Attachment Flashcards
What is an attachment?
An emotional, long-lasting, and reciprocal bond between two especially an infant and a caregiver.
What is interactional synchrony?
Carrying out the same action simultaneously. When a caregiver and baby reflect both the actions and emotions of the other in a co-ordinating way. Mirroring eachother.
Who carried out the study for interactional synchrony?
Meltzoff and Moore 1977
What was Meltzoff and Moores study?
Observed interactional synchrony in babies as young as 2 weeks old. An adult displayed a facial expression or hand gesture and the babies response was filmed. Babies responses were most likely mirroring the adults.
What is the second study for interactional synchrony?
Isabella Et Al
What was Isabella Et Al’s study?
Observed 30 mothers and babies together and assessed the degree of synchrony. Researchers also assessed the quality of mother-baby attachment. Found high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality of mother-baby attachment.
What is reciprocity?
When two respond to the other and elicits a response to them. Turn-taking between the caregiver and the infant.
Who described reciprocity as ‘dance’?
Brazelton Et Al
What did Feldman and Eidelman find about reciprocity?
Infants appear to have a need for close intimate interactions from birth and signal this need during periods of alertness. Caregivers respond to the alert phases two out of three times.
What are the strengths of studies into caregiver-infant interactions?
- reliability of controlled observations
- internal validity of observing babies
What are the weaknesses on studies into caregiver-infant interactions?
-demand characteristics in caregivers
-socially sensitive research
PEL for reliability of controlled observations
P- produce reliable data because done in laboratory settings with standardised procedures
E- often filmed and details can be analysed without behaviours being missed
L- strength as research can be reciprocated and conducted again so the study is reliable
PEL for internal validity of observing babies
P- using infants at a young age increases the internal validity
E- infants are unaware they are being observer so the studies are less likely to be affected by demand characteristics
L- strength as greater confidence that attachments are measured correctly
PEL for demand characteristics in caregivers
P- could be argued there are demand characteristics that can be invloved in the studies
E- caregivers may alter their behaviour that are more socially desirable
L- weakness because it reduces the internal validity of research and cannot be confident attachment is measured correctly
PEL for socially sensitive research
P- research is sensitive and can affect mothers and care-givers
E- suggests that children may be at a disadvantage if parent goes to work soon
L- weakness as it may cause psychological harm to parents as they feel guilt and anxiety for going to work
What is ethology?
Study of non-human species to understand behavior
What animal did Lorenz study?
Greylag Geese
What animal did Harlow study?
Rhesus monkeys
What is imprinting?
Animal attaches to the first moving thing they see.
What did Lorenz do with the greylag geese?
Left one half to hatch normally with the mother so they’d see her first, left the other half to hatch in an incubator so they’d see him first.
What were the conclusions of Lorenz’s study?
The goslings that hatched and saw him began to follow him in the first 16 hours, the half that hatched with the mother followed the mother.
What happened to the goslings that didn’t imprint in the critical period?
Wandered around aimlessly and didn’t attach to anything.
What was Harlow’s study?
Rhesus monkeys were taken from the mother soon after birth, placed in cages with a wire surrgaotte mother with a feeding tube or a cloth mother without a feeding tube. To see if food or comfort was more important in attachment.
What were the conclusions of Harlows study?
Monkeys likely ran to find comfort and not to the wire mother with food.
