AQA A Level Psychology
Attachment Exam Questions and
Answers
What is an attachment? - Answer>> An emotional link between
the child and there primary caregiver, which ties them together.
Four ways an attachment can be tested? - Answer>> 1.
Seeking Proximity
2. Distress on seperation
3. Joy on reunion
4. General Behaviour
What is a bond? - Answer>> A bond is a set of feelings that ties
one person to another
Benefits of an attachment - Answer>> Survival
Food
Love
Security
Two caregiver-infant interactions are... - Answer>> Reciprocity
and Interactional Synchrony
What is reciprocity? - Answer>> Reciprocity is a description of
how two people interact, the mother infant interaction is reciprocal
in that they both respond to each others signal and each shows a
response from the other.
What is interactional synchrony? - Answer>> Where mother
and infant reflect both the actions and emotions of one and other
and do this in a co-ordinated manner.
,Outline research that supports reciprocity - Answer>> Feldman
found that both babies have periodic alert phases to signal that
they are ready to interact and mothers respond to this on average
2/3rds of the time.
He also found that from 3 months of age this interaction is more
frequent and involved close attention to verbal signals and facial
expressions.
Brazleton discovered the 'Dance' in which each partner responds
to each others moves. Both the baby and the PCG can initiate
interactions and take turns in doing so.
Outline research that supports interactional synchrony -
Answer>> Meltzoff and Moore conducted a study in which they
observed infants at two weeks old and had adults show one of
three facial expressions or one of three gestures. The children
response was filmed and identified by independent observers.
They found an association between the action of the adult and the
action returned by the babies.
Isabella observed 30 mothers and infants and found that high
levels of synchrony were associated with better mother-infant
attachment.
Evaluate research into infant-caregiver interactions -
Answer>> :) - Controlled observations in a controlled
experimental setting with standardised procedures and
operationalised behavioural categories with filming from multiple
angles. High reliability as can be repeated to check consistency.
:) - These observations are less prone to demand characteristics
as obviously babies are unaware an experiment is taking place
and thus will not change their natural behaviours.
, :( - Observations susceptible to observer bias as they require
subjective interpretation from researches who may perceive
behaviour as being something else to what it really is, this can
lower the validity.
:( - Observations only look at the changes in hand movements
and gestures. It is very difficult to be certain that the moves or
gestures etc, were actually deliberate or accidental, this reduces
the value of the insight into caregiver-infant interaction.
:( - These studies don't tell us the purpose of synchrony or
reciprocity, they simply state that it happens and don't imply
anything about why and what the purpose is. Other studies have
said that it is important in the development of empathy and
morals.
:( - Conducting research into mother-infant interactions is
controversial as it sates that certain people may be at a
disadvantage for certain reasons. ie. Mothers going back to
work...
Outline three research studies into the role of the father -
Answer>> Schaffer found that initially babies become attached
to their mother (7 months) and then after this form secondary
attachments with others such as the father. 75% of babies had an
attachment with their father by 18 months of age, they showed
separation anxiety.
Lamb indicated that between the ages of 15-24 months they will
show a preference towards their father, this suggests that the
father may become the PCG.
Grossman conducted a longitudinal study and found a direct
correlation between the quality of fathers play with infants and the
quality of adolescent attachments. This suggests that the father
may be more about play and stimulation whereas the mother is
more about nurturing.
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