Attachment - Booklet 1 Flashcards
Caregiver-infant interactions, Role of the father, Schaffer's research into stages of attachment
define attachment
-a close, two way, emotional bond between two individuals
why do we need to form attachments
-emotional security -> social development
-physical + intellectual development
which behaviours indicate an attachment
-proximity
-separation distress
-secure-base behaviours
define altricial
-babies are born at a relatively early stage of development
opposite of altricial
-precocial (born at advanced stage of development eg animals)
benefits of meaningful social interactions between babies and carers
-short term = survival
-long term = emotional relationships
describe caregiver infant interactions
-key interactions are non verbal
-they form the basis of attachment between an infant and caregiver
-the more sensitive each is to the other’s signals, the deeper the relationship
define reciprocity
-when an infant responds to the actions of another person
-they elicit a response from eachother
-turn taking
describe reciprocity
-each person responds to each other (caregiver + infant)
-babies signal with social releasers that they are ready to interact
-normally takes 2/3 times for the mother to notice and respond
e.g - smiling back at someone
define interactional synchrony
-where an infant mirrors/imitates the same actions of another person, for example their facial expressions and body movements
-they interact in time to sustain communication
-mirroring
describe interactional synchrony
-the temporal co ordination of micro level social behaviour
-actions and emotions are mirrored by child and mother and are in time
-a parents speech and infants behaviour become finely synchronised
e.g - infant and caregiver smiling at the same time
why did brazleton describe mother-infant interactions as a dance
-both the parent and child can initiate interactions from each other and take it in turns doing so
aim of meltzoff and moores study
-systematically study infant caregiver interactions, specifically interactional synchrony
procedure of meltzoff and moores study
-controlled observation
-adult model displayed one of three facial expressions or hand movements with fingers moving in a sequence
-dummy placed in the infants mouth during initial display to prevent response
-dummy then removed and childs expression was filmed from different angles
findings of meltzoff and moores study
-there was an association between the infant’s behaviour and that of the adult model
-infants as young as two to three weeks imitated specific facial and hand gestures
conclusion of meltzoff and moores study
-supports interactional synchrony as the infant mirrors the facial and hand gestures as the adult model did so
what did isabella find about infant caregiver interactions
-securely attached mother infant pairs had more instances of interactional synchrony
-so interactional synchrony is associated with better quality attachments
-so it occurs due to strong attachments
AO3 points about infant caregiver interactions
-its hard to know what’s happening when observing infants
-controlled observations capture fine detail
-observations don’t tell us the purpose of synchrony and reciprocity
-infant caregiver interactions aren’t found in all cultures
explain why it is hard to know what is happening when observing infants (AO3 infant caregiver interactions)
-many studies have shown the same pattern of interaction
-but what is observed is only hand movements or changes in expression which are commonly made by babies so may not be deliberate
-behaviour may not have a special meaning as hard to tell from infants perspective if they are conscious or deliberate
explain why controlled observations capture fine detail (AO3 infant caregiver interactions)
-well controlled procedures
-mother and infant filmed often from different angles
-fine details of behaviour can be recorded and analysed
-babies don’t know or care they are observed so behaviour does not change (no demand characteristics)
-results are reliable as can rewatch videos
explain why observations don’t tell us the purpose of synchrony and reciprocity (AO3 infant caregiver interactions)
-feldman points out synchrony and reciprocity simply describe behaviours that occur at the same time
-these can be reliably observed but it doesn’t tell us the purpose of these caregiver-infant interactions
-lacks internal validity as unsure whether babies mirror the behaviour to interact
-so more research is needed
explain why infant caregiver interactions aren’t found in all cultures (AO3 infant caregiver interactions)
-le vine et al reported that kenyan mothers have little physical interactions or contact with their infants, but infants still have a high proportion of secure attachments
-research may be ethnocentric
-so not fully valid in explaining attachments as results of research cannot be generalised to other cultures
describe grossman’s research into the role of the father
-longitudinal study
-looked at parent’s behaviour and it’s relationship to quality of children’s attachments into their teens
-quality of infant attachments with mothers related to attachments in adolescence, but not with fathers
-attachment with fathers less important
-but found quality of play is related to quality of attachments as adolescents
describe what schaffer and emerson’s research showed about the role of the father
-found babies become attached to their mother first (7 months)
-within a few weeks/months formed secondary attachments
-in 75% of their studies attachment formed with father at 18 months
-shown by infants protesting when their father walked away
describe field’s research into role of the father
-filmed 4 month old babies in face to face interactions with
-primary caregiver mothers
-secondary caregiver fathers
-primary caregiver fathers
-found that primary caregiver fathers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than secondary caregiver fathers, strengthening attachments
-attachment relationship related to responsiveness not gender as the father can take on nurturing role as primary caregiver
describe research into how age and gender affects role of the father
-freeman et al found male children are more likely to prefer their father than female children
-children more likely to be attached to fathers during late childhood to early adolescence
-infants and young adults less likely to seek attachment to their fathers
describe research into how temperament affects role of the father
-manlove et al found fathers are less likely to be involved with their infant if the infant has a difficult temperament
AO3 points about role of the father
-socially sensitive research
-inconsistent findings
-research may lack temporal validity
-children without fathers are no different so how do fathers have a distinct role?
-research has led to social changes
-economic consequences
explain the role of the father having socially sensitive research
-children without fathers are no different from those with which suggests the father’s role is secondary
-ethical issue as:
-can be interpreted that fathers are less important
-father may interpret himself as secondary to the mother and step back
explain research into the role of the father having inconsistent findings
-different researchers are interested in different questions:
roles as secondary attachment figures
roles as primary attachment figures
-some have seen fathers with a distinct role from mothers
-some have seen fathers take on a maternal role
explain research into the role of the father lacking temporal validity
-can be outdated due to social changes
-so doesn’t take into account modern family dynamics
-so cannot be generalised
explain the question of ‘if fathers have a distinct role, why aren’t children without fathers different?’ being a limitation of role of the father research
-maccallum and golombok found growing up in single/same sex parent families does not cause different development
-suggesting the father’s role as a secondary attachment figure is not important
explain a counter argument for the question of ‘if fathers have a distinct role, why aren’t children without fathers different?’ being a limitation of role of the father research
-grossman found that fathers as secondary attachment figures had important roles in development
explain how research into the role of the father has led to social changes
-paternity leave as research has shown fathers can be primary caregivers
-same sex adoption as children in these families have no developmental delay
explain how research into the role of the father has positive economic consequences
-fathers being told they can be the primary caregiver might make them stay at home more, allowing women to work, growing the economy
-child going to nursery allows economic growth as nursery is paid for, and parents can go to work
explain a counter for research into the role of the father having positive economic consequences
-fathers staying at home more means working less so economy declines
aim for schaffer and emerson’s research
-to investigate the formation of early attachments, in particular the age they are developed, their emotional intensity and to whom they are directed
describe procedure for schaffer and emerson’s research
-longitudinal study
-60 glasgow infants (5-23 weeks at start)
-from working class homes
-visited every 4 weeks for the first year, then returned when infant was 18 months
-studied in own homes
1.interactions with caregivers observed
2. caregivers interviewed (self report)
3. mothers asked to keep a diary (self report) of infant response to separation in 7 everyday situations eg left alone in a room
4. researchers directly observed stranger anxiety by approaching them
results of schaffer and emerson’s research
-attachment develops in 4 stages
-attachments form first with a primary attachment figure
-then multiple attachments develop
-father was main attachment figure in 3% of infants
conclusion of schaffer and emerson’s research
-attachments were most likely to form with who responded accurately to baby’s signals, not who they spent most time with
(sensitive responsiveness)
name the 4 stages of attachment identified by schaffer and emerson
- asocial
- indiscriminate
- specific
- multiple
describe the asocial stage of attachment
-0-6 weeks
-no preference between humans and physical objects, settled with either
describe the indiscriminate stage of attachment
-6 weeks- 6 months
-preference to humans
-like familiar humans but no stranger distress
describe the specific stage of attachment
-7 months- 9 months
-intense attachment with primary attachment figure
-stranger and separation anxiety high
-primary attachment figure is who responds to the baby’s signals with most skill (usually mother)
describe the multiple stage of attachment
-10-11 months
-form secondary attachments with other familiar people e.g grandparents, fathers
-slight separation anxiety to these people
-when upset still go to specific primary attachment figure
AO3 evaluation points for research methodology for schaffer and emersons research
-limited sample
-environment of research
-longitudinal design
-self report
AO3 evaluation points for stages of attachment for schaffer and emersons research
-cultural differences
-problems studying asocial stage
-problems measuring multiple attachment
explain why the sample is a limitation in schaffer and emerson’s study
-same area (glasgow)
-same social class
-done in 60s
-cultural bias
-as may have different opportunities
-lacks temporal validity
-as social changes have occured since then
-so cannot be generalised
explain why the environment of research in schaffer and emersons study was a strength
-carried out in own homes
-caregivers interviewed
-mothers kept a diary of infant’s response to separation
-so high ecological validity
-good external validity as natural environment = natural behaviour
explain why the longitudinal design was a strength of schaffer and emerson’s research
-followed over extended period of time
-able to observe changes in environment
-more reliability in observing stages of attachment
-same child observed so no individual differences so high internal validity
explain a counter to why the longitudinal design was a strength of schaffer and emerson’s research
-time consuming so people more likely to drop out
-takes a while to repeat
-cross sectional designs take less time - children at each age viewed
explain why self report is a limitation of schaffer and emerson’s research
-stages based on observations and self report data from caregivers rather than researchers
-subjective interpretation
-socially desirable answers so may be invalid answers
explain why there are problems studying the asocial stage
-babies this young have poor coordination and are generally almost immobile
-difficult to make judgements based on observations as not much to observe
-evidence cant be relied on as baby’s feelings and cognitions may actually be highly social
explain why cultural differences are a limitation of the stages of attachment
-not applicable to all cultures
-scotland has an individualist culture
-but some cultures have multiple caregivers as the norm so multiple attachment stage is earlier (collectivist cultures)
-so cannot be generalised
explain why there are problems measuring multiple attachment
-bowlby pointed out children have playmates as well as attachment figures so can become distressed when they leave
-schaffer and emerson’s observations can’t distinguish behaviour between secondary attachment figures and playmates
