AQA Psychology A Level - Attachment

Topic 1 - Caregiver-Infant Interactions

….

Define ‘Reciprocity’ (2)

• two-way/mutual turn-taking conversational interaction between infants and caregivers

• actions from one elicit response from the other (e.g. mother smiles, baby smiles back)

Define ‘Interactional Synchrony’ (1)

• when infants interact by mirroring/imitating caregiver’s actions exactly in time (e.g. baby moves head in time with mother)

Outline Meltzoff and Moore study

• Procedure (5)

• Findings (1)

Procedure:

• controlled observation of infants

• dummy used initially to prevent any response

• adult modelled stimuli to infant (either specific facial expression or hand gesture)

• dummy removed to see infant’s response and recorded as video

• observations from video noted and judged by independent observer (who had no knowledge of what infant saw)

Findings:

• found interactional synchrony began as young as two weeks old when infants mirrored facial expressions and hand gestures of adult

How does the Meltzoff and Moore study have high inter and intra observer reliability? (4)

1. initial observer noted responses by watching videos in real-time, slow motion, and frame-by-frame if necessary

2. independent observer had no knowledge of what infant saw when judging videos

3. behaviour was noted by very specific standardised behaviour categories e.g. mouth opening, tongue protrusion, etc.

4. each observer scored the tapes twice

1. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Measuring infant reactions

P - infant reactions difficult to measure

E - infants mouths fairly constant in motion and expressions tested occur frequently (e.g. tongue sticking out, yawning, smiling)

E - shows need for valid methods of measuring infants reactions (e.g. filming responses) to avoid missed/misinterpreted results

2. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Study not replicated

P - findings of study haven’t been replicated

E - researchers have tried, but failed to repeat findings of Meltzoff and Moore

E - shows their findings may not be reliable, however replications of the study may not have been as controlled as original

3. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Research support

P - research support for influence of interactional synchrony

E - research observing 30 mothers and infants found more strongly attached infant-caregiver relationships showed greater interactional synchrony

E - shows importance of early interactions with infants to form stronger bonds with caregivers

Topic 2 - The Development of Attachment

….

Outline Schaffer and Emmerson study

• Procedure (4)

• Findings (1)

Procedure:

• investigated development of attachments in working class homes in Glasgow from infants 5-23 weeks of until until 1 years old

• mothers visited every four weeks to report infants response to separation in everyday situations (e.g. being left alone in room)

• asked to describe intensity of protest by rating on 4 point scale (e.g. fully crying, only whimpering), and who protest directed at

• stranger anxiety measured by assessing infants response to interviewer at each visit

Findings:

• Schaffer and Emmerson identified 4 stages of attachment

Name the 4 stages of attachment

• around what age do they occur?

1. Indiscriminate (0-2 months)

2. The beginnings of attachment (4 months)

3. Discriminate (6 months)

4. Multiple attachments (8 months)

Describe the indiscriminate stage (3)

(0-2 months)

• infants have similar responses to all animate and inanimate objects

• reciprocity and interactional synchrony crucial

• greater preference for social stimuli and more content with people towards end of this stage

Describe the beginnings of attachment stage (3)

(4 months)

• prefer human company to inanimate objects

• can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people

• still easily comforted by anyone

Describe the discriminate stage (2)

(6 months)

• form specific attachment to primary caregiver and show joy when reunited with them

• separation and stranger anxiety

Describe the multiple attachments stage (2)

(8 months)

• form secondary attachments/wider range of attachments e.g. other parents, siblings, grandparents

• show separation anxiety with these people

1. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Biased mothers

P - data may be biased

E - data collected from mothers of infants, so some mothers may be more sensitive to infant’s cries and some might not want to show their infant as crying a lot (social desirability bias)

E - shows results may be systematically biased, so study lacks validity

2. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Attachments may not be equal

P - all attachments may not be equal

E - Bowlby believes we form one special monotropic attachment and secondary attachments provide a safety net for other skills/needs. Rutter argues all attachments are equally important to a child’s development

E - shows stage theory doesn’t specify role of multiple attachments, so is oversimplified, important to know how losing such attachment may affect infant and helps determine correct development, but this theory overlooks these details

3. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Generalisability of sample

P - sample of only working-class infants from Glasgow in 1960’s

E - middle-class infants may have different experiences as mothers stay at home more, also childrearing has changed since the 1960’s

E - shows results not generalisable and lacks temporal valdity

Topic 3 - Role of the Father

…

What did Schaffer and Emmerson suggest about fathers?

• Found that fathers less likely to be primary attachments figures than mother - so have important role as secondary attachment figures

What do studies show about the time spent by fathers on their infant relationships?

• Studies show little relationship between father accessibility (amount of time) and infant-father attachment - so attachments seemingly aren't largely influenced by time spent with fathers

How does men’s psychological state influence attachment?

• Most men may not be psychologically equipped to form intense attachment due to less emotional sensitivity than women - so could be positive as it fosters problem-solving, greater communication and cognitive demands on children

How does men’s biological state influence attachment?

• Most men may not be biologically equipped as female hormone oestrogen underlies caring behaviour more so in women

How do cultural expectations affect men’s attachments?

• Cultural expectations/stereotypes affect male behaviour e.g. it is feminine to be sensitive to other's needs - so may affect men's contribution to early attachments

What does research suggest about a father’s role in childcare?

• Research suggests fathers more playful, physically active and generally better at providing challenging situations to children compared to conventional role of mothers e.g. education, bathing, teaching morals, etc.

Summarise the 6 key points about role of the father into six bullet points

1. Schaffer and Emmerson - fathers as secondary attachment figures

2. Father accessibility doesn’t influence attachment

3. Men not psychologically equipped for attachment - more problem-solving, cognitive demands

4. Men not biologically equipped for attachment - no oestrogen

5. Cultural expectations on men - so less sensitive

6. Research shows fathers more playful, physically active, and provide challenging situations to children

How can the role of the father impact the UK economy? (4)

• fathers staying at home

• paternity leave laws

• pay gap between genders

• early attachment research into father’s economic function

1. Fathers may decide to stay home more often, so less contribution to economy, so maybe more mothers return to work

2. Laws about paternity/shared paternal leave change, so impacts government funding for this

3. Parental roles seen as more equal, so may make pay gap between genders reduce

4. Early attachment research (e.g. Bowlby) suggest fathers provide economic function rather than emotional function, so more men at work

Topic 4 - Animal Studies of Attachment

….

Outline Lorenz study

• Procedure (5)

• Findings (2)

Procedure:

• clutch of gosling eggs randomly divided into 2 groups

• one control group hatched - first moving thing they saw was their natural mother

• other group incubated and hatched - first moving thing they saw was Lorenz

• geese marked according to group and mixed

• behaviour towards Lorenz and natural mother recorded

Findings:

• those who saw natural mother first followed her, and those who saw Lorenz first followed him (each group had imprinted)

• critical period of around 2 days where infants imprint on first moving thing

What were the long-lasting effects of the Lorenz study? (1)

• Sexual imprinting - animals wanted to mate with what is similar to what they imprinted on e.g. leghorn chicks and rubber gloves

Outline the Harlow study

• Procedure (3)

• Findings (2)

Procedure:

• 8 infant rhesus monkeys and 2 surrogate man-made mothers - each monkey put in box with both mothers and behaviour observed

• one wire mother that dispensed food and had square head

• one cloth-covered mum that didn’t dispense food and had round head

Findings:

• more time spent with cloth-covered mother (contact-comfort), only went to wire mum for food

• when scared by mechanical teddy bear and exploring, money’s kept close to cloth mum

What were the long-lasting effects of the Harlow study? (2)

• what was the critical period discovered for this abnormality? (1)

Absence of mother = monkeys develop abnormally

• Social abnormality - fled when approached by other monkeys

• Sexual abnormality - mating behaviour/didn’t cradle their own babies

• Critical period - if peers/mother absent for first 3 months, monkeys could recover, if absent for first 6 months, monkeys couldn’t recover

1. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Generalisability

P - findings of animal studies not generalisable

E - many variations between humans and animals e.g. animals don’t have conscious thought while humans do, biological differences in DNA, etc.

E - shows studies lack validity due to differences in complexity of bonds in animals and humans, so not generalisable

2. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Research support from Lorenz

P - Lorenz did further research into imprinting

E - Lorenz found leghorn chicks could imprint on rubber gloves in their first few weeks, they tried mating with the rubber gloves

E - shows support for critical period Lorenz suggested and how imprinting occurs with first seen moving thing, and supports sexual imprinting effect

3. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Confounding variable in Harlow’s study

P - may be confounding variable in Harlow’s study

E - differences in head shape of mothers may have affected monkey’s behaviour e.g. round head mum looked more like monkey, so infants spend more time with them

E - shows something other than IV (wire or cloth) may have affected findings, so may be inaccurate

Topic 5 - Explanations of Attachment - Learning Theory

…

Define classical conditioning

• how do infants experience classical conditioning when forming attachments? (3)

Classical conditioning = learning through association

• infants feel natural pleasure when fed

• caregiver (mum) feeding infant creates an association with food and pleasure

• infant just seeing caregiver soon elicits pleasure when attachment created

Classical conditioning schedule for infant-caregiver attachment? (3)

1. UCS [Food] leads to UCR [Pleasure]

2. UCS + NS [Food + Caregiver] leads to UCR [Pleasure]

3. CS [Caregiver] leads to CR [Pleasure]

Define operant conditioning

• difference between positive and negative reinforcement?

Operant conditioning = learning through reinforcement

- Negative reinforcement - behaviour repeated to escape/take away pain or displeasure

- Positive reinforcement - behaviour repeated to provide/add pleasure

How do infants experience operant conditioning when forming attachments?

Key words:

1. drive state

2. positive reinforcement

3. negative reinforcement

4. reinforcement

5. primary reinforcer vs secondary reinforcer

1. infant displeased when hungry, so motivated to so something about it [drive state]

2. infant can only cry, which causes the caregiver to provide food, which gives pleasure [positive reinforcement]

3. this also takes away the pain and discomfort of being hungry [negative reinforcement]

4. the infant learns to repeat the crying behaviour when it is next hungry [reinforcement]

5. food is needed to survive so it is the primary reinforcer, the caregiver providing this becomes the secondary reinforcer

Why is the learning theory sometimes called the ‘cupboard love’ theory? (1)

In both classical and operant conditioning, infants attach because of food - so mother seen as ‘cupboard’ for providing food to form attachment

1. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Generalisability

P - learning theory experiments only conducted on animals

E - classical and operant conditioning only investigated in animals (e.g. dogs and rats) instead of humans, despite differences in conscious thought, DNA, etc.

E - shows theory may only be relevant to animals and can’t be generalised to humans, so may lack validity

2. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Contact-comfort over food

P - this theory suggests infants prefer/associate attachments with their needs e.g. food

E - Harlow found rhesus monkeys spent more time with a comfort mum with no food over a wire mum with food, especially when seeking reassurance after being frightened

E - shows inaccuracy as contact-comfort may have more of a role than just food source

3. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Theory still applied to other stimuli/reward

P - theory can still be applied to other forms of reward other than food

E - other research (e.g. Schaffer and Emmerson’s) shows interaction/attention and responsiveness may be a more important reinforcer of attachments than food

E - shows theory has some value as just by changing the UCS (e.g. attention over food), the theory can still be applied

Topic 6 - Explanations of Attachment - Bowlby’s Theory

…

Give the 7 key terms associated with Bowlby’s theory

1. Innate

2. Social releasers

3. Adaptive

4. Monotropy

5. Critical period

6. Internal working model

7. Continuity hypothesis

Describe Bowlby’s theory of attachment

- using the key words to form key bullet points/sentences (7)

1. Bowlby believes attachment is not learned, it is innate (unlike learning theory)

2. Social releasers elicited from babies to receive care e.g. crying

3. These adaptive behaviours have been inherited as they are needed to survive because human babies are unable to care for themselves

4. Using these behaviours, we attach to one specific person to create a special monotropic bond (monotropy)

5. Bowlby believes this must occur to create an attachment during the critical period of around two and a half years

6. This relationship then acts as a template for all future relationships to create an internal working model

7. Leading to the continuity hypothesis as having a secure relationship with that person makes it likely to have secure relationships in later life (and vice versa with insecure relationships)

1. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Research support for internal working model and continuity hypothesis

P - research support for long lasting effects of secure attachments

E - Minnesota parent-child story followed ppts from infancy to late adolescence and found individuals classified as securely attached in infancy were rated for social competency, less isolation and more empathy in later childhood

E - shows internal working model in Bowlby’s theory may be accurate as infants had created template for future relationships due to continuity hypothesis

2. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Research support for innate behaviour and critical period

P - research support for infants attachment linking to emotional personality/temperament

E - researchers found infants aged 1 - 3 days who had signs of behavioural instability (e.g. had ‘difficult’ temperament) were later judged as more likely to have developed an insecure attachment

E - shows attachment linked to innate behaviour as Bowlby suggests, and that critical period to form attachments is during early timeframe of infant’s life

3. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Czech twins and critical period

P - accuracy of Bowlby’s critical period for forming attachments in case study evidence

E - Czech twins discovered at age of 7 had been locked, isolated and abused by stepmother since birth, leaving them with no language ability at all, they then received loving care from two sisters and by 14 years old, twins showed normal social and intellectual functioning and formed meaningful attachments

E - shows critical period Bowlby suggests is crucial to form attachments may not be accurate, as secure attachments still formed despite age (so age is not relevant factor)

Topic 7 - Ainsworth’s Strange Situation - Types of Attachment

…

Outline Ainsworth’s study - the Strange Situation

• Procedure (4)

Procedure:

• 106 middle class infants and mothers observed in experiment room - novel environment created in laboratory, consisting of furniture, toys and marked flooring to record infant’s movements

• observers watched through two-way mirror and recorded behaviour seen every 15 seconds and its intensity (scale 1-7)

• behaviour observed was separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, willingness to explore, and reunion behaviour with caregiver

• 8 phases of experiment; including parent and infant playing, parent leaving infant alone with stranger, and parents/strangers comforting infant when reunited

Outline Ainsworth’s study - the Strange Situation

• Findings (1)

  • describe each attachment type in terms of willingness to explore, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety, reunion behaviour, and caregiver’s behaviour

Findings:

• Three types of attachments identified:

Secure attachment (type B) [66%]	Insecure avoidant (type A) [22%]	Insecure resistant (type C) [12%]
Explore using mother as safe base	Explore independently	No willingness to explore, cling to mother
Show stranger anxiety	No stranger anxiety	Extreme stranger anxiety
Show separation anxiety	No separation anxiety	Extreme separation anxiety
Happy when mother returns	No reaction to mother’s return	Seek and reject mother on return
Caregiver is sensitively responds to child’s needs	Caregiver lacks sensitivity, in extreme cases neglect	Caregiver gives mixed signals, lack of trust

1. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Research for fourth attachment

P - further research shows Ainsworth overlooked fourth attachment type

E - researchers analysed over 200 Strange Situation videotapes and found fourth attachment - type D, where infants lack coherent behaviour, look secure for a time but then look avoidant or fearful

E - shows distinct types may be oversimplifying categories of attachment

2. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Inter-observer reliability

P - high inter-observer reliability

E - Ainsworth et al found .94 agreement between raters when rating exploratory behaviour, which is almost perfect (1.00 is perfect)

E - shows observations can be accepted as reliable

3. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Practical applications

P - this research has led to practical applications

E - Circle Security Project set up to give caregivers better understanding of infants distress and anxiety signals, and shows decrease in number of disordered caregivers and increase in secure infants

E - shows this research can improve the lives of children and mothers in real world settings

Topic 8 - Cultural Variations in Attachment

….

Outline Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg study

• Procedure (2)

• Findings (4)

Procedure:

• used meta analysis of Strange Situation studies (32) over various countries (8)

• used Western and Eastern countries, individualistic and collectivist (no African countries used)

Findings:

• most common type of attachment - secure, then avoidant

• countries that were exceptions to this - Israel and Japan

• there was a 1.5 times greater difference in attachment types within countries rather than between them (more intracultural differences)

• concluded 3 things: attachment is innate, secure attachment is the norm, and it is best for health, social and emotional development

1. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Childrearing differences - imposed etic

P - there are childrearing differences/preferences between countries e.g. Germany and Japan, so study is an imposed etic

E - infants in Germany better to be independent and distant towards parents, so high willingness to explore, low stranger and separation anxiety and little reunion behaviour (insecure avoidant), while infants in Japan better to be with parents very often and expect high response to needs, so opposite to Germany (insecure resistant)

E - shows study not fairly designed for certain countries as infants are just displaying desirable behaviour according to their country, so Strange Situation is an imposed etic (can’t judge based our ideas of attachment)

2. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Intracultural differences

P - large intracultural differences within countries

E - found samples in Tokyo acted similarly to Western results but those in rural Japanese areas samples didn’t, and found 1.5 times greater differences in attachments within countries

E - shows few studies don’t represent whole country, as intracultural differences exist

3. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Number of studies for certain countries

P - number of studies carried out is not relative to size of country

E - countries such as China have higher populations but fewer studies (only 1)

E - shows the research may not be reliable or represantitive

Topic 9 - Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation

…

What is the hypothesis associated with this theory?

Hypothesis = frequent separations from a primary caregiver lead to later problematic behaviour e.g. thieving

(NEED TO WRITE THIS to emphasise this is a theory - not just a study)

Outline Bowlby’s study - 44 Juvenile Thieves

• Procedure (4)

• Findings (3)

Procedure:

• analysed case histories of emotionally maladjusted children patients in Child Guidance Clinic

• studied 88 children in total, half had been caught stealing (44 thieves) and half control group

• natural experiment - IV was maternal deprivation

• Bowlby suggested some thieves were emotionless psychopaths that lacked affection, shame or responsibility, which enabled stealing

Findings:

• out of those classed ‘affectionless thieves’, 86% found to have been frequently separated from mother before 2 years old (so more separations = more likely to be affectionless thieves)

• only 5% of control group experienced frequent separations

• concluded infants need warm, intimate, continuous relationship with mother/permanent mother substitute for normal mental health

In which situations can maternal deprivation result in prolonged damage? (3)

1. If damage to infant done in critical period (before 2½ years old)

2. If infant in sensitive period (before 5 years old)

3. If infant doesn’t receive substitute emotional care

1. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Real world application

P - real world application for Bowlby’s research

E - in the past, children separated from parents when spending time in hospital, visiting was discouraged or even forbidden

E - shows social change in how children cared for in hospital

2. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Individual differences/too simplistic

P - simplistic view of deprivation and its effects

E - theory doesn’t consider differences in separation e.g. if child’s attachment bond formed then broken or never formed at all (worse), also doesn’t consider differences in attachment type e.g. securely attached children cope better with separation than insecurely attached

E - shows effect of maternal deprivation may not affect children in the same way due to individual differences

3. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Research support for long term effects

P - research support for idea maternal deprivation has long-term effects

E - research found 25% of women who experienced maternal separation at an early age later experienced depression or anxiety, compared to 15% in a control group, effects much greater if separation before 6 years old

E - shows maternal deprivation may lead to vulnerability to negative mental health later in life, and supports Bowlby’s critical period

Topic 10 - Romanian Orphan Studies

…

Outline Rutter et al. study (Romanian Orphan study)

• Procedure (6)

Procedure:

• called the ‘ERA’ (English and Romanian Adoptees) study and began in early 1990s

• included 165 Romanian children who spent early lives in Romanian institutions, so suffered effects of institutionalisation

• 111 of these children were adopted before age of 2 (critical period), and further 54 by age of 4 (sensitive period)

• adoptees tested at regular intervals (ages 4, 6, 11, 15) to asses physical, cognitive and social development

• some info gathered in interviews with parents and teachers

• progress compared with a control group of 52 British children adopted in UK before age of 6 months

Outline Rutter et al. study (Romanian Orphan study)

• Findings (5)

Findings:

• at time of adoption, Romanian orphans behind British orphans on all measures of physical, cognitive, and social development - smaller, weighed less, classified as mentally retarded

• children adopted before 6 months > largely caught up with British counterparts by age 4, so recovered

• this is believed to be because they had the opportunity to form attachments

• children adopted after 6 months > developmental delays remained in a substantial minority e.g. lower mean IQ’s

• this was shown in their formation of disinhibited attachments and poor peer relationships which had long-term consequences

Outline another study of Romanian Orphans across the world - Zeenah et al.

• Procedure (3)

• Findings (2)

Procedure:

• compared 136 Romanian children who spent on average 90% of their lives in institutions, with control group of Romanian children who’d never been in institutions

• children were 12-31 months old

• children assessed in Strange Situation

Findings:

• institutionalised children showed higher signs/percentages of disinhibited attachments than control group

• institutionalised children showed lower signs/percentages of secure attachments than control group

Describe the 4 key effects of institutionalisation and/or maternal deprivation?

1. Physical underdevelopment - physically smaller

2. Disinhibited attachments - form of insecure attachment where children don’t discriminate choice of attachment figures, overfriendly with strangers, attention seeking

3. Intellectual underdevelopment - lower mean IQ’s in children emotionally deprived

4. Poor parenting - women who were institutionalised found to have more extreme difficulties parenting

1. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Extraneous variables in institutionalisation

P - institutional care may have varied between orphans

E - in all studies, some children more strongly attached to adoptive parents than others, may be due to special attention/care received in institutions e.g. better physical care and intellectual stimulation

E - shows extraneous variables as findings may be due to poor institutional care instead of institutionalisation generally, so results cant be generalised to all institutionalised children

2. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Real life application for adoption

P - real life application to research

E - showed important of early adoption, so mothers no longer encouraged to nurse children a lot before giving them up for adoption, instead babies now adopted within first few weeks to make attachments as strong as in non-adoptive families

E - shows this research helps improve care of children in institutions

3. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Benefits of longitudinal studies

P - this type of study requires lots of planning and waiting for results, but benefits are large

E - the longitudinal nature of this study opened up possibility of recovery for effects of institutionalisation and its long-term consequences

E - shows changes and developments of individuals can be followed over time to learn even more valuable info

Topic 11 - The Influence of Early Attachment

…

Outline Hazan and Shaver study

• Procedure (4)

• Findings (2)

Procedure:

• placed ‘love quiz’ in small news town publication in America

• quiz asked questions about current attachment experiences and attachment history - to identify current and childhood attachment types

• also questions about attitudes to love to asses internal working model

• analysed over 600 responses from both men and women from a fair cross-section of the population

Findings:

• positive correlation between attachment types and love experiences

• those with secure attachments more likely to have more positive love experiences/concept of love and long-term relationships in later life

• supported concept that internal working model has a lifelong effect on attachment and relationships

Describe the 4 main aspects of life that may be influenced by early attachment

1. Romantic relationships - securely attached individuals more likely to have longer lasting, happier relationships

2. Childhood friendships - securely attached children more likely to have healthier friendships, better social/emotional skills, and be less involved in bullying than insecure-avoidant or resistant

3. Parenting - institutionalised women more likely to have poor internal working model so experience extreme parenting difficulties, Harlow’s monkeys showed link between poor attachment and parenting

4. Mental health - lack of attachment during critical period may lead to attachment disorder (inability to interact functionally with others)

1. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Use of self-report techniques

P - reliance on self-report research in this area has disadvantages

E - self-report techniques into early attachment require retrospective classification/recollection which can be flawed, also may contain leading questions or lack of clarity (e.g. in love quiz) due to widely varied personal experiences

E - shows this data collection may be inaccurate and not vaid, and longitudinal studies may be better in early attachment research (which have been found to support the research found)

2. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Correlational data

P - research in this area is correlational, not experimental

E - relationships (e.g. between early attachment and later love styles) may not be cause and effect, so may be caused by other factors e.g. innate temperament or genetic influences on personality

E - shows confounding variables may lower validity when assessing attachment types

3. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Overly determinist research

P - attachment research is overly determinist

E - this research suggests early experiences have fixed effect on later relationships, but it has been found plenty people experience happy adult relationships despite no secure attachments in infancy

E - shows early attachment influences are more complex and not generalisable to all people