Attachment Flashcards
How did Schaffer and Emerson identify the stages of attachment?
60 newborns and mothers from Glasgow. Observations and interviews, measured separation protest (6-8 months) and stranger anxiety (1 month later).
Direct observations from mothers - bias
Mundane realism high
High validity
What is attachment?
Close emotional relationship between people.
What is interactional synchrony?
Coordinated rhythmic exchanges.
How are attachment bonds characterised and maintained?
Infant’s desire to be close to a certain person. Develop and maintain bond:
Interactional synchrony, reciprocity, contact, mimicking, caregiverese.
What are Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment?
- Asocial - no preference
- Indiscriminate - can distinguish people, easy comfort
- Specific - protest if separated from PCG and stranger anxiety
- Multiple - attach to others - some stronger. For different purposes and no limit.
What is the role of the father?
Males = biologically unsuitable (not). Changes in society - single parents. Can develop sensitive responsiveness needed.
Marital intimacy, co-parenting, attachment to own parents affect their attachment with infant.
Geiger suggests mother’s relationship = nurturing and father is focused around play.
How did Lorenz study attachment?
Divided clutch of greylag goose eggs. 1 with mother, 1 in incubator - followed him like mother. When both in box and box removed, ran to respective ‘mothers’.
Imprinting = 13-16 hours after hatching. Occurs in critical period.
What are evaluation points for Lorenz?
- biological process
- after critical period, too late to imprint
- extrapolation issues to humans
- human attachments take longer
How did Harlow study attachment?
Wire mother with food and cloth mother without. Amount of time with each recorded. Monkeys frightened of loud noise - stress reactions.
Mostly with cloth mother - priorities comfort especially when scared.
What are evaluation points for Harlow?
- affected development
- social and emotional disturbance
- lab experiment
- not generalise
- unethical
- low ecological validity as isolated
- no consent
How can conditioning explain attachment?
CC - food = natural pleasure. Association formed with mother + food.
OC - Dollard and Miller - babies want to remove hunger discomfort so negative reinforcement with food. Learn attachment.
What are evaluation points for LT explanations for attachment?
- lots of scientific support but animals
- reductionist
- Schaffer and Emerson had 1/2 mothers as PAF
- other theories
What is Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
Idea that infants have inbuilt tendency to make initial attachment with 1 figure, usually mother.
What are the stages of Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
- Attachment explained by evolution - social releasers to increase survival chances.
- Critical period - time period attachment must form.
- Monotropy - form 1 main attachment.
- Internal working model - template for future relationships based on PAF. Continuity hypothesis.
What are evaluation points for Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
- support from Harlow
- need to attach - against monotropy
- mixed evidence for critical period
- low temporal validity
- multiple attachments form
- Bowlby says attachment = hierarchy