attachment Flashcards
what are the types of infant-caregiver interactions?
- Attachment
- Reciprocity
- Interactional Synchrony
what is attachment?
where infants and caregivers develop deep and lasting emotional bonds - both members seek closeness and feel more secure with the other
what is reciprocity?
similar to a conversation, this is a mutual turn-taking form of interaction - both infant and caregiver interact by responding to each others signals and cues
what is interactional synchrony?
a simultaneous interaction between infant and caregiver who act rhythmically with coordinated behaviour and matching emotions
what is imitation?
where an infant directly copies the caregiver’s expression
what is sensitive responsiveness?
where the caregiver correctly interprets the meaning of the infant’s communication and is urged to respond appropriately
what are the strengths for infant-caregiver interactions?
-Meltzoff & Moore (an experimenter displayed facial features such as sticking tounge out to 12-21 day year olds and found they could observe and reciprocate through imitation)
- Condon & Sander (videotaped interactions with adults and newborns focusing on their response to adult’s speech. Finding evidence of interactional synchrony)
- many studies used multiple observers to provide inter-rater reliability and use of camera systems to document and slow down behaviours provides high internal validity
what are the weaknesses of infant-caregiver interaction?
- infants cannot directly communicate their thoughts or emotions making findings in this research based of Inferences which are unscientific
- social sensitivity is a concern when investigating childrearing techniques including norms around caregiver-infant interactions as some people may find their life choices criticised
what are the stages of attachment?
identified by Schaffer:
- Stage 1 (the asocial stage)
- Stage 2 (indiscriminate attachment)
- Stage 3 (specific attachment)
- Stage 4 (Multiple attachments)
what is the asocial stage?
- 0-6 weeks
- babies display innate behaviours (crying/smiling) that ensure proximity to any potential caregiver
- anyone can comfort them
- they do not prefer any individual caregiver
what is indiscriminate attachment?
- 6 weeks-7 months
- develop the ability to tell the difference between familiar and strangers
- they smile more at familiar people
what is specific attachment?
- 7-9 months
- babies form a strong attachment to a primary caregiver (most often the mother)
- separation anxiety and stranger anxiety develop
what is multiple attachments?
- 9/10+ months
- starts to form attachments with other regular caregivers
stranger anxiety begins to decrease
what are the strengths of the stages of attachment?
- Schaffer conducted a longitudinal study of 60 working class babies in Glasgow (found separation anxiety started around 35-32 weeks and stranger anxiety a month later. after 18 months 87% developed multiple attachments)
- the observation was done in the families homes which increases the mundane realism
what are the weaknesses of the stages of attachment?
- the study has low generalisability or temporal validity as it was only working class families in 1960’s Glasgow
what did schaffer identify about the father?
after 18 months 75% of infants had an attachment with their father - showing separation anxiety
what does Active Play mean in the role of the father?
fathers often engage in active play activities more than mothers - is thought to encourage risk taking behaviours
what happens when the father is the Primary Caregiver?
their interactional style changes to be more like mothers - increasing capacity for sensitive responsiveness
strengths of the Role of the Father
- Field (found fathers focused more on game playing and less on holding and PCG fathers showed more sensitive response behaviours like a mother)
- Verissimo (found a strong attachment to the father was the best predictor of the ability to make friends in school suggesting fathers play a key role in socialisation)
weaknesses of the Role of the Father
- socially sensitive (theories argue the role of the mother cannot be replaced by the father e.g. Bowlby. meaning motherless families cannot fully provide the needs for infants)
- economic implication (research could lead to legislation about maternity and paternity leave which could reduce the number of people in the workforce)
what is Learning theory?
Dolland and Miller theory of Cupboard love is based of learning theory and it argues that infants become attached to their caregiver because they provide food
what is classical conditioning in Learning theory?
- food (UCS) and produces pleasure (UCR)
- as the mother always is present at feeding she becomes associated with the pleasure of feeding making her change from the NS to the CS
what is operant conditioning in Learning theory?
- positive reinforcement (when the parent feeds a crying baby the baby is likely to repeat the crying to get food)
- negative reinforcement (the parent will feed the baby to avoid the punishment of them crying)
strengths of Learning theory
- is has face validity (it makes sense that babies cry more when it gains them attention and food)
- the behaviourist principles (are backed up a long history of well controlled research like Pavlov and Skinner)
limitations of Learning theory
- Harlow (rejects the cupboard love theory as infant monkeys became attached to a cloth mother that did not provide milk rather than the wire mother that did)
- reductionist (most parents would say their relationship with their kids is more complicated than the result of simplistic stimulus associations)