Attachment Flashcards
Define attachment
An emotional link between an infant and caregiver, each seek closeness and feel more secure when in the presence of the attachment figure. Interactions between a carer and an infant is where an attachment starts. It is the responsiveness of the caregiver to the infants signals that has a deep effect on the child.
How do researchers recognise an infant has an attachment?
1) Proximity: People try to stay physically close to those they are attached to.
2) Separation distress: People are distressed when an attachment figure leaves their presence.
3) Secure base behaviour: We always ‘touch base’ with our attachment figure regularly return to their attachment
What are the 2 caregiver - infant interactions?
- Interactional Synchrony
- Reciprocity
What is interactional synchrony?
(mirroring actions) Caregiver and infant respond in time to keep communication going. e.g infant smiles, caregiver smiles back at the same time. This type of communication ensures infant and caregivers emotions and actions mirror each other’s.
Who conducted research into caregiver - infant interactions?
Meltzoff and Moore
Outline research into Caregiver - infant interactions
Meltzoff and Moore (77) conducted a controlled observation of forty two-week old babies to measure caregiver-infant interactions. An adult displayed one of three facial expressions or distinctive gestures, such as mouth opening or tongue protrusion. The child’s response was filmed and identified by an independent observer. A link was found between the facial expression/gesture of the adult and the response of the baby.
What is reciprocity?
This is a two-way, mutual process where infant and caregiver take turns to respond to each other’s behaviours/signals, to sustain interaction (like a conversation). The behaviour of each party elicits a response from the other, E.g child puts arms out to be held - caregiver picks up.
Babies have ‘alert phases’ and signal when they are ready for interaction. Mothers pick up and act on these signals 2/3rd of the time (Feldman and Eidelman).Brazleton said both mother and baby initiate (start) the interaction and take it in turns to do so. He called this the ‘dance.’ He said it’s like when a couple dance together they respond to each other’s moves.
AO3: Caregiver-infant interactions
Ecological validity
One potential criticism of the research into caregiver-infant intercations, is that much of the research lacks ecological validity. This is because the research takes place in controlled environments, such as a controlled observation with the caregiver and infant being filmed. Therefore, it is difficult to generalize the findings to real life cases of caregiver-infant interactions as the infant may not behave how they usually do in the real world, for example, they may interact with the parent more as they are the only familiar person in the room, or they may interact less as they feel uncomfortable or shy in an unfamiliar environment. Therefore, lowering the external validity of the research in to care-giver infant interactions. Discussion: However, some would argue that because the baby is young they may not notice the change in the environment, and this would not affect the validity.
AO3: Caregiver-infant interactions
Extraneous Variables
Moreover, because the research takes place in controlled environments (controlled observation) this means that the research can be praised for having high control over extraneous variables. A potential extraneous variable that would be controlled is not having other adults in the room during observations of caregiver-infant interactions as it may distract the baby. This means that cause and effect can be established in the interactions between caregivers and infants, thus increasing the internal validity of the research in to caregiver-infant interactions.
AO3: Caregiver-infant interactions
Bias
However, critics argue that the research in to caregiver-infant interactions can be prone to bias, as babies cannot speak, inferences must be drawn about their behaviour. This means that a psychologist may interpret this information in a way that fits their hypothesis, for example a baby may have wind but the psychologist may infer that this is a smile in response to their parents smile, reducing the internal validity of the research in to caregiver-infant interactions. In order to minimise this, there should be two observers present to agree on the findings.
Who identified the stages of attachment?
Schaffer and Emerson
What are the 4 stages of attachment?
Asocial
Indiscriminate
Specific
Multiple
What was the aim of Schaffer and Emerson’s research?
To investigate the formation of early attachments (stages and multiple attachments), the age at which they develop and who they are directed to.
Outline the procedure of research into the stages of attachment by Schaffer and Emerson
- Longitudinal study on 60 working class newborn babies and their mothers from Glasgow
- The babies and mothers were visited at their own homes every month for the first year of the baby’s life and again at 18 months
- Observations and interviews (with mothers) were used.
Attachment was measured in two ways:
* Separation anxiety - assessed by the infant being left alone in a room, or the researcher asking the mother how the infant reacts in this instance.
* Stranger Anxiety – assessed by the researcher starting each home visit by approaching the infant to see if this distressed the child.
* Researchers asked the mothers questions such as who infants smiled at, whom they responded to etc.
What were the 2 ways that attachment was measured in Schaffer and Emerson’s research?
- Separation anxiety
- Stranger anxiety
What were the findings of Schaffer and Emerson’s research into the stages of attachment?
There are 4 stages of attachment
1) Asocial (first few weeks) Babies behaviour to adults and inanimate objects was similar.
2) Indiscriminate (2-7 months) Babies show a preference to people over inanimate objects but usually do not show stranger or separation anxiety.
3) Specific – from around 7 months babies start to form attachments and show separation and strangers anxiety when separated. In 65% of cases this was with the mother.
4) Multiple – within 1 months of formin a specific attachment 29% of children formed multiple attachment. By 1 year most infants had multiple attachments. At 18 months 75% of children had an attachment with their father.
What was the conclusion of research into the stages of attachment by Schaffer and Emerson?
Infants form attachments in stages, multiple attachments can be formed.
What is the ASOCIAL stage of attachment?
First few weeks. The baby’s behaviour towards non-human objects and humans is quite similar. However, babies are happier when in the presence of other humans.
What is the MULTIPLE stage of attachment?
Shortly after children show specific attachments, they usually extend this attachment behaviour to other adults whom they regularly spend time with. In Schaffer and Emerson’s study, 29% of children had multiple attachments within a month of forming a specific attachment. By the age of one year, the majority of infants have developed multiple attachments. At 18 months, 75% of infants had an attachment with their father.
What is the SPECIFIC stage of attachment?
From around 7 months the majority of babies start to display stranger anxiety and separation anxiety when separated from one particular adult (the biological mother in 65% of cases). This is a specific attachment, and is not necessarily the person the child spends most time with, but the one who offers the most interaction and responds to the babies ‘signals’ the most.
What is the INDISCRIMINATE stage of attachment?
From 2-7 months babies start to display more observable social behaviour. They show a preference for people over inanimate objects (smile more at them) and recognise and prefer familiar adults. Babies will usually accept cuddles and comfort from any adult, they usually do not show separation or stranger anxiety.
AO3: Stages of Attachment
High Ecological Validity
A plausible strength of Schaffer’s research is that it has high ecological validity, this is because observations were carried out in the families’ own homes during ordinary activities by the parent such as leaving the room. This makes it easier to generalise the findings to real life examples of attachment as the childrens’ behavior is likely to be representative of everyday interactions. Therefore increasing the external validity of the research in to stages of attachment/multiple attachments.
AO3: Stages of Attachment
Social desirability
However the research could be prone to social desirability bias as interviews were used to gather information, therefore the mothers could have lied about their child’s behaviour to present their parenting in the best possible light, for example they may say that the child is distressed when they leave the room even if they are not, so the results may have lacked internal validity and not measure the true stages of attachment/multiple attachments.
AO3: Stages of Attachment
Culture bias
Moreover, Schaffer’s research can also be criticised for being culture bias as the sample used were all from the same city (Glasgow). Therefore it is difficult to generalise the findings of the stages of attachment to other cultures, for example, psychologists studying non-western (Collectivist) cultures where families often work together to look after a child have found that infants can form multiple attachments from the outset without forming a specific attachment first. Limiting the external validity of the research into the stages/multiple attachments.
Which 2 researchers conducted research into the role of the father?
Grossman and Field
What was Grossman’s study?
Carried out a longitudinal study looking at both parents’ behaviour and its relationship to the quality of children’s attachment into their teens.
What was Grossman’s first finding and conclusion?
The quality of infants’ attachment with their mothers, but not their fathers, was related to the childrens’ attachments in adolescence.
Conclusion: suggesting that the fathers attachment is less important than the mothers.
What was Grossman’s second finding and conclusion?
However, the quality of father’s play with infants was related to the quality the childrens’ adolescent attachments.
Conclusion: This suggests fathers have a different role in attachment- one that is more to do with play and stimulation, and less to do with nurturing, but is still important for the child’s wellbeing.
What was the method used in Field’s study into the role of the father?
Controlled Observation
Outline the procedure of Field’s study
Field (1978) filmed 4 month old babies in face to face interactions with primary caregiver mothers, primary caregiver fathers, and secondary caregiver fathers.
What were the findings of Field’s study?
Primary caregiver fathers, like mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than the secondary caregiver fathers. This behaviour seems to be more important in building an attachment to an infant.
What was the conclusion made by Field from his study into the role of the father?
It seems that fathers can be the more nurturing attachment figure and take on a traditionally maternal role. The key to the attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent.
AO3: Role of the Father
Practical Applications
Field’s research into the role of the father in attachment has practical applications. This is because the principles of the research, by Field, that responsiveness to the child’s needs, not gender, is most important when forming attachments can be used to advise parents. Many parents make decisions about who should take on the primary caregiver role, mothers may feel pressured to stay at home because of stereotypical views of mothers’ and fathers’ roles. Equally, fathers may feel pressure to go back to work rather than focus on parenting; in some families this may not be the best option economically as the mother may earn more money. Research into the role of the father can be used to offer reassuring advice to parents; for example fathers can become a primary attachment figure. This means parental anxiety about the roles of fathers can be reduced.
AO3: Role of the Father
Traditional Gender roles
Finally, the fact that fathers tend not to become the primary attachment figure could simply be the result of traditional gender roles. On the other hand, it could be that female hormones (oestrogen) create higher levels of nurturing and therefore women are biologically predisposed to be the primary attachment figure for children. Therefore there are several explanations to consider when investigating the role of the father.
AO3: Role of the Father
Distinct Roles
However, a potential criticism is that the study by Grossman found that fathers as secondary attachment figures had an important and distinct role in their child’s development of play and stimulation. However other studies (Macallum and Golombok 2004) have shown that children growing up in single-mother or lesbian-parent families do not develop any differently from those in two parent heterosexual families. This would seem to suggest that the father’s role may not be distinct. Counter point: However, it could be argued that parents in single-mother or lesbian-parent families simply adapt to accommodate the role played by fathers. Suggesting, when a father is present they do adopt a distinctive role, but families can adapt to not having a father present.
Who studied attachment in Geese?
Lorenz
Who studied attachment in Monkeys?
Harlow
What was the aim of Lorenz’s study?
To investigate the effects of ‘imprinting’ on goslings
What was the method used in Lorenz’s study into attachment in Geese?
Field
Outline Lorenz’s procedure of attachment in geese
- Lorenz randomly divided the goose eggs.
- Half of the eggs were hatched with the mother goose in their natural environment (control group).
- The other half were hatched in an incubator where the first moving object they saw was Lorenz (experimental group).
- Lorenz recorded the behaviour of the goslings – who they imprinted on.
What were the findings of Lorenz’s research?
- The incubator group that saw Lorenz first (experimental group) imprinted upon and followed Lorenz everywhere whereas the group who saw the mother goose first (control group) imprinted upon and followed her.
- Lorenz identified a critical period (12-17 hours after hatching) in which imprinting needs to take place. If ‘imprinting’ did not occur within that time Lorenz suggests that chicks will not attach themselves to a mother figure.
- In addition, goslings who imprinted on to humans would, as adult birds, attempt to mate with humans (sexual imprinting).
What was the conclusion made my Lorenz from his study of attachment in geese?
Goslings imprint on the first moving object that they see, there is a specific time period in which this needs to take place, otherwise they will not attach/imprint.
AO3: Lorenz
Animal Bias
However, Lorenz’s research can be criticised for animal bias because it was conducted on animals (goslings) to investigate attachment. This is potentially a problem because human attachment behaviour may be more complex than animal attachment behaviour as human emotions are more sophisticated towards their offspring (babies) than birds’. For example, attachment in humans is a two way process, so it is not just the young who become attached to their mothers but also the mammalian mothers who show an emotional attachment to their young. Therefore there are issues with extrapolating the findings of Lorenz’s research in to attachment to humans.
AO3: Lorenz
Practical Application
Lorenz’s research into the effects of imprinting on attachment has practical applications. This is because the principles of the research, that goslings had to imprint within 12-17 hours otherwise they would not imprint at all and the fact that goslings who imprint on to humans later show sexual behaviour towards humans when they are adult birds shows the importance of this critical period on future relationships. (This is something which Bowlby also believed). Psychologists can use this information in order to promote the importance of early interactions between parents and infants and hopefully reduce issues later in life, therefore Lorenz’s research is an important part of applied psychology.
AO3: Lorenz
Researcher Bias
Moreover, Lorenz’s research may be criticised for researcher bias. Lorenz recorded his own observations of the birds so he may have chosen to only include findings that would support his theory of imprinting. Therefore this would lower the internal validity of the research as it may not be measuring the effects of imprinting on attachment.
What was the aim of Harlow’s study?
To investigate whether food or comfort is more important in the formation of attachments
What was the method used in Harlow’s study?
Lab
Outline the procedure of Harlow’s study
16 baby rhesus monkeys were separated from their mothers at birth and brought up in cages.
The cages contained surrogate mothers – A wire mother with milk and a cloth mother with no milk.
* The amount of time spent with mother was recorded
* The monkeys were frightened with a loud noise to test which mother they preferred when stressed
* The long term effects were recorded, such as sociability and relationships to their future offspring.
What was the sample of Harlow’s study?
16 Rhesus monkeys
What were the findings of Harlow’s study?
- Monkeys spent more time with the cloth mother than the wire mother.
- When frightened the monkeys would go to the cloth mother.
- The monkeys later in life had emotional damage such as being much more timid, being easily bullied, difficulty mating and females being inadequate mothers when they were older.
What was the conclusion made from Harlow’s research?
Contact comfort is the most important factor when forming an attachment.
AO3: Harlow
Practical application
A strength of Harlow’s research is that it has practical applications as it emphasises the importance of comfort in the formation of attachments. This finding can be used by social workers and clinical psychologists in understanding that a lack of bonding experience may be a risk factor in child development allowing them to intervene to prevent poor outcomes (Howe 1998) this research is an important part of applied psychology when explaining the formations of attachment.
AO3: Harlow
Animal Bias
However,some may argue the usefulness of this practical application may be limited as, Harlow’s research can be criticised for animal bias because it used animals (rhesus monkeys) to investigate attachment. This is potentially a problem because human attachment behaviour may be more complex than animal attachment behaviour as human emotions are more sophisticated towards their offspring (babies) than animals’. Therefore there are issues with extrapolating the findings of Harlow’s research in to attachment to humans.
