TOPIC 1: Attachment

Attachment is a strong emotional tie that develops over time between infants and caregivers. When you become attached to someone it means you have found a special bond or relationship between that person and you. Relationships and attachments are extremely important throughout our lifetimes, especially during infancy (2years old and below).

4 characteristics of attachment identified by Maccoby (1980)

Seeking proximity Distress on separation Pleasure when reunited Orientation of behaviour

Explanations of attachment
There are 2 main explanations of attachment: Nature and Nurture. The nature approach explains that attachment is an inherited behaviour and the craving for attachment is encoded in out genes. The nurture approach states that attachment is a learning process.

Learning Theory: Nurture

This is a theory put forward to explain how behaviour is acquired, through classical and operant conditioning.

Definitions of various meanings first:

Unconditioned stimulus- This is what automatically or naturally triggers a response. For example: when you smell your favourite food you may immediately feel hungry. The smell of food in this case is the unconditioned stimulus. Unconditioned response- This is the unlearned response that occurs naturally in response to the unconditioned stimulus. For example: the feeling of hunger is the unconditioned response after smelling food. Conditioned stimulus- This is a neutral stimulus that has become associated with the unconditioned stimulus. For example: suppose that the smell of food is an unconditioned stimulus and a feeling of hunger is the unconditioned response. Now, imagine that when you smelled your favorite food, you also heard the sound of a whistle. While the whistle is unrelated to the smell of the food, if the sound of the whistle was paired multiple times with the smell, the sound would eventually trigger the conditioned response. Conditioned response- This describes the learned response to the previously neutral stimulus (AKA the whistle). For example: suppose that the smell of food is an unconditioned stimulus, a feeling of hunger in response the smell is an unconditioned response, and the sound of a whistle is the conditioned stimulus. The conditioned response would be feeling hungry when you heard the sound of the whistle. Classical conditioning- The food is an unconditioned stimulus and the baby feeling happy is the unconditioned response to getting the food. The mother is a neutral or conditioned stimulus and seeing the mother wouldnt make the baby react in anyway. So therefore, if the food is the unconditioned stimulus and the babys happiness is the unconditioned response. Combining the food which is the unconditioned stimulus and the mother which is the conditioned stimulus, the baby will later on link the 2 together and would automatically become happy. So if the baby only sees the mother who is the conditioned stimulus the baby would be happy. Operant conditioning- This is a kind of conditioning that takes place because of actions and reward. If the baby performs an action, like crying, it would receive its reward, which is food. This reward therefore reinforces the action and the baby constantly repeats its crying to get some more food.

(The formation of love in infant monkeys research done by Harlow and Harlow)

Evaluating of learning theory as an explanation of attachment.

Learning theory predicts that an infants attachment will be to the person who gives the infant great pleasure- the person who feeds the infant. Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that this wasnt always the case because in their study, they found out that fewer than half of the infants had a primary attachment to the person who usually fed, bathed and clothed the infant. Another study that does not support the fact that feeding alone forms attachment came from a research by Harlow and Harlow on the behaviour of the rhesus infant monkeys. This again showed that feeding wasnt the top priority for forming attachment. However Harlow and Harlow did find that contact comfort was a key source in forming attachments but it wasnt sufficient enough for healthy development. Furthermore the learning theory has been criticized for over simplifying complexity of human behaviours using ideas about stimulus, response and reinforcement. Also this theory of attachment is accused of over simplifying ideas such as stimulus, response and reinforcements to explain complex human behaviours such as attachment. The learning theory concept is too simple to explain complex human behaviours including attachment.

The evolutionary theory: Bowlbys theory

John Bowlby (1969) proposed that attachment was important for survival. Infants are physically helpless and they cannot survive without assistance from adults. Therefore human beings have evolved in such a way that infants are born with the innate tendency to form an attachment that would increase their chance of survival.
*innate refers to any behaviour that is inherited*

In this theory attachment has a long term benefit in addition to the short term benefit of ensuring food and safety. The long term benefit is that it forms the template of forming good relationships as a result of the internal working model.

Important features of Bowlbys theory:

Infants and carers are programmed to form attachments. Attachment plays a role in later development. Attachment is a biological process which takes place in the critical period of development or not at all.

Adaptive- attachments are adaptive. This means they give out species an advantage making us more likely to survive. This is because if an infant has an attachment to care givers, they are kept safe, given food and secured. Social Releasers- babies have social releasers which unlock an innate tendency for adults to care for them. The social releasers are both: - Physical- the typical baby facial features and body proportions. - Behavioural- the actions the make like crying or gooing. Critical Period- babies have to form the attachment with their caregivers during a critical period. This critical period is between birth and 2 years. If this attachment doesnt happen in this time the child would suffer: socially, psychologically, intellectually, socially and physically. Monotropy- this one intense special attachment is normally formed towards the mother. If the mother isnt present the infant could bond with another mothersubstitute. Internal Working Model- through the monotropic attachment, the infant would form an internal working model. This is a mental schema for relationships. All childrens future adult relationships are based on this.

The continuity hypothesis

The continuity hypothesis is that the relationship with one special attachment figure provides an infant with an internal working model. -Secure children develop a positive sensitive working model of themselves, based on their feelings of security that comes from having 1 sensitive, emotionally responsive and supportive caregiver.

- Avoidant children are assumed to have a primary caregiver who is rejecting, resulting in them having an internal working model of themselves as unacceptable and unworthy. - Resistant children tend to have a primary caregiver who is inconsistent and consequently the child will tend to have a negative self image and exaggerate their emotional responses in a way to obtain attention.

Evaluation of Bowlbys theory

For
Minnesota longitudinal study by Sroufe et al (1999) followed a group of children from the age of 12 months to adolescence. The children were rated throughout their childhood by teachers, trained observers and cam counsellors at special events arranged for the children. Those children who were rated as being securely attached in infancy were more popular, had more initiative and had high social competence, self confidence and self-esteem. Social competence was associated with early attachment style, supporting Bowlbys views of continuity from infancy to adulthood in terms of social development.

Against
Rutter et al (1998) studied infants who had been abandoned or orphaned and raised in institutes in Europe. These children were adopted by families in the US and UK. Rutter found that these adopted children were able to form attachment relationships after the first year of their new life. They also made notable developmental progress following their adoption. This shows that children who still fail to form attachments during the critical period, they are still able to form attachments after this period of time even if it would take longer.

Summary of Bowlbys theory

Attachment is adaptive; infants are born with a drive to become attached. Bonds are formed with adults who respond most sensitively. This must occur during critical period. Infants form one special relationship- monotropy. This leads to an internal working model.

Types of attachment
One way to distinguish individual infants is in terms of quality of the attachment is to look at the bond between the infant and the mother or its primary caregiver.

Secure and Insecure attachment- Ainsworths studies

Mary Ainsworth worked with Bowlby in the 1950s and developed a way to measure quality of attachment called the strange behaviour.

Strange Situation Experiment- Mary Ainsworth

Aim- to establish attachment types of infants Procedure- (see sheet) FindingsSecure Insecure avoidant Willingness High willingness High willingness to to explore to explore but explore on their they use their own because mother or evidently they are caregiver as a safe already used to base. being alone.

Stranger anxiety

They have a low stranger anxiety because they are not bothered of whos around. Separation They have a high They have low anxiety separation anxiety separation anxiety. and would not like They dont even their primary care notice when the giver to leave so primary caregiver they cry has left. uncontrollably. Behaviour on They become Nothing changes. reunion instantly calm. Caregivers Loving. Unloving.

They have a high stranger anxiety.

Insecure resistant They dont even dare to explore because the inconsistent love would leave them thinking their mother might leave anytime soon. High stranger anxiety.

They have a very high separation anxiety and they become very stressed and worried. They become very distressed. Inconsistent.

behaviour Percentage

66

22

12

Willingness to explore. Secure infants are very willing to explore but they use their mum or primary caregivers as a safe base, this means they will always keep returning to her (seeking proximity). Avoidant children are willing to explore but they wont use their mum or primary caregivers as a safe base, they would hardly return to them at any point in time. Resistant children wouldnt want to explore because theyre afraid that their carers would leave them at any point. Conclusion- this shows that most children in North America are securely attached. It also shows that theres a link between the mothers or care givers behaviour and the childs attachment type. So the mothers behaviour is very important when determining the childs attachment type. We can also use the strange situation to work out an infants attachment type. Evaluation- we cannot generalize the sample to populations using this sample. This study and its findings are only restricted to the middle class citizens of America.

Evaluation of the strange situation technique

The importance of this study is that it enables us to know if children are securely attached and also how this attachment relates to later behaviours. We also have to consider the reliability and the validity; including questions of ecological validitywould these findings apply to outside the laboratory? In addition to this, would we be able to generalize the findings to the rest of the population?

Cross- cultural variations in attachment

Psychologist endeavour to conduct studies in different cultural settings. This enables them to decide whether their theories are universal are universal and apply to everyone or culture bound and apply to only a specific group of people. Culture- culture is not about a group of people, but its about the beliefs and customs that a group of people share. Sub-culture- this is a group within a society that shares many practices and so on with the dominant culture but have some special characteristics.

Research into cross-cultural variations in attachment

An increase of studies has been taking place to measure attachment behaviours outside middle class America. For example, the study of cultural variations, study of Japanese children by Takahashi in 1990.

Research on secure and insecure attachment

Researchers in many different countries have used the strange situation to investigate secure and insecure attachment. The results of 32 studies undertaken in 8 different countries have been summarized (Meta-analysis) by Van IJendoorm and Kroonenberg (1988).

Bee (1999) pointed out from this Meta-analysis that there is a considerable consistency across cultures. She concludes that its likely that the same caregiverinfant interactions contribute to secure and insecure attachments in all cultures. However the universal nature of caregiver-infant interactions may be cultural rather

than innate. Van and Kroonenberg observe the similarity between countries may be influenced by the increasing effects of mass media on how to train your children. A limitation to this data is that even though it tells us the amount of studies in each country, it doesnt tell us exactly how many children were involved. We may need to be cautious on how the data may have been interpreted in these figures in case the samples were very small. When using this kind of psychological assessment its important to be cautious about attributing what is measured to the individual. It could be that there is something about the test situation that makes some of the infants appears to be insecurely attached.

Research into monotropy and multiple attachments

Bowlby stated that infants need one special attachment relationship which is subsequently different from all others in order to develop an internal working model and emotional maturity in the future. He used the term monotropy which means to be raised by one person. Internal working model is a mental model of the world that enables individuals to predict, control and manipulate their environment. There is considerable debate to whether monotropy is universally true. In some cultures, children are exposed to many caregivers and still developed into psychologically healthy adults. Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that even though infants form multiple attachments, they will usually have one primary attachment.

Disruption of attachment
Bowlbys maternal deprivation hypothesis
The hypothesis coined by Bowlby stated that if an infant was unable to develop a warm, intimate and continuous relationship with their mother, then the child would have difficulty forming relationships with other people and would be at risk of behavioural disorders. Bowlby suggested that the development of this continuous relationship must occur during a critical period. If a child experiences separations before the age of 2 years old, they are likely to become emotionally disturbed. Bowlby stated mother-love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins are important for physical growth.

Research into effects of deprivation

Splitz and wolf (1946) studied 100 apparently normal children who became seriously depressed after staying in a hospital. The children generally recovered well if the separation lasted less than 3 moths. If it was long than that it would be difficult to achieve complete recovery.

(Study of 44 juvenile thieves by Bowlby 1944)

Research into separation

Bowlby believed separation threatened the attachment relationship and led to emotional deprivation. Research done by James and Joyce Robertson (1971) shows that separation doesnt need to lead to emotional deprivation. A mother may be separated but if a substitute mother provided emotional care, deprivation would be avoided. The Robertsons filmed a boy, John, who spent 9 days in a residential nursery. The staff had little time to attend to his personal needs. The film showed John being overwhelmed by the strange environment and clinging to a teddy bear like Harlows monkey clinging to the fluffy wire mother when frightened. John progressively became more withdrawn and when his mother returned he tried to get away from her. He continued to show random outbursts of anger towards her for several months. From Robertsons research, separation doesnt have to lead to deprivation, as long as the separation is minimized and substitute emotional care is provided.

Evaluation of Bowlbys maternal deprivation hypothesis.

Not all research found deprivation leads to maladjustment. Another study by Bowlby (1956) found no such ill effects. A group of children with tuberculosis were studied. They were under the age of 4 when they were hospitalized. The nursing systems tended to be strict and the care provided was detached. Many of the children were visited weekly by their families but this probably did little to prevent emotional deprivation. Data was collected about the children were between 7 and 14 years old. The children who had TB were compared to a control group of children that had not been hospitalised. It was found that there were no differences in terms of delinquency or problems in forming social relationships. Therefore it would appear that deprivation does not always lead to harmful effects. Bowlby and colleagues suggested that individual differences might be important, for example children who securely attached may cope better with deprivation. Michael Rutter (1981) identified problems with the maternal deprivation hypothesis. He generally supported Bowlbys hypothesis but felt some things needed to be improved. These included: - Bowlby confused cause and effect with association. The fact that early separation and later maladjustment are linked does not mean that one causes the other. Rutter suggested that, instead it could be that some families are more at risk because of things like poverty and poor living conditions or unsettling interpersonal relationships. These factors might lead to early separation and later maladjustment. Rutter interviewed over 2000 boys and their families in the Isle of Wight and found that misbehaviour was most common in the boys who experienced early separation because of conflicts within the family. This supports Rutters hypothesis that family dispute rather than separation that causes delinquency and emotional maladjustment. The maternal deprivation hypothesis has changed the way in which we treat children especially those in hospitals. In the 1950s parents were discouraged from visiting their children in hospitals because they thought it would cause distress to them. Today parents are encouraged to even stay overnight if possible to prevent emotional deprivation and promote quicker recovery through reduced anxiety.

Privation and the effects of institutionalization

Rutter suggested it might make better sense to look at privation (lack of attachment) instead of deprivation (loss of attachment).

Research into effects of privation

3 main types of evidence regarding privation: Longitudinal study of children in institutional care Case study of children raised in extreme isolation Studies of reactive attachment disorder, a category of mental disorder attributed to a lack of early attachments.

TOPIC 2: Attachment in everyday life

The impact of day care on social development
Social development involves the growth of a childs abilities to interact with others and behave in a prosocial manner such as comforting, helping and sharing. There are several factors that might lead us to expect that the experience of day care might affect social development: - Bowlby proposed that separating children from their mothers would have a negative effect including possibly the development of delinquency in children. - On the other hand, the opportunities for social interaction that occur in day care might promote social development. - Attachment theory predicts that children who are secure in their relationships with important figure in their lives will later on have more positive relationships with others.

Types of day care

There are many different forms of day care and these forms can vary in the quality of care that is provided. When talking about day care is usually some regular form of childcare that takes place during the day while parents are off doing activities that prevents them from watching their own children. You can have things like nurseries (group based) or child minders (individual based) or even work based crches. There are 2 distinct forms of day care which differ based on the number of children and the amount of individual attention provided by carer: Day nurseries - In UK most nurseries provide care for between 26 and 40 children (can be more or less). - Children are usually divided into smaller groups based on their age. - There should be 1 member of staff for every 8 children aged 3 to 5. - 1 member of staff for every 4 children aged 2 to 3. - 1 member of staff for every 3 children aged under 2. - Nurseries are regularly inspected to ensure they conform to this rule. Childminders - A childminder will have a maximum of 3 children in their care looked after in a home environment. - They must be registered and inspected by OFSTED who carry out regular checks on the home and childminder.

Quality of care
Quality of care can vary to different proportions: - Number ratio of staff to children - Staff turnover - Physical provisions - Training of staff - Dedication of staff - Type of children involved

Research- Leach et al (1998)

1200 children and their families in North London and Oxfordshire were involved. - Mothers were interviewed when their babies were 3 months old and then again when they were 10, 18, 36 and 51 months old. Conclusion- young children that were looked after by their mothers do significantly better developmentally than those cared for in nurseries or by childminders or relatives. Babies and toddlers were worse off in a day nursery care. The second best score came from children who were with raised by nannies or child minders. -

Effects of day care on social development

One aspect of social development that could be affected by day care is a young childs attachment to its parents. Findings do not provide a clear message. A number of early studies failed to identify differences in the quality of mother-infant attachment between infants who were taken care of at home and those that attended day care. For example, Clarke-Stewart (1994) found no evidence of attachment differences for children cared for at home or by childminders and those in a group based day care. However some investigations suggested that extensive non-parental care was associated with increased avoidant and insecurity of attachment. Belsky and Rovine (1988) found that children who spent more than 20 hours per week in a day care were more insecurely attached than home cared children. Research has also shown securely attached children respond differently to insecurely attached children. It has been founded out (by Egeland and Hiester) that day care appeared to have a negative effect on securely attached children and insecurely attached children showed benefits from it. This can be explained by the fact that insecurely attached children needed to compensate for care and would get this from day care whereas secure children do not need the extra attention.

Effects of day care on aggression

A number of investigations have proven that children who have been in day care are more likely to show high levels of aggression.

Research- EPPE Project (1991)

Followed 3000 children in the UK since the age of 3 in a variety of preschool settings including nurseries. - Sammons indicated there is a slight risk of increased antisocial behaviour when children spend more than 20 hours per week in nursery. - The risk increases when they spend more than 40 hours in care. - Aggression also increased when the childs carers were constantly changing. Conclusion- day care can increase antisocial and aggressive behaviour. The longer the young child spent in a day care, particularly nursery care or a care environment where they lack constant care figure, the more obvious the aggressive behaviour. Evaluation- good sample used because lot of people across the UK were chosen -

Research- NICHD STUDY (1991)

Over 1000 American children from families with different backgrounds were screened in a longitudinal study. - The study found that the more time children spent in a day care, the more aggressive and disobedient they were between aged 2 and 6. Conclusion- there is a positive correlation between time spent in a day care and amount of aggressive behaviour therefore this shows that day care and aggressions are linked. -

Research- Baker et al (2005)

Following the introduction of universal day care in Quebec, the proportion of 0 to 4 year olds in day care rose by 14% and the number of married women returning to work also increased. Baker analysed data on 33,000 children of 2 parent families. After day care was widely available, aggression among 2 to 4 year olds increased by 24% in Quebec compared to 1% in the rest of Canada. The wellbeing of parents also declined with a greater incidence of hostile parenting and dissatisfaction with spouses.

Conclusion- day care can increase aggressive behaviour. Evaluation- relationships between parents and parents attitudes changed, this means that its difficult to know whether the day care itself directly caused the aggressiveness in children or at least caused by their parents.

Research- Shea et al (1981)

Shea videotaped 3 and 4 year old children at playtime during their 1st 10 weeks at nursery. Children became more sociable the longer they were at nursery. The amount of aggressive behaviour towards one another decreased.

These changes were greater seen in children attending for 5 days a week, compared to those who attended only twice a week. Conclusion- day care can increase sociability and decrease aggressive behaviour. Evaluation- the fact that aggression reduced in children attending for 5 days a week rather than 3 days a week suggests that it was the day care that caused this effect rather than just the children maturing.

Research- ALSPAC (1991-1992)

The progress of children born in the UK between 1991 and 1992 were followed. - No negative effects of day care, including no evidence of increased antisocial behaviour or aggression. Conclusion- day care may not increase aggressive behaviour between children. Evaluation- this was a large scale study and therefore the finding can be generalised with caution to other children in the UK. -