Aqa Psychology, Attachment

Front 1

What is the definition of attachment?

Back 1

A close two-way bond between two people who see each other as essential for emotional security.

Front 2

What are the attachment behaviours?

Back 2

Proximity (staying close), Separation distress, secure-base behaviour (regular contact)

Front 3

What is reciprocity?

Back 3

Two individuals (parent-infant) responding to each other's signals.

Front 4

What is interactional synchrony?

Back 4

Temporal co-ordination of micro-level social behaviour (mirror actions and emotions)

Front 5

What was Meltzoff of Moore's observation (1977)?

Back 5

2 week old infants. Adult displayed 1/3 facial expressions/gestures. Association between expressions/gestures and babies' actions found.

Front 6

What are the evaluation points of caregiver-infant interactions?

Back 6

W: reason for actions is not sure

S: Interaction filmed at multiple angles=fine detail.

S: Babies unaware=natural behaviour=good validity

Front 7

What are the evaluation points of attachment figures?

Back 7

W: Findings in primary/secondary fathers different

W: Single-mum children don't develop differently=secondary fathers unimportant

- fathers generally not primary: gender roles, Oestrogen=more nurturing

W: Socially sensitive; mothers work quick=synchrony down. lifestyle implications.

Front 8

What was the investigation by Schaffer and Emerson (1964)?

Back 8

Investigate early attachment formation

METHOD: 60 babies (Glasgow, W/C), Visited monthly 1y/o->18m/o, measured separation/stranger anxiety.

FINDING: 25-32 weeks, 30 babies=separation anxiety (mother)[most interactive]. 40 weeks, 80% specific attachment, 30% multiple.

Front 9

What are Schaffer's stages of attachment?

Back 9

A sequence of qualitatively different behaviours linked to specific ages.

Front 10

What is the first stage of attachment?

Back 10

Stage 1 (asocial): 1st few weeks, recognise carer, behaviour to object/human similar. Prefer familiar adults.

Front 11

What is the second stage of attachment?

Back 11

Indiscriminate: 2-7 months, prefer people to objects (esp. familiar adults), accept comfort from any adult, no separation/stranger anxiety

Front 12

What is the third stage of attachment?

Back 12

Specific: 7+months, separation/stranger anxiety from particular adult (65% mum), specific attachment=primary attachment (most interactive)

Front 13

What is the fourth stage of attachment?

Back 13

Multiple: Extend attachment behaviour to familiar adults=secondary attachments (29% within 1 month), 1 y/o=majority multiple attachments.

Front 14

What are the evaluation points for the key study by Schaffer and Emerson (1964)?

Back 14

S: Parents observe at home=external validity

S: longitudinal=internal validity=no confounding variables

W: 60 babies=same district/class=limitation. Culture affects development (don't generalise)

Front 15

What are the evaluation points for the stages of attachment?

Back 15

W: Asocial stage=not much observable behaviour=evidence unreliable.

W: distress may not show true attachment, can't distinguish behaviour through observation

W: Limited measures (separation/stranger anxiety), not detailed enough.

Front 16

What did Konrad Lorenz's study of imprinting involve?

Back 16

PROCEDURE: Goose eggs, [control] 1/2 mother goose, [experimental] 1/2 incubator (Lorenz)

FINDING: control=attach to mother goose, experimental=attach to Lorenz (first moving thing seen[imprinting])

CRITICAL PERIOD: Few hours, no imprinting, no future attachments

Front 17

What did Lorenz find about the relationship between imprinting and adult male preferences?

Back 17

Birds imprinted on humans=courtship towards humans.

e.g. case study: Peacock raised in reptile house=courtship towards giant tortoises.

Front 18

What did Harlow's research of contact comfort discover?

Back 18

OBSERVE: Alone newborn rhesus monkeys died, survived with soft cloth

PROCEDURE: 16 monkeys, 2 wire mothers (milk/milk+cloth)

FINDING: Preferred milk+cloth mother for comfort when frightened (comfort=attachment)

Front 19

What did Harlow's further study of maternally deprived monkeys find?

Back 19

Milk: Most dysfunctional, Milk+cloth: Aggressive, unsociable, bred less

As mothers: Neglected young, attacked/killed children

Front 20

What did Harlow conclude about the critical period for normal development of rhesus monkeys?

Back 20

CRITICAL PERIOD: 90 days for attachment to form. No attachment=impossible to attach to anyone, damage irreversible.

Front 21

What are the evaluation points of Lorenz's research?

Back 21

W: Mammalian attachment is more emotional than bird attachment.

W: Observations questioned. Imprinting not permanent (chickens imprinted on yellow gloves moved on)

Front 22

What are the evaluation points of Harlow's research?

Back 22

S: Effect on psychologists understanding mother-infant interaction (importance of early relationships for social development)

S: Practical=social workers

W: unethical

W: Monkeys aren't humans

Front 23

What is classical conditioning?

Back 23

Associating two stimuli to produce the same result.

Food=happy (unconditioned stimulus/response)

Caregiver gives food=happy (caregiver neutral to conditioned stimulus)[This is love!]

Minimum 8 trials

Front 24

What is operant conditioning?

Back 24

Learning to repeat behaviour depending on consequences.

Behaviour=pleasant consequence=likely repeated [+vice versa]

Baby crying=fed=crying inforced

Two-way: parents=negative reinforcement

Mutual = strengthens attachment

Front 25

What does learning theory say about a secondary drive?

Back 25

Learning theory based on drive reduction.

Hunger=primary drive (innate motivator)

- Caregivers satisfy hunger=caregiver becomes secondary drive

Front 26

What are the evaluation points for learning theory?

Back 26

W: Harlow/Lorenz=food doesn't make attachment bonds (imprinting/contact comfort)

W:Schaffer/Emerson=primary attachment to most interactive

W: Attachment=feed, reciprocity/synchrony irrelevent?

Front 27

What is Bowlby's monotropic theory?

Back 27

Forming attachments is innate (imprinting) as it keeps babies close to their caregivers, protecting them from hazards

Front 28

What is monotropy?

Back 28

Attachment to one caregiver (primary attachment figure) which is more important than their other attachments

Front 29

What are the two principles that contribute to a primary attachment figure?

Back 29

Law of continuity: Constant/predictable child care=quality of attachment rises

Law of accumulated separation: Every separation from the attachment figure adds up

- This is why the biological mother is mainly the primary attachment figure

Front 30

What are social releasers?

Back 30

Cute behaviours babies are born with to activate adult attachment system. Mother and baby have an innate predisposition to attach, social releasers trigger attachment.

Front 31

According to Bowlby, what is the critical period of an infant?

Back 31

CRITICAL PERIOD: 2 years. Attachment not formed=difficult to form one later.

Front 32

What is the internal working model?

Back 32

A person's mental representation of attachment to primary caregiver, which affects perception of future relationships.

Affects parenting ability=parenting affects childhood experiences

Front 33

What are the evaluation points of Bowlby's theory?

Back 33

W: Schaffer/Emerson=multiple attachments from the start (unclear 1st attachment unique)

S: BRAZLETON: observed interactional synchrony, experiment: ignored social releasers=distress=motionless. FINDING: social behaviour brings out caregiving

S: Tested: BAILEY et al=99 mothers attachment to mother and baby, FINDING: poor attachment passed down

Front 34

What are the extra evaluation points of Bowlby's theory?

Back 34

W: Law of accumulated separation=Burden to mothers

W: temperament(genetic personality)=social development. Some born more anxious/social [KAGAN]. Bowlby's overemphasizes child experiences.

Front 35

What is Mary Ainsworth's Strange Situation?

Back 35

An experiment to observe key attachment behaviours to assess the quality of child-caregiver attachment

- takes place in a room with a two-way mirror in quiet, controlled conditions

Front 36

What behaviours were used to judge the quality of attachment in the Strange Situation?

Back 36

- Proximity seeking: Good attachment=stay close

- Exploration/secure-base behaviour: Good attachment=confident to explore/caregiver makes them feel safe

- Stranger anxiety: Close attachment=anxiety

- Separation anxiety: Close attachment=protest

- Response to reunion after short separation

Front 37

What was the procedure for the Strange Situation?

Back 37

* Each stage lasted 3 minutes*

- Child and caregiver enter room

- child encouraged to explore

- stranger enters/plays with child

- caregiver leaves

- caregiver returns and stranger leaves

- caregiver leaves child alone

- stranger returns

- caregiver returns/reunites with child

Front 38

What were the findings of the Strange Situation?

Back 38

There are distinct behaviour patterns which can be split into 3 main attachment types:

- Secure (Type B)

- Insecure-avoidant (Type A)

- Insecure-resistant (Type C)

Front 39

What are the behaviour patterns of a secure attachment?

Back 39

- Explore happily/regularly return to caregiver

- Moderate separation/stranger anxiety

- require/accept comfort at reunion

- 60-75% British toddlers are securely attached

Front 40

What are the behaviour patterns of an insecure-avoidant attachment?

Back 40

- Explore freely/no proximity/secure-base

- Little reaction when caregiver leaves/reunites

- Little stranger anxiety

- Don't need comfort at reunion

- 20-25% toddlers

Front 41

What are the behaviour patterns of an insecure-resistant attachment?

Back 41

- Explore less/seek more proximity

- Huge separation/stranger anxiety

- Resist comfort at reunion

- 3% British toddlers

Front 42

What are the evaluation points of Ainsworth's Strange Situation?

Back 42

S: inter-rater reliability (Bick et al. 94% agree)

W: Test culture bound (Takahashi: Japanese mothers)=cannot be generalised

W: Temperament may influence behaviour more than attachment type= confounding variable

W: Minority of children=disorganised attachment(mix of resistant/avoidant)

Front 43

What is the van IJzendoorn study on cultural variations in attachment?

Back 43

IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg looked at proportion of attachment types across countries and differences within countries (idea of variations within culture)

Front 44

What was the procedure for the van IJzendoorn study on cultural variations in attachment?

Back 44

- Researchers located 32 studies of attachment using Strange Situation in 8 countries (15 in US)

- Results for 1990 children=meta-analysis

Front 45

What were the findings for the van IJzendoorn study on cultural variations in attachment?

Back 45

Secure attachment most common in all countries (75% Britain/50% China);insecure-resistant least common (3% Britain/30% Israel);insecure-avoidant common in Germany/least common in Japan;Variations within countries 150% greater than between countries

Front 46

What are the conclusions from the various cultural variations in attachment studies?

Back 46

- secure attachment norm in wide range of cultures (support Bowlby's idea=attachment in innate/universal)

- Culture influences attachment

Front 47

What are the evaluation points of cultural variations in attachment?

Back 47

S: IJzendoorn=2000 babies=internal validity=reduce impact of outliers

W: Comparing countries may not compare culture (cultures within countries)

W: Strange Situation created my American based on British theories=can it be imposed to other cultures (imposed etic)

W: Strange Situation lacks validity (temperament)

Front 48

What is maternal deprivation?

Back 48

Emotional/intellectual consequences of separation between child and mother

Front 49

What was John Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation?

Back 49

Continuous care from mother is essential for psychological development

Front 50

What is the difference between separation and deprivation? How are they connected?

Back 50

Separation: Child not being in the presence of the primary attachment figure

Deprivation: Child loses an element of care from being separated

- Extended separations lead to deprivation=harm

Front 51

What is the critical period in Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation?

Back 51

- First 30 months of life

- Child maternally deprived of care for an extended period during critical period=psychological damage

Front 52

What are the effects of maternal deprivation on development?

Back 52

Intellectual: Retardation=low IQ (Goldfarb: lower IQ in institution children vs fostered children

Emotional: Affectionless psychopathy=inability to experience guilt/strong emotion for others/lac remorse for actions=prevents normal relationship development=associated with criminality

Front 53

What was Bowlby's 44 thieves study?

Back 53

- examined link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation

PROCEDURE: 44 criminal teenagers interviewed fro affectionless psychopathy/families interviewed for early prolonged separations from mothers/CONTROL: non-criminal teens

FINDINGS: 14/44 thieves affectionless psychopathy;12/14 had prolonged separation from mothers in first 2 years of life;2/44 control=separations

- Prolonged early separation=affectionless psychopathy

Front 54

What are the evaluation points for Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation?

Back 54

W: Bowlby interviewed 44 thieves=demand characteristics

W: Hilda Lewis replicated 44 thieves on large scale=separation didn't predict criminality

W: Koluchova=twin Czech boys isolated=sensitive period not critical

S: Animal studies with rats

Front 55

What is institutionalisation?

Back 55

- the effects of living in an institution (hospital/orphanage)

- effects of institutional care on children's attachment/subsequent development

Front 56

What was the procedure for Rutter's ERA (English and Romanian Adoptee) study?

Back 56

- Followed 165 Romanian orphans adopted in Britain to test to what extent good care can make up for poor early experiences/physical,cognitive,emotional development assessed at 4,6,11,15/Control: 52 British children adopted around same time

Front 57

What were the finding for Rutter's ERA (English and Romanian Adoptee) study?

Back 57

- First UK arrival=1/2 mental retardation/majority severely undernourished/age 11=rates of recovery related to age of adoption/mean IQ of adopted before 6 months (102) vs between 6 months-2 yrs (86) vs after 2 yrs (77)/differences remained at 16/children adopted after 6 months=disinhibited attachment (attention seeking to any adult)

Front 58

What were the findings for the Bucharest Early Intervention Project?

Back 58

- 74% control group securely attached/19% institutional group securely attached, disinhibited attachment: control (20%) vs institution (44%)

Front 59

What are the effects of institutionalisation?

Back 59

Disinhibited attachment: Equally friendly to everyone (no stranger anxiety)/Rutter: adaptation of living with multiple caregivers during sensitive period

Mental Retardation: Damage to intellectual development from institutionalisation/can be recovered if child is adopted before sixth months old

Front 60

What are the evaluation points for the Romanian studies on the effects of institutionalisation?

Back 60

S: Improve institutional care=practical value

S: Romanian studies didn't have confounding variables=internal validity

W: Romanian orphanages had poor care=can't be applied to better institutions

W: Not sure if effects are short/long term

Front 61

How does the internal working model affect later relationships?

Back 61

- child with loving relationship with reliable caregiver=seek out functional relationships/behave functionally

- child with bad experiences=struggle to form relationships=don't behave appropriately

Front 62

How does early attachment influence relationships in later childhood?

Back 62

- Attachment type=quality of peer relationships (secure=best quality/insecure=difficulties)

Wilson/Smith: Questionnaires=196 children (7-11) [London]=secure=uninvolved in bullying;insecure-avoidant=victims;insecure-resistant=bullies

Front 63

How does early attachment influence relationships in adulthood with romantic partners?

Back 63

McCarthy: Studied 40 adult women (attachment assessed as infants)=secure=best adult friendships/relationships;insecure-avoidant=struggled with intimacy;insecure-resistant=problems maintaining friendships

Front 64

What study did Hazan and Shaver conduct about how early attachment influences relationships in adulthood with romantic partners?

Back 64

- Study of association between attachment/adult relationships

PROCEDURE: Analysed 620 replies to 'love quiz' (US newspaper)/3 sections (most important relationship/love experiences/attachment type)

FINDINGS: 56% respondents secure;25% insecure-avoidant;19% insecure-resistant/secure=good, long-lasting relationships;avoidant=jealousy, fear of intimacy

Front 65

How does early attachment influence relationships in adulthood as a parent?

Back 65

- Parenting style based on internal working model=attachment type passed on

Front 66

What are the evaluation points for the influence of early attachment on later relationships?

Back 66

W: Zimmerman assessed infant/teenage attachment=little relationship=less validity

W: Attachment interviews depend on honest views = limited validity

W: Alternative theories (parenting style/temperament)

W: Bowlby exaggerates=lacks reliability