Key Notes

Question 1

Bodily contact

Answer 1

Physical interaction, important immediately after birth

Question 2

Mimicking

Answer 2

Innate ability to imitate careers facial expressions

Question 3

Caregiverse

Answer 3

Modified form of language

Question 4

Interaction all synchrony

Answer 4

Bodies in tune with careers spoken language

Question 5

Reciprocity

Answer 5

Mutual behaviour of responding to each other

Question 6

Reciprocity research

Answer 6

Demonstrates infants coordinate actions with caregivers
From birth move in rhythm
Brazelton suggested it is an important precursor to later communication

Question 7

Research intersectional synchrony

Answer 7

Condon and Sander: analyse frames of videos, found they coordinated actions in sequence with adults speech
Meltzoff and Moore: infants as young as 2/3 replicated specific facial and hand gestures- suggest innate ability, follow up found 3days old
Isabella et al found those with secure att had higher levels of synchrony

Question 8

Strengths of caregiver infant interactions

Answer 8

+ practical application eg in hospitals
+ research evidence of Meltzoff and Moore
+Meltzoff and Moore used independent judges to observe infant behaviour, improve internal validity
+ children response specifically to humans

Question 9

Limitations of caregiver infant interactions

Answer 9

• problems testing infant behaviour- infants expressions in fairly constant motion
• not found in all cultures eg le vine et al found Kenyan mothers had little interaction with infants yet had high secure att
• ‘cargiverse’ is given to infants from all adults

Question 10

Stages of att. - Schaffer

Answer 10

Birth- three months, pre att stage: attracted to other humans, preferring them to objects, smiling at others faces
3-7/8 months- indiscriminate att phase: infants begin to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar people, smiling more at know people
Onwards- discriminate: developed specific att and primary figure, stranger and separation anxiety
9 months- multiple att stage: strong emotional ties with other major caregivers, grandparents etc, att to mother stromgest, weakened stranger anxiety

Question 11

Bowlby versus Rutter theory of multiple att

Answer 11

Bowlby: children had one prime att (monotropy) and others were of little importance in comparison
Rutter: att of equal importance, combine to form internal working model
Further theories of different att for different purposes

Question 12

Aim and procedure of Schaffer and Emersons study of att

Answer 12

Pattern of att common to all infants
Distinct stages

Longitudinal study, working class area of Glasgow, mothers and babies studied each month for 1st year and then 18months 
Observations and interviews (who they smiled at etc)
Separation anx tested in every days situations of leaving infant and stranger anxiety by researched approaching cot at each visit

Question 13

Findings of Glasgow babies

Answer 13

Most showed Sep protest @ 6-8 months, stranger anx one month later
Strongly att infants: responsive mothers
Most developed multiple att
Att to different people were of similar nature
39% had att other than main caregiver

Question 14

Conclusions and evaluation of Schaffer and Emerson study

Answer 14

Pattern in att formation- suggest biological, att easier with responsive parent, multiple att are norm
- data collected by direct observation or mothers- prone to bias
+ High mundane realism
- large individual differences in time- exclusively biological?

Question 15

Evaluation of stages of att

Answer 15

+ evidence from Schaffer and Emerson- Sep protest at 6-8 months in line

• used limited sample (working class from 60s)
• disagreements about importance of other att eg Bowlby and Rutter
• common criticism of stage theories: dev. is inflexible (culture/ situation)
• cultural variations of individualist and collectivist

Question 16

The role of father

Answer 16

Males increasingly becoming primary caregiver or more equal role

Question 17

Factors affecting relationship of father and infant

Answer 17

Degree of sensitivity: more sec att in those who respond sensitively to other children’s needs
Type of att with own parents: form similar
Martial intimacy: own intimacy in relationship
Supportive co parenting

Question 18

Criticism of the role of the father

Answer 18

• some psychologists of opinion men are not as psychologically equipped due to lack of oestrogen- underlines caring behaviour whilst men more motivated to interpersonal goals

Question 19

Strengths of the role of the father

Answer 19

+ frodi et al found men respond in the same way as women physiologically to videos of infants crying
+ some psychologists believe men have important role as secondary att, Geiger (66) father as an exciting playmate
+ evidence shows children with secure att with fathers go on to have better peer relations and less problem behaviours

Question 20

Animal studies of att

Answer 20

Basis that there is biological continuity between humans and animals
More ethical than if on humans

Question 21

5 interactions between infant and career that develop and maintain bond

Answer 21

Bodily contact 
Mimicking 
Caregiverse 
Interactional synchrony 
Reciprocity

Question 22

Lorenz work on imprinting aim and procedure

Answer 22

Involved mechanisms of imprinting: youngsters follow and form an att to first large moving object they see

1) split into two: 1 hatched natural,y and 1 in incubator where Lorenz was first moving object, behaviour then recorder
2) marked gosling to determine and watched who they followed when released from an upturned box

Question 23

Findings and conclusions Lorenz imprinting study

Answer 23

1) naturally birthed followed mother and incubated followed Lorenz
2) incubated showed no att (irreversible)
3) occur 4-25 hrs after
4) those imprinted attempt to later mate with humans (importance of early att)

Question 24

Evaluation of Lorenz’s imprinting study

Answer 24

• extrapolation issues- cannot necessarily apply to humans
  + supported by other research (Guiton 1966 chicks exposed to rubber gloves for feeding later mated with them)
• characteristics of imprinting dispute: initially- stamped on nervous system but Guiton found he could reverse imprinting on chickens, poss not only biological

Question 25

Harlow animal study aim and procedure

Answer 25

If att primarily formed through food, test learning theory by comparing att behaviour in monkeys given a wire surrogate mother producing milk with those given soft towelling
Procedure: 2 types of surrogate: harsh ‘wire mother’ and soft ‘towelling mother’
16 monkeys, 4 in each of 4 conditions
1) wire milk, towelling no milk
2) wire no milk, towelling milk
3) wire milk
4) towelling milk

Question 26

How was att tested in Harlows study?

Answer 26

1) amount of time spent with each
2) frightened with loud noise, saw mother preference
3) larger cage: degree of exploration

Question 27

Findings and conclusions of Harlow

Answer 27

1) regardless of milk, prefer contact with towelling
2) only wire mother: diarrhoea- sign of stress
3) cling to towelling mother in times of stress
4) exploration more common with towelling and visited more
Rhesus monkeys have innate need for contact comfort over food
Contact comfort associated with lower levels of stress

Question 28

Evaluation of Harlows animal study of att

Answer 28

• issues of extrapolation
• ethical issues of separating from mother
• confounding variable: two mothers varied further than texture

Question 29

Classical conditioning as an explanation for att

Answer 29

Through association 
UCS- food 
UCR- pleasure 
NS- person providing food 
UCR- pleasure 
CS- person 
CR- pleasure

Question 30

Operant conditioning as att

Answer 30

Learning through reinforcement and punishment 
Dollard and Miller: 
1) hungry- discomfort 
2) motivation to reduce 
3) infant fed 
4) drive reduced 
5) sense of pleasure

Question 31

Describe the different reinforcements in operant conditioning as att

Answer 31

Neg- reducing unpleasant stimulus
Pos- parent acting as source of reward
Food- primary reinforcement as it fixes behaviour
Person providing- secondary associated with avoiding discomfort

Question 32

Evaluation of learning theory of attachment

Answer 32

• Harlow’s study: monkeys showed attachment to cloth over food, LT would predict would show to food
• shaffer and Emerson found 39% of baby’s attachment wasn’t to mother
  + Dollard and Miller: babies fed 2000times in first year- ample opportunity to learn process
• behaviourism often criticised as reductionist

Question 33

Evolutionary perspective- Bowlby’s Theory of Att

Answer 33

1) born with innate drive as it enhances chance of survival
2) infants elicit caregiving referred to social releasers
3) form monotropic relationship- one who responds most to social releasers
4) att rel is vital for LT emotional development and used as template (internal working model)
5) continuity hypothesis expects securely att infants to develop more secure social and emotional relationships
6) critical period for development

Question 34

Support for monotropy

Answer 34

Harlow’s monkeys; ‘caregiver sensitivity hypothesis’ (Ainsworth) as they developed into maladjusted adults due to lack of responsive care
+ Tronick et al study of Efe tribe
+ shaffer and Emerson Glasgow babies: displayed multiple att but one primary

Question 35

Support for continuity hypothesis

Answer 35

Hazen and shaver love quiz found adults early att experience of security resulted in more happy and lasting relationships
Minnesota Longitudinal study used strange situation: securely att= later more popular and confident
- Temperament hypothesis

Question 36

Ainsworths ‘strange situation’

Answer 36

Different styles of mothering have important consequences
Certain patterns of behaviour represent ‘good mothering’- secure att
Would measure an infants att type under conditions of mild stress

Question 37

Procedure of strange situation

Answer 37

Controlled observation of 106 American infants and mothers
Recorded through eight episodes
Studied proximity and contact seeking, search behaviours- left 13 second intervals

Question 38

Describe the eight episodes be

Answer 38

1) parent and infant play
2) parent sits while infant plays (secure base)
3) stranger enters and talks to parent (stranger anxiety)
4) parent leaves and stranger offers comfort (separation anxiety)
5) parent returns and stranger leaves (reunion behaviour)
6) parent leaves, infant alone (separation anxiety)
7) stranger enters and offers comfort (stranger anx)
8) parent returns, greets infant and offers comfort (reunion)

Question 39

Good mothering behaviours

Answer 39

Maternal sensitivity: able to respond appropriately to infants signals and communications
Maternal responsiveness: proportion of infants signals that are responded to

Question 40

% of infants classified as each att type

Answer 40

66% securely att
22% insecure att
12% insecure resistant

Question 41

Evaluation of Ainsworth strange situation

Answer 41

+ inter rated reliability of 0.94, improves reliability
- ethical issues- no greater than daily life however
- further classification identified by main and Cassidy ‘insecure disorganised’ as not all fit into three categories
- question of internal validity and whether it measures quality of att with one relationship
- lack population validity
- artificial way of assessing att, mother and stranger act from script
+ wartner and al found 78% of children were classified as the same at ages 1&6 years
- temperament hypothesis