Attachments

.92

Inter-rater, and intra-observer reliability were both calculated to be greater than this in Meltzoff and Moore's study.

1.5 (times)

In their meta-analysis, Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) found that there was a ? times greater variation within cultures, than across them.

2 years

Critical period for the development of human attachment

6 months

After this amount of time, the monkeys in Harlow's study did not recover

12%

Percentage of infants who were insecure-resistantly attached in Ainsworth's SS.

15

Number of seconds during the time sampling interval for Ainsworth's SS.

22%

Percentage of infants who were insecure-avoidantly attached in Ainsworth's SS.

44 Juvenile Thieves Study

Bowlby (1944) studied 88 children (44 of which had stolen) who were patients at the Child Guidance Clinic in London, where he worked. He suggested that some of them were affectionless psychopaths (lacked normal signs of empathy or affection), which gave them characteristics which enabled them to steal.

Bowlby found that 86% (12/14) of the affectionless thieves had experienced frequent early separations from their mothers, compared with 17% of other thieves (5/30) and 4% (2/44) of the control group who hadn't stolen.

This was a natural study and there were attempts to operationalise concepts.

60

Number of working-class Glaswegian infants in Schaffer and Emerson's study

66%

Percentage of infants who were securely attached in Ainsworth's SS.

111

The number of Romanian children who came to the UK before the age of 2.

2000

In their meta-analysis, Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) used this many Strange Situation classifications.

Attachment

This is an enduring, emotional bond between two people, it is two way and serves the function of protecting the infant, which enables the forming of an internal working model.

Attrition

Drop out rates

Bowlby's monotropy theory of attachment

This suggests that humans are born with an innate desire for attachment (and this forms with the sensitivity of the caregiver) and that the first emotional bond is the most important. This then leads to the development of the internal working model.

Continuity hypothesis

This proposes that individuals who are strongly attached in infancy, continue to be socially and emotionally competent adults, whereas infants who are not strongly attached have more social and emotional difficulties in childhood and adulthood.

Discriminate attachment

By this point (about 7 months old), most infants formed an attachment to their primary attachment figure (PAF), and so begin to show separation anxiety from them. The PAF forms from the quality of the relationship, not the quantity of time spent, i.e. the sensitivity and responsiveness of the figure increases the quality of the relationship. The relationship with this figure is then believed to become the template for future relationships (internal working model). Here, infants also show stranger anxiety. In 65% of children, the PAF is the mother, compared with 3% being the father. Interestingly, 39% of infants were not primarily attached to the person feeding/ physically caring for them.

Disinhibited attachment

This is when children show affection to strangers, in the same way they do to people they know well (but they often struggle to form emotional bonds)

Hazan and Shaver's Love Quiz

This was used to make inferences as to the impact of attachment on adult romantic relationships. It was put in the Rocky Mountain News (newspaper), where they asked questions about attachment history, and current/past relationships and attitudes towards love. They got 620 responses (205-men, 415-women). They found a positive correlation between attachment type and love experiences: securely attached adults described their love experiences as trusting and enduring, lasing 10 years on average compared to 5 (IR) and 6 (IA). Securely attached individuals tended to have a more positive internal working model.

How many rhesus monkeys did Harlow use?

8

Imposed etic

This term is used to describe the use of a technique designed in one culture, but imposed on another. In this case, the Strange Situation was designed by an American, where willingness to explore is a sign of security and development. When this was used in Japan, where dependence would be the sign of secure attachment, the Strange situation study was stopped for 90% of Japanese infants after they were significantly distressed about being left alone. This doesn't mean that child-rearing practices in Japan, particularly, lead to the development of insecure-resistant attachment types, because you must assess how a concept is experienced and expressed in each individual culture.

Indiscriminate attachment

From birth to 2 months, infants tend to show similar responses to all objects - animate or inanimate.

Insecure-avoidant (A)

Attachment style characterised by infants who tend to avoid social interaction and intimacy (with high levels of anxiousness)

Insecure-disorganised

Attachment style characterised by a lack of consistent patterns of social behaviour.

Insecure-resistant (C)

Attachment style characterised by conflicting responses from the infant: both seeking and resisting social interaction and intimacy.

Institutionalisation

The effects of growing up in an institution.

Interactional synchrony

An interaction where mirroring is involved - one person copies the same (or very similar) action, sounds or movements at almost the same time

Internal working model

A mental model of the world, which allows us to predict/control the environment. It allows us to have expectations about relationships.

Minnesota parent-child study

This measured attachment in infancy, then found continuity between early attachment and later emotional and social behaviour. At 11 years, securely attached infants were more socially competent, more popular and empathetic, and less isolated. They found this out by interviewing parents and teachers.

Multiple attachments

Very soon after the main attachment is formed, the infant also develops multiple attachments, depending on how many consistent relationships they have. Schaffer and Emerson found that within the first month of being attached, 29% of infants had multiple attachments to someone else. These are called secondary attachments; infants also display separation anxiety within these relationships. Within 6 months (about a year of age), 78% of infants had developed multiple attachments. With 1/3 having 5 or more secondary attachments.

Privation

The absence of emotional care

Quasi-autism

Where someone shows symptoms relating to autism, without actually having the disorder.

Reciprocity

An interaction that is conversational in nature but is not necessarily the same action e.g. turn taking, call and response, mutual

Role of negative reinforcement in attachment (learning theory)

This refers to removing a negative stimulus to increase the frequency of a certain behaviour: here, uncomfortable hunger is removed when time is spent with the mother.

Role of positive reinforcement in attachment (learning theory)

This involves adding a stimulus to increase the frequency of a behaviour: in this case food acts as a reward for spending time with the mother.

Secure attachment (B)

Attachment characterised by harmonious and cooperative interactions with caregiver

Social releasers

Characteristics that the infant has to draw in and engage caregivers such as smiling, giggling or cooing.

Subnutrition

Inadequate nutrition (used for comparison when talking about the effects of an absence of emotional care)

Temperament hypothesis

(Kagen, 1984) This suggests that temperament, an innate personal characteristic may act as a mediating factor and explain attachment behaviour. Temperament may influence attachment type (mothers' perception of an infant's temperament influenced the mother's responsiveness - Spangler, 1990), which in turn could influence sociability. However, temperament is permanent, and therefore, social competence and attitudes towards relationships as adults, could be partly explained by temperament.

The beginings of attachment

At about 4 months, infants become more social: they prefer human company to inanimate objects, and can distinguish familiar and unfamiliar people. The most distinctive feature of this phase is their general sociability, and lack of stranger anxiety.

warm, intimate and continuous

According to Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation, he claimed this was needed with a mother (or permanent mother substitute) for normal mental health.

What did Harlow (1959) measure?

The amount of time the monkeys spent with each mother

What did Lorenz (1935) measure?

Whether or not the goslings exhibited following behaviour