Paper 1: Attachments Flashcards
Define the difference between reciprocity and interactional synchrony
Reciprocity: Both infant and mother respond to each others signals
Interactional synchrony: Mother and baby reflect each others actions in a synchronised, co-ordinated way
What percentage of infants in a schaffer and emmerson study became attached to their father by 18 months and what was the sign of attachment that was observed?
75% - observed that the baby protested when the father would walk away
What type of study did Grossman conduct (2002) and what did he find?
Longitudinal study - Found that the role of the father was centred around play and was particularly important during adolescence
Identify a weakness when studying infants
They are difficult to observe as hand movements and facial expressions may not be deliberate and may be random
Identify one weakness of Grossman’s study into the role of the father
It ignores single parent families or same-sex parents - Children don’t develop any differently, suggesting that the fathers role is unimportant
Outline Schaffer and Emmerson’s findings
25-32 weeks of age: 50% of babies show separation anxiety towards particular adult (mother)
Attachment tended to be towards caregiver that showed the most reciprocity
By 40 weeks: 80% babies had developed a specific attachment and 30% displayed multiple attachments
Define the term ‘multiple attachments’
Attachments to two or more people
Outline the stages of Schaffer and Emmerson’s stages of attachment
- Asocial: Baby’s behaviour towards objects and humans is similar. Some preference towards particular adults
- Indiscriminate attachment: Preference for people over objects. Act the same towards anyone but they prefer familiar adults
- Specific attachment: Anxiety towards strangers + especially when away from one particular adult. (the person who offers the most interaction = specific attachment)
- Attachment behaviour to other adults that they spend time with as well as specific attachment = secondary attachments
According to Schaffer and Emmerson, what age range does the indiscriminate attachment stage take place?
2-7 months
According to Schaffer and Emmerson, what age range does the specific attachment stage take place?
from 7 months
Give one strength of Schaffer and Emmerson’s research
Good external validity - conducted in their own houses - by their own parents.
Give one weakness of Schaffer and Emmerson’s study
Limited sample - Working class families, only Glasgow = culture bias
What did Lorenz find in his imprinting investigation?
The incubator group followed Lorenz everywhere but the control group followed the mother. He identified a critical period: a few hours after birth
What were Harlow’s findings?
The baby monkeys cuddled the soft object more when frightened regardless of which one dispensed milk - contact comfort was more important than food
Why is it difficult to generalise animal studies to humans?
Mammalian attachment is different to birds + humans experience different stressors in the world - may affect attachment through evolution
Outline the ethical issues of Harlow’s research
The monkeys suffered psychological harm into adulthood - killing their children and becoming more aggressive than other monkeys due to maternal deprivation
In terms of classical conditioning, explain attachment in 5 points.
Food = unconditioned stimulus ==> unconditioned response (pleasure)
Caregiver = neutral stimulus (over time…) ==> conditioned stimulus
After association of food and caregiver, sight of caregiver = pleasure = conditioned response
In terms of operant conditioning, explain attachment
Crying causes the caregiver to comfort them, reinforcing crying. = positive reinforcement
Simultaneously, the care giver receives negative reinforcement as the crying stops
Which psychologist(s) suggested that attachment is a secondary biological drive?
Sears et al (1957)
Outline two criticisms of the learning theory
Animal studies have shown that they don’t necessarily imprint on those who feed them. - Lorenz and Harlow
Schaffer and Emmerson - Feeding isn’t an important factor as specific attachments still formed even though other carers did most of the feeding
Identify Bowlby’s five features of the monotropic theory
Adaptive, monotropy, social releasers, critical period, internal working model
Define monotropic
A central attachment - different from other attachments and is significant for the child’s development
When does the critical period end for babies (bowlby)?
If an attachment isn’t formed before the age of two, the child will find it difficult to form an attachment later in life
What is the internal working model?
A mental representation of the child’s relationship with the primary caregiver - models future relationships
Why can monotropy be considered socially sensitive?
It has major implications on lifestyle choices that mothers make when children are young - places a burden on working mothers
There is research support for internal working models… finish the PEEL in bullet points
It is testable because it predicts patterns of attachment across generations
Bailey et al - found that mothers who reported poor attachment to their own parents in the interviews had poor attachments with their own children (observation and interview)
What were the 5 behaviours Ainsworth used to identify attachment?
Proximity seeking, Exploration, Stranger anxiety, Separation anxiety, Response to reunion
What research method did Ainsworth use in the strange situation?
Controlled observation
Outline and describe the three attachment types in Ainsworth’s study
Secure: Children display proximity-seeking and secure base behaviour. Moderate stranger and separation anxiety
Insecure-avoidant: Explore but don’t seek proximity or show secure base behaviour. Disinterest in strangers, caregiver leaving and returning.
Insecure-resistant: Seek greater proximity so explore less. Show increased stranger and separation anxiety and resist comfort when caregiver returns.
In Britain, what is the most common attachment type (Ainsworth)?
Secure
Describe one weakness of Ainsworth’s study
Culture bias: Japanese mothers are rarely separated from their children causing the most common attachment type to be insecure resistant while Germany encourages separation from a young age - insecure-avoidant.
Give two strengths of Ainsworth’s study
High validity: Observational method in a domestic setting - encourages domestic behaviour.
Inter-rater reliability - multiple observers agree
Give a weakness of Bowlby’s theory
He argues that it is innate and biological - biological reductionism
Define maternal deprivation
Extended separation of the infant from mother, resulting in damage to psychological and emotional development
Outline the findings of Bowlby’s 44 thieves study
14/44 thieves = affectionless psychopaths
12/14 = prolonged separation from mother during the first 2 years of their lives
2/44 control group = prolonged separations
Give a piece of evidence that supports Bowlby’s idea that maternal deprivation affects intellectual development
Goldfarb 1947 - lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered
What psychologist conducted the Romanian orphanage studies?
Rutter (2011)
Define disinhibited attachment and 3 symptoms
attachment style developed by children adopted after 6 months - clingy, social behaviour directed at all adults, attention seeking
Compare the mean IQ of children adopted before 6 months and after 2 years in Rutter’s study
6 months - 102
after 2 years - 77
Describe 2 strengths of Rutter’s study
Real-life application: led to improvements in institutions - large number of caregivers is avoided so the child can develop a central attachment
Fewer extraneous variables than other orphan studies: Don’t have confounding variables - children instituionalised from birth - high internal validity
Give one weakness of the Romanian orphan studies
Ethical issues: children weren’t randomly assigned to adopters - the more sociable ones may have been picked affecting the findings
