Outline the phases of attachment by Schaffer and Emerson

2nd part of Stage 2: is from 3 months to 7 months. Schaffer suggest that the infant begins to distinguish between people and recognises familiar and unfamiliar people.

Stage 3: Which is from 7 months.

At around 7 months, Schaffer and Emerson suggest that the infant enters the 'Specific Attachment Stage', and forms a strong, long-lasting, and emotional bond with a particular individual, which is usually the mother. Specific Attachment is indicated by the infant showing distress when they are separated from their attachment figure, this is known as separation protest and is taken as evidence for separation anxiety. From around 7 months infants protest if separated from their attachment figure, and show special joy when they are reunited with them.

Schaffer and Emerson used separation protest as an indicator that attachment has occurred, as a way of identifying the main attachment figure, and as a way of measuring the strength of attachment.

Give two criticisms of the Strange Situation (Ainsworth)

(6 marks)

Two of the main criticisms of the 'Strange Situation' experiment designed by Mary Ainsworth and colleagues in 1978 are:

Firstly, it has been criticised for being unrealistic. This means the setting for the experiment is not true to life, it does not reflect everyday situations. As a result, it may not be possible to generalise the findings to real-life settings. So, the Strange Situation is low in ecological validity. As the name suggests, the strange situation provides a strange and unfamiliar environment for the caregiver and infant.

Secondly, the ethics of the Strange Situation have been examined. Is it acceptable to place infants and caregivers in situations, which can produce mild, and, in some cases, extreme anxiety?

Certain episodes in the experiment are cut short if the infant appears extremely distressed. And, the caregiver can return if they feel the infant really needs them. Even so, should these situations be allowed to arise in the first place? Many researchers would argue that any distress has only short-term effect and that these are outweighed by the benefits of the research.

Give two criticisms of any two definitions of abnormality.

(6 + 6 marks)

Unpredictable or unexpected behaviour is sometimes seen as evidence of a failure to function adequately. And this type of behaviour may indicate psychological abnormality.

Behaviour is unpredictable and unexpected if it does not seem to fit the situation for example: if people appear to over-react, if they appear: over-enthusiastic over-concerned or over-anxious. But, who is to say whether their response is out of proportion to the situation?

A failure to function adequately may be due to personal distress. And this distress may indicate psychological abnormality. Personal distress is not limited to people with psychological disorders. For example, distress caused by the death of a close relative or friend is seen as normal and an expected response. However, some psychological disorders do not involve personal distress.

A major problem is- how do we measure personal distress? Distress is a subjective experience- it refers to emotions and feelings, which are difficult to measure. There are problems with using personal distress as an indicator for psychological abnormality.

However, combined with other indicators, it may help to identify certain psychological disorders.

Explain the term 'Cultural relativism' as it applies to individual difference. (6 marks)

Meads (1935) classic study of societies in New Guinea showed that there were both similarities and differences in gender roles across societies. The fact that there were the same differences between men and women within each culture supports 'cultural relativism'. For example: that relative to each other there are always the same differences between men and women.

If gender difference do reflect biological differences, then we would expect to find the same difference occurring in different cultures; any differences that exist between different cultures in relation to gender roles (cultural relativism) would tend to support the view that gender role is culturally determined.