form an attachment in the first 2 years then they will have reduced intelligence and increased aggression
Evaluate Harlow
it has significant theoretical value as it showed the importance of contact comfort over food and importance of good quality early attachments for later social development
however he caused monkeys lots of stress and they have closely related emotions to humans
Who suggested the Learning theory of attachment
Dollard and Miller (1950)
Explain the learning theory
basic assumption that children attach to whoever feeds them
‘cupboard love’
What is the LT a direct opposite to
evolutionary theory as ET is innate but LT is learnt
Which experiments can link to LT
Pavlovs dogs and Skinners rats
What is the primary and secondary reinforcer
P - food
S - mother
Explain Sears et al (1957) contribution to LT
Drive reduction
hunger is primary drive (innate biological motivator)
attachment is secondary drive through association
Evaluate LT of attachment
Harlows monkeys did not attach to mother who fed them
Schaffer and emersons babies attached to mother and not primary care giver/ feeder
Rejects importance of IS and reciprocity
What theory did Bowlby reject
LT
Which theory did Bowlby propose
Monotropic/evolutionary theory
Why does he believe attachment is an innate system
as it gives us a survival advantage as the CG protects us from danger
its adaptive
What did Bowlby place emphasis on
the monotrophy, that one caregiver attachment is the most important
supported by Schaffer and Emerson specific attachment stage
What two laws did he propose
Law of continuity - more constant and predictable care is better
Law of accumulated separation - separation adds up so no separation is safest, the more time spent together the better
What are social releasers (ET)
‘cute’ behaviours babies are born with to activate the adult attachment system
supported by Brazleton and IS
How long was the critical period that Bowlby suggested
2.5 years
What is the internal working model (ET)
child forms a mental representation of their relationship with PCG and this serves as a model for their future relationships
also affects their later ability to parent (Bailey et al 2007)
Evaluate Bowlby
puts pressure on mothers to be the PCG and not leave the child
fathers are not mentioned or believed to be essential
babies have genetically different behaviours
Who set up a observation technique to observe a childs attachment to their caregiver
Mary Ainsworth 1969
Explain the Strange Situation procedure
controlled observation
two way mirror
What 5 behaviours are judged to show attachment
proximity seeking exploration/secure base stranger anxiety separation anxiety response to reunion
What did Ainsworth 1978 identify as the three main types of attachment
secure attachment
insecure avoidance
insecure resistant
Explain secure attachment
type B
60-75%
shows good attachment
Explain insecure avoidance attachment
type A no proximity needed no anxiety 20-25% may come from no response to signals
explain insecure resistant attachment
type C need greater proximity high anxiety resist comfort when reunited 3% may come from wrong response to signals
Evaluate the Strange Situation
good inter-rater reliability as the behavioural categories are easy to observe
Culture-bound as Takahashi (1990) found that in Japan, japanese mothers are never separated from their babies and their reunion is so intense it is hard to observe
Solomon (1986) found that their is another type of attachment (disorganised) where children display signs of A and C
Outline what happens in the Strange Situation
baby encouraged to explore stranger tries to interact CG leaves CG returns and stranger leaves CG leaves stranger returns CG returns
