Attachment

define attachment

an attachment is a particular type of emotional bond between the child and primary caregiver. this is characterised by reciprocal affection, frequent interaction, proximity and selectivity

what are the 3 main characteristics of a developed attachment

1. proximity

2. seperation distress

3. secure base behaviour: regularly returning to attachment figure when independent

define attachment

an attachment is a particular type of emotional bond between the child and primary caregiver. this is characterised by reciprocal affection, frequent interaction, proximity and selectivity

what are the 3 main characteristics of a developed attachment

1. proximity

2. seperation distress

3. secure base behaviour: regularly returning to attachment figure when independent

what are the two types of caregiver- infant interactions

1. reciprocity

2. interactional synchrony

describe reciprocity

• how the mother and infant respond to each others signals is reciprocal because each elicits a response from the other

• babies have alert phases and mothers can identify these 2/3rds of the time

• at 3 months, interactions become more frequent

• it is important to respond to verbal signals and expressions for attachment formation

• Brazelton describes reciprocity as a dance as the infants signals allows caregiver to respond appropriately

describe interactional synchrony

• when the mother and infant interact in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror each other

• still face experiment- babies become distressed when there is no synchrony

• study showed that babies as young as 2 weeks were able to copy an adults facial expressions

AO3 of caregiver- infant interactions

1. it is hard to know what is happening when observing infants. these observations are often just hand movements or changes in expressions. it is very difficult to know what is taking place from the infants perspective. eg are the babies movements conscious and deliberate imitations or just coincidence

2. observations dont tell us the purpose of synchrony and reciprocity. study suggests that the above only describes the behaviour or interaction between caregiver and infant that occur at the same time but doesnt reveal the true purpose.

however, some research does suggest that synchrony and reciprocity can be helpful in developing the attachment especially in relieving a stress response, empathy and language skills

3. the observations are controlled. mother infant interactions are generally well controlled. the fine details of behaviour can be recorded and later analysed. babies cant perform demand characteristics

describe schaffer & emersons method that led to the stages of attachment

31 male and 29 female babies from glasgow from skilled working class families

the babies and their mums were visited at their homes every month for the first year and then again when the babies were 18 months

the reseachers asked the mums about the kind of protests their babies showed in seven everyday seperations. stranger anxiety was assessed by the researcher by approaching the child

describe schaffer & emersons findings that led to the stages of attachment

• 6-8 months, 50% of babies showed signs of seperation anxiety toward a particular adult

• attachment tended to be to the caregiver who was most interactive and sensitive to the infants cues and facial expressions

• 10 months, 80% of babies had specific attachment and almost 30% displayed multiple attachments

what are the 4 stages of attachment

1. Asocial

2. Indiscriminate attachment

3. Specific attachment

4. Multiple attachment

describe the asocial stage of attachment

• first stage

• 0-8weeks

• infants start to become attached to others humans over inanimate objects which is shown through infants smiling at peoples faces

describe the indiscriminate attachment stage of attachment

• 2nd stage

• 2-7months

• infants begin to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar people but still accept comfort from others

• dont show seperation anxiety

describe the specific attachment stage of attachment

• 3rd stage

• 7-12 months

• infants begin to develop a specific attachment

• stay close to a particular person and become distressed when seperated

• avoid unfamiliar people & protest if a stranger tries to handle them

describe the multiple attachment stage of attachment

• 4th stage

• 1 year onward

• infants form strong emotional bonds with the other major caregivers and non caregivers

• fear of stranger weakens but attachment to the mother remains strongest

AO3 of Schaffer’s stage of attachement

1. schaffer and emerson’s study has high external validity. most of the observations were made by parents during ordinary activities and were reported to the researchers. this means the behavior of the babies was likely unaffected by the presence of strangers. therefore the Ps behaved naturally while being observed and didn’t show demand characteristics

2. study was carried out longditudinally. this means that the same children were followed up and observed regularly. londitudinal designs have better internal validity because they dont have the confounding variables of individual differences between Ps

3. there is evidence on the timing of the multiple attachments is conflicting. Bowlby argues that most babies form attachments to a single main carer before they are able to develop multiple attachments. However, multiple attachments appear from birth in babies in collectivist cultures where that is the norm.

what did grossman (2002) study

role of the father

how long does it take for babies to form their secondary attachment

18 months

describe grossmans study on the role of the father (2002)

• longitudinal study

• found the quality of the attachment to the father was less important in the childs emotional development in adolescence then the attachment to the mother

• the quality of the fathers play with the child was related to the quality of adolescence attachments

• suggests fathers have a different role to do with playing rather than nurturing

what did field conclude from his study on the role of the father

• primary caregiver fathers showed the same behaviours as primary caregiver mothers

• shows sex is not important but the level of response is

AO3 of the role of the father

1. research has not answered the question about fathers and primary attachments. traditional gender roles could explain why women are expected to be more nurturing than men. this could mean that men feel they shouldnt act in a nurturing way or female hormones like oestrogen make women biologically predispositioned to be more caring. therefore we are unsure why there are differences in the attachments formed between men and women and their infants

2. stereotypes prevent objective abservations. preconceptions about how fathers behave may cause unintentional observer bias. this could mean that observers see what they expect and interpret behaviours different to reality. therefore conclusions on the role of the father are hard to seperate from social biases about their role

3. research has economic implications. mothers can feel pressured to stay at home but in some families this may not be the best option financially. it could be that the mother is the main earner and the family can maximise their income by the father taking on the primary caregiver role whilst the mother returns to work. therfore the economy is bettered as well as the families finances

what are the two animal studies

lorenz - imprinting

harlow - contact comfort

describe lorenz’s method

• kept greylag goose eggs until they were ready to hatch

• half the eggs kept under mother goose, half kept in incubator (first moving object they saw was lorenz)

• goslings were marked to tell which were hatched naturally or in incubator

• placed goslings under box, box was lifted and their behaviour was recorded

describe lorenz’s findings

• naturally hatched goslings followed mother

• incubator goslings followed lorenz (no attachment to mother)

• process of imprinting occurred short period after hatching. 12-17 hours. known as a critical period

• after that it is unlikely that any attachment will develop

describe sexual imprinting

• birds aquire a template of the desirable characteristics required in a mate

• eg peacock was reared where the first moving object it saw was a tortoise. only displayed mating behaviours towards tortoises

how do we apply imprinting to humans

• if an infant doesnt form an attachment during the critical period (0-2.5yrs) there will be irreversible consequences for later relationships, intelligence, behaviour and psychology

AO3 of Lorenz study on imprinting

1. we cant generalise findings and conclusions from birds to humans. although some of lorenz’s findings have influenced our understanding of human development, human attachments are more emotional whereas bird attachments are for survival and mating. as well as this, humans are not mobile from birth so we do not imprint on the first moving object

2. there is research support for imprinting. research found chickens imprinted on yellow washing glove and would attempt to mate with it as as adults

3. however the researcher found there was not a permenant effect of imprinting in regards to mating as the chickens learnt to mate with other chickens over time

describe the method of harlows study

• 16 monkeys seperated from mothers immediately after birth

• placed in cage with 2 surrogate mothers. one wire mother and one cloth mother

• 8 monkeys could get milk from wire mother, 8 from cloth mother

• studied for 165 days

describe the results of harlows study

• both groups of monkeys spent more time with the cloth mother even if she had no milk

• monkeys would only go to wire mother when hungry and would then return to cloth mother

• cloth mother was good at decreasing the monkeys fear.

• monkeys would explore more when cloth mother was present

• there were long term permenant consequences for monkeys

• they became more aggressive, less sociable, unskilled at mating and killed their offspring

• critical period = 90 days

how can we apply contact comfort to humans

• emphasises importance of skin to skin contact after birth

• applies to children in hospitals where staff are encouraged to show love and affection towards infants

AO3 of Harlows study

1. has theoretical and practical value. the findings had a large effect on our understanding of human mother-infant attachments. harlow found attachments dont develop as a result of being fed. . also helped us understand the consequences of child neglect and abuse

2. his research mas major ethical issues. the monkeys suffered greatly and if they are deemed to be similar to us this means their distress was human like

3. however we have learnt lots from his research so it could be argued that the harm is justified

who developed the learning theory of attachment

dollard and miller

describe classical conditioning in the learning theory of attachment

• when the same person provides food over time they become associated with food

• the sight of the caregiver then produces a conditioned response of pleasure

describe operant conditioning in the learning theory of attachment

• baby is positively reinforced for crying as caregiver feeds them (positive consequence)

• caregiver is negatively reinforced as they feed baby in order to avoid negative consequence of crying

• mutual reinforcement strengthens attachment

describe how attachment acts as a secondary drive

• attachment is learned by an association between the caregiver and the satisfaction of the primary drive of hunger

AO3 of the learning theory of attachment

1. animal studies provide evidence against food being the basis of attachment. harlows monkeys attached to the soft mother figure rather than the one who provided milk. lorenz’s geese imprinted immediately and maintained attachments regardless of who fed them. these attachments didnt develop as a result of food so the same could be true for humans

2. there is a newer learning theory that describes how attachments form more successfully. new explanation is based on social learning theory and suggests that parents teach children to love them by modelling attachment behaviours as well as rewarding the child when they display their own. this suggests infants learn attachments through social interactions

3. some elements of conditioning could still be involved. many aspects of human development are affected by conditioning so it makes sense that attachment is too. the main issue is idea that feeding is the primary drive. therefore conditioning is a likely relevant factor in attachment so shouldnt be discredited

what does Bowlby’s monotropic theory say about attachment

• the first attachment is the most important as it forms our internal working model.

• first attachment is innate as we are born to attach to our primary caregiver in the short term for food and in the long term for survival

define bowlby’s law of continuity

the more constant and predictable the care, the better the quality of attachment

define bowlby’s law of accumulated seperation

the effects of seperation add up in the long run

what are social releasers (bowlby)

• babies have a set of innate ‘cute‘ behaviours that encourage attention

• attachment is a reciprocal process as both mother and baby are hard wired to be attached

describe the critical period that bowlby believed

• 0-2.5 years

• most sensitive 3-6months

• attachment must develop in this time or else it wont develop at all

describe the internal working model (bowlby)

• mental representation of their relationship with their primary caregiver

• blueprint of how to form relationships as a result of the relationship they have with their primary caregiver

• used as a model for formation of future relations

describe the continuity hypothesis (bowlby)

• explains how the internal working model shapes future relationships

• securely attached children have healthy internal working model and have grown up feeling loved so can form successful future relations

• avoidant children have negative internal working model and have grown up feeling unworthy of love. struggle to form close relationships in future

• resistant children have needy internal working model and have grown up with parent who is very overbearing then very distant

describe the temperament hypothesis (bowlby)

• strength of a mother and infant attachment is believed to be largely based on the responsiveness from the mother

• but could be due to personality of baby

  1. easy

  2. difficult

  3. slow to warm up

• suggests attachment is based on the temperament of baby rather than responsiveness from mother

AO3 of bowlby’s monotropic theory

1. has research support. schaffer and emerson did study that supports idea of monotropy and hierarchy of multiple attachments. found that western babies made lots of attachments but formed one main one. mostly with the person who responded quickly and sensitively to their needs rather than the one that fed them.

2. attachment is universal as there is evidence that all children make attachments to the people that care for them. this supports the idea that attachment is innate. study found an African tribe with very different child rearing system to western societies still demonstrated a primary caregiver.

3. monotropy is an example of socially sensitive research. the laws of continuity and accumulated separation suggest that mothers who work may negatively impact their child’s emotional development. some have suggested that this sets up mothers to take the blame for anything that goes wrong for the child in future and gives people an excuse to restrict mother’s activities.

who did the strange situation study

ainsworth

aim of the strange situation study

measure security of attachment between caregiver and child

method of strange situation

• 100 american 12month infants and their mothers

• controlled observation

• 7 stages that lasted 3 mins

1. mother + child left alone for child to explore

2. stranger enters, talks w mother, approaches child w toy

3. mother leaves, stranger continues to play w child

4. mother returns, comforts baby, stranger leaves

5. mother leaves, child is left alone

6. stranger returns, interacts w child

7. mother returns, comforts child, stranger leaves

what 5 behaviours was ainsworth looking for in the strange situation study

1. proximity seeking

2. exploration and secure base behaviour

3. stranger anxiety

4. separation anxiety

5. reunion behaviour

what are the three types of attachments ainsworth found

1. insecure avoidant (type A)

• 22%

• explored room, paid little attention to mother

• low stranger + separation anxiety. little response to mother.

2. secure attachment (type B)

• 66%

• explored room, often returns to mother

• moderate stranger + separation anxiety. easy comfort at reunion

3. insecure resistant (type C)

• 12%

• little exploration of room, cling to mother

• high levels of stranger + separation anxiety. resistant to comfort at reunion (punish mother)

AO3 of strange situation

1. SS may be measuring temperament rather than attachment. SS measures childs response to the anxiety produced from being in an unfamiliar situation. other research has suggested that the childs temperament may have amore important influence on the behaviour than the attachment type

2. evidence for at least 4 attachment types. minority of children displayed characteristics that dont fit in the 3 types. known as disorganised attachment (type D). however this is unusual as these babies have experienced abuse

3. SS may be culture bound. SS was developed in UK and USA. test didnt work in japan as japanese children arent separated from their mothers so high levels of separation anxiety. mothers rushed to their children so it was difficult to measure babies response. therefore, babies response may not be due to attachment but rather that they are rarely apart from their mothers

who studied cultural variations of attachment

• van Ijzendoorn and kroonenberg

• jin

what was van Ijzendoorn and kroonenbeerg’s aim

• to find out whether the proportions of secure, insecure avoidant and insecure resistant children were the same in all countries

• how much inter-cultural variation in attachment there is

what was van Ijzendoorn and kroonenbeerg’s method

• did meta analysis of 32 studies of attachment where the strange situation was used

• 32 studies from 8 countries (18 were USA)

• results from 2000 children

what were van Ijzendoorn and kroonenbeerg’s findings

• variations within the same country were 150% greater than those between countries

• secure: uk 75% and china 50%

• avoidant: germany 35% and japan 5%

• resistant: israel 29% and uk 3%

• secure was most common attachment

what was van Ijzendoorn and kroonenbeerg’s conclusions

• secure is the norm in many cultures

• supports bowlbys idea that attachment is innate and universal

• shows cultural practices have influence on attachment type and there is variation both between and within cultures

• SS assumes behaviour always has same significant as in UK

AO3 of cultural variations of attachment

1. combining the results of attachment studies into a meta analysis produces a large sample which increases the validity by reducing the impact of anomolous results caused by bad methodology

2. van inzendoorn was comparing between countries rather than cultures.