Studies in Child Psychology (Edexcel A2)

Structured observation of parent-child interactions

Laboratory experiment

Observing: the child's response to a stranger, separation from the mother, reunion with the mother

Standardised procedure:

• 1 - the child and carer are placed in a empty room
• 2 - the child is free to explore
• 3 - a stranger enters, greets the mother and attempts to play with child
• 4 - the carer leaves the child with the stranger
• 5 - the carer re-enters and the stranger leaves
• 6 - the carer leaves the child alone
• 7 - the stranger re-enters
• 8 - the stranger leaves and carer re-enters

Secure attachment:

• Moderate anxiety to stranger
• Moderate distress at separation
• Happy and calms quickly at reunion

Anxious avoidant:

• No distress at stranger
• No distress at separation
• No interest at reunion

Anxious resistant:

• Very distressed at stranger
• Very distressed at separation
• Seeks but then rejects comfort at reunion

Strengths

• standardised procedure (high reliability as this allows for replication)
• laboratory experiment (controlled environment, which reduces extraneous variables)

Weaknesses

• unethical - no protection from harm, issues with right to withdraw (up to the parent to withdraw the child)
• artificial laboratory setting (low ecological validity)
• demand characteristics (the mothers were aware that they were being studied, which possibly affects behaviour)
• validity issues - the study may be measuring reaction to the situation opposed to attachment (Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg)
• simplistic classifications - securely attached, anxious avoidant, anxious resistant (some argue attachment is far more complex than these)
• infant behaviour is difficult to analyse and categorise

• Conducted a meta-analysis of 38 studies using the strange situation in 8 countries
• found inconsistencies with the results
• this suggests that the strange situation is not a culture-free test of attachment
• instead, it is probably measuring cultural differences in parenting styles as much as it is measuring parent-child attachments

Israel: children live in Kibbutz communities, babies are cared for collectively, and so isolation is stressful (high % of secure attachments and anxious resistant attachments)

Japan: mothers never leave their babies alone and so isolation is stressful (exceedingly high % of secure attachments)

Germany: independence from carers is encouraged, and so isolation is not stressful (high % of anxious avoidant)

• Bowlby accepted the evolutionary explanation of attachment behaviour
• Added aspects of psychodynamic theory (early childhood experiences determine later adult personality and emotional development)
• Identified 4 important aspects of attachment:

1 - Monotropy

2 - Social releasers

3 - Internal working model

4 - Maternal deprivation hypothesis

Bowlby believed that there is a single (mono) predominant relationship, typically with the mother.

This is crucial to healthy psychological development

Instinctive, proximity-promoting behaviours from the infant, which encourage social interaction with others.

Laughing, crying, gurgling, smiling

The first relationship creates a template/model for all subsequent relationships that the child will form

This will influence the child's own parenting behaviour

Like Lorenz, Bowlby believed in a critical period within which attachment must occur (first 2 years of life)

If privation or deprivation occurs during the first 2 years of life it will have a detrimental effect on the child's development:

• Affectionless psychopathy - lack of emotion, empathy and feelings
• Developmental retardation - specifically low intelligence