AQA A-Level Psychology 16 Mark Model Essays
Attachment
1. Outline and evaluate research into caregiver-infant interactions (16 marks)
Caregiver-infant interactions include reciprocity and interactional synchrony, both of which are signs
of the formation of a specific attachment bond. Reciprocity describes the two-way interaction
between primary caregivers (PCGs) and babies which sees each one elicit a response from, and
respond to, the other. Interactional synchrony refers to the way in which PCGs and babies mirror
each other’s emotions and physical movements in a co-ordinated (synchronised) way. One study
that investigated interactional synchrony was conducted by Meltzoff and Moore and looked at
babies who were just two weeks old. The researchers found that the babies and their PCGs mirrored
each other’s facial expressions more than would be predicted by chance, indicating that attachment
interactions are important even in the earliest stages of life. Russell Isabella et al. observed 30
mothers and babies together and assessed the degree of synchrony. They also measured the
strength of attachment and found that high levels of interactional synchrony were associated with
high quality mother-baby attachment.
One strength of research into caregiver-infant interactions is that it often uses filmed observations
which makes it easy to establish inter-rater reliability. It also means that researchers can capture
‘micro-sequences’ of events, which they can watch repeatedly, making it less likely that they will
miss something. Not only does this enhance the internal validity of the study, but filming the
observations means that that they are covert and the baby is not aware of another adult in the
room. This means they are more likely to behave naturally, which increases the authenticity and
representativeness of the data gathered. Therefore, research into caregiver-infant interactions is
useful because it demonstrates high levels of validity.
However, one limitation of the research is that it can be difficult to ascribe meaning to the
movements of babies. Their movements are often subtle and may be caused by the PCG, but also
may be occur at random. Imitative behaviours may be deliberate or unconscious. At the same time,
there are practical issues observing babies, who spend a lot of their time sleeping or being fed,
adding to the difficulty of observing them. Therefore, there are issues establishing intentionality and
causality in caregiver-infant interactions.
A further limitation of research in this area is that it merely describes, not explains, infant behaviour.
Ruth Feldman has argued that, while reciprocity and interactional synchrony are clearly robust
phenomena, research does not tell us their importance or purpose in child development. However,
as a counter to this, Rebecca Crotwell’s research with 20 working-class mothers and babies found
that a 10 minute parent-child interaction session significantly increased interactional synchrony and
this was associated with better quality attachment. Research by Russell Isabella et al. would seem to
support this by finding that achievement of good interactional synchrony predicted the development
of good quality infant-mother attachment. Therefore, there is value to caregiver-infant research as it
seems to have practical applications for PCGs looking to strengthen their bond with their children.
2. Outline and evaluate animal studies of attachment (16 marks)
Both Lorenz and Harlow used animals to demonstrate how attachment bonds form, and suggest
critical periods for attachment. Lorenz hatched a clutch of geese so that half of the chicks saw their
mother first and the other half saw Lorenz first. Depending on who was the first thing they saw, the
chicks would follow this attachment object. Even after they had been mixed up, the chicks would
quickly find their attachment figure and continue to follow them. Lorenz called this process
, ‘imprinting’ and suggested that imprinting needed to take place as quickly as a few hours after
hatching (the critical period) in precocial birds. If imprinting did not occur within this time Lorenz
found that the chicks would not attach themselves to a mother figure. Harlow studied 16 Rhesus
monkeys who were removed from their mothers and instead reared in cages. In both groups,
monkeys had both a plain-wire and a cloth-covered mother ‘substitute’. However, in one condition,
milk was dispensed by the plain-wire ‘mother’ and in the other, milk was dispensed by the cloth
‘mother’. Harlow first coined the phrase ‘contact comfort’ to describe how, regardless of which
‘mother’ fed them, both groups of monkeys sought comfort from the cloth figure when frightened
or distressed. The researchers found that the critical period for the monkeys to form an attachment
was around 60 days. Harlow also found that the maternal deprivation suffered by the monkeys
reared by the plain-cloth monkey ‘mother’ caused dire consequences. The monkeys were more
aggressive, less sociable and bred less often (being unskilled at mating). Where they did have
offspring of their own, they were often violent towards them, killing them in some cases.
One limitation of Lorenz’s research, as with a lot of psychological research on animals, is that it lacks
generalisability. The attachment mechanisms of precocial birds are much more simplistic than those
of humans, in which attachment is a reciprocal, complex process. This means that his research has
been accused of lacking real-world application - something which has been partly addressed by
Harlow’s research. Rhesus monkeys are much more psychologically and anatomically similar to
humans, so it is easier to draw conclusions that relate to human attachment on the basis of his
studies. However, because monkeys are so highly intelligent and similar to humans, Harlow’s
research has been criticised as unethical. The monkeys suffered extremely cramped conditions and
were often deliberately frightened in order to elicit an attachment response towards the mother
‘substitute’. The consequences of their maternal deprivation were long-lasting and severe.
Therefore, many psychologists have questioned whether the ‘ends’ justify the ‘means’, and believe
that Harlow should have done more to safeguard the monkeys he was testing on.
However, one strength of Harlow’s research is that it has real-world application. This is also true of
Lorenz’s research, to an extent. Harlow’s findings surrounding ‘contact comfort’ have been used by
social psychologists and care workers to show how lack of bonding experience can be a risk factor
for child development. This has helped to intervene in cases of child neglect to prevent negative
outcomes. Harlow’s findings have also been used to make nursery environments more welcoming,
comforting and reassuring for young children, as well as reinforcing the importance of providing
orphaned animals in zoos and conservation programs with appropriate mother substitutes. Lorenz’s
research may be used by farmers to encourage mother sheep who have lost their offspring to
imprint on an orphaned lamb by wrapping them in the coat of their own dead lamb. This ensures
that the orphaned lamb has access to milk and protection. Therefore, both sets of research have
made useful, actionable contributions to the field of attachment.
3. Discuss the link between early attachment and childhood relationships (16 marks)
Bowlby’s internal working model suggests that early attachment provides a blueprint for later
attachment. The child forms a mental representation of their first attachment relationship, which
affects their later relationships during childhood and adulthood. Attachment types can be assessed
using Ainsworth’s Strange Situation, classifying children as either secure, insecure-resistant or
insecure-avoidant. Generally, child attachment type has good predictive validity for the types of
relationship the child will go on to form. For example, Myron-Wilson and Smith investigated how
attachment type affected bullying in 196 children, aged 7 - 11, at primary schools in North London.
They found that securely attached children were the least likely to be involved in bullying, while
insecure-resistant children were the most likely to be bullies and insecure-avoidant children were
often the bullied. Hazan and Shaver investigated how early attachment influences adult relationships
