(a) Attachment Type: Ben is likely to show an insecure-ambivalent or insecure-resistant attachment type because of Anya’s inconsistent responsiveness, causing anxiety and uncertainty about her availability.

(b) Investigating Attachment Using Strange Situation: Psychologists would observe Ben’s behavior during stages involving Anya as a secure base, separation, reunion, and exploration to classify his attachment type. In Ben’s case, inconsistent caregiving and signs of ambivalence would suggest an insecure-ambivalent attachment pattern.

Mary Ainsworth studied types of attachment in infants using the ‘Strange Situation.’ In this controlled lab setting, she observed three phases: exploration with the caregiver, separation, and reunion. Based on the infant’s behavior, she classified them into secure, insecure-avoidant, or insecure-ambivalent attachment categories, later adding a disorganized category. This research helped understand the impact of early caregiving on attachment patterns.

**Learning Theory as an Explanation of Attachment:**

**Outline:**
– Attachment is explained through classical and operant conditioning.
– Caregivers become associated with comfort and security.
– Attachment forms when caregivers provide essential resources and reinforcement.

**Evaluation:**
– **Strengths:** Empirical support in animal studies, practical applications.
– **Limitations:** Incomplete explanation, emotional bonding not accounted for, variability in attachment patterns.

**Bowlby’s Explanation of Attachment:**

**Outline:**
– Attachment is rooted in biology and serves an evolutionary purpose.
– Attachment is an innate behavioral system.
– Internal working models shape expectations in relationships.
– Critical/sensitive period for attachment formation.
– Attachment styles (secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-ambivalent).

**Evaluation:**
– **Strengths:** Empirical support, holistic approach, clinical applications.
– **Limitations:** Limited socio-cultural consideration, potential determinism, complexity of attachment styles, influence of later experiences.

**Characteristic One of an Insecurely Attached Child:**
Inconsistent Reaction to Caregiver’s Departure and Return

– Insecurely attached children may display inconsistent reactions when their caregiver leaves and returns. They might become distressed upon separation, but their response to the caregiver’s return may vary. They may approach the caregiver but resist physical comfort, showing mixed signals of clinginess and ambivalence.

**Characteristic Two of an Insecurely Attached Child:**
Difficulty Seeking Comfort and Reassurance

– Insecurely attached children often struggle to seek comfort and reassurance from their caregiver when they are upset or anxious. They may avoid the caregiver or have difficulty calming down even when the caregiver is available, which contrasts with securely attached children who readily seek and accept comfort from their caregivers.

**Ainsworth’s Work on Attachment:**

**Description:**
– Developed the Strange Situation procedure to study attachment.
– Classified infants into secure, insecure-avoidant, and insecure-ambivalent attachment types.
– Contributed to the development of attachment theory, emphasizing the role of early caregiver-infant relationships.

**Evaluation:**
– **Strengths:** Empirical support, clinical applications.
– **Limitations:** Cultural bias, limited focus on fathers, oversimplification of attachment, insufficient emphasis on later relationships.

**Comparison to Bowlby:** Ainsworth’s work operationalized and validated Bowlby’s attachment theory through empirical research, emphasizing the interplay between theory and empirical study.

**Securely Attached Infants:**
– Seek comfort from caregiver when distressed.
– Use caregiver as a secure base for exploration.
– Develop positive internal working models.

**Insecurely Attached Infants (Avoidant or Ambivalent):**
– Show inconsistent or avoidant responses to caregiver.
– May not use caregiver as a secure base.
– Develop negative or anxious internal working models.

**Learning Theory:**
– Attachment forms through conditioning and reinforcement.
– Focuses on external behaviors and reinforcement processes.
– Practical applications but lacks depth in explaining emotions.

**Bowlby’s Attachment Theory:**
– Attachment is innate, biologically rooted, and serves evolutionary purposes.
– Internal working models shape future relationships.
– Comprehensive but limited consideration of socio-cultural factors.
– Recognizes emotional and cognitive aspects of attachment.
– Attachment styles reflect caregiver-infant interactions.

**(a) Suitable Behavioral Categories:**
1. Separation anxiety: Observe the child’s reactions when separated from the mother.
2. Reunion behavior: Note how the child behaves upon the mother’s return.

**(b) Recording the Boy’s Behavior:**
Use methods like behavioral coding, video recording, time sampling, or checklists to record and quantify the child’s behaviors during one-hour observations.

**(c) Importance of a Pilot Study:**
A pilot study helps refine methods, identify challenges, assess feasibility, and ensure training and familiarization before the main observation to improve data quality and reliability.

**(a) Behavior Differences in the ‘Strange Situation’:**

1. **Exploration:**
– **Securely Attached Infants:** Explore confidently with periodic check-ins on the mother.
– **Insecurely Attached Infants:** Insecure-avoidant may explore extensively but avoid the mother, while insecure-ambivalent may explore less and exhibit clinginess.

2. **Reunion Behavior:**
– **Securely Attached Infants:** Display positive reunion behavior, seek contact, express joy, and are easily comforted.
– **Insecurely Attached Infants:** Insecure-avoidant may minimize contact, appear indifferent. Insecure-ambivalent may show mixed, clingy, and resistant reactions.

**(b) Characteristics of Attachment:**

Attachment patterns result from consistency of caregiving, temperament, early experiences, and cultural/societal factors. Secure attachment stems from consistent, responsive caregiving, while insecure attachment can arise from various factors, including inconsistencies in caregiving and temperamental traits.

**Demand Characteristics in ‘Strange Situation’ Research:**
Potential cues or signals that mothers and infants may pick up from the observer or the study environment, affecting their behavior. This could include expectations about attachment patterns, social desirability, conformity to stereotypes, observer presence, and a desire for positive outcomes. Researchers try to minimize these influences to maintain the study’s validity.

Certainly, here are four types of determinism along with brief descriptions:

1. **Hard Determinism:**
– Description: Hard determinism asserts that all events and actions, including human choices, are predetermined by prior causes and conditions. It denies the existence of free will and emphasizes the complete influence of causality on behavior.

2. **Soft Determinism (Compatibilism):**
– Description: Soft determinism, or compatibilism, reconciles determinism and free will by suggesting that even though actions are determined by various factors, individuals can still be considered morally responsible for their choices and actions if they align with their own desires and beliefs.

3. **Biological Determinism:**
– Description: Biological determinism posits that human behavior and characteristics are primarily determined by biological factors, such as genetics, brain structure, and physiological processes. It emphasizes the influence of biology on behavior and traits.

4. **Psychological Determinism:**
– Description: Psychological determinism suggests that human behavior is primarily shaped by psychological factors, including unconscious desires, motives, and early life experiences. It highlights the role of psychological processes and subconscious influences on behavior.

**Alpha Bias:**
– **Problem:** Alpha bias in psychological research refers to the exaggeration or overemphasis of differences between genders, often leading to the belief in fundamental and enduring gender differences that may not exist. This can reinforce stereotypes and contribute to gender inequalities. For example, if research exaggerates gender differences in cognitive abilities, it may perpetuate the misconception that one gender is inherently superior or inferior in certain intellectual domains.

**Beta Bias:**
– **Problem:** Beta bias in psychological research refers to the minimization or neglect of gender differences, assuming that findings from studies on one gender can be generalized to the other without considering potential variations. This can result in the inadequate understanding of the unique psychological experiences and needs of different genders. For instance, if a study exclusively focuses on male participants and assumes that the findings apply equally to females, it may overlook important gender-specific factors that affect psychological processes and outcomes in women.

**Levels of Explanation** in psychology refer to different perspectives for understanding behavior and mental processes:

1. **Biological Level:** Examines the influence of genetics and physiology.
2. **Psychological Level:** Focuses on cognitive and emotional processes.
3. **Social Level:** Considers societal and interpersonal influences.
4. **Environmental Level:** Examines the impact of the physical surroundings.
5. **Developmental Level:** Explores changes across the lifespan.
6. **Individual and Group Levels:** Analyzes phenomena at both individual and collective scales.

To develop the investigation using a nomothetic approach:

1. **Larger Sample:** Study a more significant number of offenders to represent the broader population.

2. **Standardized Data:** Use structured questionnaires or interviews to gather consistent data.

3. **Quantitative Analysis:** Apply statistical methods to identify patterns and correlations.

4. **General Trends:** Focus on commonalities among participants for broader insights.

5. **Hypotheses:** Generate theories about childhood experiences and offending behavior.

6. **Contribute to Theory:** Contribute to broader theories and inform intervention strategies.

**Reductionist Explanations in Psychology:**

**Outline:**
– **Biological:** Explains behavior in terms of biology (brain, genetics).
– **Behavioral:** Reduces phenomena to observable behaviors and stimuli.
– **Environmental:** Emphasizes the environment’s role (society, culture).

**Evaluation:**
– **Strengths:** Simplifies complex topics, identifies causes.
– **Weaknesses:** Oversimplifies, ignores complexity, leaves gaps, may lead to ethical concerns, and may not capture higher-order processes.

**Hard Determinism:** Believes all actions are entirely determined by external factors; no free will exists, and individuals aren’t morally responsible for their actions.

**Soft Determinism (Compatibilism):** Acknowledges external influences on behavior but asserts that individuals have a degree of free will and can be morally responsible for their choices based on internal desires.

The nature-nurture debate in psychology centers on whether genetic factors (nature) or environmental influences (nurture) are more important in shaping human behavior. The statement acknowledges that both factors interact and are crucial for understanding behavior, reflecting the contemporary view that behavior results from a complex interplay between innate traits and environmental experiences. This holistic approach recognizes that neither nature nor nurture alone can fully explain human behavior.

**Determinism** is the idea that human behavior is shaped by factors beyond individual control, such as genetics, upbringing, and environment. In Joel’s case, determinism suggests that his aggressive behavior may be influenced by genetic predispositions, environmental factors (like his family), and the situations he encounters at school, making it less a matter of personal choice and more a result of these influences.

**Reductionism** simplifies behavior by breaking it into basic parts, facilitating precise study of specific components like memory processes. It’s effective for understanding detailed mechanisms.

**Holism** views behavior as a complex interplay of factors, emphasizing real-world context. It’s valuable for understanding behavior in its entirety, considering cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences. The choice between the two depends on research goals and the aspect of behavior being studied.

Two ethical issues in Milgram’s obedience research:
1. **Informed Consent:** Participants were not fully informed about the study’s nature, leading to deception.
2. **Psychological Harm:** Participants experienced distress, raising concerns about the adequacy of post-study debriefing to mitigate this harm.

Deception in social influence research is sometimes needed to prevent participants from altering their behavior (demand characteristics), to replicate real-world behavior, and to reduce social desirability bias. It safeguards the integrity of the study but should be used ethically with proper debriefing and consent.