AQA A Level Psychology 3.1.3 Attachment Exam Questions

About AQA A Level Psychology 3.1.3 Attachment

Attachment is a Paper 1 topic in AQA A Level Psychology that looks at the emotional bond between infants and caregivers. You study how attachments form, from reciprocity and interactional synchrony to Schaffer and Emerson's stages, the role of the father, and animal studies by Lorenz and Harlow. You compare learning theory with Bowlby's monotropic theory, learn Ainsworth's Strange Situation and cultural variations, and evaluate Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation and research on Romanian orphans. The topic links to the nature-nurture debate and to the internal working model in later relationships. Examiners often ask for specific findings and application questions describing infant behaviour.

What you need to know

• Caregiver-infant interactions Reciprocity is turn-taking where both partners respond to each other; interactional synchrony is mirroring behaviour in a coordinated way (Meltzoff and Moore, 1977). Fathers may take a more playful role (Grossmann et al., 2002) but can be primary caregivers (Field, 1978).
• Stages of attachment Schaffer and Emerson (1964) studied 60 Glasgow babies and identified asocial, indiscriminate, specific (from about 7 months, shown by separation and stranger anxiety) and multiple attachment stages.
• Animal studies Lorenz found goslings imprinted on the first moving object they saw within a critical period. Harlow (1958) found rhesus monkeys preferred a cloth-covered wire mother to a wire mother with milk, showing contact comfort matters more than food.
• Explanations of attachment Learning theory says attachment forms through classical and operant conditioning (food as the key reinforcer, 'cupboard love'). Bowlby's monotropic theory says attachment is innate, with social releasers, a critical period of about two years, monotropy and an internal working model.
• Strange Situation and culture Ainsworth (1970) observed proximity seeking, exploration, stranger anxiety, separation anxiety and reunion behaviour, identifying secure (about 66%), insecure-avoidant (about 22%) and insecure-resistant (about 12%) types. Van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) found secure attachment was most common in all countries but insecure types varied between and within cultures.
• Deprivation, institutionalisation and later relationships Bowlby's 44 thieves study linked early separation to affectionless psychopathy. Rutter's ERA study found Romanian orphans adopted before 6 months mostly recovered, while later adoptees showed disinhibited attachment. Hazan and Shaver (1987) found attachment type predicted adult romantic relationships, consistent with the internal working model.

Common mistakes in 3.1.3 Attachment

• Confusing deprivation with privation; deprivation is losing an attachment that has formed, while privation (as in many Romanian orphans) is never forming one.
• Describing the Strange Situation as an experiment; it is a controlled observation with standard episodes and behavioural categories.
• Saying Harlow showed monkeys need food from a mother; he showed comfort mattered more than food, which challenges learning theory.
• Claiming Bowlby said attachments cannot form after the critical period; later research refers to a sensitive period, and Bowlby's own claim is less absolute than students often write.
• Stating that van IJzendoorn found secure attachment was rare in some countries; secure was the most common type in every country studied.

Try three 3.1.3 Attachment exam-style questions