Attatchment

Question 1

Caregiver infant interactions- meaningful

Answer 1

-quality of these interactions is associated with successful development of attachments
-Two kinds of interaction are reciprocity and internal synchrony

Question 2

Reciprocity

Answer 2

-When baby and caregiver respond to and elicit responses from each other
-mothers successfully respond two thirds of time (Feldman and Eidelman 2007)
-babies are not passive, but active participants, both can initiate interactions

Question 3

Interactional Synchrony

Answer 3

-‘the temporal co-ordination of micro-level social bahaviour’ (Feldman 2007)
-Meltzoff and Moore 1977 onserved beginnings of IS in babies as young as 2 weeks
-Babies were more likely to mirror adults than chance would predict
-Isabella et al 1989 observed 30 mother and baby and quality of attachment
- found high levels of synchrony associated with better quality attachment

Question 4

Schaffers stages of attachment- stage 1

Answer 4

Asocial stage (first few weeks)
-similar behaviour towards people and inanimate objects
-some preference for familiar people (more easily calmed)
-Happier in the presence of other people

Question 5

Schaffers stages of attachment- stage 2

Answer 5

Indiscriminate attachment (2- 7 months)
-more observable social behaviour
-recognise and prefer familiar people
-no stranger or separation anxiety
-Attachment is indiscriminate because same towards all

Question 6

Schaffers stages of attachment- stage 3

Answer 6

Specific attachment (from around 7 months)
-stranger anxiety and separation anxiety when separated from one particular person
-baby said to have formed a specific attachment with primary attachment figure
-Usually person who offers most interaction and responds to babies signals with most skill
mother in 65% of cases

Question 7

Schaffers stages of attachment- stage 4

Answer 7

multiple attachments (by one year)
-secondary attachments with other adults form shortly after
-29% of babies had secondary attachments within a month of forming primary attachment
-By one year most had multiple secodary attachments

Question 8

Schaffer and Emmerson (1964) stages of attachment- procedure

Answer 8

-60 babies from Glasgow
-Visited every month for a year and then again at 18 months
-separation anxiety measured by asking mothers about babies behaviour during everyday separations
-stranger anxiety measured by asking children’s response to unfamiliar adults

Question 9

Schaffer and Emmerson (1964) Stages of attachment- findings

Answer 9

-Babies developed attachment through a sequence of stages
-specific attachment was not necessarily the person the baby spent the most time with, but the person who was most interactive

Question 10

The role of the father- primary attachments

Answer 10

-Schaffer and Emmerson (1964) found majority of babies attached to mother first
-In only 3% of cases the father was the first attachment
-27% mother and father
-75% eventually form secondary attachment with dad by 18 months, indicated by babies protesting when fathers left

Question 11

A distinctive role for the father

Answer 11

-Grossman et al (20020 carried out longitudinal study about parents behaviour and it’s relationship to quality of childrens attachment
-found quality attachment with father was less important for adolescents then mother
- also found quality of fathers play with baby was related to quality of adolescent attachment
-suggests fathers have diff role, one to do more with play and stimulation, less with emotional care

Question 12

Role of the father- fathers can be primary attachment figures

Answer 12

-when fathers adopt the role of main caregiver they take on behaviours more typical of mothers
-field (1978) filmed 4 moth old babies and found that primary careguver fathers, like mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating, and holding babies
-These behaviours are related to interactional synchrony (isabella et al 1989)
-Key of attachment is level of responsiveness and not gender

Question 13

Animal studies- Lorenz (1952) imprinting- procedure

Answer 13

-divided large clutch of goose eggs
-one half were hatched with mother in natural environment and other half hatched in incubator where Lorenz was first moving object they saw
-all mixed to see who they would follow
-Also observed their later courtship behaviour

Question 14

Animal studies- Lorenz (1952) imprinting- findings

Answer 14

• incubator group followed Lorenz and control group followed mum
  -critical period where imprinting needs to take place, if imprinting did not occur in this time, chicks did not attach to mother
  -sexual imprinting also occurs whereby the birds acquire a template of desirable characteristics in a mate

Question 15

Animal studies- Harlow (1958) importance of contact comfort- procedure

Answer 15

-16 rhesus monkeys with 2 wire model ‘mothers’
-condition 1= milk dispensed by wire mother
-condition 2= milk dispensed by cloth mother
- to measure attachment harlow observed frightening situations
-e.g. noisy mechanical teddy bear
-continued to study the monkeys who had been deprived of their mother in to adulthood

Question 16

Animal studies- Harlow (1958) importance of contact comfort- findings

Answer 16

-cuddled cloth mother rather than wire mother, regardless of which was dispensing milk
-suggests comfort more important than food
-monkeys sought comfort from cloth mother when frightened
-As adults, monkeys deprived of real mother were more aggressive, less sociable and less skilled in mating

Question 17

explanations of attachment: learning theory- importance of food

Answer 17

-sometimes called ‘cupboard love’ explanation because it emphasises importance of food in attachment formation
-children learn to love whoever feeds them

Question 18

learning theory- role of classical conditioning

Answer 18

-association of 2 stimuli
-UCS(food) leads to UCR(pleasure)
-caregiver starts as NS
-caregiver becomes associated with food and becomes CS
-after conditioning, sight of caregiver produces CR
-conditioned pleasure response is the basis of love

Question 19

learning theory- role of operant conditioning

Answer 19

-explains why babies cry for comfort (important building block for attachment)
-crying leads to response from caregiver
-as long as caregiver provides correct response, crying is reinforced because of its pleasurable consequences
-

Question 20

learning theory- negative reinforcement

Answer 20

-At same time as baby is reinforced for crying, caregiver receives negative reinforcement because the crying stops
-interplay of positive and negative reinforcement strengthens attachment

Question 21

learning theory- drive reduction

Answer 21

-hunger is a primary drive, an innate biological motivator
-Attachment is a secondary drive learned by an association between caregiver and primary drive
-Sears et al (1957) suggested as caregivers provide food, primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them

Question 22

Explanations of attachment: Bowlby’s theory- attachment is innate

Answer 22

-Bowlby gave an evolutionary explanation, that attachment is an innate system that gives survival advantage
-imprinting and attachment evolved so young animals stay close to parents who protect them

Question 23

Bowlby’s theory- monotropic

Answer 23

-having a primary attachment figure
-Bowlbys theory emphasises the childs attachment to one caregiver
-believed the more time spent with mother figure the better, for 2 reasons=
1. Law of continuity (more constant care forms better attachment)
2. Law of accumulated separation (effects of separation add up)

Question 24

Bowlby’s theory- critical period

Answer 24

-critical period of 2 years when the infant attachment system is active
-Child is maximally sensitive at 6 months this may extend up to 2 years
-If an attachment has not formed in this time, it will be much harder to do so later

Question 25

Bowlby’s theory- social releasers

Answer 25

-suggested that babies are born with a set of ‘cute’ behaviours e.g. smiling, gripping that encourage attention from adults
-The purpose of these is to activate adult interaction (reciprocal system)

Question 26

Bowlby’s theory- internal working model of relationships

Answer 26

-Child forms a mental representation od the relationship with their primary attachment figure
-This serves as a template for what relationships are like
-May affect the childs ability to be a parent
-Child will expect to always be treat the same way

Question 27

Types of attachment- Ainsworth and Bell (1970)- the strange situation- procedure

Answer 27

-lab controlled with 2 way mirror
-5 categories to judge attachment quality=
1. proximity seeking
2. exploration and secure base behaviour
3. stranger anxiety
4. separation anxiety
5.response to reunion after short time
-7, 3 minute episodes
1. baby told explore by caregiver
2. stranger enter, talk to caregiver then approach baby
3. caregiver leaves
4. caregiver enter, stranger leave
5. caregiver leave baby alone
6. stranger returns
7. caregiver returns

Question 28

Types of attachment- Ainsworth and Bell (1970)- the strange situation- findings

Answer 28

-3 main types of attachment
1. secure attachment (60-75% british toddlers) baby happy to explore but seeks proximity, moderate sep and strang anxiety, accepts comfort on reunion.
2. Insecure avoidant (20-25%)
baby explores and does not seek proximity, little to no anxiety, avoids contact at reunion
3. Insecure resistant (3%)
baby explores and seeks greater proximity, considerable anxiety, resists comfort when reunited

Question 29

Cultural variations in attachment- van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) meta analysis- procedure

Answer 29

-looked at proportions of secure, insecure avoidant and insecure resistant across a range of countries
-found 32 studies of strange situation
-8 countries, 1990 children
-data was meta-analysed, results being combined and weighted for sample size

Question 30

Cultural variations in attachment- van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988)- findings

Answer 30

• Secure was most common but ranged from 50% in china to 75% in britain
  -individualist cultures insecure resistant attachment rates were similar to ainsworths og sample (under 14%)
  -However, collectivist samples from china, japan and israel were above 25%
  -suggests cultural variations in insecure attachment
  -variations within a country were 150% bigger than across countries
  -one study found securely attached 46% to one sample as high as 90%

Question 31

Bowlby’s (1951) theory of maternal deprivation

Answer 31

-continued emotional care is essential
-separation may lead to maternal deprivation
-separation means not being in physical presence of primary caregiver
-deprivation means long separation, can be avoided if alternate care provided
-critical period 2.5 years, psychological damage inevitable if separated from mother for long time during these years
-Goldfarb (1947) found lower IQ in kids in institution
-may lead to affectionless psychopathy (inability to feel guilt or emotions towards others)

Question 32

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation- (1944) 44 thieves study

Answer 32

procedure-
-44 delinquent teens accused of stealing
-All were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy
-families also interviewed to established any prolonged separations from mother
findings-
-14/44 were affectionless psychopaths, 12 had prolonged separation from mother in first 2 years of life
-only 5 of the remaining had separations, suggesting deprivation causes AP

Question 33

Romanian orphan studies (institutionalisation)- Rotter et al 2011 english and romanian adoptee study (ERA)- procedure

Answer 33

-followed group of 165 romanian orphans who experienced poor conditions and were then adopted in UK
-longitudinal study, tested the extent to which good care can make up for bad experience in institution
-physical, cognitive and emotional development assessed at; 4,6,11,15 and 22-25
-control group of 52 adopted children from UK

Question 34

Romanian orphan studies (institutionalisation)- Rotter et al 2011 english and romanian adoptee study (ERA)- findings

Answer 34

-half had delayed IQ
-at age 11= those adopted before 6 month had mean IQ 102, after 2 years was 77
-continued to be apparent age 16 (Beckett et al 2010)
-frequency of disinhibited attachment= adopted after 6 month were clingy, attention seeking and indiscriminate affection to strangers, rare in children adopted earlier
-supports Bowlby’s view of a sensitive period and the long lasting effects

Question 35

Romanian orphan studies (institutionalisation)- Zeenah et al (2005) Bucharest early intervention project

Answer 35

procedure-
-strange situation used
-95 romanian kids age 12-31 months who had spent most their lives in institutionalisation
-compared to a control group of 50 who never had
findings-
-19% of institutionalised group were securely attached (74% of control)
-44% had characteristics of disinhibited attachment (20% of control)

Question 36

Effects of institutionalisation

Answer 36

1. Disinhibited attachment- equally friendly and affectionate to people they know well or to total strangers, may be adaptation to multiple caregivers
2. Damage to IQ- often show signs of intellectual disability, not as pronounced if adopted before 6 months

Question 37

influence of early attachment on later relationships- internal working model

Answer 37

-quality of first attachment is crucial as it acts as a template for future relationships
-due to influence of internal working model
-first attachment is loving= will seek functional relationships and behave functionally in them
-bad first attachment= struggle to form relationships
-securely attached babies tend to go on to form best friendships (Kerns 1994)
-insecure avoidant likely to be bullied
-insecure resistant likely to be bullies (Myron-Wilson and Smith 1998)
-people base parenting style on internal working model (Bailey et al 2007)

Question 38

Influence of early attachment on later relationships- Hazan and Shaver (1987) the love quiz

Answer 38

procedure
-analysed 620 replies to a love quiz in American newspaper
-assessed 3 aspects of relationship
1. current and important relationships
2. general love experiences
3. attachment type
findings
-attachment type was reflected in romantic relationships
-secure were most likely to have good long lasting relationships
-avoidant tended to be jealous and fear intimacy