Attachment AO1

AQA A level Psychology Attachment AO1

Attachment

A close two way emotional bond between two individuals in which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security. Attachment in humans takes a few months to develop.

altricial

human babies are born at a relatively early stage of development

need to form bonds with adults who will protect and nurture them

preocial

animals are born at an advanced stage of development

short term benefits of attachment

survival

long term benefits of attachment 

emotional relationships, first relationship acts as a template for later relationships 

Maccoby 

suggests that there are 4 key behaviours that indicate that an attachment has been formed 

4 key behaviours for attachment

seeking proximity

distress on separation

joy on reunion

orientation of behaviour

bond

feelings that tie one person too another

imprinting 

the tendency to form an attachment to the first large moving object seen after birth 

critical period

imprinting has to take place within this critical period otherwise the animal/human will lose the ability to form attachments

Bowlby’s evolution theory

There is a critical period for developing attachments (0-5 years)

If an attachment is not developed during this period,then the child will suffer from irreversible developmental consequences

Such as reduced intelligence and increased aggression

learning theory

behaviour is not natural it is nurture

classical conditioning

learning by association (pavlov’s dog)

stimulus

anything in the environment which the organism registers

response

any behaviour emitted as a consequence of a stimulus

reflex

a consistent connection between a stimulus and a response

operant conditioning 

learning by consequence (skinner)

positive reinforcement

any behaviour which produces a positive consequence

likely to be repeated - positive reinforcement 

negative reinforcement 

behaviours that ‘switch off’ something unpleasant are also likely to be repeated

behaviours that lead to an unpleasant outcome are also less likely to be repeated  

reinforcement

anything which has the effect of increasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated

punishment

decreasing the likelihood of the behaviour being repeated by using consequences that are unpleasant when they happen

Bowlby’s Attachment Theory

Attachment is a behavioural system that has evolved because of it’s survival value and reproductive value

Children have an innate drive to attach to parents as it has long term benefits

Innate characteristics or drives are things that we are born with, a product of genetic factors

This innate drive to attach to parents can be seen in imprinting

adaptive

Attachments are Adaptive.

This means they give our species an ‘adaptive advantage’, making us more likely to survive.

Social releasers

Babies have Social releasers, which ‘unlock’ the innate tendency of adults to care for them. they are both physical and behaviour

critical period (Bowlby)

2 and ½ years

those who have not formed an attachment in the critical period can experience

• delinquency

• reduced intelligence

• increased aggression

monotropy

Bowlby believed that infants form one very special attachment with their mother.

internal working model

This is a special mental schema for relationships.

All the child’s future adult relationships will be based on this.

Ainsworth’s Strange Situation.

The strange situation was developed by Mary Ainsworth. This is a technique that places the infant in

different situations in order to research the quality of attachment to the caregiver

The behaviours used to judge attachment included;

proximity seeking

exploration and secure base behaviour

stranger anxiety

separation anxiety

response to reunion

proximity seeking

an infant with a good relationship will stay close to the caregiver

exploration and secure base behaviour

good attachment enables a child to feel confident to explore using their caregiver as a secure base

stranger anxiety

closely attached is a display of anxiety when a stranger approaches

separation anxiety

protest at separation from the caregiver

response to reunion

separation for a short period of time under controlled conditions

type B attachment

secure attachment (66%)

type C attachment

insecure avoidant (12%)

type A

insecure resistant (22%)

Cultural variations

Ljzendoorn and Kroonenberg conducted a study to look at the proportions of secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant attachments across a range of countries. They also looked at the differences within the same countries to get an idea of variations within a culture.

separation

not being in the presence of the primary attachment figure

derivation

a bond or attachment has been formed with the main caregiver but it has been disrupted for some time.

privation

not having the opportunity to form a bond in the first instance

3 stages of a caregiver leaving according to Robertson and Robertson

protest

despair

detachment

protest

the child will try and cling onto the parent as they try to leave

despair

child stops protesting they seem to be calmer but are still upset

the child seems withdrawn and uninterested in anything

detachment

separation continues and the child will start to engage with people again

they will reject the caregiver on their return and show strong signs of anger

effects of development (Bowbly maternal deprivation)

intellectual development

emotional development

intellectual development

deprived of motherly care for to long during the critical period will lead to low IQ

emotional development

inability to experience guilt or other strong emotions

cannot develop a normal relationship

associated with criminality

institutionalisation

effects of living in an institution

refers to a hospital or orphanage where children tend to live for long periods of time

there is often little emotional care provided

psychological effects of neglect

effects;

relationships with others

ability to form attachments

ability to learn

speech

disinhibited attachment

equally friendly with strangers and those who they know

do not show stranger anxiety

childhood relationships

affiliations with other people in childhood,including friends, classmates and adults such as teachers

adult relationships

the relationships a child goes onto have later in life as an adult

these include friendships and working relationships

most critically relationships with the persons own romantic partners and their own children