attachment evaluations

ATT 1
limitiation
reliability of infant behaviour
how it was over come

infants mouths are in fairly constant motion so it is difficut to distingish between random movements and imitated movements
Meltzoff and Moore over came this by using a dummy while the caregiver did an action

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ATT 1
limitation
individual differences

isabella found more strongly attached infant - caregiver pairs showed greater interactional synchrony. this showed that the more strongly attached, imitation is more likely to be deliberate

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ATT 1
strength
lab setting

control over distractions affecting infants response. eg. dummy

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ATT 1
strength
videod experiment

this means that the findings can be checked by whating over the video, can be slowed down, rewinded and stopped and can check inter-rater reliability. this increases the reliability of findings

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ATT 1
strength
operationalised definitions of behaviour

allows for objetive measurements. behaviour is clearly designed and replicated

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ATT 1
critisism
Piaget

infants responses are learned and automatic, ie, if an adult smiles, you smile back (OC). imitation is not deliberate

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ATT 1
support
Abravner and Dejong

found imitation was deliberate in 5 - 12 week infants, it is specific and intentional response to humans

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ATT 1
limitation
findings not replicable

Koepke didn't find a clear assosiation between the expressions of the infant and adult, however was in less controled conditions so less reliable

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ATT 2
critisism of research Shaffer and Emerson
lacks population validity

all participants in this study were from working class homes in glasgow and not representative of all classes and cultures or generations therefore findings are not generalisable to all

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ATT 2
strength of method
natauralistic observation

high ecological validity ad infants are in their natural environment (their home) so babies behaviour will be natural and will show genuine attachment

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ATT 2
strength of method
longitudinal study

there are no individual differences which could've effected the accuracy of the data

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ATT 2
limitation of self - report
bias

mothers obervations may have been biased if the reports are not accurate (eg. reports baby crying quieter than actually is) so pass social desirability bias to look like a good mother

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ATT 2
strength of self - report
more insight

this means that the mother gets to see that baby all the time and so is able to gain more insight and go into more depth/ not miss behaviours as much

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ATT 2
Shaffer and Emerson observations of stranger anxiety
strength

enables S+E to see spontaneous/ unexpected behaviour in the infants response

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ATT 2
Shaffer and Emerson observations of stranger anxiety
limitation

observer bias - they know what they are looking for and are subjective in their judgements

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ATT 2
problem with 'stage' theory
limitation

suggests that the development ov attachment is universally inevitable

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ATT 4
Lorenz
support - Guiton

Leghorn chicks, exposed to yellow rubber gloves imprinted on the gloves while being fed. supports the view that young animals are not born witha predisposition to imprint on a certain object but anything moving in the critical period.

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ATT 4
Lorenz
critisism - Hoffman

imprinting is a more plastic and forgiving mechanism. guiton later found imprinting could be reversed and the chickens could engage in normal sexual behaviour after spending time with their species. this suggests imprinting may not be that different to ot

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ATT 4
lorenz
strength of method
establishes cause and effect

who the animal saw after birth determined who they were attached to. eg. the mother or himself

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ATT 4
Lorenz
limitation of method
cant generalise to humans

as this study was conducted on animals, it is difficult to generalise the findings and conclusions to humans. the mammalian attachment system is much more complex to that of a bird. eg. in mammals, the mother also attaches to the child where in birds, onl

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ATT 4
lorenz
strengths of using animals

can observe multiple generation ti see any patterns in behaviour that change.
it is also more ethical to seperate goose eggs than human eggs from mothers

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ATT 4
Lorenz
real world application

midwives - if attachment behaviour is instinctive, it is crucial to encourage skin-to-skin contact as soon as the infant is born

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ATT 4
Harlow
strength of method
establishes cause and effect

type of mother effects who they are attached to (contact mother)

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ATT 4
Harlow
limitation of method
confounding variables

the two heads of the mothers were different as it varied systemetically with the independent variables. it is possible the monkeys prefered the cloth mother as it had a more attractive head, not becuse of the cloth. therefore, leading the conclusion of th

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ATT 4
Harlow
ethial issues
strength and limitation

researching on animals is ethically better than researching on umans as the study created long lasting emotional harm to the mokeys and made it difficult for them to form relationships with their peers.
BUT the monkeys were not protected from harm as the

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ATT 4
Harlow
support - shaffer and emerson
primary attachment figure

primary attachment is to the person who is most sensitive to the infants needs, not necessarily the person who feeds it

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ATT 4
Harlow
critisism - learning theory

learning theory suggests attachment is learned due to cupboard love (food) and not contact comfort

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ATT 4
Harlow
real world application
adoption

the effect of attachment affacts the relationship the parent has with the child and their ability to parent. decisions can be made to encourage early adoption to maximise the chances of enabling the child to form secure attachments and developing healthy

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ATT 4
Harlow
real world application
zoo keepers

decide to keep infant animals with their mothers whenever possible - ensuring they have attachment figures

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ATT 5
limitation
attachment not due to food - Harlow

it is contact comfort that forms attachment not food, as the monkeys attached to the cloth mother not the wire mother providing milk. therefore there is research evidence to suggest cupboard love theory is not supported

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ATT 5
strength
could be correct

the child is not being rewarded with food or associating the mother with food. instead, the child is being rewarded with comfort and love and associating their care giver with comfort and love and not food

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ATT 5
strength
social learning theory

hay and vespo suggest children learn attachments through imitation and obervation of adults and siblings in their family. eg, they are shown how to hug, give kisses and show love and see vicarious reinforcement for others as well as direct positive reinfo

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ATT 5
strength of theory
plausable and scientific

principles of conditioning are based on established theories of CC and OC which are supported by scientific experiments, eg, pavlovs dogs learning to respond to a bell as they assosiate it with food. so there is edivene we learn through these mechanisms

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ATT 5
limitation of theory
learning theory is reductionist

it over simplifies a complex behaviour like attachment by explaining it in simple links. there is evidence for attachment being instinctive and not learned eg. Lorenz geese imprinting. they are biologically primed to form attachments so it is not just abo

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ATT 5
real world application
critisism - abusive parents

children still attach to parents who abuse them. this critisises learning theory as the punishment should weaken any attachment behaviour or stop them from forming in the first place. but strong attachments are still formed in abusive relationships

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ATT 6
monotrophy
critisism
shaffer and emerson

found that 30% of primary attachments are joined between two people not one

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ATT 6
primary attachment figure
support
tronick

Efe children are looked after in extended family groups, even breast-fed by other women BUT they still had one primary attachment figure by 6 months

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ATT 6
social releasers
support
Kagen

Kagen argued that the Childs personality is the key to how they form attachments, not the sensitivity of the adult

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ATT 6
social releasers
support
Tronick

attachment behaviours were studied in the Efe people of Zaire. they were found to smile and cry in the same way as british people

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ATT 6
primary attachment figures
grossman and grossman
critisism

found that fathers had a crutial role to play in the socil development of a child

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ATT 6
primary attachment figures
shaffer and Emerson
support

studied 60 children in glasgow. they found mothers whowere quick to respond to their infants and offered lots of interaction had more strongly attached infants (shown by increased stranger anxiety).
more weakly attached infants had mothers who interacted

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ATT 6
continuity hypothesis
hazen and shaver
support

they got 620 adults to complete a questionaire in a newspaper about their love experiences as children and in currebt adult relationships. they found a significant positive correlationbetween childhood attachment patterns and adult relationships

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ATT 6
internal working model
baily
support

observed 99 mothers with 1 year old babies, watching the strength of their attachments. they interviewed the mothers about their relationship with their own mothers.
they found a clear link - mothers who reported strong bonds with their own mother also ha

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ATT 6
continuity hypothesis
support
harlow

orphan rhesus monkeys clung to the cloth monkey, those who didnt form attachments grew up to be socially disturbed, aggressive and poor, abusive parents

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ATT 6
critical period
support
Lorenz

the geese saw Lorenz as their caregiver. he was the first person they saw and they instinctively formed an attachment to him, following him everywhere. this happened in the critical period in the first few hours of their lives. he called this imprinting a

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ATT 6
social releasers
critisism
Harlow

orphan rhesus monkeys clung to the cloth monkey and reached for food from the wire one. but they didnt form a secure attachment as they hadnt had a mother to cuddle them back

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ATT 7
strength
lab experiment

overcome any confounding variables

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ATT 7
limitation
time sampling

time sampling every 15 seconds means behaviour is observed at one moment, infant could have been crying and stopped on the 15 second mark and observer would note down they weren't crying.
they could also miss behaviour when noting down behaviour, this is

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ATT 7
strength
inter- rater reliability

there was a high inter-rater reliability, for example there was a 0.94 correlation between observers so data is highly consistant as they were measuring the same behaviour the same ways meaning highly reliable data

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ATT 7
strength
controlled observation

they used the same environment and procedure for each child. for example, the same furnature, same toys, same episodes, same order, same stranger, same amount of time, minimul distractions. this means comparisons can be made between children so has a high

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ATT 7
strength
covert observation

researcher behind two-way mirror
so the childs response to the strange situation was natural, for example, their seperation anxiety when their mother leaves. so findings have a high ecological vaility and represent their usual behaviour

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ATT 7
strength
non-participant observation

observer wasn't the stranger
so they could actually record the data every 15 seconds without missing anything. they could also be more objective as they didnt have any interaction with the child

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ATT 7
limitation
social desireability bias in mothers

the mothers know they are being observed so they may change their behaviour to appear to be a better mother. for example, they pay more attention to them than usual or be nervous. their child may pick up on thisand show more seperation anxiety then they u

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ATT 7
limitation
ethical issues
protection from harm

the infant is being put in a position where they could be purposly caused to be upset (mother leaving), so the infant suffers distress and fear for the purpose of the experiment.

But
Ainsworth states its a notmal situation, being left for a few minutes

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ATT 7
critisism
low internal validity
Main and Weston
BUT Bowlby

strange situation only measures one relatuinship. children may have a different relationship with a different carer, so it measures children as having an attachment type but it is only measuing one relationship
BUT
Bowlby critisises this and supports Ai

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ATT 7
critisism
some children dont fit into any category
supported by van Ijzendoorn

some children dont fit into any category if they have an inconsistant pattern of attachment.
eg. type a behaviour with a parent but type c behaviour with a stranger. Main ans Soloman analysed 200 recordings of ainsworths study and came up with type D (di

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ATT 8
critisism
rothbaum

critisised the strange situation as being culturally inapropriate. he found that the US and Japan had different definitions of secure attachment. also they have different concepts of social and emotional competence. continuity hypothesis does not have the

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ATT8
critisism of rothbaun
posada and jacobs

they found that universality of attachment is found in many countries eg, china, Columbia, israel, Norway. so general concepts of attachment are appropriate

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ATT 9
critisism
Rutter

bowlby didn't distinguish between privation with deprivation. there is a difference between children who have never had a bond and those who had one that had been broken. not having one has more serious effects.

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ATT9
critisism
sensitive not critical period

children who have experienced maternal deprivation can bevome mentally healthy young people and adults.
eg.koluchova twins shouldn't be possible if it is a critical period

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ATT9
critisism
overemphasis on mothers

bowlby over emphasises mothers when loss of father (eg. WWII) can have an equally devistating effect. fathers can be effective primary attachment figures

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ATT9
Real World Application
children in hospital

useful for the way children are looked after in hospital has changed as a result of Bowlbys theory
beds are provided for parents, no restrictions on visiting hours so there is no seperations

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ATT9
RWA
economic implications

beds for parents is an extra cost to the NHS. key workers may need more staff so parents pay more in nersary fees

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ATT 9
RWA
day care

children are allocsted a key worker, workers are able to bond with children so provide a substitute attachment figure when separented from parents

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ATT10
limitation
difficult to generalise

not all children were assessed and the ones that were may not have been representative and therefore difficult to generalise to all institutionalised children

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ATT10
limitation
individual differences
but supports Bowlby

individual differences between the orphans will impact the way they develop attachments and so its difficult to generalise the findings about institutionalisation
BUT
supports bowlbys TB hospital children - individual differences affected their reaction t

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ATT10
limitation
deprivation is only one factor

other factors could've influenced the development of the children
eg. living conditions in institutions

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ATT10
strength
longitudinal study

Rutter and Songua - Barke were able to see how the children were developing outside of an institution

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ATT 10
limitation
bowlbys prediction

outcome was different to the outcome which bowlby would have predicted - he claimed

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ATT10
RWA
adoption

the findings of this research can be used to influence adoption policies about the age and conditions of adoption (before 6 months)

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ATT11
limitation of method
volunteer sample

a volunteer is a certain sort of person (eg. someone with time) and they won't be representative of the target population therefore no easy to generalise the findings

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ATT11
limitation of method
retrospective data

like to be inaccurate because memory is not a videotape and child memories are influenced by what has happened since

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ATT11
limitation of method
can't establish cause and effect

other variables may influence the adult relationships (eg. money, life experiences)

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ATT11
limitation of method
questionnaire

cannot get indepth answers, closed questions means you cannot find out why responses were given, also may not give the choice someone wants to give = innaccurate answers

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ATT11
strength of internal working model

research evidence to support Hazen and Shavers finding showing a link between early childhood attachment and adult relationships. type A are distant with intimacy issues; more lilely to be the victims of bullying while type c are controling and argumentat

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ATT11
RWA
midwives

ensuring new mums have the best support in forming attachments amd developing healthy, secure relationships with their children, as it may have a life long impact on the childs relationships at school, university, finding a stable partner, becoming a pare

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ATT11
limitations of internal working model
Most adults have several important friendships and love relationships

.These provide opportunities to revise mental models of the self and love and learn new attachment site behaviours. Eg Main (1985) some adults with insecure relationships with their own parents produce securely attached children; they worked through unple

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ATT11
limitations of internal working model
Evidence for continuity hypothesis is v. mixed Quiz

> Rutter & Songua-Barke (Romanian orphans) found that with good quality care, acloptive parents chidren
can reverse the effects of institutionalisation, so children with disinhibited attachments can become securely attached adults. Not what the continuity

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ATT11
limitations of internal working model
Ignores other factors, eg temperament Kagan

The temperament hypothesis: children with pleasant disposition are more likely to form warm relationships
with parents and later in life, assuming they maintain their 'niceness', will form more loving relationships.
So adult relationships are due to perso

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