Attatchments Flashcards
Evaluate the learning theory and attachment
- animal research
> Lorenz + Harlow both found it didn’t matter and it was to do with who provided comfort not food - human research
> Schaffer and Emerson found most babies formed a primary attachment to their biological mothers regardless of feeding (Most sensitive to needs)
Evaluation of van izjendoorn
+ representative
> large samples used reduced impact of anomalous results caused by bad methodology
- assessment is biased
> based on western culture
> eg Germany see actions as good that is seen as bad, secure is seen as the only good attachment type
Evaluation of attachment on later relationships
- mixed research
> Zimmerman assessed adolescent attachment to parents and found little relationship between it. - issues of validity
> most don’t use strange situation and use interviews - correlation, not causation
> eg parenting style or genetics may affect a child’s ability to form later relationships
Explain Harlows research
- observed new born rhesus monkey
- 16 monkeys with 2 wire model mothers one of which was plain wire which dispensed milk and the other was a cloth mother
- found monkeys cuddles the cloth mother regardless of food when frightened ‘contact comfort’
- also observed monkeys without mothers (maternal deprivation)
- found they became aggressive and less sociable
- as mothers themselves, the lacked care and sometimes killed their infants
Who came up with the stages of attachment
Schaffer and Emerson
Explain attachment and it’s effects on later relationships
Later childhood
- secure = best friendships
- insecure = friendship difficulties
- avoidant- bullied, resistant- bullies
Romantic (adult)
- Hazan and Shaver = analysed 620 love quizzes with 3 parts - current relationships, general love experiences, attachment type.
- secure = good, long lasting relationships
- insecure = jealousy, fear of intimacy
Parents
- internal working model means whatever attachment type a parent is, their own child is attached to them in the same way.
What is interactional synchrony
Care-giver and infant reflect the actions of each-other in a synchronised way
Explain the learning theory and attachment
Classical conditioning
- person who provides food over time becomes associated with food
- this creates the response of pleasure which is then associated with the care-giver themselves
Operant conditioning
- babies cry to be given food and when they are given food they continue to do this
- two-way process as baby is reinforced for crying and caregiver receives negative reinforcement as the crying stops
What are the two care-giver interactions and evaluation of this
Reciprocity and interactional synchrony
+ controlled
> fine details of interaction can be recorded
> babies don’t change their actions in a study
- hard to know
> only observing gestures and this is very to know what is intentional or not
Evaluation of animal research
+ application
> helps social workers understand problems children may be going through
> allows them to make sure children get a quality early attachment
- generalisability to humans
> extrapolation cannot occur as humans act very different to animals - especially birds. We are much more advanced
> for example human mothers show much more emotional attachment
- ethical issues
> animals harmed and tortured and resulted in some being killed raises ethical issues
Describe Schaffer and Emerson’s study
- studied 60 babies from Glasgow m/c families
- visited babies and mothers every month for a year and then again at 18 months
- they interviewed about attachment between them
- Asocial (first few weeks)
- behaviour toward humans and non-human objects is the same - Indiscriminate (2-7 months)
- prefer familiar adults but not different towards different people (no stranger anxiety) - Specific (7 months)
- stranger anxiety develops and baby has made a primary attachment figure - Multiple attachment (1 year)
- shows attachment to extended people with who they spend time
What is reciprocity
Where the care-giver and the infant respond to each others signals
Who conducted research into Romanian orphans
Rutter
Evaluation of the stages of attachment
+ external validity
> carried out in the families own homes so real behaviour of babies
- low population validity
> used m/c children from Glasgow so not a representative sample at all
> cannot therefore generalise to everyone
- knowing multiple attachments
> just because the baby gets anxious when someone leaves the room that does mean they’re a secondary attachment figure as adults have roles as ‘playmates’ for example
Describe Rutter’s ERA study
- followed a group of 165 Romanian orphans adopted in Britain
- they tested physical, cognitive and emotional development at 4,6,11 and 15 years
- a group of 52 British orphans were tested at the same time as a control group
- when they first arrived, half showed signs of delayed intellectual development
- the majority were severely malnourished
- at 11, they showed differential rates of recovery related to their age of adoption
- av. IQ of those adopted before 6 months was 102, av. of those between 6 months and 2 years was 86, av. of those after 2 years was 77.
