Attachments Revision

1. Attachments Revision The Essential Guide!!

2. Name FOUR things about Attachment

3. Attachment – What is it? • 1. An affectional tie between two people or animals • 2. A two-way process that endures over time • 3. Leads to certain behaviours such as: Clinging – Proximity seeking – Crying - Smiling • 4.Serves the function of protecting the infant or young animal (Mary Ainsworth 1970)

4. What do we mean by theseBehaviours? • And how are they essential to the development of a healthy creature? • They are all features of a Secure Attachment • Proximity Seeking • Secure Base Behaviour • Separation Anxiety • Stranger Anxiety

5. Key Terms • Proximity Seeking – Staying close to the attachment figure • Secure Base Behaviour – Regularly returning to an attachment figure when exploring • Separation Anxiety – Anxiety at being apart from an attachment figure • Stranger Anxiety – Anxiety in the presence of strangers • They are all essential for survival!

6. Why are Psychologists so interested in Attachment?

7. Why are Psychologists so interested in Attachment? • Because ALL psychologist believe that the attachment we form with our primary carer (usually our mother) forms a TEMPLATE for all future relationships - with friends, with teachers, and, in the future, with husbands and wives and in turn, OUR FUTURE CHILDREN. If our attachment with our mother is not good, psychologists believe our whole life could be put at a disadvantage.

8. Explain Attachment using the Learning Theory

9. Explanations of Attachments N0. 1 • LEARNING THEORY • All behaviour is learnt rather than inborn • Children are born blank slates and everything they become is dependent on what they experience • Learning theory is put forward by BEHAVIOURIST psychologists who say that all behaviour, including attachment is learnt by: • Classical and Operant Conditioning.

10. Classical Conditioning – Learning by AssociationOperant Conditioning – learning by Reward (Reinforcement) and Punishment • Classical Conditioning – food produces pleasure. “Feeder” (mother) becomes associated with food/pleasure so baby becomes attached to her. • Operant Conditioning – food is the primary reinforcer, “feeder” becomes the secondary reinforcer – both food and mother reduce discomfort, and therefore reward the infant and so the baby becomes attached to the mother.

11. Evaluating the Learning Theory(Sometimes called the “Cupboard Love” Theory!) • Strengths  • Learning theory suggests that the attachment develops between infant and carer because the carer provides food. And it’s true – we do learn through association and reinforcement. • Weaknesses  •  We do learn through association and reinforcement but it may not be the food that is the reinforcer, it may be the responsiveness and attention of other carer. •  If the learning theory is true: • How come babies often develop strong attachments to people who don’t feed them? • The Harlow Monkey Experiment.

12. Name, date and describe Two research studies which cast doubt on the Learning Theory

13. The Harlow Monkey Experiment • Harry Harlow, 1959 conducted research in to learning using young rhesus monkeys, kept alone. • He created two “mothers”, one with made of wire but a full feeding bottle of milk, and the other wrapped in a soft cloth but without food. • According to the learning theory the young monkeys should have become attached to the wire mother. • In fact the monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth-covered mother and would cling to it, especially when frightened.(a proximity-seeking behaviour, characteristic of attachment)

14. Schaffer and Emerson 1964 • Whilst the Harlow Monkey experiment used animals, the above study used human infants. • 60 babies (from mainly working-class Glasgow homes) were observed for a year. • Schaffer & Emerson found that infants were not most attached to the person who fed them but became attached to the person who was most responsive to them and who interacted most with them. • This reinforces the Harlow Monkey experiment and suggests that “cupboard love” is not likely to be the best explanation for attachment, although association and reinforcement may be part of the story.

15. The Evolutionary Perspective - Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment

16. Explain Bowlby’s theory of Attachment using the following terms • Survival Value Reproductive Value • Innate Drive Imprinting • Pre-programmed Social Releasers • Adaptive Sensitive Period • Monotropy Template • Internal Working Model • Continuity Hypothesis Responsive Mother

17. Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment • Bowlby’s theory is an Evolutionary theory • In his view attachment is a behaviour that has evolved because of its survival value and, ultimately, its reproductive value. • According to Bowlby, children have an innate drive to become attached to a caregiver because attachment has long-term benefits. He proposed that normal psychological development requires the development of a secure attachment between a baby and its main carer. • He also proposed the concept of imprinting – an innate readiness to develop a strong bond with a mother figure.

18. Pre-programming!! • John Bowlby said that babies are pre-programmed to behave in ways that encourage adult attention • He called these behaviours social releasers • These include “cute” behaviours such as smiling and cooing and are the child’s contribution towards an attachment. The mother’s contribution is that she must respond and react to these behaviours • He suggests these instinctive behaviours enhance survival and and are protective for the infant. He called these behaviours ADAPTIVE.

19. Sensitive Period • Bowlby said there is sensitive period from when the baby is born to around the age of 2, when the baby is programmed to form a special attachment. He called this monotropy. If something happens to damage or break this attachment, the child may develop and insecure attachment its development may well be damaged. • For a secure attachment to take place, the child’s main carer (usually the mother) needs to be attentive, SENSITIVE and responsive to thechild’s needs, during this sensitive period.

20. More about Bowlby’s theory • Bowlby said the child develops a model or template from the attachment with its mother which influences all future relationships and future parenting style. It is a prototype of all future relationships. He called this the internal working model. • The internal working model indicates a big link between early emotional experiences and later relationships. He called this the continuity hypothesis – the idea that early experiences continue to influence throughout life.

21. Give some  Strengths of Bowlby’s theory of Attachment

22. Evaluating Bowlby’s theory of Attachment - Strengths • It is considered the dominant explanation of how and why attachment develops. •  Imprinting is supported by Lorenz’s ducks •  Bowlby suggests that attachment evolved to as an aid to survival. If this is true then attachment and caregiving behaviours should be universal, in all cultures, despite differences in child-rearing practices. There is evidence to supportthis. (Tronick et al 1992)

23. Give Some Research Evidence Supporting Bowlby’s Theory 

24. Research Evidence for Bowlby’s Theory •  Schaffer and Emerson, 1964, observed that strongly attached infants had mothers who responded quickly to their demands and who offered the child the most interaction whereas weakly attached infants had mothers who failed to interact with them. •  The Minnesota longitudinal study (Sroufe et al 2005) followed children from infancy to adolescence and found continuity between their early attachment styles and their later emotional and social behaviour. This supports the continuity hypothesis.

25. And the Harlow Monkey Experiment •  Supports Bowlby’s theory that a responsive mother is needed for good, lifelong psychological health. The monkeys were not only psychologically damaged, but proved incapable of becoming effective and loving parents, themselves.

26. Give some Weaknesses  of Bowlby’s Theory

27. More Evaluation of Bowlby’s theoryWeaknesses •  The idea that attachment behaviours have evolved to promote child development has good face validity. But evolutionary ideas are very difficult to test and so difficult to prove or disprove. •  Bowlby’s theory focuses on the role of the mother. There is evidence that in two-parent families, the quality of attachment of the father can also have a big effect on the child’s development. (Grossmann and Grossmann, 1991)

28. Give an Alternative Explanation for Attachment

29. An Alternative Explanation • A key feature of Bowlby’s theory is the continuity hypothesis – the idea that there are continuities between early attachment and later social/emotional development. However Kagan, 1984 put forward • The Temperament Hypothesis, in which he proposed that we are all born with our distinct, innate temperament, and it is this that is the big factor in determining our attachment style and our subsequent emotional and social development. In other words, to some extent, our development is pre-determined by our genetic makeup. And there is evidence to support this------

30. Belsky and Rovine 1987 • Assessed babies aged one to three days old and found a link between certain psychological behaviours and later attachment types. They found that infants who were calmer and less anxious were more likely to be securely attached.

31. Name and date the procedurewhich aimed to test the nature of attachment systematically.

32. The Strange Situation – Which isAinsworth and Wittig 1969 • Laboratory Procedure using • Observation Techniques • Designed to measure the security of attachment a child displays towards its main care giver • What is being assessed? • Secure base behaviour, proximity seeking, separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, response on being reunited with care giver.

33. What is the Procedure of the Strange Situation

34. The Strange Situation –it gets its name from the fact that the baby is placed in an unfamiliar – that is, a strange room

35. What were the findings of the Strange Situation

36. Behaviours displayed by infants in The Strange Situation (Ainsworth et al 1978)

37. How did Mary Ainsworth account for the Variations in attachment types?

38. Explaining Attachment Types • Mary Ainsworth believed variation in attachment types is a result of the main carer’s behaviour towards the child.Maternal SensitivityHypothesis • High levels of maternal sensitive responsiveness = Secure attachment • Mothers who “pick up” signals and respond = Secure attachment

39. What is Secure Attachment? What did Ainsworth believe caused it?

40. Secure Attachment • This is a strong and contented attachment of an infant to its caregiver, which develops as a result of sensitive responding by the caregiver to the infant’s needs. Securely attached infants are comfortable with social interaction and intimacy. Secure attachment is related to healthy subsequent cognitive and emotional development.

41. What is Insecure Attachment?What causes it? What can it lead to? What is the difference in the various insecure attachment types?

42. What is Insecure Attachment? • Insecure attachment – This is a form of attachment between infant and caregiver that develops as a result of the caregiver’s lack of sensitive responding to the infant’s needs. It may be associated with poor subsequent cognitive and emotional development. • Insecure Avoidant Type A– children who avoid social interaction and intimacy with others. • Insecure Resistant Type C – Children who both seek and reject intimacy and social interaction. • Insecure Disorganised Type D– Children whose behaviour patterns are inconsistent and a mix of types A & C.

43. What Research Methods Were Used?

44. Research Methods used • The research room was a novel environment • A 9 X 9 foot square marked off in to 16 squares to help the recording of the infant’s movements • Research methods used were Laboratory procedure using covert and controlledobservation • Using covert observation (One-way mirrors were used to prevent participants being aware they were being observed). Knowing your behaviour is being observed is likely to alter it. • It used Controlled observation because it involved structuring the behaviour of the participants as well as the observers –the participants had to follow 8 episodes and the observers had a checklist of 5 behaviours that they had to rate every 15 seconds.

45. Give 2 Criticisms of the Strange Situation

46. 1. Is it Valid? • Validity – means are we measuring what we meant to measure. This lab procedure intended to measure the attachment types of children. Did it? A criticism is that it only measured the strength of one particular relationship, and this wasn’t necessarily with the main carer. • Others say this doesn’t matter, since Bowlby said the relationship with the main carer becomes internalised and is reflected in all other relationships-so if the child appeared insecurely attached, even if the main carer wasn’t present during the Strange Situation, the attachment type given to the child is a reflection of what is happening at home with the main carer.

47. 2. Is it Ethical? • The intention of the Strange Situation was to cause mild distress. Is this acceptable? Ainsworth claimed that the whole procedure was not intended to be any more disturbing than ordinary life experiences, yet in episode 6 (The carer leaves the child alone) 20% of infants reportedly “cried desperately”.

48. And what did Hazen and Shaver 1987 find about Adult Romantic Relationships in their Newspaper Love Quiz?

49. Love Quiz Findings

50. Name and date the Research that aimed to study Cross-Cultural Attachments What were the Aims and Procedure?