AQA A Level Psychology Attachment key facts

Question 1

What is an attachment?

Answer 1

An emotional link between the child and there primary caregiver, which ties them together.

Question 2

Four ways an attachment can be tested?

Answer 2

1. Seeking Proximity
2. Distress on separation
3. Joy on reunion
4. General Behaviour

Question 3

What is a bond?

Answer 3

A bond is a set of feelings that ties one person to another

Question 4

Benefits of an attachment

Answer 4

Survival
Food
Love
Security

Question 5

Two caregiver-infant interactions have…

Answer 5

Reciprocity and Interactional Synchrony

Question 6

What is reciprocity?

Answer 6

Reciprocity is a description of how two people interact, the mother infant interaction is reciprocal in that they both respond to each others signal and each shows a response from the other.

Question 7

What is interactional synchrony?

Answer 7

Where mother and infant reflect both the actions and emotions of one and other and do this in a co-ordinated manner.

Question 8

Outline research that supports reciprocity

Answer 8

Feldman found that both babies have periodic alert phases to signal that they are ready to interact and mothers respond to this on average 2/3rds of the time.
He also found that from 3 months of age this interaction is more frequent and involved close attention to verbal signals and facial expressions

Question 9

Outline research that supports interactional synchrony

Answer 9

Meltzoff and Moore conducted a study in which they observed infants at two weeks old and had adults show one of three facial expressions or one of three gestures. The children response was filmed and identified by independent observers. They found an association between the action of the adult and the action returned by the babies.