Child - Area 5 Flashcards
What is attachment ?
Attachment is an affectional tie to one other person or animal between himself and another.
What is western attachment ?
Normally between mother and child as mother plays main role in child rearing.
When does attachment usually form ?
Forms in the first 3 years during critical period (or during sensitive period).
How does classical conditioning explain attachment ?
Paired association with crying with attention from mother. Food is UCS, mother is NS, which becomes CS and pleasure in CR.
How does operant conditioning explain attachment ?
Bond with crying and mother calms them down. Babies are able to get food, toys and attention.
How did Dollard and Miller explain attachment through drive reductions ?
Explained in motivations. Bbabies have innate biological drives to motivate behaviour. Mother is secondary reinforcer as baby associates them with primary drive attachment is secondary learned.
What is the cupboard of love theory ?
When someone is nice to someone to get something they wanted. As child cries mother responds. Child associates mother with feeling. Crying is reinforced as child knows crying gets positive response.
What did Lorenza say about attachment ?
Attachment was innate and genetically programmed.
What did Lorenza study ?
Studies on geese, placing half in an incubator and half under mother. Lorenza found that geese who were in incubator followed Lorenza and geese under mother followed mother.
What does Lorenza’s study suggest ?
Suggests that there is a critical period of attachment and there is a survival instinct for attachment. Once formed attachment cannot be reversed.
What did Harlow state about attachment ?
Attachments formed with mothers through ‘tactile comfort’. Suggest infants have innate need to touch or cling for emotional comfort.
What was the aim of Harlow ?
To study mechanisms by which new born rhesus monkeys bonded with their mothers.
What was the procedure for infant monkeys reared in isolation in Harlow ?
Took babies isolating them from birth for 3,6,9 or 1st year of their life. Then put them back with others to see what failure to form attachment has on behaviour.
Results of infant monkeys reared in isolation in Harlow ?
Engaged in bizarre behaviour clutching own bodies and rocking. Scared of other monkeys and other monkeys bullied them.
Tore out hair, scratching and biting own arms and legs.
What was procedure for infant monkeys reared with surrogate in Harlow ?
8 monkeys separated from mothers immediately after birth and placed in cages with surrogate mothers (one made of wire and cloth). Studied for 165 days.
Results for infant monkeys reared with surrogate in Harlow ?
Both groups of 4 spent more time with cloth mother (even with no milk). Only go to wire mother when hungry. If frightening object, monkey took refuge with cloth mother.
Conclusions of Harlow ?
For a monkey to develop normally they must have some interactions with an object to which they can cling during critical period. Early maternal deprivation leads to emotional damage but impact can be reversed if attachment was made before end of critical period.
What was Bowlby influenced by ?
Influenced by psychodynamic explanation for attachment, in which driving force for forming attachment derives from gratification of hunger and libidinal drives.
What is the monotropic hypothesis ?
Form an attachment to one primary care giver only. Had to occur in critical period of 2 years. Would be an affectionless psychopath if no attachment is formed.
What is the maternal deprivation hypothesis ?
When mother is taken away after bond has been formed. Eg, adoption, post natal depression, prison. Said children would become emotional psychopaths.
What is the internal working model ?
Emmerson carried out a longitudinal study on 60 babies at monthly intervals from birth to 18 months. They identified stages of development.
What are the stages of the internal working model ?
-Secure = seek proximity to carer.
-Insecure avoidant = avoids carer
-Insecure resistant = exaggerates distress.
-Insecure disorganised = contradictory behaviours linked to psychopathological disorders.
Aim of 44 thieves ?
To investigate the effects of maternal deprivation on people in order to see whether delinquents have suffered deprivation.
Procedure of 44 thieves ?
Bowlby interviewed 44 adolescents who referred to child protection programme in London because of stealing. Selected another group of 44 children to act as controls. He interviewed parents from both groups to state whether children had experienced separation during critical period.
Findings of 44 thieves ?
More than half of the juvenile thieves had been separated from their mothers for longer than six months during their first 5 years. Several young thieves showed affectionless psychopathy.
Conclusions of 44 thieves ?
Affectionless psychopathy show little concern for others and are unable to form relationships. Bowlby concluded that the reason for anti-social behaviour and emotional problems in first group was due to maternal deprivation.
Aim of Ainsworth
To observe in a lab situation the attachment behaviours of a child using the ‘strange situation’, including whether infants use their mother as a secure base in order to explore their immediate environment.
Method of Ainsworth
Controlled observation through a one way mirror.
Sample of Ainsworth
56 ppts who were infants of white middle-class parents contacted through paediatricians.
Procedure of Ainsworth
A room was standardised including location of chairs and toys. Each stage lasted around 3 minutes each. The ‘strange situation’ was composed of eight discrete episodes:
What were 8 stages ?
1) Mother carried baby and left
2) mother sat quietly in chair.
3) Stranger entered, talked with mother showing baby a toy.
4) mother leaves room baby and stranger plays
5) mother enters and stranger leaves
6) baby was left alone.
7) stranger entered like in stage 4.
8) mother returned and reunion was observed.
Results for exploratory behaviour in Ainsworth ?
Babies used mother as a secure base to explore strange situation. Once mother had left, there was a decline in exploratory behaviour.
Results for attachment behaviour in Ainsworth ?
Crying was most prominent in episode 4 and 6 when mother leaves. Did not increase with stranger.
Results for proximity seeking in Ainsworth ?
Contact maintaining behaviour increased in first reunion episode and in second. Displayed less frequently and less strongly to a stranger than mother.
Conclusions of Ainsworth ?
Absence of mother tends to heighten attachment behaviour and lessons.
Absence behaviour is heightened in threatening situations.
What is purpose of topic 5 applications ?
To create an attachment friendly environment.
Applications in hospital for attachment ?
Skin to skin = bowlby maternal deprivation
Keeping babies in mothers room-bowlby
Relaxed visiting hours+ Parent can sleep over = reduces stranger anxiety.
Applications in nursery for attachment ?
Reduced class size
Specific areas+blankets = harlow
One key worker - reduce stranger anxiety and separation protest
Half days = bowlby maternal deprivation
Half walls = separation protest as the can still see key worker