1.3 attachment Flashcards
attachment
an emotional bond between two people that can be studied through developmental psychology.
caregiver-infant interactions
reciprocity and interactional synchrony
reciprocity
reciprocity is also referred to as turn-taking. it is a two-way, mutual process, where the behaviour/signals of each party elicits a response from to the other to sustain interaction.
studies have demonstrated that infants coordinate their actions with their caregiver’s actions in a kind of conversation.
the regularity of an infant’s signals allows a caregiver to anticipate the infant’s behaviour and respond appropriately. this sensitivity to infant behaviour lays the foundation for later attachment between the caregiver and the infant.
interactional synchrony
interactional synchrony is when adults and babies respond in time to sustain communication.
the caregiver and the infant interact in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror each other.
research has found that infants as young as 2-3 weeks old imitated specific facial and hand gestures that they saw adults do.
interactional synchrony: study
an adult model displayed one of three facial expressions or hand movements.
a dummy was placed in the baby’s mouth during the display to prevent any response. following the display the dummy was removed and the infant’s expression was filmed.
they found that there was an association between the infant’s behaviour and the adult model.
strength of caregiver-infant interaction: murray and trevarthen (1985)
+ murray and trevarthen (1985) got mothers to interact with babies over a video monitor and then played a tape of their mother so she was not responding to them.
the babies tried to attract their mothers attention but when this failed, they gave up responding. this proves that babies want their mothers to reciprocate
strength of caregiver-infant interaction: abravanal and deyong (1991)
+ abravanal and deyong (1991) observed infant behaviour when interacting with a puppet that looked like a human mouth opening and closing.
infants made little response to this, which shows they are not just imitating what they see and interactional synchrony is a specific social response.
two weaknesses of caregiver-infant interaction
research into babies is difficult to consider scientific .
- babies cannot use language to communicate so psychologists are relying on their inferences. they cannot be sure that infants are actually trying to communicate with their caregiver
- the expressions tested (tongue sticking out, yawning, and smiling) are ones that infants frequently make so they may not have been deliberately imitating what they see
difficulties in investigating caregiver-infant interaction
- lab setting: studies have found that babies’ attachment behaviours are much stronger in lab settings than they are in their home. so, studies should take place in a natural setting (e.g. the child’s home) to increase validity
- observer bias: most studies are observational, may be bias in the observer’s interpretation. can be countered by using more than one observer (inter-rater reliability).
- practical issues: infants are often asleep/feeding when observing. researchers need to use fewer, shorter observation periods because have babies limited waking periods
- ethics: extra care needs to be taken is relation to ethics when investigating caregiver-infant interactions so as not to affect the child or parent in any way e.g. protection from harm, confidentiality etc.
stages of attachment
shaffer and emerson (1964) investigated the development of attachment in infants using a longitudinal study where they followed 60 infants and their mothers for two years.
they decided that there were four stages in the development of attachment in infant: pre-attachment, indiscriminate attachment, discriminate attachment, multiple attachments
pre-attachment
(0-3 months)
from six weeks of age infants become attracted to humans, preferring them to objects and events. this preference is demonstrated by their smiling at people’s faces
indiscriminate attachment
(4-7 months)
infants begin to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar people, smiling more at people they know. they will still allow strangers to handle them.
discriminate attachment
(7 months onwards)
infants develop a specific attachment to their primary attachment figure (usually the mother) staying close to that person.
they show separation protest, which is the distress an infant shows when their primary attachment figure leaves them. they display stranger anxiety, which is the distress an infant shows when approached by someone they do not know.
schaffer and emerson (1964) noticed that the infant’s primary attachment figure was not always the person who spent the most time with the child. they concluded that it is the quality of the relationship, not quantity that matters the most in the formation of an attachment.
multiple attachments
(7 months onwards)
very soon after developing their first attachment, infants develop strong emotional ties with other major secondary caregivers, such as the father and grandparents, and non-caregivers, such as siblings.
the fear of strangers weakens but their attachment to their primary attachment figure remains the strongest.
5 weaknesses of shaffer and emerson’s stages
- the data collected may be unreliable because it was based on mothers’ reports of their infants. some mothers might have been less sensitive to their infant’s protests and therefore been less likely to report them.
- biased sample: it only included infants from a working-class population and thus the findings might not apply to other social groups.
- culture bias: only included infants from individualist cultures, infants from collectivist cultures could form attachments in a different way.
- temporal validity: it was conducted in the 1960s and parental care of children has changed considerably since then. more women go out to work and more men stay at home.
- stage theories such as this one are inflexible and do not take account of individual differences, some infants might form multiple attachment first, rather than starting with a single attachment.
the role of the father
at around 7 months of age, babies form secondary attachments to other family members, including the father.
75% of infants studied had formed an attachment with their father by the age of 18 months in a study conducted by shaffer and emerson (1964)
child’s primary attachment figure
fathers are less likely to be their child’s primary attachment figure. there are several reasons this could be:
- perhaps they spend less time with their infants.
- maybe most men are not as psychologically equipped to form an intense attachment because they lack the emotional sensitivity that women have. this could be due to biological factors, as the female hormone oxytocin underlies caring behaviour. so, women are more orientated to interpersonal goals than men.
- alternatively, it could be due to societal norms. in some cultures, there is also the stereotype that it is feminine to be sensitive to the needs of others.
father complements the mother
some researchers believe that the father fulfils a qualitatively different role from that of the mother.
fathers provide play and stimulation to complement the role of the mother, which is to provide emotional support.
the father’s role is considered just as crucial to the child’s wellbeing.
weakness of the role of the father: same-sex couples
- there is inconsistency in the research as to the importance of the role of the father.
research investigating the effects of growing up in a single female or same-sex parent family shows there is no effect on development, and therefore suggests the role of the father is not important.
weakness of the role of the father: grossman (2002)
- it seems the father is less important to later development than the mother in terms of nurture.
grossman (2002) found that the early attachment to the mother was a better predictor of what the teenage relationship was like than the early attachment to the father.
however, if the father had engaged in active play with the child when they were young, the adolescent relationship with BOTH parents was strengthened.
weakness of the role of the father: single-parent families
- research also questions whether the father plays a distinct role.
studies show that the father in a single-parent family is more likely to adopt the traditional maternal role and can be their child’s primary attachment figure.
weakness of the role of the father: field (1978)
- field (1978) conducted research which compared the behaviours of primary caregiver mothers with primary and secondary caregiver fathers.
face-to-face interactions were analysed from video footage with infants at four months of age.
- it was observed that fathers engaged more in game playing and held infants less.
- primary caregiver fathers engaged in significantly more smiling, imitative grimaces and imitative vocalisations than secondary caregiver fathers.
- the behaviour of primary caregiver fathers was comparable with that of mothers’ behaviour. this demonstrates that there is flexibility in the role of the father and how men can respond to the different needs of their children.
the strange situation
ainsworth (1970) investigated differences in attachments between infants and their caregivers. it was a controlled observation that took place in a room that had been furnished with some toys.
the investigators observed the infants in a series of three-minute episodes:
mother and baby, stranger enters, mother leaves, mother returns, etc.
they recorded an infant’s proximity seeking, stranger anxiety, separation protest, and reunion joy.
type A
20% of babies had attachments that were classified as insecure-avoidant.
they largely ignore their caregiver (low proximity seeking) and play independently while they explore the room.
they show no signs of distress when the caregiver is absent (no separation protest) and continue to ignore them when they return (no reunion joy).
the baby is distressed when left completely alone but is comforted by the stranger as easily as their caregiver (no stranger anxiety).
the caregiver and the stranger are treated in much the same way
type B
70% of babies were described as securely attached.
securely attached babies play happily while the caregiver is present and use them as a safe base while they explore the room and play with the toys.
the baby is clearly distressed when the caregiver leaves (high separation protest), even if they are not left completely alone, and seeks immediate contact with their caregiver when they return (high reunion joy). their caregiver easily comforts them.
the baby is wary of the stranger (stranger anxiety) but accepts some comfort from them when the caregiver is absent.
type C
10% of babies were put in the insecure-resistant category.
babies who have an insecure-resistant attachment to their caregivers are fussy and cry more than other babies.
they will not explore the room or play with the toys very much, instead they are clingy (high proximity seeking).
the baby is distressed when the caregiver leaves (extreme separation protest), however, they resist comfort from the caregiver upon reunion (no reunion joy).
they strongly resist the stranger’s attempts to make contact (extreme stranger anxiety).
weakness of the strange situation: culture bias
- this methodology was developed in the US and so may be culturally biased. attachment behaviour that is seen as healthy in the US may not be seen as such in all cultures.
eg. few mothers worked in germany in the 1960-70’s (less than 1 in 5) but children were encouraged to be independent and self-reliant.
german parents view some of the behaviour exhibited by securely attached infants, such as crying when their mothers leave the room, as being spoilt and so do not reward this behaviour.
this is why these children may have shown less anxiety when separated from their mothers and been classed as avoidant.
weakness of the strange situation: ecological validity
- its an artificial situation and may not reflect the infant’s real-world behaviour (lacks ecological validity). studies have found that babies’ attachment behaviours are much stronger in the lab than they are in their home
weakness of the strange situation: validity
- the validity of some of the parameters has been questioned, eg. it could be argued that proximity seeking could be a measure of insecurity rather than security
weakness of the strange situation: gender biased
- gender biased. they only used mothers as the caregiver.
children might be insecurely attached to their mothers but securely attached to their fathers.
therefore it does not measure a child’s overall attachment style but their attachment to one individual.
main and weston (1981) found that children behave differently depending on which parent they are with.
strength of the strange situation
+ has been replicated many times over the years. it’s easy to replicate because it has a high level of control and standardised procedures. it has successfully been carried out in many different cultures
cross cultural variations in attachment
van ijzendoorn and kroonberg (1988) conducted a meta-analysis of 32 studies into attachment to see if attachment occurs in the same way across all cultures.
all of the studies they included used the strange situation to measure attachment, looking at the relationships between mothers and their babies (under 24 months)
the studies were conducted in eight countries, some individualistic cultures (USA, UK, and germany) and some collectivist cultures (japan, china, and israel).
van ijzendoorn and kroonberg (1988) findings
- secure was the most common attachment style in all of the eight countries studied.
- this was followed by insecure-avoidant, except in israel and japan where resistant was the most common (and avoidant was rare).
- the lowest percentage of secure attachments was in china, and the highest was the UK.
- the highest percentage of insecure-avoidant attachments was in west germany
- overall variations WITHIN cultures were 1.5 times greater than BETWEEN them
analysis of the findings
the similarities between cultures suggest that caregiver and infant interactions have universal characteristics and so may be partly instinctive.
however, the variations within cultures show that the cultural differences in child-rearing practices also play an important role in attachment styles.
the variations within cultures indicate that sub-cultural differences, such as social class, play an important role in an infant’s attachment style. these factors are possibly more important than culture.
strength of cultural variation in attachment
+ this study is a meta-analysis, which includes a very large sample. this increases the validity of the findings.
weakness of cultural variation in attachment: flawed methodology
- the strange situation methodology was developed in the US and it may not be valid in other cultures.
ainsworth assumed that a willingness to explore means a child is securely attached but this may not be the case in other cultures.
this means the methodology is culturally biased.
weakness of cultural variation in attachment: israel
- the infants from israel in this study lived in a Kibbutz (closed community) and did not come into contact with strangers.
this could be the reason why these children showed severe distress when confronted with strangers and so were classed as insecure-resistant.
weakness of cultural variation in attachment: cultures vs countries
- this study was not actually comparing cultures but countries.
eg. they compared the USA with japan. both countries have many different sub-cultures that have different child rearing practices.
a study of attachment in tokyo found similar attachment style distributions to the USA, whereas studies in more rural areas of Japan found many more insecure-resistant infants.
weakness of cultural variation in attachment: gender biased
- all the studies in the meta-analysis looked at studies that only used mothers as the caregiver.
children might be insecurely attached to their mothers but securely attached to their fathers.
therefore it does not measure a child’s overall attachment style but their attachment to one individual.
main and weston (1981) found that children behave differently depending on which parent they are with.
learning theory
according to learning theory, all behaviour is learned rather than being innate or inherited from parents.
people learn behaviour through classical and operant conditioning.
classical conditioning
an infant is born with certain reflex responses.
the stimulus of food is a UCS and it produces the reflex of pleasure, a UCR. the person providing food is a NS but over time they become associated with the pleasure gained from food. the person becomes a CS that produces pleasure as a CR.
according to classical conditioning this is how the attachment bond develops and is the reason children feel pleasure in their caregiver’s presence.
operant conditioning
operant conditioning strengthens attachment.
the baby receives positive reinforcement (when behaviour produces a pleasant consequence) for crying when they are hungry as the caregiver feeds them.
the caregiver receives negative reinforcement (when behaviour removes something unpleasant) for feeding their baby when they cry as feeding the baby makes the crying stop.
strength of learning theory
+ learning theory is plausible and scientific as it is founded in established theory. likely, the association between the provision of needs and the person providing those needs can lead to strong attachments.
weakness of learning theory: harlow (1959)
- harlow (1959) separated infant rhesus monkeys from their mothers and put them in cages.
milk was provided either by a wire mesh ‘surrogate mother’ or one made of comfortable soft cloth. the monkeys clung to the soft cloth ‘mother’, especially when scared by an aversive stimulus, even if it did not provide milk.
this suggests that comfort is more important than food in determining whom a baby will attach to.
