AS PSYCHOLOGY

Early Social Development:

(ATTACHMENT)

Name:

Tutor:

Explanations of Attachment

• Explanations of the underlying mechanisms of attachment formation (how & why)

• Two major approaches:

o Learning theory (Dollard & Miller)

o Evolutionary theory (Bowlby)

• Learning Theory

• Dollard & Miller (1949)

• Attachment is a set of learned behaviours (i.e. results from experience of the environment, not innate processes)

o Classical conditioning (association)

o Operant conditioning (consequences)

• Classical conditioning

o Infant learns to associate feeding/comfort with primary carer/mother

o Mother acquires comforting properties by association

• Operant conditioning

o Infant learns that crying, smiling brings positive response from adults (reinforcement)

o Adult learns that responding to cries etc. brings relief from noise (negative reinforcement)

• Main predictions:

o The child will form attachments on the basis of primary care provision (feeding etc.)

o Attachment behaviour should increase steadily from birth

o The strongest attachments will be with those who provide the most primary care

• Harlow and Harlow (1959)

• Placed baby Rhesus Monkeys in cages, with substitute mothers

• One was made of wire and had a baby bottle attached.

• One was made of soft, cuddly cloth.

• The babies spent most of their time clinging to the cloth mother, even though no milk was provided by her.

• Harlow concluded that baby monkeys have an innate (inborn) need for comfort.

Evaluation of the Learning theory:

1. Learning theory clearly predicts that an infant’s attachment will be to the person who feeds it. However Schaffer and Emerson (1964) found that this wasn’t always true. In their research they found that fewer than half the infants had a primary attachment to the caregiver that fed, changed and bathed them.

2. Other criticisms come from the Harlow and Harlow study above.

3. It is also criticised as being reductionist. This means that the theory ‘reduces’ human behaviour down to simple ideas such as stimulus, response and reinforcement. This is the case with the learning theory. It tries to explain the complexities of attachment in a simple way. Maybe these concepts are too simple to explain attachment.

ACTIVITY:

Harlow’s study is an experiment. Experiments explore the relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable. Look again at this study.

1. What is the independent variable (IV) in this study? 2. What is the dependent variable (DV)? 3. Experiments are especially useful to psychologists because they

enable them to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the IV and DV. Apart from the cause-and-effect relationship, what other advantages were there for using and experiment?

4. Nowadays this experiment would be considered ‘unethical’. What is meant by the term ‘unethical’, and why do you think this particular study would be considered unethical today?

‘There are many explanations for attachment, such as learning theory and the evolutionary perspective (Bowlby). Discuss ONE explanation of

attachment’ (8 marks)

The answer below discusses learning theory. In what order do you think the paragraphs should go in this answer? Rearrange the paragraphs below in the correct order. For each paragraph state whether it is making an AO1 or AO2 point.

A. In argument to the above, Harlow and Harlow’s study was conducted using infant monkeys. This questions the validity of the study as human behaviours are often different and therefore the findings from the study may not be generalised to human infants.

B. In conclusion, to some extent, it is clear that attachment is learned. However, it is more accurate to propose that in reality, attachment maybe partly innate and partly learned.

C. Schaffer & Emerson overcame the above issue by conducting an observation with human infants and found that there was still no attachment between the person providing food and the infant. This suggests that humans babies do not seek comfort and closeness to the person feeding them. There may be a number of other explanations e.g. Bowlby’s theory of attachment.

D. However, there are a number of weaknesses of the learning theory. For example, other psychologists argue that the idea that attachment is learned is flawed, because the person a baby becomes attached to is not always the person who feeds them. This is supported by Harlow’s study on monkeys which found that monkey infants seek comfort from a cloth-covered ‘wire mesh’ mother rather than a wire mesh mother with a milk bottle attached. This suggests that learning or association is not occurring between the food and the person feeding it.

E. In addition to this, it has also been shown that operant conditioning is involved in attachment formation. Food is a primary reinforcer, or reward, and the person who feeds the child provides that reinforcement. The child becomes attached because the relationship is based on reinforcement through food. Again, this supports the idea that attachment is learned.

F. There is considerable evidence to support the idea that attachment is learned. Attachments are often formed through classical conditioning. When the infant is fed the food is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) giving an unconditioned response (pleasure) The person feeding the child therefore becomes associated with the food (the conditioned stimulus = CS) , as he/she is associated with the food.

“Some Psychologists suggest that attachment is learned, whereas others suggest it is innate”.

To what extent does Psychological evidence support the idea that attachment is learned? (12)

In what order do you think the paragraphs should go in this answer?

Rearrange the paragraphs below in the correct order.

G. In contrast to the ideas above, some psychologists suggest that attachment is innate not learned. Bowlby believed both mothers and babies are genetically pre-programmed to form attachments. This has evolved as a result of natural selection. Bowlby’s concept of monotropy, which is the innate tendency to become attached to one particular person, supports the idea that attachment is not learned.

H. In conclusion, to some extent, it is clear that attachment is learned. However, it is more accurate to propose that in reality, attachment is partly innate and partly learned.

I. However, there are a number of weaknesses of the above argument. For example, other psychologists argue that the idea that attachment is learned is flawed, because the person a baby becomes attached to is not always the person who feeds them. This is supported by studies such as Harlow’s monkeys and Shaffer and Emerson’s study, which found that 39% of the infants in their study were not specifically attached to the person that fed them.

J. Secondly, it has also been shown that operant conditioning is involved in attachment formation. Food is a primary reinforcer, or reward, and the person who feeds the child provides that reinforcement. The child becomes attached because the relationship is based on reinforcement through food. Again, this supports the idea that attachment is learned.

K. There is considerable evidence to support the idea that attachment is learned. Dollard and Miller have shown that attachments are often formed through classical conditioning. When the infant is fed the food is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) giving an unconditioned response (pleasure) The person feeding the child therefore becomes associated with the food (the conditioned stimulus = CS) , as he/she is associated with the food. This theory can be known as a “cupboard love” theory of attachment.

F. Social Learning theory also suggests that parents act as role models for children and children imitate the kind of affectionate behaviour shown to them as children. This also suggests that there is some element of learning in relationships.

John Bowlby:

Bowlby’s theory: The Evolutionary perspective

• This is the most comprehensive theory of human attachment.• Bowlby drew on several sources. These included Lorenz’s (1935)

study of imprinting on goslings and Harlow’s rhesus monkey study.• He was also a trained psychoanalyst so some of his theories relate

to Freud along with his own work with children.• Newborn babies are genetically programmed to behave in a way

that ensures survival.• Behaviours include cuddling, looking, smiling and crying. • Mother also has a genetic blueprint that allows her to respond in a

certain way. • Baby doesn’t have to be the mothers biological child to get this

response.

Critical Period:

• Mothering must take place within a certain time frame for the child to become attached.

• Mothering is useless for most children if delayed until after 12 months.

• Useless for all children if delayed for 2 ½ to 3 years.• A child’s attachment behaviour determines how far they will move

away from caregiver. • Attachment behaviours more evident when child is distressed,

unwell or afraid. (see strange situation).

Monotropy:

• A strong innate (in born) desire to become attached, usually with the mother.• This attachment is unique. • It’s the first to develop and is the strongest of all.

• Bowlby (1951): ‘Mother love in infancy is as important for mental health as vitamins and proteins for physical health’.

Evaluation of Bowlby’s theory:

Babies and young children display a whole range of attachment behaviours towards various attachment figures other than their mothers. The mother may not be as special as Bowlby claims.

He didn’t discount multiple attachments. However Schaffer and Emerson showed that multiple attachments are the rule, rather than the exception.

For Bowlby the Father has no real emotional importance for the baby. Schaffer and Emerson disagree and show that Fathers are attachment figures in their own right.

Bowlby may also have over-estimated the importance of a mother though he did accept that a ‘mother-figure’ could provide a satisfactory attachment. Lamb’s studies have shown that male infants often show a preference for their father than their mothers.

Finally, Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment may be too simplistic to explain what is a very complex process. In the modern world, where infants no longer need protection from predators, attachment still seems to play a crucial role in forming bonds between the infant and the adults around him.

Lorenz (1952) - Imprinting in non-human animals: make notes on this study on page 120 of the textbook

ACTIVITY:

Social releasers:

A social releaser is any behaviour that encourages a caregiver reaction from another person.

1. Work in pairs to draw up a list of 10 social releasers used by infants, children or individuals of any age.

2. For each social releaser on your list, state whether you think that the behaviour is innate or learned and identify what response(s) you think it might elicit from a caregiver.

3. Do you think that the caregiver’s responses to the social releasers are innate or learned?

4. To what extent do you think caregivers differ in theory responses to the same social releaser and why?

Types of attachment:

Secure attachment. When the caregiver is present, the infant explores the strange environment, plays happily with the toys and uses the caregiver as a secure base. The infant shows moderate distress when separated from the caregiver, goes to her for comfort when she returns, and is easily soothed. The infant clearly prefers the caregiver to the stranger.

Insecurely attached – avoidant. The infant pays little attention to the caregiver and shows little concern when she leaves. For her part, the caregiver tends to ignore the infant. The infant shows little stranger anxiety and, if distressed, is as likely to be comforted and calmed down by the stranger as by the caregiver. On reunion with the caregiver, the infant makes little effort to renew contact and sometimes actually avoids contact by looking or turning away. The infant shows no real preference between the caregiver or stranger.

Insecurely attached – resistant. The infant is very distressed when separated from the caregiver and is difficult to comfort on reunion. The infant rushes to her but may show anger and struggle to be put down. The caregiver’s behaviour is similarly inconsistent – sometimes rejecting and angry towards the infant, sometimes overly-sensitive and responsive. The infant tends to ignore the stranger and resist the stranger’s attempts to interact and provide comfort. Exploration of the environment is limited as the infant has difficulty moving away from the caregiver.

ATTACHMENT - THE STRANGE SITUATION - AINSWORTH & BELL

Aim : to produce a method for assessing the quality of attachment by placing an infant in a situation of mild stress (to encourage the infant to seek comfort) and of novelty (to encourage exploration behaviour). Both comfort-seeking and exploration behaviour are indicators of the quality of attachment.

Procedures : _ About 100 middle-class American infants and their mothers took part in this study_ A method of controlled observation was developed. This involved observing infants with their mothers during a set of predetermined activities (this is known as the strange situation). All the episodes of the strange situation, except the first one, took three minutes._ Observers recorded the infants' and mothers' behaviours, especially noting the following:

- Separation anxiety: the unease the infant showed when left by the caregiver- The infant's willingness to explore- Stranger anxiety: the infant's response to the presence of a stranger

- Reunion behaviour: the way the caregiver was greeted on return

Findings:_ The observational record led Ainsworth and Bell to classify the infants into three broad groups:_ Type B: Securely attached (66%) - one group of infants tended to explore the unfamiliar room; they were subdued when their mother left and greeted her positively when she returned. The infants showed moderate avoidance of the stranger, although were friendly when the mother was present. The mothers were described as sensitive._ Type A: Avoidant Insecure (22%) - A second group did not orientate to their mother whileinvestigating the toys and room; they did not seem concerned by her absence and showed little interest in her when she returned. These infants also avoided the stranger, but not as strongly as they avoided the mother on her return. It was observed that these mothers sometimes ignored their infants._ Type C: Resistant Insecure (12%) - A third group showed intense distress, particularly when their mother was absent, but they rejected her when she returned. These infants showed ambivalent behaviour towards the stranger, similar to the pattern of resistance and interest shown to the mother on her return. These mothers appeared to behave ambivalently towards their infants.Conclusions:

• This study shows that there are significant individual differences between infants

• It also shows that most American children are securely attached• There appears to be a distinct association between the mothers'

behaviour and the infants' attachment type, which suggests that mothers' behaviour may be important in determining attachment type.

Criticisms : • It would be unreasonable to make generalisations about all infant

behaviour on the basis of this sample.• The study and its findings are restricted to middle-class American

infants, i.e. are culturally biased.• In another study, Main and Cassidy (1988) identified a further group

of children; this classification group is referred to as disorganised (Type D). These children show inconsistent behaviour, confusion and indecision. They also tend to freeze or show stereotyped behaviours such as rocking.

Cross-cultural variations in Attachment

Factors related to cross-cultural variations:

Role of the mother:

Separation

doesn’t cause

distress, easily

comforted by

stranger.

Uneasy around

caregiver, but upset

when separated

. Not easily

comforted by

anyone.

Strong bond

between caregiver

and child. Upset when

separated but easily

comforte

d.

Lacks ecologic

al validity- artificial

lab setting.

Ainsworth/Bell 1970

Infants show different reactions

to their carers depending on

attachment type.

It is more efficient for some cultures to take care of children full-time, leading to a strong bond.

Social change in industrialised cultures means women work more and can’t look after children full-time, this is a cause of great debate amongst psychologists.

Individualist/collectivist cultures:

We may explain cultural differences in terms of childrearing methods. We would expect a child to be reared differently in an individualist culture (U.S. /U.K.) compared to a collectivist culture (Japan). For example US children experience separation anxiety because of the emphasis on the self i.e. they can’t explore their environment without a caregiver around, whereas a Japanese child would be sad because they are no longer part of the group.

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988): Review of patterns of attachment:

Aim/hypothesis: Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg wanted to compare the results of research conducted using the strange situation in different cultures. They were interested in patterns of attachment within cultures and between cultures.

Method/design: They used a meta–analysis (a review of lots of research conducted on the same subject that looks for trends) of 32 studies which involved 8 countries.

Results: Fill in the table from the board:

Country No. of studies

Percentage of each type of attachment

Type B (securely attached)

Type A (Anxious-avoidant)

Type C (Anxious-resistant)

West GermanyGreat BritainNetherlands

SwedenIsraelJapan ChinaUS

Conclusions:

Overall the results reflected those of Ainsworth’s research. This was seen in the US studies but there seemed to be a wide variation within these studies. Results show that Type B is most common and Type C the least common.

In Japan and Israel the least common type is Type A and more common is Type C.

In the two Japanese studies there was seen to be a big difference between them. One study had no Type A children at all and had a high number of Type C. The other study showed similar results to Ainsworth’s research.

It can be concluded that there are differences between countries/cultures but also very large differences between cultures.

Evaluation:

• The studies that were reviewed include western and non-western cultures.

• Non-western cultures only make up 3 out of the 32 studies reviewed.

• The different patterns in attachment seemed to reflect the culture and its values. For example in Germany the higher rate of Type A children may link to the practice of early independence training.

• The higher rate of Type C in Japan may be due to greater stress on the infant as they are rarely left by their Mothers. So being separated will be very upsetting for them.

• On the other hand African American children are generally cared for by more than one caregiver and are encouraged to form friendships early on and be friendly towards strangers. Therefore the strange situation makes them more interested in exploring their surroundings (Rogoff 2003).

• In Israel children raised in a Kibbutz (a close knit community) find strangers very distressing because they are not used to it.

• Here we need to understand that the strange situation means different things to different cultures and therefore we need to understand more about different child rearing styles, to make the research valid.

Deprivation

Rutter (1982):

• Believed that Bowlby was wrong to identify mother as the key factor in attachment.

• The damaging influences on a child come from a variety of sources.

• Rutter proposed different circumstances have different effects.

Key term: Deprivation:

• Meaning loss of attachment.

• Could occur when child/Mother goes to hospital.

• Death of Mother.

• Parental Separation/divorce.

• Natural Disasters.

• Short term effects-Distress.

• Long term effects-Separation Anxiety.

The effects of Deprivation

• An example of short term deprivation would be the child /Mother going into hospital. Therefore being separated from each other.

• Robertson and Robertson (1969) filmed a number of children to document the effects of deprivation on their mental state and psychological development.

• Observed a 17 month old boy named John when he was separated from his mum when she was in hospital.

• He was placed in a residential nursery.

• 3 stages of distress were noted by Robertson and Robertson.

1. Protest-the child cries, protests and shows physical agitation.

2. Despair-the child is miserable and listless (not wanting to do anything).

3. Detachment – child seems to accept the situation and shows little interest in when reunited with the caregiver. They may actively resist the caregiver by resisting them when they want to hug them.

• The Robertson’s also cared for 2 young girls. Their Mums came with them to visit the Robertson’s before they entered hospital.

• After the Mum’s had entered hospital the children stayed with the Robertson’s. They made sure that they kept the routine, that they were used to, similar.

• They also made sure they had plenty of individual attention.

• The girls were allowed to bring personal items from home and were also encouraged to talk about their mothers.

• By doing this, the first 2 effects seen in John were gone.

• The Robertson’s were then able to study whether the girls were affected by their separation.

• They found that the girls suffered from mild distress but otherwise adapted well.

• In addition, being able to talk about their mothers helped them keep their memory for her fresh-maintaining the bond.

• Could be criticised because the study used 2 girls and the original used a boy. There could be gender differences in the way the child copes.

PRIVATION:

Studies of extreme privation:

Key term: Privation is the failure to attach to any individual.

• Curtiss (1989) – ‘Genie’

• Many problems:

• Koluchova (1972, 1991) studied twin boys born in the former Czechoslovakia. Their Mother died and their Father remarried.

• The boys step mother treated them very cruelly. They spent the next 5 1/2 years locked in the cellar of their house.

• When they were discovered. They were small for their age and had rickets (due to lack of calcium).

• They communicated through gestures, and were scared by many aspects of their new life.

• The boys were put in a school for children with learning difficulties and were adopted.

• By age 14 they showed no obvious signs of privation:

a)

b)

c)

d)

e)

• This study of privation shows that the damage for these boys wasn’t permanent and also shows that early privation doesn’t automatically give the individual a handicap in life.

•

• Freud & Dann (1951)

• Child survivors of Nazi death camps

• Hostile to adults, limited language

• Adopted at 6yrs, formed attachments to carers eventually

• Emotional problems (e.g. depression) persisted

• Effects of privation are more reversible than Bowlby believed

• The longer the period of privation the harder to reverse the effects

• Loving relationships & high quality care are necessary to reverse privation effects

• Research studies in this area suffer from many problems including:

• Difficulty generalising from single cases or small samples

• Difficulty separating effects of privation, abuse, malnutrition, other trauma or congenital abnormality.

Activity:

Case Studies:

Case study research usually typically involves the in-depth study of over time of a single ‘case’ (individual or small group), usually undertaken within a real-life context. Alternatively, as with the Czech twins described above, an exceptional or unique circumstance may be studies in order to give an insight into circumstances that would be impossible to recreate artificially.

In the text book read the advantages and weaknesses of case studies on pages 31-32, and then answer the following questions, remember to elaborate your answers.

1. Suggest two advantages of studying extreme cases, such the Czech twins or Genie, as a way of learning about the effects of privation.

2. Suggest two weaknesses associated with studying extreme cases, such a s the Czech twins or Genie, as a way of learning about the effects of privation.

3. Suggest two ethical issues that might apply to such studies, and suggest how the researchers might have dealt with each of these.

Hodges and Tizard (1989):Teenagers Raised In Orphanages: Page 133 of the text book:

Aims/Hypothesis:

Method/Design:

Results:

Conclusions:

Evaluation:

Wild Child – The story of feral children video:

Case study 1 – Oksana Malia, Ukraine.

Born with mental/physical abnormalities? Yes/No

How old was she when she spent the first night in the kennel?

How did she feed?

How was she when her case was reported to the authorities?

What were the effects on her development?

Case study 2 – Victor, France.

This was the first feral child studied – Date?

How was Victor discovered?

What two things did Dr Etah believe made us human?

Who was Victor’s substitute Mother?

How did he show empathy towards her?

What did Victor have to do before Dr Etah attempted to teach him language and how did he do this?

Was this successful? – Did he use language effectively?

How did he spend the rest of his life?

Case Study 3- Genie, USA

Describe the house/room where Genie lived.

Why was Genie unable to use language?

Other comments -

Day Care:

Types of Day care:

There are many forms of child care outside the home that are utilised by parents. However for this section we are only going to look at two forms of day care. These vary in the number of children and the amount of individual attention provided by the carer.:

Day nurseries: In the UK, most nurseries provide for between 26 and 40 children, although some are smaller and some larger. Children

are usually divided into smaller groups based on their age. There should be one member of staff for every eight children aged 3 to 5, and one member of staff for every four children aged between 2 to 3, and one member of staff for every three children aged under 2. Nurseries are inspected to ensure that they conform to these regulations. A day nursery will employ qualified staff.

Childminders: By contrast, a childminder will have a maximum of three children in their care and will usually look after them in a home environment. Childminders must be registered and inspected by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) who carry out regular checks on the home and childminder. Not all childminders have childcare qualifications.

Summarise from the handout:

Negative effects on social development

Positive effects on social development

What is high quality day care?

•

•

•

•

•Sure Start:

The ‘Effective Provision of Pre-school Education’ (EPPE) project

Activity:

THE JACKMANS: Rick and Clare Jackman are expecting a new baby. One thing worries Clare- she has recently gone back to work and really enjoys her own life outside the home. She would like to continue working after the new baby is born. Rick would prefer Clare to stay at home as she did with the other children.

1. Suggest 3 arguments that Rick could present to Clare to convince her that she ought to stay at home.

2. Suggest what responses Clare might make to Rick.

Activity:

In the 1950s Bowlby condemned childcare and nurseries as storing up emotional difficulties for the future. (However, we must not forget that he lived in a time when the men returning from the war and National Service expected to be

employed. Therefore it would be useful for the Government to persuade

women that they should stay at home and leave the jobs for the men.)

F Campbell, Lamb & Hwang – 2000 did a longitudinal study comparing social skills in children from age 18 months and 15 years. They found that high-quality daycare was associated with better social skills

J Borge et al – 2004 – showed that aggression was significantly higher in home-reared children than those who had been in childcare.

K Children have different temperaments and different attachment styles, meaning some get more out of daycare than others

I Field – 1988 – found that teachers rated children who had been to daycare as more aggressive than their peers

B Anderssen -1992- infants in childcare before 12 months show enhanced social skills C DiLalla -1988 found a

negative correlation between time spent in daycare and pro-social behaviour

H Belsky – 2006- children in daycare have higher levels of problem behaviours, including aggression to peers

L Melhuish -1990- found that children who had been to daycare showed higher levels of pro-social behaviours such as sharing and cooperation than home-reared individuals .

E Schindler, Moely & Frank – 1998 – found that children who spent more time in daycare played more por-socially

D Clarke- Stewart -1989parents who place their infants in daycare may value independence and reflect this in their parenting

A Durkin- 1995- infants in childcare before 12 months are more aggressive

What is the picture from research? It is mixed. Decide whether these studies provide evidence that childcare is bad for children´s social skills or has no real effect or has a good effect. Note your answers down in the space below.

G Maccoby & Lewis -2003 found that more hours spent in daycare before age 4 ½ correlated with more behaviour problems at school, and lower social skills

Childcare has good effects: B, E, F, J, L

Childcare has bad effects: A, C, G, H, I,

Childcare has little or no effect: D, K,

So what are the implications for child care practices?

The child needs to have a secure attachment from which to explore the world so many nurseries/ hospitals have a key worker system. (Goldschmied & Jackson, 1994) The key worker needs to be resposive and sensitive to the child´s needs. A high staff turnover makes this unlikely.

Campbell et al (2000) found that children do better in smaller groups. This may make the environment easier to deal with as there are fewer strangers.

Clarke-Stewart et al -1994 – notes that social development is better when children are in mixed age groups – resembling family strucures.

Routines help the child to feel that their environment is predictable and so, reduce stress.

Attachment bonds from home need to be maintained. The children are encouraged to bring in teddies etc from home so as to help with this.

Homework and Exam Questions:

SECTION B – DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY AND RESEARCH METHODS

6 Outline two behaviours that are characteristic of a securely attached infant.

(2 marks)

7 (a) Outline the behavioural explanation of attachment formation. (4 marks)

7 (b) Explain how the behavioural explanation of attachment differs from the evolutionary explanation of attachment. (4 marks)

8 A psychologist wished to investigate early child development. She decided to interview some mothers and ask them questions about their infants’ social behaviour.

8 (a) Explain one disadvantage of using an interview to collect these data (2 marks)

8 (b) Write one question that the psychologist could ask mothers about their child’s social behaviour that would generate qualitative data (2 marks)

8 (c) Explain one strength of qualitative data (2 marks)

8 (d) The researcher then decided to undertake an observational study of aggression in toddlers

Explain how variations in aggressive behaviour of toddlers could be categorised for this observation.(4 marks)

8 (e) (i) Explain one ethical issue relevant to observational studies of young children.

(2 marks)

8 (e) (ii) Explain how the researcher could deal with this ethical issue (2 marks)

9 Outline and evaluate research into the effects of day care on social development (e.g. aggression, peer relations) (12 marks)

6 Outline two behaviours that are characteristic of a securely attached infant.(2 marks)

7 (a) Outline the behavioural explanation of attachment formation. (4 marks) 7 (b) Explain how the behavioural explanation of attachment differs from the evolutionaryexplanation of attachment. (4 marks)

8 A psychologist wished to investigate early child development. She decided to interviewsome mothers and ask them questions about their infants. social behaviour.

(a) Explain one disadvantage of using an interview to collect these data. (2 marks) 8 (b) Write one question that the psychologist could ask mothers about their child.s socialbehaviour that would generate qualitative data. (2 marks) 8 (c) Explain one strength of qualitative data.

(2 marks) 8 (d) The researcher then decided to undertake an observational study of aggression in

toddlers.

Explain how variations in aggressive behaviour of toddlers could be categorised for thisobservation.

(4 marks) 8 (e) (i) Explain one ethical issue relevant to observational studies of young children.

(2 marks)

8 (e) (ii) Explain how the researcher could deal with this ethical issue. (2 marks)

9 Outline and evaluate research into the effects of day care on social development(eg aggression, peer relations). (12 marks)

5 A recent study recorded the amount of time that children spent in day care from birth to fouryears, and asked each child’s mother to rate her child for aggression and disobedience. Thestudy found that, as the time spent in day care went up, the mothers’ rating of aggression anddisobedience also went up.

5 (a) What kind of correlation is this research showing?(1 mark)

5 (b) Outline one strength and one weakness of using correlational research to investigatethe effects of day care. (2 marks + 2 marks)

The researchers also found that children who experienced better quality day care had fewerbehavioural problems than children who experienced lower quality day care.

5 (c) Outline two characteristics of high quality day care.

(2 marks + 2 marks)5 (d) What have studies shown us about the effects of day care on peer relations?

(4 marks)

6 (a) What is meant by the term attachment? (2 marks)

6 (b) Tick two of the boxes below to indicate which of the following statements relate toBowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment.A Attachment takes place during a critical period or not at all.B Infants become attached to the person who feeds them.C Infants are innately programmed to form an attachment.

D Attachments are based on the principles of classical andoperant conditioning.(2 marks)

7 Research has suggested that institutionalisation can have negative effects on children. In the1990s, many children were found living in poor quality orphanages in Romania. Luca hadlived in one of these orphanages from birth. When he was four years old, he was adoptedand he left the orphanage to live in Canada. His development was then studied for a numberof years.

7 (a) Outline possible negative effects of institutionalisation on Luca.

(4 marks)

7 (b) The scenario above is an example of a case study. Outline one strength and onelimitation of this research method. (2 marks + 2 marks)7 (c) Disruption of attachment can occur when children experience separation from theirattachment figure during their early childhood.Outline one study of the effects of disruption of attachment. (4 marks)

8 By observing interactions between the infants and their mothers in a Strange Situation, MaryAinsworth was able to identify different types of attachment.

8 (a) Describe possible demand characteristics in this research. (3 marks)

8 (b) How does the behaviour of securely attached infants differ from that of insecurelyattached infants?

(4 marks)

6 Ainsworth and Bell observed infants in an unfamiliar room to assess the quality of theirattachment to their mother. Observations during this ‘Strange Situation’ related to thefollowing categories of behaviour:

Exploration – how much the infant explored the unfamiliar room;Separation behaviour – how the infant reacted when the mother left;Stranger anxiety – the response of the infant to a stranger;Reunion behaviour – how the infant reacted when the mother returned.

6 (a) Select two of these categories and explain how the behaviour of securely attachedinfants and insecurely attached infants would be different in the ‘Strange Situation’.

(2 marks + 2 marks)

6 (b) Briefly explain why some children show characteristics of secure attachment and somecharacteristics of insecure attachment. (2 marks)

7 One situation in which disruption of attachment can occur is when a mother of a young childis admitted into hospital. A researcher decided to study the behaviour of a two-year-old boywho experienced this disruption of attachment.She decided to use naturalistic observation of the boy both before his mother was admittedinto hospital and after she returned home. Each period of observation lasted for one hour.

7 (a) Suggest two suitable behavioural categories the researcher could use to record theboy’s behaviour. (2 marks)

7 (b) How might the researcher record the boy’s behaviour during the one-hour observation?

(2 marks)

7 (c) Explain why the psychologist might want to carry out a pilot study before the mainobservation. (2 marks)

8 Outline what research has shown about the effects of day care on children’s aggressivebehaviour.

(6 marks)

10 Psychologists have put forward different explanations of attachment, such as learning theoryand Bowlby’s theory.Outline and evaluate one or more explanations of attachment.(12 marks)

Teacher notes: The work on the impact of day care handout needs to be photocopied out of the new cardwell and Flanagan book pages 52-53.