Attachment Booklet 2024-2025 PDF

Name: Tutor: Target Grade: PAPER 1: ATTACHMENT Specification: Caregiver-infant interactions in humans: reciprocity and interactional synchrony. Stages of attachment identified by Schaffer. Multiple attachments and the role of the father....

Name: Tutor: Target Grade: PAPER 1: ATTACHMENT Specification: Caregiver-infant interactions in humans: reciprocity and interactional synchrony. Stages of attachment identified by Schaffer. Multiple attachments and the role of the father. Animal studies of attachment: Lorenz and Harlow. Explanations of attachment: learning theory and Bowlby’s monotropic theory. The concepts of a critical period and an internal working model. Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’. Types of attachment: secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant. Cultural variations in attachment, including van Ijzendoorn. Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation. Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation. The influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships, including the role of an internal working model. Implementation: This topic is assessed in paper 1, we learn this topic now to prepare for our Paper 3 topic of relationships as concepts from this unit are influential in adult relationships. We will apply behaviourist and evolutionary theories to explain attachment and will build on our knowledge of research methods such as observational studies and meta-analysis. 1 ATTACHMENT GLOSSARY Those relationships the child goes on to have later in life as an adult. These include friendships, working relationships. Most critically, Adult relationships romantic relationships and relationships with the persons own children. Affectionless A term used by Bowlby to describe people who don't show concern or psychopathy affection for other people and show no or very little remorse or guilt. A In Psychology are studies carried out on non-human animal species Animal studies rather than on humans, either for ethical or practical reasons. Stage from 0-6 weeks where infant may respond to faces or voices but Asocial stage an attachment has not been formed. Attachment Two-way enduring emotional tie to another person Affiliations with other people in childhood, including friends and Childhood relationships classmates. The physical and emotional comfort that an infant receives from being Contact comfort close to its mother. The idea that early relationships with caregivers predict later Continuity Hypothesis relationships in adulthood. C Critical period A time period where an attachment has to form or it never will. ‘culture’ refers to the norms and values that exist within any group of people. Cultural variations then are the differences in norms and Cultural variations values that exist between people in different groups. In attachment research we are concerned with the differences in the proportion of children with different attachment types. Child shows equal affection to strangers as they do people they know D Disinhibited attachment well. Evolutionary Explanation for behaviour such as attachment that views it as E explanation increasing survival chances. Imprinting Where offspring follow the first large-moving object they see. Indiscriminate Infants aged 2-7 months can discriminate between familiar and attachment unfamiliar people but does not show stranger anxiety. Innate behaviour A behaviour that is instinctive and does not need to be learned. Insecure avoidant Attachment classification in Strange Situation where child shows low attachment stranger and separation anxiety and little response to reunion. I Insecure resistant Attachment classification in Strange Situation where child shoes high attachment stranger and separation anxiety and resists comfort at reunion. The effects of growing up in an institution, such as a children's home Institutionalisation or orphanage. Infant and caregiver reflect each other's actions and emotions in a Interactional synchrony coordinated manner. Mental representation of our relationship with our primary caregiver Internal working model that becomes a template for future relationships. 2  Explanations that emphasise the role of learning in acquiring L Learning theory behaviours such as attachment. Maternal deprivation Separation from the mother figure in early childhood has serious hypothesis consequences. M A unique and close attachment to one person - the primary Monotropy attachment figure. Multiple attachments Formation of emotional bonds with more than one carer. Privation Failure to form an attachment in early childhood. P The way that infants try to maintain physical contact or be close to Proximity seeking their attachment figure. R Reciprocity Infant and caregiver respond to each other. Most desirable attachment classification in Strange Situation where Secure attachment child shows separation anxiety, stranger anxiety and joy on reunion. Sensitive period The best time period over which attachments can form. Degree of distress shown by the child when separated from the Separation anxiety caregiver. Innate behaviours shown by an infant that lead to a caregiving Social releasers response. S Infants aged 7 months tend to show a strong attachment to one Specific attachment particular person and are wary of strangers. Many developmental theories identify a sequence of qualitatively different behaviours linked to specific ages. In stages of attachment Stages of attachment some characteristics of infant’s behaviour towards others change as the infant gets older. Strange situation A controlled observation used to test children’s attachment patterns. Stranger anxiety Degree of distress shown by an infant when with unfamiliar people. The characteristics and aspects of personality an infant is born with T Temperament and that might impact on its attachment type. 3 CARE-GIVER INFANT INTERACTIONS Infancy is the period of a child’s life before speech begins. The Latin word ‘infants’ means ‘without speech’ This period is usually thought of as the 1st year of an infant’s life, although some psychologists include a child’s 2nd year too. One of the key interactions between caregivers and infants is their non-verbal communication. From an early age babies have meaningful social interactions with their carers. It is believed that these interactions have important functions for the child’s social development, in particular for the development of caregiver-infant attachment. An attachment is an emotional bond between two people. It is a two-way process that endures over time. It leads to certain behaviours such as distress on separation, and serves the function of protecting an infant. Reciprocity & interactional synchrony To develop and maintain an attachment, parents employ basic strategies such as focusing their communications to the child on objects of current interest, thus ensuring that the child attends to the communication. In many more subtle ways adults interacting with babies, seem to be especially tuned into the baby’s needs, modifying their speech and actions accordingly. Even though a baby cannot speak, communication between carer-infant pairs is rich and complex. Reciprocity is a description of how two people interact. Caregiver-infant interaction is a two-way mutual process where each party responds to the other’s signals to sustain interaction (turn-taking). The behaviour of each elicits a response from the other. Interactional synchrony is where the caregiver and infant reflect both the actions and emotions of the other and do this in a co-ordinated (synchronised) way at the same time; they mirror each other’s actions. It is a “simultaneous co-ordinated sequence of movements”. Meltzoff and Moore (1977) Aim: To examine infant caregiver interactions. Method: Using a controlled observation, an adult model displayed one of three facial expressions, or a hand gesture. To start with, the child had a dummy placed in his/her mouth to prevent a facial response. Following the display from the adult model, the dummy was removed, and the child’s expressions were filmed. Results: There was a clear association between the infants’ behaviour and that of the adult model. Later research by Meltzoff and Moore (1983) found the same findings in three-day-old infants. Conclusion: These findings suggest that interactional synchrony is innate and reduces the strength of any claim that imitative behaviour is learned. 4 EVALUATION OF INFANT CAREGIVER-INTERACTIONS P A strength of research into infant-caregiver interactions is the use of the controlled observation. Observations of infants, such as Meltzoff and Moore’s study, involve well-controlled procedures E and film the interactions from multiple angles. S Furthermore, they used independent observers (who did not know which expression was being E formed by the adults) to judge the videos. L This means that research into infant caregiver interactions uses reliable methods of investigation. P There are difficulties observing infant behaviour Infants’ mouths are in fairly constant motion and the expressions that are tested occur frequently E (tongue sticking out, yawning and smiling) This makes is difficult to distinguish between general C activity and specific imitated behaviours. Furthermore, whilst interactional synchrony and reciprocity can be observed in observational E research, this is purely descriptive and does not explain their purpose which may not be imitation. L This means conclusions drawn from observing infants may not be accurate. Piaget however believed the infants repeated the behaviours because they were being rewarded P for it For example, an infant might happen to stick out its tongue after the caregiver did it- the E consequence of this would be the caregiver smiles, which is rewarding and encourages the infant O to do the same thing next time. Piaget called this Pseudo-imitation- the infant had not consciously translated what they saw into a E matching movement they just did it because of a reward! This means the infant-caregiver interactions may be learned through reinforcement rather than L reflect a relationship. P A practical application of infant-caregiver interaction is assisting parent bonding Isabella and Belsky (1991) concluded that different interactional behaviours predicted attachment E quality P So encouraging interaction between infants and caregivers promotes more secure attachments, E new parents are encouraged to watch and respond to their babies. L Therefore infant-caregiver interaction theories have practical value. P Infant caregiver interaction is on the nature side of the nature-nurture debate Humans may be genetically programmed for responding to human speech through ‘interactional E synchrony’. ID E However, Oostenbroek et al (2016) tested 106 infants repeatedly throughout their first 2 months of life. Findings suggest imitation isn’t an innate behaviour – its one that’s learned in those first months. Therefore infant-caregiver interaction theories take an extreme position on nature-nurture L debate which may not accurately reflect the origin of behaviour. 5 STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANT ATTACHMENT Based on information they gathered on developing attachments Schaffer & Emerson proposed that attachments develop in 4 stages: Age Stage Description In the beginning infants produce similar responses to any object. Before 0–6 Pre-attachment 6 weeks the infant is said to be asocial. Gradually, they start to show a weeks phase greater preference for social stimuli e.g. a smiling face and to be more content when they are with people. 6 Indiscriminate Infants enjoy and prefer human company, and they can distinguish weeks - attachment phase between familiar and unfamiliar people. They do not yet show anxiety 6 (attachment in the with strangers or less familiar people. months making) The infant develops a specific attachment to certain people and shows 7-9 Discriminate distress on separation from them. The infant begins to display stranger months attachment phase anxiety; an uneasiness with strangers. The infant becomes increasingly independent and forms other bonds despite the earlier stronger attachment(s). The number of other 10/11+ attachments that are formed depends on how many consistent Multiple attachment months relationships the infant has. There is some debate about whether these phase plus different attachments are equally intense, or whether the infant always has one special attachment figure (monotropy) at the top of a hierarchy of different attachments e.g. mother/father, siblings, and grandparents. Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that most babies did become attached to their mother first (around 7 months) and within a few weeks or months formed secondary attachments to other family members, including the father. In 75% of the infants studied an attachment was formed with the father by the age of 18 months. This was determined by the fact that the infants protested when their father walked away – a sign of attachment. Schaffer and Emerson 1964 – a longitudinal study of babies in Glasgow Research question: At what age do infants become attached, who do they become attached to, are there any important individual differences? Participants: 60 babies and their mothers from a largely working-class area of Glasgow. Method: Survey, naturalistic observation, longitudinal study. The infants were observed every 4 weeks until they were 1 year old and then again at 18 months. Mothers were interviewed at each visit and asked about situations where the infant showed separation distress, and to whom these protests were directed. They were given a list of 7 everyday situations e.g. the infant was left alone in a room. Results: Age of onset of specific attachment: approx. 6-9 months (see table above). Intensity of attachment: intensely attached infants had mothers who responded quickly to their demands (high responsiveness). Objects of attachment: soon after one main attachment was formed, the infants also became attached to other people. By 18 months very few (13%) were attached to only one person. 31% had 5 or more, such as the father, grandparent, or older sibling. Time spent with infant: in 39% of the cases, the person who usually fed, bathed, and changed the child was not the child’s primary attachment object. Reciprocity: Attachment tended to be with the caregiver who was most interactive & sensitive to the infant’s signals & facial expressions. Temperamental differences: some infants liked to be cuddled whereas others didn’t. Conclusion: This indicates that the infant’s emotional dependence on a caregiver is not related to filling physiological needs. 6 EVALUATION OF STAGES OF ATTACHMENT A strength of Schaffer & Emerson’s research on stages of attachment is that it was carried out P longitudinally and typically in the child’s home. The same children were followed-up and observed regularly rather than separate groups of E children at each age. S E In addition, the children were typically observed in their own homes doing everyday tasks, so their behaviour was unlikely to have been affected by the presence of an observer This increases validity of the stages of attachment as there is not the confounding variables of L the individual differences and the behaviour is recorded in a natural setting increasing ecological validity. P There are issues with the measurements used to assess attachment. Just because a baby gets distressed when an individual leaves the room does not necessarily E mean that the individual is a ‘true’ attachment figure. C E Bowlby pointed out that children may be distressed when a playmate leaves the room, but this does not signify attachment to them. So Shaffer and Emerson’s view of stages does not distinguish between behaviour shown L towards secondary attachment figures and towards playmates. Although there is no doubt that children become capable of multiple attachments at some P point, it is still not entirely clear when. Other psychologists, those who work in a collectivist culture, believe babies form multiple O E attachments form the outset (Van Ijzendoorn et al 1993). This is because families work together jointly in everything- such as producing food and child E rearing L This means that there are alternative opinions on the emergence of multiple attachments. P There are economic implications for research into multiple attachments. Stage theories demonstrate that babies form multiple attachments and have specific E attachments to the most responsive caregiver and not necessarily the person who feeds them. P E Evidence has shown that good substitute childcare either in nurseries or by other family members does not have a detrimental effect on social development. This means that mothers will feel less pressure to provide care and more likely to return to L work rather than stay at home with the baby which has economic benefits for society P There is an issue of cultural bias with Schaffer’s stages of attachment. E All the babies in the sample were from Glasgow so reflect the same cultural norms. ID E Child-rearing practices vary from one culture to another and therefore the stages of attachment may not generalise to other cultural and social contexts. This means that the sample used in the study is limited and the stages of attachment may L reflect development in one culture and are not necessarily universal stages. 7 THE ROLE OF THE FATHER Psychologists disagree over the exact role of the father however research broadly concludes the following: The role of the father is that of a playmate. Researchers argue that fathers do not take on a caregiver role and, in fact, provide a different role, as a playmate. Fathers are more likely than mothers to encourage risk taking in their children by engaging them in physical games, fathers’ play is often more unpredictable and exciting than mothers’. Research also suggests that most infants prefer contact with their father when in a positive emotional state and wanting to play. In contrast most infants prefer contact with their mother when they are distressed and need comforting. The role of the father is that of the secondary attachment figure. Some researchers claim that men are simply not equipped to form an attachment. Such psychologists point to biological evidence which suggests that the hormone oestrogen underlies caring behaviour in women and the lack of oestrogen in men is why they are unable to form a close attachment. Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that many babies did become attached to their mothers’ first primary attachment (around 7 months) and within a few weeks or months formed secondary attachments to other family members including the father. In 75% of the infants studied an attachment was formed with the father by the age of 18 months. This was determined by the fact that the infants protested when their fathers walked away a sign of attachment. However Fathers as the Primary Caregiver McCallum and Golombok (2004) found that children growing up in single or same sex parent families don’t develop differently from those in two parent opposite sex families suggesting that the role of the father is not significant in attachment. 8 EVALUATION OF THE ROLE OF THE FATHER P There is supporting research that demonstrates the father’s distinct role as a playmate. Grossman (2002) found that the quality of father’s play was related to the quality of E attachment in adolescence and research by Geiger (1996) found that fathers’ play S interactions are more exciting and pleasurable than mothers’ Furthermore, children often prefer interacting with fathers when in a positive emotional E state and thus seeking stimulation (mothers are preferred when children are distressed and seeking comfort). This matters because research suggests that the role of the father is to provide exciting L play which contributes to the quality of attachment. A weakness of research into attachment figures is that there are inconsistent findings as P to the role of the father in attachments. Some researchers are interested in understanding the role fathers have as secondary C E attachment figures, whereas others are more concerned with the father’s role as a primary attachment figure. The former have tended to see fathers behaving differently from mothers and having a E distinct role. The latter have tended to find that fathers can take on a ‘maternal’ role. This is a problem because it means psychologists cannot easily establish the role of the L father as inconsistent findings means that firm conclusions cannot be drawn. P The role of the father is different when they are the primary attachment figure. Field (1978) filmed 4-month-old babies in face-to-face interaction with primary caregiver E mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers. O E Primary caregiver fathers, like mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than the secondary caregiver fathers. This means that primary attachment is related to the level of the responsiveness not the L gender of the parent meaning that the role of the father is dependent on if they are the child’s primary caregiver. The research into the role of the father has important economic and practical P implications The changing attitudes towards the importance of the fathers role has already E influenced a shift towards shared parental leave and increased paternity leave for new P fathers. Furthermore, mothers may feel less pressure to remain in the home or take on the role E of the primary attachment figure as research shows it is responsiveness and not gender which is significant. This is important because the impact is likely to be one which levels the gender pay gap L as parents seek more equality in the workplace and childcare – taking equal advantage of the roles played by mothers and fathers or taking joint primary attachment status. P An issue with the research into the role of the father is that it is socially sensitive. The suggestion that the role of the father is less significant than the mother has legal and E social implications following separation. ID E In the UK mothers automatically have parental responsibility for the child from birth. Fathers for Justice have campaigned to recognise the role of the father as equal to the mothers following disproportionate custody awarded to mothers. This means that research into the role of the father has ethical implications for the rights L of parents. 9 ANIMAL STUDIES OF ATTACHMENT In the 1950s research which used animal subjects to investigate early life experiences and the ability for organisms to form attachments contributed significantly to the field of developmental psychology. Two of the most well-known animal studies were conducted by Konrad Lorenz and Harry Harlow. LORENZ Lorenz was interested in how young animals attach to their mothers, and how this gave them an increased chance of survival. Imprinting is an innate readiness to acquire certain behaviours during a critical/sensitive period of development. It is triggered in altricial species (where the young enter the world at an early stage in their development and require care and protection during this vulnerable period), though the exact period varies between the species. Imprinting is known to occur in a wide range of bird species. Lorenz famously carried out an experiment with greylag geese. Condition 1: He was the first moving object seen by the goose chicks after they hatched (experimental condition). Condition 2: The mother goose was the first moving object seen by the chicks after they hatched (control group). The chicks that saw him before anything else followed him as if he was their mother. When they were adult, they performed mating displays to him, and ignored other geese. The chicks that saw their mother first, followed her when young, and performed mating rituals to other geese in adult life. Lorenz also found that goose chicks seemed to have a ‘critical period/sensitive period’ of just a few hours in which to imprint (i.e. form an attachment). If they didn’t imprint within this time, they never would. In some species of bird e.g. greylag geese, imprinting seems to be irreversible, i.e. a once-only process which is not altered by future experience. Lorenz described how one of the geese who imprinted on him, called Martina, used to sleep on his bed every night. What does Lorenz research tell us about human attachment? The fact that the goslings imprinted so early in life, suggests that this was operating within a critical period, which was underpinned by biological changes which supports Bowlby’s views on attachment being innate. The longevity of the goslings’ bond with Lorenz would support the view that, on some level, early attachment experiences do predict future bonds, again supporting Bowlby’s assertion of continuity. The powerful instinctive behaviour that the goslings displayed would suggest that attachments are biologically programmed into species according to adaptive pressures; goslings innately follow moving objects shortly after hatching, as this would be adaptive given their premature mobility supporting Bowlby’s explanation of human attachment. P There is supporting evidence that demonstrates the concept of imprinting. S Guiton (1996) found that chicks imprinted on yellow washing up gloves would try to E mate with them as adults. This suggests that young animals are born with an innate mechanism to imprint on a E moving object present in the critical window of development. L This demonstrates that early imprinting is linked to future reproductive behaviour. P The permanency of imprinting is questionable. C Guiton found that chickens imprinted on yellow washing-up gloves tried to mate E with them as adults. E But with experience they learned to mate with their own kind. This study suggests that the effects of imprinting are not as long-lasting as Lorenz L believed. 10 HARLOW Harlow conducted landmark research on attachment. He called his research report The Origins of Love and sought to demonstrate that mother love (attachment) was not based on the feeding bond between mother and infant as predicted by learning theory. Procedure – Harlow created two wire mothers each with a different ‘head’. One wire mother additionally was wrapped in soft cloth. Eight infant rhesus monkeys were studied for a period of 165 days. For four of the monkeys the milk bottle was on the cloth-covered mother and on the plain wire mother for the other four monkeys. During that time measurements were made of the amount of time each infant spent with the two different “mothers”. Observations were also made of the monkey infants’ responses when frightened by, for example, a mechanical teddy bear. Findings – All eight monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth-covered mother whether or not this mother had the feeding bottle. Those monkeys who fed from the wire mother only spent a short amount of time getting milk and then returned to the cloth-covered mother. When frightened, all monkeys clung to the cloth-covered mother, and when playing with new objects the monkeys often kept one foot on the cloth-covered mother seemingly for reassurance. These findings suggest that infants do not develop an attachment to the person who feeds them but to the person offering contact comfort. The effects of early attachment were also observed, Harlow 1959 continued to study his rhesus monkeys as they grew up. He reported that the motherless monkeys, even those who did have contact comfort, developed abnormally. They were socially abnormal – they froze or fled when approached by other monkeys. They were sexually abnormal; they did not show normal mating behaviour and did not cradle their own babies. Like Lorenz, Harlow also found that there was a critical period for these effects. If motherless monkeys spent time with their monkey “peers” they seemed to recover but only if this happened before they were 3 months old. Having more than six months with only a wire mother was something they did not appear able to recover from. What does Harlow’s research tell us about human attachment? The rhesus monkeys’ willingness to seek refuge from something offering comfort rather than food would suggest that food is not as crucial as comfort when forming a bond supporting Blowby’s view of human attachment. The fact that isolated monkeys displayed long-term dysfunctional behaviour illustrates, once more, that early attachment experiences predict long-term social development, as primates we can apply this more confidently to our understanding of human behaviour. Despite being fed, isolated monkeys failed to develop functional social behaviour, which would suggest that animals have greater needs that just the provision of food which supports studies on deprivation and privation with human children. P A strength is that Harlow’s research has practical applications P E It has helped social workers understand risk factors in child abuse such as neglect and so intervene to prevent it. E We also now understand the importance of attachment figures for baby monkeys in zoos and breeding programmes in the wild. L The usefulness of Harlow’s research across many sectors increases its value. P One of the issues with Harlow’s research is that the ‘mothers’ varied in more ways than being cloth covered. C E The two heads were also different which acted as a confounding variable. E This is important because the choice of mother may have been influenced by the differences in their faces which provides alternative explanation for the formation attachment. L This means that attachment may not have formed because of the comfort of the cloth but possibly influenced by having a monkey face. 11 EXPLANATIONS OF ATTACHMENT: LEARNING THEORY The issue here is WHY are attachments formed? Learning theory is part of the behaviourist branch of Psychology- this says that all behaviours including attachment are learned. The learning theory is sometimes called ‘the cupboard love approach’ because it emphasises the importance of the caregiver as a provider of food. In a simple way it proposes that children learn to attach to whoever feeds them! Learning Theory of Attachment This proposes that behaviour is learnt rather than UCS UCR inborn. Babies are born as ‘blank slates’ and learn to Unconditioned Unconditioned become attached through classical conditioning & Stimulus Response operant conditioning. FOOD PLEASURE a) Classical Conditioning The learning theory view of attachment sees infants UCS NS UCR as becoming attached to people who feed them and Unconditioned Neutral Unconditioned look after their physical needs. Learning theory Stimulus Stimulus Response recognises that humans have drives, such as hunger FOOD MOTHER PLEASURE and thirst, which we are motivated to reduce (want to get rid of due to discomfort). The caregiver who feeds the infant (often the mother) becomes CS CR associated with pleasure through satisfying the Conditioned Conditioned main drive of hunger. As infants associate their Stimulus Response caregivers with pleasure, they learn to approach them to have their needs satisfied. This eventually MOTHER PLEASURE generalises into a feeling of security (an attachment) whenever the caregiver is present. b) Operant Conditioning Once an infant has made the association between the caregiver (often the mother) and satisfaction of their drives, it will engage in behaviours that encourage the caregiver to remain present. For example, babies who smile at their mothers, or cry, are likely to get a response. This is rewarding, or reinforcing, so a baby learns to repeat this behaviour to get the same reward of a response. If behaviour gets an unpleasant result and makes the infant feel unhappy (known as punishment) then the behaviour is not reinforced and is not likely to be repeated. Dollard and Millar (1950) suggest that when they are hungry, infants feel uncomfortable and seek ways to lessen this discomfort. This is known as a ‘drive state’ because the infant is driven to find some way to lessen the discomfort they are in. In early infancy, babies can do little more than cry. This motivates others to feed the baby, which satisfies their hunger, makes them comfortable again and this is rewarding. Operant conditioning works on the principle of rewards and punishments to make behaviour more or less likely to reoccur. Food is a primary reinforcer (reward) as the baby finds it pleasant and it reduces unpleasant feelings of hunger. The mother is seen as a secondary reinforcer because she provides the baby with food which helps reduce the unpleasant feelings of hunger which is rewarding. So babies become attached to the mother because she is seen as a source of reward. Attachment seeking behaviour (e.g. crying, smiling) brings positive responses to the baby, so such behaviour is more likely to be repeated. 12 EVALUATION OF LEARNING THEORY OF ATTACHMENT A strength of learning theory is that elements of conditioning could be involved in the P formation of attachment. The main problem with learning theory is the idea that feeding provides the E S unconditioned stimulus, reinforcement or primary drive. However, many aspects of human development are affected by conditioning so it seems E plausible that it could still play a role in attachment. For example, associations between the primary caregiver and comfort could be part of what forms attachment. This is important because conditioning may still explain attachment behaviour through L comfort. P Research shows that feeding is not an important factor in forming attachments. Harlow demonstrated that infants prefer comfort over food forming attachments with E C soft cloth mothers rather than wire mothers who provided milk. Furthermore, Schaffer & Emerson (1964) showed that for many babies a primary E attachment was not to the person who fed them. The evidence suggests that other factors are more important than food in the formation L of attachment which undermines the learning theory of attachment. There is an alternative to the learning theory to explain human attachment, as proposed P by Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment. He believed that infants have an innate readiness during the critical period to form an E attachment to their caregiver to protect them from harm whilst they are young and O E vulnerable. The evolutionary perspective not only explains how an attachment forms, but also why – to enhance survival. It is accepted that Bowlby’s theory provides a more comprehensive explanation of L attachment rather than reducing a complex behaviour to a simple stimulus–response association. P Learning theory of attachment has improved the position of the father. All attachment figures are of equal importance, it is the person who feeds the baby who E P is the most important rather than emphasising the prominence of the mother. This has important economic implications as there is less pressure for mothers to remain E at home as the theory does not emphasise the mother’s role as being vital for healthy development in contrast to Bowlby. L This means that the learning theory of attachment has economic implications. P Behaviourist explanations for attachment are simplistic. The learning theory of attachment breaks complex human behaviour into its simplest ID E terms (stimulus-response relationship). Behaviourism does not consider the wider influences on behaviour such as the E emotional nature of attachment, only how they arise as behaviours. L This means the learning theory of attachment is reductionist. 13 EXPLANATIONS OF ATTACHMENT: BOWLBY'S MONOTROPIC THEORY OF ATTACHMENT John Bowlby rejected the learning theory as an explanation of attachment because he said, “if it were true, an infant of a year or two should take readily to whomever feeds them and this is clearly not the case”. Bowlby looked at the work of Lorenz and Harlow and proposed an evolutionary explanation: that attachment was an innate system that gave a survival advantage. According to Bowlby, attachment is said to be biological and instinctive. Forming an attachment may give one newborn an advantage over another newborn that does not form an attachment and therefore the attached newborn is more likely to grow up and pass on its genetic make-up. This suggests there is an evolutionary advantage to forming attachments. Bowlby’s Bowlby’s theory has several key concepts relating to the formation of attachments and these are: Bowlby was influenced by research with animals, especially imprinting in birds such as geese. He believed that babies’ behaviour has evolved to behave towards A Adaptive their primary care givers in ways that ensure their survival. Infants who stay close to their mothers are more likely to avoid dangers and thus survive until sexual maturity. Infants are born with a drive to become attached. They encourage care giving S Social Releasers from others by social releasers such as facial features, smiles and cries. Bonds are formed with adults who are most sensitive to these social releasers. C Critical Period Bowlby believed if mothering was delayed for 12 months it was useless for most children and if delayed for 3 years it was almost useless for all children. Bowlby believed that infants form one special relationship – monotropy. The first M Monotropic attachment relationship serves as an ‘Internal Working Model’ (or template) that is the basis of all expectations and rules regarding relationships in later life. The internal working model proposes there is continuity in social development from infancy to adulthood. This ‘Continuity Hypothesis’ provides one explanation that early patterns of attachment are related to later child characteristics. The internal working model influences the child’s self-concept. Securely attached Internal children develop a positive working model of themselves, based on their feelings I Working Model of security derived from having an emotionally responsive primary caregiver. Insecurely ambivalent (resistant) and avoidant children have a primary caregiver who is inconsistent or absent and consequently the children tend to have a negative self-image and exaggerate their emotional responses as a way to obtain attention. If a positive Internal Working Model is not formed, the lack of an initial attachment will affect later relationships. EVALUATION OF BOWLBY’S MONOTROPIC THEORY OF ATTACHMENT 14  P There is support for the concept of the Internal Working Model Research by Hazen & Shaver demonstrated a relationship between infant attachment E and adult relationships suggesting that the quality of a child’s first attachment is crucial. S E This is because it provides a template that will affect the nature of all future relationships including romantic, friendships and parental. This correlation between the initial and later relationships provides support for Bowlby’s L Internal Working Model as it suggests that our early childhood experiences do affect our later adult relationships. P There is mixed evidence for the importance of monotropy. Schaffer and Emmerson (1964) refute the idea that infants must form one special E attachment to their caregiver which supersedes all others and provides the foundation C for subsequent, multiple attachments. They did recognise that some infants do, in fact, follow this pattern but that there are E others who can form multiple attachments with different caregivers at the same time (e.g. the mother and father simultaneously). This goes against Bowlby’s notion of ‘monotropy’ which forms a central part of his L theory of attachment. P There is an alternative explanation for attachment provided by learning theory. Behavioural explanations focus on the formation of attachment through the association O E of the caregiver with food. Furthermore, the explanation does not include concepts outlined by Bowlby such as the E Internal Working Model and the Critical Period. L This means that there are other explanations for how children form attachments. The concept of Monotropy has economic consequences because of implications for P mother’s lifestyles. Bowlby states that substantial time apart from a primary attachment figure risks poor E P quality attachment that will disadvantage the child in a range of ways. Feminists argue that mothers are blamed for anything that goes wrong in a child’s life E and pushes mothers into making lifestyle choices e.g. not retuning to work. Although Bowlby’s aim was to boost the status of the mother the implication is that the L mother is less likely to be separated from the baby and this impacts the economy if mothers do not return to work. Bowlby’s theory suggests that attachments are an innate mechanism to aid survival, P therefore supporting a nature view Furthermore, Bowlby’s theory puts forward the notion of an internal working model E which suggests that early childhood relationships act as a template for future adult ID E relationships. This suggests that adult relationships are, to some extent, determined by an internal working model which is an innate mechanism shaped by our early relationship experiences. This suggests that an interaction of nature and nurture is critical when considering the L effects of early attachments and the internal working model. TYPES OF ATTACHMENT: THE STRANGE SITUATION 15 The Strange Situation was developed by Mary Ainsworth (1969). The aim was to be able to observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a child’s attachment to a caregiver The Strange Situation is a controlled observation procedure designed to measure the security of attachment a child displays towards a caregiver. It takes place in a room with quite controlled conditions with a 2 way mirror through which psychologists can observe the infant’s behaviour. In her original sample she used 100 American middle-class families with infants aged between 12 -18 months. The behaviours used to judge attachment included:  Exploration and secure-base behaviour: good attachment enables a child to feel confident to explore, using their caregiver as a secure base, i.e. a point of contact to make them feel safe  Stranger Anxiety: one of the signs of becoming closely attached is a display of anxiety when a stranger approaches.  Separation Anxiety: another sign of becoming attached is to protest at separation from the caregiver  Reunion Behaviour: with the caregiver after separation for a short period of time under controlled conditions No. of Time Activity: reactions were noted by an observer through a Persons episode present one-way mirror Caregiver, infant and 30 Observer shows caregiver and infant the experimental room 1 observer seconds and then leaves. Caregiver sits and watches, infant explores and plays with 2 Caregiver and infant 3 minutes toys. The behaviour being measured is exploration. Stranger enters, silent at first, then talks to the caregiver, Stranger, caregiver and 3 3 minutes then interacts with the infant. Caregiver leaves the room infant quietly. The behaviour being measured is stranger anxiety. First separation from caregiver. Stranger interacts, talks and 4 Stranger and infant 3 minutes plays with infant. The behaviours being measured are stranger anxiety and separation distress. First reunion. Caregiver returns, stranger leaves. Caregiver greets comforts and tries to settle infant. Caregiver leaves 5 Caregiver and infant 3 minutes and says goodbye. The behaviour being measured is reunion. Second separation. Infant left alone in room. The behaviour 6 Infant alone 3 minutes being measured is separation distress. Continuation of second separation. Stranger enters and 7 Stranger and infant 3 minutes interacts with infant. The behaviour being measured is stranger anxiety. Second reunion. Caregiver enters, greets infant and picks up 8 Caregiver and infant 3 minutes infant. Stranger leaves quietly. The behaviour being measured is reunion. The observer notes down the behaviour displayed during 15-second intervals and scores the behaviour for intensity on a scale of 1 to 7. From observations of large samples of infants, Ainsworth found and identified 3 types of attachment: 16  SECURE ATTACHMENT INSECURE AVOIDANT INSECURE RESISTANT Type B Type A Type C 70% of US infants 20% of US infants 10% of US infants The infant explores the The infant explores the EXPLORATION The infant does not explore unfamiliar environment, unfamiliar environment but the environment around returning to the mother at does not return to the mother them, choosing to stay close regular intervals and using her and does not use her as a safe to the mother and is ‘clingy’. as a safe base. base. SEPARATION Moderate separation anxiety, DISTRESS Low separation anxiety, the High separation anxiety, the the infants play is seriously infant is not concerned by the infant is extremely distressed disrupted when the mother mother’s departure. when the mother leaves. leaves. Moderate stranger anxiety, Low stranger anxiety, the High stranger anxiety, the STRANGER the infant is wary of strangers infant is unconcerned about ANXIETY infant becomes extremely and will move closer to the the stranger and shows little distressed when the stranger mother when she is present preference between mother goes to comfort them. with the stranger. and stranger. The infant shows little The infant is not easily The infant is pleased to see BEHAVIOUR reaction upon the mothers comforted by the mother, REUNION the mother, seeks proximity return and often ignores her. they seek and reject her and is easily comforted in her The child does not seek resisting the mothers presence. The child shows joy proximity or show joy on attempts to comfort them on on reunion. reunion, they avoid intimacy. reunion. It was concluded that a secure attachment is seen as ‘normal’ and ‘best’. Most American children were securely attached, but there were differences between infants. According to Ainsworth the sensitivity of the caregiver is of crucial importance in explaining the type of attachment: - She found that the caregivers of most securely attached infants were very sensitive to their needs and responded in an emotionally expressive way. Caregivers of avoidant infants were uninterested in their infants, often rejecting them, and tending to be self-centred and rigid in their behaviour. Caregivers of resistant infants behaved inconsistently. EVALUATION OF TYPES OF ATTACHMENT AND THE STRANGE SITUATION 17  A strength of the strange situation as a method of assessing infant attachment is the use of the P controlled observation and systematic procedures. The observations took place under strict and standardised methods (including video recording) E using predetermined behavioural categories. S E Furthermore, Ainsworth had several observers watching and coding the same infant behaviours so agreement on attachment classifications could be ensured finding 94% consistency in the rating of infant behaviour. This means that there is high interrater reliability which demonstrates that the strange L situation is a reliable method of assessing attachment. P A limitation is that there may be other attachment types. E Ainsworth identified 3 attachment types avoidant (A) secure (B) and resistant (C) C Main & Solomon (1986) pointed out that some children display atypical attachment that do E not fit types A,B or C. This is disorganised attachment – a mix of avoidant and resistant behaviours. This challenges Ainsworth initial notion of attachment types and could question whether the L Strange Situation is a useful method to identify these types. Kagan criticised Ainsworth’s maternal Sensitivity Hypothesis and proposed an alternative P explanation, the Temperament Hypothesis. Ainsworth believes it is sensitive mothering that leads to secure attachment and the infant is E reacting to the responsiveness of the mother. O E However, another explanation is that it is the behaviour of the child that shapes the mothers, for example an innately easy baby will be accepting of a routine and interaction with the mother meaning they are more accepting of the caregiver and more likely to develop a secure attachment. This means that the mother is responding to the baby, rather than the baby responding to the L mother. P There are practical issues with the ethics of the Strange Situation. It is argued that mothers often leave children for brief periods for example with babysitters E therefore the procedure is not unethical. P E However, the ethics of this research are questionable as it deliberately exposes the child to a stressful situation to see how they will react. Therefore, there are practical difficulties regarding the ethics of the procedures, and this may L limit its use as a method of assessing attachment. A limitation is that the Strange Situation may be culturally biased method of assessing P attachment. The assessment is not a valid measure of attachment in countries outside Western Europe and E the USA as cultural differences in children’s experiences mean they respond differently to the ID procedures used. For example, in Japan children rarely leave their mother and therefore show extreme distress E when separated, in Germany children are encouraged to be independent and therefore show very little separation distress. This means that that children from other cultures will be inaccuracy classified during the L strange situation so it is not a valid method of assessing attachment due to cultural bias. CULTURAL VARIATIONS IN ATTACHMENTS 18 Child-rearing styles vary considerably across different cultures. Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) used a meta-analysis, comparing the results of 32 studies using the Strange Situation in 8 different countries involving over 2000 children. Countries included West Germany (3 studies), Israel (2 studies) & Japan (2 studies), as well as USA (18 studies). They found:- 1. The variation within a culture was 1½ greater than the variation between different cultures. 2. There were variations between cultures. COUNTRY NUMBER OF SECURELY INSECURELY INSECURELY STUDIES ATTACHED ATTACHED ATTACHED AVOIDANT RESISTANT UNITED STATES 18 65% 21% 14% GREAT BRITAIN 1 75% 22% 3% NETHERLANDS 4 67% 26% 7% SWEDEN 1 74% 22% 4% ISRAEL 2 64% 7% 29% JAPAN 2 68% 5% 27% CHINA 1 50% 25% 25% WEST GERMANY 3 57% 35% 8% Findings:  Secure attachment was the most common in all countries.  Great Britain had the overall highest rate of secure  Insecure Avoidant was the next most common in every country except Israel and Japan.  In West Germany they had the highest rate of Insecure avoidant out of all the countries.  Variation within cultures was approximately 1.5 times greater than cross-cultural variation These findings support the idea that secure attachment is ‘best’ for healthy social and emotional development. These cultural similarities support the view that attachment is an innate and biological process. It was concluded that the overall consistency in secure attachment suggests this may be a universal characteristic. However, cultural differences do exist which suggests child-rearing practices may affect attachment types. It seems to show that Infants brought up on Kibbutzim in Israel are not used to strangers and those in Japan are not used to separation from their mother therefore their reaction in the Strange Situation indicate an insecure attachment. In Germany infants are encouraged to be independent so show little reaction to separation from the mother and therefore appear to be avoidantly attached. EVALUATION OF CULTURAL VARIATIONS OF ATTACHMENT 19  P A strength of the meta-analysis is the use of standardised methodology. The use of the strange situation as a procedure of assessing attachment means that a E S comparison can be made across cultures improving reliability. In addition the analysis yielded a large sample, in the Van Ijzendoorn meta-analysis there E was a total of nearly 2000 babies and their primary attachment figures. This is a strength because large samples increase internal validity by reducing the impact L of anomalous results caused by bad methodology. P A limitation is that the samples used may not be representative of cultures. Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg made comparisons between countries, not cultures. E Within any country there are different cultures each with different child-rearing C practices. For example in a later study van Ijzendoorn found attachment types in urban Tokyo in E similar proportions to Western studies and a more rural sample over-represented insecure-resistant attachment. This means that comparisons between countries may have little meaning as the L particular cultural characteristics of the sample need to be specified. P There is an alternative explanation for the similarities found between cultures. Bowlby’s explanation for cultural similarities was that attachment is innate and universal E O so produces the same kind of behaviours all over the world. Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg proposed an alternative possibility. They suggest that E small cross-cultural differences may reflect the effects of the mass media. Many books and TV programmes are broadcast around the world and create parenting L norms, so similarities in child rearing have become more common. Applications of attachment theory in settings such as parenting manuals, policy, social P care etc are being made without consideration of cultural context. P E As a result ethnocentric recommendations for child caregiving are being promoted. Research such as Van Ijzendoorn addresses these misunderstandings and can be used to E rectify the situation. This means that cultural sensitivity in policy, planning and the delivery of services will L have practical benefits for children, families and communities all over the world. The Strange Situation method may be biased towards American/British culture as P designed by an American researcher based on a British theory. Trying to apply a theory or technique designed for one culture to another is known as E imposed etic (culture universals) which disregards the notion of cultural emic (cultural ID E uniqueness). The idea that a lack of pleasure on reunion indicates insecure attachment is an example of an imposed etic as in Germany this behaviour is seen more as independence than avoidance. L This means the methods used in cross-cultural research into attachment is cultural bias. BOWLBY’S THEORY OF MATERNAL DEPRIVATION 20 Maternal deprivation – refers to the emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and his/her mother or mother substitute. Bowlby proposed that continuous care from a mother is essential for normal psychological development, and that prolonged separation from this adult causes serious damage to emotional and intellectual development. Bowlby famously said that ‘mother-love’ in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health’ and that being separated from a mother in early childhood has serious consequences (maternal deprivation). The critical period Bowlby saw the first 2 1/2 years of life as a critical period for psychological development. If a child is separated from their mother in the absence of suitable substitute care and so deprived of her emotional care for an extended period during this critical period then (Bowlby believed) psychological damage was inevitable and irreversible. Effects on Intellectual development One way in which maternal deprivation affects children’s development is their intellectual development. Bowlby believed that if children were deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period they would suffer mental intellectual disability, characterised by abnormally low IQ. This has been demonstrated in studies of adoption. For example, Goldfarb (1947) found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered and thus had a higher standard of emotional care. Effects on Emotional development A second major way in which being deprived of a mother figure’s emotional care affects children is in their emotional development. Bowlby identified affectionless psychopath as the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others. This prevents the person developing normal relationships and is associated with criminality. Affectionless psychopaths cannot appreciate the feelings of victims and so lack remorse for their actions. EVALUATION OF BOWLBY’S THEORY OF MATERNAL DEPRIVATION P Support for Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation is provided by his 44 Thieves Study. In this study, Bowlby interviewed 44 adolescents who were referred to a child protection program in London because of stealing and he compared these to a control group of E individuals who were referred to clinic because of emotional problems. He also interviewed the parents from both groups to state whether their children had experienced separation during the critical period and for how long. S E It was found that more than half of the juvenile thieves had been separated from their mothers for longer than six months during their first five years. However, in the control group only two had had such a separation. He also found several of the young thieves (32%) showed 'affectionless psychopathy' (they were not able to care about or feel affection for others) whilst none of the control group were affectionless psychopaths. This suggests that separations for longer than six months during their first five years can L have long lasting negative consequences on the child's development supporting Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation. P There is counter evidence that does not support Bowlbys findings. 21  Lewis (1954) partially replicated the 44 thieves study on a larger scale, looking at 500 E young people. C E She found early prolonged maternal separation did not predict criminality or difficulty forming close relationships. This is a limitation of Bowlby’s theory because it suggests that other factors may affect L the outcomes of early maternal separation. It may not be maternal deprivation, but privation that that is associated with poor P intellectual and emotional development. Rutter (1981) distinguished between deprivation (the loss of a primary attachment figure after the attachment had developed) and privation (the failure to form any attachment O E at all). Rutter argues that the severe long-term damage Bowlby associated with deprivation is actually more likely the result of privation. Many of the 44 thieves in Bowlby's study had moved from home to home during their E childhood so may never have formed attachments in the first place. This suggests that privation is the cause of their affectionless psychopathy which weaken L support for Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis. P Bowlbys’s MDH and accompanying research has significant real-world applications. It highlights the importance of positive attachment experiences and maintaining a E monotropic bond in the first five years, which have been instrumental in the developments of good childcare practices. P Greater stability in childcare practice has been developed through daycare centres assigning keyworkers to children. The keyworker becomes another attachment figure for the child and is responsible for settling the child into day care and ensuring the child's E needs are met. The keyworker also updates parents and carers on the day's events to help provide continuity of care. Similarly, hospital visiting hours have been reviewed so that children can maintain contact with their parents at all hours of the day and night. This means that Bowlby’s theory and research has significant practical applications to L improve child well-being. Bowlby’s viewpoint that the negative effects of maternal deprivation are irreversible P seems overstated and deterministic. However, later research suggests that this is not the case. Koluchová (1976) reported the case of twin boys from Czechoslovakia who were isolated from the age of 18 months E until they were 7 years old (their step-mother kept them locked in a cupboard). ID E Subsequently they were looked after by two loving adults and appeared to recover fully. Cases like this show that the period identified by Bowlby may be a ‘sensitive’ one and not a critical one, which means that the effects of maternal deprivation do not last forever. If the child receives supportive and responsive care, these effects only exist for a limited time. This suggests that negative outcomes of deprivation are not inevitable lessening support L for Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis. 22 ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDIES: EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION Institutionalisation in the context of attachment refers to the effects of growing up in an orphanage or children's home. Children who are raised in these institutions often suffer from a lack of emotional care, which means that children are unable to form attachments. ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDY In the English and Romanian adoptees study (ERA) (Rutter et al,2011) studied 165 Romanian children who spent their early lives in Romanian institutions and thus suffered from the effects of institutionalisation. 111 were adopted before the age of two years and a further 54 by the age of four and they were compared to a control group of 52 British children adopted in the UK before the age of six months. At the time of adoption the Romanian orphans lagged behind their British counterparts on all measures of physical, cognitive and social development. They were smaller, weighed less and were classified as having an intellectual disability. However, by the age of four, most of the children who had been adopted before the age of six months had caught up with their British counterparts. Whilst many of those orphans adopted after six months showed disinhibited attachments and had problems with peer relationships. T EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALISATION: DISINHIBITED The child is equally friendly and affectionate towards people they know well ATTACHMENT or who are strangers. This may be an adaptation to multiple caregivers. DAMAGE TO Institutionalised children often show signs of intellectual disabilities. This INTELLECTUAL effect is not a pronounced if the children are adopted before 6 months of DEVELOPMENT age. Children in institutional care are usually physically small; research has PHYSICAL shown that a lack of emotional care rather than physical is the cause of UNDERDEVELOPMENT what has been called deprivation dwarfism (Gardner, 1972) Quinton et al (1984) compared 50 women who had been reared in institutions with a control group of 50 women reared at home. When the POOR PARENTING women were in their 20’s it was found the ex-institutional children were having extreme difficulties acting as parents 23 EVALUATION OF ROMANIAN ORPHAN STUDIES & EFFECTS IF INSTITUTIONALISATION Further supporting evidence for the negative effect institutionalisation on development is P provided by Le Mare and Audet (2006) who reported the findings from a longitudinal study of 36 Romanian orphans adopted into E families in Canada. The dependent variables in this study have been physical growth and S E health. The adopted orphans were physically smaller than a matched control group at age four and a half years, but this difference had disappeared by ten and a half years. The same was true for physical health. This suggests that recovery is possible from the effects of institutionalisation on physical L development. P The long term-effects of early experiences are not yet clear. It is too soon to say for certain whether children suffered short or long-term effects because E the adopted orphans have only been followed into their mid-teens. C The children who spent longer in institutions and currently lag behind in intellectual development or display attachment difficulties may still ‘catch up’ as adults. Equally, early- E adopted/fostered children who appear to have now issues now may experience emotional problems as adults. Therefore it is unclear the extent to which institutionalisation influences future L development. The effects of institutionalisation may be due to the quality of care rather than the absence P of an attachment figure. The conditions of the orphanages are so bad that the results may not apply to institutional O E care or general situations of deprivation. Romanian orphanages had particularly poor standards of care, especially when it came to E forming any relationship with children. The unusual situational variables mean that the studies may lack generalisability as well as L confound the influence of deprivation. P Studying Romanian orphans has important practical applications. Results from this research have led to improvements in the way children are cared for in E P institutions. Children’s homes now avoid having large numbers of caregivers for each child. They have E one or two ‘key workers’ who play a central role. This gives the child a chance to develop normal attachments and avoid disinhibited L attachments, immensely valuable in practical terms. P There are ethical implications associated with investigating Romanian orphans. The Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP) was the first ever randomised controlled trial of foster care as an alternative to institutional care for young abandoned children. When E considering ethics in research, any benefits that have been withheld from a participant should also be considered, such as not being fostered. ID E In this study researchers were aware that fostering would benefit the child but instead allowed the child to be institutionalised for the scientific value of the research. However, the researchers argued that this was a continuation of the children's current life circumstance, the children were not placed in institutions by the BEIP and no child remained in institutional care because of the study. This raises important ethical issues surrounding the children who were denied foster care to L remain as an institutionalised group. 24 THE INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON CHILDHOOD AND ADULT RELATIONSHIPS According to Bowlby, early attachments influence the ability to form relationships later in adulthood. Bowlby suggested that the internal working model formed by a child becomes a template for future relationships and this predicts the continuity between early relationships with caregivers and later relationships in adulthood. The internal working model is a mental representation of our self-concept and our relationship with our primary caregiver that becomes a template for future relationships (known as the continuity hypothesis). For example, the internal working model developed from the child's attachment type may create a view of the self as loveable or unloveable, or a view of the world as trustworthy or untrustworthy. This will influence later relationships by providing the child with a way of reacting to the world. On Childhood Relationships: Attachment type is associated with the quality of peer relationships in childhood. Attachment Influence on Childhood Behaviour Type Form the best quality childhood friendships, are unlikely to be a part of bullying behaviour be because securely attached children are more confident & less likely to be the target of Secure bullies (they stand up for themselves). These children also tend to have close friendships and so anyone bullying them risk them having the support of other children. Form poorer quality friendships and are most likely to be bullies because Insecure individuals have lower emotion regulation abilities and poorer social problem solving skills, which can Resistant all contribute to a greater propensity for bullying. Insecure individuals also tend to form negative working models of others and relationships and behave (possibly aggressively) in accordance with this perspective Form poorer quality friendships and are more likely to be victims of bullying because they Avoidant tend to have fewer friends and are therefore often targets of bullies as they are vulnerable as have less children to defend them. EVALUATION OF INFLUENCE OF ATTACHMENT ON CHILDHOOD RELATIONSHIPS Support for the influence of early attachment on childhood behaviour comes from P research by Myron-Wilson and Smith. S E They assessed children with each attachment type & bullying involvement using questionnaires on 196 Ps aged 7-11 from London They found that secure children are unlikely to be involved in bullying. Insecure- E avoidant children were most likely to be victims and insecure-resistant were most likely to be bullies. L These findings support the continuity hypothesis suggesting there is a link between early attachment and the quality of peer relationships in childhood. P One weakness of the influence of the internal working model on childhood relationships is that there is contradictory evidence. Zimmerman conducted a longitudinal study and assessed attachment type between C E 12-18 months and then revisited at 16 years using interviews to determine if attachment types in infancy determined adolescent relationships. E Research found was very little relationships between quality of infant and adolescent attachment. L This is a limitation because it is not what we would expect if internal working models were important in development therefore reducing the reliability of the internal working model. 25 On Adult Relationships: Early attachment influences adult relationships in terms of parenting and romantic relationships. Research indicates an intergenerational continuity between adults attachment types and their children, including children adopting the parenting styles of their own parents. People tend to base their parenting style on the internal working model so attachment type tends to be passed on through generations of a family. There also appears to be continuity between early attachment styles and the quality of later adult romantic relationships. This idea is based upon the internal working model where an infant’s primary attachment forms a model (template) for future relationships. The IWM influences a person’s expectation of later relationships thus affects his attitudes towards them. In other words there will be continuity between early attachment experiences and later relationships. Secure Attachment: Being warm and loving in a relationship comes naturally and secure adults enjoy being intimate without becoming overly worried about their relationships. They take things in stride when it comes to romance and don’t get easily upset over relationship matters. They effectively communicate needs and feelings to partners and are strong at reading partner’s emotional cues and responding to them. Secure adults share successes and problems with their partner and are able to be there for them in times of need. Insecure-resistant Attachment: Love to be very close to their romantic partners and have the capacity for great intimacy. They often fear, however, that their partner does not wish to be as close as them as they would like them to be. Relationships tend to consume a large part of emotional energy. Anxious adults experience a lot of negative emotions within the relationship and get easily upset. As a result, they tend to act out and say things they later regret. If the other person provides a lot of security and reassurance, however, they are able to shed much of their preoccupation and feel contented. Insecure- avoidant Attachment: It is very important for avoidant adults to maintain their independence and self-sufficiency and they often prefer autonomy to intimate relationships. Even though they do want to be close to others, they feel uncomfortable with too much closeness and tend to keep partner at arm’s length. They don’t spend much time worrying about romantic relationships or about being rejected. Avoidant adults tend not to open up to partners and are described by their partners as being ‘emotionally distant’. 26 EVALUATION OF INFLUENCE OF ATTACHMENT ON ADULT RELATIONSHIPS P Support for the influence of the IWM on adult relationships comes from Hazen & Shavers ‘Love Quiz’ published in the Rocky Mountain News. E They analysed 620 responses to the ‘Love Quiz’ from respondents aged between 14 and 82 and assessed their attachment types using an adjective checklist of childhood relationships with parents and also assessed beliefs about romantic love, such as whether it lasted forever, how much trust there was in a romantic relationship, and S so on. E They found there was a positive correlation between attachment type & love experiences; Securely attached adults had enduring romantic relationships, lasting on average 10 years compared to 5 year relationships for resistant types & 6 years for avoidant types. Both insecure types were vulnerable to loneliness, with resistant types being the most vulnerable. Avoidant types tended towards jealousy & fear of intimacy. L This means that there appears to be a consistent relationship between early attachment type and later, adult styles of romantic love supporting the concept of the internal working model. P However, the methodology to assess the relationship between early and adult relationships is flawed. E Many studies of attachment do not use the Strange Situation but assess infant-parent C attachment using interviews or questionnaires, and this does not happen in infancy, but years later when the participant's recall may not be accurate. E The validity if questionnaires and interviews is limited because they depend on respondents being honest and having a realistic view of their own relationships. A related problem concerns the retrospective nature of assessment. L Looking back in adulthood at ones early attachment lacks validity because it relies on accurate recollections that can be difficult to access and therefore the influence of attachment on adult relationships may not be accurate. 27 GENERAL EVALUATION OF INFLUENCE OF EARLY ATTACHMENT ON LATER RELATIONSHIPS A problem with research assessing the influence of the Internal Working Model is that P association between infant and later attachments does not always mean causality. For example, there are alternative explanations for the continuity that is often observed between infant and later attachments. A third environmental factor such as the quality O E of the first adult relationship. This has been found to impact the quality of future relationships depending on how this first relationship was. Alternatively, the child’s temperament may influence both infant attachment and the E quality of later life relationships. This is a limitation because it is counter to Bowlby’s view that the internal working model L causes these later outcomes. P The continuity hypothesis has practical applications particularly for social work. Research demonstrates that institutionalised women had difficulties parenting and their E P children were also more likely to be in care. There is potential for social works to provide support and education to mothers with E poor quality attachments to assist in improving attachments with their own children and preventing institutionalisation. L This means that the IWM and continuity has both practical and economic benefits. P The influence of infant attachment on future relationships is deterministic This is because it suggests that IWMs predict that attachment type in infancy is usually ID E the same as the attachment type in future relationships. However, it is not a cause and effect relationship, people are not always doomed to E always have bad relationships because they had attachment problems during childhood. L This limits the value of the IWM as a mechanism that affects later relationships. 28 AO2 CAREGIVER-INFANT INTERACTION 1. Read the item and then answer the question that follows. Proud father Abdul was talking to his friend, as they were both watching Abdul’s wife, Tasneem, interacting with their baby daughter, Aisha. ‘It’s amazing really’, said Abdul. ‘Tasneem smiles, Aisha smiles back. Tasneem moves her head, Aisha moves hers, perfectly in time with each other.’ ‘Yes’, agreed the friend. ‘It’s almost as if they are one person.’ With reference to Abdul’s conversation with his friend, outline two features of caregiver-infant interaction. [4 marks] Read the item and then answer the question that follows. Studies of attachment often involve observation of interactions between mother and baby pairs like Tasneem and Aisha. Researchers sometimes write down everything that happens as it takes place, including their own interpretation of the events. 2. Explain how such observational research might be refined through the use of behavioural categories. [4 marks] Read the item and then answer the questions that follow. A child psychologist carried out an overt observation of caregiver-infant interaction. She observed a baby boy interacting separately with each of his parents. Using a time sampling technique, she observed the baby with each parent for 10 minutes. Her findings are shown in Table 1 below. Table 1: Frequency of each behaviour displayed by the infant when interacting with his mother and when interacting with his father Gazing at Looking away from Eyes closed Total parent parent Mother 12 2 6 20 Father 6 10 4 20 Total 18 12 10 40 3. Using the data in Table 1, explain the procedure used for the time sampling technique in this study. [3 marks] 4. In what percentage of the total observations was the baby gazing at his mother? Show your calculations. [2 marks] 5. Which one of the following types of data best describes the data collected in this study? Shade one box only. [1 mark] A. Primary data B. Qualitative data C. Secondary data D. Continuous data 6. The study in Question 3 was an overt observation. Explain what is meant by ‘overt observation’. [2 marks] 29 AO2 STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANT ATTACHMENT Rudolph Schaffer and Peggy Emerson (1964) studied 60 babies at monthly intervals for the first 18 months of life (this is known as a longitudinal study). The children were all studied in their own home, and a regular pattern was identified in the development of attachment. Table 1: Percentage of babies who have formed multiple attachments at 7, 10 and 18 months. Shaffer & Emerson (1964) 7 month 30% had multiple attachments 10 months 60% had multiple attachments 18 months 85% had multiple attachments 1. Calculate the number of babies who have formed multiple attachments at each age and show your workings. [3 marks] The babies were visited monthly for approximately one year, their interactions with their carers were observed, and carers were interviewed. A diary was kept by the mother to examine the evidence for the development of attachment. 2. Referring to the above information explain how the researcher can collect both quantitative and qualitative data during this investigation [4 marks] 3. Draw an appropriate graph representing the number of children who have formed multiple attachments at each age. [5 marks] 30 AO2 THE ROLE OF