Attachment - quizlet Flashcards
What is an attachment?
A two way emotional bond that develops over time between two people, shown in their behaviour.
Who came up with the four attachment indicator behaviours and when?
Maccoby: 1980
What are Maccoby’s four attachment indicator behaviours?
- Seeking proximity - Distress on separation - Joy on reunion - Orientation of behaviour
What is reciprocity?
Interactions between the infant and the caregiver are two way, meaning the infant is an active contributor, like a dance. Reciprocal actions do not have to be coordinated.
Give an example of reciprocity
- The mother smiles and the infant smiles back - The mother smiles and the infant frowns back
How do mothers know their baby need interacting with?
Babies have periodic ‘alert’ phases during which they signal they are ready for interaction. Mothers are able to pick up and respond to their infant’s alertness around two thirds of the time.
What role were babies traditionally thought to take in relationships?
A passive one (this has been proved to not be the case anymore)
What happens to the baby’s relationship with the mother from around 3 months?
Their interactions become more frequent and involve paying close attention to each other’s verbal signals and facial expressions.
What is interactional synchrony?
When the infant-caregiver interaction is not only reciprocal but also coordinated. Their actions mirror one another and move in rhythmical patterns with each other.
Give an example of interactional synchrony
- Mother smiles at baby and baby smiles back - Baby points and mother looks in the direction of pointing
What two studies are relevant to interactional synchrony?
- Meltzoff and Moore (1977) - Isabella et al (1989)
Briefly outline Meltzoff and Moore’s 1977 study
They observed the beginnings of interactional synchrony in infants as young as 2 weeks old. An adult displayed one of three distinct gestures and the child’s response was filmed and identified. An association was found between the expression or gesture the adult had displayed and the actions of the babies.
Briefly outline Isabella et al (1989)
They observed 30 mothers and infants together and assessed their degree of synchrony. The researchers assessed the quality of mother-infant attachment and found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-infant attachment.
What are the two main criticisms of the theories of reciprocation and interactional synchrony?
- It is difficult to determine what is happening when observing infants - Observational research cannot tell us the purpose of reciprocity and synchrony
Why is it difficult to determine what is happening when observing infants?
What is being observed is simply hand movements or changes in expression. We cannot tell is the caregiver-infant interactions have a special meaning as we cannot be certain what is happening from the infant’s perspective.
Why can observational research not tell us the purpose of synchrony and recipocity?
It simply describes behaviours that occur at the same time; not their purpose. There is some evidence that reciprocity and synchrony are useful in development of mother-infant attachment but this can’t be found by simply observing.
What are two strengths of the reciprocity and interactional synchrony theory?
- The tight controls imposed on observational research. - The fact that babies do not know/care that they are being observed, so research studies have high external validity
What measure of control could be put into place when studying mother-infant interaction?
Mothers and infants are filmed, often from multiple angles to ensure that every fine detail of behaviour is recorded for analysis.
Name all the researchers who contributed to knowledge about attachment with a father figure
- Schaffer and Emerson (1964) - Grossman (2002) - Field (1978) - Paquette (2004) - Sara McLanahan (Princeton University) - Bruce Ellis (University of Arizona)
What did Schaffer and Emerson find in 1964 about when infants formed attachments with their father?
The majority of babies became attached to their mother first at around 7 months. They formed the attachment with the caregiver who was most interactive and sensitive to their signals and facial expressions, so not necessarily with whom they spent the most time. Within a few weeks or months, they formed secondary attachments to other family members including the father.
In 75% of infants Schaffer and Emerson studied in 1964, an attachment had formed with the father by _________ months
18
How many participants were involved in Schaffer and Emerson’s 1964 study?
60 babies (31 male, 29 female)
What was the background of the babies/families studied by Schaffer and Emerson?
- They were all from Glasgow - They were mostly from skilled working-class families
Outline how Schaffer and Emerson conducted their 1964 study into attachment
- They visited the babies and their mothers at home every month for the first year - They visited again after 18 months - They asked the mothers questions about the kind of protest the babies showed in 7 different everyday separations. This measured separation anxiety. - They also assessed stranger anxiety by the infant’s response to unfamiliar adults
Name the two strengths of Schaffer and Emerson’s 1964 study
- High external validity - It was longitudinal
Why does Schaffer and Emerson’s 1964 study have high external validity?
- It was carried out in the families’ own homes - Most of the observations (other than stranger anxiety) was carried out by the parents and reported later so the babies were not affected by the presence of external observers
Why is it good that Schaffer and Emerson’s 1964 study had high external validity?
It participants acted naturally so its findings can be generalised to the wider population
Why was Schaffer and Emerson’s 1964 study longitudinal?
They studied and observed the same children over a long time period
Explain what the opposite of a longitudinal study is
A cross-sectional study involves observing different children at each age, rather than watching the same children grow through these ages.
Why are longitudinal studies beneficial?
They use the same participants throughout the experiment so there is not the confounding variable of individual differences between participants that wold have been present in a cross sectional study.
Name the weaknesses of Schaffer and Emerson’s 1964 study
It has low population and temporal validity
Why does Schaffer and Emerson’s 1964 study have low population validity?
All of the families involved in the study were from the same district, social class and city
Why does Schaffer and Emerson’s 1964 study have low temporal validity?
The study was done 50 years ago
Why is having low population and temporal validity bad?
Child rearing practices vary from culture to culture and in different time periods. This means that the results are less generalisable.
When did Grossman carry out a psychological study relating to the role of the father?
2002
What did Grossman’s 2002 attachment study find?
- There was no correlation between the quality of attachment with the father in infancy and the quality of attachments in adolescents - There WAS a positive correlation between the quality of attachment with the mother in infancy and the quality of attachment in adolescents - There was a positive correlation between the quality of attachment with the father in infancy and the quality of the father’s play
What conclusions can be drawn from Grossman’s 2002 study?
A good quality attachment to the father in infancy isn’t as important as a good quality of attachment to the mother as it doesn’t seem to have as much of a significant impact on the child’s later relationships. What is important is how well the father plays with the child.
When did Field carry out a psychological study into attachment?
1978
Very briefly outline the procedure of Field’s 1978 attachment study
He filmed 4 month old babies in face to face interaction with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers.
What did Field’s 1978 attachment study find?
Primary caregiver fathers, like mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than secondary caregiver fathers.
What conclusions can be drawn from Field’s 1978 study?
When the father is the primary caregiver they demonstrate just as much level of interaction and sensitivity as primary caregiver mothers. Gender is not the most important thing: a primary caregiver is simply needed.
When did Paquette carry out a psychological study into attachment?
2004
What were the findings of Paquette’s 2004 attachment study?
- Fathers are more consistently involved in play than caretaking behaviours - Fathers’ play is usually more unpredictable and stimulating than the mothers’ soothing play - Fathers encourage toddlers to take risks and to be brave - Fathers’ talk centres around active play while the mothers’ centres around emotions
What conclusions can be drawn from Paquette’s 2004 study?
The mother’s role is more nurturing whilst the father’s is more play-oriented
What did Sara McLanahan’s research into attachment find?
- Boys raised in a single parent household were more than twice as likely to be incarcerated (compared with boys raised in an intact, married home) - Young men are less likely to engage in delinquent behaviour if they have affection, attention and monitoring of their own mother and father
What conclusions can be drawn from Sara McLanahan’s and Bruce Ellis’ (separate) research?
The father plays a very important role in stabilising children. Father absent homes are more likely to result in issues such as teenage pregnancy or incarceration.
What did Bruce Ellis’ research into attachment find?
- One third of girls whose fathers left the home before they turned 6 became pregnant as teenagers (compared with 5 percent of girls who had their fathers present throughout their childhoods)
What are the 5 general criticisms of the psychological studies into attachment?
- Different researchers are interested in different questions regarding the father’s role - Research into mother infant interactions is socially insensitive - Traditional gender roles could explain why father’s don’t become the primary attachment figure - Hormones could explain why father’s don’t become the primary attachment figure - If fathers play a significant role in gender development we would see greater differences between those with and without fathers
What are the two different ways that psychologists tend to study the father’s role in attachment?
As a primary attachment figure and a secondary attachment figure
Why is it a problem that some researchers look into the role of the father as a primary attachment figure and some look into it as a secondary attachment figure?
- Researchers looking at primary attachment father figures often see them take on a more ‘maternal’ role. - Researchers looking at secondary attachment father figures often see them have a distinctively different role to the mother. This means that the role of the father doesn’t have one single answer.
Why is looking into mother-infant interactions insensitive?
It suggests that the child may be disadvantaged by particular child-rearing practices.
How does the idea of interactional synchrony make looking into mother-infant interactions insensitive?
Some studies suggest that mothers who return to work early after giving birth restrict opportunities for achieving interactional synchrony. This is considered important in developing the infant-caregiver relationship so mothers who have to work may feel distressed at having to sacrifice this relationship with their child.
How could traditional gender roles explain why fathers generally don’t become primary attachment figures?
Traditional gender roles expect women to be more caring and nurturing than men, so fathers may simply feel like they shouldn’t act in this way.
How could hormones explain why fathers generally don’t become primary attachment figures?
Female hormones such as oestrogen also create higher levels of nurturing so women are biologically created to be the primary attachment figure.
What discredits the importance of the role of the father figure?
Some studies (MacCallum and Golombok 2004) have found that children growing in single or same-sex parent families do not develop any differently from those in two-parent heterosexual families. This suggests that, even as a secondary attachment figure, the father isn’t that important.
Who proposed the four stages of attachment?
Schaffer and Emerson
Name all the stages of attachment in order
- Asocial stage 2. Indiscriminate attachment 3. Specific attachment 4. Multiple attachments
When does the asocial stage take place?
The first few weeks of a baby’s life
How does a baby behave in the asocial stage?
- Behaviour toward non-human objects and humans is quite similar - Show some preference for familiar adults due to their ability to calm them - They are happier when in the presence of other humans
When does indiscriminate attachment take place?
2 - 7 months
How does the baby behave during indiscriminate attachment?
- Show a preference for people over non-human objects - Recognise and prefer familiar adults - Will accept comfort form any adult - Don’t show stranger or separation anxiety
Why is it called ‘indiscriminate’ attachment?
The baby doesn’t act any differently towards any one person
When does specific attachment occur?
From around 7 months
How does the baby behave during specific attachment?
- Displays stranger anxiety - Display separation anxiety when separated from their primary attachment figure
Why does someone become the baby’s primary attachment figure?
They interact the most with the baby and respond best to the baby’s signals
When do multiple attachments occur?
Shortly after the baby starts to show attachment behaviour towards one adult
What is involved in the multiple attachments stage?
Babies extend their attachment behaviour to multiple other adults they regularly spend time with. These are secondary attachments.
What percent of children form secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary attachment?
29%
By what age do the majority of infants develop multiple attachments?
one year old
Name 4 weaknesses of the stages of attachment
- Drawing conclusions from the asocial stage is problematic - There is conflicting evidence regarding multiple attachments - There may be problems with the methods used to assess multiple attachments - Schaffer and Emerson measured attachment through limited behavioural measures
Why is it problematic to draw conclusions from the asocial stage?
The asocial stage takes place during the first few weeks of a baby’s life, during which the baby has little to no coordination and is quite immobile. They don’t have much observable behaviour so it is hard to make judgements about them.
What research backs up Schaffer and Emerson’s idea that multiple attachments form only after the baby has attached to a primary attachment figure?
Bowlby (1996) found that most, if not all babies form multiple attachments to a single main carer before they become capable of developing multiple attachments
What research contradicts Schaffer and Emerson’s idea that multiple attachments form only after the baby has attached to a primary attachment figure?
Van IJzendoorn (1993) found that babies form multiple attachments from the outset in collectivist cultures where families work together jointly in everything (such as producing food and child rearing).
What does conflicting evidence about the multiple attachments stage do to Schaffer and Emerson’s theory?
It reduces its validity and shows that it cannot be generalised across all different populations
What problems are there with the methods Schaffer and Emerson used to assess multiple attachments?
Separation anxiety doesn’t necessarily show that someone is an infant’s attachment figure. Bowlby pointed out that children may also become stressed when their playmates leave the room - and they are obviously not attachment figures. The child may be distressed because they lost a playmate - not an attachment figure.
What behavioural measures did Schaffer and Emerson use to assess attachment?
- Stranger anxiety - Separation anxiety
What is the problem with measuring attachment through stranger and separation anxiety?
They are simple behaviours that some critics believe to be too crude as measures of attachment.
When did Lorenz carry out his study into geese?
1935
What was the aim of Lorenz’s 1935 geese study?
To investigate how baby geese form attachments as soon as they are born and whether this affects them in later life.
Outline the procedure of Lorenz’s 1935 geese study
Lorenz randomly divided a clutch of goose eggs. Half of the eggs hatched naturally with their mother. The other half of the eggs hatched in an incubator with Lorenz being the first thing they saw. A short time after their birth, Lorenz put both groups of geese into a container to mix them up and released them to see who they would go to.
What were the findings of Lorenz’s 1935 geese study?
The half of the goslings that were hatched with the mother followed her around. The half of the goslings that were hatched with Lorenz followed him around.
What concept did Lorenz’s geese study lead him to coin?
Imprinting
Define imprinting
The tendency of animals to attach to the first large moving object they see after birth.
When does imprinting occur?
Between 13 and 16 hours after birth
What did Lorenz describe as the critical period?
The first 32 hours of the animals birth. If the infant doesn’t imprint in this time, it likely won’t ever
When did Lorenz carry out his case study into sexual imprinting?
1952
What did Lorenz find in his 1952 case study investigating sexual imprinting?
A peacock who first saw a moving giant tortoise after hatching would only direct courtship behaviour towards giant tortoises as an adult. This is sexual imprinting.
What animal did Harlow work with?
Rhesus monkeys
When did Harlow carry out his rhesus monkey experiments?
1958
Outline the procedure of Harlow’s 1958 study
He reared 16 baby monkeys with 2 artificial model ‘mothers’. In one condition milk was dispensed by the plain wire mother and in the other condition milk was dispensed by a cloth covered mother. Both mothers had heating elements in them.
How did Harlow measure the independent variable in his 1958 study?
- The amount of time the monkeys spent clinging to each of the mothers - The amount of time the monkeys spent crying when either mother was removed
What were the findings of Harlow’s 1958 study?
- Baby monkeys cuddled the cloth mother in preference to the wire one - Baby monkeys sought comfort from the cloth mother when frightened Contact comfort was of more importance to the monkeys than food when it came to attachment behaviour.
What effects did early maternal deprivation have on the monkeys as Harlow followed them into adulthood?
- The monkeys were dysfunctional and did not develop normal social behaviour - They were more aggressive and less sociable than other monkeys - They bred less often than is typical and were unskilled at mating - They attacked and sometimes ate their young
What did Harlow conclude about the critical period for normal development?
A mother figure had to be introduced to an infant monkey within 90 days for an attachment to form. After this time attachment was impossible and the damage caused by early maternal deprivation became irreversible.
What other three experiments did Harlow conduct with Rhesus monkeys (brief names)
the wooden hatch one, room full of toys, mother blowing air
What was the procedure of Harlow’s experiment using a wooden hatch?
He put the monkeys in a wooden box with a hatch that they could lift up to look at either mother.
What were the findings of Harlow’s experiment involving a wooden hatch?
The monkeys spent almost all the time looking at the cloth mother
What attachment behaviour does Harlow’s experiment involving a wooden hatch demonstrate?
Proximity seeking
What was the procedure of Harlow’s experiment involving a room full of toys?
He put the monkeys on their own in a room full of toys. With them would either be the cloth mother or the wire mother.
What were the findings of Harlow’s experiment involving a room full of toys?
The monkeys with the wire mother would freeze but the monkeys with the cloth mother would explore the room and play with the toys.
What attachment behaviour did Harlow’s experiment involving a room full of toys demonstrate?
Exploration and secure base behaviour
What was the procedure of Harlow’s experiment involving the cloth mother blowing out air?
The monkeys were put into a cage with the cloth mother. The cloth mother blew out air at regular intervals that threw the monkeys across the room.
What were the findings of Harlow’s experiment involving the cloth mother blowing out air?
The monkey still clung to the cloth mother even though they were being abused by it.
What are the weaknesses of Lorenz’s imprinting studies?
- He studies birds; not humans - Later conflicting research
Why is it a problem that Lorenz studied birds and not humans?
The mammalian attachment system is different to that in birds (eg: mammals are able to form attachments at any age, even if it easier in infancy). This means it is hard to generalise Lorenz’s study to humans.
What later research put Lorenz’s study into question?
Guiton et al (1966) found chickens that had imprinted on yellow washing up gloves would try and mate with them as adults. However, the chickens eventually learned that mating with a washing up glove was not practical and found that mating with other chickens was preferable.
What do Guiton et al’s 1966 findings suggest about Lorenz’s findings?
The idea that imprinting creates a permanent desire to mate with a specific species is incorrect
What are the two strengths of Harlow’s 1958 study?
- Theoretical value - Practical value
Why does Harlow’s 1958 study have theoretical value?
His findings had a profound effect on psychologists’ understanding of human mother-infant attachment. Harlow showed that attachment does not develop as the result of being fed but as a result of contact comfort. He also showed the importance of the quality of early relationships for later social development.
How does Harlow’s 1958 study have practical value?
- It has helped social workers understand the risk factors in child neglect and abuse so can intervene to prevent it - It has helped monkey breeding programmes and zoos understand the importance of proper attachment figures for baby monkeys
What are the two weaknesses of Harlow’s 1958 study?
- He studied monkeys; not humans - Ethical issues
Why is it a problem that Harlow studied monkeys and not humans?
Monkeys are similar to humans, but they are not human. Psychologists disagree on the extent to which studies of non-human primates can be generalised to humans.
What are the ethical issues of Harlow’s 1953 study?
- If the species of monkey is similar enough to humans to generalise the research findings, their pain is surely human and should not be allowed - The monkeys suffered attachment issues and had problems raising their young in later life
What does learning theory emphasise?
The role of learning in the acquisition of behaviour
What two explanations of attachment does learning theory include?
- Classical conditioning - Operant conditioning
Who came up with learning theory?
Dollard and Miller (1950)
What approach does learning theory take?
Behaviourist
Define classical conditioning
Classical conditioning involves learning to associate two stimuli together so we begin to respond to one in the same way we already respond to the other.
Who experimented with classical conditioning?
Pavlov
Outline the procedure of Pavlov’s experiment into classical conditioning
He gave his dog food and it salivated. He then rang a bell when he gave the dog food. Eventually, the dog salivated at the bell alone.
What was the food in Pavlov’s experiment?
The unconditioned stimulus
What was the unconditioned response in Pavlov’s experiment?
The dog salivating at the food
What was the bell in Pavlov’s experiment introduced as and what did it turn into?
Introduced as: neutral stimulus Turned into: conditioned stimulus
What is the conditioned response in Pavlov’s experiment?
The dog salivating at the sound of a bell
Use learning theory to illustrate how attachments are learned
Food serves as an unconditioned stimulus. Being fed gives us pleasure which is an unconditioned response. A caregiver starts as a neutral stimulus (ie: a thing that produces a neutral response) When the same person provides food over time they become associated with the food - when the baby sees the caregiver there is an immediate expectation of food. The neutral stimulus has become a conditioned stimulus. Once conditioning has taken place the sight of a caregiver produces a conditioned response of pleasure.
Define operant conditioning
It involves learning to repeat behaviour, or not, depending on its consequences.
What does reinforcement do?
Increases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated
What does punishment do?
Decreases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated
In terms of operant conditioning, what do positive and negative mean?
Positive means something is added. Negative means something is taken away.
Both positive and negative (a) must feel nice. Both positive and negative (b) must feel bad.
a) reinforcement b) punishment
Give an example of positive reinforcement
Being given a lollipop
