Psychology - Attachment

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What is reciprocity?
Where the actions of one elicit a response from another (not necessarily similar).
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What is interactional synchrony?
When facial and body movements (gestures/behaviours) or emotions are mirrored.
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What did Meltzoff & Moore find about imitation?
Young infants (2-3 weeks) imitated specific gestures, so imitation is not learned, but innate.
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What is meant by the idea of pseudo-imitation?
Piaget (1962) argues that true imitation develops at the end of the first year. Interactional synchrony is response training, as when copied, they are rewarded with a smile (not consciously translating).
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What evidence supports caregiver-infant interactions?
Meltzoff (2005) - 'like me' hypothesis = connection between what an infant sees & imitation, infants associate own acts & mental states, infants project internal experiences onto similar acts.
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What evidence challenges caregiver-infant interactions?
Abravanel & DeYong (1991) - infants (5-12 weeks) exposed to 2 models (tongue protrusion & mouth opening) & neither were imitated. However, 5 week olds showed partial tongue protrusions when modelled by adult = specific response to others.
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What did Shaffer & Emerson do?
60 Glasgow w/c infants - mothers visited every 4 weeks to report infant's response to seperation & intensity of protest.
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Briefly describe the 4 stages of attachment.
Indiscriminate attachment (responses to animate & inanimate); Beginnings of attachment (general sociability & easily comforted by anyone); Discriminate attachment (show separation & stranger anxiety); Multiple attachments (secondary attachments).
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What evidence challenges the 4 stages of attachment?
The sample is bias as only mothers were questioned (act differently to the father), & lacks validity as all w/c & society has changed since 1960s.
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What was found about the role of the father?
They spend less time with children, but there is little relationship between father accessibility & attachment = they lack emotional sensitivity to form intense attachments.
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What evidence challenges the role of the father?
Frodi et al. (1977) - no differences in physiological reactions of men & women when exposed to videos of infants crying.
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What did Lorenz find?
Gosling who saw Lorenz first showed no recognition of natural mother - imprinted on Lorenz during critical period (imprinting is irreversible & effects later mate preferences).
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What did Harlow find?
Monkeys spent more time with cloth-covered mother as it gave contact comfort, even if wire-monkey had milk (motherless monkeys developed abnormally - impossible to recover if not interacted during critical period).
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What evidence supports animal studies?
Guiton (1966) - leghorn chickens imprinted on yellow rubber gloves used for feeding, & males tried mating with the glove = animals naturally born to imprint on moving objects.
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What evidence challenges animal studies?
It's difficult to generalise the findings to human behaviour - governed by conscious decisions.
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What is classical conditioning?
Learning through association (UCS=UCR; UCS+NS=CS; CS=CR).
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What is operant conditioning?
Learning through reinforcement or punishment (behaviour more likely to reoccur if followed by a desired response).
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What is the social learning theory?
Learning through observing a significant others' behaviour & imitating this - due to modelling.
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What evidence supports the learning theory of attachment?
Harlow (1959) - feeding has nothing to do with attachment, require contact comfort.
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What evidence challenges the learning theory of attachment?
Bowlby's theory provides a better explanation of attachment - explains why attachment occurs rather than forms, & offers a better explanation.
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What does Bowlby say about why attachments are formed?
They are evolutionary & for survival (natural).
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What does Bowlby say about how attachments are formed?
Determined by sensitivity - Social releasers = innate mechanisms (appealing - caregiving response); Monotropy = special emotional bond with primary caregiver.
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What does Bowlby say about the critical period?
If attachments are not formed within the first 3-6 months of an infant's life, they will have difficulty forming attachments.
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What does Bowlby say are the consequences of attachment?
Internal working model = insight into caregiver's behaviour (template for relationships); Continuity hypothesis = emotionally secure infants become secure, trusting & confident.
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What evidence supports Bowlby's monotropic theory?
Minnesota parent-child study - securely attached = highest social competence, less isolated & more popular & empathetic.
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What evidence challenges Bowlby's monotropic theory?
Kagan (1984) - Infants with 'easy' temperament (innate emotional personality) are easier to interact with = more secure attachments.
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What 4 aspects of the infants were studied in Ainsworth's Strange Situation study?
Separation anxiety; Reunion behaviour; Stranger anxiety; Willingness to explore.
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Outline the 3 types of attachment found in the Strange Situation.
Secure = high exploration & enthusiastic at reunion; Avoidant = Low stranger anxiety & avoid contact at reunion; Resistant = Extremely distressed at separation but rejects caregiver at reunion.
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What evidence supports the Strange Situation study?
High reliability; High internal validity.
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What evidence challenges the Strange Situation study?
Could be seen as unethical - mothers offended & upset if child has insecure attachment type.
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What did Van Ijzendoorn & Kroonenberg find?
(Meta-analysis) - secure attachment most common in all countries, then avoidant - except in collectivist cultures; Individualist cultures had more avoidant than resistant.
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What evidence supports cultural variations in attachment?
Bowlby & Ainsworth - securely attached infants due to competent behaviour (individualist), but collectivist represent being as a group, not self-orientated; Similarities between cultures may not be innately determined.
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What evidence challenges cultural variations in attachment?
Meta-analysis gives low validity & may be unrepresentative.
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What is meant by Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation?
The loss of emotional care, normally provided by a primary caregiver.
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What did Bowlby find in his study on juvenile thieves?
86% of affectionless thieves experienced early separations from mothers; Deprivation = emotional maladjustment & mental health problems.
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What did Bowlby say about the critical period?
Emotional disturbance only occurs if separation from the primary caregiver is before the age of 2 and a half years, and if there is no mother-substitute available.
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What evidence supports Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation?
Bowlby's research had a significant impact on post-war childrearing practices - children & mothers being separated in hospitals forbidden.
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What evidence challenges Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation?
Rutter (1981) - Bowlby did not make clear whether the child had formed an attachment that was broken or if they'd never formed an attachment in the first place - privation (not forming attachments) more serious than deprivation.
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What did Rutter & Sonuga-Barke find about institutionalisation?
Romanian children compared with British children - behind on all development measures & showed disinhibited attachments & problems with peers.
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What are the effects of institutionalisation?
Physical underdevelopment; Intellectual underfunctioning; Disinhibited attachment; Poor parenting.
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What evidence supports the effects of institutionalisation?
Research has been used to improve the lives of children in institutionalisation - adopted before sensitive period for attachment formation.
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What evidence challenges the effects of institutionalisation?
Not just the lack of emotional care (deprivation), but the poor physical conditions & the lack of cognitive stimulation impacted health.
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What is the role of the internal working model?
Formed by interaction with the primary caregiver, & teaches infants what relationships are & how people in relationships trust each other.
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What did Hazan & Shaver find in their love quiz study?
Securely attached adults had longer & happier relationships than insecurely attached adults - securely attached = positive internal working model.
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What behaviours are influenced by the internal working model?
Childhood friendships; Poor parenting; Romantic relationships; Mental health.
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What evidence supports the influence of early attachment?
Simpson et al. (2007) - securely attached had higher social competence as children & were more emotionally attached to their romantic partners in early adulthood.
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What evidence challenges the influence of early attachment?
Cause & effect is not established - attachment type & later love-style could be due to innate temperament (& how the parent responds to this).
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Card 2

Front

What is interactional synchrony?

Back

When facial and body movements (gestures/behaviours) or emotions are mirrored.

Card 3

Front

What did Meltzoff & Moore find about imitation?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What is meant by the idea of pseudo-imitation?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What evidence supports caregiver-infant interactions?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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