Attachment AO3

Question 1

Importance of research into reciprocity.

Answer 1

Tronick (1975) conducted a lab experiment in which mothers were instructed to not respond to their child for approx 3 minutes. Infants showed acute distress, turning away, becoming still.
Shows the impact of a lack of reciprocity.
We cannot guarantee what their reaction actually means as opposed to our interpretation and what they want.

Question 2

Weakness of reciprocity.

Answer 2

Lack of supportive research.
Feldman (2012) points out ideas like synchrony simply give names to patterns of observable caregiver/baby behaviours. These may not be particularly useful in understanding child development as it doesn’t tell us the purpose of these behaviours.
Cannot be certain of their importance in child development.
Isabella et al found achievement of interactional synchrony predicted the development of good-quality attachment.

Question 3

Strength of reciprocity.

Answer 3

Interactions are usually filmed in a lab.
This means other activities that might be distracting can be controlled. Analysis can also take place after so key behaviours are less likely to be missed.
Inter-rater reliability can also later be established.
The data collected is highly reliable and valid.

Question 4

Methodological evaluation of Schaffer and Emerson’s research.

Answer 4

Good external validity.
Most observations were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to researchers. The alternative would’ve been to have researchers record observations, which may have distracted the babies or made them more anxious.
Likely ppts behaved naturally.
However, as the mothers were the ‘observers’ they’re unlikely to be objective. Social desirability bias is likely to be present, with them filtering out bits of what they noticed.

Question 5

Strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s research.

Answer 5

Practical application in daycare.
Shows in asocial and indiscriminate stages daycare are likely to be straightforward as babies can be comforted by any skilled adult. However, it may become more problematic during the specific stage.
The use of daycare can then be planned accordingly.
Social sensitive as it was babies shouldn’t be in daycare before 7 months, while in the UK mothers only get 6 months of paid maternity leave.

Question 6

Weakness of Schaffer and Emerson’s research.

Answer 6

Validity of measures used to assess attachment in asocial stage.
Young babies have poor coordination and are fairly immobile. If babies less than 2 months felt anxiety this may be displayed subtly, in ways hard to observe.
Making it hard to report signs of anxiety and attachment in this age range.
meaning babies that are actually social appear asocial.

Question 7

Lack of clarity over the question being asked - the role of the father.

Answer 7

‘What is the role of the father?’
Some answering this want to understand their role of secondary attachment figures. Others are more concerned with them as primary figures.
The former have tended to see fathers as behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role, while the latter found fathers can take on a ‘maternal’ role.
Making it difficult to offer a simple answer, dependent on the specific role.

Question 8

Weakness of the role of the father.

Answer 8

Findings vary depending on the methodology.
Longitudinal studies suggested that fathers as secondary attachment figures have an important and distinct role in their children’s development, involving play and stimulation.
If this were true, we’d expect children to turn out differently in some way compared to those who didn’t grow up in two-parent heterosexual families. There are no proven differences.
It may not be that these conflict but rather that parents adapt to take on the father’s role when not present.

Question 9

Strength of the role of the father.

Answer 9

Real-world application.
Parents often agonise over who should take on primary caregiver roles, this can lead to worrying about whether to have children at all. Mums may feel pressured to stay at home and dads to go to work due to stereotypical views. Research into the role of the father can offer reassuring advice to parents.
Reduced parent anxiety.
Can also provide reassurance for a household in which a male father figure isn’t present.

Question 10

Research support for Lorenz.

Answer 10

Support for Imprinting.
Guiton (1966) found chicks imprinted on the yellow rubber glove used while feeding Suggesting they imprint on anything moving during a critical period.
But it lacks ecological validity - unrealistic as supportive evidence and ethical issues - issues for chicks later on.

Question 11

Strength of Lorenz’s research.

Answer 11

Aids understanding of human behaviour.
Seebach (2005) suggests computer users exhibit baby duck syndrome attaching to their first computer system, so they reject others.
Although we are different biologically findings are still applicable.

Question 12

Weakness of Lorenz’s research.

Answer 12

Generalisability.
Mammals’ attachment system is quite different and more complex compared to birds. It is a two-way process for both the young and the mother.
Not truly representative of human attachment
Generalising Harlow’s research may be more beneficial as humans are closer genetically to monkeys than birds.

Question 13

Strength of Harlow’s research.

Answer 13

Real-world applicability.
Helped social workers and psychologists understand a lack of bonding experiences may be a risk factor for child development meaning they can intervene earlier preventing poor outcomes.

Question 14

Weakness of Harlow’s research.

Answer 14

Generalisability.
More similar to humans than Lorenz’s geese and all mammals share some common attachment behaviours, the human brain and behaviour are still more complex than that of a monkey.

Question 15

Ethical issues - Harlow.

Answer 15

Resulted in severe and long-term distress to the monkeys due to the nature of his studies. As monkeys are fairly similar to humans they probably suffered to a similar extent.

Question 16

Strength of learning theory.

Answer 16

Elements of conditioning may be involved.
Although unlikely that food association plays a central role, conditioning may.
A baby may associate feeling warm and comfortable with the presence of a particular adult influencing their choice of primary attachment.

Question 17

Learning theory as reductionist.

Answer 17

It argues that attachments only form by association and reinforcement reducing it down to two consituent elements.
Ignores other potential components such as nature and fails to focus on the whole person and their processes/

Question 18

Weakness of learning theory.

Answer 18

Lack of support.
Schaffer and Emerson found babies tend to form primary attachment with the mother regardless of whether she was the one who usually fed them.
Suggesting food isn’t the main factor in forming human attachments.

Question 19

Weakness of Bowlby’s monotropic theory.

Answer 19

Evidence against a critical period.
A case study by Curtiss (1997) on Genie who was brought up by abusive parents until age 12 when taken in by social services showed some mild attachment behaviours to Drs researching her and caring for her.
Suggesting 2 1/2 years is more of a sensitive period as opposed to critical.
However, as this is a case study findings cannot be generalised due to its unique nature. We are unaware of genies circumstances prior to social isolation and if she had any underlying social/learning difficulties.

Question 20

Strength of Bowlby’s monotropic theory - Internal working model.

Answer 20

Bailey (2007) questioned 99 teenage mums with 1-year-olds about attachments with their own mum and observed them with their child. They found those who reported insecure attachment to their child’s behaviour implied insecure attachment.
Supports the idea of a mental framework being formed.
However, data was collected via self-report - social desirability bias, data was retrospective reducing validity as memory is unreliable and easily manipulated.

Question 21

Strength of Bowlby’s monotropic theory - social releasers.

Answer 21

Brazelton asked mums to ignore baby’s releasers finding babies became distressed quickly with some curling up, becoming motionless.
Emphasising the importance of responding to social releases and their significance in attachment.
However lab experiment - low ecological validity, a stranger was present which may have been the true cause of distress.

Question 22

Weakness of strange situation.

Answer 22

Cultural differences are likely to affect childhood experiences meaning responses will differ. Caregivers are also likely to react differently.
Japanese mothers are rarely separated from their children and upon reunion, they scooped the child up making responses hard to observe. What is viewed as healthy in one culture may not be viewed the same in another and so labels may be damaging.
Imposed etic - western cultures shouldn’t impose their standards and cultural norms on others.

Question 23

Strength of strange situation.

Answer 23

Predictive validity.
predictive of later development. babies assessed as secure typically go on to have better outcomes across many areas ranging from success at school to romantic relationships and friendships in adulthood. Insecure-resistant is associated with bullying in late childhood and adult mental health problems.
However, it may just measure temperament as opposed to attachment type.

Question 24

Reliability of strange situation.

Answer 24

High inter-rater reliability.
Take place under controlled conditions with behavioural categories easy to observe.
Bick et al found agreement in 94% of tested babies.
However, it lacks ecological validity, babies may not respond as they would in a familiar setting.

Question 25

Strength of cultural variations research.

Answer 25

Many studies were conducted by indigenous psychologists.
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg included research by a German team and Japanese. This reduces misunderstanding language and communication difficulties.
Communication is more successful, increasing validity.

Question 26

Weakness of cultural variations research.

Answer 26

Impact of confounding variables.
Studies across different countries aren’t often matched for methodology in meta-analyses.
Sample characteristics - i.e. class and environmental variables - i.e. room size and toy type, can confound results.
This means non-matched studies may not tell us anything about cross-cultural attachment patterns.
However, these studies allow for advanced knowledge beyond our surrounding cultures, encouraging a universal perspective in understanding human behaviour.

Question 27

Imposed etic on cultural variations.

Answer 27

Cross-cultural psychology includes the idea of emic and etic.
Imposed etic occurs when it is assumed that what works in one culture will work in another. E.g. Babies’ response upon reunion in strange situation. In the US lack of affection suggests insecure-avoidant, while in Germany this would be interpreted as independence.
Findings may not be transferable or mean the same.

Question 28

Strength of Bowlby’s maternal deprivation.

Answer 28

Supportive evidence.
Newlines of research have shown maternal deprivation to have long-term effects.
Levy et al (2003) showed that separating baby rats from their mother for as little as a day had a permanent effect on social development.
However, Bowlby’s primary support came from his 44 Thieves study, leaving him open to researcher bias as he knew in advance which teens he expected to show signs of psychopathy.

Question 29

Weakness of Bowlby’s maternal deprivation.

Answer 29

Evidence against a critical period.
In many cases, evidence suggests, good quality care after this period can prevent the majority of the damage.
In the case of the Czech twins who experienced abuse from 18m-7yo, they were adopted by sisters who provided excellent emotional care and had made a full recovery by their teens.
However, as the twins weren’t separated they may still have formed an attachment just with one another as opposed to their mum.

Question 30

Bowlby’s confusion between deprivation and privation.

Answer 30

Rutter distinguished between deprivation (loss of primary attachment figure) and privation (failure to form any attachment) arguing the long-term damage Bowlby associated with deprivation to be a result of privation instead.
This means Bowlby overestimated the seriousness of deprivation on child development.

Question 31

Weakness of Romanian orphan studies.

Answer 31

Lack of Adult data.
The last data from these studies looked at children in their early/mid-20s. This means we don’t have answers surrounding the long-term effects of early institutional care. Gathering the data will take a long time due to the longitudinal design.
This means we don’t know the full effects and whether late adopted children may ‘catch’ up.

Question 32

Strength of Romanian orphan studies.

Answer 32

Lack of confounding variables.
The children in these studies in the main were handed over by loving parents who couldn’t afford to keep them as opposed to in prior studies where children experienced varying degrees of trauma prior.
The results are more likely to be accurate.
However, the quality of care was remarkably poor in these institutions, receiving little intellectual stimulation or comfort. This means they likely reflect poor institutional care as opposed to institutional care generally.

Question 33

Applicability of Romanian orphan studies.

Answer 33

Improved psychologist’s understanding of the effects of early institutional care and how to prevent these effects. Lead to improved conditions.
Allows children to have a chance at developing normal attachments as opposed to disinhibited.
However, this is open to culture bias as Romania is individualistic so findings may not be transferable to collectivist cultures.

Question 34

Strength of early attachment on later relationships.

Answer 34

Supporting evidence.
Reviews of studies found early attachment to consistently predict later attachment, emotional well-being and attachment to our own children. Insecure attachment conveys mild disadvantages whilst disorganised attachment is associated with later mental disorders.
Suggesting secure attachment has advantages for future development, whilst disorganised appears is a disadvantage.

Question 35

Research into early attachment on later relationships as socially sensitive.

Answer 35

It seems likely the influence of early attachment is probabilistic, meaning it doesn’t cause an increased risk of later developmental problems. It is more likely other factors are involved. They may just be more vulnerable than those with secure attachments.
This means people may be wrongly labelled influencing their behaviour and having negative impacts on their life.
However, for those with disorganised attachments, it may be beneficial aw they are likely to benefit from intervention.