Attachment Studies Flashcards
Evans and Porter Aim
Investigate whether interactional synchrony and reciprocity affect attachment quality in infants and caregivers
Evans and Porter Setting and Sample
Lab, 101 infants and their mothers- 53 female, 48 male, American suburb
Evans and Porter Procedure
Mother and babies invited into laboratory 3 times, at 6,9 and 12 months old
Play with toys for 15 mins- videoed, and communication was assessed. At 12 months the attachment was assessed with strange situation
Evans and Porter Findings
Secure attachment linked to most reciprocal and interactional synchrony interactions in earlier months
Evans and Porter Conclusion
Attachment affected by amount of communication
Evans and Porter Evaluation
Controlled, no extraneous variables, increases internal validity
Demand characteristics, social desirability and evaluation apprehension, decreases internal validity
Volunteer bias, decreases population validity
Isabella et al Aim
Does interactional synchrony affect attachment
Isabella et al Procedure
Observed 30 mothers and infants together and assessed degree of synchrony, and quality of attachment
Isabella et al Findings
High levels of synchrony= better attachments
Isabella et al Conclusion
Interactional synchrony is important for development
Isabella et al Evalution
Demand characteristics, decreases internal validity
Controlled, increases internal validity
Geiger Aim
Role of father
Geiger Conclusion
Father’s play is more exciting, mothers more nurturing
Lamb Aim
Role of father
Lamb Conclusion
Fathers can be maternal, sensitive responsiveness isn’t a biological ability
Hardy Aim
Role of father
Hardy Conclusion
Males are less suitable as primary caregivers as are less able to detect distress
Lucassen Aim
Role of father
Lucassen Findings and Conclusion
Meta-analysis of strange situation showed high levels of sensitivity associated with good father- infant attachments
Schaffer and Emerson Aim
Role of father
Schaffer and Emerson Findings and Conclusion
Longitudinal, in 1964 1/3 primary attachment was father, 50 years later, stronger attachment formed earlier
Evaluation of Father’s role
Fatherless families and single dads- trauma could affect, decreases internal validity
Social desirability, decreases internal validity
Evaluation apprehension, decreases internal validity
Natural environment, more extraneous variables, decreases internal validity
Longitudinal studies, increases reliability
Schaffer and Emerson Aim
Assess patterns of attachment – make stages of attachment
Schaffer and Emerson Setting and Sample
Field, 60 babies, 31 male, 29 female, and mothers. All from Glasgow & working class
Schaffer and Emerson Procedure
Longitudinal study, interviews. Separation protest measured- left alone. And stranger anxiety- assessed by researcher
Schaffer and Emerson Findings
Asocial stage, indiscriminate attachment, specific attachments, multiple attachments
Fear of strangers starts after 21 weeks
Schaffer and Emerson Conclusion
Pattern of attachments
Schaffer and Emerson Evaluation
Evaluation apprehension and social desirability, decreases internal validity
Naturalistic environment, decreases internal validity/ increases ecological validity
Longitudinal study, increases reliability
Evaluation of Schaffer’s Stages
Asocial stage babies have low mobility anyway, decreases internal validity
Lorenz Aim
Investigate imprinting on young geese
Lorenz Procedure
Goose eggs- incubator or naturally with mother
Made sure he was the first thing the incubator group saw after birth
Marked geese to distinguish
Placed in box to see who they would return to- all muddled
Lorenz Findings
Ones with Lorenz, followed him and returned to him always
Critical period of 4-25 hours for imprinting
Matured adult birds who imprinted on him tried to mate with humans
Lorenz Conclusion
Close contact kept with first moving object encountered, sexual imprinting
Lorenz Evaluation
Counter-evidence, Guiton et all 1966- no permanent effect of imprinting-chicks imprinted on gloves but learned to mate with chicks, reliability
Can’t generalise to humans (atricial and emotional), decreases population validity
Harlow Aim
Investigate learning theory
Harlow Procedure
Wire mother monkey and cloth monkey. Baby monkeys taken away from mother
Wire mother produced milk, cloth mother didn’t
Frightened with loud noise to test which attachment
Harlow Findings
Preferred contact with cloth mother, regardless of milk production
Diarrhoea, stress
Clung to cloth mother and reached over to feed
Dysfunctional mature behaviour- aggressive, antisocial, less skilled and mating and rejected their own children
Harlow Conclusion
Critical period of 90 days
Comfort over food
Long term consequences
Harlow Evaluation
Ethical issues, decreases reliability
Learning theory- Dollard and Miller Evaluation
Lorenz geese (doesn’t take time), decreases reliability
Harlow’s monkeys- comfort over food, increases reliability
Schaffer and Emerson (nanny fed baby but mother provided emotional care), decreases reliability
Behavioural explanations are reductionist, decreases internal validity
Face validity true
Little albert- babies can learn phobias through classical conditioning, increases reliability
Evolutionary theory- Bowlby Evaluation
Doesn’t explain why some children recover better, individual differences, decreases validity
No importance to father, decreases internal validity
Can’t test evolution of behaviours, decreases internal validity
Context when developed- mothers seeking work, increases internal validity
Evolutionary theory- Bowlby Supporting/ Counter evidence
Hazan and Shaver’s love quiz- secure attachment as infants had happy relationships when older, increases reliability of internal working model
Koluchova (1976)- twin boys isolated in cupboard from age of 18 months to 7 years- adopted and fully recovered- decreases reliability of critical period
Schaffer and Emerson (1964), singe attachments around 7 months old, increases reliability of monotropy
Brazleton et al (1975)- ignore social releasers- babies curled up and lying motionless, increases reliability of social releasers
Ainsworth Aim
Identify and classify attachment and how common they were
Ainsworth Setting and Sample
Controlled laboratory observation, 100 middle-class American infants and mothers
Ainsworth Procedure
Infant behaviour observed- two-way mirror in play room
Caregiver left infant, returns, stranger with infant
Judge attachment, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety and response to reunion
Ainsworth Findings
66% securely attached- moderate upset when mother leaves/ stranger, easily comforted
22% insecure- avoidant- weren’t bothered by mother leaving or stranger, didn’t seem to care when mother returned
12% insecure- resistant- extremely upset when mother left, and stranger came, hard to comfort, seemed cross with mother on return
Ainsworth Conclusion
Individual differences, linked to sensitivity, mostly secure
Ainsworth Evaluation
Social desirability and evaluation apprehension, decreases internal validity
High inter-rater reliability
Ethnocentric tool, decreases population validity
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Aim
Proportions of attachment qualities across countries and cultures
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Procedure
Meta-analysis of studies
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Findings
Highest % securely attached in every country
Highest secure %= Britain/ Sweden with 75%
Highest insecure-resistant %= Israel with 29%
Highest insecure-avoidant %= Germany with 35%
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Conclusion
Greater variation within countries than between countries, highest attachment was secure
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg Evaluation
Different subcultures within countries- not representative, decreases ecological validity
Strange situation used as a ethnocentric tool, decreases internal validity
Takashaki Aim
Comparisons between American and Japanese attachment and determine whether the strange situation is a valid procedure for other countries
Takashaki Sample
60 middle-class, Japanese infants aged 1 ½. Boys and Girls. Raised at home
Takashaki Procedure
Observed in the Strange Situation
Takashaki Findings
68% securely attached
0% avoidant-insecure
32% resistant-insecure
Japanese infants most disturbed being alone, this was stopped for 90% of participants due to stress on infant= needed an alternative classification
Takashaki Conclusion
Strange situation does not have same meaning for Japan as America- cross-cultural variation was seen – not a valid assessment
Takashaki Evaluation
Psychological harm, decreases reliability
Bowlby 44 Thieves Aim
Test effects of separation on a child’s wellbeing
Bowlby 44 Thieves Sample
88 clients from the child guidance clinic where he worked, 44 of the children had been referred for stealing
Bowlby 44 Thieves Procedure
Interviewed children and parents
Bowlby 44 Thieves Findings
Children who had experienced maternal deprivation were emotionally maladjusted
Out of 44 thieves, 32% were found to have affectionless psychopathic personalities, and pf these, 86% had experienced maternal deprivation before the age of 5
68% that weren’t affectionless psychopaths only 17% had experienced maternal deprivation
Bowlby 44 Thieves Conclusion
Prolonged early separation can cause affectionless psychopathy and emotional maladjustment
Bowlby 44 Thieves Evaluation
Evaluation apprehension and social desirability, decreases internal validity
Bowlby carried out assessments himself and he knew what he was looking for decreases internal validity
Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation
Supporting evidence in Bowlby’s 44 thieves study, increases reliability
Counter evidence from Hilda Lewis 1954- replicated 44 thieves on a larger scale with 500 young people. Found a history of prolonged separation from mother didn’t predict criminality or relationship issues, decreases reliability
Research focuses on children who were put in temporary foster care due to family issues or illness- trauma could have been the factor causing affectionless psychopathy, not maternal deprivation, decreases internal validity.
Rutter et al Aim
Investigate to what extent good care makes up for poor early experiences in institutions
Rutter et al Sample
165 Romanian orphans were adopted to Britain. Group of British children adopted at same time
Rutter et al Procedure
Physical, cognitive and emotional development assessed at ages of 4, 6, 11 and 15 years
Rutter et al Findings
Adopted before 6 months, IQ= 102, adopted 6 months-2 years, IQ= 86, adopted after 2 years, IQ= 77
Adopted after 6 months= disinhibited attachment, adopted before 6 months= rarely show disinhibited attachment
Rutter et al Conclusion
Internalisation affects IQ levels and attachment
Rutter et al Evaluation
Not random allocation, so less individual differences, increases internal validity
Bucharest Early Intervention Project
Zeanah et al
Zeanah et al Aim
Differences in development and attachment between children in high quality care, and those left in institutions
Zeanah et al Sample
136 children. 95 in institutions, 50 community control
Zeanah et al Procedure
Randomly allocated those in the institution to high quality care or to remain in institution
Strange situation assessment and carers asked about social behaviour. Assessed at 30, 42 and 54 months and at 8 years old.
Development of foster care group compared to institutions and community control
Zeanah et al Findings
Community= 74% secure, 20% disinhibited and institutionalised= 19% secure, 65% disorganised and 44% disinhibited
Foster care was broadly effective in enhancing development and attachment
Zeanah et al Conclusion
Institutionalisation often causes disinhibited attachment, mental retardation.
The earlier placed in foster care, the better the recovery
Zeanah et al Evaluation
Random allocation causes major ethical issues- deliberately disadvantage one group of institutionalised children, decreases reliability.
