ATTACHMENT PSYA1

ATTACHMENT PSYA1

1. Learning theory

   • All behaviour is learnt rather than innate tendancies. Attachment is something we learn, we are not born attached to things. We learn to become attached to people/ things through either classical or operant conditioning.
   • Classical Conditioning (Learnt) - we become attached to someone because we associate them with something pleasurable. - US causes the feeling of pleasure. - UCR is the reaction to the conditioned stimulus (pleasure) - NS causes no response - conditioning takes place when pairing the UCS and NS. The NS becomes the CS and causes the CR (feeling of pleasure)
   • Operant Conditioning (Haven't learnt) - learning theough reinforcing - attachment occurs because the child seeks the personwho can supply the reward (food) - the caregiver is the person who givesw the reward so becomes associated with the reward. - baby feels uncomfortable because it is hungry and is driven to reduce discomfort when it is fed it feels pleasure - positive reinforcement is when a reward is given for doing somethingnegative.

2. PDD model - Robertson & Bowlby 1952

   • Disruption to attachment
     • SEPERATION: Being seperated from the primary caregiver for a relatively short period of time
     • DEPRIVATION: Being seperated from primary caregiver for longer periods of time or complete loss of attachment (put into care/orphanage)
     • PRIVATION: lack of attachement
     • Case studies on seperation
       • Robertson and Bowlby 1952
         • Researched the effects of physical seperation. they observed a 2 year old child, Laura, who was selected at random. she was hospitalised for 8 days (minor operation) They filme laura on her ward using a cine camera. they didnt want to be acccused of only filming Laura when she was distressed so they used an unbias time-sampling technique, filming two 40 minute sessions at the same time each day. The film showed Laura alternating between periods of calm and distress. When her parents visit occasionally, she begs to go home, but as time goes on she tries to cope with the dissappointment of having to stay. THIS IS CALLED LEARNED HELPLESSNESS.
   • Protest: child will cry, scream and protest angrily when caregiver leaves. likely to try and cling, escape from others who pick them up
   • Despair: After a while, child angrily protests begins to subside & they appear calmer although still visibly upset
   • Detachment: If seperation continues, child may begin to engage with other people again although warey, likely to reject the caregiver on return

3. Insecure and Secure attachments

   • MARY AINSWORTH STRANGE SITUATION
     • Observed using video cameras. Two comfortable chairs. Play are with set of toys
     • 8 Episodes lasting 3 minutes
       • 1. Parent and infant play
       • 2. Parent sits while infant plays explores (using parent as secure base)
       • 3. stranger enters and talks to parent (stranger anxiety
       • 4. Parent leaves, infant plays, stranger offers comfort if needed (seperation anxiety)
       • 5. Parent returns, greets infant, offors comfort if needed; stranger leaves (reunion behaviour)
       • 6. Parent leaves infant alone (seperation anxiety)
       • 7. Stranger enters and offors comfort (stranger anxiety)
       • 8. Parent returns, greets infant, offors comfort (reunion behaviour)
     • Ainsworth identified 3 main attachment types.. (1) secure 66% - not likely to cry if caregiver leaves, easily soothed, comfortable with social interaction
     • Insecure aviodant 22% - aviod social interaction, happy to explore with or without presence of caregiver. high levels of anxiousness
     • Insecure resistant 12% - seek and reject intimicy, display convicting desires for and against contact
   • Evidence that challenges Ainsworth.. Main and Soloman - argued that there is a fourth attachment type - INSECURE DISORGANISED. the behaviour patterns of these babies did not fir into the three catagories Ainsworth suggested as the infants behaviour was inconsistant.
   • METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES OF AINSWORTH
     • Research carried out in unfarmiliar environment
     • some have argued that this study lacks ecological validity because it is in an unfarmiliar room.
     • Evidence to support ainsworth: Van injzendoorn andDe wolff. carried out a met analysis to assess the relationshipo between parental sensitivity and the security of babies' attachment. analysed results of 66 studies, over 4000 familires. they found a condition between sensitivity and attachment - more sensitive caregivers have more strongly attached babies
       • the maternal sensitivity hypothesis: according to Ainsworth, more sensitive/ responsive mothers, the more secure the attachment

4. Effects of institutionalisation and privation

   • Deprivation Dwarfism
     • Gardner 1972 - used case studies such as once where a girl was birn with a malformation that meant she had be fed through a tube - mother didnt even pick her up as she was scared of dislodging the tube. at 8 months old she was withdrawen and physically stunted and admitted to hospital. she thrived on the attention & soon returned to norma, despite o change in diet, Gardner suggested emotional neglect may affect production of hormones such as growth hormones
   • Poor Parenting
     • Quinton 1984 - compared groups of 50 women raised in institutions, with a control group of 50 women reared sat home. when in their 20's it was found that thse raised in institutions were experiencing extreme difficulties acting as parents. more of the ex - institutional mothers had their children spent time in care
   • Privation
     • Genie (recovery after privation not possible. a social worker discovered her a 15 1/2 year old girl who was still ion nappies. when she was discovered, social services assumed she was 6/7 years old with autism. Clearly something was wrong. she didnt talk, could hardely walk. genie was emotionally and physically deprived for all her life. genie never fuly recovered socially. she appeared to show disinterest in other people. her lack of recovery may be due to the late age at whoch she was discovered.
       • conclusion of genie - extreme privation and abuse, limited success limitations = not developmentally normal - late age of discovers (Bowlbys critical period)
     • Koluchova twins (recovery after privatioon is possible. twin boys bor. brought up in care after death of their mother. at 18 months old they returned to live with their father and step-mum. suffered from serious privation until they were taken into care at 7 years old. they attended school for children with learning difficulties for intense rehabilitation. they were adopted by two sisters who provided a secure and permanent home for them. they developed average intelligence and formed strong emotional bonds. developed into happy, social boys who attended mainstream school. early damage has been totally repaired.
       • conclusions - locked in cellar and beated up - no language or gestures - adopted at 9
       • argued that this may be deprivation as they had eachother to form an attachment to
     • similarities - Both suffered from privation
     • Differences - 1. twins had eachother to form an attachment to, genie only had herself. - 2. the twins were always spoken to and genie wasn't. -3. twins found at 7 years, genie found at 12.
     • HODGES AND TIZARD 1989
       • NATURAL EXOPERIMENT - examined long term effects of emotional privation
       • procedure; -examined 65 children from early life to adolescents - children had been placed in institution when less than 4 months old. - children not yet formed attachemntd. by the time children were 2 years old they had an average of 24 caregivers. they showed unusual attachement behaviours to any of the aduklts. staff at home were discouraged from forming relationships with the children.
         • rather than showing a fear of strangers, they would run to any adult that entered the room
         • they would cry when the adult left, despite the fact no attachments were made
       • by age of 4, they had around 50 carers. a change took place...
         • 25 were restored to their biological parents
         • a group of 3 were adopted
         • 7 remained in care
         • INDEPENDANT VARIABLE
       • at age of 16, children took part in an interview with a key adult(mum./dad/carer)
         • some teachersd and same sex peers completed a questionnaire to assess their attachment behaviour (Dependant variable)

5. EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION

   • Rutter et al
     • romanian orphans
       • natural experiment
     • this study compared romanian orphans who were adopted by UK families. the romanian infants had entered the orphanage between 1 and 2 weeks old. the conditions in the orphanage were very poor.
     • an on going longitudional study that studies romanian orphans who were adopted by UK, families; - 58 babies adopted before 6 month old - 59 babies adopted between 6 and 24 month old - 48 were classerd as late adoptees (2 and 4 years)
     • the longer the childtren were in the institution, the more disinhibitation behaviours were shown and the harder it is after theyre adopted to form attachments.
       • institutional care effects them emotionally and cognitively

6. DAYCARE AND AGRESSION

   • BORGE ET AL 2004
     • USED SAMPLE OF 3,431 2 - 3 YEAR OLDS LIVING IN CANADA - THEY COMPARED HOME REARED CHILDREN WITH DAY CARE CHILDREN - MATERNAL QUESTIONNAIRES WERE USED TO ASK ABOUT THE CHILDS LEVEL OF AGGRESSION
     • findings show that aggresion was higher in home reared children than day care children.
     • this implies that day care is the mjost important in determing the effectsa on the child
     • fficukt to draw conclusions about effects of day care on childs development - culture, study carried out in swededn (day care very well funded) - difficult to generaalise findings
     • difficult to identify if aggression is the result of day care only - you may get agressive children due to; parents income, mothers sensitivity, physical deprivation