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AS Psychology – Unit OneDevelopmental Psychology

Attachment

Student workbook

Name: ........................................................................................................

Specification Requirements

Developmental psychology

Candidates will be expected to demonstrate:

Knowledge and understanding of concepts, theories and studies in relation to Developmental Psychology

Skills of analysis, evaluation and application in relation to Developmental Psychology

Knowledge and understanding of Research Methods associated with this area of psychology

Knowledge and understanding of ethical issues associated with this area of psychology.

Topic outline

Attachment Explanations of attachment, including learning theory and Bowlby’s theory

Types of attachment: secure attachment, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant

Use of the “Strange Situation” in attachment research

Cultural variations in attachment

The effects of disruption of attachment, failure to form attachment (privation) and institutional care

Attachment in everyday life

The impact of different forms of day care on children’s social development, including the effects on aggression and peer relations

How research into attachment and day care has influenced child care practice

Past exam questions on attachment

Explanations of attachment

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

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

Describe Bowlby’s theory of attachment (5 marks)

Types of attachment

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

Observation in a Strange Situation has been used to investigate variations in attachment. Give one advantage of using observation in psychological research. (2 marks)

How does the behaviour of securely attached infants differ from that of insecurely attached infants? (4 marks)

Some people say that Ainsworth’s studies lacked validity. Explain this criticism of Ainsworth. (4 marks)


Explain one criticism of investigating cultural variations in attachment using the ‘Strange Situation.’ (3 marks)

Outline what research has shown about cultural variations in attachment. (6 marks)

Disruption of attachment

Disruption of attachment can occur when children experience separation from their attachment figure during their early childhood. Outline one study of the effects of disruption of attachment. (4 marks)

Privation

Outline and evaluate research into the effects of privation. (12 marks)

Explain the difference between privation and disruption of attachment. You may use examples to help explain the difference. (4 marks)

Institutionalisation

Research has suggested that institutionalisation can have negative effects on children. In the 1990s, many children were found living in poor

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quality orphanages in Romania. Luca had lived in one of these orphanages from birth. When he was four years old, he was adopted and he left the orphanage to live in Canada. His development was then studied for a number of years. Outline possible negative effects of institutionalisation on Luca. (4 marks)

Psychologists have studied children who have lived in institutions such as orphanages. Outline and evaluate research into the effects of institutionalisation. (12 marks)

Daycare

Outline what research has shown about the effects of day care on children’s aggressive behaviour. (6 marks)

Describe one or more studies of the effects of day care on peer relations. (4 marks)

Outline one strength and one weakness of using correlational research to investigate the effects of day care. (2 + 2 marks)

The researchers also found that children who experienced better quality day care had fewer behavioural problems than children who experienced lower quality day care. Outline two characteristics of high quality day care. (2 + 2 marks)

Influence of attachment research

Explain how child care has been influenced by findings of research into attachment. (4 marks)

Attachment checklist

I have notes

I can do this

Introduction to attachment

Define attachment

Outline the four characteristics of attachment (Macoby)

Identify the age at which children are likely to first form an attachment

Identify with whom children are most likely to form an attachment


Outline the learning theory of attachment (classical and operant conditioning)

Evaluate the learning theory of attachment – including research evidence

Outline Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment

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Evaluate Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment – including research evidence

Individual differences in attachment

Outline the Strange Situation (Ainsworth)

Describe the characteristics of each attachment type

Outline explanations for individual differences in attachment type


Outline two studies of cultural variations in attachment

Evaluate research into cultural variations in attachment, including the use of the Strange Situation

Discuss why attachment types may vary across cultures

Explain the difference between collectivist and individualist cultures

Define ethnocentrism


Outline the Robertson’s research into disruption of attachment

Evaluate the Robertson’s research into disruption of attachment

Outline at least two factors which may affect how the child responds to disruption of attachment (e.g. previous experience of separation)

Outline Robertson and Bowlby’s PDD model (protest, despair, detachment)

Privation

Define privation

Outline the case of Genie (Curtiss)

Outline the case of the Czech twins (Koluchova)

Describe the strengths and limitations of the methods used to study Genie and the Czech twins (longitudinal, self report, case studies).

Discuss the factors which may affect whether the effects of privation are reversible (e.g. age at discovery, quality of care)

Privation / Institutionalisation

Define institutionalisation

Outline the possible effects of institutionalisation on children (social, emotional, physical, intellectual, - Rutter’s Romanian Orphans. )

Outline Hodges & Tizard’s study of Institutionalisation

Evaluate Hodges & Tizard’s research into institutionalisation

Day care

Define day care

Define social development

Briefly outline and evaluate at least one piece of evidence which suggests that day care increases aggressive behaviour

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Briefly outline and evaluate at least one piece of evidence which suggests that day care reduces (or has no effect on) aggressive behaviour

Briefly outline and evaluate at least one piece of evidence which suggests that day care leads to better peer relationships

Briefly outline and evaluate at least one piece of evidence which suggests that day care leads to poorer peer relationships (or has no effect on the quality of peer relationships)

Outline at least 4 factors that make it difficult to establish a cause and effect relationship between day care and social development:

Influence of research on childcare practices

Explain how attachment research has influenced hospital policies

Explain how attachment research has influenced adoption policies

Explain how attachment research has influenced day care policies (outline the characteristics of good quality day care)

Summary of attachment key studies and theories

Topic area Study I can describ

e

I can evaluat

eIntroduction to attachment

Schaffer and Emerson (1964)


The learning theory of attachment


Bowlby’s evolutionary theory


The Love Quiz – Hazan and Shaver (1987)

Types of attachment

The Strange Situation – Mary Ainsworth (1978)

Cultural variations Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988)


PDD Model - Robertson and Robertson (1952)


44 Juvenile Thieves – Bowlby (1944)

Privation Curtiss - Genie (1977)

Privation Czech twins (1976)

Institutionalisation Hodges and Tizzard (1989)

Institutionalisation Rutter (2007)

Daycare Shea (1981)

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Daycare DiLalla (1998)

Daycare The EPPE Project (2003)

Attachment key words and concepts

Reciprocal


Social releaser

Privation

Evolution

Institutionalisation

Ethology

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Imprinting

Strange Situation

Longitudinal study

Naturalistic observation

Adaptive

Daycare

Social development

Peer relationships

Reactive attachment disorder

Imposed etic

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Introduction to

attachment

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What is attachment?

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What is attachment? Write a definition using the words bond, reciprocal and emotional.

1.

2.

3.

4.

What are the four characteristics of attachment, as identified by Macoby (1980)?

Using Macoby’s criteria make a list of all the people you have an attachment to.

What do you think the consequences might be for a child who doesn’t develop an attachment to another human being?

Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

Aim:

To investigate the age at which infants become attached, who they become attached to, and whether it is possible to develop multiple attachments.

Procedure:

A longitudinal study on 60 Glaswegian infants over the first 18 months of their lives was carried out in the 1960’s. They visited the children at monthly intervals in their own homes and observed their interactions with their caregivers.

Results: .

By 18 months old, 31% of the infants had formed multiple attachments, e.g. to grandparents, siblings, etc.

Conclusions:

The results of the study indicated that attachments were most likely to form with those who responded accurately to the baby's signals, not the person they spent most time with. Schaffer and Emerson called this ‘sensitive responsiveness’. They concluded that the most important factor in forming attachments is not who feeds and changes the child but who plays and communicates with him or her and responds to their emotional needs

This study also shows that a significant number of infants form multiple attachments.

Now answer these questions on the Schaffer and Emerson study:

1. What is a longitudinal study?

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2. Does this study have ecological validity? Explain your answer:

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3. What is ‘sensitive responsiveness?’

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4. Do infants always attach to the person who feeds them? (Remember this for future use!)

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Explanations

for attachment

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The Learning Theory explanation of attachment

The main assumption behind the learning theory explanation of attachment is that children learn to become attached to their caregiver because they give them food. This is sometimes referred to as ‘cupboard love’.

Learning can be due to associations being made between different stimuli (classical conditioning) or behaviour can be altered by patterns of reinforcement (reward) and punishment (operant conditioning).

Classical conditioning – learning by association

Food is an unconditioned stimulus that produces an unconditioned response (pleasure).

At the outset, the caregiver is a neutral stimulus who produces no response.

However, because she/he is continually paired with the unconditioned stimulus (food) she slowly becomes associated with it until eventually mother alone can produce pleasure.

Mother has now become a conditioned stimulus and the pleasure she brings is a conditioned response.

Operant conditioning – learning by reinforcement

Dollard and Miller (1950) suggested that a hungry infant feels uncomfortable and this creates a drive (urge) to reduce the discomfort.

Any behaviour resulting in rewards (pleasant consequences) is ‘stamped in’ or REINFORCED.

Any behaviour that results in punishments (unpleasant consequences) is ‘stamped out’.

Hungry infant feels uncomfortable & is driven to reduce discomfort. When fed it feels pleasure (reward).

The food is a PRIMARY reinforcer as it directly satisfies hunger.

The caregiver is a SECONDARY reinforcer as he/she is associated with the primary reinforcer(food).

So, attachment occurs because the child seeks the person who can supply the reward (food).

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Classical Conditioning1. Before conditioning

Food Happy baby

2. During conditioning Carer Food

Mother Food Happy baby

3. After conditioning

Mother Happy baby

Unconditioned stimulus x 2Unconditioned response x 2Neutral stimulus x 1 Conditioned stimulus x 1Conditioned response x 1

Label each stage with the appropriate stimulus or response. The box below tells you how many of each you should use.

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Operant condtioning

Complete the passage using the words below:

According to learning theory, the baby has to __________________ to

form an attachment with his caregiver. In the process of

__________________ conditioning, the caregiver __________________ the

baby by __________________ him, so he __________________ the caregiver

with the reward and __________________ any action that brings her close.

This happens because food brings a feeling of __________________ (=

reward) to the baby. Food is the primary __________________. By

removing discomfort, it reinforces the behaviour that led to its arrival.

But food doesn't come without the __________________ bringing it, so the

caregiver becomes the __________________ reinforcer - even without

bringing food, the presence of the mother reduces discomfort and

brings a feeling of pleasure. The baby will therefore repeat any

__________________ , e.g. __________________ which brings the caregiver

close.

** action** **associates** **crying** **feeding** **learn**

**caregiver** **operant** **pleasure** **reinforcer**

**repeats** **rewards** **secondary

Evaluation of the learning theory of attachment – is it supported by research?

The basis of the learning theory of attachment is that the infant attaches because it wants/needs food. However, this is not supported by evidence from research. Explain why the following studies do not support the learning theory of attachment:

Schaffer and Emerson (1964):

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Harlow’s monkeys (1958): p. 35 of your textbook

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Evolution, imprinting and ethology

An alternative to the learning theory of attachment was suggested by John Bowlby.

Bowlby developed an evolutionary theory of attachment inspired by the ethological concept of imprinting. Ethology is the study of animals in their natural habitat, and imprinting is a form of attachment in which young birds learn to follow the first large, moving object they see during a specific time (the critical period). An ethologist called Konrad Lorenz (1935) conducted an experiment to investigate this effect.

Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment

Applying the principles of ethology to human infants, Bowlby suggested that attachment is an innate process that serves an important evolutionary function

From p.32 of your textbooks, briefly outline how Lorenz studied imprinting, and what he found:

Why is imprinting of evolutionary benefit?

Why must we be careful about extrapolating (generalising) the results of studies on animals to human beings?

Evolution is the change in the inherited characteristic of an organism over time. Characteristics that are adaptive (increase the organism’s chances of survival) will be passed on to the next generation.

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Bowlby’s theory is quite complex, and involves a number of words that you may be unfamiliar with. It may help to use the Miss Reid mnemonic to remember the key points. Complete the grid below with an explanation of each feature of the theory

Montrop

y

Innate

Survival

Social

releasers

Reciproca

l

Evolution

ary

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Internal working model

Dire

Evaluation of Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment

Explain whether each of the following studies supports a specific part of Bowlby’s theory:

Imprinting – Lorenz

Monotropy – Schaffer and Emerson

Internal working model – Hazan and Shaver

Dire Consequences – Bowlby’s 44 thieves

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The Love Quiz - Hazan and Shaver (1987)

Aim: Hazan & Shaver were interested in John Bowlby’s idea that an infant’s first attachment formed an internal working model - a template - for all future relationships. They wanted to see if there was a correlation between the infant’s attachment type and their future approach to romantic relationships. Procedure: To test this Hazan & Shaver devised the ‘Love Quiz’ which consisted of 2 components:-

A measure of attachment type - a simple adjective checklist of childhood relationships with parents and parents’ relationships with each other

A love experience questionnaire which assessed individual’s beliefs about romantic love - e.g.: whether it lasted forever, whether it could be found easily, how much trust there was in a romantic relationship, etc

The Love Quiz was printed in local newspaper the Rocky Mountain News and readers were asked to send in their responses. Hazan & Shaver analysed the first 620 replies sent in from people aged from 14 to 82. They classified them as secure or insecure types

Dire Consequences – Czech Twins

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Secure types described their love experiences as happy, friendly and trusting - emphasising being able to accept their partner regardless of any faults - with such relationships tending to be more enduring, They were happy to be close to others.

Insecure types experienced love as involving obsession, a desire for reciprocation, emotional highs and lows, extreme sexual attraction and jealousy, and worry that their partners didn’t really love them or might abandon them. Their desire for intense closeness could frighten others away.

Other insecure types typically feared intimacy, emotional highs and lows, and jealousy and believed they did not need love to be happy. They were uncomfortable being close to and/or depending on others.

Results: Hazan & Shaver found a strikingly high correlation between the infant attachment types and the adult romantic love styles. Conclusions: Hazan & Shaver concluded that there was evidence to support the concept of the internal working model having a life-long effect. However, they did concede that not everyone stayed true to their infant attachment style and that some people did change as they grew older.

Evaluation of Hazan and Shaver

Self report method: Correlation:

Volunteer sample:

Bowlby (1944) – The 44 Juvenile Thieves

Aim: To investigate the effect of longer term separation

Procedure: Case studies were completed on the backgrounds of 44 adolescents who had been referred to the clinic where Bowlby worked because they’d been stealing. They were compared to a control group of 44 ‘emotionally disturbed’ adolescents who didn’t steal.

Results: 17 of the thieves had experienced frequent separations from their mothers before the age of two, compared with 2 in the control group. 14 of the thieves were diagnosed as ‘affectionless psychopaths’ (they didn’t care about how their actions affected others). 12 of these 14 had experienced separation from their mothers.

Conclusions: Long term separation of the child from its main carer early in life can have very harmful long term consequences.

Evaluation:

Diagnosis of Affectionless Psychopathy…

Investigater effects…

Nature of Spearation may have differed for each child

Supports the ‘Dire’ consequences of his Attachment theory

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Individual differences

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in attachment

The Strange Situation (Ainsworth, 1978)

The Strange Situation is a procedure for assessing the quality of attachment between the infant and mother. It was developed by Mary Ainsworth et al (1978) and involves a series of episodes where the child is left alone and a stranger comes in and out of the room. The procedure lasts for 22 minutes in total.

Answer the following questions: (p.40 of your textbook) What was the main aim of The Strange Situation?

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Who were the participants?

The Strange Situation uses a controlled observation methodology. Explain how this differs from a naturalistic observation:

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The Strange Situation - Procedure

The Strange Situation procedure involves the child experiencing eight ‘episodes’. Complete the storyboard with a description and illustration of what happens during each episode:

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

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The Strange Situation – Results

From her observations Ainsworth concluded that there were three types of attachment.Complete the table of results by writing in the appropriate bullet point from below:

Secure Attachment Insecure-Resistant Attachment

Insecure-Avoidant Attachment

Separation anxiety

Distressed when mother leaves

Infant shows signs of intense distress

Stranger anxiety

Avoidant of stranger when alone but friendly when mother present.

Infant is okay with the stranger and plays normally when stranger is present

Reunion behaviour

Child approaches mother but resists contact, may even push her away

Infant shows little interest when mother returns.

Other Will use the mother as a safe base to explore their environment.

Infant cries more and explores less than the other 2 types

1. Infant avoids and shows fear of the stranger2. Infant is can be equally comforted by mother or

stranger

3. Is easily comforted when mother returns

4. Infant shows no sign of distress when mother leaves

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Application of attachment types

Read the following examples and then state which attachment type the child is according to Ainsworth’s Strange Situation. Highlight the key phrases or words that helped you make your decision.Child A

Sarah is at the park. Her mother quickly pops into a shop while Sarah is playing. Sarah cannot see her mother and can only see strangers. She continues playing seemingly unbothered by the absence of her mother.

Attachment Type:

___________________________________________________________________

Child B

Freddy is watching a television programme while playing. He becomes scared by the programme and climbs onto his mother’s lap. He is comforted by his mother, and calms down. When he is calmer, he climbs down and continues playing.

Attachment Type: ___________________________________________________________________

Child C

Sam is dropped off by his mother at the house of a new babysitter. When the mother leaves, he cries incessantly. The babysitter cannot calm him down. Later on, when the mother comes to pick him up, she tries to comfort him, but he still cries, and tries to push his mother away.

Attachment Type: ___________________________________________________________________

Child D

Gemma is in a shop. She wanders off and loses sight of her mum. She starts crying, and a stranger finds her, and tries to comfort her. Gemma still cries and pushes the stranger away. When her mother finds her, Gemma is relieved and hugs her mother. She calms down.

Attachment Type:

The Strange Situation – Conclusions

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There are several possible explanations for individual differences in attachment type. Complete the following questions, using p. 43 of your textbook to help if necessary.

Ainsworth suggested the ‘caregiver sensitivity hypothesis’ (P43) as an explanation for different attachment types. Explain what this is:

What is the ‘temperament hypothesis’ and how does it offer an alternative explanation for different types of attachment? (P39 Kagan, 1982)

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Evaluation of the Strange Situation

Strengths

The strange situation classification has been found to have good reliability. Reliability of the 'Strange Situation' was demonstrated by Main et al (1985): They tested babies at 18 months and then retested them at 6 years of age. They found that 100% of the secure babies were still classified as secure and 75% of the avoidant babies were still under the same classification. This is called test-retest reliability and checks for consistency over time.

Ainsworth herself also tested inter-rater reliability (the extent to which different observers score a behaviour in a similar way). This was also found to be very high.

The strange situation classification has been hugely influential and has become the accepted methodology worldwide for measuring attachment – this is called a PARADIGM

Limitations

Mary Ainsworth's conclusion that the strange situation can be used to identify the child's type of attachment has been criticised on the grounds that it identifies only the type of attachment to the mother. The child may have a different type of attachment to the father or grandmother. This means that is lacks validity, as it is not measuring a general attachment style, but instead an attachment style specific to the mother.

In addition, some research has shown that the same child may show different attachment behaviours on different occasions. Children's attachments may change, perhaps because of changes in the child's circumstances, so a securely attached child may appear insecurely attached if the mother becomes ill or the family circumstances change.

The strange situation has also been criticised on ethical grounds because the child is put under deliberate stress (separation and stranger anxiety). In addition, the mother could also suffer distress if her child is judged to be insecurely attached, as attachment theory suggests that this is a result of early parenting.

The sample is biased -100 middle class American families. Therefore, it is difficult to generalise the findings outside of America and to working class families. (ethnocentric sample)

Finally, the observational study has been criticised for having low ecological validity because the procedure takes place in an artificial setting (a laboratory).

Evaluation of the Strange Situation

The main criticism of the Strange Situation is that it lacks validity. Using your textbook (p42) and the information on the previous

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page to help, explain how and why each of these factors could be a threat to validity:

Cultural variations

Internal validity

Only measures attachment to mother

Doesn’t consider temperament or past experiences of child

Demand characteristics

External validity

Carried out in a laboratory

Used middle class American infants and mothers

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in attachment

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Bowlby believed that attachments were innate; therefore the need to form this initial bond should be genetic and as a result experienced by the infants of every culture. However, the kind of attachment formed may vary between societies and between cultures depending upon the child rearing techniques seen as most desirable within that community. This section looks at different patterns of attachment found in other cultures and possible explanations for these differences.

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) carried out a meta-analysis combining the findings of 32 other studies of the strange situation from a variety of countries and based on the observation of over 2000 children. Their findings are displayed in the bar chart below:

What conclusions can you make from this graph?

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Explanations of the cross cultural differences found by Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg

A graph to show the findings of the Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) study

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In conclusion, why do children from different cultures show different attachment styles?

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Cultural variations in attachment questions

What do the results of the Van Ijzendoorn study tell us about the level of secure attachment across different cultures?

Israeli children were reared in a Kibbutz so were used to being separated from their mother. As a result they do not show anxiety when their mother leaves. However, they are not used to strangers so get distressed when left alone with the stranger. This explains the high percentage of resistant behaviour. Fox (1977) tested children in the strange situation using either their mother or the metapelet (Kibbutz nurse). The children appeared similarly attached to both except for reunion behaviour where they were more pleased to see mother.

Japanese children show similar patterns of attachment to the Israeli children but for different reasons. Japanese children are very rarely left by their mother. So the distress they show when she leaves is probably more due to shock than it is to insecure attachment. The distress they show when left alone with the stranger is also more likely to be due to absence of the mother.

The German study highlights a high percentage of avoidant behaviour, typical of independent children. This is not surprising given that Grossmann et al (1985) say that German parents seek ‘independent, non-clingy infants, who do not make demands on parents, but obey their commands.’

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Evaluation of Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg

Read the following evaluation points before answering the questions on the next page:

Despite the large number of studies combined in this meta-analysis, over half (18 of the 32) were still in the US. Only five of the 32 were carried out in collectivist cultures.

We also have the issue of imposed etic. This development of a test for one culture, then being used in unfamiliar cultures is referred to in psychology as imposed etic, and is most controversial in the testing of IQ. The strange situation was designed by an American, using American children for use on other Americans. Many researchers have therefore questioned whether it can possibly be suitable for testing the children of other cultures. Mary Ainsworth assumed that separation anxiety was an indication of secure attachment and this may be the case in some countries such as Britain and the USA. However, separation anxiety in other societies and cultures may represent other factors.

For example, the Japanese have the concept of ‘amae’, which means ‘emotional dependence’. Infants showing amae exhibit much clinging behaviour and need for attention. These forms of behaviour are regarded as indicating insecure attachment by Western psychologists but indicate

good adjustments in Japan. This might explain why so many infants develop a seemingly more clingy resistant attachment style and become so distressed when separated from mum. The strange situation may

Which country has the highest number of insecure avoidant infants?

Which country has the highest number of insecure resistant infants?

Explain the difference between individualist and collectivist cultures:

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therefore not always be a suitable measure of attachment and may in fact be culturally specific.

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg report that differences in attachment within a culture are far greater than those found between cultures (up to 1 ½ times more). They conclude that it is wrong to think of everyone in a culture having the same practices. Within a culture there are many sub-cultures, all with their own way of rearing children. These may be ethnically or racially based but also may be class specific, for example in the UK the so called ‘middle classes’ may have different child-rearing techniques to the ‘working classes.’ The upper classes traditionally left child rearing to nannies.

However, in support of the strange situation, with the exception of the three results mentioned above, most countries do seem to have a similar pattern, with most infants forming secure attachments and the rest being split equally between avoidant and resistant.

What did Van Ijzendoorn find about differences in attachment styles within cultures and how can this be explained?

How many of the 32 studies were carried out in collectivist cultures, and why is this a limitation of the study?

Why is the Strange Situation an imposed etic?

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Disruption of

attachment

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John Bowlby is quoted as saying:

“What is believed to be essential for mental health is that an infant and young child should experience a warm, intimate and continuous relationship with his mother (or permanent mother substitute – one person who steadily mothers him) in which both find satisfaction and enjoyment.”

He believed that any separation from the mother figure during the critical period could disrupt (damage) the attachment bond. This could then have irreversible social, cognitive and emotional consequences on the child for the rest of its life.

In what situations might young children be separated from their caregivers? List as many as you can think of:

How do you think a child would react when first separated from its caregiver? (first day or two)

How do you think a child would react to longer term separation? (weeks or even months)

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Short term separation

(The PDD Model – Robertson, Robertson and Bowlby, 1952 )

James Robertson was a psychiatric social worker and a student of John Bowlby’s. His wife Joyce was also a social worker and together they carried out a series to investigate the short-term effects of separation by observing children in hospital.

This research was done in the late 1940's when parents were not allowed to visit their children in hospital as they were told it would be too distressing. In a survey of London Hospitals in 1949 the visiting hours for children were:

Guy's Hospital, Sundays, 2-4pm; St Bartholomew's, Wednesdays 2-

3.30pm; Westminster Hospital,

Wednesdays 2-3pm, Sundays 2-3pm

St Thomas's Hospital, first month no visits, parents could see children asleep 7-8pm;

West London Hospital, no visiting; Charing Cross Hospital, Sundays,

3-4pm; London Hospital, under 3 years

old, no visits, but parents could see children through partitions. Over 3 years old, twice weekly.

Procedure: The Robertsons observed children in hospital, using a time sampling video technique (they filmed each child for 40 minutes at the same time each day). The experience of one of these children, John, is described below:

John (aged seventeen months) was put into a fairly typical residential nursery for nine days while his mother had a second child in hospital. His father was at work all day, and there were no relatives nearby to look after him. Four of the five other children at the nursery had been there almost all of their lives. They were noisy, demanding, and aggressive. John was a quiet, loving child. He seemed troubled by the noise and fighting going on around him, and tried to approach the nurses for some attention. They had to spend most of their time with the more demanding children, and John was left out. Even when he managed to obtain their attention they soon had to put him down to tend to one of the others. John's protests and anger were ignored. After some days his distress worsened. He started to cry pitifully, for long periods of time.

This distress lasted for several days. The nurses gave John all the attention they could, but it was nowhere near enough. He began to refuse food, and he wouldn't sleep. With each day that passed John's condition worsened. His cries of distress became huge sobs of despair.

As the separation neared its end, John's behaviour changed again. He stopped trying to be near to the nurses. Instead he would play with whatever toys he could, particularly a large cuddly toy. He began to ignore his father on his nightly visits. John slowly became emotionally detached.

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When his mother finally came he didn't seem to want to know her. He wouldn't go to her, wouldn't look at her, and resisted her attempts to comfort him.

John had started by being loving, and seeking companionship. Over the nine-day separation he had changed to being distressed, despairing, and finally to appearing emotionally detached.

Findings: The main finding was that during the separation, children were extremely distressed, and on their return home, were less attached, less affectionate, and less happy than they had been before.

Conclusions: All of the effects described above were classed as the short-term effects of bond disruption. Bowlby and Robertson and Robertson developed these effects into three stages, called the PDD MODEL.

Complete the boxes below from the ppt, with a description of what happens at each stage:

Despair:

Detachment:

Protest:

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Does separation always lead to bond disruption?

The Robertson’s research did appear to support Bowlby’s suggestion that any separation from the caregiver could damage the attachment bond. However, the Robertson’s noted that the quality of care given to children in hospitals was not very good. The nurses often had a large number of children to look after and did not have time to attend to the emotional needs of the children. The Robertson’s were interested in the idea that the negative effects of separation could be reduced if the child was given good quality care that enabled them to form an attachment with a substitute mother figure whilst their own mother was absent.

Robertson and Robertson (1971)

To investigate this, James and Joyce Robertson fostered four young children in their own home, while their mothers were in hospital to have babies (this was when women stayed in hospital for a week or more after the birth). The children ranged in age from 17 months to 2 years 5 months, and they stayed with the Robertsons for up to 4 weeks. The case study of Jane is outlined below:

Jane with Joyce Robertson

How did Jane’s behaviour differ from John’s?

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JANE, aged 17 months: in foster care for 10 days. When her mother goes into the hospital Jane readily accepts Joyce Robertson as substitute (foster) mother. Foods and routines are kept familiar as at home, her father visits daily, and the foster mother is fully available to meet Jane's needs. Jane is allowed to have items from home to play with. She is not as overwhelmed as John was, but is held in a state of 'manageable anxiety'. At reunion Jane returns to her mother with warmth and good expectations. But she is reluctant to give up the foster mother to whom she has become attached.

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Evaluation of the Robertson’s research and the PDD model

Hugely influential (p49 Real-World applications)

Case study method

Real life settings

Validity

The PDD model doesn’t consider individual differences/mediating factors in the response to separation

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Privation:Never having

formed an attachment

Privation What is privation and how does it differ from separation?

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Case studies of severe privation

One method that psychologists have used to study the affects of privation is to consider case studies of individual children who have been raised in conditions where no attachment bond has been made. You will watch a video of some of these cases, and will research other cases for your homework assignment.

Use the next page to summarise the most important aspects of each case. You should include:

Age when discovered Conditions they were kept in Physical, cognitive and emotional effects of privation Care after discovery

Genie (Curtiss, 1977)

What do you think the effects of privation might be? Consider social, emotional, cognitive and physical effects:

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Evaluation of privation case studies

Explain how each of the following factors could be used to evaluate the usefulness of case studies in understanding the effect of privation of attachment:

The Czech twins (Koluchova, 1976)

Case study method of research:

Retrospective data: Ethical issues: Children involved suffered emotional and physical abuse (not just

privation):

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Are the effects of privation reversible?

There have been mixed findings from research into the reversibility of the ill effects of privation. Whilst the Czech twins made a good recovery, Genie showed less progress. Use your research to compare variables which may explain the differences in recovery between Genie and the Czech twins:

Age when discovered Relationships whilst in isolation

Quality of care after discovery

Genie

Czech Twins

What conclusions can we draw from the cases of Genie and the Czech twins about the reversibility of the effects of privation?

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The effects of institutionalisation

A further method of assessing the effects of privation (failure to form an attachment) has been studies of children who have spent their early years in institutions.

Rutter et al (2007)

This is an on-going longitudinal study which began in 1998.

Aim: To investigate whether good quality care after adoption can make up for very poor early institutional experiences.

Procedure: 111 Romanian orphans were adopted into British families. Rutter wanted to see if good care could compensate for the privation the children had suffered before the overthrow of the Communist dictator Ceaucescu.

This has been run as a natural experiment with age of adoption being the naturally occurring independent variable (IV). Rutter is studying three groups:

· Adopted before the age of 6 months· Adopted between 6 months and 2 years· Adopted after the age of two (late adoptees).

Results: Rutter found evidence of disinhibited attachment behaviours in the Romanian adoptees, most commonly in the children who were adopted at an older age. He defined disinhibited attachment as ‘a pattern of attention-seeking behaviours with a relative lack of selectivity in social relationships’ – in other words, children are more likely to seek attention from all adults, even strangers and make inappropriate physical contact without checking back to the parent in a stressful situation. Disinhibited attachment was extremely rare in UK-born adoptees and children who were adopted at a younger age. This evidence shows that children who have spent longer in institutions are more likely to display signs of disinhibited attachment.

Conclusions: The effects of early privation do not seem to be completely irreversible (as suggested by Bowlby), but children exposed to institutional privation are more likely to make a fuller recovery if adopted into a caring environment at an earlier age.

As a result of this research, Rutter suggested that Bowlby’s ‘critical period’ could be better described as a ‘sensitive period’; meaning that, although there is an optimal period for forming attachments, it is not impossible to form them after the age of 2 and a half if the child is adopted into a warm and loving environment.

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Hodges and Tizard (1989)

Aim: To investigate the effects of long term institutional care.

Procedure: This was a natural experiment, studying 65 children bought up in a children's home in America until the age of 4 (all had been placed in care before the age of 6 months). During this time the children were unable to form an attachment to any of the adults as staff were discouraged from doing so to prevent upsetting the children when they left the job.

By age 4, 24 had been adopted, 15 restored to their birth parents, and the rest stayed in the institution. All three groups were compared to a control group of ‘normal’ children raised in their own homes.

Data was collected using questionnaires, and by interviewing children, parents and teachers at age 4, 8 and 16. However, it should be noted that only 39 (out of 65) participants were left in the study at age 16, due to sample attrition.

Results:

At the age of 4, the children hadn’t formed attachments.

At age 8 and 16, most of the adopted children had formed close attachments, as strong as those in the control group, with their adopted parents. The children who returned to their own homes had formed poorer attachments than the adopted group.

At 8 and 16, both the adopted and restored groups had difficulties at school; they more attention seeking and had problems forming relationships with other children.

More than two thirds of the children who remained in the institutions were described at four and a half years old as ‘not caring deeply about anyone’, and many were attention seeking. At 8 years old, many had serious problems at school.

Conclusions:

The attachments that the adopted children formed with their adoptive parents suggest that, contrary to Bowlby’s claim, the effects of privation can be reversed to some extent. However, the problems that the adopted children experienced at school suggest that some of the effects of privation are indeed long lasting. The characteristics of the children who stayed in the institutions, and the problems

experienced by the other two groups suggest that the lack of an early close relationship with one particular person could contribute to later social and emotional problems.

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Institutionalisation questions

1. What is a longitudinal study?

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2. What is attrition and why is it a limitation of longitudinal studies?

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3. How many participants were lost due to attrition in the Hodges and Tizard study?

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4. What is the sensitive period (suggested by Rutter) and how does it differ from Bowlby’s critical period?

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5. Why are longitudinal studies often used in developmental psychology?

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6. What type of experiment did Hodges and Tizard use?

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7. What difficulties dis both groups of children have (adopted and restored)?

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8. Does research into the effects of institutionalisation support Bowlby’s view that lack of attachment during the critical period will cause irreversible negative effects that last into adulthood? Explain your answer:

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9. What factors may have been different in the characteristics of the adopted children and the restored children? What don’t we not know about the restored children in terms of them being placed in the orphanage in the first place?

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Now develop an essay plan for a 12 mark question on institutionalisation. E.g. Outline and evaluate research into the effects of institutionalisation:

A01 A02

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Day care and social

development

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Working mothers ‘damage their child’s health’

By Graeme Paton, Education Correspondent

12:01AM GMT 30 Dec 2006

Working mothers are harming their children's long-term development by sending them to nursery from an early age, a leading author said yesterday.

Michael Morpurgo, the former children's laureate, sparked controversy by saying that it was "utterly extraordinary" that half of mothers with children under five had jobs outside the home.

He said lack of contact between children and parents was directly to blame for rising levels of mental health problems, sleep disorders and anorexia in young people.

The comments were dismissed by child care groups, which said studies showed that youngsters benefited from increased contact with other children as early as

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possible. But they won support from the Conservatives, who said nurseries were subjecting children to an unnecessarily formal education.

Mr Morpurgo, recently awarded an OBE for services to literature, said: "It is utterly extraordinary now how many children grow up without their mothers around them. You have got 50 per cent of mothers these days of children under five who are employed outside the home. Well, you are cutting off something there, whether you like it or not, and it may be an uncomfortable thing to recognise."

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that sending children to school at four or five was too early.

"We pack our children off to care groups or even to school, but many countries in Europe do not send their children until they are seven," he said. "They live in the bosom of their family. That is where they are nurtured – within the nest. That is where they can grow their wings, they can learn to fly." He added: "I don't think it is an accident that one in 10 of our children is suffering from mental health problems, from sleep disorders, from eating disorders and things like that."

In October, an eminent group of child care experts raised concerns about the long-term effect of placing children in inadequate day nurseries. In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, they said that separating children from their mothers risked "storing up behavioural difficulties".

Last year, research by Professor Michael Lamb, of Cambridge University, found that nurseries caused distress to young children. He found that levels of the stress hormone cortisol doubled in youngsters during the first nine days of child care without their mothers present and continued to be much higher among children five months after starting nursery compared with those who stayed at home.

Of the 521,000 day care places in England and Wales, about 85,000 are thought to be taken by under-threes.

Sue Palmer, a former head teacher, who wrote the book Toxic Childhood, charting the damaging influences of modern life, said: "Children need one-on-one care in their earliest years. It affects their education and gives them a head start in life. While nurseries can provide safety and warmth, they cannot provide the attention and consistency that a mother can."

However, Hayley Doyle, spokesman for the National Day Nurseries Association, said: "Many parents need to work and should not be criticised for choosing to send their children to a nursery. The vast majority of nurseries are recognised as being of a high standard and studies have shown that children who have been to them are, in the long term, higher achievers and better earners."

Discuss this article with a partner. Consider these points:

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What are the arguments for and against daycare?

Is there evidence to support Michael Murporgo’s claims?

Does this article represent a fair view of the arguments?

Why might daycare have a positive effect?

Why might daycare have a negative effect?

Can we be certain that daycare ‘causes’ mental health problems? Why?

Were you in daycare as a child? What was your experience like?

What is your personal opinion – should mothers go out to work?

Day care and social development

What is day care?

List as many forms of daycare as you can think of:

Why might daycare have an effect on a child’s social development?

What is meant by ‘peer relationships?’

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You are going to carry out a study to investigate the effects of daycare on social develolpment.

What method will you use (e.g. experiment, observation, etc.) Give reasons for your choice:

How will you operationalise aggression?

How will you operationalise peer relationships?

What ethical issues might arise when carrying out your research?

How will you deal with these ethical issues?

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Daycare research

Shea (1981)

Procedure: Infants aged between 3 and 4 were videotaped in the playground during their fist 10 weeks at nursery school. Their behaviour was assessed in terms of:

Rough and tumble play Aggreession Frequency of peer interaction Distance from the teacher Distance from the nearest child

Results: Over the 10 weeks, the childrens peer interacdtion increased and their distance from the teacher decreased. There was a decrease in aggression and and increase in rough and tumble play. The increase in socialibity was more evident in the children that attended daycare 5 days a week than those attending 2 days – this suggests that it was the effect of daycare rather than just the children maturing that increased socialibity.

Conlusions: Daycare causes children to become more sociable and less aggressive.

Di Lalla (1998)

Evaluation:

Positive or negative effect on aggression?

Positive or negative effect on peer relationships?

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Procedure: In a laboratory playroom, 62 pairs of same sex 5 year olds who had not met before played together for 20 minutes. They were rated for:

Pro-social behaviour (talking politely, inviting the other child to play, smiling at the other child in acknolwedgment or praise and helping)

Aggression (teasing, hitting, grabbing, yelling and throwing toys)

The incidence of each behaviour was then correlated with the length of time spent in daycare.

Results: Children who experienced little or no daycare were more likely to behave prosocially, and those with a ‘difficult’ termperament showed less pro-social behaviour. Gender was a signifcant predictor of both aggressive and prosocial behaviours, with boys being both more aggressive and more pro-social.

Conclusions: Daycare may have a negative effct on the development of prosocial behaviour but does not affect aggressive behaviour. Other factors, such as gender and temperament, need to be taken into account when assessing the effects of daycare on social development.

Effective Provision of Pre-School Education Project ( EPPE) (2003)

Procedure: This was a government funded long term study of over 3000 children attending various types of daycare (e.g. childminders, day nursery, etc) in the UK. The children’s progress was monitored between the ages of 3 and 7 years old. Data was collected via observations, standardised tests, and reports from the daycare staff. The child’s home and family background was also assessed.

Evaluation:



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Results: There was a slight increase in antisocial behaviour when children spent more than 20 hours per week in nurseries. This increased noticeably when they spent more than 40 hours a week in care. It was also noted that there is an increase in levels of aggression amongst children whose carers are constantly changing. However, children who attended daycare showed increased independence and peer sociability at 5 years; this effect was particularly pronounced with children from disadvantaged families.

Conclusions: Day care can increase aggressive behaviour. The longer young children spend in day care, particularly nursery care or a care environment where they lack a constant care figure, the more pronounced the aggressive behaviour is. Good quality daycare can improve peer sociability, particularly in children from disadvantaged homes.

Evaluation:



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What overall conclusions can you draw from these studies about the effects of daycare on children’s social development? (p55)

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What techniques did the researchers use to study the effect of daycare on social development?

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What variables had an effect on the results (e.g. length of time in daycare?)

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Evaluation of daycare research

As you can see, it is extremely difficult (perhaps impossible) to draw firm conclusions from research into the effect of daycare on social development because there are differences in the methodologies used by various researchers, and there so many variables that could also have affected the results.

Explain and consider each of these issues, with reference to research where possible. Use the information on the previous pages, and your textbook to help:

Correlational research

How aggression/peer relationships are operationalised/measured

Observations (structured/naturalistic)

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Gender and temperament of the child (DiLalla)

Length of time spent in daycare (EPPE, Shea)

Quality/type of care (EPPE)

The family background of the child (EPPE)

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Implications of research for

childcare practices

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Implications of attachment research for childcare

Use what you have learned so far, and the information on pages 56 & 59 of your textbook to explain how attachment research has influenced hospital and adoption policies. You may want to consider the following theories/studies:

Bowlby’s evolutionary theory of attachment Strange situation (attachment types) The Robertson’s work on separation Studies of institutionalised children

Implications of daycare research for childcare

Hospital policies

Adoptions

Which studies have demonstrated the importance of good quality daycare?

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What makes good quality daycare?

Several factors have been identified that make for good quality daycare:

Good staff training and qualifications – able to respond sensitively to the child’s needs

Adequate space Appropriate toys and activities A good ratio of staff to children - Minimising staff turnover so that children can form stable

attachments with carers

Day care task

Now that you are daycare experts, your task is to use your knowledge to design the ‘perfect’ day care centre. You should produce a leaflet to advertise your centre, which

should include no less than 200 words. You should make the leaflet as attractive and professional looking as possible. You are going to be charging a huge amount of money for your services because your day care centre is based on the most up to date psychological research, so your leaflet should make this clear. However, you should also remember that the parents who will be reading your leaflet will probably not understand psychological terms, so any use of these should be clearly explained.

Can you think of any other characteristics of high quality daycare?

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When designing your ‘perfect’ day care centre, you should consider:

What is the age range of the children you will care for (and how this will

affect the type of care offered?)

Who will look after the children (what personal characteristics should

carers have?)

How many children will there be per member of

staff?

Will each child be looked after by lots of different

carers?

What sort of training will the staff receive?

How will you ensure that staff turnover is low?

How will the transition into day care be dealt with?

How will the potentially negative effects of day care

be minimised?

How will the potentially positive effects of day care be maximised?

What facilities (e.g. toys and books) will be available to stimulate the

children?

Attachment word search

s t r a n g e s i t u a t i o n s j k nr m c g g h r e t r o s p e c t i v e gc o n d i t i o n i n g i u x b s q w gc e w e e r i n n a t e g h d q e x t ri v m i e o c n o i t a v i r p h e o er o b n r w c e l k b i r v v i t m v bt l e e u s t h r g s e b o b h o y a nn u l g c n z e n f t q i n q o p d n ee t s u e i n o i t a r a p e s y u i nc i k d s a e k u o p t t y t f h t j oo o y d r s r r i t n m g m n v y s z on n z e u k o h n a i o h j a b t e e rh a c r f j l e d r l n f e t o i s n kt r m a h j m i e o r o f v s w u a d ue y l c f h o p h k g t n s i l n c o jj d d y c v q t v b p r z o s b i b o jq k i a a f e o n y q o w y e y t x r cl l t d g n i t n i r p m i r w n x n cn t e t a r u d i c s y s e g d o h q qa l e a r n i n g p t i z a r d c s k h

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attachment Bowlby secure resistant avoidant Hodges Tizard Rutter imprinting Ainsworth

day-care strange

situation privation separation conditioning evolutionary monotropy retrospective continuity

hypothesis

ethology learning Lorenz Belsky Genie Case study Van Ijzendoorn Kroonenberg ethnocentric innate

Make up the question that has each of the above terms as an answer and test your partner

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