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Flashcards

Psychology - Attachment

Megan Griffiths Psychology A level English 71 cards

Cards in this deck (71)

  1. 1What is an attachment?An attachment is a strong emotional bond that develops over time between an infant and its caregiver or caregivers. It is reciprocal since each partner is attached to the other, and behaviour is reciprocated. For example, this means that when an infant smiles at its caregiver, the caregiver smiles back. Likewise, if a caregiver smiles at an infant, then the infant will smile back – and this occurs from a very young age indeed Research by Meltzoff and Moore (1997) and Feldman (2007) have shown that infants as young as a few days old seek to reciprocate the facial or physical gestures of their caregivers. This pattern of reciprocity should continue to strengthen over the first few months of the infant’s life (provided that the infant is receiving good quality, consistent care), such that interactional synchrony then develops. This is where both the infant’s and the caregiver’s behaviour are harmonised to a high degree, such that each is in tune with the other, and responds accordingly.
  2. 2What is international synchrony and what are the four behaviours of attachment?Interactional synchrony is an important feature of secure attachment, and infants who lack interactional synchrony with their caregivers are more likely to be insecurely attached.
    Maccoby (1980) identified four behaviours which demonstrate attachment in young children. These are:
    - Seeking proximity (closeness) especially in times of stress
    - Distress on separation
    - Pleasure when reunited
    - General orientation towards the caregiver
  3. 3Operant conditioning: BF Skinner's rat experiment?The concept of operant conditioning stems from BF Skinner (father of behaviourism) who worked on learned behaviour in animals. He designed a special cage called a Skinner box. The cage had a lever on one wall which, when accidentally pressed by the animal (usually a rat) during its exploration of the cage, released a pellet of food. The animal soon learned to press the lever in order to gain a food reward. This is positive reinforcement: action plus reward (reinforcer) causes the action to be repeated. Eg. we work and get paid, or we work hard at a sport and get a trophy.
    Skinner also worked on negative reinforcement. He electrified one half of the grid on the floor and made a noise, the rat learned to move. Thus negative reinforcement is avoidance learning: warning followed by action equals avoidance.
    A real life example of negative reinforcement is smoking. The reduction in nicotine causes cravings which are satisfied by having another cigarette. The cigarette switches off the unpleasant feelings of the craving and so smoking behaviour is likely to be repeated.
  4. 4Classical conditioning and stimuli/responseEg. a new-born child cries (hunger). Negatively enforcing parents to feed, positively enforcing baby to cry when hungry.
    Classical conditioning is based on an involuntary association between two stimuli. Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov noticed that the dogs in his lab salivated to footsteps. These are:
    - Unconditioned stimulus (US)
    - Unconditioned response (UR)
    - Conditioned stimulus (CS)
    - Conditioned response (CR)
    Using these terms to explain Pavlov’s observations would give:
    Food (US) → Salivation (UR) (This is the normal reflex)
    Food (US) + Sound of footsteps (CS) → Salivation
    Eventually:
    Sound of footsteps (CS) → Salivation (CR)
    Milk (US) produces pleasure (UR). The feeder becomes associated (CS) with the milk since they are always present. Then baby feels secondary pleasure in the company of the person who normally feeds it (CR) even on the occasions when food is not offered.
    According to learning theory, this is the basis of the attachment bond. This idea has become known as the ‘cupboard love hypothesis’, since it sees food as the main reason for attachment.
  5. 5Schaffer and Emerson (1964)'s stages of attachment?Schaffer and Emerson (1964) conducted a longitudinal study in which they studied 60 babies at monthly intervals for the first 18 months of their life. From their observations they were able to identify four phases of attachment:
    1. The pre-attachment phase – no particular attachment to any particular person; instead respond to any care giving
    2. Indiscriminate attachment phase – from 6 weeks to 7 months the infant will show a preference for one care giver – they have learnt to distinguish between primary and secondary care giver
    3. The discriminate attachment phase – from about 7 to 11 months the infant will have a strong preference for one person for comfort and security. May show fear or anxiety when separated from main caregiver or with stranger. Infant may experience what is known as separation anxiety
    4. Multiple attachment phase – evident after about 9 months, where the infant becomes more independent, forms attachments with others such as grandparents, fathers, older siblings, even other care givers, such as nursery staff, if the infant is placed in such an environment
  6. 6Notes on Schaffer's attachment theoryIt’s worth noting that whilst Schaffer’s attachment theory does give us some idea of how this process can occur during the early stages of life, there are other factors to consider that can have an impact upon the extent to which attachment of this nature can occur. For example, we would need to consider the fact that some children do not necessarily have a primary care giver, as a child could be raised in an orphanage, so the opportunity for attachment is diminished somewhat. Also, we cannot assume that the quality of care giving is any good. Responses of the care giver to the needs of the infant could be slow, inconsistent and even negligent.
  7. 7ReciprocityThe word reciprocal means two-way, or something that is mutual. Infant and caregiver are both active contributors in the interaction and are responding to each other. This is referred to as reciprocity.
  8. 8Interactional synchronyThe word synchrony means a simultaneous action or occurrence. Interactional synchrony relates to the timing and pattern of the interaction. The interaction is rhythmic and can include infant and caregiver mirroring each other’s behaviour and emotion. The infant and caregiver’s behaviours and affect are synchronised because they are moving in the same, or a similar, pattern.
    Condon and Sander (1974) have investigated interactions between infants and caregivers in particular in relation to responses to adult speech. In their paper they report “As early as the first day of life, the human neonate moves in precise and sustained segments of movement that are synchronous with the articulated structure of adult speech”.
    According to research by Meltzoff and Moore (1983) infants as young as 3 days imitate the facial expression of adults. This implies that this ability to mirror is an innate behaviour.
  9. 9Evaluation of Learning Theory as an Explanation of AttachmentLearning theory predicts that the strongest attachment will be with the person who offers the greatest pleasure to the infant; most likely this will be the person who feeds it. However, Shaffer and Emerson (1964) found that this was not always true. They found that fewer than half the infants they observed had a primary (preferred, strongest) attachment to the person who fed them and took care of their physical needs. In addition, these theories can’t explain why many children become attached to abusive or neglectful parents (Schaffer 1971).
  10. 10The importance of fathersOften said that mother is primary care giver but what about fathers? It is possible for an infant to have multiple attachment after seven months. However, baby has significant attachment to mother, less attachment to father. According to Bowlby (1988), fathers can be significant when it comes to attachment and development. Human evolution theories suggest the father protected and provided whilst the mother was the care giver. As societies developed, gender roles changed, now it is evident that fathers are capable of providing the care giving role and therefore attaching to their children. However generally, mothers are biologically and hormonally programmed to bond, but fathers are able to replicate behaviours of ‘mothering’. According to Greenberg and Morris (1974), fathers who are actively involved in the pregnancy, delivery and holds the infant after birth, are more likely to be actively and positively involved during the attachment phases. Absent fathers can have an impact on a child’s psychological and social development, potentially causing long term, irreparable damage.
  11. 11Lorenz's Imprinting TheoryLorenz (1935) started from the premise that social bonds in animals are formed by imprinting and in order to demonstrate how this worked he took a large clutch of goose eggs and kept them until they were about to hatch out. Half of the eggs were placed with a goose mother, and Lorenz kept the other half beside himself for several hours.
    When the geese hatched Lorenz imitated the actions and noises of a mother goose such as making quacking sounds, resulting in the baby geese regarding him as their mother, following him. The other group followed the mother goose.
    Lorenz found that geese followed the first moving object they saw after hatching and it was this process he referred to as imprinting. On the basis of this, he suggested that the process of attachment is innate and, as such, imprinting occurs without any feeding taking place. Lorenz theorised, based on his observations, that if attachment did not occur within the first 32 hours then attachment would not develop.
  12. 12Harlow and Zimmerman (1959)'s experimentsPerhaps one of the most convincing pieces of evidence that food is not the main reason for attachment comes from Harlow and Zimmerman’s (1959) work with rhesus monkeys. It was clear that these infant monkeys relied upon their mothers for food, protection, socialisation and comfort, but what Harlow and Zimmerman wanted to know was what the basis of this attachment was.
    Infant monkeys were taken from mother shortly after birth and raised in a cage with two ‘surrogate’ mothers. The ‘surrogate’ mothers were not living mammals but rather made of wire, with one having a feeding bottle attached and the other covered with terry towelling cloth.
    Behavioural theory of attachment suggests that infants form attachments with a carer that provides food, so the purpose of this test was to see if food theories were correct; that the monkeys would attach to the wire mother since it provided food. Contrary evolutionary theory suggests that infants have a biological need for touch and physical contact for comfort.
  13. 13Harlow and Zimmerman (1959)'s experiment resultsThe findings of this experiment was, all monkeys preferred the soft towel covered surrogate mother and would spend many hours clinging to it, only briefly leaving it to feed from the wire mother. In addition, the baby monkeys were very distressed if the soft mother was removed from the cage; the infants would explore new toys but only if soft mother was in the room and they ran to the soft mother and hid their face when a clockwork teddy bear was introduced to the cage.
    This work suggests that rather than food being the centre of attachment behaviour, the need to keep proximity to a ‘tactile-comfort’ mother-figure seems to be the main factor in attachment behaviour. This supports the evolutionary explanations of attachment.
    Harlow and Zimmerman’s findings suggest that clinging was a natural response and that the need for physical interaction was critical during the first months of life. However, we must remember that although this work has many parallels with observations on humans, it uses primates. Also no social is unrealistic and damaging.
    Ethical questions - to mum and baby
  14. 14Bowlby's TheoryThe work of Harlow influenced the work of Bowlby, a famous child psychologist who began working on attachment in the 1940s. After looking closely at the behaviour of children who were evacuated during World War II, he put forward a theory of attachment in 1959.
    His theory was based on the work of ethologist Konrad Lorenz (1935) who found that Greylag geese and other birds, which are mobile after hatching, have evolved a special survival mechanism called imprinting. This mechanism makes the bird instinctively follow the first thing it sees (even if that happened to be Lorenz himself!). He also found that this must occur within a critical period of 32 hours after hatching or it would not occur at all.
  15. 15Bowlby's monotrophy theoryIt is clear that imprinting has survival value in animals which are mobile soon after birth as it keeps them close to their parents and safe from predators. But how does this relate to humans? Bowlby believed that human infants have a similar survival mechanism: an innate drive to become attached, which makes them want to keep proximity to a preferred attachment figure. He believed that, although a child might have many attachments, he or she had the tendency to seek out one special attachment to his preferred or primary attachment figure (usually this is still the mother, though there is no reason why a primary caregiver could not also be the father). This idea is called monotropy: that the primary caregiver can only bond with one infant at a time, and that having one primary caregiver is how a child attaches.
  16. 16Bowlby's social releasers?In order to establish an attachment, Bowlby further believed that the baby was born with innate mechanisms called social releasers (such as crying and smiling) specifically designed to make their parents want to care for them. Like Lorenz, Bowlby believed that attachment must happen within an optimal window of development known as the sensitive period. He believed that, in humans, this period was during the first three years of life.
    He also believed that attachment to primary caregiver gave the child an internal working model or blueprint on which all his or her future relationships would be based (the continuity hypothesis) and that disruption to or lack of an attachment bond during the sensitive period could have serious consequences for the mental health of the child in later life. This period is not surprisingly referred to as the critical period – a time when a child’s exposure to certain stimuli or experiences encourages and results in proper development. Bowlby said, because of this critical period a child should stay with his/her primary caregiver for at least 2 ½ years.
  17. 17Observations (Evolutionary adaptive behaviours in children which support Bowlby’s ideas)- Having an intense stranger fear protects infants from predators; this is usually strongest from 9 to 18 months when child is mobile and able to move away from caregiver
    - Seeking proximity and having separation anxiety when the primary caregiver is removed; this reinforces the adaptive behaviour that the child cannot be left behind by the caregiver
  18. 18Idea: Social releasersSupport:
    Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
    Babies become sociable at around 6 weeks. By 7 months show separation anxiety and fear of strangers.
  19. 19Idea: MonotropyRefute:
    Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
    By 18 months 87% of babies had multiple attachments. Strongest bond not always with the mother.
  20. 20Idea: Continuity hypothesis (internal working model)Support:
    Hazan and Shaver (1987)
    Studying respondents to a newspaper ‘Love Quiz’ and a group of undergraduates, Harzan and Shaver found a strong relationship between childhood attachment type and adult attachment type.
    Black and Schutte (2006)
    A study of 205 young adults found that those who recalled positive relationships with their mothers were more likely to seek comfort from their partners. Those who recalled positive relationships with their fathers were more likely to rely on their partners.
    Refute:
    Zimmerman et al (2000)
    Assessment of children’s attachment type at 12-18 months and again at 16 years suggested that childhood attachment was not a good predictor of adolescent attachment. Major life events such as death and divorce have an important impact on later attachment and continuity may only exist in the absence of such events.
    Main and Goldwyn (1984)
    Many who experience bad childhoods and insecure attachments go on to develop positive and secure relationships. Positive school experiences and strong adult attachments may be helpful in developing trust and security.
  21. 21Other Attachments (Multiple attachments)Bowlby’s ideas were formulated in the 1950s. Most mothers at this time stayed at home to raise children while the father went out to work. It is therefore understandable why he believed the mother was the most important attachment figure in a child’s life, and focused on the role of the mother as being the primary caregiver.
    However, modern research has shown that it is desirable for a child to have multiple attachments. For example, Lamb (1983) found that fathers are more likely to be chosen as playmates, and Schaffer (1996) showed that as well as vertical attachments with parents and other authority figures, a child’s horizontal attachments (i.e. with siblings or cousins of a similar age) are very important for their understanding of the world. Bowlby’s emphasis on the mother led to these important attachments being ignored. However, Bowlby and his co-workers have had a huge impact on the way in which we raise children and the provisions we make to care for them when we have to be apart, e.g. for parents to work or when a parent or child has to go into hospital.
  22. 22The role of an internal working modelAccording to Bowlby (1969) attachment at an early age, especially emotional bonds between an infant and the main caregiver can impact upon how an individual functions on a social, psychological and biological level and these manifest themselves through the construction of what is referred to as internal working models (IWMs). IWMs are internal representation of the ‘self’ and ‘other’ based on a child’s interactions with their main caregiver/s.
    For Bowlby, if a child has the experience of their primary care giver (eg a parent) being emotionally available and open, supporting and responsive to their needs, they are more likely to construct a self model that mirrors these qualities. On the flip side, if the opposite is experienced by an individual, in that as a child the primary caregiver was emotionally unavailable, rejected the infant and was detached, this would have the effect of a self model being constructed that focuses on the individual seeing themselves as unworthy, unlovable and so on.
    Bc of Bowlby: science - What makes secure and what makes child have insecure attachments?
  23. 23The Strange SituationOne of the most influential studies on individual differences in attachment type was conducted by Mary Ainsworth (1970). According to Ainsworth's, "Strange Situation" study, different attachment experiences may result in difference expressions of attachment. She set up the ‘Strange Situation’ laboratory observation in which she observed babies between one year and 18 months of age interacting with their mother and a stranger. She also observed the babies to see how they behaved when left alone for a short period of time and how they greeted their mother when she returned.
    Ainsworth measured four main behaviours in the infants:
    - General orientation to the mother (did the children use her as a secure base?)
    - Stranger anxiety
    - Separation anxiety
    - Behaviour towards mother on reunion
  24. 24Ainsworth’s experimentIn Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’, infants aged from 12 to 18 months, together with their mothers, were placed in a purpose-built playroom and were observed through a video camera. The room had two chairs and a play area with a selection of toys.
    The following procedure was then followed:
    1. Mother and infant go into the room. Infant is placed near the toys and is free to play with them. Mother sits in one of the chairs
    2. Three minutes later a stranger enters, sits down in the other chair and speaks to the mother
    3. The stranger approaches the infant and tries to engage with them
    4. The mother leaves the room, leaving the infant alone with the stranger. The stranger comforts the infant if they are upset
    5. After about three minutes, the mother returns and the stranger leaves
    6. Three minutes later the mother again leaves the room. The infant is briefly alone in the room
    7. The stranger returns and offers to comfort the infant
    8. The mother returns and the stranger leaves
    9. It is important to note that the experiment was stopped if the infant became too distressed
  25. 25Three attachment types according to AinsworthUsing this method, Ainsworth was able to identify three attachment types in the infants she studied:
    Type B Secure (70% of sample): These children were generally oriented towards the mother, used her as a secure base to explore the room and brought toys to show her. They became distressed when mother left, showed joy and were easily comforted when she returned. They were wary of the stranger. These children could therefore be described as being securely attached children to their primary caregiver.
    Type A Insecure Avoidant (15% of sample): These children ignored mother and played happily with the toys alone. Showed some distress at her departure but did not want comfort from her when she returned. They also rejected the stranger when she tried to comfort them.
    Type C Insecure Ambivalent/Resistant (15% of sample): These children cling to mother. They showed extreme distress when mother left but when she returned, although they appeared to want her close (putting out their arms to be picked up etc.), they seemed to be angry and rejected her attempts to comfort them.
  26. 26Ainsworth attachment theory conclusionSo, according to attachment theory, IWMs are significant because they form part of the individual’s sense of self-worth and subsequently how they operate in terms of their expectations of others. Overall, what is being suggested here is that how a child interacts with their primary caregiver has a significant impact on how an individual sees themselves, others and the world in general.
    Overall the IVMs provide the foundation for understanding how the attachment process operates in and affects adult relationships.
    Ainsworth’s study was well controlled and therefore easily replicated, making it a reliable method for studying attachment behaviour. Using her methods, Main and Cassidy (1988) were able to identify a fourth type: Type D or ‘disorganised’. Children of this type tended to come from abusive homes. They had little idea how to cope when their carer left the room and often became extremely distressed. They tended to comfort themselves by freezing or rocking backwards and forwards.
  27. 27Criticisms of Ainsworth attachment theoryHowever, some say experiment is too unrealistic to real life, although others claim it is not unlike the situation a child faces when being left at nursery or with a babysitter. Another criticism is that it would be unreasonable to make generalisations about all infants based on this research.
    Only tested middle-class American babies.
    Other studies challenge the validity of the Strange Situation, claiming that infants behave differently depending on who they are with when they are tested. Eg, a child might be classed as securely attached to its mother but insecurely attached to its father. If this is the case, then the Strange Situation is only measuring particular relationships, not central characteristic of the child. This implies that attachment is more a relationship quality, rather than a fundamental personality trait, which a child either has or does not have.
    Ainsworth’s work also raises ethical questions, stressful for babies but asked to stop if got too stressful. When should research be stopped, and how can ethical judgements be made regarding the limits of research?
  28. 28Ainsworth - Further ResearchAinsworth went on to look for reasons for different types of attachment behaviour. She wondered whether a child’s attachment behaviour is determined by the carer, the child or by something else.
    After many observations using the Strange Situation, she formulated the Sensitivity Hypothesis. This states that sensitive mothers have securely attached infants.
    Ainsworth found that she could often match the mother’s behaviour to the type of attachment shown by the infant. Securely attached infants tended to have mothers who understood their needs and were consistently good at meeting them. Insecurely attached infants tended to have mothers who ignored them (avoidant types) or who were, at times, neglectful and at other times overly fussy (ambivalent types).
    This view is supported by De Wolff and van Ijzendoorn (1997) who found a correlation of 0.24 between sensitivity of the mother (though this assumes it is the mother who is also the primary caregiver) and secure attachment. This suggests there is a relationship, albeit a very weak one.
  29. 29Alternative explanation for Ainsworth - Further ResearchThere is an alternative explanation. Some infants may form attachments more readily than others because they are naturally more friendly or easier to care for. This explanation is known as the Temperament Hypothesis (Kagan, 1982).
    There is some evidence to support this view. Belsky and Rovine (1987) found that infants who showed signs of behavioural instability, such as tremors or shaking, were less likely to become attached to their mothers than infants who did not. Similarly, Fox (1991) found that there was a strong correlation between the attachment types of the child to both parents (i.e. if a child was securely attached to his or her mother, he or she would very likely have the same attachment with the father). This further suggests that attachment types are caused by some inherent characteristic of the infant, and therefore contradicts the theory that attachment is more a quality of relationship that a child has with different significant adults.
  30. 30Conclusion of Ainsworth's further researchEvidence is presented here to support both the sensitivity and temperament hypotheses. It is likely, therefore, that attachment type is determined by an interaction between the temperament of the baby and the sensitivity, or even prior care-giving experience, of the mother (again, assuming it is the mother who is the primary caregiver of the child). A difficult infant that tends to cry a lot and is difficult to soothe, for example, paired with an anxious or neglectful caregiver, may well be more likely to have an insecure attachment than if he or she were paired with a sensitive primary caregiver who is consistently attentive.
  31. 31Cultural Variations in AttachmentMost of the research into attachments was carried out in America. Assumed that the results were universal. Realised this is incorrect. To investigate this, the 'strange siutation' was replicated all over the world.
    Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) conducted a meta-analysis in which they analysed the results of 32 Strange Situation studies conducted in 8 different countries. The study found that there are large differences between different cultures.
    The study found that secure attachment (Type B) was the most common type overall. However, the percentage of infants with secure attachment varied considerably, from 50% in China to around 75% in Great Britain and Sweden.
    Avoidant attachments (Type A) were most common in West Germany (35.5%) and in the Nederlands (26.3%). Avoidant attachments were rare in Japan (5.2%) and Israel (6.8%).
    Ambivalent attachments (Type C) were most common in Israel (28.8%), Japan (27.1%) and China (25%). Ambivalent attachments were very rare in Great Britain (2.8%) and Sweden (3.9%).
  32. 32Explaining the Cultural DifferencesThe researchers found that the differences between cultures were often related to the differing child-rearing styles and the economy of the country studied. For example, Germany is classed as an individualist culture. Parents bring their children up to be independent and stand on their own two feet. German mothers would view what we would call ‘securely attached’ as weak, clingy behaviour (Grossmann and Grossmann, 1991). On the other hand, Japanese culture is a collectivist one, therefore parents tend to have grandparents or other family members they can call on to share child-care during the first few years of an infant’s life. Consequently, the Japanese infants have extreme fear of strangers and don’t cope well with being left alone in the Strange Situation (Takahashi, 1990). We would classify their behaviour as Type C or ambivalent.
  33. 33Explaining the Cultural Differences resultsThis research therefore strongly suggests that the Ainsworth standard of attachment is, in fact, culturally determined, and based on American cultural norms of child-rearing, rather than being universally applicable. What is secure in one culture is undesirable or ‘clingy’ behaviour in another; what is insecure in one culture is socially acceptable and the product of family norms in another.
    However, Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg also found that the differences within cultures were greater than the differences between them. In other words, it would be wrong to assume that a particular culture raises children in exactly the same way, and that individual differences between families in child-rearing styles are also important.
  34. 34Criticisms of Cultural Differences experimentOn the positive side, this study used a large sample that makes the findings generalisable. However, twenty-seven of them were carried out in individualist cultures and only five in collectivist ones, so the sample may not be representative in this respect.
  35. 35Disruption of AttachmentThis section looks at the effects on children of disruption to their attachment bonds, such as when parents divorce or when parents separate temporarily from their children each day, for example, so that parents can work. It also looks at the rare phenomenon of privation (which is where a child has never had the opportunity to form an attachment) and the effects of institutionalisation on children in orphanages or children’s homes.
    In 1953, John Bowlby proposed his maternal deprivation hypothesis. This hypothesis stated that a child should form a ‘warm, intimate and continuous relationship with his or her mother or permanent mother-substitute’. He believed that disruption to that relationship could put the child at risk of future mental health problems and make it difficult for him or her to form proper adult relationships.
  36. 36Disruption of Attachment: Three main elementsThis hypothesis was the precursor to Bowlby’s later attachment theory, and has three main elements which state that the relationship must be:
    - Continuous (with few or no separations for the first five years)
    - Made before the critical period of two and a half years (he later accepted that this was more flexible and called it a sensitive period)
    - Should be with one main carer (either the natural mother or mother- substitute)
    Bowlby based his ideas on research carried out in the late 1940s which looked at the effects on children of separation from their caregiver during the first five years of life. Bowlby termed this maternal deprivation. One of the most famous pieces of research is given below.
  37. 37Bowlby’s 44 Juvenile ThievesBowlby (1944) looked at the cases of 44 juveniles who had been referred to his child guidance clinic for stealing. Of the 44 cases, 40% had been separated from their mothers for six months or more before they were five years old. Bowlby diagnosed these juveniles as suffering from a condition he termed ‘affectionless psychopathy’. The symptoms they shared included showing no remorse for their crimes and no concern for their victims or themselves. This led Bowlby to conclude that maternal deprivation was a factor contributing to delinquency in children. Another study which demonstrated the effects of separation on children was carried out by Rene Spitz and Katherine Wolf (1946). They looked at 123 babies during their first year of life who were being looked after by their unmarried mothers in an American prison. After about nine months, babies were taken away from their mothers to be cared for in the prison nursery. While the mothers were away, the babies were observed to cry more, lose their appetites and fail to gain weight. When reunited, the babies’ conditions returned.
  38. 38Critics and James and Joyce Robertson?Critics have argued that these studies are extreme examples of separation so don’t tell us much about children in ordinary families who experience perhaps one or two weeks of separation at most (eg hospital or nursery) from loving and supportive parents. However, one of the most notable studies looking into such short periods of separation tells a very different story. The study was carried out by husband and wife team James and Joyce Robertson (1948). In the 1940s, children in hospital or other forms of child care had their physical needs met, but it was deemed unnecessary to do anything about their emotional needs. In order to convince the medical profession that children suffered emotionally, the Robertsons went into hospitals and nurseries armed with a cine camera and began to observe the children. One of these children was John, a 17 month old infant who was placed in a residential nursery during the birth of his mother’s second child. Showed how John’s condition deteriorated as the separation continued; this has become known as the protest-despair-detachment or PDD model.
  39. 39James and Joyce Robertson experiment results?For the first few days John protested as best he could and tried to obtain attention. When this failed he showed distress. He tried to make attachments with the nurses but a different person would look after him at different times of the day, making it very difficult to bond with a particular individual. After a few days, John’s condition passed from distress to despair. He cried constantly and refused food. He had difficulty sleeping. His condition changed again when he gave up trying to attract attention and became less and less interested in either the nurses or his father when he came to visit. When his mother finally came to collect him, he ignored her and wouldn’t allow her to comfort him - detachment.
    The PDD model clearly outlines the short-term effects of separation. However, James and Joyce Robertson noted that such effects could continue for months/years. When John returned home he carried what Joyce Robertson referred to as a nub of anxiety; he was worried about his mother going out and wanted to know when she would return and he wouldn’t sleep without a light on.
  40. 40What was the separation anxiety 'John' experienced?Separation anxiety of the type John experienced is a longer-term effect of earlier separation and may persist long after the separation is over. It is marked by:
    - Extreme clinginess
    - Detachment
    - Being more demanding
    Other long-term effects include lower levels of academic achievement and self-esteem, a higher incidence of conduct disorder and other problems of psychological adjustment, earlier social maturity, a higher frequency of depression and more distant relationships in adulthood with parents and other relatives (Richards, 1995)
  41. 41Evaluation of Bowlby's viewRutter (1981) believes that Bowlby’s view that the effects of separation are due solely to the disruption of a continuous bond with the caregiver is oversimplified, and that it is necessary to look at other factors, such as the strength of attachment before the child is separated, the child’s home circumstances and the reason for the separation. Rutter also believes that Bowlby failed to distinguish between what he referred to as maternal deprivation and privation. Privation is where a child fails to bond at all with a caregiver (such as may happen through neglect). This has much more serious consequences for the child’s later emotional, social and cognitive development.
    Certainly, not all children are affected in the same way by separation. More recent research has shown that there are a range of factors which affect a child’s ability to cope with separation. The following table shows some of these factors and their effects.
  42. 42Factor: Age of child at time of separationEffect:
    Schaffer and Callender (1959)
    In a study of children in hospital, the researchers found that children under 7 months suffered minimal upset and the most severe reaction occurred between 12 to 18 months.
    This may be related to the development of language skills and the ability to understand that caregiver will return.
  43. 43Factor: Type of attachmentEffect:
    Barrett (1997)
    Individuals with secure attachment are best able to tolerate short separations. This may be because they believe that the caregiver will return.
  44. 44Factor: Sex of childEffect:
    Gross and McIlveen (1997)
    Boys seem to respond more strongly to separation than girls. However, there are also significant differences within, as well as between, sexes.
  45. 45Factor: Multiple attachments and quality of careEffect: Children older than 10 months may have multiple attachments and so can be left with another attachment figure with minimal effect.
  46. 46Factor: Experience of previous separationsEffect: If a child is used to brief separations, then they are likely to respond less strongly to separation than a child who is not used to separation.
  47. 47The Effects of PrivationAs mentioned, privation is a term used to describe a child who has failed to form a bond with an adult caregiver. At its extreme, it can happen when young children lose both parents and are brought up in under-staffed, un-stimulating institutions. However, it more commonly occurs when the child is neglected by parents who do not have the ability to care for them, and so no attachment forms.
    Studies into privation have centred on case studies of children brought up in isolation and institutional studies in which children have spent much of their early life in orphanages and are later adopted. Effects include problems with language development, inability to empathise with others, low IQ, disruptive/violent behaviour and inability to form normal attachments.
  48. 48Case Studies: Susan Curtiss (1977)Susan Curtiss (1977) is professor of linguistics at UCLA. She studied the case of Genie, a young girl who suffered extreme privation. Genie was thought to have learning difficulties at birth, and as a result was locked away in an upstairs room by her parents. She spent every day alone and had little opportunity to make an attachment. She had no toys to play with and nothing to look at. By day she was tied to a potty chair and by night she was tied into a sleeping bag. Genie was found at the age of thirteen. Sadly, she was malnourished and had suffered delays in her physical development; she could not chew solid food and was not potty trained. She found it difficult to relate to others and had a very low IQ.
  49. 49Case Studies: Koluchova in 1972Koluchova in 1972 studied Czechoslovakian twin boys who had suffered privation. However, the difference between them and Genie was that they were not isolated until they were about eighteen months old, they had each other to form a bond with and they were removed from their state of privation earlier (at the age of seven).
    Both the boys and Genie had attachment experiences that were far from normal and both should have suffered severe consequences in later life. However, there were marked differences in the recovery rates of the children in the two cases. Genie did learn some language, although her grammar was always below normal. She could make attachment bonds and her IQ improved but never reached normal levels. However, the researchers into her case found it difficult to establish whether her lack of development was due to the privation or her learning difficulties, which were possibly present at birth.
    However, the twin boys went on to make successful attachment bonds, improved in their intellectual development (measured by IQ) and went on to lead reasonably normal lives.
  50. 50Evaluation of Privation Case Study Research: Ethics- Often intrusive – By necessity, researchers have to follow children for many years to gather evidence on the long-term effects of privation
    - Concerns over informed consent – Children are both too damaged and too young to give their consent to being studied
    - Researchers must be careful not to exploit the children for their own ends
  51. 51Evaluation of Privation Case Study Research: Methodological Issues- If case studies are used effectively and robustly, then researchers can gain very valuable information which is rich and detailed
    - It can be hard to unpick cause and effect, since privation often also goes alongside physical neglect or abuse. For example, is it the lack of an attachment or the unstimulating physical environment that is the cause of the child’s later problems?
    - A case study is by nature retrospective, since it can only begin once privation has been established and the child removed from the neglectful environment. Therefore researchers often have to make a best guess as to child’s past. However, this may not be accurate and many variables may be unknown
  52. 52Institutional Studies – The Tizard and Hodges StudyOne of the most important studies into the effects of institutionalisation on children was carried out by Tizard and Hodges (1984 and 1989). This study was important because it examined the long-term effects of emotional privation. The advantage of this study over the case study method was that it was possible to use a relatively large sample of 65 English working-class children, and the researchers also had detailed records obtained from the children’s home of the children’s early lives, so they did not have to rely on retrospective data.
    The home provided the children with a good standard of physical care and mental stimulation. The only thing it did not provide was emotional care. Therefore, the researchers had the chance to study the effects of emotional privation without the influence of other factors, such as physical abuse.
    Although the physical needs of the children were met, staff at the children’s home were discouraged from forming attachments with the children, because of the high staff-turnover rates. Indeed, on average, the children had had 24 different carers by the
  53. 53Institutional Studies – The Tizard and Hodges Study (Ages 2, 4 and 8)At the age of two, they showed unusual patterns of attachment. They would demand attention from any adult who entered. They would then cry when the adult left, even though they had formed no relationship with them. They also had no fear of strangers. This pattern is known as ‘disinhibited attachment’ and is characteristic of children in institutions.
    When the children were four, 25 of them were returned to their biological parents, 33 were adopted and 7 remained in the home, sometimes fostered. This unusual situation created what is known as a ‘natural experiment’.
    Tizard and Hodges visited the children when they were aged 8, and interviewed them again at age 16. They found that almost all of the adopted children and most of those who had been returned to their original parents had formed close attachments at age 8. At age 16, more of the adopted children were close to their parents than the returned children. All the groups had difficulty with peer relationships and siblings, with the adoptees having slightly better relationships with their siblings than the returned children.
  54. 54Conclusion of Institutional Studies – The Tizard and Hodges StudySurprisingly perhaps, early care in an institution does not have the drastically damaging effects predicted by Bowlby. The high quality care and stimulation in the English nursery ensured that cognitive development was normal, even though there had been no chance to make an attachment. Attachments to the adoptive parents were made after the age of two and a half, Bowlby’s proposed critical period for attachment formation. There were some lasting effects of emotional privation which continued until at least 16 and probably longer, e.g. difficulties getting on with peer groups, not making academic progress at school. However, these effects were not inevitable and could be explained by individual differences in the children, and not necessarily due to institutionalisation. (Remember, we would expect the same outcomes for all children who experienced institutionalisation, regardless of individual differences, if we are to establish institutionalisation as a cause of damaging effects later in life.)
  55. 55Evaluation of the Tizard and Hodges Study Methodological Issues- There was a good range of research methods used, including interviews, questionnaires and self-reporting
    - There is an inevitable attrition rate or participant ‘drop out’ in longitudinal studies, which may mean that the final sample is not representative of the original group. This makes it less valid when it comes to drawing conclusions about the effects of privation on a child
    - This was a natural rather than a laboratory experiment.Since the researchers had no control over which children were adopted, there could be a bias in the group that were adopted. It is possible that the more sociable children may have been easier to place in adoptive families and that this is why they did so well later, rather than due to any other factor
  56. 56Evaluation of the Tizard and Hodges Study Ethical Issues- This is a very sensitive issue since it deals with both privation and children; researchers must not put pressure on the families and the children studied
    - Researchers need to be impartial and non-judgemental, despite the fact that they are dealing with a difficult, sensitive and emotive issue
  57. 57Romanian Orphan Studies - What was it?Tizard and Hodges found disinhibited attachment in their studies of institutionalised children. Disinhibited attachment is where children don’t discriminate between people they choose as attachment figures. The child doesn’t seem to prefer his or her parents over other people, even strangers. The child seeks comfort and attention from virtually anyone, without distinction. They will treat strangers with overfriendliness and may be attention seeking. This type of attachment has been also reported in ongoing studies by Rutter et al (2007) which follow the progress of Romanian orphans adopted by English families.
  58. 58Romanian Orphan Studies - What was the experiment?Rutter (1998) studied Romanian orphans who had been placed in orphanages, aged 1-2 weeks old, with minimal adult contact. This was a Longitudinal study and natural experiment, using a group of around 111 Romanian orphans and assessed at ages 4, 6 and 11, then re-assesed 21 years later. (Note: study still ongoing)
    58 babies were adopted before 6 months old and 59 between the ages of 6-24 months old. 48 babies were adopted late between 2-4 years old. These were the 3 conditions Rutter used in his study.
    Those who were adopted by British families before 6 months old showed ‘normal’ emotional development compared with UK children adopted at the same age. Many adopted after 6 months old showed disinhibited attachments (e.g. attention seeking behaviour towards all adults, lack of fear of strangers, inappropriate physical contact, lack of checking back to the parent in stressful situations) and had problems with peers.
    Rutter et al. (1998) found that the sooner the children were adopted, the faster their developmental progress.
  59. 59Romanian Orphan Studies - Subsequent research in 2007In Rutter’s subsequent research in 2007, he assessed children reared in profoundly depriving institutions in Romania and subsequently adopted into UK families. Institutionally deprived adoptees were compared at 11 years with children who had not experienced institutional deprivation and who had been adopted within the UK before the age of 6 months. Parental reports, a modified Strange Situation and investigator ratings of the children’s behaviour were all assessed. Results revealed that disinhibited attachment was strongly associated with institutional rearing but there was not a significant increase in relation to duration of institutional deprivation beyond the age of 6 months. In contrast only mild disinhibited attachment was more frequent in non-institutionalised adopted children. The most recent observation at age 11 has shown that over half the children still showed disinhibited attachment and that many of these children were receiving special help from education or mental health services.
  60. 60Romanian Orphan Studies - Conclusion and issuesThis study suggests long-term consequences may be less severe than was once thought if children have the opportunity to form attachments. When children don’t form attachments, the consequences are likely to be severe.
    It must be remembered, however, that orphanages in Romania were very poorly equipped and children often had only their basic physical needs met, and sometimes not even these. Most of the time, they were often left in cots with no toys or other stimulation. It is therefore difficult to assess whether these effects are due to privation or the poor environmental conditions in which the children spent their early lives.
    Summary
    The factors which can help children to recover from the early effects of privation are:
    High quality of care during privation
    Removal from privation at a younger age
    High quality of care after privation
    Positive later life experiences
  61. 61The Bucharest Early Intervention ProjectZeanah et al. (2005) assessed the attachment in 95 children aged between 12-31 months who had spent an average of 90% of their life in an institution and compared them to a control group who spend their life in a “normal family”. The attachment type was measured using the Strange Situation.
    Findings: 74% of the control group was found to be securely attached but only 19% of the institutionalised group. 65% of this group were classified as disorganised attachment (a type of insecure attachment were the children display an inconsistent pattern of behaviour; sometimes they show strong attachment other times they avoid the caregiver).
  62. 62Attachment in Everyday LifeDay Care
    There are several different types of day care. These are usually classified as either nursery-based care or family-based care.
    Nursery-based Care
    This is available to all children aged three and above. Nurseries are often attached to primary schools and use the primary school’s facilities. They are regularly inspected by Ofsted and have trained staff and planned activities.
    Family-Based Care
    Registered childminders are inspected by Ofsted. They provide day care in their own homes. Usually, the childminder will mind several children or have children of their own, so the day care provides opportunities for the child to socialise with others.
    Au-pair/Nanny
    An au-pair or nanny is employed by a family to help care for their child. The child will be cared for in their own home. The child will be cared for alongside their siblings or alone. It is unlikely that there will be any other children present.
    Informal Arrangements
    Some children are cared for informally by friends, relatives or neighbours, often on an unpaid basis. Not much research into this.
  63. 63The Effects of Day Care on Social DevelopmentThere are numerous studies which examine the question of whether day care is harmful to young children. Many of them show mixed results.
    - Andersson (1989, 1992) looked at nursery care in Sweden and found that children who attended day care were more sociable and better able to get along with peers than those who did not attend day care. Similarly, Schindler, Moely and Frank (1998) found that children who spend time in day care play more pro-socially. These studies suggest that day care is good for children’s social development
    - However, other studies have found that children spending time in day care were less co-operative and that this got worse the longer they spent in day care each day (DiLalla, 1988). One suggestion for these contradictory results is that most studies examine the quantity rather than the quality of day care. For this reason Campbell, Lamb and Hwang (2000) carried out a longitudinal study which studied the effects on children of both the quality and quantity of day care
  64. 64Campbell, Lamb and Hwang (2000)Campbell et al carried out a longitudinal study of a group of children in Gothenburg, Sweden who attended day dare continuously between the ages of 18 months and 3 ½ years. Of this group, 30 attended nursery-based care and 9 attended family-based care. A further 9 switched from nursery-based to family-based care during the study. This group were compared against a group who had applied for day care places but had been turned down.
    Before the children started day care, at age 18 months, they were observed at home playing with familiar peers. The researchers also measured the quality of the children’s home environment using Caldwell’s HOME inventory.
    The children were then observed playing with other children in the day care setting for 30 minutes. This observation was conducted at age 18 months (before they had started day care) and at ages 2 ½ and 3 ½. At age 6 ½ the children’s social competence was assessed by their care provider. It was assessed again by their class teacher at age 8 ½ and at age 15 by self-report questionnaires.
  65. 65Conclusion of Campbell, Lamb and Hwang (2000)'s studiesThe researchers found that:
    - Children who spent long sessions in day care (e.g. 8am-6pm) were less pro-social than those who spent shorter sessions
    - Children who experienced high quality care were more socially competent
    - Social competence seemed to be stable (i.e. social competence at 3 ½ correlated with that at 15)
    Conclusion
    Short sessions of good quality day care have positive effects on children’s social development.
    Methodological Issues
    - ‘Prospective’ approach used to observe long-term effects
    - Baseline taken so later comparisons valid
    - Range of assessment measures used increases validity
    - Conducted in Sweden where lots of funding available for child care, therefore, difficult to generalise
    Ethical Issues
    - Sensitivity required
    - Informed parental consent essential
  66. 66Negative Effects of Day Care – Aggressive BehavioursBelsky (2006) carried out a similar longitudinal study in America. He has observed that children in day care have enhanced cognitive abilities but tend to be more aggressive than those who have not experienced day care. Perhaps this is because children have to fight over toys and adult attention. He also believes that such children have problems with aggression towards peers as they grow older and are less obedient to authority figures.
    However, Clarke-Stewart (1990, 1992) argues that this is simply a sign that children in day care learn how to look after themselves from an earlier age and this is an advantage rather than a problem. Furthermore, Borge et al (2004) found that aggression was higher in home reared-children than those attending day care. Again this implies that quality of care is important.
  67. 67Comparing Different Types of Day CareMelhuish (1990) conducted quasi-experimental research in London in which different types of day care were compared. The research is described as ‘quasi-experimental’ because the independent variable (day care) was not set by the investigator. Melhuish compared three groups of children who started day care before the age of 9 months. The study included different day care settings, including informal arrangements. These settings were private nursery care, childminder care and care by relatives. Care by relatives had the highest adult to child ratio and the least contact with other children. Nursery care had the lowest adult to child ratio and the greatest contact with other children. At age 18 months, children who had been cared for by relatives showed the highest levels of language development. At the same age, children who had been cared for in the nursery showed the lowest levels of language development. At age 3 years, the nursery group were still less skilled in language than the group cared for by relatives, but they showed higher levels of pro-social behaviours, eg sharing.
  68. 68Comparing Different Types of Day Care - Evaluation- Different types of day care may show different types of gain for children
    - Time spent in day care and length of day can have an effect
    - Day care settings vary in quality
    - Individual differences (e.g. type of attachment and home circumstances) will affect the experience of day care
    - Individual differences in the parents will affect the type of care chosen (e.g. women who chose family care tended to have stronger identities as mothers)
  69. 69Implications of Research into Attachment and Day Care for Child Care PracticesResearch has influenced childcare since the 1950s. First in medical care. After being shown overwhelming evidence by researchers such as James and Joyce Robertson, who filmed the distress experienced by children in hospital, they gradually changed their practices so that today, parents are able to stay in hospital with their children. Also provide most of the physical care such as washing and dressing.
    In terms of day care, Bowlby’s theory has led to establishments adopting a ‘key worker’ approach so that the child has the same carer (mother-substitute) wherever possible. This allows the child to develop a secure emotional bond with someone who cares for them outside the home.
    Quality of care is also important and establishments are required by law to provide:
    - Appropriate adult to child ratios depending on the age of the child
    - Small group sizes
    - Well-trained staff and incentives to ensure low staff turnover
    - A well-structured day with plenty of activities and time to engage in free play
    - A happy and loving environment where home routines are followed as closely as possible
  70. 70The Impact of childhood attachment on adult relationshipsHazan and Shaver (1987) explored some of Bowlby’s ideas and noted that there was a possible connection between the attachment process and adulthood experiences. Hazan and Shaver suggest that when it comes to adult romantic relationships, the emotional bond and connection that occur between adults is similar to the attachment behavioural system that is seen between infants and their primary caregivers. Both types of relationship demonstrated that the individuals involved in the relationships (whether infant or consenting adults) would, feel safe and secure when the other person was present, and they would rely on the other person in times of significant emotional challenges such as distress or fear. Also the other person would be a ‘secure base’. And finally, communication between these individuals would have an element that is unique to the relationship, eg ‘baby talk’. On the basis of Hazan and Shavers analysis, the infant/caregiver relationship eventually moves from parent (for the infant) to peers and romantic partners, turning to such individuals as opposed to a parent.
  71. 71The Impact of childhood attachment on adult relationships - Problem / reliabilityWhat we do have to bear in mind, when looking at studies conducted by thinkers such as Hazan and Shavers, is that their research is based on the recollection of adults of their childhood. Therefore, being dependent on an individual’s memory of their attachment during infancy, in itself can be problematic in terms of accuracy. However, attachment theorists who look at the connection between infancy attachment and adult attachments and connections, suggest that this is probable and not deterministic. In other words there is not a definitive correlation but a possible one.

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A level Psychology Flashcards on Psychology - Attachment, created by Megan Griffiths on 07/12/2018.
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