Attachment Flashcards
What is the definition of an infant?
a child below the age of 2, derivative from the latin word “infans”, meaning “unable to speak”.
How do caregiver-infant interactions affect social development?
If an individual lacks caregiver-infant interactions, this can lead to poor social skills, poor academia and intellect and stunted brain development.
What is the Caregiver-Infant interaction of reciprocity?
A reciprocal interaction between caregiver ad baby, in which each party’s behavior elicits a response from the other (i.e. a baby pointing and a caregiver laughing)
How can interactional reciprocity reflect sociability in later life?
It can often be the gateway to learning how to engage in conversation (especially the meaningless ones– e.g. “How are you?”- “I’m fine how are you”). These interactions are reciprocal as both parties engage and both parties warrant a response from the other.
What is the Caregiver-Infant interaction of Synchrony?
When a caregiver and infant reflect the actions of the other in unity (e.g. mirroring each others facial and body movements).
How does Interactional Synchrony differ from interactional reciprocity?
Synchrony is different to reciprocity as, in synchrony, the actions have to be the same (i.e . both the caregiver and infant laughing/clapping), whereas the behaviors in reciprocity do not have to be the same, but do have to elicit more response.
how is synchrony important in creating an emotionally responsive primary attachment?
Meltzoff proposed that infants associate their actions/expressions with their own mental states, so the infant would project their mental state (and therefore mood/emotion) onto the caregiver performing the same acts. This would help the infant begin to understand what the caregiver is thinking/feeling, resulting in the pair being more accustomed to each others needs and therefore forming a more secure attachment (this could also lead to development of social skills due to receptiveness/sensitivity).
What is one study that investigated Interactional Synchrony?
Meltzoff and Moore
What was the aim of M_____f and M___e’s study?
Meltzoff and Moore- To investigate interactional synchrony by testin how infants copy an adult’s facial expressions.
What was the independent variable in M_____f and M___e’s study?
Meltzoff and Moore The expression the adult used when interacting with the baby ( i.e. if the adult opened their mouth, if they stuck out their tongue etc.)
What was the dependent variable of M_____f and M___e’s study?
Meltzoff and Moore Whether or not the baby copied the expression (to ensure accurate results, the babies’ responses were taped and the adult participant was kept oblivious of their exact aim)
What was the aim of S______r and E_____n’s study?
Schaffer and Emerson- To investigate attachment formation, particularly the age when attachment occurs, the emotional intensity of the attachment and the target of the attachment.
Briefly outline the method of S______r and E_____n’s study
Schaffer and Emerson- during the 1960s, Schaffer tested on 60 babies and their mothers from Glasgow- all from skilled working class families. They tested: Separation Anxiety by asking parents what protest behaviors their child showed when they left and Stranger Anxiety observing how a baby responds to unfamiliar adults trying to cuddle/interact with the infants
What were the findings of S______r and E_____n’s study?
Schaffer and Emerson- between 25 and 32 weeks of age, average 50% of babies showed separation anxiety from their primary caregivers, meaning they made a specific attachment.
By 40 weeks, 80% of the infants had specific attachments, while 30% of them had multiple attachments.
What are the 4 stages of Attachment (according to Schaffer and Emerson)?
Indiscriminate Attachment, Beginnings of Attachment, Discriminate Attachments and Multiple Attachments.
How would an infant seem during Indiscriminate Attachment?
The child would show no preference for any objects/people, they would not have any preferred people or objects, but may show response to social stimuli (i.e. faces or teddies), though this does not indicate attachment, just stimulation.
How would an infant seem during Beginnings of Attachment?
The infant would be able to distinguish familiar people from strangers, but there would be no stranger anxiety yet, and there may still be no primary attachment.
How would an infant seem during Discriminate Attachment?
At this stage, separation anxiety and preference for the primary caregiver would have become present, and the infant would be reliant on the emotional attention and support of their primary caregiver (if neglected, this could lead to stunted brain development and pathological issues in later life).
How would an infant seem during Multiple Attachments?
At this stage, discriminate attachments would be formed with secondary figures (often showcasing separation anxiety from these attachment figures).
Why might the four stages of attachment not be universally applicable? Clues- Culture Autism Downs Syndrome
US and UK cultures tend to focus more on their close family’s needs, whereas other cultures use shared childcare, and this could discourage primary attachment. Sagi et al, who compared attachments in infants raised communally and in families, found small families formed more close attachments). Children with autism and down syndrome may also struggle with attachment, as children with autism may form attachments much later on, or only form a primary attachment, and then stop. People with downs may skip the stage of indiscriminate attachment and move to multiple attachment, meaning they form attachments easily, and want to become close with strangers (seemingly friendly)(This is individual/dispositional as downs is a chromosomal disorder).
How could the self-report methodology in Schaffer and Emerson’s study be considered unreliable?
The use of open questions to the mothers, questioning their motherhood, could have caused demand characteristics such as the desirability effect. Some mothers were also probably more perceptive to their child than others. Also, as of the time of the study, many of these mothers would have been stay-at-home mothers, which could have made their attitudes to childcare vary from contemporary ones.
What is imprinting?
An infant’s readiness to make a bond with the mother which takes place during a specific time period, usually the first few hours after birth. If it doesn’t happen in this period, it isn’t likely to happen at all.
What is Sexual Imprinting?
the idea that imprinting will affect adult mate preferences, meaning that animals will mate with the same sort of object as they imprinted on.
Name one study that investigated imprinting
Lorenz (1959)
Briefly outline the method of L____z’s (1959) study
Lorenz collected gosling eggs and tested them while they hatched. He divided them into two groups, one hatched naturally, so first saw the mother, and the other hatched in an incubator, so the first thing they saw was Lorenz. He marked each gosling and mixed the groups, so they all spent time with both him and the mother in a group, after first contact. The goslings who first saw Lorenz imprinted on him and followed him round.
What were the findings of L____z’s (1959) study?
Lorenz- He discovered the Critical period- a period of time in which the animal must be exposed to a moving object. If the animal does not imprint during this critical period, it will not imprint at all (this is usually within the first two days).
Briefly outline the method of Harlow (1959)
Harlow tested on 8 infant monkeys. He created two wire monkey “mother” sculptures, one with a wire head, one with a cloth head, each holding a bottle. He measured how much time the infants spent with each mother, and if the monkeys sought comfort from either when exposed to a threat (a mechanical teddy bear)
How does Bowlby’s monotropic theory contrast that of the Learning Theory of Attachment?
It suggests attachment is innate rather than learned.
How did Bowlby think attachment was an evolutionary adaptation?
Bowlby believed attachment was due to survival instinct, as infants need protection and adults must pass down genes. He believed humans developed this due to our extended childhood (18+ years reliance).
What are social releasers?
Assets that babies are born with that trigger the Innate Adult Attachment System. These can be:
Physical: big eyes, small chin, small, chubby- or
Behavioral: e.g. crying, cooing, gripping fingers etc.
What is Innate Adult Attachment System?
attachment was reciprocal, so both baby and mother had instincts to attach. Social releasers trigger this system, and it causes us to attach to the infant based on these.
What does monotropy mean?
The theory that an infant’s Primary attachment Figure influenced social development more than others, so was the most important attachment. Bowlby believed our instincts were to attach to mothers.
What is the Inner Working Model?
The idea that our primary attachment created an inner working model (like a schema) that we use as a template for future
relationships and expectations of love.
What is The Continuity Hypothesis?
It theorised that people securely attached in infancy had more secure adult relationships. It was later proven by Bowlby’s theory of Maternal Deprivation.
What were the specifics of Ainsworth’s strange situation study?
It was a laboratory study, where a controlled situation was contrived in order to test the security of attachment between 100 middle class mothers and their babies.
How many situations were created in Ainsworth’s study?
8 situations, some involving confederates
What was the first contrived situation (stage 1) of Ainsworth’s strange situation study?
The mother and infant go into a new room, the mother sits down and the baby is left to explore ( tests secure base attachment and desire for proximity)
What was the second contrived situation (stage 2) of Ainsworth’s strange situation study?
A confederate “stranger” enters the room and interacts with mother. This would therefore distract the mother from the baby and move focus to the stranger, which tests stranger anxiety.
What was the third contrived situation (stage 3) of Ainsworth’s strange situation study?
The confederate stranger tries to play with the baby. This tests separation anxiety.
What was the fourth contrived situation (stage 4) of Ainsworth’s strange situation study?
The mother leaves the room and the stranger attempts to comfort the baby ( testing separation and stranger anxiety)
