Attachment Flashcards - A Level Psychology AQA

• Attachment


  is a strong, emotional, reciprocal bond between people
• Behaviours of attachments

  - proximity seeking- separation distress- secure-base behaviour
• Reciprocity


  caregiver-infant interaction is a two-way process; the behaviour of each party elicits a response from the other
• Interactional Synchrony


  caregiver-infant interactions are co-ordinated and occur in time with each other
• Tronick

  The Still face experiment:- mother plays with baby- told mother to not response to baby- baby uses all ability to get a reply- when baby doesn't get a normal reply- they respond negatively, baby is stressful
• Isabella et al


  - observed 30 mothers interacting with their infants- found higher levels of interactional synchrony were associated with stronger attachments- supports the idea that interactional synchrony is an important part of children's development
• Meltzoff + Moore (1977)


  - observed children as young as 2 weeks old- adult pulled 1/3 faces or made 1/3 hand gestures- there was an association between the face/hand gesture shown and the behaviour of the babies- even at 2 weeks infants attempted to copy the adult's behaviour- controlled observation infant + caregiver brought into the lab together- interactions are recorded- watched again to note any behaviours recorded+ controlled so no extraneous variables+ high internal validity- lacks external validity and mundane realism
• Schaffer + Emerson

  - involved 60 babies- all from working class families in Glasgow- families visited every month and asked questions about baby's behaviour in everything situationsSTAGE 1: Asocial Stage- 0-6 weeks olds- babies respond positively to all stimuliSTAGE 2: Indiscriminate Attachment Stage- 6 weeks-7months old- babies respond positively to any caregiver- gets upset when don't have attention- from 3 months babies smile more at familiar caregiversSTAGE 3: Specific Attachment Stage- 7-9 months old- baby prefers 1 special person called primary attachment figure- this person responds most sensitivelySTAGE 4: Multiple Attachment Stage- 9+ months- baby shows same attachment behaviours towards multiple different people- not able to generalise as only working-class families from Glasgow- relies on mothers who may report lies to look better+ took place in real world context
• Lorenz

  - investigated imprinting in geese- divided goose eggs in half randomly- one half hatched in incubator so first moving thing seen was Lorenz- other half hatched in presence of their mother in natural environment- Lorenz recorded all gosling behaviour- results that the goslings followed first moving thing they saw- humans may have an innate mechanism which allows us to form attachments- may be a critical period in which attachments must be formed- forming an attachment after this period may be more difficult
• Harlow

  - researched the importance of comfort in formation of attachment- he separated baby monkeys from their mothers at birth- monkeys were raised with a wire mother who provided food and cloth mother who didn't provide food- he recorded how long the monkeys spent with each mother- observed the monkey's behaviour in fearful conditions- results baby monkey spent around 17 hours with cloth mother and only 1 hour with wire mother- when frightened baby ran to cloth mother for comfort- when in new environment only cloth mother relieved stress anxiety (shows secure base behaviour - when released, these monkeys were bullied by other monkeys- they were violent and abusive to their own offspring babies - comfort is more important than food- when attachments don't form properly it can cause social issues in later life
• EVALUATE Harlow + Lorenz


  - monkeys and geese are less intelligent than humans- unable to generalise to humans - unnatural environment, could be a confounding variable- animal abuse as harm to monkeys
• Learning Theory


  CLASSICAL CONDITIONING1) Unconditional stimulus (food) -> Unconditioned response (joy)2) Neutral stimulus (mother) -> No response3) Neutral stimulus (mother) + Unconditional stimulus (food) -> Unconditioned respond (joy)4) Conditioned stimulus (mother) -> Conditional response (joy)OPERANT CONDITIONING- Positive reinforcement = adding something to increase behaviour- Negative reinforcement = subtracting something to increase behaviour- Punishment = something is added or subtracted to decrease behaviour
• EVALUATE Learning Theory

  - Harlow found attachment is based on comfort and not food -> BUT research was not on humans, so can't generalise- Shaffer + Emerson found Primary Attachment Figure was who was most sensitive to the child not who fed the child- Isabella et al studied mother and found that higher levels of interactional synchrony made more attachments not food
• Bowlby's Evolutionary Theory

  1) attachment is INNATE- because human attachment behaviours are the product of natural selection - infant/caregivers who didn't have an innate drive to form attachment were less likely to survive2) SOCIAL RELEASERS- are innate features of babies which make them cute- adults are hardwired to find these cute and want to form attachments as well3) MONOTROPY- infants need to form one special and unique emotional bond with a caregiver - this relationship is most important attachment relationship a child will form (others form in a hierarchy below this one)4) INTERNAL WORKING MODEL (IWM)- IWM is a cognitive framework which helps the child understand themselves, other people and world- IWM is the foundation of all future relationships5) CRITICAL PERIOD- Bowlby suggested that attachment have to form within a critical period of 2 1/2 years- if a child has not formed a monotropic within the critical period, they may not be able to form an attachment at all
• EVALUATE Bowlby's Evolutionary Theory

  + Harlow support IWM as monkeys were abusive to own children and couldn't reintegrate with other monkeys -> supports monotropy as only one attachment formed+ Lorenz supports monotropy as goslings only formed one attachment -> critical period is 24 hours for goslings -> innate as imprinting is innate behaviour+ Bailey et al assessed the attachment relationship between mother and their babies + mothers and own mothers relationship -> found a correlation which supports the IWM
• Ainsworth et al

  The Strange Situation
• The Strange Situation

  - designed to see how infants 9-18 months behaved in new, mildly stressful conditions- mother + child introduced to room - parent sits while infant plays and explores- stranger enters the room talks with mother - stranger approaches child with a toy- mother leaves child with stranger- mother returns, picks up child and stranger leaves - mother leaves so child is on their own- stranger returns and tries engage with child- mother returns to comfort childfound:- secure attachment = high exploration, moderate stranger anxiety and separation anxiety, easily comforted in reunion behaviour I-> when upset, attachment figure responds warmly and comforts child -> child feels safe and seeks caregiver in need of comfort- insecure avoidant = high exploration, low stranger anxiety and separation anxiety, avoids contact reunion behaviourI-> caregiver rejects child when upset and feels annoyance -> child learns to avoid caregiver when in need of comfort, and avoid displaying negative emotions in caregiver's presence- insecure resistant = low exploration, high stranger anxiety and separation anxiety, seeks and rejects reunion behaviour I-> caregiver is inconsistent in response to child, may prioritise own emotional needs over child -> child learns attention is valuable but can be unreliable -> child reacts with intense displays of negative emotion when need comfort, and is cautious to seek comfort they crave = seek + reject behaviour
• EVALUATE the Strange Situation

  + Kokkinos found: - secure attachment = good peer relationship - insecure avoidant = likely to be bully - insecure resistant = likely to bully victim - Main + Solomon found disorganised children don't have consistent response to stress -> therefore display both avoidant and resistant behaviours = DISORGANISED ATTACHMENT- cultural bias as was tested + designed in USA -> may not be appropriate to assess attachment in other cultures, where there may be different child-rearing practices
• Peer relations as child

  Harlow's monkey's were rejected by their peersKokkinos found:secure = good peer relationshipsavoidant = bullyresistant = victim
• Parenting style

  Bailey et al, most woman have same attachment to mother and child Harlow's monkey which were raised isolation from other monkeys were abusive mothers and neglected their children
• Adult romantic relationships

  HAZAN + SHAVER - assessed childhood attachment + experience in adult romantic relationships + attitudes towards romantic relationshipsfound:- secure adults = positive image of mother as dependable and caring I-> positive relationships, trust others and believe in enduring love- avoidant adults = remember mother as cold and rejectingI-> fearful of closeness, love isn't necessary for happiness- resistant adults = conflicting memories of mother being positive and rejectingI-> preoccupied with love, fall in love easily but struggle to find true love
• EVALUATE Hazan + Shaver


  - correlation doesn't equal causation, it could be a third variable which explains both childhood attachment and later relationships- Kagen temperament refers to innate personality which is present from birth- problems with measuring childhood attachment by asking adults: memory issues, influenced by current relationship with parents, influenced by peers, may lie to make childhood seem better = social desirability-Zimmerman found no relationship between childhood attachment and adolescent relationships
• Bowlby's theory of Maternal Deprivation

  - separation simply refers to being physically apart from the mother- deprivation refers to an element of maternal care being lost - Bowlby believed that deprivation within this 2 1/2 years critical period would inevitably cause irreversible psychological damageconsequences:- inability to from attachments later in life due to IWM- delinquency - cognitive deficits- affectionless psychopathy
• Bowlby's 44 Thieves study (1944)


  - interviewed 44 adolescent thieves for signs of affectionless psychopathy then interviewed their families for any maternal deprivationresults:- 85% of the thieves were affectionless psychopaths had experienced maternal deprivation - suggests that maternal deprivation can cause affectionless psychopaths
• EVALUATE Bowlby's theory of Maternal Deprivation


  + Harlow's monkeys were maternally deprived as they were abusive towards their own offspring -> BUT we can't generalise as humans are more intelligent+ Genie was maternally deprived and showed evidence of cognitive deficits, through language difficulties like never acquiring grammar- The Czech twins were isolated by abusive mother, were later adopted by loving family, and made a full recovery -> BUT were confined together so may have formed an attachment to each other+ Bowlby's 44 Thieves study (1944) as supports that maternal deprivation can cause affectionless psychopaths
• Romania situation

  to increase population, dictator banned contraception and abortion for womenwidespread poverty, left children abandoned which is common for children with physical or mental disabilities
• Effects of institutionalisation

  - stunted intellectual development (low IQ)- stunted emotional development (throwing tantrums)- disinhibited attachment (wants attention)- quasi autism (difficulties with emotions and other autistic behaviours)
• Rutter et al (2011)


  - followed 165 Romanian orphans who were adopted at different ages - assessed their development at vary ages- the rate of recovery differed depending on when the orphans were adopted- adopted after 6 months showed DISINHIBITED attachments = overly clingy + attention seeking - adopted before 6 months were able to recover
• EVALUATE Rutter et al


  + addition support for looked after children, as people institutions need support -> target emotional regulation -> ensure emotional needs are met in state care- Romanian orphanages aren't typical -> diabilites and extreamly poor conditions -> can't generalise to adoptees- methodology issues -> focus on short-term recovery not on long term -> to increase validity need to study long term effects
• Individualists


  group of people who value rights and interests of the individual, ME
• Collectivist


  are people who place importance on collective rather than individual, WE
• Van Ijzendoorn et al

  - look at 32 studies from 8 different countries and calculated average amount of each attachment results:- secure is most common in all culture

  - *UK* highest secure *75%*, *China* lowest secure *50%*

  - individualist cultures have higher rate on *insecure avoidant* attachment

  - *Germany* highest *35%*

  - collectivist culture have higher rate on *insecure resistant* attachment

  - *Israel* (*29%*) + *Japan* (*27%*) highest
• EVALUATE Van Ijzendoorn et al

  + wide range of studies so very large sample size -> reduces impact of anomalous results, which increases validity- found differences within countries were 150% greater than the difference between countries -> study fails to account for sub-cultural differences- issues applying US test in other countries as US norms may not be normal in other countries -> lead to cultural differences in child bearing being labelled inferior
• Role of Father

  engage in rough and tumble play than mothers
• Functions of rough and tumble play

  - learning physical boundaries in play- learning to regulate aggression
• EVALUATE the Role of Father

  + FLANDERS ET AL, found father dominance during rough and tough play was associated with less aggression, whilst non-dominant fathers lead to higher aggression in the child- GROSSMAN, measured quality of attachment between a baby and both mother and father -> years later measured quality of adolescent relationships -> found infant relationships with mother impacted peer attachments as teenager, but no with father+ FIELD, compared interactions between 4 month old babies and their mother and father (as primary and secondary caregiver) -> found when father were primary caregiver, their behaviour was more similar to mothers