Attachment Flashcards
What is attachment
A strong emotional + reciprocal bond between two people that endure over time
Serves function of protecting an infant
What is a caregiver
A person that provides care for a child such as a parent or grandparent sibling and so on
What is reciprocity
Responding to an action of another similar action
The actions of one partner elicit a response from other partners
Responses are not necessarily as similar as interactional synchrony
What is interactional synchrony
Where two people interact + tend to mirror the other
Doing it in terms of facial + body movements
Includes imitating emotions as well as behaviours
What is multiple attachment
Having more than one attachment figure
What is primary attachment
Person who has formed the closest bond with a child
Demonstrated by an intensity of a relationship
What is separation anxiety
They distress shown by an infant when separated from his/her caregiver
What is stranger anxiety
Distress shown by an infant when approached or picked up by someone who is unfamiliar
What are caregiver infant interactions
Infancy is the period of a child’s life before speech begins
Key interactions between caregiver + infant are non verbal communication
The manner in which they respond to each other determines the formation of attachment
More sensitive each is to other signals deeper relationships
What is reciprocity
Responding to action of another with similar action
Where actions of one partner elicit a response from other partners
What is Interactional synchrony
Two people interact tend to mirror what other is doing in terms of facial + body movements
What was meltzoff and moores producer
A controlled observation
2-3 week old infants
Displaying facial/hand gestures
Recorded infant response
Independent observers
Each observer measured tape twice
All interactions of infant + hand gestures were recorded
Observed behavioural categories
What are the results of meltzoff + moores study
Association between infant behaviour and adult that model
High inter observer + intra observer reliability (0.92)
What was the conclusion of meltzoff and moores study
It is believed that interactional synchrony is important for development of parent infant attachment
What was a strength of meltzoff + moores study
High internal validity/reliability
No investigator effect
No demand characteristics
High ecological validity
What did Schaffer + Emerson producer
Researched 60 infants in the working class area of Glasgow
Used a natural observation
They visited them monthly for first 12 months and revisited after 18 months
They measured attachment:
Stranger anxiety - when the non primary care giver the inspection interacted with the baby
Separation Anxiety - when the primary care giver was not around the baby
(Assessed by mother)
What’s were the findings of Schaffer + Emerson find
There are 4 stages of attachment
Primary attachment with a person who I interacted with + was most sensitive to infant (65% to the mother + only 3% farther)
What are the 4 stages of development/ attachment
Asocial - 0 to 2 moths
Indiscriminate - 2 to 7 months
Discriminate - 7 to 10
Multiple attachments - 10 onwards
When is the asocial stage and what happens with it
0-2 months
Infant produces similar responses to all objects animate or inanimate
During this time reciprocity + interactional synchrony play a role establishing infants relationship with each other
What happens in the indiscriminate stage and when does it happen
2-7 months
infants prefer human company over inanimate objects
Can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people (smiling more at some people)
Do not show fear of strangers (stranger anxiety)
What happens in the discriminate stage and when is it
7-10 months
Formed a specific attachment to one person (primary attachment figure)
Separation anxiety + proximity seeking to one particular person + fear of strangers
What happens in the multiple attachment stage
10-onwards
After first attachment they start to develop more attachment with others like grand parents + siblings
What was the conclusion of Schaffer + Emerson’s study
Quality (responsiveness play + social interaction) matters most in attachment formation
What are weakness of Schaffer + Emerson’s study
Lack of population validity
Social desirability