Attachment Flashcards
define reciprocity
a two way process (or mutual interaction) where an action happens one after another
define interactional synchrony
a simultaneous process where behaviours or emotions are mirrored
define attachment
an emotional bond between two people shown in their behaviour; a two way reciprocal process which endures over time
what did meltzoff and moore study
interactional synchrony and reciprocity
how many stimuli were shown in meltzoff and moore’s study
3 facial expressions, 1 hand gesture
describe meltzoff and moore’s method
an adult model displayed one of 4 stimuli to a baby with a dummy in its mouth (to prevent response), the dummy was removed and the baby’s expression filmed
what made meltzoff and moore’s study a controlled observation
the babies’ behaviour was recorded and watched in real time, slow motion and frame by frame, and judged by observers who had not seen the behaviour the baby had seen, observers had 4 categories to record
what were the 4 conditions observers recorded in meltzoff and moore’s study
tongue protrusion and termination of, mouth opening and termination of
describe meltzoff and moore’s results
there was an association between infant behaviour and the adult model’s, interactional synchrony was present as early as 3 days, reciprocity was present as early as 2/3 weeks
+ evaluation for innate attachment (point 1)
research support for innate attachment from controlled observations
+ evaluation for innate attachment (evidence 1)
meltzoff and moore, found a relationship between infant behaviour and what they had seen an adult model, controlled environment, baby filmed
+ evaluation for innate attachment (explain 1)
babies do not know/care that they are being observed, no response bias, inter-observer reliability and reliable footage
+ evaluation for innate attachment (link 1)
the laboratory and controlled environment is not representative of real life, the babies may not have responded in the same way that they would respond to their own mothers or in a real life setting, lacking ecological validity
- evaluation for innate attachment (point 3)
it is hard to know what is going on in an infant’s mind
- evaluation for innate attachment (evidence 3)
many studies looking into early attachment behaviour use infants, such as meltzoff and moore’s research, however the observations made are only based on the surface level, visible behaviour of infants, not the reasoning, thought processes or emotions behind
- evaluation for innate attachment (explain 3)
because the participants in these studies are infants, they lack the ability to communicate, we can never know the true meaning or purpose behind behaviour such as reciprocity or interactional synchrony as it cannot be explained to or fully understood by us
- evaluation for innate attachment (link 3)
while we may not fully know what factors affect the behaviour of babies in terms of interactional synchrony and reciprocity, we can still study babies as only an infant sample can provide information about infants, they cannot speak for themselves and explain their behaviour but controlled observations can give us a pretty good insight
- evaluation for innate attachment (point 2)
the same caregiver-infant interactions are not found in all cultures
- evaluation for innate attachment (evidence 2)
research (le vine et al) has found that kenyan mothers have little physical interaction/contact with their infants but most infants still have a secure attachment
- evaluation for innate attachment (explain 2)
meltzoff and moore’s research could be ethnocentric, ignores how attachments may be formed in other cultures, interactional synchrony and reciprocity may not be valid across other cultures as a universal attachment behaviour, it is not seen in kenya, physical interaction may not be necessary for attachment
- evaluation for innate attachment (link 2)
however, kenya is only one place in the world, others may use physical interaction, reciprocity and interactional synchrony may just be one way of attaching (through physical interaction and mirroring), not the only way of attaching
what did schaffer and emerson study
stages of attachment
what was schaffer and emerson’s sample
60 babies from Glasgow, visited at home monthly for the first year then again at 18 months
what two behaviours were observed in schaffer and emerson’s research
seperation anxiety and stranger distress
describe schaffer and emerson’s method
use of triangulation (interviews and observation), at visits they would approach the baby to observe signs of distress, mother was interviewed about various situations, asked to rate babies’ response on a 4-point scale
describe schaffer and emerson’s results
mother was the main attachment figure (65%), only 3% were attached to father, by 18 months 32% had multiple attachments and 75% formed an attachment to the father
what are the 4 stages of attachment
asocial, indiscriminate, specific and multiple
describe the characteristics of the asocial stage of attachment
occurs between 0-6 weeks, similar responses to people and objects but bias to human-like stimuli, discriminate familiar people by smell and voice
describe the characteristics of the indiscriminate stage of attachment
occurs between 6 weeks- 6 months, more sociable, do not prefer specific individuals, no fear of strangers, recognise difference between people and objects
describe the characteristics of the specific stage of attachment
occurs at 7 months+, separation anxiety, fear of strangers, attachment formed with main caregiver
describe the characteristics of the multiple stage of attachment
occurs at 10/11 months+, multiple attachments formed soon after first, attachments behaviours towards different people
+ evaluation for stages of attachment theory (point 1)
the research support holds high validity
+ evaluation for stages of attachment theory (evidence 1)
schaffer and emerson used triangulation, a combination of observation and interviews
+ evaluation for stages of attachment theory (explain 1)
multiple ways of investigating creates increased validity using a variety of data collection methods, the study is also high in ecological validity, research was conducted in homes of the babies, replicative of real life