4.1.3 - Caregiver- Infant Interactions

Question 1

Define attachment

Answer 1

An affectional BOND between two people (care given infant) that endures over time. Each
sele to maintain proximity. There may be signs of separation anxiety when parted.

Question 2

How do you know is a bond has been formed

Answer 2

• desire to keep close proximity to a particular individual
• expressed through distress at separation from that person.
• the individual gives the infant a sense of security, most commonly the child’s mother
• However, attachments can be with anyone who provides comfort and security.

Question 3

What is infancy

Answer 3

• Period of a childs life before speech begins
• It comes from infants (without speech)
• care-giver, Infant interactions focus on verbal communication ( reciprocity, interactional synchrony)

Question 4

What is interactional synchrony

Answer 4

· two people are synchronised when they can carry out the same action simultaneously
· In attachment, this takes place when the carer and
Infants actions and emotions “mirror” each other

Question 5

What are infants primate reflexes

Answer 5

• grasping and sucking ( as they are needed for survival)

Question 6

Findings of meltzoff and Moore (1977)

Answer 6

• at two weeks: infants mirror facial expressions and hand gestures
• at 3 days: infants mirror facial expressions
• at 3 hours: infants are able to mirror facial expressions
• suggests behaviour is innate

Question 7

Meltzoff and Moore(1977) A03

Answer 7

• inferences have to be made in order to interpret the baby’s facial expressions, so therefore results are not 100% reliable
• the infants could have learnt how to copy facial expressions in the 2 weeks or 3 days ( counterbalanced by their 3 hours result)

Question 8

Define reciprocity

Answer 8

responding to the action of another with a similar action, the actions of one elict a response from the other

Question 9

Describe tronick et al

Answer 9

• face experiment
• the caregiver and infant interact
• the caregiver turns away from the infant and “ignores” the child when they turn back around
• babies try to instigate an interaction ( scream, stick tongue out, )
• when the pcg respond they remove the unpleasant stimulus, operant conditioning- strengthens the behaviour

Question 10

Testing infant behaviour is difficult - A03

Answer 10

Limitation:
- because what is being observed is merely hand movements or changes in expression. It is very difficult to be certain what is happening from the Infants perspective, based on these observations.

• We therefore do not know if the imitation of the adults actions by the baby is deliberate or accidentals.
• meaning we cannot be certain that behaviours seen in mother- Infant interactions have a special meaning.

Question 11

Well controlled procedures are used - A03

Answer 11

Strength:
both the mother and the infant being filmed from multiple angles.
- ensures that the fine details of their behaviour can be
recorded, and therefore analysed later.
- the babies do not know or care that they are being filmed so their behaviour will not change, eliminating the limitation of demand characteristics
- overall, the method therefore has high validity.

Question 12

The observations don’t highlight then importance of synchrony and reciprocity- A03

Answer 12

Limitation:

feldman (2012) slated that synchrony simply describes behaviours that occur at the same time. These theories can therefore be reliably observed as the criticia is simple.
- this is unhelpful as it doesn’t tell is the purpose of the interaction.

Question 13

Research can be socially sensitive- A03

Answer 13

Limitation:
Implies that children may be disadvantaged by particular parenting methods. Mothers who quickly return to work after their child is born restrict the
interactional synchrony which Isabella et al. showed to be a key aspect of developing an infant - caregiver attatchment.

Question 14

What does research state about the role of the father

Answer 14

investigations were carried out to find out whether father - infant bonds are just as strong as mother-infant bonds ( research carried out as mothers who return to work quickly will have a more limited bond)

• findings were inconsistent, some research believed father can adopt nurturing ‘maternal role’ whilst others believe they cannot due to the lack of oestrogen.

Question 15

Aim of Schaffer and Emerson(1964)

Answer 15

• to assess whether there was a pattern of attachment
  formation common to all infants.

– to identify and describe the distinct stages by which attachments form

Question 16

Procedure of Schaffer and Emerson(1964)

Answer 16

• Longitudinal study, 60 new-born babies.

– Mothers and babies studied each month for the
first 12 months & again at 18 months.

– Observations at their home.

– Interviews with the mothers, including questions
relating to infant smiling, responses and causes of distress.

• attachment was measured by:
  Separation protest
  Stranger anxiety ( researcher approaches baby and look for signs of distress)

Question 17

Findings of Schaffer and Emerson(1964)

Answer 17

• Most showed separation protest when parted from
  attachment figure between 6-8 months, stranger anxiety developed around 1 month later

– Most developed multiple attachments at 18 months 87% had at least two attachments, 31% had five or more attachments

• strongly attached infants had mothers that responded to then quickly and effectively.
• infants attachments to different people were of similar nature- they responded to all figures similarly.
• approx. 40% of infants ‘primary attachments’ were not to their pcg,

Question 18

Conclusions of Schaffer and Emerson(1964)

Answer 18

• Pattern of attachment formation is common to infants - implying forming attachments is innate.

– Attachments more easily made to those who display sensitive responsiveness, recognising & responding to an infant’s needs. - quality of time over quantity of time

– Multiple attachments are the norm & of similar quality.

Question 19

What are Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment based on

Answer 19

Bowbls evolutionary theory if attachment that suggests that children have an innate need to attach to one key attachment figure( monotropy)

Question 20

What are the 4 stages of attachment proposed by Schaffer and Emerson(1964)

Answer 20

Asocial
Indiscriminate
Specific
Multiple
( Anna is so mid)

Question 21

Describe asocial stage

Answer 21

0-8 weeks
- happier in presence of humans than alone
- behaviour towards human and non human objects is similar
- recognise specific faces and show slight preference to these
- smile at anyone

Question 22

Describe indiscriminate attachment stage

Answer 22

2-7 months
- recognise and prefer familiar people
- accept comfort from any adult
- preferance for people over inanimate objects
- smile more at familiar faces

Question 23

Describe the specific attachments stage

Answer 23

7-12 months
- show separation and stranger anxiety
- use familiar adults as a secure base
- have a primary attachment to one individual

Question 24

Describe the multiple attachments stage

Answer 24

1 yr onwards
- begin to form secondary attachments with familiar adults that they spend time with.

Question 25

Schaffer and Emerson conducted experiment in families own homes - A03

Answer 25

Strength
- children feel more comfortable, decreases demand characteristics and increase the ecological validity as it a true representation of behaviour.

Question 26

The study was longitudinal - A03

Answer 26

Strength:
- the children can be compared to themselves, so removes participant variables, meaning the study has good external validity
However limitation:
- not all children develop at the same rate, so confounding variables occur due to the individual differences between ppts

Question 27

Study used 60 babies from Glasgow - a03

Answer 27

Limitation
All mothers and babies were in Glasgow and are working class mothers, so cannot be generalised to entire population as sample is unrepresentative.

Question 28

Schaffer and Emerson’s work has real life application

Answer 28

strength
Daycare:
- babies are assigned to a specific key worker that they spend their time with.
- They will begin to form an attachment and the key worker will begin to be able to read the non-verbal communication that the babies display, so they can make the baby feel as comfortable
as possible.

Question 29

Research from collectivist cultures - A03

Answer 29

Limitation
- research has shown that babies raised in collectivist cultures have more attachments because they are raised around more people, and are cared for by more than one person.
- This means that they are able to form multiple attachments from a young age, which does not follow the results of the study, doesn’t support the theory.

Question 30

Method to measure attachment is distress at separation - A03

Answer 30

Limitation
- just because a baby cries when someone leaves the room doesn’t mean that the Individual is a true attachment figure.
- Bowlby (1909) stated that children have playmates as well as attachment figures - therefore children may act distressed when a playmate leaves the room S0 It is difficult to distinguish the reactions to a playmate leaving us to an attachment figure leaving.