Attatchment Flashcards
What is attachment?
An emotional bond between two people. Usually a primary caregiver and an infant. This is a two way relationship
What are the two infant-caregiver interactions?
Reciprocity and interactions synchrony
What is reciprocity?
When an infant and caregiver respond to each others signals.
What is interactional synchrony?
When an infant and a caregiver perform the same action at the same time.
What is a strength of caregiver-infant interactions?
Real world application- can help people be better parents in the future. Crotwell said that just 10 mins of parent child interaction therapy improved interactional synchrony.
What are two limitations of infant-caregiver interactions?
L- hard to observe- infants lack coordination so their actions may not be intentional
L- no explanation- observes can see R and IS happening but don’t say what it does for attachments
What are scaffer’s four stages of attachment?
Asocial stage
Indiscrimate attachment
Specific attachment
Multiple attachment
What are two strengths of Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment?
S-Good external validity- observations made during normal activities done by parents and infants so mirror the real world
S- real world application- parents can plan when their child goes to daycare depending on which stage they are in
What are two limitations of Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment?
L- low internal validity- mothers are the main observers for the evidence and may be biased
L- lack of evidence- in asocial stage babies are very very young so don’t have much control over actions so hard to tell what they are doing
What did Schaffer and Emerson say about the role of the father?
The father is the SC not the PC
In only 3% of cases was the father the PC
75% of babies formed an attachment with their father by 18 months
What did Grossman say about the role of the father?
The fathers role is different to that of the mothers
The fathers role is to play with and stimulate the child not nurture
Found that the quality of a teen’s relationship with their father linked to how much their father played with them at a young age
What did Field say about the role of the father?
Fathers can be the PC and nurture the child
What are strengths and limitations of animal studies on attachment?
Consent not a problem
Cheaper
Drugs can be tested
Cannot be generalised to humans all the time
Still unethical
Cannot get consent
What did Lorenz find out about imprinting?
Geese imprinted onto him immediately
Critical period is between 4-25 hours
Geese showed no recognition of real mother
Geese could also imprint on objects
What is sexual imprinting?
When an animal will only direct courtship to the same species that they are imprinted on. Lorenz studied a peacock that imprinted on a giant tortoise which would then only go for tortoises in the future
What did Harlow discover from his monkey experiment?
Both groups spent more time with the cloth mother
They would only go to wire mother for food
If faced with something scary they would take refuge with the cloth mother
They were more adventurous when the cloth mother was present
Contact comfort more important than food to monkeys
What were the long term effects of Harlow’s experiment on monkeys?
They were more timid
They were bad at interacting with other monkeys and could be aggressive
They had difficulty mating
Females were ‘inadequate’ mothers and some even killed their offspring
Those raised by the wire mother were the most dysfunctional
What did Harlow found find about the critical period for the attachment of rhesus monkeys?
If the monkeys were with the fake mother for more than 90 days the damage was irreversible
The critical period is therefore 90 days
What are social releases
‘Cute’ innate actions carried out by an infant
What is the Critical period
6 weeks - 2 years
What is bowlbys IWM
The quality of a child’s attachment with their parents will affect how good their attachment will be with their future kids
What is a weakness of monotropy
L- contrasting views- Schaffer and Emerson say that although the primary attachment appears particularly strong emotional support and a safe base can be provided by other attachments
L- negative effect- Burman said that the theory of accumulation separation lead to thr opression of woman as it says them working is a bad thing
What are the strengths of monotropy
S- supporting evidence- Bailey tested 99 mothers in 2007 using a standard interview and found that mothers with bad attachments to their mothers had poorly attached babies
S- supporting evidence- Brazleton reported seeing interactional synchrony and that when babies did a social released that the mother ignored the baby showed signs of distress
How many mothers and children did Ainsworth observe
26
What behaviours were observed by ainsworth
Proximity seeking
Exploration and safe base behaviour
Stranger anxiety
Separation anxiety
Reunion response
What are the three types of attachment that Ainsworth identified
Type B- secure attachment
Type A- insecure avoidant
Type C- insecure resistant
How do secure infants react to: separation, strangers, reunion, exploring
Distressed when mother leaves
Avoids strangers when alone but interacts when mother is present
Happy when mother returns
Use mother as safe base to explore environment
What percentage of infants in the UK are ‘secure’
60-75%
How do insecure resistant infants react to: separation, strangers, reunion, exploring
Intense distress when mother leaves
Fears strangers
Approaches mother but may push her away
Clings to mother
What percentage of infants in the UK are insecure resistant
3%
How do insecure avoidance infants react to: separation, strangers, reunion, exploring
No signs of distress when mother leaves
Plays normally when stranger is present
Little interest when mother returns
Mother and stranger can comfort infant equally well
What are strengths of the ‘strange situationI’
Good external validity- filmed so can be analysed over and over again. Bick found there was a 94% inter-reliability rate. Environment heavily controlled
Real world application- studies have shown that ‘secure’ kids have better mental health and grades in the future. Shows that ainsworths classifications were accurate and encourage good parenting.
What are the limitations of Ainsworths study
Lacks generalisability- Takashi did the same study in Japan and found the norm was insecure resistant as that is what is normal for their culture
Lacks validity- Main and Weston found that the child’s reactions depended to which parent they were with. Shows the study is measuring the characteristics of an individual not a relationship
What is the normal state of attachment Germany
Insecure avoidant
What is the normal state of attachment in Japan
Insecure resistant
What are the insecure avoidant rates in Germany, Israel, Japan and Britain according to van Ijezendoorm and kroonenburg
G- 35%
I- 7%
J- 5%
GB- 22%
What was Van Ijezendoorn and Kroonbergs study
Meta analysis of 32 attatchment studies
1990 children studies
8 different countries studied
What did Van Ijezendoorn and Kroonberg find about insecure resistant rates in Germany, Israel, Japan and GB
G- 8%
I- 29%
J- 27%
GB-3%
What did Sinonella find about secure and insecure avoidant rates of children in Italy
Secure- 50%
Insecure avoidant- 36%
What are the strengths of cultural variation in attatchment
Good internal validity- indigenous researchers used in studies such as Simonella’s and Jin (Korea). Means language barriers etc are not an issue
What are the limitations of cultural differences in attatchment
- lack of generalisability- imposed Etic used so may measure foreign children against western ones.
- confounding variables- environmental and participant variables such as class, room size, age may affect results making studies have poor external validity
What did bowlby claim was the critical period
2.5 years
What did Bowlby find in his 44 thieves study
14 affectionless psychopaths
12/14 experienced maternal deprivation before 2.5
In a control group of non thieves only 2 had experienced maternal deprivation
What is a strength of Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation
Supported by Harlow- 90 day critical period and bad lasting consequences for maternally deprecated rhesus monkeys
What are limitations of Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation
Confounding variables- used children from his clinic in London. Many had been orphaned by WW2 and raised in bad orphanages. These are unique circumstances and won’t reflect other samples.
Researcher bias- Bowlby knew what he hoped to find and conducted interviews himself. Would have asked questions and read into information that would point to affectionless psychopathy
Contrasting evidence- Czech twin study showed twins who were ‘disabled’ at 7 due to neglect make a full recovery by adulthood
Who did the Czech twin study
Koluchova 1976
How many Romanian orphans were there by 1989 ans why
100,000
President ceasecu believed that an increase in population would lead to rapid industrialisation.
Banned abortion for woman under 40 with less than 4 kids
Banned contraception
Added a tax for all childless woman in 1977
What was Rutter’s English and Romanian adoptee study
Observed a group of 165 Romanian orphans living in Britain
Would asses them at ages 4,6,11 ans 15
Compared to a control group of 52 English adoptees
What did Rutter find about cognitive development of Romania orphans adopted: before 6 months, 6 months-2 years, after 2 years
6 months- 102 average IQ
6 months- 2 years: 86 average IQ
After 2 years: 77 average IQ
What did Rutter find about the attachment style of Romania orphans adopted: before 6 months, 6 months-2 years, after 2 years
6 months- not disinhibted
Later- disinhibted
What was Zeanah’s study on institutionalisation
Assessed the attachment of 95 children from 12-31 months who has spent over 90% of their lives in institutions and compared them to a control group with a ‘normal family’
What did Zeanah find
Institutionalised children- 19% secure attachment. 44% disinhibted attatchment
Normal children- 65% secure attatchment. 20% disinhibted
What are the effects of institutionalisation
Physical underdevelopment
Poor parenting (Quinton 1984)
Disinhibted attachment
Intellectual under-functioning
What are the strengths of effects of institutionalisation.
Real world application- studying Romanian orphans increased our understanding about such situations and Langton says had lead to an improvement in the way children are cared for in institutions. This improves quality fo life for many children
Good interval validity- less confounding variables as Romanian children had been institutionalised from birth meaning many shared the same experiences.
What are the weaknesses of the effects of institutionalisation
Lack of generalisability- situation in Romania was unique and the majority of institutionalised children around the worlds had better living conditions.
Self fulfilling prophecy- former Romanian orphans may be treated differently in later life meaning they can’t avoid different development to others
What did Kerns say about quality of peer friendships
Secure infants have the best quality friendships later on
Insecure infants have difficulty forming peer friendships later on
What was Hazan and Shaver’s love quiz
100 questions in American newspaper split into 3 sections:
1) about current or most important love interest
2) asked about general love experiences
3) asked about early childhood experiences and attachment type
620 individual replied
What were the finding of Hazam and Shaver’s love quiz
56% securely attached
25% insecure resistant
19% insecure avoidant
Secure= more likely to have healthy long lasting relationships
Insecure= more jealous and fear of intimacy
What are secure adults:
Different love experiences
View of relationships
Memories of mother child relationships
Different love experiences: positive
View of relationships: trust others, love is enduring
Memories of mother child relationships: positive- dependant and caring
What are insecure resistant adults:
Different love experiences
View of relationships
Memories of mother child relationships
Different love experiences: preoccupied by love
View of relationships: fall in love easily but true love hard to find
Memories of mother child relationships: conflicting- positive and rejecting
What are insecure avoidant adults:
Different love experiences
View of relationships
Memories of mother child relationships
Different love experiences: fearful of closeness
View of relationships: love not necessary for happiness
Memories of mother child relationships: cold and rejecting
What was Bailey’s experiment
Assessed attachment types of mothers to their babies and to their own mothers
Done through strange situation (babies) and attachment interviews (mothers)
What were the findings of Bailey’s study
Majority had same attachment type to their mothers as they did to their infants
What did Quinton research
50 mothers who were from families compared to 50 mothers from institutions
What did Quinton find
Mothers from institutions likely to be worse and have children end up in care
What are the strengths of influence of early attachment types on later relationships
Supporting evidence- Fearon and Roisman concluded previous attachment was most predicative of later events.
Real world application- encourages mothers to take better care of children as they know it may effect them in the long term
What are the weaknesses of influence of early attachment types on later relationships
Contradictory evidence- Regensburg concluded from a longitudinal study that there was no evidence for continuity of attachment type from 1-16
Self fulfilling prophecy- if a child is expected to be bad at forming relationships because of its upbringing it may be treated differently so this becomes true
what is the learning theory of attachment (Dollard and Miller)
Humans are born as blank slates
Dollard and Miller proposed that caregiver-infant attachment can be explained by learning theory which argues that attachment is a learned behaviour acquired through classical and operant attachment
their approach is sometimes called 'cupboard love theory' because it emphasises the importance of the caregiver as provider of food
how does classical conditioning apply to attachment with food
food (US) happy child (UR)
mother (NS) no response
Food (US)+mother(NS) happy (UR)
mother (NS) happy (CR)
How does operant conditioning explain babies crying
when a baby cries it often receives comfort such as feeding or comforting. This makes them more likely to cry as they know they receive good things (positive reinforcement). This is a two-way process as the mother receives negative reinforcement as the crying stops
what is a strength of the learning theory of attachment
classical and operant conditioning do play a role in attachment- it is unlikely that food and provision of comfort are the primary factor in forming attachments but operant and classical conditioning do play a big role in later human development so it is likely that it is also a factor in attachment
what are the limitations of the learning theory of attachment
contradictory evidence: animal studies- Lorenz and Harlow's experiments demonstrate how attachment is not affected by feeding. this can be applied to humans as learning theorists view humans and animals as equivalent
contradictory evidence: humans- Schaffer and Emerson showed that babies developed a 'primary attachment' to their mother even though other carers did most the feeding
contradictory evidence: theories- Isabella found that quality of attachment is associated with reciprocity and interactional synchrony. These two theories cannot co-exist as if cupboard love was the only thing that affected attachment there would be no purpose for these more complex theories- but evidence shows they do play a part.
what is the definition of monotropy
evolutionary explanation that sees attachment as as an innate system for a survival advantage
belief that the more time an infant spent with their mother the better
what are the two key principles to illustrate the importance of monotropy
the law of continuity- the more constant and predictable a child's carer, the better the quality of attachment
the law of accumulated separation- stated that the effects of every separation from the mother adds up and ;the safest dose is therefore a zero does' (Bowlby 1975)
what are the difficulties caused if an infant does not form an attachment with their caregiver within 2 years
delinquency
reduced intelligence
increased aggression
depression
what did Bowlby say about the importance of the love of a mother to their baby
'Mother love in infancy is just as important for a child's mental health, as vitamins and minerals are for its physical health'
what is required during the critical period
a continuous, unbroken relationship with one person
what is the role of the IWM on later relationships
IWM is the mental representation we carry around of our relationship with our PC- including what we THINK relationships should be like
similar to the concept of schema
helps you to predict behaviour of others bu using your past experiences to understand it
What did Kern find about the effects of early attachment on childhood friendships
securely attached children form the best quality friendships
insecurely attached children have friendship difficulties
what did Myron-Wilson and Smith find about effects of childhood attachment on bullying
securely attached un likely to be involved
insecure avoidant likely to be bullied
insecure resistant likely to be bullies
what did McCarthy find about effects of early attachments on adult friendships and romantic relationships
secure- best quality
resistant- couldn't maintain friendships
avoidant- struggled with intimacy in romantic relationships
what is continuity hypothesis
based off IWM
there will be continuity between early attachments and later relationships
the quality of a Childs first attachment is crucial and affect the nature of later realtionships
what are 'alert phases' (R and IS)
when babies are more active- picked up on two thirds of the time by PC
what was Meltzoff's experiment into IS
gave mothers 3 facia expressions and 3 hand gestures to do to child
13 children seen to replicate
what was Isabella's research into caregiver infant interactions
correlation between R and IS and quality of attachment
describe the asocial stage
doesn't discriminate between objects and humans
some preference towards humans
start to form bonds with certain people
describe the indiscriminate stage
2-7 months
prefers some humans to others
no separation or stranger anxiety
describe the specific stage
find the PC (mother- 65%)
separation and stranger anxiety shown
describe the multiple attachment stage
form secondary attachments
29% form secondary attachments within a month of PA
what was Schaffer and Emersons research for stages of attachment
observed 60 working class families in Glasgow
31 boys 29 girls
would visit every month for a year and once again at 18 months
asked the mother about babies behaviours
why is attachment a secondary drive (learning theory)
food is the biological primary drive making the attachment figure generalised to this and the secondary drive
how do Schaffer and Emerson challenge bowlby's mono tropic theory (AO3)
suggest some babies form multiple meaning attachments not just one and that although the PC does influence later relationships this is because the bond is stronger not different
why does the strange situation have good predicative validity (AO3)
predicts different roles in bullying and academia of different attachment types- measures something important
what did Kennedy find about Rutter's research into institutionalisation
at 15 and 22-25 institutionalised kids were more likely to have ADHD
what research is there that shows fathers can be the primary attachment figure
field filmed four month olds face to face with PC mothers SC fathered and PC fathers. found that PC fathers spent more time smiling imitating and holding babies than SC fathers.
what are the limitations of the role of the father
conflicting evidence- McCallum and Golombok found that children raised in lesbian households Developed the same as other kids (contrasts Grossman)
what are the strengths of the role of the father
real world application- parental anxiety reduced- heterosexual women put at ease as men can be PC. lesbian women put at ease as fathers not necessary (Schaffer and Emerson)
