attachment Flashcards

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1
Q

what is reciprocity?

A
  • caregiver and baby respond to each other’s signals and elicit a response from each other
  • from around 3 months
  • shows babies are active participants in interaction not just passive
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2
Q

what is interactional synchrony?

A

-caregiver and baby mimic the actions and emotions of each other

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3
Q

Meltzoff and Moore (1977) research on interactions sychrony

A
  • observed beginning of interactional synchrony in babies
  • adults displayed one of three facial expressions/gestures
  • babies expression/gestures were usually mirrored from the adult
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4
Q

Isabella et al (1989) research into interactional synchrony

A
  • observed 30 mothers and babies interactional synchrony

- found higher levels of synchrony were associated with better quality attachment

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5
Q

evaluation
caregiver infant interactions
strength: the use of filmed observations

A
  • Caregiver/baby interactions are filmed from multiple angles
  • Behaviour can be recorded and analysed later
  • Babies don’t know they are being observed so demand characteristics and a problem
  • increased reliability and validity
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6
Q

evaluation
caregiver infant interactions
limitation: difficulty in observing babies

A
  • Hard to observe babies behaviour because they are not very coordinated
  • rely on small gestures and changes in expression
  • Hard to interpret the meaning of babies movements
  • Cannot be certain that an interaction is meaningful
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7
Q

evaluation
caregiver infant interactions
Limitation: difficulty inferring developmental importance

A
  • Feldman (2012)-synchrony and reciprocity describe behaviours that occur at the same time
  • Cannot be certain from observation that reciprocity or synchrony important in development
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8
Q

Stage one of Schaffer’s stages of attachment

A
  • Asocial
  • 0 to 6 weeks
  • Behaviour to inanimate objects and humans are similar
  • Slight preference for familiar people
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9
Q

stage two of Schaffer’s stages of attachment

A
  •  indiscriminate
  • 6 weeks to 7 months
  • General sociability
  • Preference to humans
  • No stranger/separation anxiety
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10
Q

stage four of Schaffer’s stages of attachment

A
  • discriminate
  • 7 to12 months
  • Primary attachment forms (65% mother)
  • separation and stranger anxiety
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11
Q

stage four of Schaffer’s stages of attachment

A

-Multiple attachments
-12 months+
-Secondary attachments form-Stranger and separation anxiety from secondary attachment


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12
Q

evaluation
Schaffer’s stages of attachment
Strength: external validity

A
  • Most observations were made during ordinary activities (reported by parent)
  • The alternative (observers present in the home) may make baby distracted/anxious
  • High likelihood behaviour was natural
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13
Q

evaluation
Schaffer’s stages of attachment
limitation: biased observation

A
  • Mothers were unlikely to be objective observers so biased on what they report
  • May have missed behaviours
  • The natural behaviour may not have been accurately reported
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14
Q

evaluation
Schaffer’s stages of attachment
limitation: lack of evidence for asocial stage

A
  • Babies have poor coordination/our mobile
  • Makes it difficult for others to accurately report signs of anxiety and attachment
  • Due to flawed methods the baby may appear a social
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15
Q

evaluation

shaffers of stages of attachment strength: real world application

A
  • In a social and indiscriminate stage as babies can be comforted by anyone
  • If a child starts daycare later comfort from an unfamiliar adult may cause distress/long-term problems
  • Schaffer’s stages of attachment can help parents make daycare decisions
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16
Q

Schaffer and Emerson‘s research into the role of the father

A
  • 1964
  • majority of babies former primary attachment with mother around seven months
  • 3% father was primary attachment
  • 27% father was joint attachment with mother
  • 75% of babies from secondary attachment with father by 18 months
17
Q

Grossman et al research into the role of the father

A
  • 2002
  • longitudinal study observing parents relationship with child through to teenager
  • attachment with father was less important for adolescent than mother
  • quality of fathers play with baby related to adolescent attachment
  • fathers have different role in attachment (play and stimulation rather than emotional care)
18
Q

Field research into the role of the father

A
  • 1978
  • filmed 4 month old babies with their primary caregiver fathers
  • father spent more time interacting with babies in secondary caregiver fathers
  • interactional synchrony and reciprocity are important in forming attachments
  • fathers can be the emotional attachment figure
  • attachment relationship depends onlevel of responsiveness rather than gender
19
Q

evaluation
the role of the father
limitation: research question confusion

A
  • Some psychologists research father is a secondary attachment
  • other psychologist research fathers as primary attachment
  • cannot answer the question of the role of the father
20
Q

evaluation
The role of the father
limitation: conflicting evidence 

A
  • Grossman et al suggests father have distinctive role in child development
  • McCallum and Golombok found children without father don’t develop differently
21
Q

evaluation
The role of the father
strength: families adapter circumstance

A
  • Fathers in heterosexual families take on the roles
  • families without fathers adapt
  • there may be a distinctive role for fathers when present but families can adapt to not having them
22
Q

evaluation
The role of the father
strength: application in parenting advice

A
  • Mothers may feel pressured to stay home and fathers to work
  • research into the flexibility of father role can be used to advise parents
  • parental anxiety about the role of the fathers can be reduced and parenting can be made easier
23
Q

Lorenz research into animal attachment

A
  • 1952
  • randomly divided goose eggs
  • half hatched with mother in natural environment
  • half hatched an incubator with Lorenz -incubator group followed Lorenz control group followed mother
  • identified a critical period for imprinting (attaching to mother)
  • Sexual imprinting occurred where bird acquired template of desirable characteristic to mate 
24
Q

Hollow research into animal attachment

A
  • 1958
  • 16 rhesus monkeys preferences was measured
  • wire monkey with milk + cloth monkey with no milk
  • monkeys preferred cloth monkey
  • suggests comfort was more important than food
  • due to maternal deprivation as adults the monkeys were more aggressive less sociable and less skilled it mating 
25
Q

evaluation
Animal studies of attachment
strength: supporting evidence of imprinting

A
  • Regolin and vallortigara (1995) showed chicks moving shapes
  • when reshown the shapes the chicks followed their original shape
  • suggests young animals are born with innate mechanism to imprint on a moving object
26
Q

evaluation
animal studies of attachment
limitation: generalising birds to humans 

A
  • Human attachment system is different to imprinting in birds
  • human mothers show more emotional attachment to child
  • may not be appropriate to generalise Lorenz’s ideas on imprinting to humans
27
Q

evaluation
Animal studies of attachment
strength: Harleys research has real world value

A
  • Help social workers understand the risk of child abuse
  • understand the importance of attachment figures for baby monkeys in the zoo/breeding programs
  • Harleys research has benefited animals and humans
28
Q

evaluation

animal studies of attachment limitation: generalising monkeys to humans

A
  • Monkeys are more similar to humans than geese and are both mammals so share some attachment systems
  • human mind and behaviour are more complex
  • may not be appropriate to generalise Harlow’s findings to humans
29
Q

who came up with the learning theory of attachment and when?

A

Dollard and Miller

1950

30
Q

what is cupboard love?

A

emphasises the importance of food in attachment formation

children love whoever feeds them

31
Q

role of classical confitioning in attachment

A
UCS - food 
UCR - pleasure 
NS - caregiver 
caregiver bevkmes associatee wjtn food becoming CS 
caregiver produces a CR of pleasure
32
Q

role or operant conditioning in attachment

A

crying leads to a response from caregiver (eg feeding) reinforcing crying
caregiver recieves negative reinforcement becahse feeding atops the crying

33
Q

what is primary drive?

A

innate biological motivator - eat to reduce hunger drive

34
Q

what is secondary drive?

A

learned by an association between careguvwr and the satisfaction of primary drive
Sears et al (1957) - as caregiver provides food rhe primary drive of hunger becomes generalised

35
Q

evaluation
learning theory
limitation : counter evidence from animal studies

A

Lorenz’s geese imprinted on the first moving object
Harlow’s monkeys attacher to a soft surrogate mother in preference to wire with milk
both attachments did not develop as a result of feeding
shows factors other than feeding are important in attachment formation

36
Q

evaluation
learning theory
limittion : counter evidence from human studies

A

Schaffer and Emerson 1964 showed that many babies primary attachment was not the feeder
Isabella et al 1889 found interactional synchrony predicted attachment quality rather than feeding
suggests other factors are more important in attachment formation than feeding

37
Q

evaluation
learning theory
strength : elements of conditioning could still be involved

A

conditioning can still play a role in attachment
babies choice of primary attachment figure may be determined by the fact the caregiver becomes associated with warmth and comfort