Attachment (P1) Flashcards

Question

What does a baby's relationship with their primary attachment figure form the basis of? | The role of the father

Answer 1

All later close emotional relationships

Answer 2

When fathers take on the role of primary caregiver they are able to adopt the emotional role more typically associated with mothers ## Footnote Field (1978) filmed 4-month-old babies in face-to-face interaction with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers. Primary caregiver fathers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding babies than the secondary caregiver fathers. These are all part of the process of attachment formation Can provide responsiveness required for a close emotional attachment but perhaps only express this when given the role of primary caregivers

Answer 3

1. Real-world application 2. Lines of research may not be in conflict ## Footnote 1. Can be used to offer advice to parents. Parents agonise over decision of who should be the primary caregiver. Mothers may feel pressured to stay at home because of stereotypical views of mother's and father's roles. Fathers may feel pressured to focus on work rather than parenting. In some families this may not be the best economic solution. Research into the role of the father can be used to offer reassuring advice to parents. For example heterosexual parents can be informed that fathers are capable of becoming primary attachment figure. Also lesbian-parent and single-mother families can be informed that not having a father around doesn't affect a child's development. Parental anxiety about the role of the father can be reduced 2. It could be that fathers typically take on distinctive roles in two-parent heterosexual families, but that parents in a single-mother and lesbian-parent families simply adapt to accomodate the role played by fathers. When present fathers tend to adopt a distinctive role but families can adapt to not having a father

Answer 4

1. Confusion over research questions 2. Conflicting evidence ## Footnote 1. The question "what is the role of the father?" in the context of attachment is ectremely complicated. Some researchers attempting to answer this question actually want to understand the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures. But others are more concerend with fathers as a primary attachment figure. The former have tended to see fathers as behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role. The latter have found that fathers can take on a maternal role. This makes it difficul to offer a simple answer to the role of the father as it really depends on what specific role is being discussed 2. Research into the role of the fathers vary according to methodology used. Longitudinal studies (e.g. Grossmann et al) have suggested that fathers as secondary attachment figures have an important and distinct role in their child's development involvong play and stimulation. We would therefore expect that children growing up in lesbian-parent and single-mother families would develop differently from those in two-parent heterosexual families. In studies (e.g. McCallum and Golombok 2004) consistently show that these children do not develop differently from children in two-parent heterosexual families. Leaves question as to whether fathers have a distinct role remains unanswered

Answer 5

Studies carried out on non-human animal species rather than on humans either for practical or ethical resons ## Footnote Practical because animals breed faster and researchers are interested in seeing results across multiple generations

Answer 6

As a child ## Footnote A neighbour gave him a newly hatched duckling that then followed him around

Answer 7

Randomly divided a large clutch of goose eggs Half the eggs were hatched with the mother goose in their natural environment The other half hatched in an incubator where the first moving objectthey saw was Lorenz

Answer 8

Incubator followed Lorenz everywhere whereas the control group followed their biological mother When the 2 groups were mixed up the control group continued to follow the mother and the experimental group followed Lorenz Phenomenom called imprinting - bird species who were mobile from birth, attach tp and follow the first moving object they see Identified a critical period in which imprinting needs to take place. Depending on the species this can be as brief as a few hours after hatching/birth. If imprinting does not occur within that time Lorenz found that chicks didn't attach themselves to a mother figure

Answer 9

Describe a peacock that had been reared in the reptile house of a zoo where the first moving objects the peacock saw after hatching were giant tortoises. As an adult this bird would only direct courtship behaviour towards giant tortoises Lorenz concluded the peackock had undergone sexual imprinting

Answer 10

16 rhesus monkeys

Answer 11

Reared 16 baby monkeys with 2 wire model mothers In one condition milk was dispensed by the plain-wire mother in the second condtionthe milk was dispensed by the cloth-covered mother

Answer 12

Monkeys prefered to cuddle with the cloth-covered mother rather than the plain-wire mother Also sought comfort from the cloth-covered mother when frightened (e.g. by a noisy mechanical teddy bear) regardless of which mother dispensed milk ## Footnote This showed that contanct comfort was of more importance to monkeys than food when it came to attachment behaviour

Answer 13

Yes ## Footnote Researchers found sevre consequences

Answer 14

plain-wire

Answer 15

Aggressive Less socialable Bred less than typical monkeys Unskilled at mating When they became mothers some neglected thier young and others attacked their young (even killing them)

Answer 16

90 days ## Footnote A mother figure had to be introduced to a young monkey within 90 days for an attachment to form After this period attachment was impossible and damge done by early deprivation became irreversible

Answer 17

Research support ## Footnote Regolin and Vallortigara (1995) - support Lorenz's idea of imprinting Chicks were exposed to simple shape combinations that moved such as a triangle with a rectangle in front A range of shape combinations were then moved in front of them and they followed the original most closely This suppots the view that young animals are born with an innate mechanism to imprint on a moving object present in the critical window of development as predicted by Lorenz

Answer 18

Generalisabilty to humans ## Footnote The mammalian attachment system is quite different and more complex than in birds. For example in mammals attachment is a two-way process soit isn't just the young who become attached to their mothers but also the mammalian mothers show an emotional attachment to their young This means that it is probably not appropiate to generalise Lorenz's ideas to human

Answer 19

real-world applications ## Footnote It has helped social workers and clinical psychologists understand that a lack of bonding experience may be a risk factor in child development allowing them to intervene to prevent poor outcomes Also now understand the importance of attachment figures for baby monkeys in zoos and breeding programmes in the wild Value of research is not just theoretical but practica;

Answer 20

Generalisabilty to humans ## Footnote Ability to generalise findings and conclusions from monkeys to humans Rhesus monkeys are much more similar to humans than Lorenz's birds and all mamals sharesome attachment behaviours However the human brain and human behaviour is still more complex than that of monkeys Not appropiate to generalise Harlow's findinfs to humans

Answer 21

Dollard and Miller

Answer 22

A set of theories from the behaviourist approach in psychology that emphasises the role of learning in the acquisition of behaviour ## Footnote Explanations for learning of behaviour include classical and operant conditioning

Answer 23

When the caregiver provides food over time they become associated with food When the baby sees the caregiver there is an expectation of food Once conditioning has taken place the sight of the caregiver produces a conditioned response of pleasure Conditioned pleasure response is love (attachment is formed, caregiver becomes attachment figure) ## Footnote Uncondtioned Stimulus - Food Unconditioned response - Pleasure Neutral stimulus - Caregiver Conditioned stimulus - caregiver Conditioned response - pleasure

Answer 24

Baby crying leads to a response from the caregiver e.g. feeding As long as the caregiver provides the corrrect response, crying is reinforced The baby then directs crying for comfort towards the caregiver who responds with comforting socal suppressor behaviour two-way process, caregiver recieves negative reinforcement because the crying stops (escaping from something unpleasant) Mutual reinforcement strengthens attachment

Answer 25

Hunger is a primary drive (an innate biological motivator) we are motivated to eat in order to reduce the hunger drive As caregivers provide food the primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them Attachment is thus a secondary drive learned by an association between the caregver and the satisfaction of a primary drive

Answer 26

1. Counter evidence from animal studies 2. counter-evidence from human studies ## Footnote 1. Lorenz's geese imprinted on the first moving object they saw regardless if whether this object was associated with food. Harlow's monkeys displayed attachment behaviour towards a soft surrogate mother in preference to a wire one which provided milk. Shows factors other than association with food are important in formation of attachments 2. Schaffer and Emerson found that babies tended to form their main attachment to their mother regardless of whether she was the one who usually fed them. Isabella et al found that high levels of interactional synchrony predicted the quality of attachment. This suggests that food is not the main factor in the formation of human attachments

Answer 27

1. Some conditioning may be involved ## Footnote 1. Elements of conditioning could be involved in some aspects of attachment. It seems unlikely that association with food plays a central role in attachment but conditioning may still play a role. For example a baby may associate feeling warm and comfortable with the presence of a particular adult and this may influence the baby's choice of their main attachment figure. This means that learning theory may still be useful in understanding the development of attachments **COUNTERPOINT** - Classical and operant conditioning explanations see the baby playing a relatively passive role in attachment development simply responding to associations with comfort or reward. In fact research shows that babies take a very active role in the interactions that produce attachment e.g. Fieldman and Eidelman. This means that conditioning may not be an adequate explanation of any aspect of attachment

Answer 28

One particular attacchment is different from all others and of central importance to a child's development

Answer 29

Placed great emphasis on child's attachment to a particular caregiver believing this attachment is more important than others Called this person the 'mother' but they did not need to be female or biological mother More time spent with mother-figure the better

Answer 30

1. The law of continuity 2. The law of accumulated seperation ## Footnote 1. The more constant and predictable a child's care, the better the quality of their attachment 2. The effects of every seperation from the mother add up

Answer 31

Babies are born with a set of innate cute behaviours (smiling, cooing, gripping) that encourage attention from adults

Answer 32

To activate adult social interaction and so make an adult attach to the baby ## Footnote Recognised attachment was reciprocal process and the mother and baby are hard wired to become attached

Answer 33

around 6 months to 2 yrs ## Footnote around 6 months when the infant attachment system is active Lasts till around 2 years

Answer 34

Sensitive period

Answer 35

A child will find it harder to form an attachment later

Answer 36

Our mental representations of the world e.g. the representations we have of our relationship to our primary attachment figure This model affects our future relationships because it carries our perception of what relationships are like

Answer 37

That all relationships are as loving and reliable ## Footnote They will bring these qualities to future relationships

Answer 38

Expect similar poor treatment from others and/or treat otherss in that way ## Footnote Tend to form further poor relationships

Answer 39

Later ability to be a parent themselves ## Footnote People tend to base their parenting behaviour on their own experience of being parented Explains why children from functional families tend to have similar families themselves

Answer 40

1. Research support - social releasers 2. Research support - internal working model ## Footnote 1. Brazelton et al (1975) observed babies trigger interactions with adults using social releasers. The researchers then instructed the babies' primary attachment figures to ignore their babies' social releasers. Babies (who were prieviously shown to be normally responsive) became increasingly distressed and some eventually curled up and lay motionless. This illustrates the role of social releasers in emotional development and suggests that they are important in the process of attachment development 2. Bailey et al (2007) assessed attachment relationships in 99 mothers and their one-year-old babies. The researchers measureed the mothers' attachment to their own primary attachment figures. The researchers also assessed the attachment quality of the babies. They found that mothers with poor attachment to their own primary attachment figures were more likely to have poorly attached babies. This supports Bowlby's idea that mothers' ability to form attachments to their babies is influenced by their internal working model

Answer 41

1. Validity of montropy challenged 2. ## Footnote 1. Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that although most babies did attatch to one person at first, a significant minority formed multiple attachments at the same time. Also although the first attachment does appear to have a particularly strong influence on later behaviour this may simply mean it is stronger not necessarily different in quality from the child's other attachments. For example other attachments to family members provide all the same key qualities (emotional support, a safe base etc) 2. Some psychologists believe that genetic differences in anxiety and socialability affect social behaviour in both babies and adullts. These differences could also impact on their parenting ability (Kornienko 2016). This means that Bowlby may have overstated the importance of the internal working model in social behaviour and parenting at the expense of other factors

Answer 42

A controlled observation designed to test attachment security. ## Footnote Babies are assessed on their response to playing in an unfamiliar room, being left alone, left with a stranger, and being reunited with a caregiver

Answer 43

takes place in a room with controlled conditions and a two-way mirror and/or cameras which psychologists can observe from 7 episodes each lasting 3 minutes Beginning: Caregiver and baby enter an unfamilar playroom 1. Baby is encouraged to explore - tests exploration and secure base 2. A stranger comes in, talks to the caregiver, and approaches the baby - Tests stranger anxiety 3. The caregiver leaves the baby and stranger together - Tests seperation and stranger anxiety 4. The caregiver retuurns and the stranger leaves - Tests reunion behaviour and secure base/exploration 5. The caregiver leaves the baby alone - Tests separation anxiety 6. The stranger returns - Tests stranger anxiety 7. The caregiver returns and is reunited with the baby - Tests reunion behaviour

Answer 44

A baby with a good quality attachment will stay fairly close to a caregiver

Answer 45

Good attachment enables a baby to feel confident to explore using their caregiver as a secure base i.e. a point of contact that will make them feel safe

Answer 46

Display of anxiety when a stranger approaches ## Footnote One of the signs of becoming closely attached is a display of anxiety when a stranger approaches

Answer 47

Protests at seperation from the caregiver ## Footnote Another sign of becoming attached is to protest at seperation from the caregiver

Answer 48

Babies greet the caregiver's return with pleasure and seek comfort

Answer 49

Found there were distinct patters in the way that babies behaved Identified 3 types of attachment: 1. Secure attachment (Type B) 2. Insecure-avoidant attachment (Type A) 3. Insecure-resistant attachment (Type C)

Answer 50

Type B These babies explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver (proximity seeking and secure-base behaviour). They usually show moderate seperation distress and moderate stranger anxiety. Securely attached behaviours require and accept comfort from the caregiver in the reunion stage. ## Footnote About 60-75% of British babies are classified as secure

Answer 51

Type A These babies explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure-base behaviour They show little or no reaction when their caregiver leaves and little stranger anxiety They made little effort to make contact when the caregiver returns and may even avoid such contact ## Footnote About 20-25% of British babies are classified as insecure-avoidant

Answer 52

Type C These babies seek greater proximity than others and so explore less They show high levels of stranger and seperation distress but they resist comfort when reunited with their caregiver ## Footnote Around 3% of British babies are classified as insecure-avoidant

Answer 53

1. Validity 2. Reliability ## Footnote 1. Predicts a number of aspects of the baby's later development. A large body of research has shown that babies and toddlers assessed as Type B (secure) tend to have better outcomes than others both in later childhood and in adulthood. In childhood this includes better achievement in school and less involvement in bullying (McCormick et al 2016. Kokkinos 2007). Securely attached babies also tend to go on to have better mental health in adulthood (Ward et al 2006). Those babies assessed as having insecure-resistant attatchment and those not falling into Type A, B or C tend to have the worst outcomes. Strange situation measures something real and meaningful in a baby's development 2. Good inter-rater reliabilty. Bick et al (2012) tested inter-rater reliabilty for the strange situation for a team of trained observersand found agreement on attachment type in 94% of cases. This high level of reliabilty may be because the procedure takes place under controlled conditions and because behaviors involve large movements and are therefore easy to observe.

Answer 54

1. Culture-bound 2. Strange situation may not be measuring attachment ## Footnote 1. May not be a valid measure of attachment in different cultural contexts. Strange Situation was developed in Britian and USA. It is only valid in Western Europe and USA. A reason for this is that babies have different experiences in different cultures and these experiences may affect their resposnes to the Strange Situation. In a Japanese study Takashi (1990) suggests that this anxiety resonse wasn't due to high rates of attachment insecurity but to the unusual nature of the experience in Japan where mother-baby seperation is rare. It is very difficult to know what the Strange Situation is measuring outside Western Europe and the USA 2. The Strange Situation clearly measures something important that's assocated with later development. However not all psychologists believe this something is attachment. Kagan (1982) suggested that genetically-influenced anxiety levels could account for variation in attachment behaviour in the Strange Situation and later development. Strange situation may not actually measyre attachment.

Answer 55

Culture refers to the norms and values that exist within any group of people Cultural variations then are the differences in norms and vaues that exist between people in different groups

Answer 56

The proportions of secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant attachments across a range of countries to assess cultural variation Also looked at the differences within the same countries to understand variations within a culture

Answer 57

Located 32 studies of attachment where the strange situation had been used to investigate the proportions of babies with different attachment types Conducted in eight countries 15 in USA Overall studies yielded results for 1,990 children Data was meta analysed

Answer 58

Wide variations between the proportions of attachment types in different studies In all countries secure attachment was the most common classification Proportion varied from 75% in Britain to 50% in China Results of studies in the same country were 150% greater than those between countries ## Footnote In individualist cultures rates of insecure-resistant attachment were similar to Ainsworth's original sample (all under 14%) In collectivist samples (e.g. China) rates were above 25% (rates of insecure-avoidants were reduced)

Answer 59

In Italy Assessed 76 babies aged 12 months using strange situation

Answer 60

50% were secure 36% were insecure-avoidant ## Footnote Lower rate of secure attachment and higher rate of insecure-avoidant attachment than found in many studies This is because of increasing numbers of mothers of very young chldren working long hours and using professional childcare Patterns of attachment types vary in line with cultural change

Answer 61

A Korean study Strange situation used to assess 87 babies

Answer 62

Overall proportion of insecure and secure babies were similar to most countries with most babies being secure However most of those classified as insecurely attached were resistant and only 1 was avoidant ## Footnote Similar to findings in Japan Japan and Korea have quite similar child-rearing style which may explain the similarity

Answer 63

Secure attachments seems to be the norm in a wide range of cultures This supports Bowlby's idea that attachment is innate and universal Cultural practices have an influence on attachment type

Answer 64

1. Indigenous researchers ## Footnote 1. Most studies were conducted by indigenous researchers. Indigenous psychologists are those from the same cultural background as the participants. For example IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg included research by a German team (Grossmann et al). This kind of research means that many of the potential problems in cross-cultural research can be avoided such as researchers' misunderstandings of the language used by participants or having difficulty communicating instructions to them. Difficulties can also include bias because of one nation's stereotypes of another. This means that there is a chance that researchers and participants communicated successfully enhancing the validity of the data collected

Answer 65

1. Confounding variables 2. Imposed etic ## Footnote 1. Impact on confounding variables on findings. Studies conducted in different countries aren't usually matched for methodology when they're compared to reviews or meta-analyses. Sample characteristics e.g. poverty, social class and urban/rural make-up can confound results as can the age of participants. Environmental variables might also differ between studies and confound results. For example the size of the room, availabilty of interesting toys - babies mightt appear to explore more in studies conducted in small rooms with attractive toys compared to large bare rooms. Less visible proximity-seeking because of room size might make a child more likely to be classified as avoidant. This means that looking at attachment behaviour in different non-matched studies conducted in different countries may not tell us anything about cross-cultural patterns of attachment 2. Trying to impose a test designed for one cultural context to another context. Cross-cultural psychology includes the ideas of emic (cultural uniqueness) and etic (cross-cultural universality). Imposed etic occurs when we impose idea or technique that works in one cultural context to another. An example of this is the use of babies' response to reunion with the caregiver in Strange Situation. In Britain and USA lack of affection on reunion may indicate an avoidant attachment but in Germany this would be seen as independence rather than insecurity. Therefore the part of Strange Situation may not work in Germany. This means that the behaviours measured by the strange situation may not have the same meanings in different cultural contexts and comparing them across cultures is meaningless