attachment Flashcards
what is attachment
a close emotional bond between 2 people that is characterized by mutual affection, a desire to maintain proximity and key behaviours. it is a process that endures over time
what is needed for an attachment to form
consistency of care, quality care, sensitivity, sight and hearing (not barriers but could slow it down (blind or deaf))
what are the ways children show they are attached (6)
proximity seeking
separation protest
pleasure at reunion
secure base effect
stranger anxiety
general orientation of behaviour towrads carer
what is general orientation of behaviour towards carer
carer will be the focus more than other people
what is the secure base effect
willingness to explore the environement when carer is near. infant will casually check that the carer is still in sight.
demonstrates social development as the infant will read the carers facial expressions to check that it is safe to continue eg approach strangers
why is interactional synchrony a thing
survival and evolutionary sense
what is reciprocity
refers to coordination pf actions (nonverbal) like a conversation,
taking it in turns between the infant and the carer which will elicit responses.
it is important as it allows the carer to learn more about their behaviour eg tell the difference between a happy and sad cry, allowing them to respond accordingly.
it is a foundation for attachment
what is interactional synchrony
refers to the infant imitating the carer through nonverbal communication like tongue protrusion. the infant mirrors the carers facial and body movements (emotional and behavioural)
this is an innate behaviour concluded by the meltzoff and moore study as it was not a learned behaviour
what was the aim of the MM study
to investigate interactional synchrony in infants. this was the first systematical investigation of IS
what was the procedure of the MM study
2-3 week old infants had models present stimuli eg tongue protrusion. independent judges watched footage of the infants behaviours without looking at the models
what were the findings of the MM study
the infants imitated the behaviour from the models
what are the 5 evaluation points for the MM study
problems in testing infant behaviour
challenges to the study (failure to replicate)
intentionality of the infants response
how the type of attachment impacts the interaction
importance of the study
explain some of the problems with testing infant behaviour (eval)
and how did MM overcome it
their mouths are always moving so it can be difficult to distinguish their response from their natural movements/general activity and specific imitated behaviours
lack of consistency in responses=lack of reliability
so MM filmed them and then asked independent observer to judge the infants behaviour. the observer didnt know what behaviour was being imitated, this increases the internal VALIDITY
why does the koepke study challenge mm and how did MM counterargue it
eval
they had different findings/failed to replicate MMs findings which threats MM so MM counterargued that their experiment was less carefully controlled.
how has the intentionality of the infants behaviour been tested
one study used inanimate objects (1 simulating tongue movements, 1 opening and closing mouth)
ages 5-12 weeks made little response > suggesting that they only make specific social responses (social development) to humans and dont imitate to just anything they see.
which validates MM (IS leads to attachment)
what can the difference of the infant carer interaction have on the attachment (linc to attach type)
individual differences eval
more strongly attached display more IS so its the basis of relationships and attachment (close synchrony and close attachment)
infants that display a lot of imitation have a better quality relationship with carer at 3 months
BUT that research doesnt establish cause and effect eg baby might be born with stronger attachment making abilities
doesnt say whether imitation is a cause of effect of early synchrony
what was the procedure of the glasgow babies studies
60 babies from generally working class families
5-23 weeks
studied until 1 yr old
mothers were visited every 4 weeks
each time they reported the infants response to separation in 7 everyday situations
they described the intensity of their protest on a 4 point whimper scale
and whom the protest was directed at
stranger anxiety was measured towards the interviewer at each visit also
what were the findings of the glasgow babies study
25-32 weeks about 50% showed signs of separation anxiety to a particular adult
this tended to be a caregiver that was the most interactive and sensitive to the infants signals and facial expressions Babies formed stronger attachments if caregivers displayed high sensitive responsiveness.
Evidence for the four stages of attachment.
87% of babies formed attachments with two or more caregivers.
babies main attachment figure wasnt alqays teh main caregiver
what age is the indiscriminate attachment (asocial stage)
birth-2months
what age is the presocial beginnings of attachments phase
2-4months
what age is the specific discriminate attachments phase
4-7months
what age is the multiple attachments phase
7-9 months
describe the asocial stage
similar response to all objects then greater to humans towards the end
R + IS play a role in developing attachments
describe the presocial stage
seek attention from a number of people and generally content when they receive it, may not yet show stranger anxiety
