attachment

Question 1

what is attachment

Answer 1

close two-way emotional relationships between two individuals where they feel like each other are essential for their emotional security

Question 1

how do we recognise attachment

Answer 1

• Proximity-if they are physically close
• Separation distress-they are distressed when attachment figure leaves their presence
• Secure-base behaviour- make regular contact with our attachment figure. Even when playing

Question 2

what is a caregiver

Answer 2

person who provides care for a child

Question 3

what is an infant

Answer 3

usually taken to refer to a child’s first year of life

Question 4

what is caregiver-infant interactions

Answer 4

communications between caregiver and infant which form the basis of attachment important for child’s development

Question 5

What is reciprocity

Answer 5

a care-giver interaction a mutual process wher each party responds to each others signals to continue interaction

Question 6

what is interactional synchrony

Answer 6

when a caregiver and infant reflect the actions and emotions of the other in a coordinated way

Mirror each other in terms of their facial and body movements

Question 7

Meltzoff and Moore study

Answer 7

Investigated interactional synchrony in babies as two weeks old. They had an adult do three distinct expressions in which the baby’s response was filmed and identified by the observer using different behavioural categories they filmed in a way in which they couldn’t see what the adult was doing

Question 8

meltzoff and moore study findings

Answer 8

association was found between the expression the adult displayed the action of the baby done this in three day old baby suggesting that it is innate
thought that this was intentional
this is when infants begin to acquire an understanding of what other ppl are thinking and feeling which is fundemental for social relationships

Question 9

Isabella study and findings

Answer 9

observed mothers and infants together and assessed degree of synchrony better synchrony showed better quality relationship between mother-infant

Question 10

Real or psuedo imitation

Answer 10

Piaget believed after the first year is true imitation however before that it is response training. Infant repeating a behaviour that is rewarded (operant conditioning) like caregiver smiling. In piaget’s view the infant had not consciously translated what they see into a matching movement ( psuedo-limitation)

Question 11

Undermining AO3 M&M: intentional behaviour

Answer 11

Meltzoff and moores claims that imitation in infants is intentional and innate have been criticised.
Piagets suggestion that anything before the end of the first is operant conditioning
suggests what the infant would be doing is just pseudo imitation they may not be consciously translating what they have seen into a matching movement, meaning that the behaviour is not innate but is learned

Question 12

supporting M&M AO3: supported by other research

Answer 12

M&M findings have been supported by research
Researcher. two month old infants first interacted via a video monitor with their mother in real time. then wen the monitor played a recording the infant showed acute distress. shows that the infant is actively provoking a response rather than displaying a response that has been rewarded.
Therefore, the infant is an active and intentional partner in the mother-infant interaction, supporting the notion that such behaviours are not innate not learned.

Question 13

Methodological strengths M&M

Answer 13

well controlled procedures: mother and infant being filmed and cant see what the other person is doing
Recording the video fine details can be recorded and later analysed.
Caregiver cant be seen and reduces the likelihood of researcher bias.
Babies don’t know they’re being observed so reduces the likelihood of demand characterstics
Good internal validity

Question 14

Schaffer and Emerson Glasglow babies aim

Answer 14

To investigate the formation of early attachment, the age at which they developed their emotional intensity and to whom they were directed.

Question 15

Schaffer and Emerson Study

Answer 15

sample sixty babies both boys and girls from glasgow. Most being from the working class. was a longitudinal study was studied for every month for the first year than again at 18 months Interviewed and observed the mothers. They assessed separation anxiety and stranger anxiety

Question 16

Findings of Schaffer and Emerson

Answer 16

Between 25-32 weeks about 50% of babies showed separation anxiety and showed joy at reunion with the mother and were most comforted by that person.
In 65% of the children the first speciific attachment was to the mother and another 30% of mothers had a joint first object of attachment.
Fathers were rarely sole object of attachment (3%)

Question 17

Findings of attachment types in Schaffer and emerson study

Answer 17

By 4 weeks 80% babies had a specific attachment and 30% displayed multile attachement types and 75% of infrnats developed an attachment with their father in 18 months

Question 18

Schaffer and Emerson conclusion

Answer 18

Attachments are likely to happen to those who sensitive primary attachments are likely to be with the mother then secondary attachments are likely to be with the father.

Question 19

Schaffer 1st stage

Answer 19

Asocial stage (first few weeks): behaviour to inanimate objects and human similar. Use reciprocity and interactional synchrony to play a role in establishing a relationship with others
smile at anyone. prefer humans when alone and prefer famiiar individuals

Question 20

Schaffer 2nd stage

Answer 20

During 2-7 months can distinguish between humans and inanimate objects and prefer humans allow anyone to hold them dont show separation and stranger anxiety. More observable and social behaviour.

Question 21

Schaffer 3rd stage

Answer 21

Specific attachment around 7 months display stranger anxiety and become anxious when separated from one particular the adult. Said to have a formed an attachment. They show joy when they are reunited. They have a primary attachment. use familar adults as secure base

Question 22

Scahffer 4th stage

Answer 22

Multiple attachments: after attachment behaviour towards one adult they make a secondary attachment. By the age of 1 the majority of infants had developed multiple attachment

Question 23

Fathers as attachment figures

Answer 23

Tend to be secondary
Turn for father for play
help them be brave
mothers are fir comfort and nuturing
provide them with secure environment

Question 24

what is a primary attachment figure

Answer 24

the person to whom an infant is most intensely attached

Question 25

why the mother and father roles might be different

Answer 25

men are just not psychologically equipped to form an intense attachment because they lack emotional sensitivity that women offer
a result of traditional gender roles
female hormones that create higher levels of nuturing

Question 26

fathers can be primary attachment figures

Answer 26

There is some evidence that when fathers do take on the role of primary attachment figure, they adopt
behaviours more typical of mothers. Field (1978) filmed 4-month-old babies in face-to-face interactions
with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers. Primary
caregiver fathers, like mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than secondary
caregiver fathers. This behaviour appears to be important in building an attachment with the infant.

Question 27

what is imprinting

Answer 27

Imprinting is an innate readiness to
develop a strong bond with the
mother, which takes place during a
specific time in development (often
the first few hours after
birth/hatching). If it doesn’t happen at
this time, it probably won’t happen
i.e. there is a critical period. It is
irreversible and long-lasting.

Question 28

what is sexual imprinting

Answer 28

the idea that imprinting can affect adult mate
preferences.
Animals will choose to mate with the same kind of object upon which they were imprinted.

Question 29

Lorenz procedure

Answer 29

made two large batches with goose eggs in them one hatched which the other the other being hatched in an incubator and Lorenz made sure that he was the first oving object they saw then their behaviour was recorded then he put then under an upturned box then observed their behaviour was observed

Question 30

lorenz findings

Answer 30

• Imprinting takes a short period if time after birth (4hrs-25hrs)
  -After being hatched goslings that saw their mum first followed her but the golings that saw lorenz first followed him
  -Bond is irreversible
  -After removing upturned box goslings born w mother followed mother and goslings born w lorenz followed lorenz
  -Goslings that followed humans will try mate w humans

Question 31

harlows findings

Answer 31

• Monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth mother
  -Monkeys went to the wire mother then for milk then quickly returned back
  -Suggest that infants do not develop attahment to the things tha feeds them but to person offering comfort

Question 32

harlows critical period

Answer 32

a mother to be introduced to infant with 90 days for attachment to form

Question 33

long lasting effects of harlow study

Answer 33

• monkeys were socially abnormal
  -more aggressive
  -neglected their young attacked children
  -sexually abnormal

Question 34

what is learning theory

Answer 34

argue that all behaviour is learned through
classical and operant conditioning. Conditioning
means learning.

Question 35

operant conditioning learning theory negative reinforcement

Answer 35

-Baby cries &
mum performs
action:

Feeding &
cuddling

-Mum
receives
reward: Baby
stops crying

The reward REINFORCES
the action, so the Mum
REPEATS it

Question 36

positive reinforcement learning theory