attachment paper 1 completed

Question 1

what is attachment

Answer 1

an emotional tie or bond between two people ususally a primary caregiver ad a child. Relationship is reciprocal. two way relationship.
Critical for future emotional, social and intellectual development

Question 2

what is reciprocity

Answer 2

when an infant responds to actions of another person in form of turn taking, actions of one person elecits a response from the other. Ie a mother blows a kiss, the child laughs and they both smile.

3 months onwards

Question 3

what is interactional synchrony

Answer 3

infact mirros mother of her actions or emotions like facial expressions, imitation or copying behaviour
simultaneously synchronized, to sustain communication between individuals.

meltzoff and moore studied

Question 4

what is meltzoff and moores study into interactional synchrony

Answer 4

controlled observation and adult displayed one of three facial expressions or hand gesture. Child has dummy placed in his or her mouth to prevent facial response. Following display, dummy was removed and childs expressions were filmed

clear association with infants behavior and adult model. found same thing in three day old infants

interactional synchrony is innate and reduces strength of any claim that imitative behaviour is learned

Question 5

what is the aim of shaffer and emersons research

Answer 5

to examine the formation of early attachments

Question 6

what is schaffer and emersons method in research

Answer 6

60 babies, 31 male, 29 female
working class families in Glasgow 5-23 weeks old
researchers visited babies in homes, every month for 12 months, once again at 18 months

interviewed mothers and observed children in relation to separation and stranger anxiety in a range of every day activities

Question 7

what are the results of schaffers and emersons research

Answer 7

support for different stages

25-32 weeks 50% children shown separation anxiety (discriminate)

40 weeks, 80% had discriminate attachment

40 weeks 30% started to form multiple attachments

Question 8

what is the conclusion of schaffers and emersons research

Answer 8

results supply suport for stages of attachment and suggest attachment develops through series of stages across first year of life

Question 9

what are schaffers 4 stages of attachment

Answer 9

asocial - pre attachment 0-2
indiscriminate - 2-6
discriminate - 7+
multiple attachments 11+

Question 10

describe the schaffers first stage of attachment

Answer 10

pre attachment - asocial 0-2 months

infant shows response to object and people similar
display preference for familiar faces

Question 11

describe schaffers second stage of attachment

Answer 11

indiscriminate attachment - 2-6 months

preference for human company over objects
distinguish between different people
comforted indiscriminately
no stranger anxiety

Question 12

describe schaffers third stage of attachment

Answer 12

discriminate attachment 7-11 months

preference for one caregiver
separation and stranger anxiety
looks for particular person for security and protection
shows joy on reunion and comforted by primary care giver

Question 13

describe schaffers fourth stage of attachment

Answer 13

multiple attachments 11+

attachments with several different people
referred to as secondary attachments
typically form in first month after primary attachment is formed and number of multiple attachments which develops depending on social circle to whom the infant is exposed to c
fear of strangers weaken

Question 14

why do researchers make the argument over the role of the father

Answer 14

differences in male and females roles, oestrogen underlies caring behaviour
women make more biologically suited to forming attachments than men
lack of oestrogen

cultural/ social expectations that view child as rearing as sterotypically feminine. deter males taking on childrearing role even if they wanted to

Question 15

what is the purpose of animal studies in attachment

Answer 15

Animal studies are conducted on the basis that there was a biological continuity between humans and animals, so what was true for animals would also be true for humans. Such studies were also regarded as being more ethical than if performed upon humans.

Question 16

what is the aim of lorenz research in geese -imprinting

Answer 16

To investigate the mechanisms of imprinting where the youngsters follow and form an attachment to the first large moving object that they meet. It is argued that this process is innate – it is biologically encoded within an animal for this process to occur.

Question 17

method of lorenz geese experiment

Answer 17

divided a number of goose eggs randomly into two groups.

1. Half were replaced under their mother so that the first thing they would see when they hatched was their mother goose (control group).
2. The other half were placed in an incubator and the first thing that they saw when they hatched was Lorenz (experimental group).

To test the effects of the above, he marked each group to distinguish them from each other and these placed the two groups together. During this time both their mother and Lorenz was present. He recorded the behaviour of the goslings – which attachment figure they went to (Lorenz or the mother goose) - as the DV.

Question 18

findings of lorenz geese experiment

Answer 18

The goslings quickly divided themselves: the naturally hatched goslings followed their mother and the incubator raised goslings followed Lorenz. The incubator group showed no signs of recognition of their natural mother. Lorenz also found that this process of imprinting has a restricted time period (12-17 hours), which he called the critical period. If the young birds were not exposed to a moving object during the first 12-17 hours (the critical period), then the animal will not imprint.

Question 19

conclusion of lorenz study

Answer 19

Bird species attach to and follow the first moving object they see. This is called imprinting and is a form of attachment.

Question 20

aim of harlows research with monkeys

Answer 20

To test the learning theory of attachment (‘cupboard love’ - attachments are formed primarily through food) and the importance of contact comfort

Question 21

method of harlows study

Answer 21

16 baby rhesus monkeys were reared with two wire model ‘mothers’.

1. Plain wire mother which gave milk.
2. Cloth covered mother which did not give milk.

The amount of time spent with each mother was recorded (DV). The monkeys were also frightened to test for mother preference during stress (DV) by placing them in novel situations with novel objects. He also added a noisemaking teddy bear to the environment. Harlow and his colleagues continued to study the infant monkeys into adulthood

Question 22

findings of harlows study

Answer 22

· The monkeys preferred the cloth mother to the wire mother regardless of which dispensed milk. They spent approximately 17-18 hours per day on the cloth mother compared to less than on hour on the wire mother.

· The monkeys sought comfort from the cloth mother when placed in frightening situations

· These behaviours were only observed in monkeys who were left with the surrogate mother for more than 90 days. For those who were left less than 90 days (critical period) the effects could be reversed if placed in a normal environment.

· Harlow also observed the behaviour of the deprived monkeys as adults: they suffered severe consequences: they were more aggressive, less sociable, less skilled in mating than other monkeys and sometimes neglected
and even killed their own offspring.

Question 23

conclusion of harlows study

Answer 23

· ‘Contact comfort’ was of more importance to the monkeys than food when it came to attachment behaviour.

· The monkeys had innate, unlearned need for contact comfort, it suggests that attachment concerns emotional security more than food.

· Maternal deprivation (not having this comfort provided) leads to emotional damage, although this damage could be reversed if it was made before the end of the critical period

Question 24

role of the father a01 (3 arguments and traditional views)

Answer 24

traditional role may have been limited
fathers work and provide resources
mothers take care of children, role has changed in modern times

psychologists disagree with role, some claim fathers are not biological equipped to being primary caregiver
- men lack oestrogen which women have, nurturing so they cant form close attachment

• fathers are not caregivers and are playmates,
• fathers can demonstrate sensitive responsiveness and respond to needs of children and can form emotional bonds

Question 25

what are the two explanations for attachment

Answer 25

learning theory
bowlbys monotropic theory

Question 26

what does learning theory suggest

Answer 26

suggests attachment is a learned process (nurture)

Learning theories is sometimes called ‘cupboard love’ theories and it suggests that attachments are formed with the caregiver because the caregiver provides food. All behaviour is learned by the process of conditioning.
two types, operant and classical

Question 27

classical conditioning learned by association- learning theory of attachment

Answer 27

FOOD(UCS) —-BABY FEELS JOY (UCR)

MOTHER(NS) + FOOD(UCS) —BABY FEELS JOY (UCR)

MOTHER(CS) —BABY FEELS JOY (CR)

Question 28

operant conditioning through reinforcement (drive reduction theory)

Answer 28

Hunger is a drive which causes discomfort. This creates a drive to reduce the discomfort- ie we search for food. The child cries to signal their hunger (because they can’t search for food).

The child is fed, the drive is reduced, and this outcome is rewarding. This is negative reinforcement (because it removes hunger).

Here, food is the primary reinforcer. The person who supplies the food becomes the secondary reinforcer. Over time through classical conditioning, they become a source of pleasure on their own because they are associated with the primary reinforcer (Food).

Question 29

bowlbys evolutionary theory beliefs

Answer 29

attachment patterns were innate, or genetic and have evolved as it is adaptive (useful for survival)

Question 30

why is bowlbys theory montotropic

Answer 30

Bowlby’s theory is described as Monotopic because he placed a great emphasis on a child’s attachment to one caregiver (mono = one). Initially his proposed that this must be with the mother but did later concede that it did not need to be the biological mother but a ‘mother-figure’. This monotopic bond is unique, and unlike other secondary attachments which may form later.

Question 31

what are bowlbys proposed two distinct principles for the monotropic bond

Answer 31

1) The law of continuity: States that the more consistent and predictable the care is, the stronger the attachment will be.

2) The law of accumulated separations: States that effects of every separation from the primary caregiver add up, and that the ‘safest’ number of separations ‘is therefore zero’

Question 32

social releasers idea- bowlbys monotropic theory

Answer 32

Bowlby suggested that babies are born with a set of innate ‘cute’ behaviours like smiling, cooing, and gripping that encourage or maintain closeness with the caregiver. He called these social releasers, and their purposes is to activate adult social interaction, so an attachment is formed. Both mother and baby are genetically pre-programmed to display and respond to social releasers.

Question 33

bowlby critical period idea, monotropic theory

Answer 33

Bowlby also believed that there was a critical period of birth to 21/2 years during which an attachment should take place. If mothering did not take place during the critical period, it was too late and children would not be able to form an attachment, and would be physical, intellectual, and social problems for the child in later life.

Question 34

internal working model bowlbys monotropic theory

Answer 34

The first attachment is crucial for later development since it allows the child to develop an internal working model for all later relationships. This is a template for future relationships e.g., Securely attached children will have secure relationships in the future, whereas insecurely attached children will experience insecure relationships throughout their lives. This is known as the continuity hypothesis.

internal working model affects the child’s later ability to be a parent themselves. People tend to base their parenting behaviour on their own experiences of being parented. This explains why children from functional families tend to have similar families themselves, leading to an Inter-generational transmission of attachment.

Question 35

what is the continuity hypothesis bowlbys monotropic theory

Answer 35

Securely attached children will have secure relationships in the future, whereas insecurely attached children will experience insecure relationships throughout their lives. This is known as the continuity hypothesis.

Question 36

what is bowlbys idea of inter generational transmission of attachment

Answer 36

internal working model affects the child’s later ability to be a parent themselves. People tend to base their parenting behaviour on their own experiences of being parented. This explains why children from functional families tend to have similar families themselves, leading to an Inter-generational transmission of attachment.

Question 37

what is the procedure of ainsworth strange situation

Answer 37

· A controlled observation was used (behind a 2-way mirror) in a laboratory setting – this was deliberate as it would be an unfamilar environment for the infant.

· 100 middle class American infants aged between 12 to 18 months, their mothers, and a stranger.

· It was designed to become increasingly stressful for the infant and there were three main sources of stress - child being placed in an unfamiliar environment, caregiver leaving the child and a stranger coming into the room with the child.

· There were 8 scripted episodes, lasting approximately 3 minutes each, designed to assess:

o Separation anxiety – if the child became distressed when the mother left the room.

o Reunion behaviour – if the child showed signs of joy on reunion with mother.

o Stranger anxiety - if they were apprehensive of the stranger when they entered or attempted to interact with the infant, or if they would accept comfort from the stranger when they were distressed.

o Secure base behaviour - if they sought to be close to the mother when she was in the room, how willing they were to explore the unfamiliar environment, and if they returned to be near to the mother regulalry or when the stranger entered.

Question 38

findings of ainsworths strange situation

Answer 38

Ainsworth found there were 3 different types of attachments
- insecure/anxious avoidant (15%)
-securely attached (70%)
- insecure/ anxious avoidant

Question 39

describe findings of ainswoth study -type A insecure anxious avoidant

Answer 39

· Low Separation anxiety – infants seem unconcerned when the mother leaves the room.

· NO Reunion behaviour –show little reaction to the mother coming back to the room. Is indifferent* to the caregiver.

· Low Stranger anxiety – show little to no signs of distress at the presence of the stranger, reacting to the stranger and the mother in the same way.

· Secure base behaviour - show no signs of using mother as a secure base, do not sit facing the mother.

· Caused by caregivers who are indifferent to the infant’s needs

*(Indifferent: unconcerned, disinterested)

15% shown this

Question 40

describe findings of ainsworths strange situation for type B, securely attached

Answer 40

· Moderate Separation anxiety – will stop exploring when mother leaves, become subdued or show some distress.

· Reunion behaviour – easily comforted if distressed, shows joy, enthusiasm on reunion with mum.

· Moderate Stranger anxiety – will be wary, prefering to be close to the mother, but cannot be comforted by the stranger when mum leaves.

· Good Secure base behaviour – they are prepared to explore the room, but return to the mother at regular intervals.

· Caused by caregivers who are sensitive and responsive to infant’s need

70% shown this

Question 41

describe findings of ainsworths strange situation- type c insecure/ anxious resistant

Answer 41

High Separation anxiety – show extreme/intense distress when the mother leaves

· Inconsistent Reunion behaviour – they show ambivalent* behaviour – they may go to mother when she returns, reaching out for her, but cannot be comforted easily, may even push her away. This is called seek and reject behaviour.

· Little secure base behaviour – less willing to explore the environment than the other two types

*(Ambivalent- to have mixed feelings/ being indecisive)

· Caused by caregivers who are respond inconsistently to infant’s needs – sometimes they will react to the infant and provide comfort, sometimes they may ignore or even become angry at the infant’s distress.

15% shown this

Question 42

beliefs for cultural variations in attachment intro

Answer 42

If Bowlby’s belief that attachments evolved and have survival value is true then patterns of attachment types should be similar across different cultures, regardless of child rearing styles used within those cultures i.e., attachment types should be universal. Secure attachments should dominate in all cultures, with equal amounts of insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant types

key study - Van ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg

Question 43

procedure of van ijzendoorn and kroonenberg cultural variations

Answer 43

· Conducted a meta-analysis, gathered results from different psychologists who all used the Strange Situation (controlled observation) . In total 32 studies were collated from 8 different countries: Germany, GB, Netherlands, Sweden, USA (countries with an individualist culture) Israel, Japan, China (countries with a collectivist culture)

· This created a sample of nearly 2000 children.

· All of the selected studies had…

o Observed only mother-infant pairs (not fathers or other caregivers)

o Classified infants into the 3 attachment types (A, B and C)

· They also excluded any studies…

o that looked at children with special needs (such as Down’s syndrome),

o any study with less than 35 mother-baby pairs,

o any study using children older than 2 years

Question 44

findings of van ijzendoorn and kroonenberg cultural variations study

Answer 44

· The most notable finding was that secure attachment is the most common attachment type in all cultures.

· The lowest percentage of secure attachment was shown in China – 50%, and the highest in Great Britain and Sweden – both 75%

· All countries with individualist cultures had proportions of resistant attachment types similar to Ainsworth’s original sample (14% or under), but this was not the case for countries with a collectivist culture: China, Israel and Japan all showed rates of insecure resistant attachment above 25%.

· The country that showed the greatest percentage of insecure avoidant attachment was Germany – 35%.

· However, Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg reported that differences in attachment within a culture are far greater (1.5 times) than those found between cultures.

Question 45

conclusion of ijzendoorn and kroonenberg cultural variations study

Answer 45

These studies support Bowlby’s suggestion that attachments are innate and therefore universal as secure attachments were the most prevalent across the world.

Question 46

bowlys maternal deprivation hypothesis development

Answer 46

Alongside his Monotropic theory, Bowlby developed a theory of maternal deprivation – nurture from the mother is important for intellectual and emotional development & loss of this care would result in permanent and irreversible damage. Threfore, the MDH explains what happens when attachments are broken or disrupted.

Question 47

what are the three features of bowlbys maternal deprivation hypothesis

Answer 47

1. If a child experiences a discontinuous relationship (ones in which there are separations) with a primary caregiver, this will disrupt the development of a stable relationship.
2. Deprivation which occurs during the critical period (before two and half years) is harmful, and attachments that are broken or fail to develop in this critical period cannot be aquired later. Separations must be kept to a minimum during this time.
3. If the child has no substitute caregiver during this time it will cause irreversable damage

Question 48

what are bowlbys 3 proposals of how maternal deprivation could affect development

Answer 48

1. Intellectual development - Bowlby believed that if children were deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period, they would suffer intellectual delay, characterized by abnormally low IQ.
2. Emotional development – Bowlby identified high levels of aggression in children who experienced deprivation as well as affectionless psychopathy - the inability to experience guilt or emotion for others. Affectionless psychopaths cannot appreciate the feelings of victims and so lack remorse for their actions, and such is also linked with delinquency and criminality in adolescence.
3. Social Development – Bowlby stated deprivation leads to the development of a poor internal working model, which will affect the child’s ability to form good quality relationships with others in the future (continuity hypothesis)

Question 49

what is instituionalisation

Answer 49

This is a term for the effects of living in an institutional setting. The term ‘institution’ refers to a place like a hospital or an orphanage where children live for long, continuous periods of time. In such places there is often very little emotional care provided

Question 50

briefly state the 3 effects which have been researched for the effects of institutionalisation

Answer 50

disinhibited attachment
intellectual delay
development dwarfism

Question 51

describe disinhibited attachment as an effect of institutionalisation

Answer 51

Disinhibited attachment is a typical effect of spending time in an institution. They are equally friendly and affectionate towards people they know well or who are strangers that they have just met. This is highly unusual behavior. Rutter explained this as an adaption to living with multiple caregivers during the sensitive period for attachment formation – in the Romanian orphanages, children may have up to 50 different careers, but do not spend enough time with any one of them to form a secure attachment.

Question 52

describe intellectual delay as an effect of institutionalization

Answer 52

Intellectual Delay. In Rutter’s study most children showed signs of intellectual disability (learning difficulties) when they arrived in Britain. However, most of those adopted before they were 6 months caught up with the control group by age four. Damage to intellectual development such as this can be recovered provided adoption takes place before the age of 6 months.

Question 53

describe development dwarfism as an effect of institutionalization

Answer 53

Developmental Dwarfism – This is the term used to describe the physical underdevelopment of children in institutional care. They are usually physically small, research has shown that lack of emotional care and poor nutrition has been linked to this

Question 54

what is the two studies into romanian orphan studies and the effcts of institutionalisation

Answer 54

Rutter et al 2011 english and romanian adoptee study

Zeenah et al bucharest early intervention project

Question 55

aim of rutters english and romanian adoptee study 1

Answer 55

Rutter et al followed a group of 165 Romanian orphans adopted in Britain to investigate to what extent good care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions.

Question 56

rutters method of english and romanian adoptee study

Answer 56

Physical, cognitive and emotional development has been assessed at ages 4, 6,11 and 15yrs. A group of 52 British children adopted around the same time served as the control group.

Question 57

findings of rutters romanian adoptee study

Answer 57

· When they first arrived in the UK half the adoptees sowed signs of intellecutal delay and the majority were physically under nourished.

· At age 11 the adopted children showed differential rates of recovery that were related to their age of adoption.

· The mean IQ of those children adopted before the age of 6 months was 102, compared with 86 for those adopted between the age of 6 months and 2 years and 77 for those adopted after two years.

· In terms of attachment, there appeared to be a difference in outcome related to whether adoption took place before or after 6 months. Those children adopted after they were six months showed signs of a particular attachment style called disinhibited attachment.

· Symptoms include attention seeking, clinginess and social behaviour directed indiscriminately towards all adults, both familiar and unfamiliar.

· In contrast those children adopted before the age of 6 months rarely displayed disinhibited attachments.

Question 58

conclusion of rutters romanian adoptee study

Answer 58

This suggests that long term consequences may be less severe than was once thought if children have the opportunity to form attachments, particularly before the age of 6 months. However when children form attachments after 6 months, the consequences are likely to be more severe.

Question 59

procedure of zeenah et als bucharest early intervention project

Answer 59

Zeanah et al. assessed attachment in 136 children aged 6-31 months who had spent most of their lives in institutional care (90% on average). They used a randomised controlled study to investigate the differences in attachment type between children who had been placed into foster care, and those who had remained in the institution, as well a control group of children who had never experienced institutional care. Their attachment type was measured using the strange situation. In addition carers were asked about unusual social behaviour including clingy, attention-seeking behaviour directed inappropriately at all adults (i.e. disinhibited attachment).

Question 60

findings of zeenah et als bucharest early intervention project

Answer 60

They found that 74% of the control group came out as securely attached in the strange situation. However, only 19% of the institutional group were securely attached, with 65% being classified with disorganised attachment. The description of disinhibited attachment applied to 44% of institutionalised children as opposed to less than 20% of the controls. The children who were placed in foster care showed significantly better developmental outcomes (e.g. language development, social skills) than those who had remained in the institution

Question 61

conclusion of zeenah et als bucharest early intervention project

Answer 61

This shows that being institutionalised can have an effect on attachment type, as well as other developmental factors. Good quality foster care does seem to reduce the effects of institutionalisaiton.

Question 62

a01 for the influence of early attachments on later relationships

Answer 62

Bowlby believed that our earliest relationship wih our primary cargiver would have the greatest impact on later relaioships. The internal working model suggested that a child’s first relationship forms a mental representation of this relationship acts as a schema or template for future relationships.

In other words, the quality of the child’s first attachment is crucial because it will affect the nature of their future relationships, called the continuity hypothesis - A child’s whose first experience of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to assume that this is how relationships are meant to be, and so will tend to form better childhood relationships, romantic relationships and also better relationships with their own children. Whereas a child with bad experiences of their first attachment will bring these bad experiences to bear on later relationships

Question 63

research examples into childhood relationships and its influence on later relationships

Answer 63

Myron-Wilson and Smith (1998) assessed
attachment type and bullying involvement using
questionnaires in 196 children aged 7-11 from
London and found bullying behaviour can be
predicted by attachment type. Secure children
were very unlikely to be involved in bullying.
However, Insecure-avoidant children were the
most likely to be victims of bullying, and
insecure-resistant children were most likely to be
bullies.

Hartup et al (1993) demonstrated that children with a secure attachment type are more popular at nursery and engage more in social interactions with other children. In contrast, insecurely attached children tend to be more reliant on teachers for interaction and emotional support.

Question 64

research examples into adult relationships and its influence on later attachments

Answer 64

Hazen and Shaver (1987) used the ‘love quiz’ and compared current attachment type with childhood attachment type in their respondents. The findings showed that 56% of the adults were classified as secure, 25% were avoidant and 19% were resistant. They also found a correlation between adult attachment style (in terms of how they answered the questions about inner feelings about romantic relationships) and their recollection of the parenting style they received during infancy (i.e. the mother’s sensitivity).

Internal working models affect the child’s ability to parent their own children. People tend to base their parenting style on their internal working model, so attachment type tends to be passed on through generations of family – called intergenerational transmission of attachment.
Bailey et al (2007) used an adult attachment interview to assess 99 mothers and their attachment to both their babies and their own parents. Found that majority of women had same attachment classification both to their mothers and their own children.This demonstrates evidence for intergenerational transmission of attachment.

Question 65

schaffer and emerson aim

Answer 65

To assess whether there was a pattern of attachment formation common to all infants, and if so, to identify and describe the distinct stages by which attachments form

Question 66

schaffer and emerson method

Answer 66

Participants were 60 new-born babies and their mothers from a working-class area of Glasgow.

Mothers and babies were studied each month for the first year of their lives in their own homes and again at 18 months. (a longitudinal study)

Observations were conducted, as well as interviews with the mothers, with questions being asked about whom infants smiled at, whom they responded warmly to (a measure of stranger anxiety) and how the infants reacted when they experienced everyday separations such as being left in their cot at night or being left alone in a room (a measure of separation anxiety).

Question 67

schaffer and emerosn findings

Answer 67

.Most infants started to show separation protest when parted from their primary attachment figure at between 6-8 months, with stranger anxiety being shown around one month later.

· Strongly attached infants had mothers who responded to their needs quickly and gave more opportunities for interaction. Weakly attached infants had mothers who responded less quickly and gave fewer opportunities for interaction.

· Most infants went on to develop multiple attachments (additional attachments that form after the initial primary attachment). At 18 months, 87% had at least 2 attachments, with 31% having 5+ attachments.

Question 68

conclusion schaffer and emerson

Answer 68

There is a pattern of attachment formation common to all infants, which suggests the process is biologically controlled. Based on this research, Schaffer (1996) created the stages of attachment