Attachment Flashcards
What is reciprocity in caregiver-infant interactions?
each person responds and elicits a response from them - essential to any conversation
- eg mothers spend a lot of time in intense and highly pleasurable interactions and respond to a baby’s smile by saying something and in turn elicits a response from the baby
What are alert phases?
- babies have periodic alert phases in which they signal they’re ready for interaction
- mothers pick up these signals 2/3 of the time and from around 3 months it becomes increasingly frequent
-eg eye contact , verbal signals, face expressions etc
What is active involvement?
Both caregiver and baby can initiate interactions and take turns doing so.
( contrary to traditional views that portrays babies in a passive role)
What is interactional synchrony?
caregiver and baby reflect both actions and emotions of the other and do this in a coordinated (synchronised) way
What research was done into when synchrony begins? (study)
Andrew Meltzoff and Keith Moore (1977) observed start of interactional synchrony in babies as young as 2 weeks old.
- an adult displayed 1/3 facial expressions or 1/3 distinctive gestures
- baby’s response was filmed and labelled by independent observers
Babies expressions and gestures were more likely to mirror those of adults than predicted- there was SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATION
What was the research done on the importance for attachment?
- Russel Isabella et al observed 30 mothers and babies together and assessed the degree of synchrony
- researchers also assessed quality of mother-baby attachment…
they found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-baby attachment (eg emotional intensity of relationship)
How to recognise attachment?
Proximity- people try to stay physically close to their attachment figure
Separation distress- showing signs of anxiety when an attachment figure is absent
Secure-base behaviour - often making regular contact with attachment figures eg when babies return to their attachment figure while playing
What is a strength for caregiver-infant interactions?
P- Caregiver infant interactions are usually filmed in a lab
E- This means that other activity that might distract a baby can be controlled. Also using films means that observations can be recorded and analysed later so it’s unlikely researchers will miss seeing key behaviours. Furthermore, having filmed interactions means that more than one observer can record data and establish inter-rater reliability of observations. Finally, babies don’t know they’re being observed so their behaviour doesn’t change in respond to observation.
L- Therefore the data collected in such research should have good reliability and validity.
What is a limitation of research into caregiver infant interactions?
P- One limitation of research into caregiver infant interactions is that it’s hard to interpret a baby’s behaviour.
E- Young babies lack coordination and are mostly immobile. The movements being observed are just small hand movements or subtle changes in expression so it’s difficult to be sure eg whether baby’s smiling or just passing wind. It’s also difficult to determine what’s taking place from baby’s perspective eg if hand twitch is random or triggered by something caregiver has done.
L- This means we can’t be certain behaviour seen in caregiver infant interactions have a special meaning.
Another limitation of caregiver infant interaction research?
P- A further limitation is that simply observing behaviour doesn’t tell us its developmental importance.
E- Ruth Feldman points out that ideas like synchrony simply give names to patterns of observable caregiver and baby behaviours. These are strong phenomena in the sense that they can be reliably observed but still may not be particularly useful in understanding child development as it doesn’t tell us purpose of these behaviours.
L- This means we can’t be certain from observational research alone that reciprocity and synchrony are important for a child’s development.
Counterpoint to limitation that observation doesn’t tell us importance in development
P- There’s evidence from other lines of research to suggest that early interactions are important.
E- eg Isabella et al found that achievement of interactional synchrony predicted the development of good quality attachment.
L- This means that caregiver infant interaction is probably important in development.
What was the procedure of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
They conducted a LONGITUDINAL study on 60 Glaswegian infants over the first 18 months of their life.
- they visited the children at monthly intervals in their own homes and observed their interactions with their caregivers
-caregivers were interviewed about infants behaviour
Evidence for development of an attachment was that the baby showed separation anxiety after a carer left or distress around strangers ( stranger anxiety)
What were the results of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
- 25-32 weeks old ( 50% had separation anxiety)
- at approx 40 weeks 80% had specific attachment and 30% had other attachments
- at 33-36 weeks old they had high amount of stranger anxiety
Conclusion- data shows there are four distinct stages of development of infant attachment behaviour and this happens gradually in first 18 months of their lives.
What is the stages of attachment?
- Asocial stage
- Indiscriminate attachment
3.specific attachment
4.multiple attachments
What is the asocial stage?
(0-6 weeks) form basis of later attachments
-infants can form bonds with anyone and inanimate objects
-they can show signs of preference to some (familiar) people and are more easily comforted by them
-their behaviour towards humans are similar to inanimate objects
What is the indiscriminate attachment stage?
(6 weeks-7 months)
- don’t show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety
- display more clear preference for other humans rather than inanimate objects
-accept cuddles/comfort from anyone
What is the specific attachment stage?
(7-9 months)
- display classic signs of attachment towards one particular person (primary caregiver)eg stranger and separation anxiety
Primary caregiver- who offers most interaction and responds to signals with the most skill
What is the multiple attachments stage?
(10-18 months old)
- extend attachment behaviour to other people who they regularly spend time with
- secondary attachments eg Schaffer and Emerson observed that 29% of children formed secondary attachment within a month of forming a primary attachment
-By 1 years old majority have multiple attachments
What is a strength of the stages of attachment research?
P- One strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s research is that it has good external validity.
E- Most of the observations were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to the researchers rather than the alternative which would be to have researchers present to record observations that may have distracted the baby or made them feel anxious .
L- This means that it’s highly likely that the participants behaved naturally while being observed.
What is the counterpoint to the strength that most observations were made by parents not researchers in the home?
P- On the other hand,there are issues with mothers being the ‘observers’ as they were unlikely to be objective as they may have been biased in terms of what they noticed and what E- they reported eg may not have noticed when their baby was showing signs of anxiety or may have misremembered it.
L- This means that even if babies behaved naturally their behaviour may not have been accurately recorded.
What is a limitation of Schaffer and Emerson’s stages?
P- One limitation of Schaffer and Emerson’s stages is the lack of generalisability.
E- They only looked at a narrow sample of people from Glasgow from the same social class, and we can’t generalise this to other cultures. For example, in collectivist cultures, multiple attachments from an early age is more than the norm
L- As they only looked at one sample, which had unique features in terms of cultural and historical context and findings can’t be applied to other cultures or in modern day.
What is a strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s stages? ( daycare)
P- Another strength of Schaffer and Emerson stages is that they have real world application in daycare, (non-family adult).
E- In the asocial and indiscriminate attachment stages daycare is likely to be straightforward as babies can be comforted by any skilled adults. However, the research tells us that starting daycare may be problematic during the specific attachment stage.
L-This means that parents use of daycare can be planned, using schaffer and Emerson stages
What is the baby’s attachment to fathers?
Fathers are much less likely to become babies first attachment figure compared to mothers
- Schaffer and Emerson found that in only 3% of cases the father was the first sole object of attachment
- In 27% of cases the father was the joint first object of attachment
- most fathers later go on to become important attachment figures as 75% of the babies Schaffer studied became attached to fathers by 18 months as they protested when their father walked away
Do fathers have a distinctive role? +study
Grossman et al carried out a longitudinal study where babies attachment was studied until teens and looked at both parents behaviour and its relationship to the quality of attachment to other people later on.
- quality of a baby’s attachment with mothers but not fathers was related to attachments in adolescence which suggest attachment to fathers is less important than mothers.
However Grossman also found that the quality of fathers play with babies was related to the quality of adolescent attachments suggesting fathers have a different role from mothers more to do with play and stimulation and less to do with emotional development.
What happens when fathers become primary attachment figures? +study
There is some evidence to suggest they are able to adopt the emotional role more typically associated with mothers.
Tiffany Field filmed 4 month old babies in face to face with primary caregiver mothers,secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers.
- primary caregiver fathers spent more time smiling,imitating and holding babies than secondary caregiver fathers ( all part of reciprocity and interactional synchrony part of process of attachment formation)
Fathers have potential to be more emotion focused primary attachment figure and can provide responsiveness required for close emotional attachment but perhaps only express this when given role of primary caregiver.
What is a limitation to the research into the role of the father?
P- One limit of research into the role of the father is lack of clarity over the question being asked.
E- The role of the father in context of attachment is more complicated than it sounds as some researchers are concerned with the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures and others with fathers as primary attachment figures. Some have found fathers have a distinct role and others found fathers can take on a maternal role.
L- This makes it difficult to offer a simple answer to the role of the father as it depends on what specific role is discussed.
What is another limitation to the role of the father research? (Methodology)
P- Findings vary according to the methodology used.
E- Longitudinal studies such as that of Grossman et Al have suggested that fathers as secondary attachment figures have an important and distinct role in children’s development, involving play and stimulation. However we would then expect single mother and lesbian parent families would turn out in some way different from those in 2 parent heterosexual families. In fact studies consistently show that these children don’t develop differently.
L- This means that the question as to whether fathers have a distinctive role remains unanswered.
What is a counterpoint to the limit that findings vary?
P- These different lines of research may not be in conflict
E- It could be that fathers typically take on distinctive roles in 2 parent families but that parents in single mother and lesbian parent families simply adapt to accommodate roles played by fathers.
L- This means that the question of a distinctive role for fathers is clear as when present fathers tend to adopt a distinctive role but families can adapt to not having a father.
What is a strength to the research for the role of fathers?
P- It can be used to offer advice to parents.
E- Parents and retrospective parents sometimes need help on decisions like who should be the primary caregiver and mothers may feel pressured to stay at home because of stereotypical views of mothers and fathers roles. Equally, fathers may feel more pressured to focus on work rather than parenting. Research and be used to offer reassuring advice to parents eg heterosexual parents can be informed that fathers are quire capable of becoming primary attachment figures and let other lesbian parent and single mother families know it doesn’t affect a child’s development if father isn’t present.
L- This means that parental anxiety about role of fathers can be reduced.
What was the procedure of Lorenz’s research into imprinting?
-He set up a classic experiment in which he randomly divided a large clutch of goose eggs. -Half hatched with mother in natural environment and other half in the incubator where the first moving object they saw was Lorenz.
- Lorenz also investigated the relationship between imprinting and adult mate preferences
What did Lorenz find when researching imprinting?
- The incubator group followed Lorenz everywhere whereas the control group followed the mother even when groups were mixed up
- Lorenz identified a critical period in which imprinting needs to take place depending on species and if it doesn’t Lorenz found that chicks didn’t attach to a mother figure
- In sexual imprinting he observed that birds that I printed on a human would often later display courtship behaviour towards humans
- In a case study, a peacock saw a giant tortoise moving first and later only displayed courtship behaviour towards them and had undergone sexual imprinting.
What was the procedure for Harlows research into attachment?
He tested the idea that a soft object serves some of the functions of the mother and observed that newborns kept alone in a bare cage often died but usually survived if riven something soft to cuddle.
- he reared 16 baby monkeys with 2 wire model mothers and the plain wire one dispensed milk and so did the cloth covered mother.
- also followed monkeys who had been deprived of real mothers (maternal deprivation)
What did Harlow find in his research into the monkeys?
- baby monkeys cuddled the cloth covered mother in preference to the plain wire mother and sought comfort when scared by noisy mechanical teddy bear regardless of which mother dispensed milk
- contact comfort was more important to them than food when it came to attachment behaviour
- monkeys with maternal deprivation were the most dysfunctional (plain wire) but those with cloth covered mother didn’t develop normal social behaviour eg unskilled at mating,more aggressive,neglected kids and sometimes killed them
- also found the critical period = within 90 days for attachment to form and effects were irreversible after
What is one strength of Lorenz’s research?
P- existence of support for the concept of imprinting
E- There is a study that supports Lorenz’s idea of imprinting in which chicks were exposed to simple shape combinations that moved eg triangle with rectangle in front. A range of shape combinations were then moved in front of them and they followed the original most closely.
L- This supports the view that young animals are born with an innate mechanism to imprint on a moving objects present in critical period as predicted by Lorenz.
What is a limitation of Lorenz’s research?
P- One limit of Lorenz’s studies is the ability to generalize findings and conclusion from birds to humans.
E- The mammalian attachment system is quite different and more complex than that in birds. For example, in mammals attachment is a two way process as mothers also show an emotional attachment to their young.
L- This means that it’s probably not appropriate to generalize Lorenz’s ideas to humans.
What is a strength of Harlows research into the monkeys?
P- It has important real world applications.
E- It has helped social workers and clinical psychologists understand that a lack of bonding experience may be a risk factor in child development allowing them to intervene to prevent poor outcomes. We also now understand the importance of attachment figures for baby monkeys un zoos and breeding programs in the wild.
L- This means that the value of Harlows research isn’t just theoretical but also practical.
What is a limitation of Harlows research?
P- The ability to generalize findings and conclusions from monkeys to humans.
E- Rhesus monkeys are much more similar humans than Lorenz’s birds and all mammals share some common attachment behaviour however the human brand and human behaviour is still more complex than that of monkeys.
L- This means that it may not be appropriate to generalize Harlows findings to humans.
Extra eval for Harlow and Lorenz’s research?
- Harlows research caused severe and long term distress to the monkeys but findings have important theoretical and practical applications.
- There have been some ideas that imprinting explains human behaviour eg computer users form attachment to their first computer operating system leading them to reject others,
What did Dollard and Miller propose as an explanation of attachment through classical conditioning?
Learning theory (cupboard love) - idea based on infants learning to attach to food and the attachment figure as the provider of food through classical conditioning ( learning to associate 2 stimuli so learn to respond to one as they do to the other)
- UCS (food) > UCR (baby feels pleasure)
- NS (carer) + UCS (food) > UCR ( pleasure)
- CS (carer) > CR (pleasure)
When the caregiver provides food they become associated with the food so it builds the expectation of food when baby sees them. Once conditioning has taken place the sight of the caregiver produces a conditioned response of pleasure (considered love) attachment is formed and caregiver becomes an attachment figure.
