Attatchment

Question 1

Attachment definition

Answer 1

The formation of a strong reciprocal emotional bond between and infant and a primary caregiver

Question 2

What is reciprocity in attachment?

Answer 2

That a caregiver-infant interaction is reciprocal ie each persons interactions affect the other

Question 3

What is the alert phase

Answer 3

When babies signal they’re ready to interact

Question 4

How many mothers can pick up on the alert phase?

Answer 4

Two thirds

Question 5

What is interactional synchrony

Answer 5

Caregiver and infants emotions and actions start to sync up and mirror one another

Question 6

How long does attatchment in humans take

Answer 6

A couple months

Question 7

What are the 3 main signs an infant has made an attatchment

Answer 7

1. Proximity (stays physically close top caregiver)
2. Separation distress
3. Secure base behaviour (independent but frequently make contact with caregiver)

Question 8

Why is observational research a good method to use?

Answer 8

Because babies behaviour doesn’t change when being observed which means better validity

Question 9

Name the four stages of attatchment in order

Answer 9

Asocial, indiscriminate, specific, multiple

Question 10

Typical behaviours of the asocial stage

Answer 10

Not much difference in behaviour with adults than with objects, but do show preference to familiar adults.

Question 11

Typical behaviours of indiscriminate stage

Answer 11

Prefer people to objects, recognise familiar adults but same towards all

Question 12

Typical behaviour in the specific stage

Answer 12

Form primary attatchment with caregiver that’s most sensitive to their needs, show distress when seperated from primary caregiver

Question 13

Typical behaviour in multiple stage

Answer 13

Form secondary attatchment s with dad and grandparents

Question 14

At what stage does the asocial stage develeop[

Answer 14

First few weeks

Question 15

At what points does the indiscriminate stage develop

Answer 15

6weeks - 7 months

Question 16

At what point does the specific stage develop

Answer 16

7-9 months

Question 17

At what point does the multiple stage develop

Answer 17

10months onwards

Question 18

Strength of research into caregiver infant interaction

Answer 18

• videoed to capture subtle behaviour can check the inter reliability and can rewatch multiple times, own homes (good ecological validity)

Question 19

Weakness of research into caregiver infant interaction

Answer 19

• don’t know the purpose of behaviour

- limited sample characteristic

Question 20

What city was Schaffer and Emerson study carried out in?

Answer 20

Glasgow

Question 21

Strength of Schaffer and Emerson study

Answer 21

• good external validity as research carried out in own homes by parents so behaviour unaffected by investigators (reduce investigator effects)
• longitudinal design removes confounding variable of individual differences

Question 22

Weakness of Schaffer and Emerson’s study

Answer 22

• limited sample characteristics as observed all infants of working class and in same region (Glasgow) = harder to generalise (limited population validity)
• social desirability may affect parents responses

Question 23

Give a strength of Schaffer and Emerson RESEARCH

Answer 23

Good external validity as carried out in babies own homes gave study more realism’s and longitudinal design removes individual differences

Question 24

Weakness of Schaffer and Emerson RESAERCH

Answer 24

• asocial stage difficult to study as babies don’t really do much else than sleep so limited things to observe and study
• conflicting research and evidence on when the child becomes capable of multiple attatchments
• measuring multiple attatchment, just because a baby cries when seperated from an adult doesn’t mean they are attached the same way they might cry when seperated from a classmate (has not formed a attatchment with them)

Question 25

`Can the research be applied to all cultures?

Answer 25

• no as the stages develop at different points depending on the culture and how the child is brought up within these cultures.

Question 26

Outline Harlows research

Answer 26

By removing the infant monkeys from their mothers and providing wire and/or cloth covered surrogate mother he was able to demonstrate the effects of maternal deprivation and the importance of contact comfort

Question 27

Is imprinting thought to be permanent?

Answer 27

No, Guiton found that after chickens had been imprinted on with washing up gloves with experience they learnt to imprint on other chickens

Question 28

Who was Guiton and what did he find

Answer 28

He found that after chickens had been imprinted on with washing up gloves with experience they learnt to imprint on other chickens (undermines Lorenz’s research)

Question 29

Give a weakness of the animal studies of attatchment

Answer 29

ethics (Harlow treatment of the monkeys is ethically questionable) and questionable generalisability to humans

Question 30

Outline Lorenz research

Answer 30

Goose eggs were randomly divided and half were hatched with the mother present (natural environment) and half hatched in incubator with Lorenz present the behaviour of the goslings recorded

Question 31

Give two critics s of animal research (Harlow and Lorenz)

Answer 31

Harlow - unethical and of limited value (cannot be generalised to humans fully)

Lorenz - Guitons research undermines idea that sexual imprinting is permanent

Question 32

Give weakness of animal research

Answer 32

Cannot be generalised to humans, ethics, Guitons research