Paper 1- Attachment Flashcards
1
Q
What is attachment
A
An emotional bond between two people that endured over time. Leads to certain behaviours such as clinging and proximity seeking. Serves the function of protecting an infant
2
Q
What are the components of care-giver infant interaction
A
Babies have alert phases.
Interactional synchrony which is important for the development of attachment.
Reciprocity.
Baby takes an active role in attachment.
3
Q
Who found that babies have periodic ‘alert phases’
A
FELDMAN and EIDLEMAN
4
Q
What did FELDMAN and EIDLEMAN find
A
That from birth, babies and their careers spend a lot of time in intense and pleasurable interactions. Babies have periodic ‘alert phases’ to signal they are ready for interaction which mothers respond to around two-thirds of the time
5
Q
What is interactional synchrony
A
Mother and infant reflect both the actions and emotions of the other and do this in a co-ordinated (synchronised) way.
‘The coordination of micro-level behaviour’ - FELDMAN
6
Q
Who studied into care-giver infant interactions
A
MELTZOF and MOORE.
7
Q
What did MELTZOFF and MOORE find
A
They observed the beginnings of interactional synchrony in infants as young as two weeks old.
An adult displayed one of three facial expressions or distinctive gestures, the child’s response was filmed. An association was found between the expression/gesture and the action of the child
8
Q
Why is interactional synchrony believed to be important for the development of mother-infant attachment
A
Because it provides the necessary foundation for the mother and infant connection which can be built upon in subsequent years
9
Q
What did ISABELLA observe
A
20 mothers and infants together and assessed the degree of synchrony and the quality of mother-infant attachment. They found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-infant attachment (e.g the emotional intensity of the relationship)
10
Q
What is reciprocity
A
Mother-infant interaction is reciprocal in that both infant and mother respond to each other’s verbal signals and facial expression and each elicits a response from the other
11
Q
When does reciprocity in mother infant interaction become increasingly frequent
A
from around 3 months
12
Q
How is the baby seen as active in care giver infant interactions
A
Traditionally views of childhood have seen the baby in a passive role, receiving care from an adult. However, it seems that the baby takes an active role as both mother and child can initiate interactions and they appear to take turn doing so.
13
Q
3 limitations of care-giver infant interactions
A
Hard to know what’s happening when observing infants. MELTZOFF and MOORE are just observing facial expressions so it’s extremely difficult based on the observations what’s taking place from the infants perspective. Means we cannot really know if behaviours in interactions have special meaning.
Interactional synchrony and reciprocity simply describes behaviours that occur at the same time. These are robust phenomena in the sense they can be reliably observed but may not be particularly useful as it does not tell us what their value is or what the infant is learning.
Socially sensitive because it suggests that mothers who return to work shortly after the child is born restrict opportunities for achieving interactional synchrony which is important for caregiver-infant attachment. Suggests mothers should not return to work so soon and that it has socially sensitive implications
14
Q
2 strengths of care-giver infant interactions
A
Evidence that reciprocity and synchrony are helpful in the development of mother-infant attachment, stress responses, empathy, languages and moral development.
Research involves well-controlled procedures. Observations are usually filmed ensuring fine details of behaviour can be recorded and later analysed. Furthermore babies don’t know or care they are being observed so their behaviour does not change in response to controlled observation, which is generally the problem for observation research. Means there’s good validity.
15
Q
Who found that babies mainly form primary attachments with their mothers
A
SCAFFER and EMERSON
16
Q
What is a controlled observation
A
Watching and recording behaviour within a structured environment I.e one where some variables are managed
17
Q
What is primary attachment
A
The person who has formed the closest bond with a child, demonstrated by the intensity of the relationship. This is usually a child’s biological mother but other people can fulfill the role
18
Q
Briefly, did SCAFFER and EMERSON find about babies attachment
A
The majority of babies became attached to their mothers first and this happens around the age of seven months.
In only 3% of cases the fathers was the first sole object of attached, but 27% of them were the joint first object.
75% or infants formed a secondary attachment with fathers by the age of 18 months.
19
Q
An example of a sign of attachment
A
Infants protesting when someone walks away
20
Q
What a secondary attachment figure
A
The closest emotional bond is with the primary attachment figure; additional support is available from secondary attachment figures who provide an emotional safety net
21
Q
What was GROSSMANNs study into attachment figures
A
Carried out a longitudinal study looking at parents behaviour and it’s relationships to the quality of children’s attachment into their teens. This research suggested that the father attachment was less important to the attachment type of teenagers.
However, the quality of fathers’ play with infants was related to children’s attachments. Suggests that fathers have a different role in attachment, one that is more to do with play and stimulation, and less to do with nurturing.
22
Q
What is a longitudinal study
A
A research study that takes place over an extended period of time to study the effects of time and or/ageing
23
Q
When fathers take on the role of main caregiver, what do they adopt
A
Behaviours more typical of mothers.
24
Q
Research into primary caregiver fathers
A
FIELD filmed 4 month old babies and found that primary caregiver fathers, like mother, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than secondary caregiver fathers.
25
Why is the key to attachment the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent
Smiling, imitating and holding infants are behaviours that appear to be important in building an attachment with an infant. These can be performed by men and woman so it seems fathers can be the more nurturing attachment figure
26
One strength of the findings of attachment figures (primary and secondary)
Important economic implications. Mothers feel pressured to stay at home because of research that says mothers are vital for healthy development. In some families, this may not be economically the best solution. The research into attachment figures may be of comfort to mothers who feel they have to make hard choices about not returning to work. Research implies they are more free to make choices about their careers than restful previously suggested which may benefit the economy.
27
2 limitations of the findings of attachment figures (primary and secondary)
Idea that fathers have distinct roles is undermined by the evidence. GROSSMANN found that fathers’ play as a secondary attachment figure had an important role in children’s developed. However other studies have found that children growing up in single or same-sex parent families do not develop any differently. This suggest that fathers roles as a secondary attachment figure is not important.
Although they can, the question of why fathers don’t generally become the primary attachment figure remains unanswered. It could be the result of traditional gender roles, in which woman are expected to be nurturing. Therefore, fathers may not feel they should act in that way. Or it could be that female hormones like oestrogen create higher levels of nurturing and therefore women are biologically pre-disposed to be the primary attachment figure.
28
What is secure-base behaviour
Secure attachment provides a sense of safety to enable exploration and independence
29
What are SCAFFERS stages of attachment
Asocial stage
Indiscriminate attachment
Specific attachment
Multiple attachment
30
What are the stages of attachment
Many developmental theories identity a sequence of qualitative different behaviours linked to specific ages. In stages of attachment, some characteristics of the infants behaviour towards others change as the infant gets older
31
How long is the asocial stage according to SCAFFER
First few weeks
32
How long is the indiscriminate attachment stage according to SCAFFER
2-7 months
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How long is the specific attachment stage according to SCAFFER
From around 7 months
34
How long is the multiple attachments stage according to SCAFFER
By one year
35
What is involved in the asocial stage
The baby’s behaviour towards non-human objects and humans is quite similar. Babies show some preference for familiar adults in that those individuals find it easier to calm them. Babies are also happier in the presence of other humans
36
What is involved in the indiscriminate attachment stage
Babies display more observable social behaviour. They show a preference for people rather than objects and recognise and prefer familiar adults. At this stage babies usually accept comfort from any adult and do not show stranger anxiety or separation anxiety. Attachment behaviour is said to be indiscriminate because it is not different towards any person
37
What is stranger anxiety
Distress shown by an infant when approached by an unfamiliar person
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What is separation anxiety
Distress shown by an infant when separated from an attachment figure
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What is involved in the specific attachment stage
The majority of babies start to display anxiety towards strangers and become anxious when separated from one particular adult (the mother in 65% of cases). At this point the baby is said to have formed a specific attachment with the primary attachment figure. This in most cases is the person who offers the most interaction and responds to the baby’s ‘signals’.
40
What is involved in the multiple attachment stages
Multiple attachments with other adults with whom they spend time with form shortly after specific attachments these relationships are called secondary attachments: in SCAFFER and EMERSONs study 29% had secondary attachments within a month or forming primary attachments. By the age of one, the majority of infants had developed multiple attachments
41
What is multiple attachments
Attachments to two or more people. Most babies appear to develop multiple attachments once they have formed one true attachment to a main care
42
Procedure of SCAFFER and EMERSONS study
60 Glaswegian babies - 31 Male and 29 female, all from skilled, working class families.
Babies and their mothers were visited at home every month for a year and again at 18 months.
Separation anxiety measured by asking mothers questions about their children’s behaviours during everyday separation (e.g adult leaving the room)
Stranger anxiety measured by observing the infants response to unfamiliar adults (the researcher)
43
What were the findings of SCAFFER and EMESONS study
Between 25-32 weeks, about 50% it the babies showed signs of separation. Anxiety towards a particular adult, usually the mother.
Attachment tended to be the caregiver who was most interactive and sensitive to infant signals and facial expressions (reciprocity). This was not necessarily the person with whom the infant spent the most time with
44
2 strengths of SCAFFER and EMERSONS study
Good external validity. Carried out in the families own homes and more of the observations were actually done by the parents during ordinary activities and reported to the researcher later. Means behaviour of the babies was unlikely to be affected by the presence of observed. Therefore there’s an excellent chance that participants behaved naturally while being observed increasing the validity of the data.
Carried out longitudinally. Means same children were followed up and observed regularly. The quicker alternative would have been to observe different children at each age (cross-sectional design). However, longitudinal designs have better internal validity because they do not have the confounding variable of individual differences between participants (participant variables)
45
Limitation of SCAFFER and EMERSONs study
Ask Bellamy about what it’s called when they don’t put the baby down.
Problem studying the asocial year. SCAFFER and EMERSON describe the first few weeks as the ‘asocial’ stage, although important interactions take place in those weeks. The problem here is that babies that are young have poor coordination and are generally immobile. Therefore difficult to make any judgments about them based on observations of their behaviour. May be that babies are asocial but we can’t be sure of this because the method of measurement lacks validity.
46
What is collectivist/ collectivist culture
An approach/ group of people which places more value on the ‘collective’ rather than on the individual, and on interdependence rather than on independence. Opposite is true of an individualist culture
47
What is a cross-sectional design
One group of participants representing one section of specify (young people or working class people) is compared with participants from another group (old people or middle class)
48
What is oestrogen
The primary female hormone, though also present in males in small amounts. Regulates the menstrual cycle and female development in puberty
49
Two key animal studies of attachment
Lorenz
| Harlow
50
What was the aim of LORENZ study
He first observed the phenomenon of imprinting when he was a child and a neighbour gave him a newly hatched duckling which followed him around. As an adult, Lorenz set up a classic experiment to demonstrate and provide evidence for the idea of an innate imprinting mechanism
51
What is imprinting
An innate readiness to acquire certain behaviours during a critical or sensitive period of development
52
What does innate mean
Behaviours that are a product of genetic factors. These may be apparent at birth or appear later through the process of maturation (for example baldness is lately innate but not present at birth). Some behaviours present at birth are not innate but occurred during development in the egg or the womb
53
What was the procedure of LORENZ study
Randomly divided a clutch of goose eggs. Half the eggs were hatched with the mother goose in their natural environment. The other half hatched in an incubator where the first moving object they saw was Lorenz. In order to investigate the relationship between imprinting and adult male preferences, LORENZ also observed birds and their later courtship behaviour
54
What were the findings of LORENZ study
The incubator group followed LORENZ while the control group followed the mother. When the two groups were mixed, the experimental group continued to follow LORENZ.
He identified a critical period in which imprinting needs to take place. Depending on the species, this can be as brief as a few hours after hatching. It imprinting does not occur within that time, LORENZ found that chicks did not attach themselves to mother figures.
Sexual imprinting also occurred: the birds that had imprinted on a human would display courtship behaviours towards humans.
55
What is sexual imprinting
Acquiring a template of the characteristics of a desirable mate
56
2 limitations of LORENZ study
Problem generalising from findings on birds to humans. Seems that the mammalian attachment system is quite different from that in birds: mammalian mothers show more emotional attachment to their young that birds do, and mammals may be able to form attachments at any time, albeit less easy than in infancy. Means it’s not appropriate to generalise.
some of his observations and conclusions have been questioned. GUITON found that chickens imprinted on yellow washing up gloves would try to mate with them as adults but they could learn to prefer mating with other chickens. Undermined LORENZs sexual imprinting prediction: the idea that imprinting has a permanent effect. This study suggest the effects are not as permanent as LORENZ beloved.
57
Strength of LORENZs study
Further research support the concept of imprinting. GUITON found chicks imprinted on yellow washing up gloves and would try to mate with them as adults. Supports the view that the hunt animals are born with an innate mechanism to imprint on some sort of moving object that is present in the critical period of development. Supports LORENZ conclusion.
58
What does generalise mean
In relation to resech findigns, the extent to which findings and conclusions from a particicular investigation can be broadly applied to the population: this is made possible if the sample of participants is representative of the populations
59
WhT is the critical period
The time within which an attachment must form it it is to form at all
60
What is an animal study
Study carried out on non-human animal species rather than on humans, either for ethical or practical reason - practical because animals breed faster and researchers are interested in seeing results across more than one generation of animals
61
What is an experimental group
The group in an independent groups design containing the independent variable as distinct from the control
62
What is an ethologist
Resrchers who promote the use of naturalistic observation to study animal behaviour. They focus on the importance of innate capacities and the adaptivness of behaviour
63
Procedure of HARLOWS study
16 rhesus monkeys with two wire model ‘mothers’. In one condition milk was dispensed by the plain wire monkey whereas in a second condition the milk was dispensed by the cloth-covered monkey. Monkeys preferences were measured. As a further measure of attachment, more frightening situations were introduced and the reactions of the monkeys observed, he added a noise making teddy bear to the environment. He also followed the monkeys who had been deprived of their ‘real’ mother into adulthood.
64
Findings of HARLOWS study
Baby monkeys cuddled the soft object in preference to the wire one and sought comfort firm the cloth one when frightened, regardless of which one dispensed milk. Suggests contact comfort is of more importance than food when it comes to attachment.
He followed them into adulthood and discovered severe consequences from maternal deprivation: the monkeys were more aggressive, less sociable and less skilled in mating. They also neglected and sometimes killed their own offspring
65
Conclusions of HARLOWs study
Concluded there was a critical period - a mother figure had to be introduced to an infant monkey within 90 days for an attachment to form. After this time, attachment was impossible and the damage done by deprivation was irreversible.
66
What is maternal deprivation
The emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and his/her mother or mother substitute. BOWLBY proposed that continuous care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development, and that prolonged separation from this adult causes serious damage to emotional and intellectual development
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What is contact comfort
Comfort derived from an infant being able to touch something soft, similar to the mothers body
68
Strength of HARLOWS study
Important practical applications. Helped social workers understand risk factors in child neglect and abuse and intervene to prevent it. We also now understand the importance of proper attachment figures for baby monkeys in zoos and breeding programs. Usefulness of HARLOWS research increases its value, and is important when considering ethical costs versus benefits.
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2 limitations of HARLOWS study
Faced severe criticism for the ethics of his research. The monkeys suffered emotionally as a result of HARLOWS procedures. Species is considered similar enough to humans to be able to generalise the findings, which also means their suffering was presumably quite human-like. HARLOW himself was well aware of the suffering he caused - he called the wire models ‘iron maidens’ a torture device.
Problem with generalising. They are more similar than geese but still not human. For example after a few months babies begin to develop speech-like communication ‘babbling’. This clearly differentiated humans and monkeys. Ultimately, psychologists disagree on the extent to which studies of non-human primates can be generalised to humans
70
What are the two explanations of attachment
Learning theory
| Bowlbys theory
71
What are the main parts of the learning theory as an explanation of attachment
Food is important.
Classical conditioning.
Operant conditioning.
Responding to crying is negatively reinforced for caregiver.
Hunger is a primary drive, attachment a secondary drive.
72
Who created the learning theory approach in attachment
DOLLAR and MILLER
73
What is DOLLARD and MILLER’s learning theory sometimes called
‘Cupboard love theory’ because it emphasises the importance of the caregiver as a provider of food - the child loved whoever feeds them
74
What is the learning theory in attachment
A set of theories from the behaviourist approach to psychology that emphasises the role of learning in the acquisition of behaviour. Explanations for learning of behaviour includes conditioning
75
In the learning theory, how does classical conditioning work in attachment
Food serves as an unconditioned stimulus which creates a feeling of pleasure, which is an unconditioned response.
A mother starts as a neutral stimulus.
When the same person provides the food over time they become associated with the unconditioned stimulus. The neutral stimulus then becomes the conditioned stimulus.
Once conditioning had taken place, the sight of the caregiver produces a conditioned response of pleasure.
According to learning theory this is the basis of attachment love.
76
In learning theory, how does operant conditioning operate to form agatchmebts
It explains why babies cry for comfort - an important building block for attachment. Crying leads to a response from the caregiver, for example feeding. As long as the caregiver provides the correct response, crying is reinforced because it produces a pleasurable consequence
77
In the learning theory, how does reinforcement create attachment
At the same time as the baby is reinforced for crying, The crying stops so it is an escape from something unpleasant which is negative reinforcement. This interplay of positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement strengthen attachment.
78
What concept does the learning theory of attachment draw on
Drive reduction
79
What is drive reduction
An animal is motivated to act in order to satisfy biological needs; once satisfied, the result is drive reduction
80
What is a primary drive
Innate motivators such as food, water and sex
81
How is food a primary drive in the learning theory
We are motivated to eat in order to reduce the hunger drive
82
What did SEARS suggest
As caregivers provide food, the primary drive of hunger, becomes generalised to them. Attachment is this a secondary drive learned by an association between the caregiver and the satisfaction of a primary drive
83
What is a secondary drive
Learned motivators acquired through association with a primary drive such as money that enables primary drives to be satisfied
84
2 limitations of the learning theory as an explanation of attachment
Animal studies have provided evidence against food as the basis of attachment. Harlows monkeys preferred contact comfort over the wire model that provided food. It is clear the attachment did not develop as a result of feeding. Therefore the same must be true for humans, food does not create the attachment bond - after all learning theorists believe that non-human animals and humans are equivalent.
Research from human studies also shows that feeding does not appear as an important factor. In SCAFFER and EMERSONs study many of the babies developed a primary attachment to their biological mother even though other carers did the most feeding. Findings are a problem because it shows feeding isn’t the key element to attachment and so there is no unconditioned stimulus or primary drive involved. Evidence suggests that other factors are more important in the formation of attachment
85
2 strengths of the learning theory as an explanation for attachment
Some elements of conditioning may be involved. Problem is the idea that feeding provides the unconditioned stimulus, reinforcement or primary drive. It is plausible that conditioning could play a role in attachment (just not in relation to feeding). Association between the primary caregiver and the provision of comfort and social interaction could be part of what builds the attachment.
A new learning explanation based on social learning was developed. Social learning theory is based on the idea that social behaviour is acquired as a result of modelling and imitation of behaviour. HAY and VESPO suggests that parents teach children to love them by modelling attachment behaviour like hugging them and other family members and rewarding them with approval when they display attachment behaviour of their own ‘that’s a lovely smile’. Provides a better explanation as in this version of the learning theory the babies have learned attachment behaviours as a result of their interactions.
86
What is Bowlbys ASCMIC
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Adaptive
Social releasers
Critical period
Monotropic theory
Internal working model
Continuity hypothesis
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87
What is included in the adaptive part of BOWLBYS theory
BOWLBY proposed an evolutionary explanation: that attachment is an innate system that gave a survival advantage.
Imprinting and attachment evolved because they ensure young animals stay close to their caregivers and this protects them from hazards.
88
What does evolutionary
The changes in inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive generations. The process by which specifies change to adapt to their environment. Environmental pressures ‘select’ those who have the characteristics which enhance their survival in competition with others. Those who survive and reproduce pass these on to future generations
89
What is monotropic
A term used to describe Bowlbys theory. The mono means ‘one’ and indicates that one particular attachment is different from all others and of central importance to the child’s development
90
Why is BOWLBYS theory described as monotropic
Because he placed great emphasis on a child’s attachment to one particular caregiver and he believed that the child’s attachment to this one caregiver is different and more important than others
91
What were the two main reasons BOWLBY believed that the more time a baby spent with its primary attachment figure the better
The law of continuity
| Law of accumulated seperarion
92
What is the law of continuity
The more constant a child’s care, the better the quality of attachment
93
What is the law of accumulated separation
The effects of every separation add up ‘And the safest dose is therefore a zero dose’
94
What is separation
The physical loss of a mother-figure but not necessarily maternal (emotional) care, as people may continue to provide emotional care
95
What are social releasers
BOWLBY suggests babies are born with a set of innate cute behaviours like smiling, cooing and gripping that encourages care giver interactions
96
What is the purpose of social releasers
To activate the adult attachment system I.e to make an adult feel love towards the baby. BOWLBY recognised that attachment is a reciprocal system
97
When did BOWLBY suggest the critical period is
Around two years when the infant attachment system is active.
98
What did BOWLBY actually view the critical period as
A sensitive period where a child is maximally sensitive to the formation of attachments up to the age of two. If an attachment has not formed in this time, a child will find it much harder to form one later
99
What is a sensitive period
A biologically-determined time period during which a child is particularly receptive to a specific form of stimulation, result in the development of a specific response or characteristic. Little less definite than a critical period as it implies that behaviours can be learned outside of the sensitive period but less easily
100
What is an internal working model
The mental representations we all carry with us of our attachment to our primary caregiver. They are important in affecting our future relationships because they carry our perception of what relationships are like
101
What will a childs expectation of relationships be whose first experience is a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver
Loving and reliable
102
What is the continuity hypothesis
The internal working model may also affect the child’s later ability to form relationships and to be a parent themselves
103
2 limitations for BOWLBYS monotropic theory
Monotropy is a socially sensitive idea because of the implications for mothers lifestyle choices. Law of accumulated seperarion states having substantial time apart risks a poor quality attachment that will disadvantage the child in a range of ways. Feminists have pointed out that this places a terrible burden of responsibility on mothers, setting them up to take the blame for anything that goes wrong in the child’s life. This was not BOWLBYS attention - he saw himself as boosting the status of mothers by emphasising the importance of their role.
Critics have argued that BOWLBY over-emphasised the role of attachment. An alternative explanation is that the child’s temperament is important in the development of social behaviour. Temperament is the child’s genetically influenced personality. Temperament resechers suggest that some babies are more anxious than others and some more sociable than others and this determines the quality of attachment rather than the mothers responsiveness. This explains later social behaviour rather than the babies primary attachment experiences. Temperament resecher accuse BOWLBY of over emphasising the importance of a child’s early experiences.
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2 strengths of BOWLBYS monotropic theory
Evidence to support the existence and value of social releasers. In an experiment on mother and baby interaction, instructed primary attachment figures to ignore their babies signals - in BOWLBYs terms, to ignore their social releasers. The babies initially showed distress but when the attachment figure continued to ignore the baby they responded by curling up and lying motionless. Fact that children responded so strongly supports Bowlbys idea about the significance of infant social behaviour eliciting caregiving behaviour from adults.
Support for the idea of an internal working model. It is testable because it predicts the patterns of attachment will be passed from one generation to the next. BAILEY assessment 99 mothers, observing their behaviour with their infants to determine attachment type. The mothers were also interviewed about their relationships with their own parents. It was found that the mothers that reported poor attachments to their own parents were more likely to have children classified as poor in the observations. Supports idea that internal working model of attachment is passed through families.
105
What is AINSWORTHs strange situation
A controlled observation produced in a laboratory with a two-way mirror designed to test attachment security. Infants are assessment on their responses to playing in an unfamiliar room, being left alone, left with a stranger and being reunited with a caregiver
106
Why was the strange situation developed by AINSWORTH
As a means to assess the quality of a child’s attachment to the caregiver.
107
What were the 5 categories used to judge quality attachment in the strange situation.
1. Proximity seeking
2. Exploration and secure base behaviour
3. Stranger anxiety
4. Seperation anxiety
5. Response to reunion with the caregiver after separation
108
What is proximity seeking behaviour
An infant with a good attachment will stay fairly close to the caregiver
109
What is exploration and secure-base behaviour
Good attachment enables a child to feel confident to explore, using the caregiver as a secure base I.e the point of contact that will make them feel safe
110
What was the procedure of the strange situation
Seven episodes, each of which last about 3 minutes.
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Child encouraged to explore by parents.
Stranger enters and talks to parents.
Caregiver leaves.
The caregiver returns, stranger leaves.
Caregiver leaves the child alone.
Stranger returns.
Caregiver returns.
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What were the findings of AINSWORTHS strange situation
60-75% of British toddlers classified as secure attachment.
20-25% insecure avoidance attachment.
3% insecure resistant attachment.
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What is secure attachment (type B)
Generally thought of as the most desirable attachment type, associated with psychologically healthy outcomes. In the strange situation this is shown by hold happy to explore but seek proximity with caregiver, moderate stranger and separation anxiety and ease of comfort at reunion.
113
What is insecure avoidant attachment (type A)
An attachment type characterised by low anxiety but weak attachment. In strange situation this is shown by children explore freely but do not seek proximity, low stranger and separation anxiety and little response to reunion - an avoidance of the caregiver.
114
What is insecure resistant attachment
An attachment type characterised by strong attachment and high anxiety. In the Strange Situation this is shown by children not exploring and seeking greater proximity, high levels of stranger and separation anxiety and by resistance to be comforted at reunion.
115
2 strengths of AINSWORTHs strange situation
Support for the predictive validity of the strange situation. Attachment types defined are strongly predictive of later development. Babies assessed as secure typically go on to have better outcomes in many areas, ranging from success at school to romantic relationships and friends. In contrast, insecure resistant attachment is associated with the worth outcomes including bullying in childhood and adult mental health problems (WARD). Evidence for the validity of the concept bc it can explain further outcomes.
Good inter-rater reliability. Different observers watching the same children in the strange situation generally agree on what attachment type to classify them with. This may be because the strange situation takes place under controlled conditions and because the behavioural categories are easy to observe. Means we can be confident that the attachment type of an infant does not depend on who is observing them.
116
What is predictive validity
A means of assessing the validity or trueness of a psychological test by correlating the results of the test with some later example of the behaviour that is being tested
117
2 limitations of AINSWORTHs strange situation
Doubt about whether the strange situation is a culture-bound test. Concerned that the test does not have the same meaning in countries outside Western Europe and USA. 2 reasons: cultural differences in childhood experiences mean children respond different to the strange situation, caregivers from different cultures behave differently in the strange situation. TAKAHASHI notes the test does not work in Japan because mothers are rarely separated from their babies, meaning that they show very high levels of separation anxiety.
She may have missed at least one more attachment type. SOLOMON pointed out that a minority of children displayed atypical attachment which is known as disorganised attachment - a mix of avoidant and resistant behaviours. This challenges AINSWORTHs initial notion of attachment types and could question whether the strange situation is a useful methods to identity different types of attachment.
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What is a culture-bound test
Restricted to a particular culture
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What is disorganised attachment
Characterised by a lack of consistent patterns of social behaviour. Such infants lack a coherent strategy for dealing with the stress of separation. For example, they show very strong attachment behaviour which is suddenly followed by avoidance or looking fearful towards their caregiver
120
Two key studies of cultural variations in attachment
VAN LJZENDOORN AND KROONENBERG
| SIMONELLA
121
Procedures of KROONENBURGS study
Meta-analysis.
Looked at the proportions of secure, insecure avoidant and insecure resistant attachments across a range of countries, also looked at the differences within counties.
Located 32 studies (1990 children) of attachment where the strange situation had been used. Done in 8 countries, 15 in USA.
122
What is meta-analysis
Refers to the process of combining results from a number of studies on a particular topic to provide an overall view. This may involve a qualitative review of conclusions and/or a quantitative analysis of the results producing an effect size
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Findings of KROONENBERGS study
Secure was more common in all cultures.
Wide variation between the proportions of attachment types in the different studies - secure varied form 75% in Britain to 50% in China.
In individual cultures rates of resistant attachment was similar to the original sample (under 14%) but this was not true for collectivist samples from China, Japan and Israel where rated were above 25% (insecure avoidant reduced as well). Suggests cultural differences in the distribution of insecure attachment.
Variations between results of studies within the same country were actually 150% greater than those between countries. In USA zone study found 46% secure compared to a sample as high as 90%
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Procedure of SIMONELLAS study
Assessed 76 12 month old olds using the Strange Situation to see whether the proportion of attachment types still matched previous studies in Italy.
Moths recruited from a wider research project on parenthood transition and were reasonably varied in terms of their education levels (57% university degree, 40% high school, 2% didn’t finish high school) and their professions (48% employees, 13% professionals, 39% did not work)
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Findings of SIMONELLAS study
Found that 50% were secure with 36% insecure avoidant. This was a lower rate of secure attachment than the one that had been found in previous studies.
Researchers suggested this was due to the increasing numbers of mothers working long hours and using professional childcare. Findings suggest that cultural changes can make dramatic differences in the patterns of attachment types.
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Strength of studies into cultural variations in attachment
Combing results of attachment studies means you can end up with very large samples. In KROONENBERGS study there was 1990 babies and their primary attachment figures. SIMONELLA had large comparisons groups from previous research. Strength because large samples increase internal validity by reducing the impact of anomalous results or unusual participants.
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2 limitations of looking at cultural variations in attachment
Using the strange situation method of assessing attachment types may be biased towards American/British cultural child-rearing practices. Strange situation was designed by American researcher based on a British theory. Question over whether these theories and assessments can be applied to other cultures. Trying to imply a theory or technique designed from one culture to another is known as imposed etic which disregards the notion of cultural emic (cultural uniqueness) E.g the idea that a lack of separation anxiety and a lack of pleasure on reunion indicates a secure attachment but in Germany this may be seen as more independence than avoidance and not a sign of insecurity.
Alternative explanations for similarities found between cultures. BOWLBYS explanation for cultural similarities was that they are due to the fact that attachment is innate and universal, and thus produces the same kind of behaviours all over the world. KROONENBERG proposed a different possibility. Suggests that small cross-cultural differences may reflect the effects of the mass media’s explanation suggests that the number of books and TV programmes advocate similar notions of parenting are dispersing across countries - hence similarities in child rearing have become more common.
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What is imposed etic
A technique theory developed in one culture and then used to study the behaviour of people in a different culture with different norms, values, experiences
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What are cultural variations
Culture refers to the norms and values that exist within any group of people. Cultural variations, then, are differences in norms and values that exist between people in different groups. In attachment research we are concerned with the differences in the proportion of children of different attachment types
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What is maternal deprivation
The emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and his/her mother or mother substitute. BOWLBY proposed that continuous care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development, and that prolonged separation from this adult causes serious damage to emotional and intellectual development
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What is privation
The failure to develop any attachments during early life. This is contrasted with ‘deprivation’ or ‘disruption’ where attachment bonds have formed, but may be disrupted through physical or simply emotional separation (the loss of attachment)
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What are the key elements of BOWLBYs theory of maternal deprivation
Continued emotional care from the mother is essential for development.
Separation from a mother leads to maternal deprivation.
Separation is different from deprivation.
Critical period of 30 months.
Intellectual developed: deprivation lowers IQ.
Emotional development: deprivation is linked to affectionless psychopathy.
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What is affectionless psychopathy
A behaviour disorder in which the individual has no ability to experience shame or guilt and lacks a social conscience. This means they may find it easier to commit crimes
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What is BOWLBYS earliest theory
Maternal deprivation. The theory focuses on the idea that the continuous emotional care from the mother is essential for the child’s normal psychological development, but emotional and intellectual. Without this a child is deprived of emotional care
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Why did BOWLBY believed that being separated from a mother is early childhood would have serious consequences (maternal deprivation)
Because he believed mother-love infancy was ‘as important for mental health as vitamins and proteins for physical health’
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What is the distinction between separation and deprivation
Separation means the child not being in the presence of the primary attachment figure whereas deprivation means losing an element of her care as a result of the separation.
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How may separation not cause deprivation
If the brief separations can be countered by a substitute caregiver who provides emotional care
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What did BOWLBY believe about the critical period in his theory of maternal deprivation
He saw the first 30 months of life as the critical period for psychological development. If a child is separated from their mothers in the absence of substitute emotional care for an extend period during this time then BOWLBY believed psychological damage was inevitable
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What did BOWLBY believed about the affects of deprivation on intelligence
Believe that it a child was deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period they would suffer mental retardation and an abnormally low IQ. GOLDFARB did find lower IQ in children from institutions compared to those who had been fostered.
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What did BOWLBY believe about the effects of deprivation on emotional development
He suggested that a lack of emotional care could lead to affectionless psychopathy. This prevents the person developing normal relationships and is associated with criminality
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key study for maternal deprivation
BOWLBYs 44 thieves study
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Procedure of BOWLBYs 44 thieves study
44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing. Families also interviewed in order to establish whether there had been any prolonged separation from their mothers.
They were all assessment for signs of psychopathy: characterised by lack of affection, guilt and empathy
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Findings of BOWLBYs 44 thieves study
14 of the 44 thieves could be described as APs. Out of these 14, 12 has experienced prolonged separations from the mothers in the first two years of their lives.
Out of 30 non-APs only 5 has experienced separations. This suggests that prolonged early separation/deprivation caused affection-less psychopathy.
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Strength of BOWLBYs theory of maternal deprivation
Animal studies have demonstrated the effects of maternal deprivation. Many psychologists are critical of the theory of maternal deprivation but animal studies has shown the long term effect it can have. HARLOW showed that monkeys deprived of their mothers had a permanent effect on their social development and even went on to kill their own offspring. There is always some doubt over the extent to which animal studies can be generalised to human behaviour
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3 limitations of BOWLBYs theory of maternal deprivation
RUTTER claims BOWLBY failed to distinguish between deprivation and privation. He claimed that severe long term damage BOWLBY associated with deprivation is actually more likely to be the result of privation. Many of the 44 thieves had moved from home to home during their childhood so may have never formed attachments in the first place, this could be the cause of AP rather than deprivation.
Counter-evidence. LEWIS replicated the 44 thieves study with 500 young people. In her sample a history of early prolonged separation from the mother did not predict criminality or difficulty forming relationships. Problem for theory because it suggests other factors may affect the outcome of early maternal deprivation.
Later research suggested that the critical period is more of a sensitive period. The Czech twins were isolated from the age of 18 months until they were 7 (their step mother locked them in a cupboard). They were subsequently looked after by 2 loving adults and appeared to recover fully. Suggests that damage is not the inevitable consequence of prolonged separation after the critical period and that some cases of severe deprivation can have good outcomes, providing the child has some social interactions and good after care. The twins show that the period identified by BOWLBY may be a sensitive period rather than a critical one.
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What are the two effects of institutionalisation
Disinhibited attachment
| Damage to intellectual development
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What is institutionalisation
A term for the effects of living in an institutional setting. In such places there is often very little emotional care provided. In attachment research we are interested in the effects of institutional care on children attachment and development
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What is disinhibited attachment
A type of insecure attachment where children do not form close attachments. Such children will treat strangers with inappropriate familiarity and may be attention seeking. It is seen as an adaption to multiple caregivers
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What do children who have been institutionalised show signs of
Mental retardation, although the effect is not as pronounced if the children are adopted before 6 months of age, the age at which attachments form
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What are two studies into Romanian orphans
RUTTER
| ZEANAH
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What are orphan studies
These concern children placed in care because their parents cannot look after them. An orphan is a child whose parents have either died or abandoned them
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Aim of RUTTERs study
Longitudinal study to test what extent good care could make up for poor experiences in institutions
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Procedure of RUTTERs study
Followed a group of 165 Romanian orphans adopted into UK after poor conditions in orphanage.
Physical, cognitive and emotional development assessed at 4,6,11 and 15.
Also follower 52 British children adopted to serve as a control group
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Findings of RUTTERs study
Half the orphans showed mental retardation when they came to the Uk. At age 11 their rates of recovery were related to their age of adoption:
Before 6 months, mean IQ of 102.
Between 6 months and two years, mean IQ of 86.
Beyond 2 years, mean IQ of 77.
Children adopted after 6 months showed disinhibited attachment, children adopted before rarely showed this.
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Symptoms of disinhibited attachment
Clinginess, attention seeking and social behaviour directed indiscriminate at adults
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Conclusions of RUTTERs study and subsequent follow ups
Confirmed that significant deficits remain in a substantial minority of individuals who had experienced instructional care to beyond the age of 6 months. These findings support the view that there is a sensible period in the development of attachments - failure to form an attachment before the second of 6 months may have long lasting effects
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Procedure of ZEANAHs study
Bucharest (Romania) Early Intervention Project.
Assessed attachment type in 95 children ages 12-31 months who had spent most of their lives in institutional care using the Strange Situation. They were compared to a control group of 50 children never in institutional care.
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Findings of ZEANAHs study
Only 19% of the institutionalised group were securely attached, with 65% classified with disorganised attachment
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2 strengths of studying Romanian orphans
Enhanced our understanding of the effects or institutionalisation. Such research has led to improvement in the way children are cared for in institutions. E.g orphanages now avoid having large numbers of caregivers for each child, instead each child has one or two key workers who play a central role for the child. This enables the children to have a change to develop normal attachments. Shows research has been immensely valuable in practical terms.
Fewer confounding variables than in other orphan studies. Many orphan studies involve children who had experienced loss or trauma before they were institutionalised. E.g instances of neglect, abuse and bereavement meant that it was hard to observe the effects of institutionalised in isolation because the children were being affected by multiple factors which functioned as confounding participant variables. The Romanian orphans however were most abandoned at birth, this means that the findings have increased internal validity.
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2 limitations of studies in Romanian orphans
Issue with generalisability in Romanian orphanage studies. It’s possible that the conditions of the orphanages are so bad that the results cannot be applied to understanding the impact of better quality institutional care or any situation where children experience deprivation. Romanian orphanages had a particularly poor standards of care, especially when it came to forming any relationship with the children, and extremely low levels of intellectual development. Limitation because the unusual situational variables means the study lacks generalisability.
Long term effects of early adoption are not yet clear. Too soon to say with any certainty whether children suffered short or long term effects because the adopted orphans have only been followed into mid-teens. May be that children who spent longer in institutions currently lag behind in intellectual development or display attachment difficulties may still ‘catch up’ as adults. Equally early adopted children who appear to have no issues may develop them in adulthood.
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Limitation of RUTTERs study and strength of ZEANAHs study
RUTTERs study did not randomly assign children to conditions, the researcher did not interfere with the adoption process which means those children adopted earlier may have been more sociable, a confounding variable. However, the Bucharest Early Intervention project did randomly assign the orphans to institutional care or fostering conditions. This is methodologically better because it removes the confounding variables but it raises ethical issues
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Why is the quality of a child’s first attachment crucial
Because this template will powerfully affect the nature of their future relationships. This is due to the influence of the internal working model
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According to the internal working model, what would a good experience of attachment mean in the future
A child will seek out a functional relationships and behave functionally within them
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According to the internal working model, what would a bad experience of attachment mean in the future
This may mean the child will struggle to form relationships in the first place or the child does not behave appropriately in them
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How does attachment type determine relationships in later childhood
Securely attached infants tend to go on to form the best quality childhood friendships (KERNS.)
SMITH found that securely attached infants are less likely to be invoked in bullying.
Insecure avoidant children were most likely to be victims and insecure resistant were most likely to be bullies.
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Why do internal working models affect the child’s ability to parent their own children
People tend to base their parenting style on their internal working model and thus attachment type tends to be passed on through generations of a family
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What did BAILEY study
Considered the attachments of 99 mothers to their babies and to their own mothers. The majority of women had the same attachment classification both to their babies and their own mothers
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Key study in the influence of early attachment on later relationships
HAZAN and SHAVERS
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procedure of HAZAN and SHAVERs study
Conducted a study of the association between attachment and adult relationships. Analysed 620 replies to a ‘love quiz’ printed in an American local newspaper.
Three sections assessing different aspects of relationships:
Respondents current and most important relationship.
General love experiences.
Attachment type (by asking them to choose statements that best describe their feelings)
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Findings of HAZAN and SHAVERs study
56% of respondents identified as securely attached with 25% insecure avoidant and 19% insecure resistant.
Mirrors the kind of distribution found in many studies of infant attachment behaviour.
Their attachment type was reflected in their romantic relationships: secure respondents were most likely to have good and long lasting relationships whereas avoidant respondents tend to reveal jealousy and fear of intimacy.
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3 limitations of studies on the influence of early attachment on later relationships
Problem with research related to internal working models. They are meant to be unconscious, we are not directly aware of their influence on us. Therefore we would not really expect to get direct evidence about them through self-report methods which require conscious awareness. When participants self report on their relationships they are relying on their conscious understanding of those relationships, this gives us indirect evidence about internal working models. Potential limitation of research involving the concept of internal working models.
Most studies of attachment have issues with validity. assessing infant parent attachment by means of interview or questionnaires, not in infancy, but years later. The validity of these reports are limited because they depend on respondents being honest and having a realistic view of their own relationship. Related problem concerns the retrospective nature of assessment of infant attachment. Looking back in adulthood at ones early attachment probably lacks validity because it relies on accurate recollections.
Some argue that attachment researchers have over-exaggerated the influence of infant attachment on future relationships. CLARKE describe the influence of infant attachment on later relationships as probabilistic. People are not doomed to always have bad relationships because they had attachment problems. They just have a greater risk of problems. Further issue that by emphasising this risk we become too pessimistic about people’s futures.
