Attachment -> Caregiver-Infant Interaction

Question 1

Attachment

Answer 1

Attachment is an emotional bond between two people. It is a two-way process that endures over time.

Question 2

Reciprocity

Answer 2

two-way, mutual process,
sustain interaction
infants coordinate their actions with their caregiver’s
anticipate the infant’s behaviour and respond
foundation for later attachment

Question 3

Interactional synchrony

Answer 3

respond in time to sustain communication
actions and emotions mirror each other
two or three weeks old
one of three facial expressions or hand movements.
association between the infant’s behaviour and the adult model.

Question 4

Strengths of Caregiver-Infant Interactions

Answer 4

Mothers
Video monitor
Attract attention
&
Puppet
Specific social response

Question 5

Weaknesses of Caregiver-Infant Interactions

Answer 5

Inferences
&
May not be deliberate

Question 6

Difficulties Investigating Caregiver–Infant Interaction

Answer 6

Natural setting increases validity
Observer bias
Practical issues
Ethics

Question 7

Stages of Attachment

Answer 7

Pre-attachment (0-3 months)
Indiscriminate attachment (4-7 months)
Discriminate attachment (7 months onwards)
Multiple Attachments (7 months onwards)

Question 8

Pre-attachment

Answer 8

(0-3 months)
From six weeks of age infants become attracted to other humans, preferring them to objects (toys) and events. This preference is demonstrated by their smiling at people’s faces.

Question 9

Indiscriminate attachment

Answer 9

(4-7 months)
Infants begin to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar people, smiling more at people they know. They will still allow strangers to handle them.

Question 10

Discriminate attachment

Answer 10

(7 months onwards)
specific attachment to their primary attachment figure (usually the mother) staying close to that person. They show separation protest and display stranger anxiety. Schaffer et al. noticed that the infant’s primary attachment figure was not always the person who spends the most time with the child. They concluded that it is the quality of the relationship that matters the most

Question 11

Multiple Attachments

Answer 11

(7 months onwards)
Very soon after developing their first attachment infants develop strong emotional ties with other major caregivers, such as the father and grandparents, and noncaregivers, such as siblings These are called secondary attachments. The fear of strangers weakens but their attachment to their primary attachment figure remains the strongest.

Question 12

Weaknesses of stages of attachment

Answer 12

Unreliable
&
Biased sample
&
Temporal validity
&
Inflexible

Question 13

Multiple Attachments

Answer 13

mother is their primary attachment figure
7 months of age babies form secondary attachments
75% of infants studied had formed an attachment with their father by the age of 18 months.

Question 14

The Role of the Father

Answer 14

less likely to be their child’s primary attachment figure.
psychologically equipped
biological factors
societal norms
qualitatively different role
considered just as crucial

Question 15

Weaknesses of the role of the father

Answer 15

Inconsistency
&
Later development
Active play
&
Distinct role
&
Field research