Attachment

• Reciprocity- When infant and caregiver 'take turns' in actions. The more intense the reciprocity the stronger the attachment
• Study for reciprocity:

  Meltzoff & Moore

  Babies as young as 2 weeks would attempt to imitate facial/physical gestures when 3 different expressions were displayed to them by an adult Tronick...Still face experiment shows importance of reciprocity between caregiver/infant interactions
• Interactional synchrony- When infant and caregiver mirror one another or move in a coordinated way. The more in synch they are, the stronger the attachment
• Study for interactional synchrony:

  Isabella et al.

  Babies with a secure attachment would display more synchronous behaviour with their caregiver than insecurely attached individuals indicating importance of interactional synchrony for the foundations of an attachment
• AO3 for caregiver-infant interactions

  :( Socially sensitive as Isabella's study suggests that mothers must stay home and therefore cannot have a job

  :( infants behaviour is not operationalisable/ measurable and conclusions may be an interpretation so cannot claim a causal relationship therefore low internal validity
• What are the 4 stages of attachment

  1) Asocial (no preference between people/objects)

  2) Indiscriminate (prefer humans to objects)

  3) Specific (special attachment to one caregiver)

  4) Multiple (multiple attachments)
• How were these stages developed and by who?

  Schaffer and Emerson

  Longitudinal study in Glasgow with 60 infants and mothers over every month of the 1st year and again at 18 months interviews with caregivers stranger anxiety separation anxiety used this data to develop 4 stages
• A03 for stages of attachment:

  :) Longitudinal study so large amount of data could be collected

  :( low population validity as all infants were from same place and same working class therefore application to other demographics is limited and may have cultural bias

  :( social desirability bias as the mothers were also reporting on the infants behaviour personally

  :) high ecological validity as the infants were observed in their own homes rather than an artificial setting
• Explain Bowlby's Explanation for attachment

  • It is an evolutionary theory states that we attach because it puts us at an advantage for survival. Consists of different components...

  1. Adaptive
  2. 2. Social Releasers
  3. 3. Critical period
  4. 4. Monotropy
  5. 5. Internal Working Model
• Explain 1. Adaptive

  This refers to the evolutionary nature of attachment and that we have adapted over time to form attachments by means of social releasers, monotropy and critical periods which lead to the development of the internal working model (IWM)
• Explain 2. Social Releasers

  These are innate characteristics and behaviours that we have developed to elicit affection and reaction from caregivers. For example, infants will coo and display behaviours that increase the attention and affection they will receive from their caregiver. This is an evolutionary trait that we have developed so that caregivers will want to take care of us as infants.
• Explain 3. Critical Period

  This is the time in which it is very important that we make an attachment. Bowlby suggested that this period lasts until 5 years of age, however, 6 months is the time in which it is very important to form a primary attachment. If deprived of a caregiver or privated beyond this period - the emotional and intelligence development of the infant will be hugely impacted.
• Explain 4. Monotropy

  Bowlby suggests that it is very important for the infants to have a primary attachment to their mother or else their development will be severely impacted and that this attachment is the most important one
• Explain 5. IWM

  This is the idea that we create a framework for all future relationships based off of our attachment to our mother. Therefore, the attachment we form to our mothers (caregivers) during the critical period will determine our relationships for the rest of our lives.
• What were Bowlby's Laws?

  • Law of continuity- constant and predictable care leads to stronger and healthier attachment
  • Law of accumulated separation- idea that each seperation between mother and infant increased the effect of maternal deprivation and the safest dose is 0
• Bowlby's Laws:

  • Law of accumulated separation: each separation between mother and infant increases the effect of maternal deprivation, with the safest dose being 0
  • Law of continuity: constant and predictable care leads to stronger and healthier attachment
• AO3 limitations for Bowlby's explanation of attachment:

  • Validity: Schaffer and Emerson questioned the validity of monotropy as infants can form multiple attachments during the critical period; the primary attachment being the strongest doesn't necessarily mean it is of the highest quality
  • Social Sensitivity: Bowlby's insistence that mothers should be the primary caregiver/attachment conforms to patriarchal norms, suggesting mothers must stay at home
• AO3 strengths for Bowlby's explanation of attachment

  
  

  - Research support, Brazelton et al....

  support for social releasers as when primary caregiver ignores social releasers then the child can become extremely distressed illustrating importance of SRs in emotional development

  
  

  - Research support, Bailey et al...

  99 mothers assessed in attachment with their 1 y/o infants and then their attachment to their own mothers assessed, was found that strong attachment with own mother = strong attachment with baby illustrating role of the IWM
• Extra A* evaluation

  However, there are issues with Bailey's research because there are other influences on attachment strength such as a genetic disposition to anxiety which could be interpreted as symptoms of insecure attachment. This suggests that Bowlby overstates the importance of the internal working model and it may be a reductionist, low level explanation as it ignores biological factors and potential socio-cultural factors
• Describe how classical conditioning can be used to explain attachment

  primary caregiver = neutral stimulus

  food = unconditioned stimulus

  Joy and love of food = Unconditioned response

  An association will grow between joy/love and the caregiver that gives the infant food

  Therefore...

  Primary caregiver = conditioned stimulus

  Joy/love = conditioned
• Describe how Operant conditioning can be used to explain attachment

  positive reinforcement = baby cries and will receive food/comfort

  negative reinforcement = if baby receives food/comfort then it will stop crying
• Explain what is meant by drive reduction in the context of the learning theory

  The idea that infants are born with an innate drive of hunger in order to receive food that only its mother can reduce and replace with attachment as a secondary drive for food.
• AO3 for the learning theory

  :( Lack of support....

  - Harlow and Lorenz both disprove this theory

  - Schaffer & Emerson show babies attach to primary caregiver regardless of who feeds them the most

  - Isabella/Feldman suggest attachment is a two way street and that the infant is never passive in this process and that the SLT approach would be more appropriate.
• Explain the theory of Maternal deprivation + who proposed it?

  Proposed by John Bowlby - Maternal deprivation is when an infant is separated from their mother for a prolonged amount of time/ forever which can lead to long term effects in development such as emotional and physical defects.
• What is affectionless psychopathy and how does it tie to maternal deprivation?

  This is where someone can feel no guilt, remorse or empathy for others and Bowlby suggests that it is developed as a result of maternal deprivation as the child did not fully develop emotionally.
• Summarise Bowlby's 44 thieves study?

  Interviews with 44 adolescent thieves revealed that 14/44 were affectionless psychopaths and that 12/14 had experienced maternal deprivation. This illustrates the impact of maternal deprivation on later life and how it can lead to affectionless psychopathy which may result in reckless behaviour such as theft
• AO3 strengths for maternal deprivation

  -Goldfarb found that children who had been fostered had a higher IQ than children who had stayed in an institution

  -44 thieves study
• AO3 limitations for maternal deprivation?

  Socially sensitive as it tells mothers to stay at home in order to prevent their children developing affectionless psychopathy

  There may be confusion distinguishing between privation and deprivation. For example Rutter found that Romanian orphans who had experienced privation showed similar symptoms to that of maternal deprivation however they had not experienced the same thing.

  Therefore, there is a lack of a causal relationship/clarity
• Extra A* evaluation

  In addition, replications of the study have all mostly failed suggesting that the results of the study may have been subjective to place and time and therefore the results are not generalisable

  While the 44 thieves study acts as supporting evidence for maternal deprivation it may be subject to bias as Bowlby carried out the interviews by himself
• What is institutionalisation in the context of attachment?

  It is the effect of growing up in an environment that is not typical of a family climate such as an orphanage or a children's home where there is no primary caregiver. This often results in a lack of emotional care so children are unable to form attachments/suffer from privation.
• Summarise the Romanian Orphan study into the effect of Institutionalisation Procedure:

  Rutter et al studied 165 romanian orphans (111 of which adopted before the age of 2 and 54 adopted before the age of 4)The control group was 52 British children adopted before the age of 6 months

  Information was also collected from interviews with teachers and parents.
• What were the findings?

  Romanians were very far behind in physical and social development

  Many children adopted after 6 months exhibited disinhibited attachment and experienced difficulty with peer relationships
• Summarise Zeanah et als Procedure

  Assessed attachment in 95 children of ages 12-31 months who had spent 90% of their lives in institutional care

  Compared their attachment to 50 children who had never lives in institutional care

  Attachment type was measured through the strange situation as well as interviews with carers
• What are some of the effects of institutionalisation?

  • physical underdevelopment (called deprivation dwarfism by Gardner)
  • "mental retardation" according to Rutter
  • Disinhibited attachment
• Are these permanent affects?

  Not necessarily. For example, Rutter found that those who were adopted before 6 months caught up by the age of 4 and therefore emotional development and intellectual development can be recovered.
• AO3 institutionalisation

  :( Individual Differences not all institutions were the same and some children would have received varying levels of attention that could have influenced their ability to attach

  :) Real - life application as these studies have enhanced the understanding of the effects of institutionalisation

  :( Atypical situation

  The Romanian orphanages had particularly poor standards and low levels of intellectual stimulation which are not necessarily generalisable to other institutions with better care
• Explain Bowlby's theory of attachment

  Bowlby suggested that attachments are formed because of evolution as being attached gives a higher chance of survival

  
  

  Components of the theory include (a snap chat makes images)

  1. Adaptive

  2. Social Releasers

  3. Critical period

  4. Monotropy

  5. Internal working model (IWM)
• What did Grossman find about the Role of the Father?

  • Longitudinal study of babies attachments into their teenage years
  • Quality of attachment to father was not related to attachment in adolescence while mothers were
  • However quality of play with father in adolescence had a big impact on quality of later attachment
  • suggests that mothers are more important for emotional development
  • suggests that fathers are more important for play and stimulation
• What did Field find about the Role of the Father?

  
  

  Primary caregivers who were fathers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding babies just as primary caregiver mothers do Smiling, imitating and holding are all factors of R/IS Therefore it does not matter what the gender of the primary attachment figure is but their interaction with the infant
• AO3 for Role of the Father

  :( Confusion over research questions mixed ideas about context of the fathers perceived role and may be subject to cultural bias

  :) Real-world application can be used for advice to parents/ explain how to form a stronger attachment with your infant especially if not a heteronormative family situation

  :( Conflicting evidence

  Other studies with non-heteronormative families found that children do not develop differently to those in heteronormative family whereas Grossman's study suggests that Fathers and Mothers have a very distinct role in development