Attachment Flashcards
Attachment
A close emotional relationship between an infant and its caregiver. Attached infants show a desire to be close to their main caregiver and shows distress when separated.
Reciprocity
The word reciprocal means two-way or mutual. Reciprocity refers to a form of communication between an infant and caregiver where both are active contributors and respond to each other.
Interactional synchrony
An example of reciprocity where the infant and caregiver reflect each other’s actions and emotions in a synchronised way. They mirror what the other is doing. Psychologists have observed that infants as young as 2-3 weeks will imitate facial and hand gestures.
Meltzoff and Moore (1977) - Caregiver-infant interactions
- A controlled observation
- 2-3 week old babies saw 3 facial expressions and their response was videotaped
- Independent observers judged the infants’ response
- All infants showed some imitation of these facial expressions (interactional synchrony)
The problem with testing infant behaviour
Because infants are constantly moving their mouths and squirming it can be difficult to distinguish between general activity and specific imitated behaviours.
Rudolph Schaffer and Peggy Emerson (1964) - Glasgow baby study
- Studied 60 babies at monthly intervals for the first 18 months of life (longitudinal study)
- The children were studied in their own home
- Their interactions with there carers were observed, carers were interviewed and a diary was kept by the mother (triangulation - three methods combined to prevent bias)
The three measures recorded in the Glasgow baby study
- Stranger anxiety
- Separation anxiety
- Social referencing
Stranger anxiety
Response to the arrival of a stranger.
Separation anxiety
Distress level when separated from a carer, the degree of comfort needed on return.
Social referencing
The degree a child looks at their carer to check how they should respond to something new (secure base)
Asocial/preattachment stage (0-6 weeks)
Very young infants are asocial in that many kinds of stimuli, both social and non-social, produce a favourable reaction, such as a smile. They don’t have a preference between a human or an object so can take a liking to a person or a teddy, for example.
Indiscriminate attachments (6 weeks - 7 months)
Infants indiscriminately enjoy human company, and most babies respond equally to any caregiver. They get upset when an individual ceases to interact with them . From 3 months infants smile more at familiar faces and can be easily comfortable by a regular caregiver. At this point, babies have a preference to humans.
Specific attachment (7-9 months)
Special preference for a single attachment figure. The baby looks to particular people for security, comfort and protection. It shows fear of strangers and unhappiness when separated from a special person. Some babies show stranger fear and separation anxiety much more frequently and intensely than others, nevertheless, they are seen as evidence that the baby has formed an attachment. This has usually developed by one year of age.
Multiple attachment (10 months and onwards)
The baby becomes increasingly independent and forms several attachments to those who they see regularly. By 18 months, the majority of infants have formed multiple attachments.
Results of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
- Attachments were most likely to form with those who responded accurately to the baby’s signals, not the person they spent most time with (sensitive responsiveness)
- Intensely attached infants had mothers who responded quickly to their demands and interacted with their child
- Infants who were weakly attached had mothers who failed to interact.
- The mother was the main attachment figure for about half of the children at 18 months old and the father for most of the others.
Strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
The study has high ecological validity as the babies were observed in their own homes so their natural behaviour was observed and it was true to life. Additional triangulation (3 methods) was used to reduce bias and see the bigger picture.
Weaknesses of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
- The sample used was limited (60 children from Glasgow) and therefore the results may not be representative of everyone
- There is a risk of bias as mothers were asked to keep a diary and we cannot be certain that they were honest
- The study may be culturally bias as the study was done with babies in Glasgow and different cultures have different ways of raising children. This means that the stages may not apply everywhere.
Object permenance
When babies are first born, if a teddy is hidden under a blanket they do not get upset that the teddy is gone because they think that it doesn’t exist and won’t come back. When babies reach around 7 months, they develop object permanence so if the mother is not in the room the baby is now aware that she still exists and therefore shows signs of distress and wanting her back.
Lorenz (1935) procedure
- Imprinting
- Divided goose eggs into 2 groups
- One group was with the mother and the other was in an incubator
- Lorenz was the first moving object that the incubated geese saw when they hatched
- They started following him around
- He placed both groups in a room together with himself and the mother goose present
Lorenz (1935) Findings
- The goslings quickly divided themselves up, with the incubated goslings heading straight for Lorenz
- This imprinting behaviour is restricted to a very limited time after birth known as the critical period
- Animals imprint on the first persistently present moving object seen when born
Lorenz (1935) Long term effects
- Lorenz noted that the imprinting process is irreversible and long lasting
- Animals would also attempt to mate with the same object that they imprinted on
Harlow (1959) Procedure
- 2 wire mother monkeys, one was a feeding mother which dispensed milk and another a cloth mother wrapped in soft cloth
- He observed the infant monkeys’ responses to being frightened by a mechanical bear
Harlow (1959) Findings
- All of the monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth mother even though it didn’t feed them
- After feeding, monkeys quickly returned to the cloth mother
- The monkeys clung to the cloth mother when frightened
- Concluded that infants do not develop an attachment to those who provide them with food
- Critical period for attachment in monkeys was 90 days and the effects could be reversed if they were replaced in a normal environment before this time
Harlow (1959) Long term effects
- Harlow continued to study the monkeys as they grew up and noted several negative consequences
- They experienced social and sexual abnormalities
Strength of Lorenz’s study
- A number of other studies have demonstrated imprinting in animals
- Guilton (1966) demonstrated chicks exposed to yellow rubber gloves while being fed in the first few weeks, became imprinted on the gloves
Weakness of Lorenz’s study
- Guilton found that he could reverse imprinting in chickens
- Chickens were able to engage in normal sexual behaviour with other chickens
- There is some dispute over the characteristics of imprinting
- Ethical issues - geese wouldn’t survive in the wild and they might have problems reproducing
Strengths of Harlow’s study
- It is supported in human research - babies attach to those that meet their emotional needs
- Harlow’s research changed the way people viewed the importance of emotional care
Weaknesses to Harlow’s study
- The two stimulus objects varied in more ways than being cloth covered or not e.g. the cloth mother had a more realistic face
- Ethical issues - lasting emotional harm as monkeys later found it difficult to form relationships
Learning theory
- Attachment is a set of learned behaviours
- The basis for the attachment is the provision of food
- An infant will initially form an attachment to whoever feeds it
- The infant learns to associate the food with the feeder and gradually feels pleasure when in contact with them even if they aren’t providing food
- Classical conditioning
Bowlby’s evolutionary theory
- Babies come into the world biologically pre-programmed to make attachments with others in order to survive
- Crying and smiling are innate social releaser behaviours that stimulate caregiving from adults
- Care and responsiveness determines attachment not food
- A child would initially form one attachment that would act as a secure base for exploring the world
- The first attachment acts as a template for all future relationships
Social releasers
Behaviours that cause caregiving e.g. crying and smiling
Monotropy
One special attachment
Internal working model
The first attachment acts as a template for all future relationships
Weaknesses of learning theory
- Counter evidence from animal research. Lorenz’s study shows that imprinting happens before feeding so food is not involved in attachment. Harlow’s study demonstrated that food is not the basis of attachment as monkeys were attached to the soft cloth mother.
- Counter evidence from human research. Schaffer and Emerson found that babies attached to those who responded to their needs most effectively not necessarily the person who fed them.
Strengths of learning theory
- Some elements of conditioning could be involved in attachment behaviour. It is probable that feeling warm and comfortable is the UCS when being held by an adult.
- Social learning theory states that children learn behaviours like hugging by observing and imitating others.
Strength of Bowlby’s theory
- Supported by research
- Lorenz shows that attachment is innate and happens immediately after hatching so there is no time for learning
- Harlow’s monkeys were aggressive and unsociable later in life which demonstrates issues with the internal working model
- Hazan and Shaver (1987) love quiz - found characteristic patterns for later romantic behaviour which were associated with the quality of infant attachment so this supports the internal working model.
