💞

Overview of Attachment Theories and Studies

Apr 23, 2025

AQA Psychology A-level: Attachment Notes

Part 1: Caregiver-infant Interactions in Humans

  • Attachment: Strong reciprocal emotional bond between infant and caregiver.
  • Reciprocity: Mutual bonding required; illustrated by Brazleton et al.'s study showing infants can mimic caregivers' actions.
  • Interactional Synchrony: Infant and caregiver synchronize their interactions, as shown by Condon & Sander.
  • Observational Studies: Controlled observations establish inter-rater reliability, but meaningful interpretation of infants' actions is debatable (Bremner).

Part 2: Stages of Attachment by Schaffer

  • Study: 60 babies from Glasgow, longitudinal study over 18 months.
  • Findings:
    • Sensitive responsiveness predicted stronger attachments.
    • Stages of Attachment:
      • Asocial Stage (0-6 weeks)
      • Indiscriminate Attachments (6 weeks - 6 months)
      • Specific Attachment (7 months +)
      • Multiple Attachments (10/11 months +)
  • Evaluation: Lacks population and internal validity; self-report bias potential.

Part 3: The Role of the Father

  • Fathers often secondary attachment; important but generally not primary.
  • Tiffany Field: Father can be primary caregiver; attentiveness matters.
  • Lacks consensus on father's influence; societal and biological roles may constrain.

Part 4: Animal Studies of Attachment

  • Lorenz: Imprinting in geese; critical period crucial.
  • Harlow: Contact comfort in monkeys more vital than food for attachment development.
    • Practical implications for animal care.
    • Ethical considerations noted.

Part 5: Explanations of Attachment

Learning Theory

  • Classical & Operant Conditioning: Attachments formed through association with food and response reinforcement.
  • Contradicted by studies emphasizing contact comfort (Harlow) and synchrony (Brazleton).

Bowlby’s Monotropic Theory

  • ASCMI: Adaptive, Social releasers, Critical period, Monotropy, Internal working model.
  • Internal Working Model: Influences future relationships; criticized for being socially sensitive and culturally limited.

Part 6: Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

  • Controlled observation for assessing attachment security.
  • Types of Attachments:
    • Secure
    • Insecure Resistant
    • Insecure Avoidant
  • Evaluation: Ethical concerns, cultural biases, and issues of ecological validity.

Part 7: Cultural Variations in Attachment

  • Van Izjendoorn & Kronenberg: Meta-analysis of global studies on attachment patterns.
  • Cultural differences impactful; methodology may lack ecological validity.

Part 8: Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation

  • Essential for healthy development; deprivation linked to affectionless psychopathy.
  • Criticized for methodological issues and determinism.

Part 9: Effects of Institutionalisation

  • Hodges and Tizard: Early privation affects emotional development.
  • Rutter’s Romanian Orphans: Importance of early adoption; disinhibited attachment noted.
  • Evaluation: Confounding variables in studies; long-term effects uncertain.

Part 10: Influence of Early Attachment

  • Early attachments impact future relationships and parenting styles.
  • Bailey et al.: Found continuity in attachment styles across generations.
  • Criticism: Reductionist and deterministic; counterexamples exist.