ATTACHMENT AO3 Flashcards
2 strengths of Schaffer’s stages of attachment and research into it
1) Good external validity: in babies’ natural environment, observed by their own mothers ∴ babies do not behave differently due to a stranger
2) Practical application: parents know babies can be comforted by any adult in stage 1-2, but not later ∴ allows them to plan use of daycare
2 limitation of Schaffer’s stages of attachment and research into it
1) Low internal validity for asocial stage: very young babies have poor coordination and communication, and therefore not able to demonstrate preference for one adult, for example
2) Ethnocentric study: all 50 babies and mothers are working-class from Glasgow, culture may effect results e.g. working class mothers, not fathers, almost always care for child
2 limitations of learning theory of attachment
1) Contradicted by animal studies: Harlow’s monkeys displayed preference for a soft, comforting “mother” over a food-providing “mother”
2) Schaffer + Emerson contradicts, as showed babies tend to form main attachment to mother regardless of who feeds them
Strength of learning theory of attachment
Dollard and Miller supports: showed babies fed around 2000 times in their first year, provides ample opportunity for conditioning to take place
2 strengths of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment
1) Brazelton still face study supports social releasers: when caregivers stop responding to babies, they use social releasers to attempt to elicit a response
2) Bailey supports internal working model: showed 99 mothers with poor attachment to their own mothers in turn were poorly attached to their own children
Limitation of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment
Evidence contradicting monotropy (to one main figure): Schaffer and Emerson found some babies formed multiple attachments first, and also that first attachment sometimes not any different to later attachments
2 strengths of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation
1) Good predictive validity: many studies (e.g. Kerns predicts insecure attachment leads to later friendship issues) show attachment type leads to certain characteristics
2) Inter-rater reliability: found to be in agreement on attachment type in 94% of cases
Limitation of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation
Test may be culture-bound: Characteristics defining attachment or lack thereof (e.g. distress on separation) may be viewed as something else in other cultures (e.g. as independence in Germany)
Strength of cultural variation in attachment studies
Indigenous researchers: researchers were mostly from the same culture/country as where their studies took place, meaning misunderstandings of the culture/language were avoided
2 limitations of cultural variation in attachment studies
1) Imposed etic: these studies attempt to impose a test designed for one culture onto another, so characteristics defining attachment (e.g. lack of separation anxiety ) viewed as something else in other cultures (e.g. as independence in Germany)
2) Confounding variables: variables differ between studies, for example some labs may have less toys and therefore found less exploration behaviour in their results
Strength of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
(some) research support: Levy found separation from the mother in rats for as little as one day caused a permanent effect on social development HOWEVER humans are much more complex
2 limitations of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
1) Deprivation vs privation: many of the negative effects Bowlby referred to (e.g. 44 theives study) resulted from privation, where no attachment formed, rather than deprivation
2) Flawed evidence: studies e.g. Goldfarb were flawed as many of the deprived children also went through WW2 trauma, causing detrimental effects
2 strengths of Romanian Orphan Studies (institutionalisation)
1) Lack of confounding variables: unlike many other orphans, the Romanian children had often been born into a loving family with no prior trauma, and these families just could not financially support so many kids
2) Real-world application: psychologists used the findings to change institutions, e.g. now children have one or two “key workers” responsible for them
Limitation of Romanian Orphan Studies (institutionalisation)
Lack of data on adult development: ERA study only went to mid-20s, does not show effects of institutionalisation in the long term, e.g. what effect it has on ppts. parenting ability
Strength and limitation of Harlowe’s research into attachment
+) real-world value: helped social workers and clinical psychologists understand that lack of bonding is a risk factor in development, allowing them to intervene to prevent poor outcomes
-) generalisability: monkeys are similar to humans, but human brains and interactions are much more complex than Rhesus monkeys’
Strength and limitation of Lorenz’s research into attachment
+) Research support for imprinting: Regolin study showed imprinting can happen to any first moving object, including simple shapes
-) generalisability: mammalian, particularly human, attachment is much more complex than in birds, and mammalian attachment is a two-way process. You cannot generalise this study to humans.
2 limitations of the role of the father and research into it
1) conflicting evidence: Grossman suggest fathers are secondary to mothers and have distinct + important role of play/stimulation, whereas McCallum and Golombok show families without fathers do not have differently developed children
2) Confusion over research question: some studies question what role fathers play as the secondary caregiver, and others question whether the father can take on the role of the primary caregiver
Strength of research into attachment and later relationships
Supporting evidence: meta-analysis/reviews of studies (e.g. Fearson and Roisman) have found that early attachment type consistently predicts later attachment, emotional well-being etc. Biggest consequences are of disorganised attachment, predictor of mental disorder
2 limitations of research into attachment and later relationships
1) Retrospective assessment: most studies ask ppts. what they were like as a child. Validity issues as relies on accurate + honest answers, and adult emotion can affect perception of childhood
2) Confounding variables: even when assessed from infancy, cannot control for variables e.g. parenting style, genetic traits that affect both attachment type and later relationships
