attachment Flashcards
what is attachment?
a strong reciprocal bond between an infant and primary caregiver
what is interactional synchrony?
co-ordinated rhythmic exchanges between carer and infant
what is reciprocity?
the interactions of similar behaviour patterns between carer and infant
Meltzoff and Moore
found that babies as young as 2 weeks imitate the hand movements and facial expressions of caregivers, which supports mimicking as a feature of caregiver-infant interactions.
- had an independent observer who was unaware of the aims of the study to judge the infants behaviour
Isabella and Belsky
studied 153 mothers with their first-born child, and observed them when the child was 3 months up till 9 months.
- those that were secure attachment interacted in a well-timed manner
- those that were insecure had less synchronous interaction and mothers were less responsive to infants
Evaluation of Caregiver-Infant Interactions
- highly controlled + no issues w demand characteristics
- issues w observer bias and difficulty identifying intentionality of infant behaviour
- practical applications however can be socially sensitive
Who identified the stages of attachment?
Schaffer and Emerson
what sample did Schaffer and Emerson use?
60 infants from working-class families in Glasgow and recorded their attachment behaviours at regular intervals between ages of 6 weeks and 18 months
How did Schaffer and Emerson collect their data?
- self report method, asking who the infants preferred to be with, who they turned to for comfort and their reaction when separated from their caregiver
How was attachment measured in Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
- separation anxiety
- stranger distress
What were the findings of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
- 50% of 6-8 month olds showed separation anxiety, and the attachment was to the most interactive caregiver
- 80% of 10 month olds had specific attachments and 30% had multiple attachments
what are the stages of attachment?
- asocial (birth - 6 weeks)
- indiscriminate (6 weeks - 7 months)
- discriminate/specific (7 - 9 months)
- multiple (10 - 18 months)
Evaluation of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
- high ecological validity (everyday behaviour)
- use of self-report method (socially desirable behaviour from parents)
- sample issues; not representative to entire population
- diff. cultural context / differences
what is the role of the father in attachment?
the father is seen as a playmate who provides more physical and exciting play than the mother
Field (role of the father)
filmed interactions between 4-month old babies and their caregivers.
- 12 infants were observed interacting w their primary caregiver mothers; 12 w/ primary fathers; 12 w/ secondary fathers
- primary caregiver engaged in more smiling, imitative facial expressions and high-pitched vocalisations
- suggests the quality of the relationship is more important than gender of parent
what points are made to argue fathers as being biologically unequipped to be a caregiver?
- societal norms and stereotypes for fathers
- biological factors w/ hormones. women have higher levels of oestrogen and men have higher levels of testosterone.
what evidence suggests fathers are equipped to be biologically caring?
Gordan et al. recorded oxytocin levels in both mothers and fathers after playing with their child for 10 mins; did this again 6 months later.
- found the fathers oxytocin levels matched that of the mothers
Cultural differences with the role of the father?
in some cultures, multiple caregivers is the norm and not the last stage of attachment, so the role of the father can be influenced by the culture in research
AO3 of the role of the father
- real life implications such as paternity leave and less social stress on mothers
- supporting research
what is imprinting?
a process where attachment is formed to the first thing they see upon hatching
Lorenz study of imprinting
Lorenz split a clutch of goose eggs into two groups:
- One group of goslings hatched naturally; other group hatched in an incubator, and Lorenz was the first moving object the newly hatched goslings experienced.
- Then, the goslings were placed together under a box. When the box was lifted up, their behaviour was recorded.
findings of Lorenz research
The naturally hatched goslings followed their mother immediately after birth, whereas the incubator goslings followed Lorenz about.
- suggests attachment has instinctive component
Lorenz research AO3
- Lorenz found that there was a critical period (4-25 hours) which supports Bowlby’s monotropic theory
- supporting research by Guiton (chicks imprinting on yellow gloves)
- lack of validity
Harlow’s research procedure
16 baby monkeys were separated from their natural mothers + were put into cages and given a choice between a cloth mother (no food) and wired mother with food.
Harlow recorded how much time the monkeys spent with each mother and how much time they spent feeding + occasionally exposed the monkeys to a loud noise to test which mother they preferred under stress.
