Attachment AO1 Flashcards
What is attachment?
An emotional relationship or bond between two people. Each person seeks closeness with the other and feels more secure in their presence.
What is Reciprocity?
When a child and caregiver respond to each others signals which elicits a response from each other e.g. caregiver responds to babies smile by saying something and then the baby giggles
What research links to Reciprocity?
-Babies have ‘alert phases’ when they signal they are ready for interaction
-Mothers tend to pick up on and respond to alertness 2/3 of the time
-From 3 months this becomes more frequent
-Reciprocity increases
What is Interactional Synchrony?
When the caregiver and infant carry out the same action simultaneously and can be seen in babies as young as 4 months old e.g. actions and emotions are mirrored off each other
What is the research into Interactional Synchrony?
Meltzoff + Moore (1977)
-Adult did one of 3 facials expressions ( tongue out, mouth open and pout)
-Two week old responses filmed
-Their expressions were more likely to mirror the adult than chance would predict
-Babies tended to mimic the actions
What was Schaffer and Emerson Glasgow baby study?
The study involved 60 babies (31 boys and 29 girls) and all were from Glasgow from skilled working-class families. Researchers visited babies and their mothers in their own homes every month for the first year of their life and then again at 18 months. They then asked the mothers questions about separation which was designed to measure the babies attachment. They also assessed stranger anxiety to unfamiliar people.
What are the four stages of attachment?
- Asocial Stage (0-2 months)
- Indiscriminate Stage (2-7 months)
- Specific Attachment (7-9 months)
- Multiple Attachments (10+ months)
What is the Asocial Stage?
Babies behave the same way towards humans and objects. They also prefer to be with other people and tend to show a preference to familiar people. They are also more easily comforted.
What is the Indiscriminate Stage?
Babies display more obvious social behaviors and a clear preference for humans. Prefer company from familiar people but accept affection from anyone.
What is the Specific Attachment Stage?
Show classic signs of attachment towards one particular person and anxiety is directed towards strangers especially when attachment figure is gone. (The specific attachment is not always the most seen but the one who responds to signals.)
What is the Multiple Attachment Stage?
Behavior is extended to multiple attachment figures with those who they regularly spend time with. 29% happened one month after primary but majority by the age of one year.
Research into the role of the father:
Attachment to Fathers
Multiple Attachments- Schaffer and Emerson
- The most basic area is whether babies actually attach to them
- In the studies only 3% of the time the father was the primary attachment
- Babies get more attached in later life than at the start (around 18 months)
Research into the role of the father:
Distinctive role of Fathers
-Whether attachment to fathers holds a specific value in development
-Grosman et al (2002)
-Attachment was studied in babies until they were teens
-More attached to mothers in adolescence
-Fathers role is play and stimulation whereas mothers role is emotional
Research into the role of the father:
Fathers of primary carers
- Primary carers have a specific emotional attachment
- When fathers are primary carers they become more emotionally adept
Animal Studies in Attachment:
Lorenz’s Geese OVERVIEW
- Had half of the eggs next to him and imitated the sound of the mother when they hatched
- Suggests attachment is innate and genetic
- Put all ducklings in a box and allowed them to mix
-Half went to him and half went to the mother goose they had bonded to
Animal Studies in Attachment:
Harlow’s Monkeys OVERVIEW
-Removed baby monkeys and had them choose between a cloth or wire mother
- If frightening stimuli was brought in they would cling to the cloth mother
-Repeated in a new environment and would cling to cloth mother for comfort
What is the Learning Theory?
-Believe that all behavior is learnt
- Sometimes called ‘cupboard love’
- Based on children learn to love whoever gives them food
Classical Conditioning (DIAGRAM IN BOOKLET)
This explains how infants become attached because mothers at the beginning are not significant and dont matter as much. Babies then learn to associate mother with food which caused a happy emotion. Eventually associate mother with happy emotion
What is Operant Conditioning? (DIAGRAM IN BOOKLET)
-We learn through consequences and rewards
-If behavior creates a reward we are more likely to repeat it
Positive Reinforcement: Pleasure added/given
Negative Reinforcement: Something unpleasant taken away/removed
What is Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
-Bowlby rejected the learning theory of attachment
-Bowlby believed attachment was innate as it gives us a survival advantage
-Attachment has evolved to keep young animals safe by ensuring close to care-giver
What is the first part of Bowlbys theory?
Monotropy
What are the details about Monotropy?
-Named this because of childs focus on one caregiver (more important than others)
-The more constant a childs care the better the attachment
-Separations from the mother adds up
What is the second part of Bowlbys theory?
Social Releases
What are the details of Social Releases?
-Babies are born with cute innate behaviors e.g. cooing, grabbing and smiling
-Purpose is to activate adult social interaction so adult can approach the baby
-Reciprocated process and hard wired to attach
What is the third part of Bowlbys theory?
Critical Period
What are the details about the Critical Period?
-Period of around after 6 months when attachment system is active
-Extends to the age of 2 and a half
-If attachment is not made in this time a child will find it much harder
What is the fourth part of Bowlbys theory?
Internal Working Model
What are the details on the Internal Working Model?
-Child forms a mental representation of all relationships so: if forms a loving relationship then thinks all relationships are loving
-Affects childs later ability to be a parent as bases parenting off what they experienced
Who developed the Strange Situation?
Mary Ainsworth
What is the Strange Situations procedure?
It is a controlled observation designed to measure attachment in parents and children.
What are the 8 episodes of the Strange Situation?
1.Parent and Infant Play
2.Parent sits while infant plays
3.Stranger enters and talks to parent
4.Parent leaves infant plays and stranger comforts if needed
5. Parent returns, greets infant, offers comfort if needed and stranger leaves
6. Parent leaves infant alone
7. Stranger enters and offers comfort
8. Parent returns, greets infant and offers comfort
What are the 3 types of attachment?
- Secure Attachment
- Insecure Avoidant
- Insecure Resistant
What behavior did the Secure Attachment display?
- Explore happily but goes back to check on caregiver
- Moderate separation distress and moderate stranger anxiety
-Want and accept caregiver comfort - 60-75%
What behavior did the Insecure Avoidant display?
- Explore freely but dont keep going to the caregiver (actively avoid)
- No reaction to caregiver leaving
- Little stranger anxiety
- Make little contact with returning and caregiver actively ignores
- 20-25%
What behavior did the Insecure Resistant display?
- Explore less than others and stay close to mother
- High level of stranger anxiety
- High level of separation anxiety
-Resist comfort from caregiver - 5%
What is meant by cultural variations in attachment?
- Culture refers to the norms and values that exist in any group of people
- Cultural variations are the differences in norms and values that exist between different groups
- In research we are interested in the differences in the proportion of children with different attachment types (collectivist and individualist)
Who did the main research into cultural variations in attachment?
Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg
What was the procedure of Van I & K?
Conducted a meta-analysis (pulled together secondary data for analysis) to compared findings from 32 studies using the strange situation. Looked at 8 nations in the western and non western countries (Over 1990 children overall)
What were the 8 countries involved in the study?
Germany, Britian, Netherlands, Sweden, USA, Israel, Japan and China
What was the most common attachment type across all cultures?
Secure Attachment
Which country had the highest securely attachment type percentage?
Britain (75%)
Which country had the highest Insecure-Avoidant type percentage?
Germany (35%)
Why does Germany have the highest amount of Insecure-Avoidants?
Because Germany have a very high value of independence and encourage it from a very young age
Which country has the highest Insecure-Resistant type percentage?
Israel (29%)
Why does Israel have such a high amount of Insecure-Resistants?
Because collectivist cultures (Israel) has a very high value of family and spend the majority of their time around family and aren’t used to being separated
What are the other two supporting studies into cultural variation?
Italian Study
- Simonelli et al (2014) conducted a study in Italy to see whether the proportion of babies of different attachment types still matches those found in other studies. Assessed 76 babies in 12 months using the strange situation. They found that 50% were secure-attachment and 36% insecure avoidant which is a lower rate than previous studies. Suggests this is because of increasing numbers of mothers of young children working long hours and using professional child care.
Korean Study
- Jin et al (2012) assessed 87 babies using the strange situation and the proportions of insecure and secure babies were similar to other countries. However those in the insecure attached area, most were resistant and only one was avoidant. This is similar to Japan as Korea and Japan have very similar child-rearing styles
What is the maternal deprivation theory (Bowlby)?
The belief that if an infant is unable to develop a warm, intimate and continuous relationship with their mother they will have difficulty forming other relationships and will risk behavioral disorders
What does deprivation mean in Bowlbys theory?
- Being physically separated from mother e.g. death
- Mother present but not emotionally connected to child
What are the key points in Bowlbys maternal deprivation theory?
- Relationships (and attachments) must develop within the critical period (before 2 1/2 years)
-Deprivation can be avoided if an alternative emotional substitute is offered e.g. a father
What are the risks and consequences from maternal deprivation?
- Can lead to having a low IQ and also becoming an ‘affectionless psychopath’ which is where a person has the inability to experience guilt or strong emotions from others
What was the procedure to Bowlby’s 44 thieves research?
It consisted of 44 teenage criminals accused of stealing and were all interviewed fro signs of affectionless psychopathy. The family was also interviewed to establish whether the thieves had prolonged early separations from families
What are the findings of Bowlby’s 44 thieves research?
Bowlby found that 14 of the 44 thieves could be described at affectionless psychopaths and 12 of these had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first two years of their life.
What is Institutionalization?
Living in an institutional setting such as a hospital or orphanage and children brought up in orphanages are there for a long time
What was the procedure of Rutter’s ERA study?
-165 Romanian orphans were followed for many years and were adopted by families in the UK with the aim to investigate the extent of physical, cognitive and emotional development assessed at ages of 4,6,11,15 and 22-25. They were also compared to a control group of children from the UK
What were the findings of Rutter’s study?
-When children first arrived in the UK around half showed signs of delayed intellectual development and the majority were severely malnourished
-At age 11, the mean IQ of those adopted before 6 months was 102, those adopted between 6 months and 2 years was 86 and those adopted after 2 years was 77 and these differences remained when they were 16
- Those adopted after 6 months were more likely to show signs of dis-inhibited attachment and those adopted before rarely displayed this type of attachment
What are the signs of disinhibited attachment?
Attention-seeking, clinginess and social behavior directed the same towards familiar and unfamiliar adults
What type of study was Rutter’s ERA study?
Longitudinal Study
What were the two effects of institutionalization?
Disinhibited Attachment and Intellectual Disability
What are the details of disinhibited attachment?
-Children are equally friendly and affectionate towards familiar and unfamiliar people/ strangers
- Shows signs of being clingy and overly affectionate with strangers
- Those adopted before the age of 6 months rarely showed signs of disinhibited attachment
What are the details of intellectual disability?
- Most children showed signs of intellectual disability
- Those adopted before 6 months were able to catch up with the control group
What is the influence of early attachment?
- Whether they are secure and insecure and the internal working model
- Childhood and adult relationships
How are relationships in childhood affected by attachment types?
-Securely attached babies were more likely to form the best quality childhood attachments whereas insecure babies have difficulty forming friendships
What type of attachment is most likely to be a bully?
Insecure-Resistant
What type of attachment is most likely to be bullied?
Insecure-Avoidant
What type of attachment is most likely to not be involved in bullying?
Secure Attachment
What type of relationship will each attachment type form when they are adults?
- Secure Attachments are most likely to be in secure and loving relationships
- Insecure- Avoidants are most likely to be uninvolved or too emotionally close
- Insecure- Resistants are most likely to be controlling and argumentative
What does the internal working model affect in adult relationships?
Romantic relationships and parental relationships
What is the procedure of The Love Quiz?
Analysed 620 replies to an American local newspaper quiz. The quiz had 3 sections which asked about current relationships, how many partners and what type of attachment they were when they were younger
What were the findings of The Love Quiz?
- 56% were identified as securely attached, 25% insecure-avoidant and 19% insecure- resistant
- Findings suggest that patterns of attachment behavior are reflected in romantic relationships
