AQA A Level Psychology Attachment Exam
Questions And Answers (Verified And
Updated)
What is an attachment?
An emotional link between the child and there primary caregiver, which ties them together.
Four ways an attachment can be tested?
1. Seeking Proximity
2. Distress on seperation
3. Joy on reunion
4. General Behaviour
What is a bond?
A bond is a set of feelings that ties one person to another
Benefits of an attachment
Survival
Food
Love
Security
Two caregiver-infant interactions are...
Reciprocity and Interactional Synchrony
What is reciprocity?
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?
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
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
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
:) - 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
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.
Evaluate research into the role of the father
:( - It is very difficult to draw one conclusion from all the research as some psychologists have looked
to prove he father as the PCG and others have tried to prove him as the secondary caregiver.
:( - MacCallum and Golombrok found contradicting evidence as they found that children growing up in
single or same sex parent families did not develop any differently to those in opposite sex parents.
:( - Alternative explanations about why fathers don't usually become the PCG could be because of
traditional gender roles that people don't like to break as it is not seen as normal and thus they
continue with the social norms.
:( - Alternatively it could be biological reasons for mothers being the PCG majority of the time.
Females have much higher levels of oestrogen and oxytocin and these create higher levels of
nurturing behaviour.
:( - Socially sensitive research as it suggests children may be at a disadvantage by particular child
rearing practices.
Outline Schaffer's stages of attachment Research
He has 60 babies from Glasgow and had Psychologists visited once a month for the first year and
again at 18 months in participants homes and interviewed mothers.
During observations psychologists tested separation anxiety and stranger anxiety. He found that
between 25-32 weeks of age 50% of the babies showed separation anxiety towards adults, usually the
Questions And Answers (Verified And
Updated)
What is an attachment?
An emotional link between the child and there primary caregiver, which ties them together.
Four ways an attachment can be tested?
1. Seeking Proximity
2. Distress on seperation
3. Joy on reunion
4. General Behaviour
What is a bond?
A bond is a set of feelings that ties one person to another
Benefits of an attachment
Survival
Food
Love
Security
Two caregiver-infant interactions are...
Reciprocity and Interactional Synchrony
What is reciprocity?
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?
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
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
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
:) - 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
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.
Evaluate research into the role of the father
:( - It is very difficult to draw one conclusion from all the research as some psychologists have looked
to prove he father as the PCG and others have tried to prove him as the secondary caregiver.
:( - MacCallum and Golombrok found contradicting evidence as they found that children growing up in
single or same sex parent families did not develop any differently to those in opposite sex parents.
:( - Alternative explanations about why fathers don't usually become the PCG could be because of
traditional gender roles that people don't like to break as it is not seen as normal and thus they
continue with the social norms.
:( - Alternatively it could be biological reasons for mothers being the PCG majority of the time.
Females have much higher levels of oestrogen and oxytocin and these create higher levels of
nurturing behaviour.
:( - Socially sensitive research as it suggests children may be at a disadvantage by particular child
rearing practices.
Outline Schaffer's stages of attachment Research
He has 60 babies from Glasgow and had Psychologists visited once a month for the first year and
again at 18 months in participants homes and interviewed mothers.
During observations psychologists tested separation anxiety and stranger anxiety. He found that
between 25-32 weeks of age 50% of the babies showed separation anxiety towards adults, usually the
