Topic 3 - Attachment (complete!!!!) Flashcards

Question

Schaffer and Emerson's (1964) theory on the stages of attachment has real world application - state whether this is a strength or weakness and explain why

Answer 1

STRENGTH Theory has practical application in day care e.g. in asocial and indiscriminate attachment stage day care likely to be straightforward - babies have no specific attachments and can be comforted by any skilled adult By using the theory, we can predict that day care, especially starting day care with an unfamiliar adult, may be problematic during the specific attachment stage Means that parents' use of day care can be planned using Schaffer + Emerson's theory - has real world practical application which can help the lives of ordinary people

Answer 2

WEAKNESS Sample taken from and INDIVIDUALIST culture - Glasgow Other psychologists found that in COLLECTIVIST cultures, multiple attachments from a very early age are more the norm (IJzendoorn 1993) Findings of their research (and by implication their theory) may not be GENERALISABLE as their sample is not REPRESENTATIVE of the target population Cannot apply theory to all cultures

Answer 3

Primary caregiver: person who spends the most time with the baby, caring for its needs Primary attachment figure: The person whom the baby has the strongest attachment to Often the same person fulfils the same two roles but not always

Answer 4

- In only 3% of cases the father was the first sole object of attachment at 7 months old - In 27% of cases the father was the joint first object of attachment with the mother at 7 months old - Found that most fathers go on to become important attachment figures at later ages - 75% of babies formed an attachment with their father by the age of 18 months

Answer 5

Aim: To investigate whether caregiving men make a unique contribution to early development - Carried out a LONGITUDINAL STUDY were babies' attachment measured up to their teens - Researchers looked at both parents' behaviour and its relationship to the quality of the baby's later attachments to other people

Answer 6

- Quality of baby's attachment with mothers, but not fathers, related to attachments in adolescence - However, found that quality of fathers' play with babies related to the quality of adolescent attachments - Suggests that fathers have a different role from mothers - one that is more to do with play + stimulation rather than emotional development

Answer 7

Baby's primary attachment figure has special emotional significance Relationship with primary attachment figure forms basis of all later close emotional relationships

Answer 8

Aim: To investigate whether fathers are able to adopt the emotional role associated with mothers when they become the primary attachment figure - Filmed 4 month old babies in face-to-face interaction with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers

Answer 9

- Both primary caregiver mothers and primary caregiver fathers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding babies than secondary caregiver fathers - Smiling + imitating = examples of interactional synchrony and reciprocity - part of the process of good quality attachment formation - Suggests that fathers do have the potential to be the more emotion-focused primary attachment figure - Fathers can provide the responsiveness needed for close emotional attachment - However seems like this is only expressed when the father is given the role of the primary caregiver

Answer 10

WEAKNESS Some researchers are interested in understanding the role of the father as secondary attachment figures whereas others are more concerned with fathers as primary caregivers Former tend to see fathers as behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role (e.g. Grossmann et al) Latter have found that fathers can take on a 'maternal' role Makes it difficult to offer a comprehensive answer to the 'role of the father' - conflicting perspectives provide conflicting evidence Means that its difficult to draw conclusions about the role of the father - answer is circumstantial on the perspective you're looking at

Answer 11

WEAKNESS LONGITUDINAL studies (e.g. Grossmann et al) have suggested that fathers as secondary attachment figures have an important + distinct role in a child's development - involving play and stimulation However if the father has a distinctive and important role, we would expect to see children growing up in single-mother and lesbian-parent families develop differently from two-parent heterosexual families McCallum + Golokbok (2004) found that these children do not develop differently from children in two-parent heterosexual families Studies are HETERONORMATIVE - line of research looking into the role of the father is based on the assumption that babies have two opposite gender parents Means that fathers may not actually have a distinct role in development at all like studies suggest - as children without them develop the same way

Answer 12

STRENGTH (COUNTERPOINT to the conflicting evidence argument) It could be that fathers take on a distinctive role in two-parent heterosexual families, but lesbian-parent and single-mother families adapt to accommodate role played by fathers e.g. a single-mother could play both the role of the 'mother' and the 'father', whilst one lesbian-parent could act as the 'father' in the family whilst the other acts as the 'mother' Means that the father does have a distinct role after all - when present fathers tend to adopt this role, while other families can adapt to not having a father

Answer 13

STRENGTH Research findings can be used to offer advice to parents Parents + prospective parents sometimes struggle in making decisions over who will be the primary attachment figure Mothers may feel pressured to stay at home because of the stereotypical views of a mother's and a father's role Equally fathers may feel pressured to focus on work instead of parenting - even if the mother would earn more money (puts unnecessary economic pressure on families) Research into role of the father can be used to reassure parents - e.g. heterosexual parents can be informed that fathers are quite capable of being a primary attachment figure Lesbian-parent and single-mother families can also be reassured that not having a father around wouldn't affect a child's development (McCallum + Golombok 2004) Means that research into role of the father has real world PRACTICAL VALUE to a vast number of the population - can help ease parental anxiety

Answer 14

WEAKNESS Multitude of different factors not taken into account e.g. culture, the father's beliefs, father's age, marital intimacy, amount of time father spends away from home etc. It is difficult to control all of these (possibly) CONFOUNDING VARIABLES - therefore difficult to draw complete conclusions on the role of the father

Answer 15

WEAKNESS Preconceptions about how fathers do or should behave can be created by stereotypical accounts and images of parenting roles e.g. those used in advertising These stereotypes (e.g. fathers are not primary caregivers, fathers are stricter etc.) may cause unintentional OBSEVER BIAS Observer records what they 'expect' (findings therefore SUBJECTIVE) rather than recording OBJECTIVE REALITY Can be used as a criticism of Grossman et al's study as well as Field's study Decreases the overall RELIABILITY of research findings into role of father, which in turn COMPROMISES the VALIDITY of the corresponding theory

Answer 16

- randomly divided large clutch of goose eggs - Half of the eggs hatched with the mother goose in their natural environment (CONTROL group) - Other half of eggs hatched in an incubator where first moving object they saw was Lorenz (EXPERIMENTAL group)

Answer 17

- Incubator group followed Lorenz everywhere whereas CONTROL group only followed the mother goose - When two groups were mixed up CONTROL group continued to follow the mother whilst EXPERIMENTAL group followed Lorenz - Concluded that this was due to imprinting = bird species that are mobile from birth (e.g. geese) attach to the first moving object they see - Identified a critical period in which imprinting needs to take place - Depending on species critical period can be as brief as a few hours after birth - If imprinting does not occur during critical period, found that chicks do not attach themselves to a mother figure

Answer 18

- Investigated relationship between imprinting and adult mate preferences - Observed a peacock that had been reared in a reptile house of a zoo - First moving objects peacock saw after hatching were giant tortoises - As and adult the bird would only direct courtship behaviour towards giant tortoises - Concluded that the peacock had undergone sexual imprinting

Answer 19

STRENGTH There is the existence of support for the concept of imprinting Regolin + Vallortigara (1995) research: - Chicks were exposed to simple shape combinations that moved e.g. triangle with a rectangle in front - made sure this shape was the first moving thing they saw to encourage imprinting - A range of shape combinations were then moved in front of them and they followed the original most closely (i.e. the one they first saw during the supposed critical period) Supports the view that young animals are born with an innate mechanism to imprint on a moving object present in the critical period of development - as Lorenz predicted

Answer 20

WEAKNESS Lack the ability to GENERALISE Lorenz's findings and conclusions from birds to humans Mammalian attachment system quite different and much more complex than that in birds e.g. in mammals attachment is a two way process (seen in reciprocity + interactional synchrony) - Its not just the young who are attached to their mothers but the mammalian mothers also show and emotional attachment to their young This means that it's most likely not appropriate to generalise Lorenz's findings to humans - defeats the whole purpose of his research

Answer 21

STRENGTH Although human attachment is very different from that in birds there has been attempts to use the idea that some kind of 'imprinting' explains human behaviour e.g. Seebach (2005) - suggested that computer uses exhibit 'baby duck syndrome' 'Baby duck syndrome' = the attachment formed to a person's first computer operating system, leading them to reject others

Answer 22

WEAKNESS Debate on whether this chicks can even consent, or whether consent is even necessary in animal studies Questionable to attach (somewhat forcibly) young chicks to humans instead of their biological mothers Humans arguably less capable of teaching these chicks how to survive than their biological same species mother - Lorenz wouldn't have the full capabilities of raising these chicks appropriately Therefore questionable whether decreasing these chick's survival capabilities by making them imprint on humans is worth the value of the research findings Findings cannot even be fully generalised to human behaviour - was there any point in harming these chicks? What was the point of his research when it can't even serve its purpose?

Answer 23

- Observed that newborns kept alone in a bare cage often died, however when given a cloth to cuddle they usually survived - Tested idea that a soft object serves a similar functions to a mother - Reared 16 baby monkeys with two wire model 'mothers' - In one condition milk was dispensed by the plain-wire mother - In the second condition milk was dispensed by the cloth-covered mother

Answer 24

- Baby monkeys cuddled the cloth-covered mother in preference to the plain-wire mother - Monkeys sought comfort from cloth mother when frightened (e.g. by a noisy mechanical teddy bear), regardless of which of the mothers dispensed milk - Concluded that 'contact comfort' was of more importance to the monkeys than food when it came to attachment behaviour

Answer 25

- Followed the monkeys who had been deprived of a 'real' mother in his contact comfort study into adulthood - Wanted to investigate if early maternal deprivation had a permanent effect - Monkeys reared with plain-wire mothers were the most dysfunctional - However, even those reared with cloth-covered mothers did not develop normal social behaviour - Monkeys were more aggressive + less sociable - Bred less often as they (the monkeys) were unskilled in mating - When deprived monkeys became mothers they often neglected their young -even attacking their children, killing them in some cases

Answer 26

- Mother figure had to be introduced to a young monkey within 90 days for an attachment to form - After the 90 days attachment = impossible and damage done by early deprivation becomes irreversible

Answer 27

STRENGTH Research has important real world APPLICATION Helped social workers and clinical psychologists understand that a lack of bonding experience may be a risk factor in child development Preventative measures can be taken to prevent poor outcomes of early deprivation (Howe, 1998) Also now understand the importance of attachment figures for baby monkeys in zoos and conservation programmes around the word Means that VALUE of Harlow's research not just theoretical but also practical

Answer 28

WEAKNESS Rhesus monkeys more similar to humans than Lorenz's birds, however the human brain and behaviour still much more complex than that of monkeys Means that it may not be appropriate to GENERALISE Harlow's findings to humans His sample is rather genetically different to the species we want to apply his conclusions to

Answer 29

WEAKNESS Consent, psychological harm, later physical harm - many aspects of his research is unethical There is a likelihood that his deliberate harm to monkeys will have lasting effect - not only are the deprived monkeys harmed, but the children they will raise will most likely suffer harm as well This GENERATIONAL harm means that Harlow has potentially ruined a whole line of monkey families - all for the sake of research HOWEVER - arguable that findings of his research hold significant value theoretically and practically - now that we know that early deprivation produces poor outcomes in monkeys (and potentially humans) we can try to mitigate this Means that pros and cons of Harlow's research needs to be fully assessed Does the value of his findings outweigh the harm he had caused - perspective varies from person to person

Answer 30

Dollard + Miller (1950) Proposed that caregiver-infant attachment can be explained by learning theory

Answer 31

Classical conditioning = Learning to associate two stimuli together so that we begin to respond to both in the same manner Baby learns to form an ASSOCIATION between the caregiver (a neutral stimulus) and the feeling of pleasure that comes from being fed (an innate, unconditioned response) 1. Unconditioned stimulus = Food Unconditioned response = Pleasure 2. Neutral stimulus = Caregiver Neutral response = No response The mother is the neutral stimulus as it produces no response 3. Unconditioned stimulus + neutral stimulus = Unconditioned response At first, the baby simply feels comforted by the food, however each times it's fed the caregiver is there too. The baby quickly ASSOCIATES the caregiver with being fed 4. Conditioned stimulus = Caregiver Conditioned response = Pleasure The caregiver now stimulates a feeling of pleasure on their own (often referred to as love) - the neutral stimulus has now been conditioned to produce a conditioned response An attachment between caregiver and infant is now said to have formed

Answer 32

Operant conditioning = learning from the consequences of behaviour - behaviour is said to be REINFORCED Positive reinforcement = if behaviour produces a pleasant consequence, behaviour often likely to be repeated again (referred to as a reward) Negative reinforcement = When a response switches off something unpleasant Operant conditioning used to explain why babies cry for comfort: - Crying leads to response from caregiver e.g. feeding (positive reinforcer = food) - Every time baby cries this behaviour is reinforced by being fed, baby is more likely to cry again when its hungry - Baby directs crying for comfort towards caregiver who responds with comforting 'social suppressor' behaviour Reinforcement = two-way process: - Caregiver receives negative reinforcement when baby cries - To escape from something unpleasant (the crying), caregiver feeds the baby Interplay of MUTUAL REINFORCEMENT strengthens an attachment

Answer 33

Learning theory draws on concept of DRIVE REDUCTION: - Hunger = primary drive - innate, biological motivator - We are motivated to eat in order to reduce the hunger drive - Sears et al. (1957) - as caregivers provide food, the primary drive of hunger becomes generalised to them - Attachment therefore = secondary drive learned by ASSOCIATION between the caregiver and the satisfaction of the primary drive

Answer 34

WEAKNESS Lack of support for learning theory from studies conducted on animals E.g. Lorenz's geese imprinted on the first moving object they saw regardless of whether this object was associated with food Harlow's research also found that monkey's sought comfort over the need for food When given a choice, Harlow's monkeys displayed attachment behaviour towards soft surrogate 'mother' in preference to a wire one which dispensed milk Shows that factors other than association with food are important in the formation of attachment Theory therefore REDUCTIONIST as it simplifies attachment to just food

Answer 35

WEAKNESS Lack of support for learning theory from studies conducted on human babies e.g. Schaffer + Emerson found that babies tended to form their main attachment to their mother regardless of whether she was the one who usually fed them Isabella et al. - found that high levels of interactional synchrony predicted the quality of attachment (see caregiver infant interactions) These factors are not related to feeding Again suggests that food is not the main factor in the formation of human attachments Further evidence that theory is REDUCTIONIST - attachment is not solely based on food

Answer 36

STRENGTH Seems unlikely that association with food plays a central role in attachment (due to human + animal studies), but conditioning itself may still play a role E.g. a baby may associate feeling warm and comfortable with the presence of a particular adult, which could influence a baby's choice of their main attachment figure Means that some aspects of the learning theory may still be useful in understanding the development of attachments

Answer 37

WEAKNESS Learning theory depicts babies as simply responding to associations with comfort or reward However research shows that babies actually take a very active role in the interactions that produce attachment (Feldman + Eidelman 2007) Caregiver-infant interactions theory further support idea that babies have an active role in attachment formation - both baby and caregiver initiate interactions and take turns doing so Means that conditioning may not be an adequate explanation for any aspect of attachment as it dismisses the active role of the baby in attachment formation

Answer 38

WEAKNESS Hay + Vespo (1988) - suggest that parents teach children by modelling attachment behaviours e.g. hugging Also argue that parents also encourage loving behaviour by showing approval when babies display their own attachment behaviours e.g. cuddling Social learning perspective has further advantage - it is based around two-way interaction between baby and adult Therefore social learning theory does not clash with research into the importance of reciprocity or the caregiver-infant interactions theory - unlike classical + operant conditioning Suggests that the social learning theory is perhaps better suited as an explanation for attachment rather than classical + operant conditioning

Answer 39

- Monotropy - Social releasers + the critical period - The internal working model

Answer 40

Argued that if food was the focus of attachment, then babies would easily form attachments to whoever fed them - however this was clearly not the case Looked at work of Lorenz + Harlow (animal studies of attachment) and proposed an EVOLUTIONARY explanation Argued that attachment = innate system that gives a survival advantage by keeping young animals (including humans) safe by ensuring they stay close to adult caregivers

Answer 41

'Mono' = one 'Tropic' = leaning towards Theory described as monotropic because of great emphasis on a child's attachment to one particular caregiver Believed that attachment to this one caregiver is different and more important than others Bowlby called this figure the 'mother' - however did not need to be the biological mother, or even a woman Believed that the more time a baby spent with the mother-figure, the better: - Law of continuity = the more constant and predictable a child's care, the better the quality of attachment - Law of accumulated separation = the effects of every separation from the mother add up "and the safest dose is therefore a zero dose"

Answer 42

Babies born with a set of innate 'cute' behaviours (e.g. smiling + cooing) to encourage attention from adults These behaviours = social releasers because their purpose is to activate adult social interaction and so make an adult attach to the baby Attachment = reciprocal process - believed both mother and baby are 'hard-wired' to be attached Interplay between adult and baby attachment systems (reciprocity) gradually builds relationship between adult and caregiver Proposed a critical period around 6 months when infant attachment system is active Included a SENSITIVE PERIOD - child is maximally sensitive at 6 months and this possibly extends up the the age of 2 (18 month sensitive period) If attachment not formed in this time, child will find it much harder to form one later

Answer 43

Internal working model = mental representation of the relationship to our primary attachment figure Internal working model affects our future relationships because it carries our perception of what relationships are like e.g. A child whose first experience is of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to form an expectation that all relationships are as loving and reliable Child whose first relationship involves poor treatment will tend to form further poor relationships in which they expect such treatment and/or treat others in that way Internal working model also affects the child's later ability to be a parent themselves People tend to base parenting behaviour on their own experiences of being parented - explains why children from functional families tend to have similar families themselves

Answer 44

WEAKNESS Schaffer + Emerson = found that although most babies did attach to one person, a significant minority formed multiple attachments at the same time, usually in COLLECTIVIST societies Although the first attachment does seem to have a strong influence of later behaviour, this may simply mean that the attachment is stronger, not necessarily different in quality from the child's other attachments E.g. attachments to family members (i.e. secondary attachment figures) provide all the same key qualities as a primary attachment figure - emotional support, safe base etc. Means that Bowlby may have been incorrect that there is a unique quality and importance of a child's primary attachment COMPROMISES VALIDITY of his theory

Answer 45

STRENGTH Clear evidence that cute baby behaviours are designed to elicit a response from caregivers Brazelton et al. (1975) : - Observed babies trigger interactions with adults using social releasers - Then instructed the babies' primary attachment figure to ignore their babies' social releasers - Babies became increasingly distressed once ignored + some eventually curled up and lay motionless Supporting research illustrates the role of social releasers in emotional development Suggests that social releasers are important in the process of attachment development, as Bowlby suggested

Answer 46

STRENGTH Internal working model predicts the patterns of attachment will be passed from one generation to the next Bailey et al. (2007) : - Assessed attachment relationships in 99 mothers and their one-year-old babies - Measured the mothers' attachment to their own primary attachment figures (i.e. their parents) - Also assessed the attachment quality of the babies - Found that mothers with poor attachment to their own primary attachment figures were more likely to have poorly attached babies Findings support Bowlby's idea that a mother's ability to form an attachment to their baby is influenced by their own internal working model

Answer 47

WEAKNESS (COUNTERPOINT to research support for internal working model) Most likely other important influences that affect later attachments besides the internal working model Kornienko, 2016 - believed that genetic differences in anxiety + sociability affect social behaviour (and therefore later attachments) in babies and adults - BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE Genetic differences could also impact parenting ability (Kornienko, 2016) Means that Bowlby's theory may be REDUCTIONIST - places importance solely on the internal working model at the expense of other important factors when looking at attachment formation

Answer 48

Laws of continuity + accumulated separation suggest that mothers who work may negatively affect their child's emotional development Feminists e.g. Burman (1994) - point out that this belief sets up mothers to take the blame for anything that goes wrong for the child in the future Theory possibly reinforces TRADITIONALIST views + a potentially harmful stereotype Theory also gives people an excuse to restrict mothers' activities e.g. returning to work HOWEVER: Bowlby's ideas have many real world applications e.g. key workers in day care who build an attachment with particular babies Bowlby stated that the mother did not have to be a baby's biological mother, or even a woman - arguably not the theory itself that feminists should be concerned about, its the MISINTERPRETATION of his theory that may fuel negative stereotypes Altogether, its unclear whether Bowlby's theory has done more harm than good - answer depends of the perspective you're looking at

Answer 49

- CONTROLLED OBSERVATION procedure - Used to measure the security of attachment a baby displays towards a caregiver - Takes place under LAB conditions (i.e. variables strictly CONTROLLED) - Two-way mirror and/or cameras used so that psychologists can discreetly observe the baby's behaviour

Answer 50

- Proximity seeking = a baby with a good quality attachment will stay fairly close to a caregiver - Exploration + secure base behaviour = good attachment enables a baby to feel confident to explore, using their caregiver as a secure base i.e. a point of contact that will make them feel safe - Stranger anxiety = One of the signs of becoming closely attached is a display of anxiety when a stranger approaches - Separation anxiety = A sign of being closely attached is protest at separation from the caregiver - Response to reunion = babies who are securely attached greet the caregivers return with pleasure and seek comfort

Answer 51

Each episode lasts 3 mins Beginning = Baby + caregiver enter an unfamiliar playroom - Stage 1: Baby is encouraged to explore - tests exploration + secure base - Stage 2 : A stranger comes in, talks to the caregiver and approaches the baby - tests stranger anxiety - Stage 3 : Caregiver leaves baby and stranger together - tests separation + stranger anxiety - Stage 4 : Caregiver returns and stranger leaves - tests reunion behaviour and exploration/secure base - Stage 5 : The caregiver leaves the baby alone - tests separation anxiety - Stage 6 : The stranger returns - tests stranger anxiety - Stage 7 : The caregiver returns and is reunited with the baby - tests reunion behaviour

Answer 52

- Secure attachment - Insecure-avoidant attachment - Insecure-resistant attachment

Answer 53

- Shows moderate stranger + separation anxiety - Readily comforted by caregiver when reunited - Proximity seeking/secure base: explores happily while keeping eye on caregiver - Usually indifferent to stranger when caregiver is present but is wary of stranger when alone - Associated with psychologically healthy outcomes - Around 60-75% of British babies classed as securely attached

Answer 54

- Shows little to no stranger + separation anxiety - Characterised by a 'weak' attachment to caregiver - Explores freely but does not keep proximity to caregiver or show secure base behaviour - Make little effort to make contact when reuniting with caregiver and may even avoid such contact - Shows no interest in caregiver and can easily play with and be comforted by the stranger - Around 20-25% of British babies classed as insecure-avoidant

Answer 55

- Shows very high stranger + separation anxiety - Does not explore much and keeps close proximity to caregiver - Extremely distressed by stranger with or without caregiver being present - Intense reaction to caregiver's absence - baby clearly distressed - Baby resists comfort from caregiver when reunited, even if desired - Around 3% of British babies classed as insecure-resistant

Answer 56

STRENGTH Outcome of Strange Situation can predict a number of aspects of a baby's later development Large body of research from multiple researchers shows that babies assessed as Type B (secure) tend to have better outcomes than others - both in later childhood + adulthood Wilson + Smith (1998) = Found that secure children unlikely to be involved in bullying, insure-avoidant most likely to be bullied and insecure resistant most likely to be the bullies Ward et al. (2006) = Found that securely attached babies go on to have better mental health in adulthood Research conducted suggests that those babies assessed as having insecure-resistant and these not falling into Types A, B or C tend to have the worst outcomes Suggests that the Strange Situation measures something real and meaningful in a baby's development - can be used as a general prediction of a baby's later attachments Vast amount of research further supports this idea - there's so much research support that the predictive quality of these attachment styles cannot just be due to chance

Answer 57

STRENGTH High degree of agreement between observers during the Strange Situation Bick et al (2012) : - Tested inter-rater reliability for the Strange Situation for a team of trained observers - Observers found agreement on attachment type in 94% of cases High level of RELIABILITY may be because procedure takes place in highly CONTROLLED LAB conditions Behaviours measured also include large movements (e.g. stranger anxiety) so are easy to observe e.g. anxious babies cry and crawl away from strangers Means that we can be confident that attachment type as assessed by the Strange Situation does not depend of SUBJECTIVE judgements

Answer 58

WEAKNESS (COUNTERPOINT to good predictive validity argument) Strange Situation clearly measures something important to a baby's later development, but not all psychologists believe this something is attachment Kagan (1982) - argues that genetically influenced anxiety levels could account for variations in attachment behaviour in the Strange Situation and later development Means that Strange Situation may actually be measuring a baby's anxiety levels, rather than their attachment itself - lacks INTERNAL VALIDITY

Answer 59

WEAKNESS Strange situation may not be a VALID measure of attachment in different cultural contexts Strange situation developed in Britain + US i.e. INDIVIDUALIST cultures - so may only be valid measure of attachment in similar cultures i.e. the West Babies have different experiences in different cultures which may affect their responses to the Strange Situation e.g. Takahashi (1986): - Measured attachment in Japanese babies using Strange situation (COLLECTIVIST culture) - Found that babies displayed high levels of separation anxiety, so disproportionate number classified as insecure-resistant - Takahashi suggests that anxiety response not due to high rates of attachment insecurity, but due to unusual nature of the experience in Japan where mother-baby separation is very rare Means that the Strange Situation cannot be APPLICABLE in other cultural contexts If used outside of Europe + US could incorrectly label a baby's attachment style due to it being based on the WESTERN PERSPECTIVE of attachment Individualist perspective of being securely attached would be different from the collectivist perspective

Answer 60

WEAKNESS Strange Situation puts babies under deliberate emotional distress (by separating from their caregiver, introducing a stranger etc.) Therefore causes some psychological harm to the baby HOWEVER: Could argue that findings from Strange Situation overrides the temporary distress baby is put under Findings have significantly helped psychologists further their understanding of infant attachment Findings also have good PREDICITVE VALIDITY - can be used to mitigate negative outcomes for insecurely attached babies (e.g. therapy) Therefore need to balance the pros and cons of the Strange Situation - does the benefits outweigh the cost?

Answer 61

Main + Solomon (1986) : - Identified 4th category of attachment - a disorganised (Type D) attachment - Type D = mixture of resistant and avoidant behaviours However, Type D babies unusual and have generally experienced some sort of severe neglect or abuse Found that most Type D babies will go on to develop psychological disorders by adulthood Means that original Strange Situation may not have identified all attachment types, but it has found the main ones - any others found are extremely rare and are most likely due to extreme circumstances Can actually be used as strength for the study - Strange Situation is flexible enough that it can be used to find attachment styles outside the ones originally identified

Answer 62

Aim: To investigate the proportions of secure, insecure-avoidant + insecure-resistant attachments across and within countries - Located 32 studies of attachment where Strange Situation had been used to find proportions of attachment types in babies - Studies conducted in 8 countries - 15 were in the US - Overall studies yielded results for 1990 children - Data from these studies were META-ANALYSED -Results of studies combined and analysed together, weighing each study for its sample size

Answer 63

- In all countries secure attachment was the most common classification - However, proportion of secure attachment varied between countries - 75% securely attached in Britain compared to 50% in China - In INDIVIDUALIST cultures rates of insecure-resistant attachment similar to Ainsworth's original sample - all under 14% - In COLLECTIVIST cultures rate of insecure-resistant attachment above Ainsworth's original sample - above 25% (where rates of insecure-avoidant was reduced) - Variations between results of studies within the same country were 150% greater then those between different countries - E.g. In the US one study found only 46% securely attached compared to one sample as high as 90%

Answer 64

Simonelli et al. (2014): - Conducted study in Italy to see whether proportions of babies of different attachment types still matches those found in older studies - Assessed 76 babies aged 12 months using the Strange Situation - Found 50% secure, with 36% insecure-avoidant - This is a lower rate of secure attachment and a higher rate of insecure-avoidant that has been found in many modern studies - Suggests this is because increasing number of mothers of very young children work long hours and use professional childcare - Findings suggest that patterns of attachment types are not static but vary in line with cultural change

Answer 65

Jin et al. (2012): - Conducted study to compare proportions of attachment types in Korea to other studies - Strange Situation used to assess 87 babies - Overall proportions of insecure and secure babies similar to those in most countries, with most babies being secure - However most insecurely attached babies were resistant and only one baby was avoidant - Distribution of Korean babies similar to those found in Japan (IJzendoorn + Kroonenberg) - Japan and Korea have similar child rearing styles - could be used to explain similarity in proportions of attachment types

Answer 66

- Secure attachment seems to be the norm in wide range of cultures, supporting Bowlby's idea that attachment is innate and universal - Secure attachment therefore evolutionary universal norm - However, research also suggests that cultural practices also have an influence on attachment type

Answer 67

STRENGTH Researchers often had same cultural background as the ppts e.g. IJzendoorn + Kroonenberg included research by a German team (Grossman et al) + Takahashi who is Japanese Means that many of the potential problems in cross-cultural research can be avoided e.g. misunderstandings between researcher + ppts because of language barrier or difficulties in communicating instructions Also avoids RESEARCHER BIAS because of one nation's stereotypes of another Means that there is a very high chance that researchers + ppts communicated successfully - enhancing the VALIDITY of the data collected

Answer 68

WEAKNESS (can COUNTERPOINT previous indigenous researchers argument) E.g. Morelli + Tronick (1991) = were outsiders from America when they studied child rearing and patterns of attachment in the Efe of Zaire Their data may have been affected by difficulties in gathering data from ppts outside their own culture - miscommunication, researcher bias etc. Means that not all research into cultural variations in attachment have the same degree of VALIDITY - cannot reliably make cross-cultural comparisons from data in these studies

Answer 69

WEAKNESS Studies conducted in different countries not usually matched for METHODOLOGY when compared in reviews or meta-analysed Sample characteristics e.g. poverty + social class can confound variables (PPT VARIABLES) as well as age Environmental variables can also differ between studies + confound results e.g. the size of the room and the availability of interesting toys Babies may appear to explore more in studies conducted in small rooms with attractive toys compared to large, bare rooms Less visible proximity seeking because of room size (e.g. very large rooms may put extra distance between caregiver + baby) may make a baby more likely to be classified as avoidant Babies may be wrongly classified due to environmental variables Means that we need to be careful in comparing non-matched cross-cultural studies as there is no STANDARDISED PROCEDURE being used between countries

Answer 70

WEAKNESS Cross-cultural research is trying to impose a test designed for one cultural context to another Strange Situation was an assessment method designed in the US and based on a British theory (Bowlby) - some question whether it is VALID to apply this theory and technique between countries and cultures Emic = cultural uniqueness Etic = cross-cultural universality IMPOSED ETIC = occurs when we assume idea or technique that works in one cultural context will work in another E.g. In Britain + US lack of affection during caregiver reunion may indicate avoidant attachment, but in Germany such behaviour would be interpreted as independence rather than insecurity Means that aspects of the Strange Situation may not work in certain cultural contexts Therefore behaviours measured by Strange Situation may not have the same meanings in different cultural contexts - making comparisons across them meaningless as there is no STANDARD interpretation of behaviour

Answer 71

STRENGTH Sample size = 1,990 children used Sample can be considered more REPRESENTATIVE as results generally not affected by anomalous results

Answer 72

Cross-cultural research found very similar attachment types in different countries (i.e. majority securely attached) - Bowlby's theory explains this is because attachment is an innate and universal IJzendoorn + Kroonenberg = argue that its is global media that explains this similarity: Global media presents particular view of how parents and babies are raised - may override traditional cultural differences in the way children are brought up Means that Bowlby's theory may be outdated in explaining universal attachment behaviours - rise of social media may be the more modern explanation

Answer 73

- Believed that continual presence of care from mother or mother-substitute is essential for normal psychological development - both emotionally + intellectually - Being separated from mother in early childhood will have serious consequences - Separation = Child is not in the presence of the primary attachment figure - Separation only becomes issue when child is deprived of emotional care - Deprivation = Child does not receive emotional care from primary attachment figure - Caregiver can be physically present but child can still be maternally deprived e.g. the mother is present but depressed - Brief separations, particularly when child is with substitute caregiver who can provide emotional care, are not as significant for development - Extended separations can lead to deprivation, which causes psychological harm

Answer 74

- First two-and-a-half years of life = critical period for psychological development - If child is separated from mother in absence of suitable substitute care (and so deprived of emotional care) for extended period of time during critical period then psychological damage inevitable - Believed there was a continuing risk up to the age of 5

Answer 75

- Believed if children were deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period they would experience delayed intellectual development - Maternal deprivation characterised by low IQ - Demonstrated in studies of adoption e.g. Goldfarb (1947): - Found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered and therefore had a higher standard of emotional care

Answer 76

- Identified AFFECTIONLESS PSYCHOPATHY as the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion towards others - Affectionless psychopathy may be linked with maternal deprivation - Prevents a person developing fulfilling relationships + associated with criminality - Affectionless psychopaths cannot appreciate feelings of victims and so lack remorse for their actions

Answer 77

- Sample = 44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing - 'Thieves' were interviewed for signs of emotionless psychopathy - e.g. lack of affection, lack of guilt about actions + lack of empathy for victims - Families also interviewed to establish whether the 'thieves' had prolonged early separations from their mothers - Sample compared to a CONTROL GROUP of 44 non-criminal but emotionally disturbed young people

Answer 78

- 14 out of the 44 thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths - 12 out of 14 of the affectionless psychopaths had experienced prolonged separations (and were therefore deprived) from their mothers in the first 2 years of their life (i.e. the critical period) - Only 5 out of the 30 remaining thieves (that weren't labelled as affectionless psychopaths) had experienced prolonged separations - Only 2 out of 44 in the control group had experienced long separations and 0/44 were labelled as affectionless psychopaths - Concluded that prolonged early separation/deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy

Answer 79

WEAKNESS Theory based on poor quality evidence Bowlby's 44 thieves study flawed because it was Bowlby himself who carried out both the family interviews + the assessments for affectionless psychopathy Left him open to RESEARCHER BIAS - he already had expectations on which teenagers would show psychopathy, leading him to subconsciously interpret the findings in his favour Study also used RETROSPECTIVE SELF REPORT DATA - asking families to recall past memories on maternal separation unreliable as memories often SUBJECTIVE and DISTORTED Other sources of evidence equally flawed - Bowlby influenced by findings of Goldfarb's research on the development of deprived children in wartime orphanages: Goldfarb's research had issues with CONFOUNDING VARIABLES because children experienced very early trauma and institutional care alongside prolonged separation from primary caregivers Means that Bowlby's original sources of evidence for maternal deprivation had serious flaws - COMPROMISED VALIDITY of his whole theory

Answer 80

STRENGTH (COUNTERPOINT to flawed evidence argument) New line of research provides some modest support for long-term effects of maternal deprivation Levy et al (2003): - Showed that separating baby rats from their mother for as little as a day had a permanent effect on their social development - However maternal deprivation only affected social development, not other aspects Means that, although Bowlby initially relied on flawed evidence to support his theory, there are still concrete sources for his ideas

Answer 81

WEAKNESS Rutter (1981) : drew important distinction between two types of early negative experience Deprivation = loss of a primary attachment figure after an attachment has formed Privation = failure to form any attachment in the first place - may take place if child is brought up in any institutional care (e.g. Goldfarb's research) Rutter argued that severe long-term damage Bowlby associated with deprivation may actually be a result of privation instead Therefore supporting research, e.g. the children studied by Goldfarb, may actually have been 'prived' rather that 'deprived' Similarly, many children in the 44 thieves study had disrupted early lives (e.g. spells in hospital) and may never have formed strong attachments Bowlby's 44 thieves sample therefore prived instead of deprived - study lacked INTERNAL VALIDITY as he was measuring privation when he actually wanted to investigated deprivation Means that Bowlby may have overestimated the seriousness of the effects of deprivation in children's development, as this would have actually been caused by privation instead

Answer 82

WEAKNESS For Bowlby - damage inevitable if child had not formed an attachment within first two and a half years of life However, there is evidence to suggest that good quality aftercare can prevent all or most of this damage: - Koluchova (1976) reported the case of the Czech twins - Twins experienced very severe physical and emotional abuse from age of 18 months up until 7 years (past critical + sensitive period) - Although twins severely damaged emotionally by their early experience they received excellent care - By their teens they had recovered fully Means that Bowlby may be incorrect on the critical period, as long lasting harm has been evidenced to not be inevitable even in the cases of severe maternal deprivation/privation When good quality aftercare given, damage from maternal deprivation seemingly 'reversed'

Answer 83

STRENGTH Some national governments offer more financial support for young families in terms of maternity + paternity leave to mitigate risks of maternal deprivation E.g. Sweden offers 480 days parental leave, clearly highlighting commitment to support children's early attachment experiences Means that theory has real life practical applications which has positively impacted a giant proportion of the general population

Answer 84

WEAKNESS Most attempts to replicate 44 thieves study fail to produce similar results E.g. Lewis (1954) - looked at 500 young people and found no association between early separation and later psychopathy Further evidence that Bowlby's findings may have been affected by RESEARCHER BIAS Means that Bowlby's study lacks REPRODUCIBILTY, COMPROMISING the VALIDITY of this theory However (COUNTERPOINT): More recent research (e.g. Gao et al, 2010) has partially supported Bowlby by showing that poor quality maternal care was associated with high rates of psychopathy in adults HOWEVER correlation does not equal causation - therefore conflicting evidence for Bowlby's maternal deprivation still a point of argument between psychologists

Answer 85

Aim : to investigate the extent to which good care could make up for poor early experiences in institutions - Followed a group of 165 Romanian orphans for many years as part of the English and Romanian adoptee (ERA) study - Orphans were adopted by families in the UK - Physical, cognitive + emotional development assessed at ages 4,6,11,15 and 22-25 years - Group of 52 children from the UK (not institutionalised) adopted around the same time served as a CONTROL GROUP

Answer 86

- When children first arrived to UK, half of the adoptees showed signs of delayed intellectual development - Majority of Romanian children severely undernourished At age 11 adopted children showed differential rates of recovery related to age of adoption: - Children adopted before age of 6 months = mean IQ of 102 - Children adopted between 6 months and 2 years old = mean IQ of 86 - Children adopted after 2 years old = mean IQ of 77 - IQ differences remained at age 16 (Beckett et al, 2010) - ADHD more common in 15 and 22-25 year old samples (Kennedy et al, 2016) Attachment outcomes also related to whether adoption took place before or after 6 months (i.e. before or after CRITICAL PERIOD had begun): - Children adopted after 6 months showed particular attachment style called DISINHIBITED ATTACHMENT - Symptoms = attention seeking, clinginess and social behaviour directed indiscriminately towards all adults both familiar and unfamiliar (i.e. no stranger anxiety) - Children adopted before 6 months rarely displayed disinhibited attachment

Answer 87

- Conducted the Bucharest early intervention (BEI) project - Assessed attachment style in 95 Romanian children aged 12-31 months who had spent most of their lives in institutional care (90% on average) - Compared to CONTROL GROUP of 50 children who had never lived in an institution - Attachment type measured using the Strange Situation - Carers also asked about unusual social behaviours e.g. clinginess and attention seeking directed inappropriately towards all adults (behaviours seen in disinhibited attachment)

Answer 88

- 74% of control group classified as securely attached by Strange Situation compared to 19% of institutionalised group - Disinhibited attachment applied to 44% of institutionalised children as opposed to less that 20% of the control group

Answer 89

- Children who spent their early lives in institutions often showed signs of disinhibited attachment - Disinhibited attachment highly unusual behaviour as they do not show stranger anxiety when most children their age do - Disinhibited attachment = adaptation to living with multiple caregivers during the sensitive + critical period for attachment formation - In poor quality institutions a child may have 50 carers but doesn't spend enough time with any of them to form a secure attachment

Answer 90

- In Rutter's study most children showed signs of intellectual disability when they arrived in Britain - However, most of those adopted before age of 6 months caught up with control group by 4 years old - Appears that, like emotional development, damage to intellectual development due to institutionalisation can be recovered provided that adoption occurs before 6 months (i.e. before the critical period)

Answer 91

STRENGTH Findings have been applied to improve conditions for children growing outside their family homes Langton (2006) = argued findings improved psychologist's understanding of the effects of early institutional care and how to prevent the worst of these effects Led to improvements in the conditions experienced by children growing up in the care system E.g. children's homes now avoid having large numbers of caregivers for each child - instead children have on or two 'key workers' who play a central role in their emotional care (prevents development of disinhibited attachment) Institutional care now seen as an undesirable option for looked after children - many being shut down in favour for foster-care Considerable effort made to accommodate children in foster care or have them adopted instead Means that Rutter's research has had a real life positive contribution to society - its application to the real world has improved the living conditions of many children in care

Answer 92

STRENGTH Many orphan studies before Rutter, however most of these conducted during wartime (e.g. WW2) These previous studies suffered confounding variables e.g. trauma - difficult to disentangle the effects of neglect, physical abuse and bereavement from those of institutional care These previous studies lacked INTERNAL VALIDITY - did not know whether they were investigating trauma or institutionalisation However, Romanian children in Rutter's study had been handed over by loving parents who couldn't afford to keep them rather than from abuse Means that Rutter's findings much less likely to be confounded by other negative early experiences - had HIGH INTERNAL VALIDITY

Answer 93

WEAKNESS (COUNTERPOINT to lack of confounding variables argument) Studying children from Romanian orphanages may have introduced different confounding variables Quality of care in Romanian institutions was extremely poor - children received very little intellectual stimulation or comfort Means that harmful effects seen in Rutter's study of Romanian orphans may represent the effects of POOR institutional care rather than institutional care itself - Rutter's study may actually lack INTERNAL VALIDITY May produce different findings if we investigated a better quality institution

Answer 94

WEAKNESS Latest data from ERA study only looked at adults up to age 25 Means that we do not currently have any data on true long-term effects of early institutional care Findings lacks extremely useful and interesting data into the prevalence of mental health problems and ppt's success in forming and maintaining platonic and romantic relationships in the future due to institutionalisation Will take a very long time to gather this data due to the LONGITUDINAL design of this study Means that it will be soe time before we know the true effects of institutionalisation - current findings only scratch the surface, it may be possible that late-adopted children may 'catch-up' intellectually in later life

Answer 95

WEAKNESS Study is SOCIALLY SENSTITIVE because findings show that late-adopted children typically have poor developmental problems Results were published whilst the children were growing up - means that parents, teachers or anyone else who knew them may have treated the adopted children differently as a result Difference in treatment may have even caused a SELF FUFILLING PROPHECY - adopted children believed that they had poor developmental outcomes because of research findings and so this became true due to this mindset Means that costs of publishing Rutter's findings need to be balanced with the benefits - arguable that findings have high, real world practical value which outweighs this cost

Answer 96

- Baby's first relationship with primary attachment figure creates a mental template for all future childhood and adult relationships - Quality of baby's first attachment crucial because this template will powerfully effect the nature of future relationships - Baby's whose first experience is of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to seek out similar functional relationships and behave functionally with them - Child with bad experiences of their first attachment will bring these bad experiences to bear on later relationships - may display insecure-avoidant or insecure-resistant behaviour towards friends and partners

Answer 97

- Kerns (1994) - found that securely attached babies tend to go on to form the best quality friendships whereas insecurely attached babies later have friendship difficulties - Wilson + Smith (1998) = investigated link between attachment type any bullying behaviour: - Assessed attachment type and bullying behaviour using a standard questionnaires - Sample: 196 children aged 7-11 from London - Found that secure children unlikely to be involved in bullying, insecure-avoidant most likely to be the victims and insecure resistant children most likely to be bullies

Answer 98

- Analysed 620 replies to a 'love quiz' printed in an American local newspaper - Quiz had 3 sections: first assessed current or most important relationship, second part assessed general love experiences (e.g. number of partners), third assessed attachment type - 56% of respondents identified as securely attached, 25% secure-avoidant and 1% insecure resistant - Securely attached respondents most likely to have good and longer-lasting romantic experiences - Insecure-avoidant respondents tended to reveal jealously and fear of intimacy Findings suggest that patterns of attachment behaviour also reflected in later romantic relationships

Answer 99

- Studied 40 adult women who had been assessed when they were babies to establish their early attachment type - Those assessed as securely attached babies had the best adult friendships and romantic relationships - Those assessed as insecure-resistant as babies had problems maintaining friendships - Those assessed as insecure-avoidant as babies struggled with intimacy and romantic relationships - Concluded that infant attachment style had a significant impact on later adult relationships

Answer 100

- Looked at attachments of 99 mothers to their 1 year old babies as well as mothers' own attachment to their primary caregiver (i.e. their parents) - Assessed mother-infant attachment using the Strange Situation - Mother's own attachment to their own mother assessed using an adult attachment interview - Majority of women had same attachment classification both to their babies and their own mothers - e.g. mothers who have poor attachment to their primary caregiver also had a poorly attached baby - Concluded that internal working model served as a mental template for own parenting behaviours in adulthood

Answer 101

STRENGTH Reviews of evidence (e.g. Fearon + Roisman, 2017) concluded that early attachment CONSISTENTLY predicts later attachment, emotional well-being and attachment to own children How strong the relationship is between early attachment + later relationships depends on the attachment type and the aspect of later development = insecure resistant associated with fairly mild disadvantages whilst disorganised attachment associated with later mental disorder Means that research evidence supports idea of GOOD PREDICITIVE VALIDITY - can use early attachment to predict later relationships + put preventative measures to help those with disadvantageous attachment styles

Answer 102

WEAKNESS (COUNTERPOINT to supporting research argument) E.g. Becker-Stroll et al (2008) : - Conducted the Regensburg longitudinal study - Followed 43 individuals from 1 year of age - At age 16 attachment assessed using the adult attachment interview - Found no evidence of continuity between early attachment at later life attachments Means that its not clear to what extent the quality of early attachment predicts later relationships - may be other important factors not taken into account e.g. genetics

Answer 103

WEAKNESS Attachment in most studies assessed RETROSPECTIVELY Most research NOT LONGITUDINAL - does not assess attachment in early life and then revisit the same person in later life Instead researchers often ask adults or adolescents ppts questions about their past relationship with their parents + identify attachment types with this (e.g. Hazan + Shaver's 'love quiz') Presents two VALIDITY issues: 1. Asking questions relies on the honesty (ppts may show social desirability bias) + accurate perception of ppts 2. Very hard to know whether what is being assessed is early attachment or adult attachment - ppts may answer questions whilst subconsciously being influenced by relationship with their parents as an adult rather than the relationship they had as a child (e.g. Regensburg longitudinal study) Could result in studies lacking INTERNAL VALIDITY Means that measures of early attachment used in most studies may have produced CONFOUNDED data - COMPROMISES VALIDITY + possibly makes most supporting research findings meaningless

Answer 104

WEAKNESS Some studies do assess attachment in infancy (e.g. McCarthy, Bailey et al) - therefore the assessment of attachment in these studies are VALID However, even these studies may face validity issues because associations between attachment quality and later development may be affected by other confounding variables (just because attachment of early attachment valid doesn't mean that the correlation between them is) E.g. (BIOLOGICAL APPROACH) genetically-influenced personality may be an influence on both attachment quality and later development Means that we can never be entirely sure whether it is early attachment and not some other factor that is influencing later development (correlation does not always equal causation)

Answer 105

Clarke and Clarke (1998) - argued that influence of early attachment on later relationships is at most PROBABLISITC Means that insecure attachment doesn't guarantee poorer later relationships - its just more likely for people with this attachment type (could also argue converse for securely attached people) But, by knowing someone's early attachment type we have an opportunity to intervene and help their development to mitigate any harm to future relationships (e.g. through therapy) However, those with insecure attachment types may become pessimistic about their future development due to research findings and create a SELF-FUFILLING PROPHECY Means that we have to balance the risks and benefits of research between early attachment and later relationships to ensure that it does more good than harm

Topic 3 - Attachment (complete!!!!) Flashcards

(129 cards)