AO3 evaluation points for attachment :
Caregiver-infant interactions - Meltzoff & Moore
Strengths : Limitations :
1. Uses well controlled procedures. 1. It is hard to know what is happening when
- Mother-infant interactions are usually observing infants
recorded from multiple angles. This means - For example, is the infant’s imitation of the
that fine details of behaviour can be adult conscious and deliberate or a
analysed later. coincidence?
- Additionally, babies are not aware they are
- What is being observed is merely hand
being observed, which means they do not
change their behaviour in response to movements or changes in expressions. It is
observation. extremely difficult to be certain, based on
- THEREFORE this means that the studies these observations, what is taking place
have high internal validity. from the infant’s perspective.
2. Real-world applications and a potential value to - This is a weakness because we cannot
society. really know for certain that behaviours
- Identifying the importance of interactional seen in mother-infant interactions have
synchrony in developing high-quality special meaning.
attachment has led to the development of 2. However, observations don’t tell us the purpose of
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). synchrony and reciprocity.
- Crotwell et al (2013) found that 10 minutes - For example, Fieldman (2012) points out
therapy improved the interactional that synchrony (and by implication
synchrony in 20 low-income mothers and
reciprocity) simply describe behaviours
their preschool infants compared to a
control group (group without therapy) that occur at the same time.
- This is a weakness because these are
robust phenomena in the sense that they
can be reliably observed, but this may not
be particularly useful as it does not tell us
their purpose.
The development of attachment - Schaffer & Emerson
Strengths : Limitations :
1. Naturalistic setting so has good external validity
- This is due to the fact that the study was 1. There is conflicting evidence on multiple attachments.
conducted in the families’ own homes and the - Individualist cultures focus more on their own
observation (other than stranger anxiety) was needs and immediate family. Collectivist
mostly conducted by the parents during cultures focus more on the needs of the group,
ordinary everyday activities and then so multiple attachment is more common as they
share many things such as possessions and
afterwards reported to the researcher
childcare.
- Therefore, the study does not lack mundane - Bowlby argued that infants form a single
realism and the behaviour of the babies was attachment to their carer rather than multiple
unlikely to be affected by the presence of the attachments.
observers and instead the ppts would have - He called this a monotropic relationship.
behaved more naturally than if it was However, Van Ijzendoorn believes that culture
conducted in an artificial environment eg a lab plays a part in how and when we form
2. The experiment was carried out lonitudonaly attachments and with whom.
- It was carried out over a long period of time (18 - In many non-western societies, babies have
months in total) multiple carers, as this is the norm and so
- So the same children were followed up and multiple attachments are formed from the
observed regularly this therefore means that outset.
2. The data collected by Schaffer & Emerson is unreliable
the study had good internal validity as there
- This is because it was based on the mothers'
were no confounding variables that you would reports of their infants and so some mothers
find if you studied different babies and might have been less sensitive to their infants
compared them Protests and therefore less likely to report them.
THEREFORE, this would create a systematic bias
which would challenge the validity of the data
Animal Studies of Attachment - Harlow & Lorenz
Strengths : Limitations :
Harlow’s Study Harlow’s Study
1. Can effectively generalise animal studies to human 1. Unethical
behaviour - This is due to the use of animals (chimps) in the
- * this is also a limitation (see limitations) study especially because the chimps were
- BUT a number of studies have found that the separated from their mothers and kept in cages
observations made of animal attachment - It was also clear that the monkeys in this study
, behaviour are mirrored in studies of humans. suffered from emotional harm from being
- For example, Harlow’s research is supported by reared in isolation → this was evident when the
Schaffer & Emerson’s findings that infants were monkeys were placed with a ‘normal’ monkey
not most attached to the person who fed them (reared with the mother), they sat huddled in a
- This demonstrates that while animal studies corner in a state of depression and persistent
can act as a pointer in understanding human fear
behaviour, we should always seek confirmation - Also, Harlow created a state of anxiety in female
by looking at research with humans. monkeys which had implications when they
2. Humans & monkeys are similar (link to above point) became parents → these monkeys were so
- Green (1994) states that, on a biological level at neurotic that they smashed their infants face to
least, all mammals (including rhesus monkeys) the floor
have the same brain structure as humans; the - Sackett (2002) → a student of Harlow believed
only differences relate to size and the number that his work was extremely unethical and that
of connections. the American animal liberation movement was
- Humans share a large portion of DNA with born out of it
monkeys & apes → there is only 1.2% difference - BUT the experiment can be justified in terms of
between humans & chimps and 6.7% difference the significant effect it has had on our
between humans & monkeys understanding of the processes of attachment,
3. It could be argued that the benefits outweigh the costs and the research derived from this study has
in terms of the use of animals for this research been used to offer better care for human (and
- For example, the research influenced the primate) infants
theoretical work of John Bowlby who was the 2. Generalises animal studies to human behaviour
most important psychologist in attachment - The aim of animal studies is to be able to
theory. It could also be seen as vital in generalise the conclusions to human behaviour
convincing people about the importance of - HOWEVER, humans differ in important ways →
emotional care in hospitals, children's homes much more of human behaviour is governed by
and day care. conscious decisions
Lorenz’s Study Lorenz’s Study
1. Lorenz’s research is backed up by Guiton’s findings. 1. Dispute over the characteristics of imprinting
- Guiton (1966) showed that leghorn chicks, - Guiton found that he could reverse imprinting
exposed to yellow rubber gloves while being fed in chickens that had initially tried to mate with
during the 1st few weeks, became imprinted on the rubber gloves. He found that after spending
the gloves. time with their own species, they were able to
- So supports the idea that infants are not born engage in normal sexual behaviour with other
with a predisposition to imprint on a specific chickens.
type of object but on any moving thing that is - Suggested imprinting is learned, which can take
present during the critical development of place rapidly, with little consciousness and is
infants. reversible.
2. High ecological validity - This directly contradicts Lorenz’s theory that
- Done in a field experiment so has high imprinting cannot be reversed
ecological validity. 2. A weakness of Lorenz’s study is that it can be criticised
- More reliable as it is conducted in a more for extrapolation( concluding something and assuming
realistic setting, so suggests that the animals existing trends will continue) .
would not have been affected compared to if - This is a weakness because humans and
conducted in a lab as they were experimented animals (in this case, greylag geese) are
in their natural setting. physiologically (functions of living organisms)
- However, the experimental group was different. The way a human infant develops an
incubated, most likely in a lab, so can therefore attachment with their primary caregiver could
be seen as lacking ecological validity to some be very different to the way a greylag geese
extent. forms an attachment with their primary
caregiver, therefore the findings cannot be
generalised.
Explanations of attachment - Learning Theory
Strengths : Weakness
1. Learning theory has some explanatory power 1. Learning theory is based on animal studies (Barnett
- It can explain some aspects of attachment. 1979)
- Infants do learn through association and - Largely based on studies with non-human
Reinforcement , but food may not be the main animals
reinforcer. - Behaviourists believed that humans are actually
- It may be that attention and responsiveness no different from other animals in terms of how
from a caregiver are important rewards that we learn.
assist the formation of attachment. - Our behaviour patterns are constructed from
- These reinforcers were not part of learning the same basic building blocks of stimulus and
theory, it may also be that responsiveness is response and therefore behaviorists argue
something that infants imitate and therefore that's its legitimate to generalise animal studies
learn how to conduct relationships to humans.
- Learning theory may not provide a complete - However not all human behaviour can be
explanation of attachment but still has value. explained by conditioning especially complex
2. Learning theory can provide an adequate explanation behaviour like attachment.
of how attachments form - Non-behaviourists argue attachment involves
- For example, we do seem to learn in a number innate predispositions and mental activity that
of ways through association in real-life (eg we cannot be explained by conditioning
associate certain situations with danger when - Therefore it lacks validity as they over simplify
we develop phobias even if that association is human behaviour.
irrational). 2. There are other more sophisticated theories with better
Caregiver-infant interactions - Meltzoff & Moore
Strengths : Limitations :
1. Uses well controlled procedures. 1. It is hard to know what is happening when
- Mother-infant interactions are usually observing infants
recorded from multiple angles. This means - For example, is the infant’s imitation of the
that fine details of behaviour can be adult conscious and deliberate or a
analysed later. coincidence?
- Additionally, babies are not aware they are
- What is being observed is merely hand
being observed, which means they do not
change their behaviour in response to movements or changes in expressions. It is
observation. extremely difficult to be certain, based on
- THEREFORE this means that the studies these observations, what is taking place
have high internal validity. from the infant’s perspective.
2. Real-world applications and a potential value to - This is a weakness because we cannot
society. really know for certain that behaviours
- Identifying the importance of interactional seen in mother-infant interactions have
synchrony in developing high-quality special meaning.
attachment has led to the development of 2. However, observations don’t tell us the purpose of
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). synchrony and reciprocity.
- Crotwell et al (2013) found that 10 minutes - For example, Fieldman (2012) points out
therapy improved the interactional that synchrony (and by implication
synchrony in 20 low-income mothers and
reciprocity) simply describe behaviours
their preschool infants compared to a
control group (group without therapy) that occur at the same time.
- This is a weakness because these are
robust phenomena in the sense that they
can be reliably observed, but this may not
be particularly useful as it does not tell us
their purpose.
The development of attachment - Schaffer & Emerson
Strengths : Limitations :
1. Naturalistic setting so has good external validity
- This is due to the fact that the study was 1. There is conflicting evidence on multiple attachments.
conducted in the families’ own homes and the - Individualist cultures focus more on their own
observation (other than stranger anxiety) was needs and immediate family. Collectivist
mostly conducted by the parents during cultures focus more on the needs of the group,
ordinary everyday activities and then so multiple attachment is more common as they
share many things such as possessions and
afterwards reported to the researcher
childcare.
- Therefore, the study does not lack mundane - Bowlby argued that infants form a single
realism and the behaviour of the babies was attachment to their carer rather than multiple
unlikely to be affected by the presence of the attachments.
observers and instead the ppts would have - He called this a monotropic relationship.
behaved more naturally than if it was However, Van Ijzendoorn believes that culture
conducted in an artificial environment eg a lab plays a part in how and when we form
2. The experiment was carried out lonitudonaly attachments and with whom.
- It was carried out over a long period of time (18 - In many non-western societies, babies have
months in total) multiple carers, as this is the norm and so
- So the same children were followed up and multiple attachments are formed from the
observed regularly this therefore means that outset.
2. The data collected by Schaffer & Emerson is unreliable
the study had good internal validity as there
- This is because it was based on the mothers'
were no confounding variables that you would reports of their infants and so some mothers
find if you studied different babies and might have been less sensitive to their infants
compared them Protests and therefore less likely to report them.
THEREFORE, this would create a systematic bias
which would challenge the validity of the data
Animal Studies of Attachment - Harlow & Lorenz
Strengths : Limitations :
Harlow’s Study Harlow’s Study
1. Can effectively generalise animal studies to human 1. Unethical
behaviour - This is due to the use of animals (chimps) in the
- * this is also a limitation (see limitations) study especially because the chimps were
- BUT a number of studies have found that the separated from their mothers and kept in cages
observations made of animal attachment - It was also clear that the monkeys in this study
, behaviour are mirrored in studies of humans. suffered from emotional harm from being
- For example, Harlow’s research is supported by reared in isolation → this was evident when the
Schaffer & Emerson’s findings that infants were monkeys were placed with a ‘normal’ monkey
not most attached to the person who fed them (reared with the mother), they sat huddled in a
- This demonstrates that while animal studies corner in a state of depression and persistent
can act as a pointer in understanding human fear
behaviour, we should always seek confirmation - Also, Harlow created a state of anxiety in female
by looking at research with humans. monkeys which had implications when they
2. Humans & monkeys are similar (link to above point) became parents → these monkeys were so
- Green (1994) states that, on a biological level at neurotic that they smashed their infants face to
least, all mammals (including rhesus monkeys) the floor
have the same brain structure as humans; the - Sackett (2002) → a student of Harlow believed
only differences relate to size and the number that his work was extremely unethical and that
of connections. the American animal liberation movement was
- Humans share a large portion of DNA with born out of it
monkeys & apes → there is only 1.2% difference - BUT the experiment can be justified in terms of
between humans & chimps and 6.7% difference the significant effect it has had on our
between humans & monkeys understanding of the processes of attachment,
3. It could be argued that the benefits outweigh the costs and the research derived from this study has
in terms of the use of animals for this research been used to offer better care for human (and
- For example, the research influenced the primate) infants
theoretical work of John Bowlby who was the 2. Generalises animal studies to human behaviour
most important psychologist in attachment - The aim of animal studies is to be able to
theory. It could also be seen as vital in generalise the conclusions to human behaviour
convincing people about the importance of - HOWEVER, humans differ in important ways →
emotional care in hospitals, children's homes much more of human behaviour is governed by
and day care. conscious decisions
Lorenz’s Study Lorenz’s Study
1. Lorenz’s research is backed up by Guiton’s findings. 1. Dispute over the characteristics of imprinting
- Guiton (1966) showed that leghorn chicks, - Guiton found that he could reverse imprinting
exposed to yellow rubber gloves while being fed in chickens that had initially tried to mate with
during the 1st few weeks, became imprinted on the rubber gloves. He found that after spending
the gloves. time with their own species, they were able to
- So supports the idea that infants are not born engage in normal sexual behaviour with other
with a predisposition to imprint on a specific chickens.
type of object but on any moving thing that is - Suggested imprinting is learned, which can take
present during the critical development of place rapidly, with little consciousness and is
infants. reversible.
2. High ecological validity - This directly contradicts Lorenz’s theory that
- Done in a field experiment so has high imprinting cannot be reversed
ecological validity. 2. A weakness of Lorenz’s study is that it can be criticised
- More reliable as it is conducted in a more for extrapolation( concluding something and assuming
realistic setting, so suggests that the animals existing trends will continue) .
would not have been affected compared to if - This is a weakness because humans and
conducted in a lab as they were experimented animals (in this case, greylag geese) are
in their natural setting. physiologically (functions of living organisms)
- However, the experimental group was different. The way a human infant develops an
incubated, most likely in a lab, so can therefore attachment with their primary caregiver could
be seen as lacking ecological validity to some be very different to the way a greylag geese
extent. forms an attachment with their primary
caregiver, therefore the findings cannot be
generalised.
Explanations of attachment - Learning Theory
Strengths : Weakness
1. Learning theory has some explanatory power 1. Learning theory is based on animal studies (Barnett
- It can explain some aspects of attachment. 1979)
- Infants do learn through association and - Largely based on studies with non-human
Reinforcement , but food may not be the main animals
reinforcer. - Behaviourists believed that humans are actually
- It may be that attention and responsiveness no different from other animals in terms of how
from a caregiver are important rewards that we learn.
assist the formation of attachment. - Our behaviour patterns are constructed from
- These reinforcers were not part of learning the same basic building blocks of stimulus and
theory, it may also be that responsiveness is response and therefore behaviorists argue
something that infants imitate and therefore that's its legitimate to generalise animal studies
learn how to conduct relationships to humans.
- Learning theory may not provide a complete - However not all human behaviour can be
explanation of attachment but still has value. explained by conditioning especially complex
2. Learning theory can provide an adequate explanation behaviour like attachment.
of how attachments form - Non-behaviourists argue attachment involves
- For example, we do seem to learn in a number innate predispositions and mental activity that
of ways through association in real-life (eg we cannot be explained by conditioning
associate certain situations with danger when - Therefore it lacks validity as they over simplify
we develop phobias even if that association is human behaviour.
irrational). 2. There are other more sophisticated theories with better
