attachments Flashcards
1
Q
what is attachment?
A
an emotional tie or bond between 2 people, usually a primary caregiver and a child
their relationship is reciprocal
2
Q
which behaviours demonstrate attachment?
A
proximity - people try and stay close to their attachment figure
separation distress - people show signs of anxiety when an attachment figure leaves their presence
secure base behaviour - people tend to make regular contacts with their attachment figures
3
Q
what is reciprocity?
A
how 2 people interact
caregiver infant interaction is reciprocal in the way that both respond to each others signals and each elicits a response from the other
4
Q
how is reciprocity demonstrated in caregiver infant interactions?
A
alert phases
active involve,ent
5
Q
what are alert phases?
A
babies have periodic alert phases in which they signal that they are ready for interaction (e.g making eye contact)
mothers typically pick up on and respond to their baby’s alertness 2/3 of the time (varies according to skill of the mother and external factors such as stress (finegood et al. 2016)
from 3 months this interaction becomes increasingly frequent
6
Q
what is active involvement?
A
traditional views portray babies as having an passive role (receiving care from an adult) but they take an active role as they both initiate interactions and take turns
Bradenton et al. (1975) described the interaction as a dance where each partner responds to their partners moves
7
Q
what is interactional synchrony?
A
caregiver and baby reflect both the actions and emotions of the other and do this in a synchronised way
8
Q
when does synchrony begin and what was the experiment conducted by meltzoff and moore (1977)
A
they observed the beginnings of interactional synchrony in babies at 2 weeks old
adult displayed 3 facial expressions and the baby’s response was filmed and labelled by independent observers
babies’ expressions and gestures were more likely to mirror those of the adults more than chance would predict
9
Q
what is the importance of interactional synchrony for attachment?
A
important for development of caregiver infant attachment
Isabella et al. 1989 observed 30 mothers and babies together and assessed the degree of synchrony and the quality of the mother baby attachment
they found high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother baby attachment
10
Q
evaluation: what is the strength of caregiver interactions being filmed in a laboratory?
A
- Means that other activities that might distract a baby can be controlled therefore it is unlikely researches will miss seeing any key behaviours
- having filmed interactions means that more than one observer can record data and establish the user-rated reliability of the observation
- babies don’t know their being observed therefore their behaviour does not change in response to observation
THEREFORE GOOD RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY
11
Q
evaluation: how is it a limitation that it is hard to interpret a baby’s behaviour?
A
babies lack coordination and their bodies are almost immobile
it is difficult to be sure whether a baby is e.g smiling or passing wind
It is also difficult to determine what is taking place from a baby’s perspective e.g we cannot know whether a move,ent such as a hand twitch is random or triggered by something the caregiver has done
this means we cannot be certain that the behaviours seen in caregiver interactions have a special meaning
12
Q
evaluation: how does only observing behaviour not tell us about its developmental importance?
A
feldmen (2012) points out that ideas like synchrony and reciprocity simply give names to patterns of observable caregiver and baby behaviours
they still may not be useful in understanding child development as it does not tell us the purpose of these behaviours
means we cannot be certain from observational research alone that reciprocity and synchrony are important for a child’s development
13
Q
what is the counterpoint that observing a behaviour does not tell us its developmental importance?
A
there is evidence from other lines of research that early interactions are important
e.g Isabella et al. found that achievement of interactional synchrony predicted the development of a good quality attachment
Meaning on balance caregiver interaction is probably important in development
14
Q
what are the 4 stages of attachment proposed by schaffer and emerson (1964)?
A
- asocial stage
- indiscriminate attachment
- specific attachment
- multiple attachments
15
Q
how is stage 1 of attachment described by schaffer and emerson (1964)?
A
- asocial stage
baby’s first few weeks of life: behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects are fairly similar
- show preference for the company of familiar people and are more easily comforted by them
- forming bonds with certain people and these form the basis of later attachment
16
Q
how is stage 2 of attachment described by schaffer and emerson (1964)?
A
- indiscriminate attachment
from 2 to 7 months display more obvious n observable social behaviours e.g clear preference for being w other humans rather than inanimate objects
- recognise and prefer company of familiar people, also accept comfort from any person
- do not usually show separation anxiety when caregivers leave their presence or stranger anxiety in the presence of unfamiliar people
17
Q
how is stage 3 of attachment described by schaffer and emerson (1964)?
A
- specific attachment
from 7 months: babies start to display signs of attachment towards one particular person (stranger anxiety and separation anxiety)
- formed specific attachment to primary attachment figure (one who offers most interaction and responds to babies signals) (mother in 65% of cases)
18
Q
how is stage 4 of attachment described by schaffer and emerson (1964)?
A
- multiple attachments (by age of 1 year+)
start to show attachment behaviour to other people (multiple attachments) with whom they regularly spend time with called secondary attachments
- observed 29% of children form secondary attachments within a month of forming primary attachment
19
Q
what procedure and findings were the stages of attachment based on? (schaffer and emerson)
A
procedure: 60 babies (31 boys, 29 girls, from glasgow, mostly for skilled working class families)
- researchers visited them and their mothers every month for one year and again at 18 months
- asked mother questiosn about kind of protest babies showed in 7 everyday separations (measure of separation anxiety e.g mother leaving room)
findings: between 25-32 weeks of age 50% showed separation anxiety towards a particular adult
by 40 weeks most infants developed specific attachment and some developed multiple attachments
20
Q
evaluation: how does schaffer and emerson’s experiment have good external validity?
A
- most observations were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to researches, eliminated the possibility of distracting babies or making them anxious if the researcher had done it instead
- highly likely that ppts behaved naturally while being observed
21
Q
evaluation: what is a counterpoint to schaffer and emerson’s experiment having good external validity?
A
mothers = unlikely to be objective researchers, may have been biased in what they noticed and reported
e.g may not have noticed when their baby was showing signs of anxiety or misremembered it
meaning if their babies behaved naturally it may not have been accurately recorded
22
Q
evaluation: how is the validity of the measures used in schaffer and emerson’s experiment a limitation?
A
young babies have poor coordination and are fairly immobile
babies less than 2 months old may have shown signs of anxiety in subtle hard to observe ways, making it difficult for mothers to observe and report back
means that babies might be quite social but because of flawed methods, they appear to be asocial
23
Q
evaluation: how is schaffer and emerson’s experiment applicable to the real world?
A
in the asocial and indiscriminate attachment stages, day care is likely to be straightforward as babies can be comforted by any skilled adult
their research tells us that starting day care with an unfamiliar adult may be problematic during the specific attachment stage
means parents’ use of day care can be planned using the attachment stages
24
Q
what is the definition of a father in attachment research?
A
anyone who takes on the role of the father (not necessarily the biological father)
25
what did the experiment done by scahffer and emerson (1964) show about attachment to mothers vs fathers?
majority of babies become attached to their mother at around 7 months and in only 3% of the cases the father was the first sole object of attachment
27% of cases the father was the joint first object of attachment with the mother
but most fathers go on to become more important attachment figures: 75% babies studied formed an attachment with the father by 18 months if age (determined when babies protested when fathers walked away - sign of attachment)
26
what does the study done by Grossmann et al. (2002) show about the father having a distinctive role of the mother?
carried out a longitudinal study (babies' attachments studied until they were teens) looking at both the parents’ behaviour and its relationship to the quality of the children’s attachment into their teens
---> quality of infant attachment with mothers but not fathers was related to children’s attachment in adolescents suggesting that father attachment was less important
however found that the qualities of fathers' play w babies was related to quality of adolescent attachments: suggests fathers have a role that is more to do w PLAY and STIMULATION and less to do with emotional development and nurturing
27
what was the study done by field (1978) to show fathers as primary attachment figures, adopting behaviours more typical of mothers?
filmed 4 month old babies in face to face interaction with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers
primary caregiver fathers (like mothers) spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than the secondary caregiver fathers (ALL PART OF RECIPROCITY AND INTERACTIONAL SYNCHRONY)
shows that fathers have the potential to be the more emotion-focused primary attachment figure and provide the responsiveness required for a close emotional attachment
28
evaluation: how is it a strength that the research into the role of the father can be used to offer advice to parents? (real world application)
parents can agonise over decision on who shoukd take the primary caregiver role:
- mothers may feel pressured to stay at home / fathers pressured to focus on work than parenting (due to stereotypical views)
research can give advice to parents:
for heterosexual parents - fathers can be primary attachment figures
lesbian parents and single mothers - not having a father figure does not affect a child's development
REDUES PARENTAL ANXIETY ABT ROLE OF FATHERS
29
evaluation: how is it a limitation that there is confusion over research questions?
lack of clarity over the qs being asked:
some researchers asking the questions "what is the role of the father?' want to understand the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures
but others are more concerned w fathers as the primary attachment figure
the former have tended to see fathers behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role
the latter have tended to find that fathers can take on a ‘maternal’ role
makes it difficult to offer a simple answer and the findings from research being inconsistent means that firm conclusions cannot be drawn
30
evaluation: how is it a limitation that the findings of the role of the father vary according the methodology used?
longitudinal studies (grossmann et al. e.g) have suggested that fathers as secondary attachment figures have an important and distinctive role in their children's development (play and stimulation)
however if this is true then it would be expected that children growing up in single-mother and lesbian-parent families would grow up different than those in 2 heterosexual families
study by Mccallum and Golombok 2004 show that these children do not develop differently than children in 2 parent heterosexual families
means that the q to whether fathers have a distinctive role remains unanswered
31
evaluation: what is a counterpoint to the findings of the role of the father being varied according the methodology used?
the lines of research may not be in conflict but instead the parents in single-mother and lesbian parent families adapt to accommodate the role played by fathers
meaning that the q of a distinctive role for fathers is clear and families can adapt to not having a father
32
what is a 'learning theory'
a set of theories from the behaviourist approach to psychology, that emphasise the role of learning in the acquisition of behaviour
33
what did dollard and miller (1950) propose about attachment?
that caregiver-infact attachment can be explained by learning theory
called 'cupboard love' approach as it emphasises the attachment figure as a provider of food
-> children learn to love whoever feeds them
34
what is classical conditioning?
learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus (e.g., a tone) becomes associated with a stimulus (e.g., food) that naturally produces a behaviour
After the association is learned, the previously neutral stimulus is sufficient to produce the behaviour
35
how does classical condition produce a conditioned pleasure response from a baby?
in attachment:
unconditioned stimulus (food) -> unconditioned response (pleasure)
neutral response (caregiver) -> no response
when the caregiver provides food, they become associated with food
US (food) + NS (caregiver) -> unconditioned response (pleasure)
when the baby sees this person there is an expectation of food. the NS becomes a CONDITIONED STIMULUS.
conditioned stimulus (caregiver) -> conditioned response (pleasure)
the pleasure response is LOVE, an attachment is formed and the caregiver becomes an attachment figure
36
what is operant conditioning?
a type of learning in which a new voluntary behaviour is associated with a consequence - reinforcement makes the behaviour more likely to occur, while punishment makes it less likely to occur
37
how does operant conditioning explain why babies cry for comfort?
crying leads to a response from the caregiver e.g feeding
as long as caregiver provides the correct response, crying is reinforced, the baby directs crying for comfort towards the caregiver who responds with the comforting 'social suppressor' behaviour
38
how is operant conditioning a two way process?
as the baby is reinforced for crying, the caregiver receives negative reinforcement because the crying stops (escaping from something unpleasant is reinforcin)
mutual reinforcement strengthens n attachment
39
what did sears et al. (1957) suggest about attachment being a secondary drive?
drive reduction:
hunger = primary drive (innate biological motivator: we are motivated to eat to reduce the hunger drive)
as caregivers provide food, primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them and attachment becomes is thus a secondary drive learned by association between the caregiver and satisfaction of a primary drive
40
evaluation: how is it a limitation of learning theory of explanation that there is a lack of evidence from animal studies?
Lorenz geese: imprinted on the first moving object they saw regardless if this object was associated with food or not
Harlow's research: monkeys displayed attachment behaviour towards the cloth mother as a preference to the wire mother that was feeding them w milk
SHOWS THERE ARE OTHER FACTORS THAN ASSOCIATION W FOOD THAT ARE MORE IMPORTANT
41
evaluation: how is it a limitation of learning theory explanations that there is a lack of evidence from human studies?
schaffer and emerson (1964) found that babies tend to form their main attachment to their mother regardless if she was the one that usually fed them
isabella et al. (1989) found that high levels of interactional synchrony predicted the quality of attachment: these factors are not related to feeding
SUGGESTS FOOD IS NOT THE MAIN FACTOR I THE FORMATION OF HUMAN ATTACHMENTS
42
evaluation: how is it a strength that elements of conditioning could be involved in some aspects of attachment?
conditioning may still play a role even if it seems unlikely that association w food does
e.g baby may associate feeling warm and comfortable w the presence of a particular adult which may influence the baby's choice for their main attachment figure
means that learning theory may still be useful in understanding the developments of attachment
43
evaluation: what is a counterpoint to the elements of conditioning being involved in some aspects fo attachments?
both conditioning explanations see a baby playing a passive role in attachment development, simply responding to associations with comfort or reward
research shows babies take an active role in the interactions that produce attachment:
feldman and eidelman 2007
means that conditioning may not be an adequate explanation of any aspect of attachment
44
what was the procedure carried out by Lorenz (1952) on attachment in animals?
randomly divided a large clutch of goose eggs: 1/2 hatched with mother goose’s, 1/2 hatched in incubator, where the first moving object they saw was Lorenz
45
what were the findings of Lorenz research on attachment in animals?
the incubator group follow Lorenz everywhere, but control group followed the mother goose around
when 2 groups were mixed up, they continued to follow the mother and the experimental group followed Lorenz
called IMPRINTING, where bird species attach to the first moving object that they see
46
What is the critical period for imprinting?
first few hours after hatching
if imprinting does not occur within that time, Lorenz found the chicks did not attach themselves to a mother figure
47
How did Lorenz investigate sexual imprinting?
case study: he described 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
48
evaluation: (strength) what is the research that supports Lorenz' investigation on imprinting?
regolin and vallortigara (1995)
chicks were exposed to a combination of shapes that moved
a range of combinations of shapes were moved and shown but they followed the original one more closely
supports view that animals at birth have an innate mechanism to imprint to the first moving object that they see in the critical window of development
49
evaluation: how is it a limitation that the Lorenz' findings are not generalisable to humans?
mammillian attachment system = v different and more complex than birds
e.g mammal attachment = 2 way process
(not only young show attachment but also mother shows emotional attachment)
shows it is not appropriate to generalise lorenz' ideas to humans
50
How did Harlow (1958) investigate the importance of contact comfort?
reared 16 baby monkeys w 2 mothers (one wire, one cloth)
1 condition : wire mother dispersed milk
2nd condition: cloth mother dispersed milk
51
what were harlow's findings (1958(?
monkeys cuddled cloth mother in preference to wire mother, sought comfort from cloth mother when frightened (by noisy mechanical teddy bear) regardless which mother dispersed
shows 'contact comfort' was of more importance tahn food when it came to attachment
52
What were the findings of early maternal deprivation for the baby monkeys?
monkeys reared w wire mothers = most dysfunctional
more aggressive, less sociable, bred less
unskilled at mating
when they became mothers, neglected their young and attacked them, even sometimes killing them
53
evaluation: how is it a strength that harlow's research is applicable to the real world?
helped social workers and clinical psychologists understand that a lack of bonding experience may be a risk factor in the childs development, allowing them to intervene to prevent poor outcomes
means harlow's research is also practical rather than j theoretical
54
evaluation: how is it a limitation that the Harlow's findings are not generalisable to humans?
rhesus monkeys are more similar to humans than lorenz' birds but the human brain and behaviour is much more complex than that of monkeys
means it may not be appropriate to generalise findings to humans
55
evaluation: ethical issues of Harlow's research
caused severe and long-term distress to monkeys
monkeys became aggressive, less sociable, bred less
neglected young and attacked them
56
what are the 3 components of Bowlby's theory (1988) as an explanation of attachment?
monotropy
social releasers and the critical period
internal working model
57
why is bowlby's theory described as monotropic?
believed that a child's attachment to ONE caregiver s different and more important than others
58
what 2 principles clarify that the more time a baby spends with this mother figure/primary attachment figure, the better?
law of continuity: the more constant and predictable a child's care, the better quality of their attachment
law of accumulated separation: having substantial time apart from a primary caregiver risks a poor quality attachment that will disadvantage the child in a range of ways
59
evaluation: how is it a limitation that bowlby's theory of monotropy lacks validity?
scahffer and emerson (1964) found that although most babies did attach to one person at first, some formed multiple attachments at the same time
the first attachment may just be STRONGER rather than DIFFERENT from qualities of other attachments
suggests bowlby may be incorrect that there is a unique quality and importance for the childs primary attachment
60
what did bowlby say about social releasers?
babies are born with a set of innate 'cute' behaviours that encourage attention from adults -> social releasers
activates social interaction and makes an adult attach to a baby
61
what did bowlby say about the critical period when the infant attachment system is active?
6 months:
child = maximally sensitive at 6 months (may extend to the age of 2)
if an attachment is not formed in this time, the child will find it much harder to form one later
62
evaluation: what is research that supports the role of social releasers? (strength)
evidence that cute baby behaviours are designed to elicit interaction from caregivers
brazelton et al. (1975) observed babies trigger reactions w adults using social releasers
instructed primary attachment figures to ignore baby social releasers: baby = more distressed and curled up and became motionless
illustrates role of social releasers in emotional development and suggests they are important in the process of attachment developments
63
what is the internal working model and what did bowlby say about it?
- mental representation of their relationship with their attachment figure, serve as a model for relationship expectations
child experiencing loving relationship w reliable caregiver will have an expectation all relationships are like that and will bring these qualities to a relationship
child's first relationship w poor treatment will form poor relationships and expect treatment/treat others in that way
affects child's later ability to be a parent themselves (parenting based on their own experiences of being parented)
64
evaluation: what is the research that supports the internal working model?
IWM predicts patterns of attachemnt will be passed from one gen to next
bailey et al. (2007) assessed attachment relationships in 99 mothers and their 1 yr old
measured mothers' attachment to their primary attachment figures and assessed the quality attachment of babies
found that mothers w poor attachment to their primary figures were more likely to have poorly attached babies
supports idea that mothers' ability to form attachments to their babies is influenced by their own IWM.
65
evaluation: what is the counterpoint of the research that supports the internal working model?
probably other important influences on social development:
e.g psychologists believe that genetic differences in anxiety and sociability affect social behaviour in both babies and adults (which can impact parenting ability)
means bowlby may have overstated the importance of the IWM in social behaviour at the expense of other factors
66
what was the aim of "the strange situation" developed Ainsworth and Bell (1970)?
to be to able observe key attachment as a means of assessing the quality of a baby's attachment to a caregiver
67
what are the behaviours used to judge attachment used in this experiment?
proximity seeking: baby w good quality attachment will stay close to cg
secure-base behaviour: b feel confident to explore but use parent as secure base to feel safe
stranger anxiety
separation anxiety
response to reunion: greet caregiver return w pleasure and comfort
68
what was the procedure of Ainsworth’s strange situation?
controlled observation: in a lab w 2 way mirror
1. baby encouraged to explore (tests secure base b)
2. stranger come and approaches baby (tests stranger anxiety)
3. cg leaves baby n stranger together (tests, stranger and separation anxiety)
4. The caregiver returns and the stranger (test reunion behaviour and explore secure base)
5. cg Leaves baby alone. (Test separation anxiety)
6. The strange returns (test stranger anxiety)
7. The caregiver returns and is reunited with the baby (tests reunion behaviour)
69
what were the findings of Ainsworth strange situation?
3 main types of attachment:
secure attachment
insecure avoidant attachment
insecure resistant attachment
70
what are the characteristics of secure attachment?
babies explore happily but go back to cg
show moderate separation distress and moderate stranger anxiety
require n accept comfort from the cg in reunion stage
60-75% of British babies
71
what are the characteristics of insecure avoidant attachment?
babies explore freely but do not seek proximity from cg
show little or no reaction to when cg leaves and barely makes contact or avoids contact when cg returns
very little stranger anxiety
20-25% British babies
72
what are the characteristics of insecure resistant attachment?
babies seek greater proximity than others and explore less
high levels of stranger anxiety and separation distress but resist comfort when reunited with cg
3% British babies
73
evaluation: how is it a strength that there is good predictive validity?
outcome predicts a number of aspects of babies later development
research shows babies w secure A tend to have better outcomes than others (childhoods n adulthood)
-> better achievement in school, less bullying
-> better health in adulthood
whereas other types of A have worse outcomes
shows that the strange situation is meaningful in a baby’s development
74
evaluation: what is a counterpoint to this strength?
Strange situation may not measure attachment
Kagan (1982) suggested that genetically influenced anxiety levels could account for variations in attachment behaviour and later development
75
Evaluation: how is it a strength that the strange situation has good inter-rater reliability?
bick et al. (2012) tested IR reliability: found agreement of attachment type in 94% of cases
reliable as procedure takes place under controlled conditions and because behaviour is easy to observe a it is large movements (crawling)
means we can be confident about attachment type assessed does not depend on subjective judgements
76
evaluation: how is it a limitation that the test may be culture bound?
may not be a valid measure of attachment in diff cultural contexts
strange situation developed in Britain and USA
babies have diff experiences in diff culture
e.g in Japan, mother-baby separation is v rare therefore babies displayed high levels of separation anxiety
means it is very difficult to know what the test is measuring outside of western culture
77
what was the aim of Van Ijzendoorn and kroonenberg's research?
look at the proportions of secure, i-avoidant and i-resistant attachments across a range of countries to assess CULTURAL VARIATION
78
what was the procedure of Van Ijzendoorn and kroonenberg's research?
meta-analysis of 32 studies of attachment using the strange situation, conducted in 8 different countries
79
What were the findings of Van Ijzendoorn and kroonenberg's research?
- in all countries, secure A was the most common (but varied e.g 75% in Britain, 50% in china)
- in individualist cultures, i-resistant attachment was similar to ainsworth's og sample (under 14%)
- collectivist cultures from china japan and israel where rates were above 25%
- variations within cultures were 150% greater than between
80
what was the study conducted by simonelli et.al (2014) on cultural variation?
assessed 76 babies aged 12 months using strange sitch
50% = secure, 36% i-avoidant
suggested because increasing number of mothers work long hrs and use professional childcare
suggests patterns of attachment types vary in line w cultural change
81
what is the conclusion of all the studies of cultural variation?
secure A = norm
supports bowlby's idea that attachment is innate and universal
82
evaluation: how is it a strength that there is high internal validity?
large sample size used (2000 babies) w consistent methodology used
studies conducted by indigenous psychologists
so misunderstandings of language and instructions are avoided
83
evaluation: how is it a limitation that there is imposed etic?
imposed etic: assuming an idea that works in one cultural context works w another
e.g strange sitch
in USA n britain, lack of affection upon reunion would indicate avoidant A but in germany, this would be interpreted as independence
means that behaviours may not have the same meanings n cultural contexts
84
evaluation: how is it a limitation that there is an impact on findings by confounding variables?
sample characteristics: poverty, social class, urban/rural makeup
environmental variables:
size of room + availability of toys
(less proximity seeking c of room size make a child more likely to be classified as avoidant)
means that looking at attachment behaviour in diff non-matched studies conducted in diff countries may not tell us anything about cross-cultural patterns of attachment
85
what is bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation?
the continual presence of care from a mother (or subsitute) is essential for normal psychological development of babies and toddlers both emotionally and intellectually
86
what did bowlby say about the critical period?
critical period = first 2 1/2 years for psychological development
if child is separated from mother ad deprived of emotional care for extended duration during this period then psychological damage = inevitable
87
what is the effect of maternal deprivation on intellectual development?
results in low IQ
goldfarb (1947) found lowe IQ in children who were institutionalised than those who were fostered and has a higher standard of emotional care
88
what is the effect of maternal deprivation on emotional development?
can result in affectionless psychopathy (inexperience to feel guilt or strong emotion towards others)
prevents a person from developing fulfilling relationships and is associated w criminality, cannot appreciate feelings of victims nd lack remorse for their actions
89
what was the procedure of the research done on maternal deprivation by bowlby (1944)?
44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing
interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy (lack of guilt, affection and empathy for victims)
interviewed families about if thieves had early separation from mother
compared to sample group of 44 non-criminal but emotionally disturbed people
90
what was the findings of the research done on maternal deprivation by bowlby (1944)?
14/44 = affectionless psychopaths and 12 experiences prolonged separation from mothers in first 2 years of their lives
only 2 in control group had experiences long separations therefore concluded that early separation/deprivation resulted in affectionless psychopathy
91
eval: how is it a limitation there is poor quality of evidence proposed for the theory of deprivation?
bowlby himself interviewd the families and assessments: open to bias as he alr knew which teenagers he expected to show signs of psychopathy
were confoudnign variables: children in goldfarb's study experiences early trauma and institutional care as well as prolonged separation
shows there is a poor quality of evidence with many flaws
92
eval: how is it a limitation that there was confusion between deprivation and privation?
rutter (1981) said
deprivation = loss of primary attachment figure after attachment developed
privation = failure to form any attachment in the first place
therefore children studied by goldfarb may have been prived instead of deprived and children in 44 thieves study has disrupted early lives so they could not form strong attachments young
means bowlby may have overestimated seriousness of effects of deprivation in children development
93
eval: what is the limitation of bowlby;s idea of a critical period?
there is evidence that good quality aftercare can prevent damage although bowlby says that damage is inevitable if child doesnt form attachment in first 2 1/2 yrs of life
e.g koluchova (1976): czech twins experiences severe damage and emotional/physical damage from 18 months to 7 yrs old. after excellent care, they fully recovered
means that lasting harm is not inevitable so the period is better seen as a sensitive period
94
what were the romanian orphan studies?
studied the effects of deprivation on emotional and intellectual development of romanian children that ended up in institutional care in the 1990s as romanian parents could not afford to keep their children (law required women to have 5)
after 1989 romanian evolution, many children were adopted, some by british parents
95
what was the procedure of rutter et al.'s research (2011) on the romanian orphans?
followed a group of 165 romanian orphans for many years (adopted by UK families) as part of the english and romanian adoptee study
aim of ERA: investigate the extent of which good care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions
physical, cognitive and emotional developments assessed at ages 4, 6, 11, 15, and 22,25 years
compared to control group of 52 children from UK adopted
96
what was the findings of rutter et al.'s research (2011) on the romanian orphans?
when first arriving in Uk, 1/2 showed signs of delayed intellectual development and were severely malnourished
mean IQ of children adopted
before 6 months: 102
6 months - 2 yrs: 82
after 2 yrs: 77
those adopted after 6 months showed signs of disinhibited attachment
97
what was the procedure of zeanah et al's research? (2005)
conducted bucharest early invention, assessing attachment in 95 romanian children aged 12-31 months who spent most of their lives
compared to 50 children who had never lived in an institution
attachment type measured using strange sitch
carers were asked abt unusual social behaviour (clingyness, attention seeking - measure of disinhibited attachment)
98
what were the findings of zeanah et al's research? (2005)
74% of control group = securely attached in strange sitch
19% of institutional group were securely A
description of disinhibited attachment applied to 44% of institutionalised children as opposed to less than 20% of controls
99
what are the 2 effects of institutionalisation?
disinhibited attachment
intellectual disability
100
what is disinhibited attachment?
children who have spent their lives in institutions show signs of disinhibited attachment:
attention- seeking, clinginess, being friendly and affectionate towards familiar people and strangers
UNUSUAL BC IN SECOND YEAR SHOW STRANGER ANXIETY
DA = adaptation to living w multiple caregivers during sensitive period of attachment, wasn't able to form a secure attachment
101
what is intellectual disability?
in rutters study, many showed signs of ID when arriving in Britian but most caught up w the control group by age of 4
shows damage to intellectual development can be recovered provided adoption takes place before the age of 6 months - age which attachments form
102
eval: how is it a strength that there is real world application for romanian orphanage studies
can improve conditions for children growing up outside their family home
improved psychologists understanding of effects of early institutional care and how to prevent the worst of these effects
led to improvements for children e.g children have 1 or 2 key workers who play central role in emotional care
means children in institutional care have a chance to develop normal attachments and disinhibited attachment is avoided
103
eval: how is it a strength that there is a lack of confounding variables?
many of children studied in orphanages had avrying degrees of trauma but children from romanian orphanages had the same experiences (been handed over by loving parents who could not afford to keep them)
means there is a high internal validity
104
eval: how is it a limitation that there is a current lack of data on adult development?
latest data from ERA study ended at 22-25 so there is no data for qs such as long term effects of institutional care e.g mental health problems or ability to maintain and form romantic and parental relationships
takes a long time to gather data because of longitudinal study
means it will take time to know what the long term effects are for romanian children, it is possible that late-adopted children may catch up
105
106
