Attachment Flashcards
Types of attachment behaviours:
- pleasure at reunion
- secure base effect
- separation protest
- carer is point of reference (proximity seeking)
- stranger anxiety
Early secure attachment=
- trust
- emotional stability
- relationships, social development
- strong self esteem
Reciprocity
When the infant and carer take it in turns to respond to each others actions.
Responses are not necessarily similar, it’s like an unspoken conversation.
Important foundation for future attachments.
Interactional synchrony
When two people interact, mirroring eachothers facial/ body expressions or movements. Including imitating emotions and behaviours.
Who developed stages of attachment?
Schaffer and Emerson
Stages in attachment
Birth-2 months: indiscriminate attachment
2-4 months: beginnings of attachment
4-7 months: discriminate attachments
7-9 months onwards: multiple attachment stage
Stages in attachment:
Indiscriminate attachment
Birth- 2 months
Similar responses to all objects, show greater preference for people towards 2 months old.
Stages in attachment:
Beginnings of attachment
2-4 months
Infant seeks attention from a number of individuals and is generally content when he or she received attention from them, does not yet show stranger anxiety.
Stages in attachment:
Discriminate attachment
4-7 months
Infant typically develops a strong attachment to one individual and shows separation anxiety and stranger anxiety, but good attachments to others often follow shortly.
Stages of attachment:
Multiple attachment stage
From 7 to 9 months onwards
Baby form strong emotional ties with other caregivers and non-caregivers such a similar age siblings and other children, = secondary attachments
The role of the father: research
Schafer and Emerson found that fathers were less likely to be primary attachment figures than mothers.
Research by Heerman et al, showed men were less sensitive to infant queues than women however Frodi et al, found no difference in physiological responses between men and women when showed videos of babies crying.
It was suggested that men do form secure attachments especially when being a single parent, for example, Frank et al suggested that two-parent families where the father is a primary caregiver, both parents often shared the role of the primary attachment figure.
Fathers as a secondary attachment figure:
Geiger suggested that fathers have important roles as playmates and in providing challenging situations for their children. It’s possible that less sensitivity can be a good thing as it provides challenging and cognitive demands on children.
The role of the father.
The female hormone oestrogen is involved in caring behaviour.
Fathers have important roles as playmates and in providing challenging situations for their children, less sensitivity can be a good thing as it provides challenging and cognitive demands on children.
Bowlby’s monotropy theory: he emphasised:
- The innate nature of attachment
- The concept of monotropy
- The importance of early attachment relationships for future relationships
- The importance of the timing of attachment formation (critical period)
Critical period/sensitive period
He argues that the first few years were critical for attachment
He suggested that the sensitive period for attachment was the first three years, if attachment had not been made within this period it would be difficult, if not impossible to form an attachment.
Internal working model and continuity hypothesis
Bowlby argued that the first attachment between the infant and caregiver provide the child with internal working model or template for their future relationships, through this first relationship, the child develops a set of beliefs about themselves for example worthy of love or not, the caregiver (e.g. trustworthy or not) and their relationship. Bowlby argued that this internal working model influences the child’s later relationships through to adulthood, this is referred to as the continuity hypothesis.
