ATTACHMENT

Define attachment?

• a strong emotional bond which forms between an infant and their primary caregiver

is the primary caregiver always the mother?

• no

state 5 features of caregiver infant interactions?

• sensitive responsiveness- caregiver responds to signals from the infant

• imitation- the infant copies/mimics actions of the caregiver

• interactional synchrony- the infants reactions are in time with the speech of the caregiver

• reciprocity- the back and forth interaction between an infant and caregiver

• motherese- caregiver adopts a slow/ sing song way to speak o infant

which psychologists identified stages of attahment?

• Schaffer and Emerson

limitations of schaffer and Emerson’s study?

• did not take cross cultural differences into account as all of the babies were from Glasgow therefore isolated to one culture

state the 4 stages?

• asocial

• indiscriminate

• single

• multiple

state the duration of the asocial phase?

• 0-3 months

Explain the asocial stage?

• the infant learns to separate humans from inanimate objects but has no displayed feelings about who provides for their basic physical needs e.g food

state the duration of the indiscriminate stage?

• 6 weeks to 7 months

explain the indiscriminate phase?

• the infant is able to distinguish between different people but still has no displayed feelings about who provides care

state the duration of the single attachment stage?

7- 11 months

explain the single attachment phase?

• the infant is able to form a single attachment with a specific person, usually the mother

• the infant may also fear strangers and show recognition signals when single caregiver is present

state the duration of the multiple attachment phase?

• 9 months onwards

explain the multiple attachment phase?

• the infant can form several attachments with several individuals at the same time

• though the attachments may have different strengths the number of possible attachments to be formed is unlimited

why was Lorenz’s study controversial?

because he used animals

why is using animals for studies unethical?

• animals cannot give informed consent and may be physically or mentally by the experiment

what animals did lorenz use for his research?

geese

what did Lorenz find out about the goslings?

• he found that goslings(newly born geese) formed an attachment to the first moving thing they saw upon hatching, they then endlessly followed it around

what process did lorenz come up with due to the behaviours the goslings showcased?

imprinting

what 2 groups of goslings did lorenz use?

• incubated

• naturally born

what was Lorenz’s overall conclusion about imprinting?

• he concluded that imprinting happened swiftly after birth (6-12 hours)

• after this period had elapsed, imprinting could not happen

why is imprinting unable to be done in humans?

• longer development process

• based more on quality and quantity of care we receive

what animal did harlow use for his experiment?

• monkeys

state the aim of harlow’s study?

• to find out if infant monkeys preferred a source of nourishment or a source of physical comfort

which of the surrogate mothers did the monkeys spend more time with?

• the soft surrogate mother and only went near the hard wired surrogate to obtain food

• state the procedure of Harlow’s study?

• Rhesus monkeys raised in isolation

• had 2 surrogate mothers

  • one made of a hard wire mesh but containing a food source

  • one made from a soft cloth but without a food source

what was the conclusion of Harlow’s experiment?

• infant monkeys prefer a comforting attachment figure over one which meets their basic physical needs

How did Harlow’s study negatively affect the monkey’s adulthood?

• as the infant monkeys grew into adults they showed signs of severe psychological disturbance

  • female infant monkeys became violent parents

Evaluate Harlow’s study?

• lab experiment therefore high control of many variables present

• however limited ecological validity

• monkeys were not in natural environment

• findings therefore cannot be generalised to all Rhesus monkeys

• extreme ethical issues of study therefore has not and will not ever be repeated

according to learning theory what way can attachments be formed?

• through conditioning

state the 2 types of conditioning?

• classical and operant

Explain classical conditioning?

• the gradual process of making connections between 2 things in our environment

  • an attachment is gradually formed with the caregiver who provides for these needs

Explain operant conditioning?

• the caregivers become associated with the removement of discomfort so an attachment is then formed

Evaluate learning theory as an explanation for attachment?

• reductionist by nature

  • reduces the complex ways which human infants form attachments down to simplistic processes

• most evidence is obtained through animal studies

  • have ethical issues and cannot be generalised to humans

What is John Bowlby described as?

the father of attachment psychology

What theory did Bowlby come up with as an explanation of attachment?

• Monotropic theory of attachment

Explain monotropy?

• we form a single attachment as infants, usually but not always our biological mother

• this initial single attachment gives us a template which we use for all future attachments both as infants and adults

• if this attachment is disrupted/ abnormal, we then form disrupted/abnormal attachments through our adult lives too

Evaluate Bowlby’s Monotropy theory?

• evidence against it : Schaffer and Emerson

  • their research instead suggests that infants can form multiple attachments challenging the idea of a single, dominant attachment figure

• his theory contributes to a rapid increase in ‘stay at home’ mothers

state the 3 main types of attachment?

• secure

• insecure avoidant

• insecure resistant

Explain secure attachment?

• strong, usually permanent bond between infant and their primary caregiver

  • when the caregiver is removed the infant becomes distressed but is easily calmed when the caregiver returns

explain insecure avoidant attachments?

• a weaker form of attachment

  • the infant is not usually distressed by the removal of the caregiver and can be easily comforted by a complete stranger

explain insecure resistant attachments?

• more complex form of attachment

  • the child is usually uneasy or apathetic around their primary caregiver

  • but do become distressed if separated from this caregiver

  • however comfort cannot be given by strangers and the infant will often resist comfort from the caregiver

what do bowlby’s theories suggest?

• insecure avoidant and insecure resistant attachments would continue to impact on all the future attachments and relationships an infant may form

what name has been given to research of attachment conducted in the late 1970s and early 1980’s

• Strange situation research

What idea did Ainsworth develop?

‘ Strange situation’

Explain the procedure of Ainsworth’s strange situation?

• where an infant is placed in a situation new to them and their primary caregiver is removed

• his theory was the nature and strength of the infant and caregiver attachment could accurately be judged from how the infant reacts to the situation:

  • the removal of the caregiver

  • the return of the caregiver

State Ainsworth’s findings?

• 70% of infants were securely attached

  • They were happy with the presence of their caregiver and happy upon the return of their caregiver

• 15% of infants were insecure avoidant

  • They ignored their mother and were indifferent to the mother leaving them and returning

• 15% of infants were insecure resistant

  • they were uneasy around their mother but also upset when she left and could not be comforted

state the advantage of similar study’s to Ainsworth’s research being conducted all over the world?

• allows psychologists to judge if there are cultural norms in attachment

Which 2 psychologists conducted the meta analysis?

• Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg

Define meta analysis?

• a study of many studies

State the findings of Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s meta analysis?

• there are indeed cross-cultural similarities in how children are raised and how they form attachments

  • some trends present all across the world

• However there are some cultural differences in how attachments form

  • personal independence in germany

  • strong family ties in Arab nations

state the 2 main ways which attachment can be disrupted?

• separation

• deprivation

Define separation and deprivation?

• separation- when a child is away form their primary caregiver for fairly a short period of time e.g. a few hours

• deprivation- when something wanted or needed is removed on a permanent basis

What type of deprivation did Bowlby study?

Maternal deprivation

Define maternnal deprivation?

• when an infant is deprived of maternal care for a long period of time during infancy

state the name of the study which bowlby used to study maternal deprivation?

• the 44 juvenile thieves study

  • it examined the backgrounds and infancy of 44 young criminals

what were the findings of bowlby’s 44 theives study?

• there was a link between childhood maternal deprivation and criminality

Who did Robertson and Robertson carry out a study on, what type of observation?

• carried out a naturalistic observation of a single child named John who was separated form his mother for 9 days

what did Robertson and Robertson’s study conclude?

• the relatively short separation which John had form his mother may have had a permanent damaging effect on John’s relationship with his mother

  • as he was reluctant to be affectionate when he was reunited with her

Evaluate maternal depivation?

• has some evidence to back it up

• however reductionist:

  • bowlby did not consider other factors like poverty, genetics

Define institution in context of attachment?

• an organisation which takes care of children and infants in place of a normal family setting

  • e.g orphanage

What did rutter claim about deprivation?

• claimed bowlby had confused idea about deprivation and privation

  • deprivation- when a former attachment is broken

  • privation- when an attachment is never formed at all

Who was the focus of the case study outlined by curtiss?

• Genie

What happened to Genie and how did it impact her?

• she was treated with unimaginable cruelty by her parents and therefore formed no kind of secure attachment

• was never able to form any normal relationships with others

in what country were there many overcrowded orphanages?

• Romania

what did the fall of the communist regime in romania allow psychologists to study?

• it gave psychologists the opportunity to study the effects of the orphanage on attachment

State the procedure of rutters study orphanage attachment study?

• longitudinal study done over decades

• children assessed at 6 months old, 4,6 and 11 years

what did Rutters orphanage attachment study conclude?

• the effects of privation could be reversed if the child is adopted at 6 months or younger

• if the child was older than this the effects of privation could never be fully reversed

Evaluate Rutters orphanage attachment study?

• examined 50 case studies

• high levels of ecological validity

• however small case study

Evaluate Hodges and Tizards experiment?

small sample size

state the 5 main possible consequences of children forming disrupted attachments?

• affectionless psychopathy- the child will show little or no empathy and have little regard for how their actions impact others

• analytic depression- the child will show slow and impaired social development, insomnia and have little appetite

• deprivation dwarfism- the child will be physically underdeveloped

• delinquency- the child will carry out minor crimes on a regular basis

• reduced intelligence- the child’s intellectual capacity will develop at a slower rate than normal

Explain Bowlby’s internal working model?

• our infant attachments form a template/ model for how we interact with others as infants

• if our infant attachments are secure then it is more likely we will form normal or healthy attachments as adults

• however if we suffer insecure avoidant or resistant attachments, then these will form our ‘model’ for adult attachments which will also be resistant or avoidant

which psychologists studied Bowlby’s internal working model further?

• Hazan and Shaver

state the procedure of Hazan and Shaver’s study?

• used a series of questions in the local newspaper to examine how the relationships 620 people had with their parents influenced their later expectations of adult romantic relationships

what were the findings of Hazan and Shaver’s study?

• they found a correlation between insecure avoidant and insecure resistant childhood attachments and abnormal expectations of adult relationships

explain the cycle of privation?

• children who experience disrupted attachments will go on to have difficulties in forming normal relationships with their own children

Outline the procedure of Quinton’s experiment?

• compared the parenting of 2 groups of 50 women

  • the first group had experienced institutional care as children

  • the second group had experienced normal family life as children

what were the findings of Quintons experiment?

• the first group were far more likely to encounter difficulties as parents than the second group