Attachment Flashcards
define interactional synchrony
when a caregiver and infant reflect each other’s emotions and actions in a coordinated way
define the term ‘reciprocity’ and give an example
-a form of interaction between infant and caregiver involving mutual responsiveness, with both infant and mother responding to each other’s signals, and each elicits a response from the other.
-smiling; when baby smiles, it triggers the caregiver to smile vice versa
identify Schaffer’s stages of attachment
-asocial
-indiscriminate
-specific
-multiple
how long is the asocial stage (Schaffer)?
0-6 weeks
describe wht happens during the asocial stage
when very young infants react to stimuli, both social and non-social, produce a favourable reaction, such as a smile.
give an example of social stimuli
seeing the caregiver or any other person
give an example of non-social stimuli
a baby mobile or a toy
how long is the indiscriminate stage ?
(6 weeks to 7 months)
describe wht happens during the indiscriminate [attachment] stage ( mention 2 things)
-infants enjoy human company regardless of who it is and most babies respond equally to any caregiver.
-they get upset when an individual ceases to interact with them.
how long is the specific [attachment] stage ?
(7 – 9 months)
describe wht happens during the specific [attachment] stage
infants start to show the classic signs of attachment towards one person.
according to Schaffer, at wht stage is a baby said to have formed a attachment w/ a specific person?
the specific stage
what are the classical signs shown by an infant that indicate tht a specific attachment has been made?
-stranger & separation anxiety
define wht’s meant by a primary attachment figure?
-as well as how they can be identified (2 things)
the person with whom the baby has formed a specific attachment with.
-this the person who offers the most interaction & responds to the baby’s signals with the most skill.
-NOT the one who is with the baby the most
how long is the multiple [attachment] stage ?
(10 months and onwards)
describe wht happens during the multiple [attachment] stage
-babies becomes more independent + forms many attachments. by 18 mths, majority have formed multiple attachments.
wht did the study’s results indicate in regards to how attachments were made?
that attachments were most likely to form with those who responded accurately to the baby’s signals, not the person they spent more time with.
what was the difference infants with intense attachments and weak attachments?
-Intensely attached infants had mothers who responded quickly to their demands and, interacted with their child.
- weakly attached infants had mothers who failed to interact.
Who conducted research on the different stages of attachment?
Schaffer and Emerson
Whats a strength of Schaffer and Emmerson’s research? (PEEL)
-the 1st ‘E’ is more of an ‘outline’ (the way they researched it) explanation
P: It has good external validity
E: Most observations were made by parents during ordinary activities&reported to the researchers.
E:The alternative would have been to have researchers present to observe the babies and this might have distracted them or made them more anxious
L: This means tht its highly likely tht the participants behaved naturally while being observed.
what was the aim of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
to identify stages of attachment / find a pattern in the development of attachment between parents and infants
who were the participants in Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
-include number of them and where they live
60 babies from Glasgow, all from the same estate.
describe the procedure of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
(theres 5 steps. no3 is quite chunky tho)
- they analysed the interactions between infants and caregivers
- they interviewed the carers
- the mum had to keep a diary to track of infant’s behaviour based on the following measures:
social referencing, any signs of separation or stranger anxiety - it was a longitudinal study, lasting 18 months
- they visited the infants on a monthly basis & once again at the end of the 18 month period.
define whats meant by a baby expressing/ showing stranger anxiety
when the show signs of distress as a response to the appearance of a stranger
define whats meant by a baby expressing/ showing separation anxiety
when they are distressed as a response to a caregiver leaving and how much comfort they need from the caregiver when they return
what is meant by social referencing ?
how often the infant looks at their carer to check how they should respond to something new
what was found in Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
-They found that the babies of parents/carers who had ‘sensitive responsiveness’ - (who were more sensitive to the baby’s signals) - were more likely to have formed an attachment.
-They found that sensitive responsiveness was more important than the amount of time spent with the baby
(infants formed more attachments with those who spent less time with them but were more sensitive to their needs than those who spent more time with them but were less sensitive)
-Infants who had parents who responded to their needs quickly and spent more time interacting with the child had more intense attachments. Those who had parents who did not interact with their child at all had very weak attachments.
-Attachments seemed to form when the carer communicates and plays with the child rather than when the carer feeds or cleans the child.
by 10 months, what attachment stage were many of the infants at? (schaffer and emerson)
multiple attachments
whats a limitation of Schaffer and Emerson’s study due to the participants?
(PEEL)
P- it lacks population validity
E- infants in the study all came from Glasgow and were mostly from working class families. In
addition, the small sample size of 60 families reduces the strength of the conclusion we can draw from the study.
E- cannot be generalised, and so is a limited explanation of attachment development.
L- Schaffer’s stages of attachment lack both population validity and temporal validity -
parenting techniques have significantly changed since the 1950s, such as through the influence of Bowlby’s work on attachment, and so caution should be taken when generalising the findings.
whats a strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s study due to how the babies were observed?
(PEE) no L
P: good external validity
E: most observations-excluding stranger anxiety- were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to the researchers. the alternative would’ve been to have them present to record observations.
E: this might have distracted the babies or made them feel more anxious. this means it’s highly likely that the babies behaved normally while being observed.
whats a counterpoint to the argument (or point) tht Schaffer and Emerson’s study has good external validity?
-mothers being the observers could mean they ere biased regarding what they’d noticed vs wht they ended up reporting to researchers .
-eg they maybe not noticed or remembered when baby was showing symptoms of anxiety or may have mistaken it as something else.
what did schaffer and emerson find regarding babies’ attachment to fathers?
most babies attach to their father,, but rarely as the first attachment
according to schaffer and emerson, by 18 months what percentage of babies attach to their father?
a)40%
b)65%
c)75%
75% (c)
according to schaffer and emerson, what percentage of babies attach to their father as their first sole attachment figure?
a)4%
b)3%
c)2%
3% (b)
What does Grossman et al argue regarding the role of the father?
-they may have a distinctive role involving pay and stimulation
What do Schaffer and emerson’s findings suggest? (regarding fathers and attachment)
tht the role of the father is important but that its unlikely that they’re unlikely to be the first person a child develops an attachment to.
according to schaffer and emerson, what percentage of babies attach to their father as their joint attachment figure w/ their mothers ?
a)29%
b)20%
c)27%
27% (c)
at 18mths what did Schaffer and emerson find babies doing tht indicated tht they’d attached to their dads?
they’d protest when their father walked away
what type of study did grossmann et al carry out to find out the impact of paternal attachment on a child’s development
a longitudinal study where babies attachments were studied until they were teens
what did grossmann et al find when researching into the impact of paternal attachment on children’s development?
quality of a baby’s attachment with mums but not dads was related to attachments in adolescence
-what do grossmann et al findings suggest ?
-however, what did grossmann et al also find?
(regarding father and infant play)
-tht attachment to fathers is less important than attachment to mothers
-that the quality of fathers’ play w/ babies was related to the quality of adolescent attachment
what ROLE do dads have according to grossmann’s findings?
that fathers have a different role from mothers one that is more to do with play and stimulation, and less to do with emotional development
What did Field do to show that fathers can still be primary attachment figures? (outline the procedure)
they filmed babes who were 4 mths old in face to face interaction w/ primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers.
what did field find?
that like primary caregiver mums, primary caregiver dads spent more ive smilog , imitating and holding babies than secondary caregiver fathers
what is suggested by Field’s findings?
that a tough mums are often expected to become primary attachment figures, father actually can be primary figures too.
what is a limitation of Grossmann’s research into the father’s role?
(use PEEL)
P:it doesn’t take into account non heterosexual partnerships.
E: if fathers play aa key role in the development of attachments then it would be expected tht children from same sex parents or single parents would develop differently from the kids of heterosexual parents (which is unlikely)
E: another study found tht kids of single mums and lesbian-parents families don’t develop differently from those of two heterosexual parents
L: suggests tht the role of fathers isn’t as important as other studies suggest
what’s a strength of research on role of fathers (general point-not related to a specific study) ?
(PEE)
P: there’s good real-world application
E:research can be used to help parents or prospective (future) parents make decisions by who is to be the primary caregiver
E: meaning that families can make informed decisions abt which parent (s) return to work following the birth of a child.
define what Lorenz’s concept of ‘imprinting’ means? (what’s imprinting?)
when animals attach to the first moving object or person that they see at birth
what animals did Lorenz use to demonstrate imprinting?
geese
how did lorenz demonstrate how imprinting works?
one group of goslings were hatch in an incubator w/ their mothers, the others were hatched w/ him, where half of the goslings that saw him first attached to and followed Lorenz.
wht did lorenz find?
-that the incubator group followed lorenz everywhere whereas the control group (imprinted on to mum) followed her.when the two groups were mixed up, the control group followed the mothers and the experimental group followed lorenz.
-that the critical period in which imprinting takes place for birds is as brief as a few hours after birth.
-if imprinting didn’t occur within that time he found that chicks didnt attach themselves to a mother figure
what did lorenz observe regarding sexual imprinting?
that birds that imprinted on a human would often later display courtship behaviour towards humans.
outline the evidence that lorenz used to conclude that birds undergo sexual imprinting
“he had described that…”
he had described that a peacock being reared in the reptile house of a zoo and first say giant tortoises after hatching. As an adult, this bird would only direct courtship behaviour towards giant tortoises. Lorenz had concluded that the peacock had undergone sexual imprinting .
why are animal studies carried out on animals rather than on humans?
i) give two practical reasons
-for ethical and practical reasons
i) practical reasons: animals breed faster and researchers are interested in seeing results across more than one generation of animals
P: A strength of Lorenz’s research is the existence of support for the concept of imprinting.
complete the rest of the PEE paragraph
P: A strength of Lorenz’s research is the existence of support for the concept of imprinting.
E: Regolin and Vallortigara’s study- simple shape combinations (eg a triangle with a rectangle in front) that moved were the first moving objects tht a chick saw right after birth. A range of other shape combinations were then moved in front of them and they followed the one they first saw most closely.
E: Supports view tht young animals are born w/ an innate mechanism to imprint on a moving object that’s present during their critical period, as predicted by Lorenz
P: a limitation of lorenz’s studies is that the findings and conclusions from birds can not be generalised to humans
finish the PEE paragraph
P: a limitation of lorenz’s studies is that the findings and conclusions from birds can not be generalised to humans
E: the way that mammals attach to each other is a lot more different and complex than the way that birds do. E.g for mammals attachment is a two-way process whereby mothers also form an emotional attachment to their young at the same time that the infant does rather than attachment being formed by the young to their mother only.
E: Means that it is probably not appropriate to generalise Lorenz’s ideas to humans.
what study/research can be used to support/emphasise the ‘importance of contact comfort’?
Harlow’s rhesus monkeys study
Outline Harlow’s procedure (attachment)
-16 baby monkeys were given two wire model ‘mothers’. the plain wire model ‘mother’ dispensed milk whereas the other mother also dispensed milk but was cloth-covered.
-wht did harlow find?
-wht did the finding show?
-baby monkeys cuddled and sought comfort from cloth covered mother when frightened (eg by a noisy mechanical teddy bear) instead of plain wire mother.
-this showed that ‘contact comfort’ was more important than food when it came to attachment behaviour.
