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ATTACHMENT Flashcards

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1
Q

Reciprocity

A

is a form of interaction between infants and caregivers involving mutual responsiveness, with both infant and mother responding to each others signals and each elicits a response from the other e.g. smiling, when a smile occurs in the infant it triggers a smile in the caregiver and vice versa

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2
Q

What does reciprocity do for children?

A

it influences the Childs physical, social and cognitive development and becomes the basis for child development of basic trust/mistrust, and shapes how the child will relate to the world, learn, and form relationships throughout life

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3
Q

Brazelton et al (reciprocity)

A

describes interaction as a ‘dance’ because it is just like a couples dance where each partner responds to each others moves

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4
Q

What is interactional synchrony?

A

when two people interact and tend to mirror what the other is doing in terms of emotions and behaviour and is a form of rhythmic interaction between infant and caregiver involving mutual focus, reciprocity and mirroring of emotions or behaviour and infants coordinate their actions with caregivers in a kind of conversation

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5
Q

What do babies do from birth?

A

move in a rhythm when interacting with an adult (like they were taking turns) and infant and caregiver are able to anticipate how each other will behave and can elicit a particular response from the other e.g. a caregiver who laughs in response to their infants giggling sound and tickles then is experiencing synchronised interaction

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6
Q

Meltzoff and Moore (interaction synchrony)

A
  • observed the beginning of interactional synchrony in infants
  • an adult displayed one of the three facial expressions/ distinctive gestures
  • the Childs response was filmed by an independent observer
  • an association was found between the expression or gesture the adult had displayed and the actions of the babies
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7
Q

Isabella et al (interactional synchrony)

A
  • observed 30 mothers and infants together and assessed the degree of synchrony and the quality of mother-infant attachment
  • found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-infant attachment
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8
Q

Schaffer and Emerson

intro to attachment

A
  • found that majority of babies became attached to their mothers first
  • within a few weeks to months secondary attachments formed with other family members including the father
  • 75% of of infants studied an attachment to the father by the age of 18 months and this was determined by the father walking away and the infants protesting
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9
Q

Grossman

A
  • carried out a longitudinal study looking at both parents behaviour and its relationship to the quality of childrens attachment into their teens
  • quality of infant attachment with mothers but not fathers was related to childrens attachment In adolescent thus suggesting the fathers role was less important
  • but the quality of fathers play with infants was related to the quality of adolescent attachments which suggest that fathers have a different role in attachment which is to do with play and stimulation and less to do with nurturing
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10
Q

Tiffany Field

A
  • filmed 4 month year old babies interactions with primary caregivers mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers
  • primary caregiver fathers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than secondary caregivers father
  • this behaviour seemed more important in building attachments with your infant by being more nurturing
  • this showed that the key to the attachment relationship is the key to the attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent
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11
Q

Evaluation to caregiver - infant interactions - observing infants

A
  • hard to know what is happening when observing children:
  • Gratier 2003- many studies involving observation of interactions between mothers and infants have shown the same patterns of interaction
  • what is being observed is hand movements and changes in expression which is extremely difficult to be certain what these observations mean
  • we cannot really know for certain that behaviours seen in mother-infant relationships have any special meaning
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12
Q

Evaluation to caregiver -infant interactions- controlled observation capture fine detail

A
  • observations of mother-infant interaction are well controlled procedures with both being filmed from multiple angles
  • this means that fine details are captured and can be later analysed
  • babies don’t know/care if they are being filmed so demand characteristics aren’t a problem
  • therefore the research has good validity
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13
Q

Evaluation to caregiver-infant interactions- observations don’t tell us the purpose of synchrony and reciprocity

A
  • Feldman points out that synchrony describe behaviours that occur as the same time and despite that this can reliably observed, this is not useful as it does not tell us they purpose
  • there is some evidence that reciprocal interaction and synchrony are helpful in the development of mother-infant attachment, stress responses, empathy, language, and moral development
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14
Q

Evaluation- father attachment- inconsistent findings

A
  • research into the role of fathers as different psychologists are interested in different questions
  • some are interested in fathers as a secondary attachment figure which they see fathers behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role
  • some are interested in fathers as primary attachment figure which they believe fathers can take on a maternal role
  • this is a problem because psychologists cannot answer the simple question what is a father?
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15
Q

Evaluation- father attachment- children without fathers

A
  • Grossman found that fathers as secondary secondary attachment figures had an important role in their childrens development
  • However, other studies have found that children growing up as single or same-sex parent families do not develop any differently from those in two-parent heterosexual families
  • this would suggest that a father as a secondary attachment figure is not important
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16
Q

Evaluation-father attachment- fathers don’t generally become attachment figures

A
  • the fact that fathers tend not to be the primary attachment figure could be because of traditional gender roles in which women are expected to be more caring and nurturing than men and thus they do bot feel they should act like that
  • it could be that female hormones such as oestrogen create higher levels of nurturing and thus women are biologically pre-disposed to be the primary attachment figure
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17
Q

Key study Schaffer and Emerson - method

A
  • study involved 60 babies from Glasgow, from working class families
  • babies and mothers were visited every month for the first year and then at 18 months
  • the researcher asked the mothers questions about protest the baby showed in 7 everyday situations
  • e.g. adult leaving the room - a measure of separation anxiety and measured the infants attachment
  • the researchers assessed stranger anxiety- the infants anxiety repose to unfamiliar adults
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18
Q

Findings of Schaffer and Emerson

A
  • 50% of babies showed separation anxiety towards a particular adult between 25-32 weeks(usually mother- specific attachment)
  • attachment tended to be to the caregiver who was the most interactive and sensitive to the infants signal and facial expressions e.g. reciprocity
  • by the age of 40 weeks 80% of babies had formed a specific attachment and 30% displayed multiple attachments
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19
Q

Evaluation- key study Schaffer and Emerson- good external validity

A
  • study was carried out in their own homes and most of the observation was done by parents during ordinary activities and reported to the researchers later
  • this means that the behaviour of the babies was not affected by the presence of observers and the participants behaved naturally while being observed
  • therefore the study has good external validity
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20
Q

Evaluation- key study Schaffer and Emerson- longitudinal study

A
  • strength: carried out longitudinally
  • means that the same children were followed up and observed regularly
  • longitudinal designs have higher internal validity than cross sectional design as they do not have confounding variables of individual differences between participants
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21
Q

Evaluation -key study Schaffer and Emerson- limited sample characteristics

A
  • sample size of 60 and their carers was good
  • the fact all the families were all from the same districts and social class in the same city and at a time over 50 years ago is a limitation
  • child rearing practices vary from one culture to another and one historical period to another and these results do not necessarily generalise well to other social and historical contexts
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22
Q

Stage 1 of Schaffer and Emerson

A
  • Asocial stage
  • baby is recognising and forming bonds with its carer
  • babys behaviour towards non-human objects and humans is similar
  • babies show some preference for familiar adults who are able to calm them
  • babies are happier in the presence of human
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23
Q

Stage 2 of Schaffer and Emerson

A

-indiscriminate attachment
-babies from 2-7 months show more sociable behaviour
-show a preference for people rather than objects
accept cuddles and comfort from any adults
-recognise and prefer familiar adults
- do not show separation anxiety
-attachment behaviour is not different to one person

24
Q

Stage 3 of Schaffer and Emerson

A
  • specific attachments
  • from 7 months babies start to display separation anxiety towards strangers and start to become anxious when separated from one particular adult, the primary attachment figure
25
Q

Stage 4 of Schaffer and Emerson

A
  • multiple attachments

- multiple attachments formed with other adults who they regularly spend time with (secondary attachments)

26
Q

Multiple attachments

A

attachments to two or more people and most babies develop multiple attachment once they have formed one true attachment to a main carer

27
Q

Evaluation of stages of attachment- problems with asocial stage

A
  • babies that are young have poor co ordination and are quite immobile
  • it is therefore difficult to make any judgments about them based on observations of their behaviour
  • therefore the evidence cannot be relied on
28
Q

Evaluation of stages of attachment- conflicting evidence on multiple attachments

A
  • there is no doubt children form unclear when
  • Bowlby indicates that most babies form attachments to a single main carer before they become capable of developing multiple attachments
  • other research suggests that babies form multiple attachment from the start
29
Q

Evaluation of stages of attachment- measuring multiple attachments

A
  • just because a baby gets distressed when an individual leaves the room does not mean the individual is a ‘true’ attachment figure e.g. when a playmate leaves and the baby gets distressed
  • this a problem because their observation does not leave us a way to distinguish between behaviours shown towards secondary attachment figures and shows towards secondary attachment figures
30
Q

What is Bowlby’s theory described as?

A

monotropic

31
Q

What does monotropic mean?

A

indicates that one particular attachment is different from all others and of central importance to the child’s development

32
Q

Why is Bowlby’s theory described as monotropic?

A
  • placed great emphasis on Childs attachment to one caregiver usually called the mother but was clear that it didn’t need to be the biological mother
  • he believed that the child’s attachment to the caregiver is different and more important
33
Q

Why did Bolwby believe the more time the baby spent with the mother the better ?

A
  • the law of continuity

- the law of accumulated seperation

34
Q

What was the law of continuity?

A
  • stated that the more constant and predictable a Childs care, the better the quality of their attachment
35
Q

What was the law of accumulated separation?

A

-stated that the effects of every separation from the mother add up and the safest doze is therefore 0 doze

36
Q

What did Bowlby suggest babies were born with? and what was it called?

A
  • a set of innate ‘cute’ behaviours e.g. smiling, cooing and gripping that encourage attention from adults
  • called social releasers
37
Q

what is the purpose of social releasers?

A

to activate the adult attachment system e.g. make an adult feel love towards the baby

38
Q

What is an internal working model?

A

-the mental representation we all carry with us of our attachment to our primary caregiver and are important in affecting our future relationships because they carry our perception as to what relationships are like

39
Q

According to Bolwby, how does the internal working model effect future relationships?

A
  • a child whose first experience is of a loving relationship with a reliable caregiver will tend to form an expectation that all relationships are as loving and reliable and will bring the same qualities to future relationships
  • a Childs whose first experience involves poor treatment will tend to form further poor relationships and expect treatment in that way
40
Q

How does the internal working model affect how the child will parent?

A
  • parents tend to base their parenting behaviour on their own experiences of being parented
  • this explains why children from functional families tend to have similar families themselves
41
Q

critical period

A

-refers to the time in which an attachment must form if it is to form at all

42
Q

According to Bowlby, what is the critical period?

A

-around 2 years is when the infant attachment system is still active and if an attachment is not formed within this time, a child will find it much harder to form one later

43
Q

Evaluation - Bowlby - mixed evidence for montoropy

A
  • Schaffer and Emerson found that most babies did form only one attachment to one person but a minority formed multiple attachments at the same time
  • unclear whether the first attachment is unique as there are some studies of attachment to mother and father tend to show that the attachment to the mother is more important in predicting later behaviour
  • this could mean that attachment to the primary attachment figure is just stronger than other attachments and not necessarily different in quality
44
Q

Evaluation - Bowlby- support for social releasers

A
  • strong evidence that cute infant behaviours are intended to initiate social interaction
  • Brazelton et al observed mothers and babies during their interactions, reporting the existence of interactional synchrony and primary attachment figures were instructed to ignore the babies social releasers and the babies initially showed some distress but when continued to be ignored the baby responded by curling up and lying motionless
  • the fact that children responded so strongly supports Bowlbys ideas about social releasers
45
Q

Evaluation - Bowlby- support for internal working models

A
  • Bailey et al assessed 99 mothers with one year old babies on the quality of their attachment to their own mothers using a standard interview procedure
  • found that mothers who reported to have poor attachments to their own mothers were more likely to have poor attachments to their own child
  • this supports the idea that an internal working model of attachment was being passed through the families
46
Q

What was the strange situation ?

A
  • a controlled observation procedure designed to measure the security of attachment a child displays towards a caregiver
  • takes place in a room with controlled conditions with a twi way mirror through which psychologists can observe the infants behaviour
47
Q

What were the behaviours used to judge attachment in the strange situation?

A
  • proximity seeking: an infant with a good attachment would stay fairly close to the caregiver
  • exploration and secure base behaviour: good attachment enables a child to feel confident to explore, using their caregiver as a secure base
  • stranger anxiety: one of the signs of becoming closely attached is a display of anxiety when a stranger approaches
  • separation anxiety: sign go becoming attached is to protest at separation from the caregiver
  • repsonse to reunion: with the caregiver after separation for a short period of time under controlled conditions
48
Q

The procedure has 7 episodes

A

1.the child is encouraged to explore
-tests exploration and secure base
2.a stranger comes in and tries to interact with a child
-tests stranger anxiety
3. the caregiver leaves the child and stranger together
-tests separations and stranger anxiety
4.the caregiver returns and the stranger leaves
-tests reunion and exploration/secure base
5. the caregiver leaves the child alone
-tests separation anxiety
6-the stranger returns
-tests stranger anxiety
7-the caregiver returns and is reunited with child
-tests reunion behaviour

49
Q

secure attachment

A
  • type b
  • children explore happily but regularly go back to their caregiver( proximity seeking,secure base behaviour)
  • show moderate separation distress and stranger anxiety
  • require and accept comfort from the caregiver the reunion stage
  • 60-75% of toddlers are classified as secure
50
Q

insecure -avoidant attachment

A
  • type a
  • explore freely but do not seek proximity or show secure base behaviour
  • show little reaction when their caregiver leaves and little effort is made when the caregiver returns
  • do not require comfort at the reunion stage
  • 20-25% are classified as insecure-avoidant
51
Q

insecure-resistant attachment

A
  • type c
  • seek greater proximity than others and explore less
  • show huge stranger and separation distress
  • resist comfort when reunited with their caregiver
  • 3% are classified as insecure-resistant
52
Q

Evaluation- strange situation-support for validity

A
  • attachments defined are strongly predictive of later development
  • stuides have shown that babies who are assessed as secure go on to have better outcomes e.g. success at school, friendships and romantic relationship
  • studies have shown that babies assessed as insecure-resistant had worst outcomes e.g. bullying in later childhood, adult mental health problems
  • this is evidence for the validity of the concept as it can explain subsequent outcomes
53
Q

Evaluation- strange situation-good reliability

A
  • shows good inter-rater reliability
  • as observers watching the same children in the strange situation agree on what type of attachment the babies are
  • because the strange situations takes places in controlled conditions and the behavioural categories are easy to observe
  • bick et al studied inter-rater reliability and found agreement on attachment types for 94% of tested babies
  • we can be confident that the attachment type of a baby does not depend on who is observing them
54
Q

Evaluation-strange situation-test may be culture bound

A
  • there is doubt about whether the strange situation is a culture bound test
  • cultural differences in childhood experiences are likely to mean that children respond differently to the strange situation
  • caregivers from different cultures behave differently to the strange situation
  • Takashi has noted the test does not work in Japan because Japanese mothers are rarely separated from their babies so there were very high levels of separation anxiety
55
Q

Van Ilzendoorn procedure

A
  • researcher located 32 studies of attachment where the strange situation had been used to assess different attachment type
  • 32 studies were conducted in 8 countries and yielded results for 1990 children
  • data for 32 studies were meta-analysed
56
Q

van ilzendoorn findings

A

-in all counteries secure attachment was the most common classification
- 75% classified as secure in Britain and 50% in china
-insecure resistant was the least common classification type
-3% in Britain and 30% in Israel
insecure avoidant attachment was observed most commonly in Germany and least commonly in Japan

57
Q

Evaluation - Van ilzendoorn - large samples

A

-a strength of combining the results of a

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