Case Studies - Attachment

Question 1

Meltzoff & Moore (1977)
RECIPROCITY

Answer 1

18 Babies = 12-27 days

Procedure: Babies were shown facial & manual gestures by an adult

Results: Babies imitated both gesture types

Conclusion: Imitation serves as building block for later social & cognitive development

Question 2

Isabella & Belsky (1991) - Interaction of Attachments
INTERACTIONAL SYNCHRONY

Answer 2

Procedure: Babies observed at 3 and 9 months

Results:
- Secure: Well-timed, reciprocal, mutually-rewarding manner
- Insecure: Minimal involvement, unresponsive, intrusive
- Avoidant: Maternal intrusiveness + overstimulation,
- Resistant: Poor coordination, under-involved, inconsistent

Conclusion: Interactionally synchronous behaviour can predict attachment quality.
(i.e secure are more synchronous than insecure)

Question 3

Murray & Trevarthen (1985) - Frozen Face
INTERACTIONAL SYNCHRONY

Answer 3

Procedure: Mothers present still/frozen face to their babies.

Results: Babies showed distress, crying, turning away & attention-seeking behaviour

Question 4

Schaffer & Emerson’s Attachment Stages (1964)

Answer 4

Procedure: Studied 60 Glaswegian babies for the first 1.5 years of their lives to analyse their interactions with their carers to establish if and when infants started to display separation anxiety.

Results: Attachments were most likely to form with carers who were sensitive to the baby’s signals, rather than the person they spent the most time with.

Conclusion: Being sensitive and responsive (including playing and communicating with an infant) is more instrumental in attachment development than physical care.

Question 5

Lorenz

Answer 5

Procedure: A control group of eggs hatching with mother vs incubator & Lorenz himself

Results: Both groups followed the first thing they encountered (mother or Lorenz)

Conclusion: Geese are biologically programmed to find their caregiver at birth, but the environment dictates who it is?

Question 6

Harlow (1959) - Contact Comfort

Answer 6

Procedure: 16 monkeys were separated from birth and given access to cloth or wire ‘mothers’
Four mother conditions:
* Wire w/ milk & Cloth no milk
* Wire no milk & Cloth w/ milk
* Wire w/ milk
* Cloth w/ milk

Results: All monkeys spent more time with the cloth than the wire, even when the wire had the milk. Infants took refuge with the cloth mother in the presence of frightening objects.

Conclusion: Contact comfort is more important than food, disproving the ‘cupboard love’ theory.

Question 7

Harlow (1959) - Maternal Deprivation

Answer 7

Normal mother compared to surrogate
- More timid
- Unsure of appropriate behaviour around other monkeys
- Difficulty mating
- Females were inadequate mothers

Effects could be reversed if it was less than 90 days - CRITICAL PERIOD.

Conclusion: Early maternal deprivation can cause permanent emotional damage unless reversed inside the CP.

Question 8

Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg’s Attachment Meta-Analysis

Answer 8

Procedure:
Meta-analysis of 32 studies, 8 western & non-western countries, 1990 children.

Results:
- Secure = most common overall
- Avoidant = more common in western countries
- Resistant = more common in non-western
- Variation within cultures was 1.5x greater than between cultures

Conclusion: Some characteristics are universal, or even innate. Insecure variation suggests culture has some impact.

Question 9

Rothbaum (2007)

Answer 9

Found American & Japanese mothers regarded some attachment behaviours differently.

e.g. waking and calling for caregiver during naptimes
America: Negative (testing boundaries)
Japan: Positive (secure)

Question 10

Bowlby (1944) - 44 Thieves

Answer 10

Procedure: 88 teenagers…
1. 44 thieves
2. 44 Emotionally troubled
(Matched for age & IQ)
Interviews & tested focusing on early life experiences.

Findings:
- 14 thieves = Affectionless pps
- 12/14 experienced prolonged separation from their mothers (6 mths + before age of 2)
- 2 of control group had experienced separation but none were APs

Question 11

Rutter and Songua-Barke (2010)

Answer 11

Procedure:
Romanian children who previously lived in institutions (adopted by 2 or 4 y.o) were compared to British children adopted by 6 m.o and tested regularly for physical, social and cognitive development

Findings:
- The Romanian children were behind the British children in all three aspects.
- By 4, most of the Romanian children who had been adopted by the age of 6 months had caught up with the British children.
- Many of the children adopted after the age of 6 months showed disinhibited attachment and had difficulties with peer relationships.

Question 12

Hazan & Shaver (1987) - The Love Quiz

Answer 12

Procedure: Asked participants questions about current relationships, attitudes towards love, and attachment history.

Findings:
- Securely attached respondents tend to have a positive IWM.
- Positive correlation between attachment type & love experiences
- Insecure were usually vulnerable to loneliness
- Avoidant were often jealous & feared intimacy