Attachment

what is attachment?

In simple terms, an attachment is a strong emotional, enduring bond that an infant has with one or more of his/her caregivers. An attachment connects one person to another across time and space and each seeks closeness and feels more secure when in the presence of the attachment figure.

what qualities does attachment in infants have?

They are selective – formed with specific people.

They involve proximity seeking – efforts to be physically close or near to the attachment figure.

what did bowlby (1951) suggest about attachment to mothers?

Bowlby (1951) suggested that a single primary attachment relationship between Mother and infant is essential for healthy psychological development. He argued that Mother love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health.

what is reciprocity?

An interaction is reciprocal when each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them.

what type of role do infants have in attachment?

Traditional views of childhood have seen the baby in a passive role, receiving care from an adult. However, it seems that the baby takes an active role. Both mother and child can initiate interactions and they appear to take turns in doing so.

what is a periodic 'alert phase' ?

From birth babies and their mothers spend a lot of time in intense and pleasurable interaction. Babies have periodic ‘alert phases’ and signal that they are ready for interaction. Mothers typically pick up on and respond to infant alertness around two-thirds of the time.

what is interactional synchrony?

Two people are said to be synchronised when they carry out the same action simultaneously. Interactional synchrony is when infants move their bodies in tune with the rhythm of carers’ spoken language. This gain serves to reinforce the attachment bond. It takes place when mother and infant interact in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror the other.

give a strength of interactional synchrony (mimicking).

Melzoff and Moore (1977) found that infants aged 2-3 weeks tended to mimic adults’ specific facial expressions and hand movements, supporting the idea that interactional synchrony is an innate ability to aid the formation of attachments, especially as it was subsequently seen in infants of less than three days old.

give a strength of interactional synchrony (quality).

Isabella et al (1989) observed 30 mothers and infants together and assessed the degree of synchrony. The researchers also assessed the quality of mother-infant attachment. They found that high level of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-infant attachment showing that interactional synchrony is important in forming attachments

give a strength of caregiver-infant interactions (observations).

Research into caregiver infant interactions often involve observations of mother-infant interactions in well-controlled procedures, with both mother and infant being filmed, often from multiple angles. This ensures that very fine details of behaviour can be recorded and later analysed. Furthermore, babies don’t know or care that they are being observed so their behaviour does not change in response to controlled observation. This strengthens this line of research because it means the research has good validity, and therefore we can be more confident in the caregiver infant interactions shown from these studies.

give a limitation of caregiver-infant interactions (culture).

Interactional synchrony is not found in all cultures. Le vine et al (1994) reported that Kenyan mothers have little interactions with their infants, but such infants do have a high proportion of secure attachments. Therefore making us question whether interactional synchrony is necessary for attachment formation, as the absence of this element of caregiver infant interaction did not affect the attachments formed in this culture.

give a limitation of caregiver-infant interactions (observations).

Many studies involving observation of interactions between mothers and infants have shown the same patterns of interaction. However what is being observed is merely hand movements or changes in expression. It is extremely difficult to be certain, based on these observations, what is taking place from the infant’s perspective. Is, for example, the infant’s imitation of adult signals conscious and deliberate? This means that we cannot really know for certain that behaviours seen in mother-infant interaction have a special meaning.

give a limitation of caregiver-infant interactions (indistinguishable).

Furthermore, infants mouths are in constant motion, therefore it is difficult to distinguish between general activity and specific imitated behaviours, making the observation of caregiver infant interactions unreliable (sometimes a researcher may be measuring genuine caregiver infant interaction, other times the baby may have just coincidentally moving their mouth – meaning the observations are inconsistent).

describe schaffer and emerson's (1964) research into attachment.

Aim: To assess whether there was a pattern of attachment formation common to all infants. Also to identify and describe the distinct stages by which attachments form.

Method:
- A longitudinal study
- 60 newborn babies and their mothers from a working-class area of Glasgow.
- studied each month for the first year of their lives in their own homes
- studied again at 18 months.
- Observations, as well as interviews with the mothers, with questions being asked about whom infants smiled at, whom they responded to, who caused them distress etc.

Attachment was measured in two ways

how was attachment measured in schaffer and emerson's (1964) research?

Separation protest – assessed through several everyday situations: the infant being left alone in a room, left alone with others, left in their pram outside the house, left in the pram outside the shops, left in the cot at night, being put down after being held and being passed by while sitting in a chair/cot or pram.

Stranger anxiety – this was assessed by the researcher starting each home visit by approaching the infant to see if this distressed the child.

what did schaffer and emerson (1964) find and conclude?

- Most infants started to show separation protest when parted from their attachment figure at between 6-8 months, stranger anxiety shown around one month later.

- Strongly attached infants had mothers who responded to their needs quickly and gave more opportunities for interaction.

- Weakly attached infants had mothers who responded less quickly and gave fewer opportunities for interaction.

- Most infants went on to develop multiple attachments. At 18 months, 87% had at least 2 attachments, with 31% having 5+ attachments.

- Attachments to different people were of a similar nature, with infants behaving in the same way to different attachment figures.

- 39% of infant’s prime attachment was not to the main carer.

Conclusion: There is a pattern of attachment formation common to all infants, which suggests the process is biologically controlled.

give a strength of schaffer and emerson's (1964) research into attachment (mundane realism).

One strength of Schaffer & Emerson’s study is that the method has high mundane realism. This is because it was conducted under every day conditions e.g. separation anxiety measured by infants being left alone with others. Furthermore, because most of the observation was actually done by parents during ordinary activities and reported to researchers later, this means that the behaviour of the babies was unlikely to be affected by the presence of observers. This means that there is a good chance the participants behaved naturally. This makes us confident that the findings and conclusions drawn from the study have high ecological validity.

give a limitation of schaffer and emerson's (1964) research into attachment (self-report).

One weakness of Schaffer & Emerson’s study is that data was collected by direct observation or from the mothers. Both sources of data are prone to bias and inaccuracy. This criticises Schaffer & Emerson because the findings may lack internal validity, and therefore making us question whether Schaffer’s stages of attachment are accurate.

give a limitation of schaffer and emerson's (1964) research into attachment (ethnocentrism).

Schaffer & Emerson’s study can be criticised for being ethnocentric, by using an unrepresentative sample of mothers and infants. All the infants were from a particular area of Glasgow in the 1960’s, and were all from a similar social class. Sagi et al (1994) has found that infants raised in family based arrangements (common in individualist cultures like Glasgow) were twice as close to their mothers as infants raised in communal environments (collectivist cultures), where multiple attachments are the norm. This means that Shaffer & Emersons findings are only relevant to the culture they studied and cannot be generalised universally; this therefore makes us question whether the stages of attachment are valid to other cultures.

what are schaffer's (1996) stages of attachment?

- pre-attachment phase (0-3 mnths)
- indiscriminate attachment phase (3-7/8 mnths)
- discriminate attachment phase (7/8 mnths +)
- multiple attachments phase (9 mnths)

what is the pre attachment phase?

sometimes also called the 'asocial stage'. from 6 weeks infants become attracted to other humans, preferring them to objects and events. this preference is demonstrated by their smiling at peoples' faces. (0-3 months)

what is the indiscriminate attachment phase?

infants begin yo discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar people, smiling more at known people, though they will still allow strangers to handle and look after them (3-7/8 months).

what is the discriminate attachment phase?

infants begin to develop specific attachments, staying close to one particular adult and becoming distressed when separated from them. they avoid unfamiliar people and protest if strangers try to handle them. (7/8 months onwards).

what is the multiple attachment phase?

infants form strong emotional ties with other major caregivers, like grandparents, and non-caregivers, like other children. the fear of strangers weakens but attachment to the mother figure remains strongest. multiple attachments are often formed to different people for different purposes, for example to mother for loving care, but additionally to father for exciting unpredictable play. other attachments are often formed to grandparents, siblings and child-minders. (9 months).

give a limitation of schafffer’s (1996) stages of attachment (evidence).

There are issues studying the pre-attachment/asocial stage of attachment. Schaffer and Emerson describe the first few weeks of life as the ‘asocial’ stage, although important interactions do take place in those weeks. The problem is that babies that are young have poor co-ordination and are generally immobile. Therefore, it is very difficult to make any judgements about them based on observations of their behaviour because there isn’t much behaviour to observe. This does not mean however that the child’s feelings and cognitions are not highly social, but the evidence cannot be relied on. Therefore, we cannot be confident about Schaffer and Emerson’s ‘asocial’ stage as there is not enough evidence to form a good understanding about what is occurring from the child’s perspective.

give a limitation of schaffer’s (1996) stages of attachment (stages).

There are problems with Stage Theories of Development. Developmental psychologists often use stage theories to describe how children’s behaviour changes as they age. However, one difficulty with this is that they suggest development is rather inflexible. In the case of the stage theory of attachment it suggests that normally single attachments develop first before multiple attachments occur. In some situations, and in some cultures, multiple attachments may come first. The problem is that this becomes a standard by which families are judged and so when they fall outside of this stage theory they may be viewed as abnormal.

what did bowlby believe about the role of the father?

Bowlby believed children have one primary attachment figure, usually the mother, and traditionally researchers thought of attachment as occurring between mother and baby, and the role of the father was largely ignored.

hat did schafer and emerson (1964) find in relation to the role of the father?

that the majority of babies did become attached to their mother first (around 7 months) and within a few weeks/months then formed secondary attachments to other family members, including the father. In 75% of the infants studied, an attachment was formed with the father by the age of 18 months. This was shown by the fact the infants protested when the father walked away – a sign of attachment.

what is the role of the father as a playmate?

Many researchers have seen the father less as a caregiver, but more of a playmate, as fathers play is often more physical, unpredictable and exciting than mothers. Fathers are more likely to encourage toddlers to take risks and to be brave during physical plan than mothers.

what did grossman (2002) find about the role of the father?

Grossman (2002) carried out a longitudinal study looking at both parents’ behaviour and its relationship to the quality of children’s attachments into their teens. Quality of infant attachment with mothers, but not fathers, was related to children’s attachments in adolescence, suggesting that the father attachment was less important in this respect.
However, they also found the quality of fathers’ play with infants was related to the quality of adolescent attachments. This suggests that fathers simply have a different role in attachment – one that is more to do with play and stimulation, and less to do with nurturi

what would biological evidence suggest about the role of the father?

Biological evidence would suggest that fathers are less well equipped to take on the main caregiver role. It is thought that the female hormone oestrogen underlies the caring behaviour.

However, research argues that males can quickly develop sensitive responsiveness when assuming the position of main care providers (although biological and cultural factors make this less likely)

what did field (1978) find about the role of the father?

For example, Field (1978) filmed 4-month-old babies in face-to-face interaction with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers. Primary caregiver fathers, just like the mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants that the secondary caregiver fathers. This behaviour appears to be important in building an attachment with the infant. So it seems that fathers can be the more nurturing attachment figure – the key to the attachment relationship is the level of sensitive responsiveness shown, not the gender of the parent.

give a limitation of the role of the father (inconsistencies).

A weakness of research is the inconsistent findings on the role of fathers in attachment. This may be due to researchers being interested in different research questions. Some psychologists are interested in understanding the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures whereas others are more concerned with fathers as primary caregivers. The former have tended to see fathers behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role. The latter have tended to find that fathers can take on a ‘maternal’ role. This means that psychologists cannot easily answer a simple question – what is the role of the father? - as researchers are often focusing on studying different aspects of this question.

give a limitation of the role of the father (unimportance).

A weakness of research into the role of the father, is that it is does not explain why children without fathers develop no differently. MacCallum and Golombok (2004) found children growing up in single or same-sex parent families do not develop any differently from those in two parent heterosexual families. This would seem to suggest that the father’s role as a secondary attachment figure is not important.

give a limitation of the role of the father (research).

A limitation of research on the father’s role is that there are numerous influences, which might impact on a child’s emotional development. For example their culture, the father’s beliefs, father’s age, father’s sensitivity, marital intimacy, amount of time the father spends away from home etc. It is difficult to control all of these variables and therefore it is difficult to draw conclusions about the role of the father.

give a strength/limitation of the role of the father (research).

Children who grow up without fathers have often been seen to do less well at school and have higher levels of risk taking and aggression, especially in boys suggesting that father can help prevent negative developmental outcomes. However, Pederson (1979) points out that most studies have focused on female single mothers from poor socio-economic backgrounds, so it may be social factors related to poverty that produce these outcomes, not the absence of fathers.

why were animal studies generalized to humans?

Animal studies are conducted on the basis that there was a biological continuity between humans and animals, so what was true for animals would also be true for humans. Such studies were also regarded as being more ethical than if performed upon humans.

describe lorenz's research into animals.

Aim: To investigate the mechanisms of imprinting where the youngsters follow and form an attachment to the first large moving object that they meet.

Method: Lorenz divided a number of goose eggs randomly into two groups.

Half were replaced under their mother so that the first thing they would see when they hatched was their mother goose (control group).

The other half were placed in an incubator and the first thing that they saw when they hatched was Lorenz (experimental group).

To test the effects of the above, he marked each group to distinguish them from each other and these placed the two groups together. During this time both their mother and Lorenz was present.

whaat did lorenz find and conclude?

Findings: The goslings quickly divided themselves: the naturally hatched goslings followed their mother and the incubator raised goslings followed Lorenz. The incubator group showed no signs of recognition of their natural mother. Lorenz also found that this process of imprinting has a restricted time period, which he called the critical period. If the young birds were not exposed to a moving object during this early critical period then the animal will not imprint.

Conclusion: Bird species attach to and follow the first moving object they see. This is called imprinting and is a form of attachment.

give a strength of lorenz's research into animals (evidence).

Evidence to support the concept of imprinting comes from Guiton (1966). They demonstrated that leghorn chicks exposed to yellow rubber gloves for feeding them during the first few weeks became imprinted on the gloves. This supports the view that young animals are not biologically predisposed to imprint on a specific type of object but probably any moving object that is present during this critical window of development. Guiton also found that this early imprinting was also linked to later sexual development as the chickens later tried to mate with the gloves.

give a limitation of lorenz's research into animals (imprinting).

Lorenz originally argued that imprinting was somehow stamped irreversibly on the nervous system and this for many years was the accepted view of imprinting. However, it is now understood that imprinting is more ‘plastic’ (Hoffman). Guiton found that he could reverse the imprinting of the chickens who had initially tried to mate with the yellow gloves. He found that after spending time with their own species they were able to engage in normal sexual behaviour with other chickens. This criticises Lorenz’s original ideas about imprinting as it suggests it isn’t an irreversible behaviour.

describe harlow's (1958) research into rhesus monkeys.

Aim: To test the learning theory of attachment (‘cupboard love’ - attachments are formed primarily through food).



Method: 16 baby rhesus monkeys were reared with two wire model ‘mothers’.

Plain wire mother which gave milk.

Cloth covered mother which did not give milk.



The amount of time spent with each mother was recorded. The monkeys were also frightened to test for mother preference during stress by placing them in novel situations with novel objects. He also added a noisemaking teddy bear to the environment. Harlow and his colleagues continued to study the infant monkeys into adulthood.

what did harlow (1958) find and conclude?

Findings:

The monkeys preferred the cloth mother to the wire mother regardless of which dispensed milk

The monkeys sought comfort from the cloth mother when placed in frightening situations

As adults the deprived monkeys suffered severe consequences: they were more aggressive, less sociable, less skilled in mating than other monkeys and sometimes neglected and even killed their own offspring.



Conclusion: ‘Contact comfort’ was of more importance to the monkeys than food when it came to attachment behaviour. As the monkeys had innate, unlearned need for contact comfort, it suggests that attachment concerns emotional security more than food.

give a limitation of harlow's (1958) research into rhesus monkeys (ethics).

Harlow faced severe criticism for the ethics of his research. The monkeys suffered greatly as a result of Harlow’s procedures. This species is considered similar enough to humans to be able to generalise the findings compared to Lorenz, which also means that their suffering was presumably quite human-like.

give a strength of harlow's (1958) research into rhesus monkeys (applications).

some have argued that Harlow’s research was sufficiently important to justify the effects, in that it has significant practical applications. For example, it has helped social workers understand risk factors in child neglect and abuse and so intervene to prevent it (Howe 1998). Of course these findings are also important in the care of captive monkeys; we now understand the importance of proper attachment figures for baby monkeys in zoos and also in breeding programmes in the wild.

give a limitation of harlow's (1958) research into rhesus monkeys (human).

Although monkeys are clearly much more similar to humans than Lorenz’s geese, the point still stands that they are not human. Psychologists disagree on the extent to which studies of non-human primates can be generalised to human attachment.

what are the explanations for attachment?

1. Learning Theory which suggests attachment is a learned process (nurture).

2. Evolutionary perspective (including Bowlby’s Montropic Theory) which suggests attachment is an inherited behaviour (nature).

what is learning theory?

Learning theories is sometimes called ‘cupboard love’ theories and it suggests that attachments are formed with the caregiver because the caregiver provides food. All behaviour is learned by the process of conditioning. There are two types of conditioning.

what are the types of conditioning?

- operant conditioning
- classical conditioning

what is operant conditioning?

Operant conditioning is learning by reinforcement.

give an example of operant conditioning.

A newborn baby will cry in response to feelings of hunger or cold.

The sound of the baby crying is uncomfortable to the caregiver who will attempt to feed or cuddle it.

These behaviours are rewarding and acts as a form of positive reinforcement for the baby, who will settle down and stop crying. In future, the baby will cry again as they have learned this results in the reward of food.

The mother feeding the baby acts as negative reinforcement for the mother, as it removes the crying for the parent and they are likely to repeat the feeding/cuddling when the baby next cries (as they know this removed the negative consequence).

As the crying has produced a reward the baby learns to repeat the crying behaviour – food is a primary reinforcer.

As the cuddling/feeding removes the crying the parent learns to feed and cuddle the baby – mum becomes the secondary reinforcer.

Therefore, this is how an attachment has been formed.

what is classical conditioning?

Classical conditioning is learning by association.

give an example of classical conditioning.

The food was an unconditioned stimulus which provides an unconditioned (reflex) response in the baby of pleasure at relief from hunger. This reflex response is automatic and does not need to be learned.

As the mother (initially a neutral stimulus) is always present when baby is fed, she becomes associated with this pleasure leading to the baby’s attachment with mum. The mother becomes a conditioned stimulus – producing pleasure in the baby (as a conditioned response) because of the association with her bringing food.

Similarly, the mother gains pleasure from the babies cooing, smiling, reduced crying etc. leading to her attachment to the baby.

give a strength of learning theory (dollard and miller).

Dollard & Miller (1950) argued that in an infant’s first year, they are fed 2,000 times, generally by their main carer. This creates ample opportunity for the carer to become associated with food and pleasure and an attachment to be formed. This supports the idea that attachments are learned through classical conditioning.

give a limitation of learning theory (schaffer and emerson).

There is criticising evidence from human research. Schaffer & Emerson (1964) found that 39% of babies did not form their first attachment with their primary caregiver (the one who fed them the most). Most still formed an attachment to their biological mother even though other carers did most of the feeding. This criticises the idea of forming an attachment because of food, suggesting that other factors are more important such as responsiveness of the caregiver in forming an attachment, and therefore criticises the learning theory.

give a limitation of learning theory (foxx).

Foxx (1977) criticises learning theory. They studied attachment bonds between mothers, babies and ‘metapelets’ (specially trained, full time carers of newborn children) on Israeli Kibbutzim (communal farms). On the Kibbutzim, the metapelets take care of the children, allowing the mothers to work on the farm during the day. Generally children were more attached to their mothers than metapelets. As the metapelets did the majority of the feeding, this criticises learning theory as it suggests we do not form primary attachments to those who feed us.

give a limitation of learning theory (animal research).

There is counter-evidence from animal research. For example, Lorenz’s geese imprinted before they were fed and maintained these attachments regardless of who fed them. Harlow’s monkeys also attached to a soft surrogate mother in preference to a wire one even though the wire monkey dispensed milk where the cloth mother didn’t. Both of these animal studies show that the addition of food does not necessarily lead to an attachment.

give a limitation of learning theory (complexity).

Conditioning best explains the learning of simple behaviours, but attachments are more complex behaviours with an intense emotional component. For example, we have read earlier that the precursor to good attachment formation is interactional synchrony and reciprocity. If we simply attach to those who feed us, why is there a need for such complex social interactions? 

what did bowlby believe about attachment patterns?

The evolutionary theory of attachment was developed by Bowlby, who believed that attachment patterns were innate, or genetic and had evolved as it was useful for survival (adaptive). In particular by keeping infant and caregiver close together and such proximity would provide protection from predators.

what are social releasers (bowlby)?

Bowlby believed that attachment was a two-way process for which both babies and their caregivers were genetically programmed. Babies had developed species-specific behaviour to help maintain closeness or proximity with the caregiver. These are called social releasers and include behaviours such as clinging to maintain proximity, smiling to maintain parental attention and crying to attract parent’s attention. The mother’s genetic blueprint ensures that they respond to these social releasers from their children.

what is a critical period (bowlby) ?

Bowlby believed that there was a critical period during which an attachment should take place. This is during the first 12 months of life for most children and between two and a half and three years, for all children. Bowlby said that, ‘mother love in infancy is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health (1951). If mothering did not take place during the critical period, Bowlby believed that it was too late and children would not be able to form an attachment. There would also be physical, intellectual and social problems for the child in later life.

what is monotropy (bowlby)?

Bowlby argued that infants have a strong tendency to become attached to one particular individual, which is usually the mum though he conceded that sometimes this could be the father. He called this monotropy and this attachment is different in quality to any other. This attachment is unique: it is the first to develop and the strongest of all. Although infants can form attachments to other specific people, he saw these as secondary attachments.

which 2 factors influence who a baby forms an attachment with?

How consistent and predictable the quality of the care is (It should be continuous)

How often they are separated – this is called “The Law of Accumulated Separation” i.e that periods of separation “add up”.

what is the internal working model (bowlby)?

The first attachment was crucial for later development since the child formed an internal working model for all later relationships, e.g. a close, loving relationship between a child and its mother would lead to the child expecting future relationships to be warm and loving. It is a template for future relationships. In addition, the internal working model affects the child’s later ability to be a parent themselves.

what is the continuity hypothesis (bowlby)?

People tend to base their parenting behaviour on their own experiences of being parented. This explains why children from functional families tend to have similar families themselves. This is referred to as the ‘continuity hypothesis’ as the same attachment behaviours and abilities continue to follow the same template – The relationship you develop first affects your relationship with your children, and that relationship will affect them with their offspring - Inter-generational transmission of attachment.

give a strength of bowlby's monotropic theory (social releasers).

Brazleton et al (1975) supports the idea of social releasers. They observed mothers and babies during their interactions, reporting the existence of interactional synchrony. They then extended the study by instructing the primary attachment figures to ignore their babies signals – in Bowlby’s terms, ignore their social releasers. The babies initially showed some distressed but when the attachment figure continued to ignore the baby, some responded by curling up and lying motionless. The fact that the children responded so strongly supports Bowlby’s ideas about the significance of infant social behaviour in eliciting caregiving.

give a strength of bowlby's monotropic theory (love quiz).

Hazan & Shaver (1987) wanted to explore whether there was a link between attachment type in infancy and the success of adult relationships. Using a “Love Quiz” they found a relationship between the types of attachment people developed in infancy and the length of a committed relationship that they had in adulthood e.g. those who has a secure relationship with parents tended to have a secure, loving relationship with their partner. This supports Bowlby’s ideas about the internal working model, as it suggests that our first attachment does influence later adult romantic relationships. Those with a secure attachment were using this as a “blueprint” for what to expect in an adult relationship, and therefore were seeking out more secure loving relationships with a partner.

give a limitation of bowlby's monotropic theory (schaffer and emerson).

Schaffer & Emerson (1964) found that not all babies form a primary attachment with just one person, as they found that one third of babies formed attachments with several people (multiple attachments).

For 3% of babies their first attachment was their father, but 10% of babies they formed their first attachment with another caregiver i.e. grand parent, aunty or uncle. Babies preferred the adult who was most sensitive and responsive to their needs.



Their study criticises Bowlby’s theory of Monotropy because their results showed that not all babies form an attachment to one specific individual. It also shows that some babies don’t form their first attachment with mum.

give a limitation of bowlby's monotropic theory (feminism).

Feminists such as Burman (1994) are particularly critical of Bowlby’s concept of monotropy. She argues that mothers are blamed for anything that goes wrong in a child’s life and pushes mothers into making lifestyle choices such as not returning to work after the birth of their child or taking extended maternity leave. The law of accumulated separations would state that time apart from the mother would risk a poor quality attachment and this is socially sensitive as it has implications for the lives of women.

describe ainsworth's strange situation.

Ainsworth (1971)

A controlled observation was used (behind a 2-way mirror).

100 middle class American infants aged between 12 to 18 months, their mothers and also a stranger.

It was designed to become increasingly stressful for the infant and there were three main sources of stress - child being placed in an unfamiliar environment, caregiver leaving the child and a stranger coming into the room with the child.

Four major observations were made to assess the type of attachment the child had with their caregiver:

The child’s reaction to the caregiver leaving (separation anxiety)

Their reaction when the caregiver returned (reunion behaviour)

The child’s reaction to the stranger (stranger anxiety)

The child’s willingness to explore their environment (exploration behaviour).

what is episode 1 (ainsworth)?

persons present: mother, observer and baby
mother and baby enter a room.

what is episode 2 (ainsworth)?

persons present: mother and baby. mother sits quietly on a chair responding if the infant seeks attention.

what is episode 3 (ainsworth)?

persons present: stranger, mother and baby. a stranger enters talks to the mother then gradually approaches the infant with a toy. mother leaves the room.

what is episode 4 (ainsworth)?

persons present: stranger and baby. the stranger leaves the infant playing unless they are inactive in which case they try to interest the infant with toys. if the infant becomes distressed the episode is ended.

what is episode 5 (ainsworth)?

persons present: mother and baby. 1st reunion episode. Stranger leaves. Mother greets and/or comforts the baby, then tries to settle the baby again in play. Mother then leaves again.

what is episode 6 (ainsworth)?

persons present: baby alone. The infant is alone, this is ended if the infant becomes distressed.

what is episode 7 (ainsworth)?

persons present: stranger and baby. Stranger enters and gradually approaches the infant with a toy

what is episode 8 (ainsworth)?

persons present: mother and baby. 2nd reunion episode. Mother enters and stranger leaves. Mother greets and picks up baby and reunion behaviour is recorded.

what are the 3 different attachment types (ainsworth)?

- type A insecure/anxious avoidant (15%)
- type b securely attached (70%)
- type c insecure/anxious resistant (15%)

what is type A attachment (ainsworth)?

Insecure/Anxious Avoidant (15%)

Child’s reaction to the caregiver leaving = no or few signs of distress when mum leaves the room.

Reaction when the caregiver returned = baby ignores or avoids her on her return & does not seek contact.

Reaction to the stranger = Baby can be easily comforted by the stranger.

Willingness to explore = Infants are willing to explore

Caused by caregivers who are indifferent to infant’s needs.

what is type B attachment (ainsworth)?

Securely Attached (70%)

Child’s reaction to the caregiver leaving = can be distressed when mum leaves – play is reduced.

Reaction when the caregiver returned = approaches mother, is easily comforted/calmed/soothed, shows joy and happiness on reunion and greets her warmly.

Reaction to the stranger = plays happily when stranger is present, but cannot be comforted by stranger when mum leaves.

Willingness to explore= Infants are keen to explore

Caused by caregivers who are sensitive to infants needs

what is type C attachment (ainsworth)?

Insecure/Anxious Resistant (15%)

Child’s reaction to the caregiver leaving = very distressed when mum leaves.

Reaction when the caregiver returned = may go to mother, but will not be comforted, may resist/reject contact or comfort.

Reaction to the stranger = actively resists strangers efforts to make contact.

Willingness to explore= infants are unwilling to explore

Caused by caregivers who are ambivalent to infants needs

give a strength of ainsworth's strange situation (reliability).

Ainsworth’s strange situation has good inter-rater reliability. Different observers watching the same children in the strange situation generally agree on what attachment type to classify them with. This is because the strange situation takes place under controlled conditions and because the behavioural categories are easy to observe. Bick et al (2012) investigated inter-rater reliability in a team of trained strange situation observers and found 94% agreement between observers. This means we can be confident that the attachment type of an infant identified in the strange situation does not just depend on who is observing them.

give a strength of ainsworth's strange situation (validity).

Ainsworth’s strange situation also has good validity because the attachment types defined by this method are strongly predictive of later development. Babies assessed as secure typically go on to have better outcomes in many areas, ranging from success at school to romantic relationships and friendships in adulthood. Insecure-resistant attachment is associated with the worst outcomes including bullying in later childhood (Kokkinos, 2007) and adult mental health problems (Ward et al. 2006). This is evidence for the validity of the concept because it can explain subsequent outcomes.

give a limitation of ainsworth's strange situation (culture).

The strange situation may be culture-bound. The test was devised in a western culture and carried out on western children. It has been heavily criticised for only representing attachment in one culture. For example, “Avoidant” behaviours in America are viewed as “Independent” in other cultures like Germany and would be considered secure.

Takahashi (1990) concluded that the strange situation doesn’t work with Japanese children as their child rearing practices mean that children are never separated from caregivers. The test induces such extreme distress in them, many are classified as “resistant” by American standards, but would not be if Japanese standards were applied to the test instead.

This means that this test only assesses Western attachments and can’t be generalised to other cultures. Therefore, findings obtained from the strange situation have low population validity.

give a limitation of ainsworth's strange situation (generalistation).

Not all infants fit into the three types of attachment. It was found that a small minority of infants did not fall into one of the three types specified by Ainsworth. Evidence for this comes from Main and Solomon (1986) who added a forth type of attachment - Type D – Disorganised attachment. This was used when babies showed inconsistent behaviour, for example they might cry the first time the mother left the room, but not the second time. This means they may show a mixture of resistant and avoidant behaviours together. This is a problem as it shows that the procedure cannot classify all infants into a rigid three types of attachment. Ainsworth’s belief that this was possible was probably overly simplistic.

what is cultural variation in attachment?

If Bowlby’s belief that attachments evolved and have survival value is true then patterns of attachment types should be similar across different cultures, regardless of child rearing styles used within those cultures i.e. attachment types should be universal. Secure attachments should dominate in all cultures, with equal amounts of insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant types.

describe van ljzendoorn and kroonenberg's (1988) research into cultural variations in attachment.

Conducted a meta-analysis, gathered results from different psychologists who all used the Strange Situation (controlled observation)

In total 32 studies were collated from 8 different countries.

This created a sample of nearly 2000 children.

All of the selected studies had observed only mother-infant pairs (not fathers or other caregivers), Classified infants into the 3 attachment types (A, B and C)

They also excluded any studies that looked at children with special needs (such as Down’s syndrome), any study with less than 35 mother-baby pairs, any study using children older than 2 years

what did van ljzendoorn and kroonenberg (1988) find and conclude?

The most notable finding was the similarity in types of attachment across most countries, as secure attachment is the most common attachment type in all cultures.

The lowest percentage of secure attachment was shown in China, and the highest in Great Britain and Sweden (as shown in the table below).

The countries that showed the greatest % insecure resistant were Japan and Israel.

The country that showed the greatest % insecure avoidant was Germany.

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg reported that differences in attachment within a culture are far greater (1.5 times) than those found between cultures.

Conclusion: This study suggests that overall, secure attachments are the most prevalent across the world (which would support Bowlby’s suggestion that attachments are innate and therefore universal).

explan van ljzendoorn and kroonenberg's findings.

there are cultural differences between the proportion of avoidant and resistant which implies that child rearing practices may influence attachment type. For example, Japanese babies are rarely separated from their caregivers and this makes their separation anxiety stronger, leading to a resistant attachment style. However, independence is encouraged in Germany where they want their children to be self-reliant which may explain why children in this country displayed higher levels of anxious avoidant attachment type. Some of the behaviour in the strange situation, which is supposed to indicate secure attachment, was seen by the German parents as evidence of clinging and spoilt children.

give an explanation for differences between cultures (cultural variation).

One explanation for differences between cultures is whether they are classified as a Collectivist culture or an Individualistic culture:

Collectivist such as Japan and Israel prefer obedience and social behaviour and has a sense of group cooperation.

Individualistic such as USA, UK and Germany focus on personal achievement and mothers prefer independent children. This difference in child rearing may affect the attachment styles in children around the world.

give a strength of cultural variations in attachment (large sample).

One strength of combining the results of attachment studies carried out in different countries is that you end up with a very large sample. Van Izjendoorn and Kroonenberg had a sample of nearly 2,000 infants. This overall sample size is a strength because large samples increase the internal validity of any findings by reducing the impact of anomalous results. Therefore, we can be more confident in any cross-cultural variations found from these studies. L However, despite the large samples, there was sample bias in Van Izjendoorn and Kroonenberg’s study. For example, out of the 32 studies, 18 were all from the USA, compared to just 1 conducted in China. Therefore, it is hard to generalise the results about attachment type found in these cultures from one/a very few studies.

give a limitation of cultural variations in attachment (bias).

Another weakness of cultural variations in attachment is that all of the studies in Van Izjendoorn and Kroonenberg’s meta analysis used the strange situation (SS), which is a culturally biased method. SS was designed by an American and tested on American infants. There is therefore a question over whether these American methods can be applied well to other cultures. For example, Americans view a secure attachment as a child demonstrating separation anxiety, and failure to show anxiety would be a sign of an insecure attachment. However, in Germany a lack of separation anxiety may be seen as independence and so not ‘insecure’ in their cultural context. This is a problem because using the strange situation is an imposed etic - when a culturally specific theory/technique is incorrectly applied to another culture where it doesn’t fit. Therefore, results from the strange situation may not be valid when used in other countries.

give a limitation of cultural variations in attachment (countries).

However, an issue with  Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg’s study is that they were studying differences between countries rather than differences between cultures. These two things are not the same, as one country can have multiple cultures within it. A later analysis by Van Ijzendoorn and Sagi (2001) found that attachments were similar to Western cultures in urban areas of a country, but had more resistant attachments in rural areas. This means that their comparisons between countries may have little meaning and the meta analysis lacks validity. Therefore we can be less confident in the cross cultural differences found by Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg.

give a strength/limitation of cultural variations in attachment (influences).

The similarity across cultures in terms of the prevalence of the Secure attachment lends support to Bowlby’s idea about the evolutionary significance of attachment. However Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg later concluded that this similarity could be acccounted for by the effects of mass media. This spreads ideas about parenting across the globe so that most children are exposed to similar parenting styles. This suggests that similarity in attachment is not due to innate influences but rather its due to our increasing global culture.

what is bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis?

Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis (MDH) explains what happens if attachments are broken. Bowlby argues that disruption of the attachment bond will result in serious and permanent, irreversible damage to a child’s emotional, social and intellectual development.

what is the difference between separation and deprivation?

There is an important distinction between separation and deprivation. Separation means the child not being in the presence of the primary attachment figure. This only becomes an issue for development if the child is deprived, i.e. they lose an element of her care. Brief separations, particularly where the child is with a substitute caregiver, are not significant for development, but extended separations can lead to deprivation which can cause harm.

what are the 3 important features of bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis?

- continuous relationship
- relationship before the age of 30 months
- a primary relationship with one caregiver.

what is the 1st feature to bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis?

There must be a continuous relationship between a child and its mother or maternal figure. Discontinuous relationships (ones in which there are separations) are unstable and disrupt the development of a stable relationship.

what is the 2nd feature to bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis?

The relationship between a child and its mother or maternal figure must develop before the age of two and a half years (30 months), otherwise there is the risk of emotional disturbance. This is known as the critical period. Disruption to the relationship up to five years old can also be harmful.