J Caregiver-infant interactions in humans: reciprocity and interactional synchrony.
J Stages of attachment identified by Schaffer
J Multiple attachments and the role of the father
J Animal studies of attachment: Lorenz and Harlow.
J Explanations of attachment: learning theory and Bowlby’s monotropic theory. The concepts of a critical period and an internal working model.
J Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’. Types of attachment: secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure resistant. Cultural variations in attachment, including van Ijzendoorn.
J Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation. Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation.
J The influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships, including the role of an internal working model.
COURSE COMPANION
ATTACHMENT
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Caregiver-infant interactions in humans: reciprocity and interactional synchrony.
What You Need to Know
Ainsworth (1989) defines attachments as, “Relatively
long-enduring ties in which the partner is important as a
unique individual….there is a desire to maintain closeness
to the partner.”
Reciprocity refers to the process in which a behaviour is matched
during an interaction e.g. smiling back when someone smiles
at us. Reciprocity develops, in its simplest form, at a very early
age. According to Feldman (2007), reciprocity can be seen
in interactions from 3 months of age. This conclusion was
supported by Meltzoff & Moore’s (1997) research, which
demonstrated that babies as young as 12-27 days would attempt
to imitate facial and physical gestures.
Interactional synchrony refers to how a parent’s speech and
infant’s behaviour become finely synchronised so that they are
in direct response to one another. It was defined by Feldman
(2007) as a “temporal co-ordination of micro-level social
behaviour” and as “symbolic exchanges between parent and
child”. Feldman suggests that interactional synchrony serves a
critical role in developmental outcomes in terms of self-regulation,
symbol use, and the capacity for empathy.
Brazelton et al. (1975) identified trends in mother-baby
interactional synchrony. Videotapes of 12 mother-baby pairs’ play
behaviour was examined up to 5 months of age, which revealed
three phases of play:
J Attention and build-up
J Turning away
J Recovery
These three phases were repeated at regular intervals over the 7
minute footage. It was concluded that the three phases of play
demonstrate the early signs of organised behaviour.
Isabella and Belsky (1991) hypothesised that caregiver-baby
pairs that developed secure attachment relationships would
display more synchronous behaviour than babies with insecure
relationships. Babies were observed at 3 and 9 months and the
secure group interacted in a well-timed, reciprocal, and mutually
rewarding manner. In contrast caregiver-baby pairs classed as
insecure were characterized by interactions that were minimally
involved, unresponsive and intrusive. Avoidant pairs displayed
maternal intrusiveness and overstimulation, while resistant
pairs were poorly coordinated, under-involved and inconsistent.
Isabella and Belsky concluded that different interactional
You need to be able to describe caregiver-infant interactions in humans and you need to be able to define reciprocity and interactional synchrony
It would be useful to be aware of some research in the area
J NOTES
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Stages of attachment identified by Schaffer
What You Need to Know
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) studied 60 babies from
Glasgow at monthly intervals for the first 18 months of life
using a longitudinal method.
Children were all studied in their own homes and visited monthly for
approximately one year. Interactions with their carers were analysed
to establish if and when infants started to display separation anxiety.
Results revealed that attachments were most likely to form with
carers who were sensitive to the baby’s signals, rather than the
person they spent the most time with.
By 10 months old, most of the babies had several attachments,
including attachments to mothers, fathers, siblings and extended
family. It was observed that the mother was the main attachment
figure for roughly half of the babies when they were 18 months old
and the father for most of the others. Based on this finding, this
would suggest that being sensitive and responsive (including playing
and communicating an infant) is more instrumental in attachment
development than physical care.
Schaffer’s observational research led to the formulation of four
distinct stages of developmental progress that characterise infants’
attachments:
J Asocial stage (0-6 weeks) – Similar responses to objects &
people. Preference for faces/ eyes.
J Indiscriminate attachments (6 weeks – 6 months) –
Preference for human company. Ability to distinguish between
people but comforted indiscriminately.
J Specific (7 months +) – Infants show a preference for one
caregiver, displaying separation and stranger anxiety. The baby
looks to particular people for security, comfort and protection.
J Multiple (10/11 months +) – Attachment behaviours are
displayed towards several different people eg. siblings,
grandparents etc.
What You Need to Know
You need to be able to outline the stages of attachment proposed by Schaffer.
You may also be required to identify the stages from examples of behaviour given in the examination.
J NOTES
Multiple attachments and the role of the father
What You Need to Know
Bowlby (1988) reasoned that if patterns of attachment are a product
of how their mother has treated them, it could be anticipated that the
pattern he develops with his father is the product of how their father
has treated them. Bowlby suggests that fathers can fill a role closely
resembling that filled by a mother but points out that in most cultures
this is uncommon. Bowlby argues that in most families with young
children, the father’s role tends to be different. According to Bowlby,
a father is more likely to engage in physically active and novel play
than the mother and tends to become his child’s preferred play
companion.
Schaffer & Emerson found that additional attachments developed in
the proceeding months following the 4th stage, observing 31% of
infants displaying 5 or more attachments by 18 months.
Grossman’s (2002) conducted a longitudinal study of 44 families
comparing the role of fathers’ & mothers’ contribution to their
children’s attachment experiences at 6,10 and 16 years. Fathers’
play style (whether it was sensitive, challenging and interactive)
was closely linked to the fathers’ own internal working model of
attachment. Play sensitivity was a better predictor of the child’s long-
term attachment representation than the early measures of the of
attachment type that the infant had with their father.
Field (1978) conducted research which compared the behaviours
of primary caretaker mothers with primary and secondary caretaker
fathers. Face-to-face interactions were analysed from video footage
with infants at 4 months of age. Overall, it was observed that fathers
engaged more in game playing and held their infants less. However,
primary caretaker fathers engaged in significantly more smiling,
imitative grimaces, and imitative vocalizations than did secondary
caretaker fathers and these were comparable with mothers’
behaviour.
Brown et al. (2012) investigated father involvement, paternal
sensitivity, and father−child attachment security at 13 months and 3
years of age. Results demonstrated that involvement and sensitivity
influenced father−child attachment security at age 3. Involvement
was a greater predictor of secure attachment when fathers were
rated as less sensitive.
Link - The research from Brown and Field indicates that the
gender of a caregiver is not crucial in predicting attachment
types/ quality, rather it is the extent of caregiver involvement. This
point can be paralleled with Ainsworth’s Caregiver Sensitivity
Hypothesis (1979). Although this was based on observations
of mothers’ behaviour, it predicted that responsive and sensitive
care predicted attachment types.
You need to be able to describe what research has found with regards to the role of the father, so learning some studies will be important
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J NOTES
Animal studies of attachment: Lorenz and Harlow.
What You Need to Know
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 (1952) Lorenz’s research suggests that organisms have a biological
propensity to form attachments to one single subject. Lorenz
conducted an experiment in which goslings were hatched either with
their mother or in an incubator. Once goslings had hatched they
proceeded to follow the first moving object that they saw between
13 & 16 hours after hatching; in this case, Lorenz. It supports the
view that having a biological basis for an attachment is adaptive as
it promotes survival. This would explain why goslings imprint after
a matter of minutes due to their increased mobility; human babies
are born immobile and therefore there is less call for them to form an
attachment straight away, and so, this develops later (8-9 months).
Harlow (1958)Harlow conducted research with 8 rhesus monkeys which were
caged from infancy with wire mesh food dispensing and cloth-
covered surrogate mothers, to investigate which of the two
alternatives would have more attachment behaviours directed
towards it. Harlow measured the amount time that monkeys spent
with each surrogate mother and the amount time that they cried for
their biological mother. Harlow’s findings revealed that separated
infant rhesus monkeys would show attachment behaviours towards
a cloth-covered surrogate mother when frightened, rather than
a food-dispensing surrogate mother. Monkeys were willing to
explore a room full of novel toys when the cloth-covered monkey
was present but displayed phobic responses when only the
food-dispensing surrogate was present. Furthermore, Harlow
reviewed infant monkeys that were reared in a social (non-isolated)
environment and observed that these monkeys went on to develop
into healthy adults, while the monkeys in isolation with the surrogate
mothers all displayed dysfunctional adult behaviour, including:
a) Being timid; b) Unpredictable with other monkeys; c) They had
difficulty with mating; d) The females were inadequate mothers.
Implications of animal studies of attachment
Lorenz (1952) – The fact that the goslings studies imprinted
irreversibly so early in life, suggests that this was operating within
a critical period, which was underpinned by biological changes.
The longevity of the goslings’ bond with Lorenz would support
the view that, on some level, early attachment experiences do
predict future bonds. 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.
Harlow (1958) – 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. The fact
that isolated monkeys displayed long-term dysfunctional behaviour
illustrates, once more, that early attachment experiences predict
long-term social development. 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.
Strengths Weaknesses
Humans and monkeys are similar – Green (1994) states that, on a biological level at least, all mammals (including rhesus monkeys) have the same brain structure as humans; the only differences relates to size and the number of connections.
Results cannot be generalised to humans - It is questionable whether findings and conclusions can be extrapolated and applied to complex human behaviours. It is unlikely that observations of goslings following a researcher or rhesus monkeys clinging to cloth-covered wire models reflects the emotional connections and interaction that characterises human attachments.
Important practical applications - Harlow’s research has profound implications for childcare. Due to the importance of early experiences on long-term development, it is vital that all of children’s needs are catered for; taking care of a child’s physical needs alone is not sufficient.
Research is unethical - The use of animals in research can be questioned on ethical grounds. It could be argued that animals have a right not to be researched/ harmed. The pursuit of academic conclusions for human benefits could be seen as detrimental to non-human species.
Learn the work of both Lorenz and Harlow and be prepared to evaluate it too.
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Explanations of attachment: learning theory and Bowlby’s monotropic theory. The concepts of a critical period and an internal working model.
What You Need to Know
Learning theory proposes that attachment is essentially learned
through classical conditioning, operant conditioning and/or Social
Learning Theory. Traditional learning theory suggests that the
pleasure induced by food is integral to the attachment process.
Classical conditioning is based on stimulus-response associations.
When someone is hungry, food leads to a reflex response of pleasure.
When food is combined with another stimuli, such as a mother (who
provides the food), eventually she becomes associated with food and
elicits the same response.
Food (US) – Pleasure (UCR)
Mother (CS) + Food (US) – Pleasure (UCR)
Mother (CS) – Pleasure (CR) = Attachment
Operant conditioning suggests that behaviours are introduced and
modified by behaviour-consequence associations. This can include
positive reinforcement (behaviour is increased when rewarded),
punishment (behaviour is reduced) and negative reinforcement
(behaviour is increased due to the avoidance of something
unpleasant).
It is argued that a baby’s crying leads to feeding (positive
consequence) & so the behaviour is positively reinforced. In addition,
parents are being negatively reinforced as the feeding behaviour
reduces an unpleasant experience (hearing crying). It is these forms
of reinforcement that lead to regular parent-child interactions which
form the basis for attachment.
Dollard & Miller’s (1950) Drive-Reduction Theory - The sensation
of hunger is uncomfortable leading infants into a drive state, in which
the infant is motivated to reduce this. Infants’ crying leads to attention
& ultimately feeding which reduces the discomfort and is therefore
rewarding. The mother/ person providing food is associated with a
rewarding sensation and therefore becomes a secondary reinforcer.
The infant seeks the attention and company of the secondary
reinforcer which forms the basis of an attachment.
Social Learning Theory (SLT)SLT suggests that people learn through observing and imitating
others, particularly when their behaviour is followed by a positive
consequence; this is known as indirect or vicarious reinforcement.
Hay & Vespo (1988) argue that parents act as role models for their
infants, teaching them how to respond during social interactions &
carry out relationships.
Tip – learning theory is also referred to as the behavioural
theory. Behaviourists developed their theories based on
observations of animal behaviour (such as dogs, rats and
pigeons), which was modified through classical and operant
conditioning. However when considering human attachments,
make sure that you refer to theories of human attachment
rather than background research with animals that is not
relevant to attachment.
Learning Theory Evaluation
Be prepared to be able to outline and evaluate the explanations for attachment (with research). You also
need to be able to outline/ define the concepts of a critical period and an internal working model.
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Strengths Weaknesses
There is research evidence to support the concepts of classical and operant conditioning- (e.g. Both Pavlov’s and Skinner’s research), however this is not directly applicable to attachments so offers weak support for the learning theory of attachment specifically.
Evidence contradicts learning theory’s focus on food - Schaffer & Emerson (64) reveal less than 50% of infants had primary attachment to those who fed/ bathed them. As learning theory suggests that the pleasure associated with food is the driving force that leads to attachment, this finding suggests that this cannot be the case, pointing to other variables that must be involved.
Bowlby’s Theory of AttachmentBowlby’s theory is sometimes referred to as an evolutionary
theory. Evolutionary psychology suggests that human behaviour
and phenomena can be explained through the process of
natural selection. Traits which offered our ancestors a survival
or reproductive advantage in our environment of evolutionary
adaptation (EEA) would be passed on to offspring and as a result
continue to exist and proliferate.
Bowlby (1969) suggests that attachment is a vital adaptive
quality that has evolved to increase the chance of survival through
proximity-seeking behaviour. As babies are born in an early stage
of development, they are highly dependent on the parent as they
require constant care, which means that the infant would benefit
from a biological mechanism that could keep the parent close to
them. Attachment is mutually innate in both infants & adults, with
infants using social releasers to promote interaction (eg. smiling/
eye contact encourage caregiver reactions). It is suggested that
these need to be innate to ensure that infants can maintain close
contact with their parents. Equally, parents need to be receptive
to these innate cues that the infant displays in order for this to
offer an adaptive advantage.
According to Bowlby, infants require a qualitatively unique
relationship to develop an internal working model & emotional
maturity – this special bond is known as a monotropic bond. This
special bond helps to maintain proximity between the parent and
infant and also offers the infant the opportunity to develop skills
and an understanding of how to attach and bond to others.
Bowlby suggests that attachment takes place during a critical
period. It is suggested that if a child does not form an attachment
before the critical period (2.5 years) attachment will not occur.
(Bowlby later proposed a sensitive period of up to 5 years.)
The Internal Working Model (IWM) provides a template for future
attachments. It allows individuals to predict, control & manipulate
their environment. As a result, it plays a role in later development
– this is known as the continuity hypothesis.
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Strengths Weaknesses
Associations between food and caregivers do not predict human attachments – Despite humans being fed as infants, there are massive variations in attachment types and skills that contribute to our ability to socialise, which associations between caregivers and feeding could not explain. Bowlby’s theory focuses on inter-personal factors including the development of the internal working model which can explain the complexity of how unique attachments develop and influence us.
The theory offers limited real world applications – Learning theory does not offer any practical applications that can be used in childcare or therapy. Because learning theory focuses on the pleasure associated with feeding there are no implications beyond this. Alternative research has highlighted the importance of the formative years of life and how early experiences affect future development. Such research has implications that extend to childcare practice and therapies which explore how we form relationships. Learning theory cannot be applied in the same way due to its simplicity.
Strengths Weaknesses
The need for monotropy appears to be universal - Ainsworth (1967) observed the Ganda tribe of Uganda. Infants form one primary attachment even when reared by multiple carers.
Fox’s (1977) research into Israeli communal farms has revealed child-rearing practices that are quite distinct from conventional Western ones. Fox reported that children spend a majority of the day with nurses called metapelets rather than their biological parents; in fact infants tend to spend approximately 3 hours a day with their biological mother. Observed infants appeared to still form a (special) monotropic bond with their mothers despite not seeing them for extended periods of time, which supports Bowlby, as he claimed that monotropy was a necessity that was innately programmed in infants. So it would seem that despite the cultural variations in child-rearing practises, the process of attachment appears to be universal.
The importance of monotropy is overemphasised - Thomas (98) questions the benefits of monotropy & suggests it may be more beneficial having a network of attachments to support infants & their social/ emotional needs. Parke (81) found that qualitatively different attachments provide different benefits. Similarly, Van Ijzendoorn, & Tavecchio (1987) argue that a stable network of adults can provide adequate or better care than a mother who has to meet all a child’s needs.
Ainsworth’s ‘Strange Situation’. Types of attachment: secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure resistant. Cultural variations in attachment, including van Ijzendoorn.
What You Need to Know
Ainsworth’s Strange Situation (1970) used structured
observational research to assess & measure the quality of
attachment. It has 8 pre-determined stages, including the
mother leaving the child, for a short while, to play with
available toys in the presence of a stranger & alone and
the mother returning to the child:
Stage 1 – Mother and child enter the playroom
Stage 2 – The child is encouraged to explore
Stage 3 – Stranger enters and attempts to interact
Stage 4 – Mothers leaves while the stranger is present
Stage 5 – Mother enters and the stranger leaves
Stage 6 – Mothers leaves
Stage 7 – Stranger returns
Stage 8 – Mother returns and interacts with child
Ainsworth & Bell (1970) used 4 criteria (separation/ stranger
anxiety, reunion behaviour & willingness to explore the room) to
classify 100 middle class American infants into 1 of 3 categories.
Children were observed through a one-way mirror and were
classed as one of the 3 attachment types below based on their
responses to the 8 stages:
FindingsJ 70% Secure
J 15% Avoidant insecure
J 15% Resistant insecure
Therefore most US children appeared to be securely attached.
The results highlight the role of the mother’s behaviour
in determining the quality of attachment. This led to the
conceptualisation of the Caregiver Sensitivity Hypothesis, which
suggests that a mother’s behaviour towards their infant predicts
their attachment type.
Types of observation
Which type of observations characterise the methods that
Ainsworth used?
J Structured/ unstructured
J Overt/ covert
J Disclosed/ undisclosed
What are the advantages and disadvantages of designing
the study this way?
You need to be able to outline and evaluate the strange situation procedure. Similarly you
must be able to outline and evaluate cross cultural research (specifically van Ijzendoorn
as a minimum requirement)
Secure Insecure Avoidant Insecure Resistant
Separation Anxiety Infants were upset when their mother left the room.
Showed mild distress when their mother left the room.
Infants were very upset at separation.
Stranger Anxiety Wary of strangers and treated them differently to their mother.
Rejected the strangers’ attempts to comfort them.
Rejected the strangers’ attempts to comfort them.
Reunion Behaviour Infants displayed joy when the mother returned and were easily
comforted.
Infants did not display joy when the mother returned or seek
comfort. Infants kept a distance from mothers.
nfants displayed anger and rejected the mother when she returned and were not
comforted
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Secure Insecure Avoidant Insecure Resistant
Exploration/ Orientating behaviour
Infants orientated to their mothers using them as a safe base to explore.
Infants did not orientate to their mothers to explore..
I. Alternated between trying to remain close and keeping a distance.
Mother’s behaviour Mothers were consistently responsive and sensitive.
Mothers sometimes ignored infants.
Mothers were inconsistent and sometimes inpatient.
Strengths Weaknesses
Replicable/ high inter-observer reliability – As the research is highly operationalised, observers have a clear view of how a securely attached infant should behave, due to the 4 specific criteria that Ainsworth used. For this reason, the research should have high inter-observer reliability & it is also replicable so its reliability can be checked.
Low Population Validity - A major methodological criticism of Ainsworth’s research is that the sample was restricted to 100 middle class Americans & their infants, so it is unlikely that findings would be representative of the wider population.
Reliability of classifications – Waters (1978) assessed 50 infants at 12 and at 18 months of age using the SS procedure. Waters found clear evidence for stable individual differences using Ainsworth’s behavior category data. The greatest consistency was seen in reunion behaviours after brief separations. 48 of the 50 infants observed were independently rated as being classified in the same category at 18 months.
Categories are not always applicable - A further classification group (disorganised) was subsequently identified by Main & Cassidy (1988), which would suggest that infants do not all fit into the three categories introduced by Ainsworth.
Procedure is culturally biased – The SS was designed by an American according to observations of US children. Consequently, the criteria used to classify infants are based on US values, relating to child-parent behaviour. It could be argued that this is Eurocentric, so observations of non-Americans will judged according to American standards. Eg. Japanese infants were judged as being resistant due to high levels of distress that were observed but this reflects their lack of experience during the “infant alone” part of the research, rather than an resistant attachment type.
Cross Cultural VariationsThe Strange Situation procedure has had a profound impact within
developmental psychology and has become a recognised and
validated method to assess individual differences in attachment
types. The procedure has been used in a variety of cultural settings
to identify whether patterns of attachments appear to be universal or
are subject to cultural influences. One of the most commonly cited
cross-cultural studies which uses the Strange Situation procedure
was conducted by Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg’s in 1988.
Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg’s (1988) meta-analysis
summarized findings from 8 countries, which included the UK,
US, Sweden, Japan, China, Holland, Germany & Israel. The meta-
analysis examined 32 studies and consulted nearly 2000 Strange
Situation classifications in total. The meta-analysis yielded a number
of findings and conclusions:
Percentage of each attachment type
Country (number of studies) Secure Avoidant Resistant
USA (18) 65 21 14
UK (1) 75 22 3
Holland (4) 67 26 7
Germany (3) 57 35 8
Japan (2) 68 5 27
China (1) 50 25 25
Israel (2) 64 7 29
Sweden (1) 74 22 4
J Average findings were consistent with Ainsworth’s original
research - Secure 65% - Avoidant 21% - Resistant 14%
J Intra-cultural variation was nearly 15 times greater than the cross-
cultural variations. Van Ijzendoorn speculated that this was linked
to differences in socio-economic factors and levels of stress that
varied between samples used within each country.
J 6/8 countries produced findings that were proportionally
consistent with Ainsworth & Bell (1970).
J Japan & Israel revealed a higher incidence of resistant than
avoidant children.
J Chinese findings revealed the lowest rate of secure attachments
(50%) with the remaining children falling into the other categories
equally.
It was concluded that the modest cross-cultural differences reflect
the effects of mass media, which portrays similar notions of
parenting.
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Evaluation
Strengths Weaknesses
Comparison is aided by the standardised methodology. The use of the strange situation as a procedure means that a comparison can be made across cultures, and the reliability is therefore high
The study was not globally representative - Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg recognised that data from less Western-oriented cultures were required to establish a more global perspective attachment classifications, pointing out that Africa, South America, and Eastern European socialist countries were not represented.
Overall findings are misleading - As a disproportionately high number of the studies reviewed were conducted in the USA (18/32), the overall findings would have been distorted by these. This means that the apparent consistency between cultures might not genuinely reflect how much attachment types vary between cultures.
Applying Strange Situation procedures and behavioural categories is ethnocentric – Cross-cultural research using the Strange Situation judges and categorises infant behaviour according to behavioural categories that were developed following observations of middle-class American infants. This means that when researchers interpret non-American infant behaviour, it is being judged against an American standard. Eg. an infant exploring the playroom by themselves would be classed as avoidant based on American standards but is valued as reflecting independence in Germany
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Takahashi (1990) replicated the Strange Situation with 60 middle
class Japanese infants & mothers using the same standardised
procedure and behavioural categories. Takahashi’s observation
revealed distinct cultural differences in how the infants responded to
the 8 stages of the procedure. The findings were as follows:
J 0% insecure-avoidant. Infants became severely distressed in the
“infant alone step”; this situation was quite unnatural and broke
cultural norms for the infants
J 32% insecure-resistant
J 68% secure
J 90% of infant-alone steps had to be stopped due to excessive
infant anxiety.
Evaluation of TakahashiA weakness of the research is that it could be seen as unethical – It
could be argued that Takahashi’s research was unethical as the harm
that the procedure caused exceeded what infants would be exposed
to in their day-to-day lives meaning that it exceeded undue risk. As
Japanese infants are rarely separated from their primary caregivers,
the infant-alone step induced stress that they would not normally
encounter and so the level of harm can be considered unjustifiable.
Despite this being the case, the researchers did stop infant-alone
steps prematurely in an attempt to protect infants from further harm.
J NOTES
Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation. Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation.
What You Need to Know
As early as the 1930s, researchers were beginning to identify
the long-term damage associated with disrupted or limited
attachment opportunities. In Bowlby’s The Origins of Attachment
lecture he alluded to this:
“During the nineteen-thirties and forties a number of clinicians on
both sides of the Atlantic, mostly working independently of each
other, were making observations of the ill effects on
personality development of prolonged institutional care and/or
frequent changes of mother-figure during the early years of life.”
Bowlby’s (1953) Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis proposed
that a “warm, intimate & continuous relationship with a mother
(figure)” is necessary for healthy psychological/ emotional
development. “Mother-love in infancy/ childhood is as important
for mental health as are vitamins & proteins for physical health.”
Consequences of maternal deprivation include:
J An inability to form attachments in the future (see the Internal
Working Model)
J Affectionless Psychopathy (inability to feel remorse)
J Delinquency (behavioural problems in adolescence)
J Problems with Cognitive Development
Bowlby (1944) 44 Juvenile Thieves Study - 44 Thieves were
compared with 44 Non-thieves from a delinquency centre.
Bowlby collected data via interviews and questionnaires from the
88 juveniles and found that 17/ 44 thieves had experienced early
prolonged separation from their mothers before 5 years.
15/17 of these thieves were classed as affectionless psychopaths
(no guilt/ remorse), while only 2/44 non-thieves had experienced
such separation. Therefore these findings support the
MDH, as there appears to be a link between disruption to
attachments in the first 5 years and later maladjustment.
Bowlby’s subsequent research reported that 60 children who had
spent time apart from their mothers due to tuberculosis prior to
the age of 4, demonstrated lower achievement in school.
Bowlby’s findings indicate that experiencing disrupted
attachments early in life is linked to crime, emotional
maladjustment and lower academic achievement, lending strong
support for the MDH.
15/17 of these thieves were classed as affectionless psychopaths
(no guilt/ remorse), while only 2/44 non-thieves had experienced
such separation. Therefore these findings support the MDH, as
there appears to be a link between disruption to attachments in
the first 5 years and later maladjustment.
Bowlby’s subsequent research reported that 60 children who
had spent time apart from their mothers due to tuberculosis
prior to the age of 4, demonstrated lower achievement
in school. Bowlby’s findings indicate that experiencing
disrupted attachments early in life is linked to crime, emotional
maladjustment and lower academic achievement, lending strong
support for the MDH.
For this section you need to describe and evaluate the maternal deprivaton hypothesis,
the Romanian orphan studies and the effects of institutionalisation
Pro
po
rtio
n o
f sa
mp
le
Thieves Controls
100
80
60
40
20
0
Affectionless Psychopathy
Early Separation
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Evaluation
Strengths Weaknesses
Practical applications – The MDH and accompanying research has significant real world applications, as they highlight the importance of positive attachment experiences and maintaining a monotropic bond in the first five years, which have been instrumental in the developments of good childcare practices. Greater stability in childcare practice has been developed through daycare centres assigning caregivers to children and hospital visiting hours have been reviewed so that children can maintain contact with their parents. Some national governments offer more financial support for young families in terms of maternity and paternity leave. For instance, Sweden offers 480 days parental leave, clearly highlighting its commitment to support children’s early attachment experiences.
Bowlby summarised some of the key applications that stemmed from the research in the 1950s, pointing to implications for those “working in child psychiatry and psychology and in social work, and some also of those in paediatrics and sick children’s nursing,” (Bowlby 1988).
Retrospective recall might be inaccurate - As Bowlby was asking the adolescent participants to recall separations that they had experienced years earlier, their responses would have been subject to inaccuracies/ distortions. .
Investigator effects - Bowlby designed and conducted the self-reports himself and as a result, his presence and interpretation might have influenced the outcome of the research. Bowlby’s diagnosis of affectionless psychopathy might have been distorted by researcher confirmation bias.
Conclusions are correlational - Bowlby found a relationship between early separation and delinquency/ affectionless psychopathy but we cannot definitively conclude that the separation was the cause. There may have been a third unidentified variable that accounted for the delinquency/ affectionless psychopathy. For example, the immediate cause of the separation (such as neglect or abuse) might have been the direct cause of problems experienced at adolescence rather than the separation itself. it is being judged against an American standard. Eg. an infant exploring the playroom by themselves would be classed as avoidant based on American standards but is valued as reflecting independence in Germany
Oversimplified concept - Michael Rutter’s (72) Maternal Deprivation Re-assessed critiqued Bowlby’s concept of the Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis. Rutter argues that Bowlby failed to distinguish between separation from an attachment figure, loss of an attachment figure and a complete lack of attachment (privation). Rutter argues that the three circumstances have different long-term effects on which Bowlby overlooked.
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Privation - Institutionalisation Hodges & Tizard (1989) conducted a longitudinal natural
experiment using 65 children had been placed into institutional care
before the age of 4 months, where there was a no-attachment
policy. By 4 years, 24 had been adopted, 15 returned home & the
remaining 26 were still in the institution. Assessments were taken
at ages 8 & 16 years. Data was obtained through interviews with
the adolescents and their mothers (and sometimes fathers). A
self-report questionnaire on social difficulties was completed by
adolescents and finally, teachers completed a postal questionnaire,
focusing on the adolescents’ relationships with teachers and peers.
The findings revealed that maternal deprivation was overcome to
a large extent by adopted children, with them going on to develop
strong and lasting attachments to parents once placed in families
in comparison to restored and institutionalised groups who made
limited recoveries. However all three groups were more oriented
towards adult attention, and had more difficulties with peers
and fewer close relationships than a matched control group of
adolescents, suggesting that early institutional experience had
damaging long-term effects.
Strengths Weaknesses
Ethical due to there being no experimental manipulation – Hodges and Tizard’s research can be seen to be ethical, as it used a natural experiment meaning that the independent variable was naturally occurring, rather than being deliberately manipulated by a researcher..
Lacks random allocation – As children were already placed in the institution, participants were not randomly allocated to conditions, which means that individual differences between the children could influence the findings in unanticipated ways. The research appears to suggest that positive subsequent care can minimise the harmful effects of privation, however, the adopted children might have been adopted because of personal characteristics such as apparent resilience or being more attractive in some way. These characteristics might explain why they made a partial recovery rather than the fact that they were adopted, which lowers the internal validity of the research.
Romanian orphan studies Rutter et al. (1998) studied 111 Romanian orphans adopted before
2 years and found that the sooner the children were adopted, the
faster their developmental progress.
In 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.
Chugani et al. (2001) administered PET scans to a sample
of 10 children adopted from Romanian orphanages and
compared them with 17 normal adults and a group of 7
children. Assessments showed mild neurocognitive impairment,
impulsivity, and attention and social deficits. Specifically, the
Romanian orphans showed significantly decreased activity in the
orbital frontal gyrus, parts of the prefrontal cortex/hippocampus,
the amygdala and the brain stem. Chugani concluded that the
dysfunction in these brain regions may have resulted from the
stress of early deprivation and might be linked to the long-term
cognitive and behavioural deficits.
Research support – There is a large body of evidence which
supports the concept of the critical period and the importance
of early intervention where children are being privated. Rutter’s
research is consistent with Bowlby and Harlow (1958). More
recent neurological evidence supports the damaging effects that
privation can have on specific brain structures (Chugani 2001).
Conclusions A review of research would suggest that there is mixed support
for Bowlby’s MDH, as in some instances children that have
endured privation have gone on to make either partial or
complete recoveries from their lack of attachment in the sensitive
period. It would seem that there are noteworthy factors that
increase/ decrease the risk of adverse development, including:
J Extent of privation (eg. alone or with other children)
J Age of discovery/ intervention (see the sensitive period)
J Subsequent care in childhood following privation
The influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships, including the role of an internal working model.
What You Need to Know
We have already seen in the section on Bowlby’s Maternal
Deprivation Hypothesis, that early experiences with a caregiver can
have a significant long-term impact on people’s well-being and ability
to form subsequent relationships. This idea is closely linked with the
concept of the Internal Working Model (IWM). According to Bowlby
(1953), by maintaining a “warm and intimate relationship” with the
primary caregiver in the first 5 years of life, the child learns how to be
warm and intimate with other people in the future.
Bowlby (1988) suggests that the IWM starts to form at the age
of 1-2 years enabling the infant to understand themselves and
their mother, through “acquiring a considerable knowledge of his
immediate world and that during subsequent years this knowledge is
best regarded as becoming organized in the form of internal working
models,” Bowlby (1988).
It is the IWM which provides an explanation of how attachment
experiences & infant care can influence subsequent development
and relationships. Bowlby suggests that the nature of the template
for attachment and intimate social behaviour that infants experience
predict how individuals will behave in the future and ultimately how
they will form attachments in the future. Bowlby (1988) stated that,
“The function of these models is to simulate happenings in the real
world, thereby enabling the individual to plan his behaviour with all
the advantages of insight and foresight.”
The child will eventually model the caregiving behaviour of their
attachment figure. Bowlby suggests that knowledge relating to how
to care for people is acquired through their relationship with this
figure. The link between the nature of parent-child relationships and
future relationships is referred to as the continuity hypothesis. An
infant with a positive, trusting and affectionate bond will develop
the necessary beliefs and skills to develop positive, trusting and
affectionate adult relationships.
Describe the internal working model and evaluate the influence of early attachment on childhood and adult relationships. You must know some research to support your evaluation.
J NOTES
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Strengths Weaknesses
There is a body of evidence to support the role of the IWM in predicting the quality of subsequent relationships:
Sroufe et al (1999): Longitudinal study revealed that infants rated as securely attached were rated as more socially competent in adolescence (e.g. popular/ more initiative).
McCarthy (1999): Bowlby’s continuity hypothesis has also received support from developmental trends in women classed as avoidant & resistant.
Hazan & Shaver (1987) Love Quiz: Volunteer participants responding to ads in a national newspaper completing questionnaires on their early attachment experiences and their adult relationships. Secure infants later displayed optimism/ rewarding intimate relationships.
Simpson et al.’s (2007): longitudinal study followed participants from childhood into their 20s, collecting data at 1, 8, 16 years and early adulthood. Securely attached people were reported as being more socially competent, had securer friendships and had more positive emotional experiences.
Beta bias - Gender differences between how males and females are influenced by parents in future relationships are not considered. The concept of the IWM acting as a template for future attachments assumes that male and females develop and respond to these in the same way which is not necessarily the case.
Research Support - There is strong evidence that the IWM is formed by 5 years as Bowlby’s sensitive period suggested as a majority of children have developed a sophisticated working model of the mother which includes knowledge of her interests, moods and intentions (Light 1979).
Mixed Evidence - Fraley (1998) conducted a meta-analysis and correlations between early attachment types and later relationships ranged from 0.1 to 0.5. Even though there is variability in the correlations, this is likely to be caused by the insecure anxious attachment type, bringing about unstable behaviour, making it more difficult to record accurately.
IWM Therapeutic Application – The concept of the IWM is central to therapeutic interventions, as a person’s sense of self/ others and the origins of this can shape normal and abnormal behaviour and relationships.
Overemphasis on early experiences - Kirkpatrick and Hazan (1994) showed that adult experiences such as relationship break-ups are associated with a shift from secure to insecure attachments with significant relationship experiences affecting current attachment types. This suggests that the emphasis on the first 5 years of life might be misplaced.
Overlooks innate traits - Kagan’s (1982) temperament hypothesis suggests that attachment and relationship types are influenced by a person’s innate personality, which would explain the consistency between childhood and adulthood, rather than it being a consequence of experiences with a primary caregiver.
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KEY TERMS
Affectionless psychopathy A term used by Bowlby to describe people who don’t show concern or affection for other people and show no or very little remorse or guilt
Asocial stage Stage from 0-6 weeks where infant may respond to faces or voices but an attachment has not been formed
Attachment Two-way enduring emotional tie to another person
Contact comfort The physical and emotional comfort that an infant receives from being close to its mother
Continuity Hypothesis The idea that early relationships with caregivers predict later relationships in adulthood
Critical period A time period where an attachment has to form or it never will
Disinhibited attachment Child shows equal affection to strangers as they do people they know well
Evolutionary explanation Explanation for behaviour such as attachment that views it as increasing survival chances
Imprinting Where offspring follow the first large-moving object they see
Indiscriminate attachment Infants aged 2-7 months can discriminate between familiar and 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
Attachment classification in Strange Situation where child shows low stranger and separation anxiety and little response to reunion
Insecure resistant attachment
Attachment classification in Strange Situation where child shoes high stranger and separation anxiety and resists comfort at reunion
Institutionalisation The effects of growing up in an institution, such as a children’s home or orphanage
Interactional synchrony Infant and caregiver reflect each other’s actions and emotions in a coordinated manner
Internal working model Mental representation of our relationship with our primary caregiver that becomes a template for future relationships
Learning theory Explanations that emphasise the role of learning in acquiring behaviours such as attachment
Maternal deprivation hypothesis
Separation from the mother figure in early childhood has serious consequences
Monotropy A unique and close attachment to one person - the primary attachment figure
Multiple attachments Formation of emotional bonds with more than one carer
Privation Failure to form an attachment in early childhood
proximity seeking The way that infants try to maintain physical contact or be close to their attachment figure
Reciprocity Infant and caregiver match each other’s responses
Secure attachment Most desirable attachment classification in Strange Situation where child shows separation anxiety, stranger anxiety and joy on reunion
Sensitive period The best time period over which attachments can form
Separation anxiety Degree of distress shown by the child when separated from the caregiver
Social releasers Innate behaviours shown by an infant that lead to a caregiving response
Specific attachment Infants aged 7 months tend to show a strong attachment to one particular person and are wary of strangers
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
Temperament The characteristics and aspects of personality an infant is born with and that might impact on its attachment type