attachment

what is an attachment

a strong lasting bond formed between a baby and their primary caregiver

Reciprocity

two-way or mutual process - each party responds to the other’s signals to sustain (continue) the interaction (turn-taking)

interactional synchrony

when a caregiver and infant reflect the actions and emotions of the other in a coordinated (synchronised) way.

Social releasers

babies are born with a set of innate neotenous ‘cute’ features and behaviours that encourage attention from adults and activate the innate adult attachment system.

explain the learning theory of attachment

attachment is learnt through the experience of being fed by caregivers. this process involves operant and classical conditioning

explain how classical conditioning plays a role in the learning theory of attachment

at first food is an UCS that trigger a UCR of satisfaction. the caregiver is a neutral stimulus. over repeated experiences of being fed, babies learn to associate caregivers with food. as a result the caregiver becomes a CS that triggers a CR of satisfaction

explain how operant conditioning plays a role in the learning theory of attachment

• babies learn that they get food when crying or close to the caregiver so they learn to stay close through positive reinforcement.

• babies they reduce hunger by staying close to their caregiver, so they learn to stay close through negative reinforcement

explain Harlow’s study of 1998 and it’s relevance to the learning theory of attachment

• in a lab study he separated eight baby monkeys from their mothers

• he placed each in a cage that contained a wire mother and a cloth mother

• ½ got their food from wire another, ½ got their food from cloth mother

• he found the monkeys always chose from the cloth mother

• when placed in a cage with only a wire monkey, baby monkeys showed signs of stress and distress.

• doesn’t support learning theory as monkeys seek comfort over food

evaluate Harlow’s study of monkeys

• appearance of wire and cloth mother may act as a confounding variable

• can’t be generalised to humans

• unethical

what did dollard and miller argue

babies get fed over two thousand times by their caregivers, giving them plenty of opportunities to make an association between food and their caregiver —> the learning theory is believable

why don't Israeli metapelets support the learning theory of attachment

even though they feed the babies while the mothers are at work, babies don't attach to them despite being fed by them on a daily basis

explain the monotropic theory of attachment

this theory created by Bowlby suggests that attachment is genetically pre-programmed into infants and caregivers, protecting babies from danger

• monotropy

• critical period

• internal working model

• social releasers

• continuity process

what are social releases in terms of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment

babies are genetically pre-programmed to perform certain behaviors in which caregivers are genetically pre-programmed to respond to

what is monotropy in terms of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment

babies from a unique attachment with one special caregiver, typically the one who provides emotional support

what is the critical period in terms of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment

the time window in which babies form attachment, if an attachment is not made during this time it will negatively affect development

what is the internal working model in terms of Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment

the schema we develop from our attachments with our caregivers, which acts as a template for future relationships

explain Lorenz study and it’s relevance to the monotropic theory of attachment

• recorded the behaviour of two groups of goslings

• one group hatched by their natural mother, another group hatched in an incubator

• he found that the goslings hatched naturally attached to their mother following her around

• the baby's hatched in an incubator followed lorenz, even when exposed to mother after

• results suggest goslings imprint on the first thing they see

• supports three features: pre-programmed, monotropic, critical period

evaluate Lorenz study on goslings

• Guiton studied imprinting on baby chicks and found attachments were reversible and weren’t monotropic. results were not replicated

• results may not generalise to humans

what are the applications for Bowlbys monotropic theory

• Longer visiting hours for children at the hospital

• longer parental leave from work

• shamed mothers who wanted to go back to work

describe a secure attachment

close trusting relationship with caregiver

• safe base

• moderate stranger anxiety

• moderate separation anxiety

• happy reunion behavior

describe insecure avoidance attachment

Indifferent caregivers who aren't responsive to the infants needs

• happy to explore freely

• low stranger anxiety

• low separation anxiety

• indifferent reunion behavior

describe insecure resistant attachment

Caregivers provide inconsistent care

• unwilling to explore

• high stranger anxiety

• high separation anxiety

• angry reunion behavior

explain Mary Ainsworth’s strange situation study

• a controlled and covert observation

• studied 9-18 month old babies and mothers attachments and the degree of attachment behaviours (stranger/sep anxiety, safe base etc.)

• the observation is split into 8 episodes:

1. Introduction - caregiver, baby, and researcher enter the room, researcher leaves

2. Mother and baby alone- The baby is free to explore the unfamiliar room with the mother present.

3. Stranger enters- gradually approaches and attempts to interact with baby.

4. First separation- The mother leaves the room

5. First reunion- mother returns and stranger leaves.

6. Second separation- mother leaves again, child is alone

7. Stranger returns- The stranger re-enters

8. Second reunion- mother returns, the stranger leaves

state Ainsworths strange situation results

70% secure, 15% avoidant, 15% resistant

explain Kroonenburg et als study

• conducted a meta-analysis (32 studies in 8 countries)

• original results did replicate

• individualistic cultures had higher % of avoidant attachments (germany)

• collectivist cultures had higher % of insecure resistant attachments (china)

results for Kroonenburg et als study

• attachments types did vary within countries

• 65% secure

• 21% avoidant

• 14% resistant

strengths of the strange situation

• high degree of control and replicability due to standardisation - results have been replicated

• results stable and reliable across time → mary main

• inter rater →ainsworth’s 3 observers’ scores had a coefficient of 0.94 (94% consistent)

explain how mary mains studies on the strange situation

STRENGTH

• observed children from when they were 1 to 6 years old

• found they still had the same attachment style as they did when they were 1, showing attachment styles are stable across time

LIMITATIONS

• argues attachment is not a fixed/ singular characteristic of the child

• found children often displayed different attachment types with different parents

• specific relationship being tested, rather than a universal attachment style.

• limited validity - only measures dyadic bonds

weaknesses of the strange situation

• method may be culturally biased towards behaviour and social norms expected in western cultures

• lacks pop validity - ainsworth only studies white american mothers and 2/3 of kroonenburg et al was western

• lacks ecological validity

• simplifies type of attachment - mary main

maternal deprivation theory

when children are deprived of an attachment figure during the critical period, they suffer emotional damage

define depriavtion

when a child doesn't have or is separated from an attachment figure

consequences of maternal deprivation

Impaired cognitive behavioral and emotional development

explain short term separation and the PDD model

• protest - scream, cry

• despair - withdraw, isolate

• detachment - don’t accept caregiver in reunion

what does Rutter argue about Bowlby maternal deprivation Theory

oversimplified. deprivation is when a child’s attachment figure is removed. privation is when the child never experienced having an attachment figure. the effects of privation are much more severe than deprivation

research supporting PDD Model

LITTLE JOHNS CASE STUDY:

• little John was separated from his mother for nine days while she was in hospital

• he displayed all three characteristics of the pdd model

• months later when checking in, Little John was still displaying detachment behavior

evaluate little johns case study

• can’t be sure it generalises to other children

• confounding variables - being bullied in the nursery so we can’t establish a causal relationship of separation and distress

research supporting maternal deprivation theory

44 THIEVES

• compared a group of 44 boys reported for theft to another 44 group of normal boys

• 50% of thieves experience maternal separation compared to 5% of the others

• 32% of thieves were affectionless psychopaths

• 86% of the psychos experienced maternal seperation

evaluate the 44 thieves study

• unreliable and lacked objectivity as they relied on the teens memories of their childhood

• investigator effects - demand characteristics

• lacked control over extraneous variables that may have led them to crime - eg. family conflicts

research against maternal deprivation theory

KOLUCHOVA AND THE TWINS

• twins experienced severe deprivation and abuse until age of 7

• with help of adopted parents, twins recovered

• above average cognitive, emotional and behavioural developments

• suggests the effects of deprivation can be reversed

2 studies investigating privation through Institutionalisation

HODGES AND TIZARD

• carried out a natural experiment on 65 institutionalized children

• children who experienced privation and eventually were returned to their biological parents suffered from impaired emotional development

• children adopted early did not suffer from psychological damage

RUTTER ET AL

• longitudinal natural experiment

• compared Romanian adoptees and British adoptees

• british children had good emotional and cognitive development (even if adopted after 6 months)

• romanian children had good emotional and cognitive development if adopted before six months

• after 6 months if the Romanian babies were not adopted they had long term cognitive and emotional impairments

evaluate rutters study on institutionalization

• attrition may occur in longitudinal studies

• families may have displayed social desirability bias in interview

the continuity hypothesis says

• we imitate our relationships with our parents in our future relationships

• our internal working model we form from early attachments with our caregivers shape our expectations and beliefs about future relationships.

describe Hazan and Shavers Love quiz

• self report technique using 2 questionnaires

• one asking about their romantic relationships and attachment styles to their romantic partners

• one asking about their relationships with their parents and attachment styles

what was Hazan and Shavers Love quiz sample

• sent this out via newspaper (volunteer)

• 1st sample - 205 men, 415 women mainly hetro

• 2nd sample - 108 students, 38 men and 70 women

findings of Hazan and Shavers Love quiz

There was a correlation of the questionnaire answers. (secure attachment in parents → secure romantic relationships)

evaluate Hazan and Shavers Love quiz

• volunteer sample → may not be representative of general population

• self report → not objective, social desirability bias

• correlational study → X= causation

describe the adult attachment inteview

MARY MAIN

• interview technique which investigated childhood attachments influence on attachment with their children

• main asked questions about childhood attachment styles (5 adjectives to describe relationship with parents and explain why)

• words were categorized into attachment styles

findings of adult attachment interview

• % of attachment styles found was similar to ainsworth

• similar childhood attachments displayed in their own parental lives