2. Attachment
Definition: A strong and emotional bond between two people. Attachments maintain proximity between infant and caregiver because each experiences distress when separated, they serves as a basis for subsequent emotional development.

3. The development of attachment
tom and jerry that's my mommy - Google Videos
Maccoby (1980)
developed 4 characteristics.
1: Seeking proximity, especially at times of stress
2: Distress on separation: Separation anxiety.
3: Pleasure when reunited
4: General orientation of behaviour towards the primary caregiver.

4. Lorenz and Imprinting
Animals forms bonds in the first few moments after birth.
In orphaned animals the baby will attach itself to another species rather than be alone.
Conrad Lorenz carried out experiments on greylag geese (1930)
YouTube - Konrad Lorenz - Imprinting

5. Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
Aim: Find out how old infants were when they first became attached. They also looked at individual differences
Procedures:
They studied 60 infants
in Glasgow, every 4
weeks for 18 months.
Findings: First attachments at 6 – 8 months. Stranger anxiety one month after

6. Criticisms: Bushnell et
Conclusion: Infants who developed strong attachments had mothers who were quick to respond to their needs. This normally started around 7 months with multiple attachment happening soon after.
Criticisms: Bushnell et
al (1989) found that
infants bonded with their
mothers as young as
24hrs old

7. The Different theories of Attachment
Why do
babies develop attachment?

9. Explanations of Attachment
Learning theory: Behaviourists
explanation looks at nurture as
the main determinism for attachment.
Bowlby’s theory: Believes that
children have an innate tendency
to form attachments to increase
chances of survival.
Social Learning Explanations
suggests that children learn through
imitation of other’s behaviours.

10. Learning Theory Classical conditioning: Operant conditioning:
Individuals can be taught to
associate stimulus with a certain
response. Food is good, mother
gives food therefore mother is good.
Take food away and mother is still
Good. Pavlov’s dog
Operant conditioning:
Food is a primary reinforcer
as mother gives food she becomes secondary
Reinforcer therefore baby seeks secondary
Reinforcer. operant conditioning skinner - Google Video

11. Dollard and Miller primary reinforcer secondary reinforcer
Infant becomes hungry and this produces a drive to reduce the discomfort.
Mother gives food which reduces discomfort = reward
Food becomes a
primary reinforcer
Mother becomes a
secondary reinforcer

12. Evaluation of Learning Theory
Attachment to food giver: Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found fewer than ½ the infants were attached to the person that fed, bathed and changed them.
attachment - Google Video
Love in infant monkeys:
Harlow and Harlow (1962)
discovered that monkeys
clung to a cloth covered
monkey rather than a food
providing metal monkey.

13. Social Learning Explanations Hay & Vespo
This theory was originally proposed
by Bandura (1977). It suggests that
children learn through imitation of
other’s behaviours.
social learning theory - Google Videos#
Hay & Vespo argue that parents act as role models for children and teach them how to carry out relationships.
Activity: Using your text book find out the meaning of the following:
Role Modelling, Direct instruction, Social facilitation.

14. Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment
Bowlby believes that attachment is innate rather than learned

16. Bowlby’s Theory Natural selection: Infants and Carers are
programmed to become attached. YouTube - Walking with Beasts - Ep 4 - Next of Kin - Part 1 of 3
A critical Period: As attachment is a biological
process, it takes place during a critical period of
development or not at all. The first 21/2 years.
Internal Working Model: A model that the infant will develop about themselves and what to expect from others based on their experiences with the primary care giver.
Monotropy: Attachment plays a role in later development- monotropy and
the continuity hypothesis.

17. Support for Monotrophy
Monotrophy: Bowlby (1969) argued that we
develop from one main attachment/ special relationship.
Multiple attachments: Thomas (1998) believes it is
better to develop a network of attachments.
Monotrophy: Tronick et al (1992)
studied Pygmies where children were
looked after and breastfeed by
multiple caregivers but still preferred
the company of their mothers.

18. The Continuity Hypothesis
Secure attachment: Children learn from the primary
caregiver how to form positive relationship and carry
this into adulthood.
bowlby's theory of attachment - Google Videos
Avoidant attachment:
Primary caregiver rejects
the infant and child develops
a belief they are unacceptable
and unworthy.
Ambivalent attachment: Primary caregiver is inconsistent leading to negative self image with exaggerated emotional responses.

19. Support for Continuity Hypothesis
The Minnesota longitudinal study:
Sroufe et al (1999) found that securely
attached infants developed self
confidence, more initiative and were
more popular later in life.
Insecure attachments: Mc Carthy (1999) found women who were avoidant-insecure were likely to have romantic problems and resistant insecure were likely to have friendship problems.

20. Evaluation of Bowlby’s Theory on Attachment
There is criticism about the continuity hypothesis, monotrophy and the role of the father

21. Criticism of Continuity Hypothesis
Zimmerman et al (2000): Looked at children from divorced families
They concluded that serious
life events had an impact on
the development of attachment
Therefore continuity will only apply when serious events do not have an impact on the child

22. Criticism for Bowlby’s Theory
The Temperament Hypothesis explains that some children are born with an ability to make friends. The lack of fear at a stranger might not have anything to do with mothers inability to bond.
Correlational: A lot of evidence is correlation therefore no statement on cause and effect can be made.

23. Homework: Describe and evaluate the Learning Theory 12 Marks
Role of Father: Bowlby
believes that the father’s
role is to support the mother
(financially and emotionally).
Other research however has
shown that fathers have a more direct role to play
in the development of their children
Post-Hoc: Bowlby says attachment has an
evolutionary function, “ behaviour is directed by
genes” but there is no evidence to support this
Homework: Describe and evaluate the Learning Theory Marks
Pt-Hoc: Bowlby says attachment has an evolutionary function, but there is no evidence to support this.
Role of Father:

24. Criticism for Bowlby’s Theory
Bushnell et al (1989)
found infants formed
bonds with mother at
less than 48hr old.
Piaget (1954): At 6 months infant show object permanence (play peek a boo) know when caregiver has left the room.
Ainsworth (1967) found stranger anxiety coincided with motor development.

25. The Stranger Situation
Mary Ainsworth found different types of attachment

27. Research into Attachment
Separation anxiety occurs between 6-8 months with fear of strangers occurring one month later.
First attachments:
In 65% of children first
attachment is to the mother
by 18 months other
attachments have formed.
Quick response by mothers and ability to interact lead to high intensity of attachment.

28. Secure and insecure attachments
The Strange Situation Classification
Mary Ainsworth developed a method of measuring attachment; attachment - Google Videos
Three different categories:
Securely attached,
Avoidant-insecure
Resistant-insecure.

29. 'Strange Situation' (Ainsworth et al., 1978).
Type A –
Insecure-avoidant -20% Indifferent to caregiver - unconcerned if present or absent. Signs of distress when left alone but could be comforted by caregiver or stranger

30. Type B
Securely attached - 70% - Stay close to caregiver and are distressed by their departure but easily comforted on return. Stranger could give limited comfort.

31. Type C –
Insecure-resistant - 10% - Ambivalent to caregiver - both close and resistant at times. Anxious of environment and resistant to stranger.

32. Secure Avoidant Resistant Primary Carer’s Behaviour Towards Child
Child’s ‘Working Model’ of Itself
Positive & Loved
Unloved & Rejected
Angry & Confused
Secure
Avoidant
Resistant

33. Evaluation of the Stranger Situation
The reliability and validity of the SS in attachment has been looked at

34. Support for the SSC Internal Reliability:
Wartner et al (1993) found that results on the Strange Situation Classification (SSC) were the same when children were 1 and again when they were 6.
External Reliability
The original research was easy to replicate and led to an increase in research on this area – many of which found similar results.

35. Evaluating the Strange situation
Low Population Validity: Initial research was on middleclass American infants and therefore has low population validity
Low Ecological Validity: Was done in a laboratory and not in the child’s own home
Although the validity can be questioned, the study does have similarities to being left in day care or at a nursery.

36. Evaluating the Strange situation
It may measure a particular attachment to one individual rather than a general attachment type. (Lamb 1977)
Ethics: Is it ethical to
place a child in a
stressful situation.

37. Cross Culture and Attachment
Do we all form similar attachments regardless of cultural influence on upbringing

39. Cross Cultural studies
It is important to make
sure that theories of
child development
are valid throughout
different cultures.
This is important
when looking at
Nature vs nurture
YouTube - attachment 2 - developmental psychology

40. Research into Cross-culture
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988)
Collated data using the
stranger situation technique
to see if cross cultural
differences exist.
Meta-analysis study: They looked at the findings of various other studies to draw conclusions

41. Cross Cultural Studies
Secure
Avoidant
Resistant
W Germany 3 57 35 8
Great Britain 1 75 22
Netherlands 4 67 26 7
Sweden 74
Israel 2 64 29
Japan 68 5 27
China 50 25
United states 18 65 21 14

42. Evaluation of cross-cultural studies
Ecological validity: Takahashi (1990) argues that cultural upbringing may lead to children being clasified as insecure when they are actually developing secure attachments
In Japan children sleep, bath
and are carried by their parents,
therefore separation is more
There was also a lack of avoidance behaviour. In Japan this behaviour is taught to be impolite

43. Nature vs Nurture
Nature: Bee (1999) states there is consistency in cross-cultural studies and concludes that similar interactions may occur leading to an innate relationship.
Nurture: Van Ilxendoorn and Kronenberg (1988) argue that mass media leads to nurture rather than nature for explanation.

44. Disruption of attachment
The loss of emotional care that results in the breaking of emotional bonds.

46. Separation Separation: Child is separated from their
primary caregiver. The separation can be long or short-term.
If there is suitable care given, i.e. a replacement primary caregiver, there are no long term effects.

48. Immediate response to Separation
Protest : The child cries, screams and protests angrily. They cling to the parent and try to escape if others pick them up.
Despair: The child’s anger subsides, although they are still upset. The child refuses to be comforted by others.
Detachment: They engage with other people and may reject the care provider when they return

49. Research on Separation
James and Joyce Robertson (1952) filmed children who had been left in hospital or residential nurseries.
They found that children were deeply disturbed by the separation from their mothers.
Hospitals changed their policies about visitation rights of parents after the Robertson’s work was publicised.

50. Factors effecting Separation
Age of child: Schaffer and Callender (1959) found children under 7 months. The most stress was children between months.
Type of Attachment: Securely attached children coped better
Sex of child: Generally
boys coped better than
girls (Gross and McIlveen 1997)

51. Privation
Loss of the primary care provider. We look at children who have had no-one to bond with

53. The Czech Twins Mother died when 18 months
Children were given to father
Locked in a cellar and
starved and beaten they were
Found at 7 with no speech
They were fostered and grew
up to be sociable and happy

54. Genie She never recovered YouTube - Genie
Genie was isolated until age 13.
She experienced severe privation.
She also experienced physical abuse.
She never recovered YouTube - Genie
This could have been because of the late age at which she was discovered
Rymer (1993) states it could have been the physical abuse as well as the emotional privation.

55. Methodology of Case studies
Ethical issues: Children are unable to give their fully informed consent and many have said later in life the experience was very detrimental
Lack of control: These children have many problems (Physical abuse) as well as no opportunity to form attachments
Case studies are retrospective: Children must look back over their lives difficult to be accurate

57. Institutionalisation and Privation
Institutionalisation: This refers to the
behaviour of children
raised in orphanages
or children’s homes.
Hodges & Tizard
Wanted to see if there
was long term effects from privation, i.e. no
bond developed in early childhood.

58. Institutionalised Children
Procedure: Children were
placed in an institution before
they were 4 months old.
Staff were not allowed to form bonds with the children. There was also a high turnover of staff
Children were assessed at ages 4, 8 and 16 years

59. Findings: Age 4: No deep relationships,
they were attention seeking and
were more indiscriminately
affectionate.
Age 8: Most adopted or restored children had formed close attachments. However they were still more attention seeking and over friendly. They were also less popular than their peers.

60. Differences in Adopted children
Children at the age of 4 were either adopted or restored to their natural parents.
Adopted children settled better than restored
Close attachment at age 8
Rejecting or hostile
Close attachment at age 16
Adopted mothers
20/21
1/21
17/21
4/21
Restored mothers
6/13
7/13
5/9
4/9

61. Conclusion Family relationships:
It can be stated that the long term effects of privation can be overcome when good substitution care is give and that close relationships can form within the home
Peer relationships: However. Long term effects can be seen were children have difficulty in fitting in to society and developing close relationships with their peers.

62. Methodology of Research
Attrition: As the study was over a long period some children ‘drop out’. It is often the more disturbed children and this can bias results
Sample bias: Children who are adopted would have been chosen for their pleasant temperaments. Those of the restored children would have been a mixture of pleasant and unpleasant temperaments.
Parental input: Adopted parent put more energy into their children than those that went back to their parents.

63. Effects of Instituationaliation
Rutter et al (2007) looked at children orphaned in Romania.
No disinhibition
Mild disinhibition
Marked
disinhibition
Uk adoptees
21 (40.4%)
29 (55.8%)
2 (3.8%)
Romanian
>6 months
24 (53.3%)
17 (37.8%)
4 (8.9%)
Romanian 6-24 months
26 (29.5%)
39 (44.3%)
23 (26.1%)

64. Homework
Discuss the effects of institutionalisation on attachment 12 Marks

65. Day Care
Care for infants and children outside the home. This can either be for part of the day or the whole day. Children then return home in the evening.

67. Social Development
Social development: a child’s ability to interact and build relationships with others.
Secure attachment
is necessary for the
development of relationships
However, Day Care centres give the opportunity for children to develop relationships with each other

68. Positive effects of Day Care
Clarke-Stewart discovered
that children who attended
day care socialised better at school.
They also found that children in day care were equally distressed when separated from their mothers in the Atkinson’s Strange Situation
Schweinhart et al (1993) found enrichment programmes (headstart) reduced the level of delinquency and criminal activities in adolescence.

69. The negative effects
Belsky and Rovine (1988) state children were more insecurely attached if they were at day care for more that 20hrs per week.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
found that children who spent more
that 10hrs per week in day care
were more aggressive at school.

70. Assessing the effects of day care
There are many factors influencing a
child’s social development
Different temperaments
Pennebaker et al (1981) found that shy children do not gain as much from day care as they are scared.
Egeland and Hiester (1995) discovered that securely attached children lost out at day care while insecurely attached children did better.

71. Assessing the effects of day care
Different attachment experiences
Time: how can you compare children who start attending day care at different ages. Another factor is how long they spend there each day.
Quality: Campbell et al showed that quality affects the child’s experience of the setting.
Different kinds of day care facilities
Nursery versus relatives: Melhuish et al (1991) compared 255 women at work who used day care. The mothers developed different attitudes to maternal care showing a qualitative difference in the family dynamic.

72. Cognitive Development
Cognitive development: growth of a child’s mental abilities.
Secure base for
exploration
Attachment leads to security.
Children need to feel secure
before they explore their environment.
Hazen and Durret (1982): Secure children more innovative and better at problem-solving.

73. Stimulation Stimulation is necessary for cognitive development
Greenough et al (1987) found that rats in an enriched environment had larger brains with more neuron activities.
Bryant et al (1980) discovered that childminders rewarded quiet behaviour while day care centres provided more stimulating environment.

74. Positive effects of Day Care
Campbell et al (2001) discovered children scored high on maths and reading tests if they had attended a good quality day care centre (i.e. It was a stimulating environment)
Anderson (1992) found
that Swedish children who
attended day care before 1,
were top of the class at ages 8 – 13. Those at the bottom had not attended day care before school.

75. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Good care: Interaction
and vocal responsiveness
from adults.
Higher quality of care in first 3 years
Child’s language at 15, 24, & 36 months is better
Child’s scores on Bayley Scales of Infant development are higher.

76. Negative effects of Day Care
Ruhm (2000) discovered that children who went
to day care before the age of three had lower
reading and maths skills
Russell ( 1999) did a meta-analysis
research on over 100 studies
conducted between 1957 – 1995
stated that day care had a negative
effect on cognitive development.