Attachment

Question 1

Interactional synchronicity Meltzoff and Moore

Answer 1

Observed the beginnings of interactional synchronicity in babies.

• An adult displayed one of three facial expressions or one of three distinctive gestures.
• the child’s response was filmed and identified by observers
• an association was found between the adults expression or gesture and the child’s action.

Question 2

Why is interactional synchronicity important? Using Isabella et al. Findings

Answer 2

It is shown to be important for the development of mother infant attachments. Researchers found that high levels of synchronicity were associated with better quality of mother infant attachment.

Question 3

Observing infants for interactional synchronicity and reciprocity
AO3

Answer 3

-It is difficult to know what is happening when observing infants as they are merely hand movements and expressions. This means the research studies are uncertain if the infants imitation is conscious and deliberate or not.
We cannot know for certain if behaviours from mother infant interaction are actually meaningful.

-however a strength of these observation studies is that they have good internal validity as the procedures are very controlled with the mother and infant being filmed so every detail of behaviour can be recorded and analysed. Moreover infants don’t know or care that they are being watched so their behaviour is natural and are not affected by observation research making it more reliable data.

Question 4

The role of fathers. Grossman’s longitudinal study.

Answer 4

Looked at both parents behaviour and it’s relationship to quality of child’s attachment through to teenage.
Found that quality of fathers play was related to adolescent attachment suggesting fathers just have a different role which is more to do with play and simulation than nurturing.

Question 5

Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg’s meta analysis on cultural variation.

Answer 5

A meta analysis of 32 studies
1990 infants from 8 countries 
Only mother infant pairs
Excluded studies that looked at
- Any study with infants older than 2 years
- children with special needs
- with less than 35 mother infant pairs

Question 6

Simonella. Italian study of cultural variations

Answer 6

Assessed 76 infants 12 months old.
Using the strange situation.

Found

• 50% secure
• 36% insecure avoidant

This is a lower rate of secure attachment than seen in many other studies