Paper 1 - Attachment

Question 1

What are the two main features of caregiver-infant interactions?

Answer 1

Reciprocity and Interactional Synchrony

Question 2

Define reciprocity in the context of caregiver-infant interactions

Answer 2

Reciprocity refers to a two-way interaction where both caregiver and infant are active contributors, taking turns to elicit responses from each other.

Question 3

Define interactional synchrony in caregiver-infant interactions

Answer 3

Interactional synchrony is when two people interact, they tend to mirror each other in terms of their actions and emotions

Question 4

What did Meltzoff & Moore (1977) study in relation to interactional synchrony?

Answer 4

Studied interactional synchrony by exposing two- to three-week-old infants to an adult model displaying facial expressions, then filming the infants’ responses.

Question 5

What were the findings of Meltzoff & Moore (1977) on interactional synchrony?

Answer 5

Found that infants often mirrored the facial expressions displayed by the adult model, demonstrating interactional synchrony.

Question 6

How did Schaffer and Emerson experiment development of attachment

Answer 6

• Studied 60 infants from working class families in Glasgow
• Infants visited at home by researcher every month till 18 months old
• Mother asked about infants response to separation (separation anxiety) and unfamiliar faces (stranger anxiety)

Question 7

What conclusion did Schaffer and Emerson experiment make about the development of attachment

Answer 7

Findings = Constructed description on how attachment develops.
Suggested 4 stages of Attachment : Asocial, Indiscriminate , Specific, Multiple Attachment

Question 8

Explain the 2 pre attachment stages

Answer 8

Asocial 0-2 months: Infants produce similar responses to all objects, whether human or non-human, towards end of stage = preference to humans
Indiscriminate Attachment 2-7 months: They can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people but accept comfort from any adult, do not display separation or stranger anxiety.

Question 9

Explain the 2 attachment stages and the research to back it up

Answer 9

Specific Attachment 7 months onwards : Infants form an attachment bond to one primary attachment figure, Often the mother; Schaffer & Emerson found the mother to be the primary attachment figure in 65% of cases, They show separation anxiety and stranger anxiety
Multiple Attachment 9 months onwards : They develop multiple attachments with secondary attachment figures, including other familiar adults, they may show separation anxiety with secondary attachment figures

Question 10

What did Schaffer & Emerson (1964) find about the primary attachment figure?

Answer 10

The mother was usually the primary attachment figure (65%)

Question 11

In how many cases was the father the primary attachment figure in Schaffer & Emerson’s study ?

Answer 11

In only 3% of cases.

Question 12

What role did fathers typically have in Schaffer & Emerson’s study and what percentage of infants formed an attachment to their father by 18 months in Schaffer & Emerson’s study?

Answer 12

• Fathers were common secondary attachment figures.
• 75% of infants formed an attachment to their father by 18 months.

Question 13

What role did fathers typically have in Schaffer & Emerson’s study and what percentage of infants formed an attachment to their father by 18 months in Schaffer & Emerson’s study?

Answer 13

• Fathers were common secondary attachment figures.
• 75% of infants formed an attachment to their father by 18 months.

Question 14

What was the focus of Grossman et al.’s (2002) study and what were his findings?

Answer 14

Researched the quality of infant - mother attachments related to the quality of infant father interactions. He found that the quality of the infant-mother attachment was related to the quality of adolescent relationships. However the quality of infant-father attachment had no effect on adolescent relationships instead the quality of fathers’ play was related to the quality of adolescent relationships.

Question 15

What does Grossman et al.’s (2002) study suggest about fathers’ role?

Answer 15

Fathers have a distinct role focused on play and stimulation, rather than emotional bonding.

Question 16

What did Field (1978) study about fathers as primary caregivers and what were his findings?

Answer 16

Field filmed 4-month-old infants interacting with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers, and primary caregiver fathers. He found that primary caregiver fathers spent more time smiling, imitating, and holding infants, similar to mothers

Question 17

What does Field’s (1978) study suggest about fathers’ ability to form close attachments?

Answer 17

Fathers can provide the responsiveness required for a close attachment, especially when they are the primary caregiver.

Question 18

Explain Lorenz’s study on attachment and its procedure ?

Answer 18

• Randomly divided a clutch of goose eggs in half
  -Half hatched with the mother goose in their natural environment.
• The other half hatched in an incubator, where Lorenz was the first moving object they saw.

Question 19

Explain Lorenz’s study on attachment and its findings ?

Answer 19

• Incubator group imprinted on Lorenz and followed him.
• Natural group imprinted on the mother goose and followed her.
• When mixed, the goslings divided themselves: incubator group returned to Lorenz, ignoring their natural mother.

Question 20

Explain Lorenz’s study on attachment and its conclusions ?

Answer 20

Demonstrated the process of imprinting in which the bird imprints and follows the first moving object it sees.

Question 21

Explain Lorenz’s study on attachment and the critical period from imprinting ?

Answer 21

• Imprinting must occur within a critical period, as short as a few hours post-hatching (species-dependent).
• If missed, imprinting will not occur.

Question 22

Explain Lorenz’s study on attachment and the impact on sexual imprinting ?

Answer 22

• Relaruionship between impr9nting and adult male preferences
• He observed a peacock raised in a zoo’s reptile house, where the first moving object it saw was a giant tortoise.
• As an adult, the peacock exhibited courtship behaviour to the giant tortoises.
• Lorenz concluded that imprinting can have a lasting impact on mate preferences.

Question 23

Explain Harlows study of attachment and is procedure ?

Answer 23

• Created two types of mothers : one with bare wire and another wrapped in soft cloth
• 16 infant rhesus monkeys were removed from their mother at birth
• 8 mothers had a milk bottle attached to the cloth miter her and the other 8 had the mild bottle attached to the bare wire mother
• He studied the time the monkeys spent with each mother, reaction to fear and new toys over 165 days

Question 24

Explain Harlows study of attachment and is findings ?

Answer 24

• All 16 monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth mother, regardless of milk.
• They fed quickly and returned to the cloth mother
• When frightened they clung to the cloth mother for comfort
• When introduced to new toys they explored while keeping a foot on the cloth mother for reassurance.

Question 25

Explain Harlows study of attachment and its conclusions ?

Answer 25

Harlow concluded that infants do not necessarily form an attachment with the person who feeds them
They form an attachment with the person who offers them contact-comfort

Question 26

Explain Harlows study of attachment and the further research he conducted regarding their social abnormalities ?

Answer 26

They froze or fled when approached by other monkeys.

Question 27

Explain Harlows study of attachment and the further research he conducted regarding their social abnormalities ?

Answer 27

They lacked normal mating behavior ad they failed to cradle their infants. Some attacked or killed their infants.

Question 28

Explain Harlows study of attachment and the further research he conducted regarding contact comfort alone ?

Answer 28

Contact-comfort alone with an unresponsive mother-figure is insufficient for healthy social and emotional development.