Psychology Attachment

Front 1

What is institutionalisation?

Back 1

Institutionalisation concerns the effects on attachment and development of care provided by orphanages and residential children’s homes. Bowlby‘s maternal deprivation theory was largely based on research conducted in institutionalised children.

Front 2

Explain what Rutter found in his 2011 study?

Back 2

Aim: to assess the long-term affects of early institutionalisation.

Procedure: This was an example of a Longitudinal study. What are followed a group of 165 Romanian orphans adopted in Britain. Physical, cognitive and emotional development where assessed aged 4, 6,11 and 15years. A group of 52 British children adopted around the same time acted as a control group.

Findings: At initial assessment most of the Romanian orphans were undernourished and underweight. The control group did not show these deficits. (These are the physical effects)

The younger the age of the children when adopted the higher the IQ score. At age 11, the control group and I was adopted before six months and no development delay, that was adopted between ages six months and two years had an average IQ of 86, and that stopped it after the age of two years had an average of 77. (These are known as the cognitive effects)

Those who were adopted after six months also showed signs of this inhibited attachment, characterised by attention seeking behaviour, Collinas, and inappropriate familiarity towards strangers. (These are known as emotional effects)

Conclusion:Institutionalisation has a negative effect on physical, cognitive and emotional development but these can be overcome by early sensitive, nurturing care (adoption).

Front 3

Explain what Chungani found in 2001?

Back 3

Procedure: I minister pet scans to 10 adopted Romanian orphans and compared them to 17 “normal” adults and seven children.

Findings: the Romanian orphans showed decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala. (These are known as cognitive effects).

Conclusion: the stress of any deprivation causes dysfunction in these brain areas and may be linked to long-term cognitive and behavioural problems including schizophrenia.

Hint 3

Pet scans

Front 4

State the disadvantages of institutionalisation.

Back 4

One disadvantage is that the long-term effects of institutionalisation maybe unclear.

This is because the last assessment of children in registered it was at 8:15 years. However, it’s too soon to say with certainty whether the children suffered shorter long-term effects. It may be that those that spent longer in institutions have struggled in terms of cognitive and intellectual functioning however may still catch up as adults. To conclude with this means that the effects may be reversible over a long period of time.

Another disadvantage is that the Sample is on representative of all institutional care. This means that not all institutional time is poor as that that was experience in the Romanian orphanages. It is possible that because conditions were so poor results cannot be applied to institutions were the quality of care is better. The camera many and orphanages in the 1990s was extremely poor children were tied down to beds and fed irregularly they were left a rock from forwards to backwards which cause extreme psychological damage, The nurses and staff in institutions didn’t know how to cope with the children meaning that they were often left which caused more psychological damage. To conclude with this means that we may be on able to generalise the findings of Romanian institutionalisation to children from other institutions.

Another disadvantage is that there are issues with establishing cause-and-effect. This means that the children were not randomly allocated to the condition (as they would’ve been in a true lab experiment), which creates potential confounding variables. Such as, those who were adopted later may have been “less desirable“ candidates for adoption (e.g. because they may have shown signs of physical disorder/deficiency) and this could explain why the children have more developmental issues (rather than the time spent in institution). To conclude with this means that the institutionalisation may not be the cause of the negative effects observed in the research.

Hint 4

There’s three: The longer term effects of institutionalisation may be unclear.

The sample is a representative of all institutional care.

There are issues with establishing cause-and-effect.

Front 5

Explain the advantage of effects of institutionalisation based on Romanian orphans Studies.

Back 5

There is only one advantage of the effects of institutionalisation based on Romanian orphans studies. And this is the fact that there are real life applications that have come from the research. This means that the current research with Romanian orphans points to the importance of early adoption. Based on the research findings, most babies are now adopted within the first few weeks of birth and research shows adoptive mothers and children Are just as securely attached as non-adoptive families. To conclude with this means that the research has been immensely valuable in practical terms.

Front 6

What is the internal working model?

Back 6

Internal working model Is a template or blueprint for what relationships are like and has a powerful effect on the nature of a Childs future relationships. Is it generates expectations about what intimate loving relationships alike and these qualities will be brought to future relationships. This links to the continuity hypothesis.

Front 7

Explain the continuity hypothesis.

Back 7

The continuity hypothesis proposed that the quality of an infant primary attachment would have an impact on the quality of life to relationships. Craig sample a child whose first experience is of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to assume that this is how relationships are meant to be will seek out a functional relationship. However children with bad experiences with the first attachment figure will bring these bad experiences k into later relationships for examples they may struggle to form relationships in the first place, or they may not be able to behave appropriately in them if they find them.

Front 8

Explain what Youngblade and Belsky found in 1992.

Back 8

They found that 3 to 5-year-olds who were securely attached were more curious, competent, self confident and got along better with all the children are more likely to form strong friendships.

Front 9

What did My Phone Wilson and Smith find in 1998?

Back 9

They found that bullying behaviour could be predicted by attachment type. Securely attached children were unlikely to be involved in bullying. Insecure avoidant were most likely to be victims of bullying whilst insecure resistant to most likely to be the bullies.

Front 10

Influence of attachment on adult relationships.

Based on the Hazan and Shaver Love Quiz in 1987. Explain the study.

Back 10

Aim: to see if early attachment types would influence adult romantic relationships.

Procedure: I love quiz was printed in a local newspaper. The quiz asked questions about:

Attitudes towards love and relationships including current relationship experiences forward/statuses.

Childhood relationships with parents could identify child attachment type they analysed 620 replies to love quizzes. 205 from man and 415 from women.

Findings: the researchers found that the percentages of adults in different attachment types (A, B and C) roughly match those of children in Ainsworth strange situation studies. They also found a positive correlation between attachment type and love/relationship experiences.

Conclusion: the research is concluded that there is evidence of an internal working model having a lifelong affect on relationships.

Front 11

Using Ainsworths attachment types, state the attachment type percentage and how are relationship experiences will be affected from the Hazan and Shaver research.

Back 11

25% insecure avoidant, mistrusting, lacking intimacy, more likely to believe that romantic love doesn’t exist, 6yr average length.

56% Secure, mature and trusting, happy and friendly, accepting and supporting despite flaws in partner, 10yr average length.

19% Insecure resistant, possessive, jealous, fears rejection, likely to believe it’s easy to fall in love, 5yr average length.

Front 12

Explain the advantages of influences of early attachment.

Back 12

There is evidence that supports Hazan and Shavers findings. This is because Kirkpatrick and Hazan observed over a period of 4yrs individuals that were avoidant, they found that they were more likely to be the type of people to date multiple people at once. To conclude with this means that there is a link between early childhood experiences and behaviour in later relationships. This shows that avoidants do fear intimacy and therefore are less likely to have successful adult relationships.

Front 13

Explain the disadvantages of studies looking into the influence of early attachment.

Back 13

One disadvantage is that it is hard to determine cause and effect. This is because correlational studies simply reveal a relationship. Therefore we cannot say that early attachment types cause later relationship styles. An alternative explanation for the findings is that both attachment type and later relationship styles are caused by something else entirely like the individuals innate temperament. To conclude with this reduces the validity of the finding that attachment influences later relationships.

Another disadvantage is that Hazan and shavers research is retrospective. This is because participants had to rely on their memories of childhood relationships with their parents to establish their attachment time, which could be Open to distortion or decay over time. To conclude this also reduces the validity of the findings that attachment influences I don’t relationships by suggesting data may be unreliable.

The final disadvantage is that there are some contradictory findings against Bowlbys continuity hypothesis. Zimmerman et al In 2000 assessed attachment style of children aged 12 to 18 months and then checked again and age of 16 years (using interviews to determine the relationship the child had of its parents). They found that childhood attachment types were not good predictors if later relationships. They also discovered that life such as parental divorce had a greater impact. To conclude with this means that it reduces reliability of the finding that early attachment types influence influence adult relationships as it has not been consistently shown.

Front 14

H

Back 14

V