Attachment (Unit 1) Flashcards
Define ‘attachment’
A two way emotional tie to another person, which develops in stages over time
Define ‘precocial’
Those who are ready to function independently shortly after birth (most animals)
Define ‘altricial’
Those who are born in an underdeveloped state and require care from their parents (e.g. humans)
What is the difference between reciprocity and interactional synchrony?
Reciprocity: Behavior of carer elicits a response
Interactional Synchrony: behavior of carer is imitated
Meltzoff and Moore (reciprocity study)
What was it and what did they find?
An adult model displayed facial or hand gestures to an infant, and the child’s expression was filmed.
They found that infants as young as 2-3 weeks could imitate hand and facial expressions.
Evaluation of reciprocity (pros)
- Practical Applictions (Klaus and Kennell’s research found babies placed with their mothers after birth helped form attachments)
- Abravanel and DeYoung, found infants aged 5-12 weeks made little response to inanimate objects. Meaning their actions in studies ARE intentional.
Evaluation of reciprocity (cons)
- Lacks validity as infant’s mouths are in fairly constant motion
Bowlby’s perspective on attachment?
One primary attachment, with other minor ones
Rutter’s perspective on attachment?
Multiple attachments of equal importance
Schaffer and Emerson (stages of attachment study)
What was it?
60 working-class newborns, studied each month for the first 12 months of their life, and again at 18 months. They then measured:
- Seperation Protest (left in a room alone, outside a shop, with others but not care, in their cot at night)
- Stranger Anxiety (a stranger immediately approaching the infant upon meeting one another)
Schaffer and Emerson (stages of attachment study)
What did they find?
- Stranger anxiety lasted up to 9 months old
- At 18 months the majority had 2 attachments
- 39% of the infants’ prime attachment was not main carer
Evaluation of stages of attachment (Schaffer and Emmerson) PROS
- Separation protest was shown at 7-8 months
- Most infants went on to develop multiple attachments
Evaluation of stages of attachment (Schaffer and Emmerson) CONS
- The reports of infant’s behavior could be biased as they were submitted by mothers
- Biased sample as it was only working-class children from Glasgow
What are the 4 main factors for the role of the father?
- Degree of sensitivity
- Attachment with own parents
- Marital intimacy
- Supportive co-parenting
What did Frodi et al. find out about the role of the father?
Men showed the same response that women did when asked to watch videos of infants crying
KEY STUDY: Lorenz (1935)
What was it?
Lorenz split a large clutch of goose eggs between himself and their biological mother. He made sure to be the first thing his eggs see when hatched and marked his goslings so he could distinguish them from those raised by the mother. Later on, Lorenz would reunite his goslings with the mother’s to see how they would react.
KEY STUDY: Lorenz (1935)
What did he find?
- The mother’s goslings returned to her, and Lorenz’ returned to him when reunited
- The imprinting time for the goslings is 4-25 hours after hatching
- Lorenz’ goslings would attempt to mate with humans later on in life
KEY STUDY: Harlow (1959)
What was it?
Rhesus monkeys were placed in cages with imitation mothers, one being a ‘harsh wire’ mother and the other, a ‘soft towel mother’. 16 monkeys were used, and 4 cages with different mothers:
- wire mother with milk + towel mother without milk
- wire mother without milk + towel mother with milk
- wire mother with milk
- towel mother with milk
This was to test time spent with mothers, feeding, emotional comfort and the affects this would cause.
KEY STUDY: Harlow (1959)
What did he find?
- Monkeys preferred the towel mother, and would only stretched to the wire mother for milk
- Monkeys with only the wire mother experienced stress, diarrhea and explored less than others
Evaluation of animal studies of attachment (pros)
Lorenz:
-Supported by Guiton, who found feeding chicks with yellow gloves for the first few weeks caused them to become imprinted
Evaluation of animal studies of attachment (cons)
Harlow:
-Ethical; some monkeys were damaged permanently
-Confounding variable; the wire looked less like a monkey than the towel mother
Lorenz:
-Cannot apply directly to humans as geese develop quicker and have different thought processes
Learning Theory suggests that attachment is learned through what?
Classical Conditioning
or
Operant Conditioning
Use Classical Conditioning as an explanation of attachment
UCS (FOOD) - UCR (COMFORT)
UCS (FOOD) + NS (CARER) - UCR (COMFORT)
CS (CARER) - CR (COMFORT)
Use Operant Conditioning as an explanation of attachment
- hungry infant
- infant drives to reduce discomfort (e.g. crying)
- infant is fed
- drive is reduced
- produces a sense of comfort
Through the example of feeding, what is the primary reinforcer and secondary reinforcer in the situation?
Primary Reinforcer: Food
Secondary Reinforcer: The person who supplies the food
Evaluation of The Learning Theory explanation of attachment (pros)
-Dollard and Miller; in an infant’s first year they are fed 2000 times meaning the child will learn that the carer will take the unpleasant hunger away
Evaluation of The Learning Theory explanation of attachment (cons)
- Harlow; Monkeys preferred the comfort of towel mother over the lactating wire mother
- Behaviorism is often criticized for being reductionist
Outline Bowlby’s theory of attachment
- Social Releases (crying/smiling)
- Monotropy (one primary carer)
- Innatism (Born with a drive to form attachment)
- Critical Period (2.5 years)
- Internal Working Model (schema/idea of how to conduct relationships)
- Continuity Hypothesis (view of relationships based on their own)
Evaluation of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (pros)
- Tronick et al; A study of 12 month olds in Africa found that mother and child still had a preference to each other (despite being a collectivist culture)
- Minnesota Longitudinal Study; those with secure attachments as infants were more socially competent
Evaluation of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment (cons)
- Temperant Hypothesis; ‘easier’ children usually had more secure attachments
- ‘Sensetive Period’ is 2.5 years, but can still take place at other times up to age five
KEY STUDY: Ainsworth (1970)
What was it?
- Parent and infant play
- Parent sits while infant plays
- Stranger enters and talks to parent
- Parent leaves, stranger offers comfort
- Parent returns, stranger leaves
- Parent leaves
- Stranger enters
- Parent returns
KEY STUDY: Ainsworth (1970)
Outline ‘Secure Attachment’
- Moderate stranger anxiety
- Upset when mother leaves
- Enthusiastic at reunion with mother
KEY STUDY: Ainsworth (1970)
Outline ‘Insecure-Avoidant’
- Low stranger anxiety
- Indifferent when mother leaves
- Avoidant at reunion with mother
KEY STUDY: Ainsworth (1970)
Outline ‘Insecure-Resistant’
- High stranger anxiety
- Distressed when mother leaves
- Seeks and rejects at reunion with mother
Evaluation of Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’ (pros)
- Inter-Rater Reliability; multiple observers ensures a reliable result
- Not unethical; this distress isn’t unfamiliar to infants
Evaluation of Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’ (cons)
-Ethical; distress to child could cause permanent damage
Main and Cassidy’s 4th type of attachment?
Insecure Disorganised (inconsistent and indecisive)
Define ‘validity’
The degree to which a study measures what it’s supposed to measure
Why might Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’ study lack ecological and population validity?
Ecological: Element unfamiliar to some cultures (being left with strangers)
Population: Study was restricted to middle-class American infants
Define ‘cross cultural variations’
The way different groups of people vary in terms of their social practices and the effect this has on their development and behaviour
Outline Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s research
- Secure Attachment is the most popular type
- Highest proportion of Insecure Avoidant was found in Germany
- Insecure Avoidant was popular in western cultures, Insecure Resistant was most common in Japan and Israel
Define ‘imposed etic’
Researchers being biased due to their own way of life
KEY STUDY: Takahashi (1990)
What was it?
60 middle class 1 year old infants of both sexes and their mothers assessed using the Strange Situation
KEY STUDY: Takahashi (1990)
What did they find?
Securely-Attached: 68%
Insecure-Resistant: 32%
Insecure-Avoidant: 0%
The ‘infant alone’ step was stopped for 90% of infants as they were too distressed
Evaluation of research on cultural variations in attachment (pros)
-Creates a difference from Ainsworth’s study who used American children
Evaluation of research on cultural variations in attachment (cons)
-Strange Situation may not be suitable due to child-rearing practices (e.g. German infants are raised to be independent)
Outline Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
Disruption of the attachment bond can result in permanent damage to a child’s emotional and social development (e.g. Mother leaving her child with a relative. This applies to long and short term separations.
Define ‘privation’
A child never meeting their parent(s)
Outline Bowlby’s PDD model
Protest: Child screams, cries upon carer’s departure
Despair: Protest stops but child is still upset
Detachment: Child starts to interact with others and rejects carer upon return
Robertson and Robertson Study (John & MDH)
What was it and what did they find?
Procedure:
- John (17 months old) spent 9 days in a residential nursery
- The nurses made sure not to act as subsitute mothers
Findings:
-John was distressed without a relationship but seemed angry upon his mother’s return
Robertson and Robertson found a way to prevent psychological damage from short-term seperation, how?
They suggested that children should be able to visit carers who are in hospital, or should be provided with a mother-like substitute
Evaluate the effects of short-term seperation
Pros:
-Real world application; Robertons&hospital policies
Cons:
-Barrett; different individuals react differently
KEY STUDY: Bowlby’s 44 Thieves (1944)
What was it?
- Bowlby interviewed 44 juvenile thieves and 44 non-delinquent children
- All were emotionally maladjusted in some way
KEY STUDY: Bowlby’s 44 Thieves (1944)
What did they find?
- 16/44 of the thieves were identified as ‘affectionless psychopaths’
- 86% of affectionless psychopaths had experienced separations at an early age
- 4% of non-thieves experienced prolonged separations
Evaluate Bowlby’s 44 Thieves Study
Cons:
- Parents may recall the separation inaccurately
- Can only conclude that deprivation and affectionless psychopathic behaviour are linked, not caused by one another
Koluchova’s Czech Twins (1972/1991)
What was it and what did he find?
Procedure:
- 2 Twin Boys locked in cellar for 5.5 years, until age 7
- They were undeveloped physically and mentally, but were close to normal at age 14 after schooling
- Both grew up to get married and have kids
Findings:
-Does not support Bowlby’s MDH as boys were not permanently damaged during the ‘critical period’
Curtis and Rymer (1977/1993) Genie Study
What was it and what did they find?
Procedure:
-Girl locked in her room until age 13, and could not stand up, speak, or conduct any social interaction
Findings:
-IQ improved from 38 to 74 within six years, but struggled to progress any further due to permanent damage
Evaluate the privation studies
Pros:
-Not unethical; researchers only interpret data and had no part in the actual happenings
Cons:
- Never got the participant’s [Genie or the Czech Twins] consent to use the data
- Genie’s mother gave statements based solely on recollection and is therefore unreliable
KEY STUDY: Rutter et al. (1998)
What was it?
-111 Romanian Orphans and 52 British adoptees
-They were split into 3 conditions:
+Adopted before the age of 6 months
+Adopted between the ages of 6 months and 2 years
+Adopted after the age of 2
-They were all tested for HEIGHT, HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE and COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING
KEY STUDY: Rutter et al. (1998)
What did they find?
- 50% of the Romanians were retarded and underweight, the British group were fine
- British and Romanians adopted before 6 months old, paralleled each other by age 4
- Research concludes that institutionalisation can be overcome by nurture and care
Evaluate Rutter’s institutionalisation research
Pros:
Research is ongoing, will eventually produce data on the long-term effects
Cons:
- Difficult to generalise the findings due to the limited groups used
- Bias; certain types of children may be more likely t be adopted
After Rutter’s initial institutionalisation study, Rutter did a follow-up study. What did he find?
- 20% behaved normally
- Attachment problems, hyperactivity and cognitive impairment in those who experienced long-term institutionalisation
- Emotional, social and behavioural problems are NOT linked with institutionalisation
KEY STUDY: Hazan and Shaver’ Love Quiz (1987)
What was it and what did they find?
Procedure:
-Readers of a local newspaper completed a questionnaire describing their childhood relationships
Findings:
-56% secure, 25% avoidant, 19% resistant
Define the ‘temperament hypothesis’
We are all born with innate personalities, thus innate attachment types/desires
