ATTACHMENT- caregiver-infant interaction + stages of attachment Flashcards
what are caregiver-infant interactions (2)
-interactions with important functions for child’s social development
-good quality early interactions= successful development of attachments
what is reciprocity (2)
-how 2 people interact
-caregiver-infant interaction is reciprocal- they respond to each other’s signals and each elicits a response from the other
eg. mother smiles back at a baby
what are alert phases in reciprocity (3)
-babies signal they’re ready for an interaction
-mothers pick up on this signal 2/3 of time but this varies according to skill+external factors
-from 3 months this becomes more frequent- involves mum and baby paying close attention to each others verbal signals+facial expressions
what is active involvement in reciprocity (2)
-traditionally, babies had a passive role (receiving care from adults) but now have an active role
-baby+adult initiate interactions and take turns in doing so
what is interactional synchrony
-caregiver+baby reflect each others’ actions and emotions in a synchronised way
what did isabella study (aim, procedure, finding)
-studied importance of interactional synchrony for attachment
-observed 30 mothers+babies to assess degree of synchrony+quality of attachment
-found high levels of synchrony linked with high quality attachment
what did meltzoff and moore study (aim + finding)
-studied beginnings of synchrony from young babies eg. from 2 weeks old
-adult showed a facial expression/gesture
-babies’ responses mirrored the adults
what 4 things did schaffer and emerson study
-formation of early attachments
-age of development
-emotional intensity
-who the emotional intensity was directed to
schaffer and emerson- procedure (4)
-60 babies (31 males, 29 females) from working class families in glasgow
-babies+mothers were visited at their home every month for the first year (then repeated this at 18 months old)
-researchers asked mothers questions about the portest that babies showed in 7 everyday separations
-measured separation anxiety to measure baby’s attachment and stranger anxiety
schaffer and emerson- findings (3)
-attachment tended to be the adult who was most interactive+picked up on signals the most- adult didnt have to spend the most time together
-between 25-32 weeks, 50% babies showed signs of separation anxiety towards a specific adult
-by 40 weeks, 80% babies had a specific attachment, 30% had multiple attachments
what are the stages of attachment
-proposition from schaffer and emerson from their study- a sequence observed in all babies
what is asocial stage(4)
-first few weeks
-behaviour towards humans+objects are similar
-baby forms bonds with certain people, which forms the basis of later attachments
-schaffer+emerson didnt believe it was entirely asocial- babies showed signs they prefer being with people, especially familiar people
what is indiscriminate attachment (4)
-2-7 months
-display more obvious behaviours
-show clear preference of being with people
-dont show separation anxiety when caregiver leaves, or stranger anxiety when an unfamiliar person comforts them
what is specific attachment (3)
-7 months
-display classic signs of attachment towards one particular person eg. separation+stranger anxiety
-baby has formed attachment with primary attachment figure- the person who offers the most interaction+responds to signals with the most skill (baby’s mother in 65% of cases)
what is multiple attachments (3)
-show attachment behaviour to multiple attachments (secondary attachments)
-30% babies formed secondary attachments within a month of forming primary attachment
-by 1 year old most babies developed multiple attachments
