attachment Flashcards
what is attachment
a close emotional bond between two people charachterised by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity
a two way process that endures over time
how do children show they are attached/ attachment behaviours
proximity seeking
separation protest
pleasure at reunion
secure base effect
stranger anxierty
general orientation of behaviour towards carer
proximity seeking
desire to be physically close to the carer and anxiety when cant be
separation protest
distress at seperation from carer
pleasure at reunion
quickly settled upon being reunited with carer
secure base effect
willingness to explore enviornment when carer is near
infant will usually check regularly that carer is still in sight and will demonstrate social referencing ie reading facial expressions of the carer to see if its safe to continue
stranger anxiety
distress at stranger interaction (although strangers can have a novelty factor and in a safe environment infants may approach a stranger)
general orientation of behaviour towards carer
carer will be the focus eg pointing things out to the carer more than other people
what are the two caregiver infant interactions
reciprocity
interactional synchrony
aim of meltzoff and moore’s study
controlled laboratory observation
to investigate infant-carer interactions- interactional synchrony
procedure of meltzoff and moore
adult model presented one of 3 facial expressions- tongue protrusion, mouth opening and lip protrusion and hand opening
infants expressions monitored
independent observers who hadnt seen what the models were doing judged infants behaviours on basis of specific categories; mouth opening, termination of mouth opening, tongue protrusion and termination of tongue protrusion
findings of meltzoff and moore
infants of 2-3 weeks old imitated the facial and hand expressions of models
what did Murray and Trevarthen find about interactional synchrony
infants and mothers interacted via video monitor and infants saw a video of the mother- mother wasnt responding to infants movements or gestures
infants became distressed which suggests they were actively seeking a response from the mother rather than just giving a response that has previously been rewarded
supports meltzoff and moore that interactional synhcorny is innate
interactional synchrony
when two people interact they tend to mirror what the other is doing in terms of their facial and body movements- this includes imitating emotions as well as behaviours
this is described as synchrony when two or more things move in the same pattern
reciprocity
responding to the action of another with a similar action, where the actions of one elicit a response from the partner
the responses are not necessarily similar as in interactional synchrony
how does Keopke challenge the findings of Meltzoff and Moore
failed to replicate research by Meltzoff and Moore
however m and m argued it was because it was less carefully controlled
evaluation of meltzoff and moore- what is a problem with testing infant behaviour
expressions tested occur frequently- tongue sticking out, yawning, smiling
this maks it difficult to distinguish between general activity and specific imitated behaviours
what theory looks at how attachment between infant and carer develops
stages in the development of attachment theory
Glasgow Babies- Schaffer and Emerson
what was the aim of the glasgow babies study
an investigation into the development of infant attachments
procedure of schaffer and emerson
longitudinal study of 60 babies from working class area of glasgow
start- infants ranged from 5 to 23 weeks
infants studies until age of 1
mothers visited every 4 weeks
at each visit mother reported infants response to separation in 7 everyday situations eg being left alone in a seperate room
mother asked to describe intensity of any protest- rated on a 4 point scale
stranger anxiety measured by assessing infants response to interviewer at each visit
findings of the glasgow babies study
between 25 and 32 weeks 50% of babies showed signs if seperation anxiety towards a particular adult- usually mother whoch shows a specific attachment
attachment tended to be to the caregiver who was most interactive and sensitive to infant signals and a=facial expressions
multiple attachment
having more than one attachment figure
primary attachment figure
the person who has formed the closest bond with a child, demonstrated by the intensity of the relationship
usually a chlds biological mother
separation anxiety
the distress shown by an infant when seperated from his/her caregiver
stranger anxiety
the distress shown by an infant when approached or picked by someone who is unfamiliar
what are the different stages of attachment
indiscriminate attachments
the begginings of attachment
discriminate attachment
multiple attachments
indiscriminate attachments
from birth-2 months infant produces similar responses to all objects- animate or inanimate
towards end- show greater preference for social stimuli - smiling face
reciprocity and interactional synchrony are involved in establishing infants relationship with others
the begginings of attachment
2-4 months
4 months- infant becomes more social
prefer human company to inanimate objects and can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people
no stranger anxiety
general sociability
discriminate attachments
4-7 months
by 7 months infants show separation anxiety
joy at reuinion wih particular person- formed their primary attachment figure
shows stranger anxiety
multiple attachments
7-9 months
after main attachment made the infant develops a wider circle of multiple attachments
conclusion of schaffer and emersons glasgow babies study
attachment devellops in stages with different behaviours exhibited at different stages
led to stages of attachment theory
how does schaffer and emersons study lack internal validity
some mothers may have been more sensitive to infants protests and reported them more than those less sensitive- challenges internal validity and basis of stage theory
social desirability bias may also be an issue- tendancy to under report socially undesirable attitudes and behaviours and to only report more desirable attributes
how does culture bias limit schaffer and emersons study
stage theory based in the uk- a individualist culture
collectivist cultures where children cared for in communities eg Kibbutz Israel found children less likely to show close attcachment to a parent
lacks cross cultural validity
what factors affect the relationship between fathers and children
degree of sensitivity
type of attachment with own parents
marital intimacy
supportive co parenting
degree of sensitivity
more secure attachments to their children are found in fathers who show more sensitivity to childrens needs
type of attachment with own parents
single parent fathers tend to form similar attachments with their children that they had with their own parents
marital intimacy
the degree of intimacy a father has within his relationship with his partner affects the type of attachment he will have with his children
supportive co parenting
the amount of support a father gives to his partner in helping to care for children affects the type of attachment he will have with his children
what did Geiger find about the role of the father
fathers play interactions are more exciting and pleasurable than mothers
mothers are more nurturing and affectionate- supports idea of fathers being playmates rather than caregivers
what did Lamb 1987 find about the role of the father
children prefer interacting with fathers when in a posotive emotional state- seeking stimulation- mothers preferred when children are distressed and seeking comfort- supports idea of fathers being preffered as playmates but only in certain conditions
also found that fathers who become main care providers seem to be able to quickly develop more sensitivity to childrens needs and become a safe base from which to explore which suggests sensitive responsiveness isnt a biological ability limited to women
what did Brown find about the role of the father
assessed attachment patterns in 68 families with infants aged 12-13 months and found high levels of supportive co parenting related to secure attachment types between infants and fathers but not between infants and mothers- suggests supportive co parenting is important for fathers in developing posotive attachments with their children
what did Pederson find to evaluate the role of the father
children who grow up without fathers have been seen to do less well at school and have higher levels of risk taking and aggression especially in boys- suggests fathers can help prevent negative developmental outcomes
Pederson pointed out that most studies focused on female single mothers from poor socio economic backgrounds- so it may be a social factor related to poverty that produces these outcomes not the absence of fathers
who looked at animal studies of attachment
Lorenz
Harlow
what did Harlow study
mechanisms by which newborn rhesus monkeys bond with their mothers
infants were highly dependent on their mothers for nutrition, comfort and socialisation
what was the basis of the rhesus monkeys attachment to their mothers
behavioural theory would suggest an infant would form an attachment with a caregiver that provides food
harlows explanation was that attachment develops as a result of the mother providing ‘tactile comfort’ suggesting infants have an innate (biological) need to touch and cling to something for emotional comfort
what was the procedure of Harlows monkeys experiment
two wire monkeys- one with milk and one with cloth
8 monkeys useed to see which one they would spend most time with
scared the monkey and put it into a different environment with lots of stimuli
findings of Harlows monkeys experiment
monkeys spent most time with the cloth covered mother
when frightened all monkeys clung to the cloth covered mother
]attachment behaviour was demonstrated towards the cloth mother when frightened
conclusions of harlows monkeys
attachment is based off contact comfort
what is a limitation of Harlows monkeys study
problem with using non human animals in research
their cognitive capacity differs from humans- is it appropriate to generalise the research from findings
how can confounding variables be used to criticise harlows monkeys study
confounding variable- any variable that hasnt been controlled for and may influence the findings- affects internal validity
lab experiment- highly controlled
what did Lorenz investigate
the evolutionary explanation of attachment suggesting infants are pre programmed to form attachments from the second they are born
aim of lorenzs study
to investigate the mechanisms of imprinting where youngsters follow and form an attachment to the first large moving object they meet
procedure of lorenzs study
split greylag goose eggs into two batches
one hatched naturally with mother and other in an incubator- lorenz being first moving object they saw
goslings behaviour recorded
marked goslings so he knew whih had hatched in incubator and which had natched naturally
placed goslings in upturned box and released them and behaviour was recorded
findings of Lorenz
after birth naturally hatched baby goslings followed their mother whilst incubator hatched goslings followed Lorenz- showed no bond to natural mother
bonds proved to be irreversible
process of imprinting occured a short time after birth- between 4 and 25 hours
conclusion of lorenzs study
imprinting is a form of attachment exhibited mainly by nidifugous birds- ones who have to leave the nest early - contact is kept with the first large moving object encountered
imprinting definition
an innate readiness to develop a strong bond with the mother (carer) which takes place during a specific time in development- 48 hours according to Lorenz
he said if it didnt happen then it never would
what is a strength of lorenzs study
findings have been highly influential within developmental psychology
eg the fact that imprinting is seen to be irreversible suggests attachment formation is under biological control and attachment formation happens within a specific time frame
lead to developmental psychologists (Bowlby) develop well recognised theories of attachment suggesting attachment formation takes place during a critical period and is a biological process- such theories have been highly influential in the way child care is administered today
explanations for attachment
learning theory (a behaviourist approach)
Bowlbys monotropy theory (an evolutionary approach)
fundamental belief of learning theory of attachment
all behaviour is learned
attachment is a learned behaviour- as opposed to it being innate
behavioursists believe food is gthe basis of attachment and can be explained therough classical and operant conditioning
classical conditioning
learning occurs through association
mother becomes associated with food=pleasure