Attachment review

One lesson review

We Will

• What is attachment?• Explain how attachment occurs?• Types of attachment?• Cultural variations in attachment• Disruption in attachment• Failure to form attachment• Attachment in Everyday life (day care)

Could you do this without Me?

Have a go?

• What is attachment?• Explain how attachment occurs?• Types of attachment?• Cultural variations in attachment• Disruption in attachment• Failure to form attachment• Attachment in Everyday life (day care)

What is attachment?

• Babies demonstrate attachment behaviour at around 6 -7 months of age.

• Separation anxiety• Stanger distress.

Explain how attachment occurs?• Learnt:

– Mother feeds so associated (classical/Pavlov)– Or Operant conditioning (Skinner) positive and negative

reinforcement.– Studies against –Schaffer and Emerson 60 Glasgow babies attachment

formed with non-feeder. Harlow Monkeys attach to cloth ‘mum’.• Evolutionary: Lorenz, Bowlby. (critical period and sensitive period).

Monotropy. – Hazan and Shaver – continuity – Love quiz (internal working model)– Bowlby 44 thieves

Types of attachment?• Strange situation – Mary AinsworthA. Avoidant – largely ignored the mother when she left and returned.

Treated the stranger in a similar way.B. Secure – Used mother as safe base to explore. Upset when mother left

happy on return. Wary of stranger.C. Resistant - Upset when mother left but resistant to comfort on return.

Alternate between clingy and angry. Very worried about stranger.D. Disorganised (Not Mary Ainsworth).

• Secure mothers respond quickly and sensitively to babies• Insecure mothers ignored babies – (avoidant). Mothers were inconsistent –

resistant1. Kagan states that this is all innate and babies are born with a

temperament?

Cultural variations in attachment

• Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg meta analysis.– Great Britian– Germany– Japan– Israel

What did they find and why?

Disruption in attachment

• Separation. Mother goes to hospital.• Robertson and Robertson – little boy called

John sent to a residential nursery.• Childs responses: Protest, Despair, detached.• Long term - May show more anxiety on

speration, clingy.• Factors that effect: Age, Who they are left with,

Where they are left, previous experience.

Failure to form attachment

• Privation– Czech twins – what did this show?– Genie - what did this show?

• Institutional care– Tizard and Hodges – surprise! Continuity.– Bowlby and 44 thieves.

Attachment in Everyday life (day care)

• Positive– Anderson – DC children more sociable and outgoing.– Schendler et al – correlation with time spent in DC and playing cooperatively.– Campbell et al – Children who spend short days in day care are more socially

competent.

• Negative– Campbell et al - under 3.5 long days DC have more squabbles (negative interactions)– Belsky (longitudinal study?) – problems later in life, disobedience – NICHD (National Institute for Child Health Development) greater time spent in DC

greater chance of poor behaviour, disobedience.

• Implications: Named key worker. Available at critical points (drop off pick up), low child adult ratio.