ATTACHMENT REVISION SUMMARY

ATTACHMENT REVISION SUMMARY

1. INTRODUCTION TO ATTACHMENT

   • CAREGIVER-INFANT INTERACTIONS
     • interactions: babies have frequent and important interactions w/ their caregivers
     • reciprocity: mothers respond to infant alertness. from 3 months close attention between mother and infant
     • interactional synchrony: interactions become co-ordinated.
       • Isabella et al.: quality of attachment related to synchrony
     • EVAALUATION
       • it's hard to know what is happening: you have to interpret what an infants' gestures and expressions mean
       • controlled observations: fine details of interactions are able to be made
       • purpose of synchrony and reciprocity
         • Feldman: just observations, the purpose isnt entirely understood
   • ATTACHMENT FIGURES
     • parent-infant: traditionally mother infant, other attachment figures like the father can also be important
     • the role of the father
       • Grossman et al.: attachment to the father is less important, but fathers may have a different role compared to the mother - play and stimulationj
       • fathers as primary caregiver
         • Tiffany Field: fathers as primary caregivers adopt attachment behaviour more typical of mothers
     • EVALUATION
       • inconsistent findings: different research questions make the overall picture unclear
       • children without fathers aren't different, suggesting that the father role isn't that important
       • fathers aren't always a primary attachment, maybe due to traditional gender roles or biological differences

2. SCHAFFER'S STAGES OF ATTACHMENT

   • Schaffer and Emerson
     • aim: to investigate the age of attachment formation and who attachments are formed with
     • method: 60 babies (29 female, 31 male) from Glasgow w/ skilled w/c backgrounds . Parent and child were visited monthly for 12 months, questions asked abt separation anxiety
     • findings: most babies showed attachment to a primary caregiver by 32 weeks and developed and developed multiple attachments soon after this
     • EVALUATION
       • good external validity: observations were in p's natural environment
       • longitudinal studies: the same participants were observed at each age, eliminating individual differences
       • limited sample characteristics: all families were from the same area and was carried out over 50 years ago
         • can lack generalisability
   • STAGES OF ATTACHMENT
     • 1. ASOCIAL STAGE: first few weeks - baby recognises and forms bonds w/ carers - behavior towards non-human objects and humans are the same - some preference towards individuals that calm them
       • 2. INDISCRIMINATE ATTACHMENT: 2-7 months - preference for people over objects is shown - recognises familiar adults - accept comfort from anyone and doesn't show any separation/stranger anxiety
         • 3. SPECIFIC ATTACHMENTS: from 7 months - start to show stranger/separation anxiety (especially from the mother in 65% of cases) - specific attachments formed/primary care giver established - whoever responds to the baby's' signals' the most will be considered primary caregiver
           • 4. MULTIPLE ATTACHMENTS: shortly after primary attachments are formed - attachments formed w adults they regularly spend time with (secondary attachments) - 29% of children form secondary attachments one month following primary attachments - by 1 years old multiple attachments are formed
     • EVALUATION
       • asocial behaviour: social behaviour is hard to observe in the first few weeks, but it doesn't mean that the baby is 'asocial'
       • limited measures of attachment used
       • measuring multiple attachments: just because a child protests when an adult leaves, it doesn't necessarily mean there is an attachment

3. ANIMAL STUDIES OF ATTACHMENT

   • Lorenz
     • procedure: goslings separated from birth mother, saw Lorenz when they first hatched
     • findings: newly hatched chicks attached to the first moving objects they saw (imprinting)
       • Goslings began to follow and copy Lorenz, - they thought he was the birth mother
     • sexual imprinting: adult birds tried to mate w whatever object/species they imprinted on
     • EVALUATION
       • generalisability: birds and mammals have different attachment systems to Lorenz's results - it may not be applicable to humans
       • Guiton et al: chickens imprinted on yellow rubber gloves and wold try to mate w them as adults
         • from experience they soon learned to prefer mating w other chickens
           • imprinting behaviour isn't as permanent as Lorenz beleived
   • Harlow
     • procedure: baby monkeys were given a cloth or wire mother w/ a feeding bottle attached
     • findings: monkeys clung onto the surrogate mother (that provided comfort), rather than the wire mother (which provided food)
       • showed that 'contact comfort' was more important than physiological needs
     • maternally deprive monkeys grew up to be dysfunctional and unable to form strong attchments
       • they were more aggressive and less sociable than other monkeys, they also bred less often than typical monkeys
     • critical period: after 90 days monkeys were unable to form attachments
     • EVALUATION
       • theoretical value: demonstrates that attachment depends more on contact comfort than feding
       • ethical issues: suffering of the monkeys would be human-like

4. LEARNING THEORY OF ATTACHMENT

   • CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
     • caregiver (NS) is associated w food (UCS) - the caregiver then becomes the the conditioned stimulus
   • OPERANT CONDITIONING
     • crying behaviour is POSITIVELY REINFORCED for the infant, but is NEGATIVELY REINFORCED for the caregiver
   • ATTACHMENT AS A SECONDARY DRIVE
     • attachment becomes a secondary drive through asociation w hunger
   • EVALUATION
     • animal studies: Lorenz and Harlow show that feeding isn't the key to attachment
     • human research
       • Schaffer and Emerson
         • most primary attachments figures were the mother even when other figures did most of the feeding
     • it ignores other factors: it cannot account for the importance of sensitivity and interactional synchrony
     • some elements of conditioning could still be involved - there is no new learning theory exlapanation

5. BOWLBY'S THEORY OF ATTACHMENT

   • ASCMI
     • A - ADAPTIVE: evolution suggests that a behaviour that increases the chances of survival will be carried into the genetics of future offspring
     • S - SOCIAL RELEASERS: any characteristic that has the purpose of causing a caring response from a care giver
     • M - MONOTROPY: infants have one special, more important emotional bond (primary attachment relationship) - the individual is usually (but not always) the biological mother
     • C - CRITICAL PERIOD: states that there is a time period for when babies have the drive to form attachment - this is around 2 years old in humans
       • if an attachment isn't former during this period babies will struggle to form future attachments
     • I - INTERNAL WORKING MODEL: using experience of relationships from childhood to form a ' blueprint' for future relationships
       • the role of SCHEMAS play a significant role - they act as a template for all future relationships w both partners and offspring
         • this creates expectations for future relationships
   • EVALAUTION
     • mixed evidence for MONOTROPY
       • Schaffer and Emerson: it is possible for an infant to develop multiple attachments of equal importance
     • support for SOCIAL RELEASERS
       • Meltzoff and Moore: observed that interactional synchrony can begin at as young as 2 months
       • STILL FACE EXPERIMENT: shows that children require a response to their social releasers so much that they become extremely distressed when it isn't forthcoming
       • Bowlby: infants are born w the instinct to cause a response from their caregiver
     • support fr the INTERNAL WORKING MODEL
       • Harlow: monkeys were unable to form typical attachments when older
       • Bailey et al: found that mothers who reported poor attachment w their parents were more likely to have a 'poor attachment ratning'
     • monotropy is a socially sensitive idea
     • temperament may be as important as attachment

6. AINSWORTH'S STRANGE SITUATION

   • procedure: 7-stage (minute) controlled observation through 2 way mirrors
     • PROXIMITY SEEKING: infants w god attachment will stay close to the caregiver
     • EXPLORATION & SECURE-BASE BEHAVIOUR: good attachment enables a child to feel confident to explore, using the caregiver a secure-base
     • STRANGER ANXIETY: signs of being closely attached is to protest when separated from the caregiver
     • REUNION BEHAVIOUR: reuniting w the caregiver after being separated for a sort period of time
   • findings: there were 3 distinct patterns/types of attachment
     • SECURE ATTACHMENT (TYPE B): explored happily, regularly went back to the caregiver - moderate separation distress/stranger anxiety - require and accept comfort in the reunion stage
       • 60-75% of British toddlers classified as secure
     • INSECURE-AVOIDANT (TYPE A): explore freely but don't seek proximity or show secure base behaviour - little to no reaction when CG leaves, little effort to make contact when CG returns - showed little stranger anxiety, no comfort needed @ reunion stage
       • 20-25% of toddlers are described as insecure-avoidant
     • INSECURE-RESISTANT (TYPE C): seek greater proximity than others and explores less - show huge stranger and separation anxiety, but resist comfort when reunited w CG
       • 3% of British toddlers classify as insecure-resistant

7. ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDIES: THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION

   • Rutter's ERA (English and Romanian Adoptees) Study, 2011
     • procedure
       • 165 Romanian orphans
       • physical, cognitive and emotional development was assessed at the ages of 4, 6, 11 and 16
       • a group of 52 British orphans adopted at the same time were used as a control group
     • findings
       • when first in the UK
         • 50% showed signs of delayed intellectual development
         • the majority were severely mslnourished
       • mean IQ at the age of 11
         • adopted before 6 months: 102
         • adopted between 6 months-2 years: 86
         • adopted after 2 years: 77
       • differences remained at 16 years old
       • those adopted after 6 moths showed a DISINHIBITED attachment style: attention seeking, clingy, indiscriminate social behaviour
     • EVALUATION