Attachment (general) Flashcards
Outline the procedure of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
They observed 60 babies from Glasgow for each month for the first year of their life, and then again at 18 months. The babies were observed in their own homes with their mothers, in different situations, testing stranger anxiety and separation anxiety.
Outline the findings of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
Between 25 and 32 weeks of age, 50% of the babies showed signs of separation anxiety towards a specific adult (specific attachment). It was also observed that attachments formed with the adult who was most interactive and responsive, not necessarily the one the child spent the most time with. By 40 weeks 80% had a specific attachment and 30% had multiple attachments.
What did Schaffer and Emerson’s study lead to the development of?
The stages of attachment (asocial stage, indiscriminate attachment, specific attachment, multiple attachments)
What is one strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
Because the study was carried out in the child’s home, they would have behaved naturally without being affected by the observers, improving the external validity of the study
What is one weakness of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
The fact that all of the families were from the same area, had the same social class, and were studied within a 50 year period, means that their child rearing styles are likely to be similar, giving an unrepresentative picture of attachment over time and location
What are two weaknesses of the stages of attachment?
1) In the asocial stage babies are practically immobile, meaning that it is difficult to make judgements about them based on their behaviour
2) Just because a child feels separation anxiety for an adult, that doesn’t necessarily signify attachment, the adult could be a playmate rather than an attachment figure
What are the 7 stages in the Strange Situation?
1) The child is encouraged to explore
2) A stranger comes in and tries to interact with the child
3) The caregiver leaves the child and stranger together
4) The caregiver returns and the stranger leaves
5) The caregiver leaves the child alone
6) The stranger returns
7) The caregiver returns and is reunited with the child
Outline the procedure of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation
The infant and caregiver are put in a room with a two-way mirror, through which the psychologists observe the infant’s behaviour. The caregiver then goes through the 7 stages, testing the security of the caregiver-child attachment.
What three attachment types did Ainsworth’s Strange Situation find? What proportion of children were in each type?
Secure attachment, 66% (type B), insecure-avoidant, 22% (type A), insecure-resistant, 12% (type C)
What parenting styles are associated with each attachment type found by Ainsworth?
Secure - sensitive and responsive
Avoidant - unresponsive
Resistant - inconsistent
Explain the theory that classical conditioning forms attachment
UCS: food UCR: pleasure NS: mother CS: mother (+food) CR: pleasure i.e. the mother is associated with food, and through classical conditioning the mother produces pleasure, causing attachment
Explain the theory that operant conditioning maintains attachment
The infant learns that certain behaviours (e.g. crying) elicit a positive response from the caregiver (positive reinforcement). The caregiver learns that responding to certain behaviour (e.g. crying) brings relief from the noise (negative reinforcement). The interplay of mutual reinforcement strengthens attachment.
What is one strength of the Strange Situation?
The attachment types found by the Strange Situation are strongly predictive of later development. For example, secure babies go on to have better outcomes in many areas, which suggests that the Strange Situation accurately categorises babies.
What is one weakness of the Strange Situation?
It may be culture bound, for example because in Japan mothers are rarely separated from their babies, there is a high level of separation and stranger anxiety, but this is not unusual nor problematic.
Explain attachment as a secondary drive
Hunger is a primary drive, which we are innately motivated to reduce. As the caregiver is associated with food, the primary drive of hunger is generalised to them. Thus the caregiver becomes the secondary drive, learned by the association of the caregiver and the satisfaction of the primary drive.
Outline Harlow’s research into attachment
16 baby monkeys were separated from their mothers at birth and given a choice of two surrogate mothers - a wire one with milk, and a cloth one without milk. Harlow’s aim was to test whether food or love is more important in attachment.
Outline and explain the findings of Harlow’s research
The baby monkeys attached to the cloth monkey over the wire one, showing that love and comfort is more important in attachment than food. This contradicts learning theory.
What is one strength of Harlow’s research?
The findings have important practical applications, for example by helping social workers understand the risks involved in child neglect. Of course, the findings have also taught us about how to successfully rear monkeys in captive.
What is one weakness in Harlow’s research?
There are massive ethical issues in Harlow’s study. The monkeys involved in the study endured horrific conditions as babies, as well as suffering long-term problems as a result of the lack of a maternal figure.
What does Harlow’s research teach us about maternal deprivation?
The monkeys raised without real mothers did not develop normal social behaviour later on in life. They were more aggressive, less sociable, and unskilled at mating.
Outline the procedure of Lorenz’s research into attachment
Lorenz divided a group of goose eggs into two. Half of the eggs were hatched with the mother goose, but the other half was hatched in the presence of Lorenz.
Outline and explain the findings of Lorenz’s research
The half of the geese hatched with the mother followed her, whereas the half hatched with Lorenz followed him, even if the two groups were mixed up. This phenomenon is called imprinting. This contradicts learning theory as the geese attached to a figure before they were fed. The study also suggests that attachment is innate.
What is one weakness of Lorenz’s research?
Generalising from birds to humans is problematic as it seems that the mammalian attachment system is quite different to that in birds. For example, humans are more emotional in attachment that birds. This means Lorenz’s findings aren’t useful in regards to human attachment.
Outline what is meant by ‘monotropy’ in Bowlby’s theory
The theory is described as monotropic as he emphasised a child’s attachment to one particular person, suggesting that it is is somewhat distinct and more important than others. He believed that the law of continuity and the law of accumulated separation apply to this attachment.
Outline Bowlby’s theory on social releasers and the critical period
He believed babies are born with a set of innate behaviours such as cooing which encourage attention from adults (social releasers). He also believed that if an attachment is not formed within the child’s first 2 years of life (the critical period) it is much harder to form one afterwards.
Outline Bowlby’s theory on the internal working model
Bowlby suggested that a child’s relationship with their primary caregiver models what relationships should be like (internal working model). This affects the child’s future relationships, as well as their ability to be parents themselves.
What is one weakness of Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
There is mixed evidence for monotropy - for example Schaffer and Emerson found that some babies are able to form multiple, equally-important attachments.
Outline Bailey et al.’s research into the internal working model
Bailey et al. assessed the quality of the relationship between 99 mothers and their children through observation, and then the quality of the relationship between the mothers and their mothers through interview. Similarities between the two relationships emerged, supporting Bowlby’s internal working model.
