A guide of about 80 psychology exam question answers to help aid you with attachment, memory and psychopathology. Use it as a guide, there are some full answers and some incomplete to test knowledge. Based on the Illuminate publishing textbooks as well as tutor2u guides.
Explain what is meant by the term ‘multiple attachments’ [2 marks]
The term multiple attachment refers to when a baby has formed more than one emotional
bond to a caregiver. This is usually after a main attachment has been formed to the primary
caregiver.
Explain what is meant by the term ‘reciprocity’ in relation to the caregiver-infant interactions
[2 marks]
Reciprocity is when an infant responds to the actions of another person in a form of turn-
taking. In terms of caregiver-infant interaction, this could be where the baby smiles which
would elicit a smile from the caregiver.
Explain what is meant by the term ‘interactional synchrony’ in relation to caregiver-infant
interactions [2 marks]
Interactional synchrony is when infants mirror the actions or emotions of another person,
typically their primary caregiver. For example, if a caregiver talks to the baby, the baby may
mumble in response.
Some developmental psychologists believe that caregiver-infant interactions influence the
development of attachment during childhood. Explain one reason why it is difficult to draw
firm conclusions about the role that caregiver-infant interactions have to play in the
development of attachment during childhood [2 marks].
One reason why it is difficult to draw firm conclusions about the role they play is because
research into attachment has problems with reliability. This is because in terms of
interactional synchrony, babies move their mouths and wave their arms constantly which is
an issue when investigating the responses of babies.
Name three stages in the development of attachments identified by Schaffer [3 marks]
Asocial, Indiscriminate attachments and discriminate attachments
Explain one way that developmental psychologists have studied caregiver-infant interaction
using a human sample of participants. Refer to one specific piece of research in your
response [3 marks]
One way is through observations. For example, Meltzoff and Moore studied interactional
synchrony by using a controlled observation where the adult modelled a behaviour and the
infant’s response was then recorded to see whether the babies reacted.
, Evaluate the study of caregiver-interaction that you have described in your answer above.
You must not refer to ethical issues in your response [3 marks]
One limitation of this study is that there may be observer bias. This is because the responses
to the mother’s behaviour are interpreted by the observer by being interactional synchrony
when they could have no meaningful relationship to the behaviour whatsoever. Another
limitation is that this in turn limits the reliability as it affects the results and means we
cannot be certain that the infants are actually engaging in these processes.
With reference to Adams conversation with his friend, outline two features of caregiver-
infant interaction [4 marks]
In Adams conversation he references how ‘when Brenda smiles, Cassandra smiles. This can
be seen as reciprocity as the baby is reacting to the mothers smile by smiling as well showing
a flow between the two. Another thing Adam mentions is that ‘when Brenda moves her
head, Cassandra moves hers’. This is referring to interactional synchrony because it involves
the baby mimicking her mother’s movements.
Briefly evaluate research into caregiver-infant interactions [4 marks]
One limitation of Schaffer and Emersons research is that it has high external validity. This is
because the study was carried out in each of the babies’ homes which is a natural
environment meaning behaviour was not changed due to uncertainty or confusion. This
means the results can be generalised to the wider world. A criticism of Schaffer and Emerson
is that the sample lacks population validity because it only consisted of 60 babies from
Glasgow who came from working class families. This means that the study lacks cultural
relativism and cannot be applied to other cultures or backgrounds.
Outline one psychological study which has investigated the development of attachments
between human infants and their primary caregivers [6 marks]
One study into the development of attachments is a study by Schaffer and Emerson in 1964
which aimed to examine the formation of early attachments. They took a sample of 60
babies from working class families in Glasgow and visited the babies in their homes as part
of an observation. They interviewed the mothers and observed the children in relation to
separation and stranger anxiety in a range of activities. They found that at around 25-32
weeks, 50% of the children showed separation anxiety towards their mothers and by 40
weeks, 80% of the children had a specific discriminate attachment. They also found that 30%
had multiple attachments.
With reference to reciprocity and interactional synchrony, discuss infant-caregiver
interactions [16 marks]
Reciprocity is when an infant responds to the actions of another person in a form of turn-
taking and interactional synchrony is when infants mirror the actions or emotions of another
person, typically their primary caregiver. One study into interactional synchrony is a study
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