Paper 1 - Attachment A03

Question 1

What are the strengths in the research into caregiver infant interactions ?

Answer 1

• Strengths in research
• Filmed from multiple angles = cannot miss key behaviours, Analysed by multiple people = inter-rater reliability, Controlled environment = control any other activity that might usually distract an infant
• All factors = high validity and reliability

Question 2

What is the strength to support the role of care-giver infant interactions in relation to attachment ?

Answer 2

• Evidence to show link between role and development of attachment bonds
• Isabella et al observed 30 mothers and infants and assessed the degree of interactional synchrony. Found out that high levels of IS link to better quality attachment bonds
• Highlights how interactional synchrony is important for the development of good quality attachments bonds.

Question 3

What are the negatives in the research into caregiver infant interactions ?

Answer 3

• Problems with Meltzoff and Moore’s research
• Issue of intentionality. It has been pointed out that infants’ mouths are in fairly constant motion and the expressions that are tested (e.g. sticking tongue out) occur frequently. This means that it is difficult to distinguish between general activity and specific imitated behaviour.
• Low internal validity

Question 4

Issues with data replication in caregiver infant interactions ?

Answer 4

• Failure to replicate Meltzoff and Moore’s results
• eg. Koepke et al. (1983) failed to find any evidence of interactional synchrony in caregiver-infant interactions.
• Lacks reliability, findings = inconsistent

Question 5

What are the strengths of Schaffer and Emersons research regarding its validity ?

Answer 5

• High external validity
• Since it was conducted in family homes with mothers observing separation anxiety during typical daily activities, the study has strong ecological validity
• Generalise to real life settings

Question 6

What are the strengths of Schaffer and Emersons research regarding how it was carried out ?

Answer 6

• Longitudinal Design - where the same infants were observed regularly over time.
• While a cross-sectional design using different children at each age would have been faster, the longitudinal approach improves internal validity as no confounding variables of individual differences between participants - Findings are more reliable, as they were not influenced by participant variables

Question 7

What are the weaknesses of Schaffer and Emersons research regarding its sample size?

Answer 7

• Specific sample
• All infants are same social class and city. Conducted over 50 years ago, the findings may lack temporal validity
• Might not generalize to different social or historical contexts.

Question 8

Explain the weakness regarding difficulty to know if infants are capable to form multiple attachments ?

Answer 8

• Uncertainty about when infants can form multiple attachments.
• While research like Schaffer and Emerson suggests infants first attach to a primary caregiver, other studies, especially in collectivistic cultures with multiple caregivers, indicate that infants may form multiple attachments from the start.
• This cultural difference suggests that Schaffer & Emerson’s conclusions may be biased toward individualistic societies and may no apply to collectivistic cultures

Question 9

What is the strength of the research regarding the role of the father ?

Answer 9

• Can offer advice for parents
  -Can help them to make informed decisions about caregiving roles without feeling pressured into traditional roles. For example, knowing fathers can be primary attachment figures may reduce parental anxiety and provide reassurance to families in deciding the best caregiving arrangements.
• It has practical application for real life world

Question 10

What is a weakness of the research regarding the role of the father ?

Answer 10

• Lack of clarity in the question itself
• Researchers may focus on different aspects, with some studying fathers as secondary attachment figures and others as primary caregivers. The differing focus leads to contrasting findings.
• Making it challenging to define a single role for fathers in attachment.

Question 11

What is a weakness of the role of the father regarding conflicting evidence ?

Answer 11

• Conflicting evidence
• If fathers have a distinct role as secondary attachment figures, children raised in single-mother or same-sex female households might face developmental disadvantages. However, studies (e.g., McCallum & Golombok, 2004) show these children are no different
• Suggests father has no distinct importance which challenges findings like those from Grossman et al. (2002)

Question 12

What is a strength on the animal study of attachment by Lorenz rearguing its further research evidence ?

Answer 12

• Further research evidence demonstrating the process of imprinting.
• For example, Regolin & Vallortigara (1995) exposed chicks to simple shape combinations that moved, such as a triangle with a rectangle in front. A range of shape combinations were then moved in front of the chicks, and it was found that they followed the original most closely.
• Supports the view that bird species are born with an innate mechanism to attach to and follow the first moving object they see.

Question 13

What is a weakness on the animal study of attachment by Lorenz regarding its lack of generalisation ?

Answer 13

• Mammalian attachment system is very different to that of birds.
• For example, in mammals, attachment is a two-way process, so it is not just the young who become attached to their mothers but also the mothers who become attached to their young.
• Cannot generalise Lorenz’s findings to humans therefore very little can be concluded from his research.

Question 14

What is a strength on the animal study of attachment by Harlow reading its RLA ?

Answer 14

• Important real-world applications.
• For example, it has helped professionals such as social workers to understand that a lack of contact comfort may be a risk factor in child development, allowing them to intervene where necessary.
• Value of Harlow’s research is not just theoretical but also practical.

Question 15

What is a weakness on the animal study of attachment by Harlow reading its EI ?

Answer 15

• Significant ethical issues.
• The monkeys were removed from their mothers at birth and raised in almost total isolation with only the wire mothers for company. Many developed abnormalities later on in life so not protected from psychological harm.
• The suggestion that the benefits of the research outweigh the costs to the animals involved is therefore questionable.