attachment content Flashcards
what is reciprocity?
a two-way process mutual interaction, baby and mother both actively contribute, responding to each others actions
e.g., mother laughs, baby laughs
back
what is interactional synchrony?
simultaneous interaction, mother and baby mirror each others behaviour e.g both smiling at the same time
outline the method and results of Meltzoff and Moore’s study on caregiver infant interactions
- 40 babies younger than 3 days
- Controls: Sat on mother’s lap, controlled when baby last fed, dummy in mouth
- Stranger models 3 facial expressions ( tongue protrusion, opening mouth, termination of mouth)
- Slow motion camera recorded enables accuracy of expression mirrored
- 16/40 frequently mirroring behaviour (IS)
1/40 did not mirror
Results:
• when forming an attachment babies show interactional synchrony
outline the strengths and limitations of Meltzoff and Moores study
scientific, controlled procedure, but lacks ecological validity (i own home, may pay less attention to caregivers - toys etc)
unscientific as making inferences (cannot ask babies why they behave that way) unclear if attachment or just imitation (stranger, no attachment)
cultural bias - Kenyan mothers have little
physical interactions or physical
contact with their infants; however,
the infants go on to have secure
attachments (IS not universal) - but only based off one culture in Kenya
outline the procedure and results of Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachments study
- 60 infants from Glasgow
- Visited monthly for 1st year, and again at 18 months
Collected data on:
• Separation Anxiety
• Stranger Distress
- results:
65% of the main attachment was with the mother
3% of the main attachment was with the father
However, 75% of infants formed an attachment with the father by 18 months old.
describe schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment
Asocial (0-6 weeks) - Cannot recognise the difference between objects and
faces
Indiscriminate (6 weeks – 6 months)- Recognise the difference between objects and faces, but no separation or stranger anxiety. No attachment.
Specific (7 months onwards) - Demonstrate separation anxiety and stranger distress. Now formed an attachment.
Multiple (10/11 months+) - Develop multiple attachments to others, e.g.
grandparents.
outline the evaluation of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
highly scientific and controlled (controlled observation, clear behavioural categories, same procedure to test separation/stranger anxiety)
strong causation (suggests attachment is biologically innate)
large sample bias - middle-class infants from Glasgow
ethical issues - infants put under mild stress (unable to directly give informed consent) could have been effected by this stress, affecting future development
but parental consent + mild stress
give research for fathers having a role in attachment
Grossman: father fulfils a different role from mother (play vs emotional support) – important to developing child’s confidence.
Schaffer and Emerson - 75% of infants studied formed attachment with father at 18 months
give research against fathers having a role in attachment
biological differences: female hormone oestrogen underlines caring/ nurturing behaviour - men don’t have it but have testosterone (linked to aggression)
schaffer and Emerson - 65% of main attachment was to mother, 3% to father.
outline the economic implications of fathers having a role in attachment
more fathers remain at home and therefore contribute less to the economy (e.g., taxes, impact on nurseries and nursery fees).
more mothers may return to work and
contribute to the economy (e.g., increase
likelihood of higher female salary, taxes).
Gender pay gap may be reduced if
parental roles are regarded as more
equal, or change laws on paternity leave.
state the two animal studies in attachment
Lorenz - geese
Harlow - monkeys
describe Lorenz’s study on attachment
- IV1: Hatched and first saw biological mother (goose) – control group
- IV2: Hatched and first saw Lorenz – experimental group
- Incubated and controlled who the goslings hatched and saw.
• Observed how the goslings responded
• Observed goslings when he mixed the experimental group (Lorenz’s) with the control group
Results:
- Experimental Group = goslings followed and imitated Lorenz within the first 24hrs (critical period)
- Control Group – goslings followed and imitated Goose.
Goslings imprinted on the first thing they see (within the first 24 hours)
describe Harlow’s study on attachment
- 8 Rhesus monkeys placed in cage from birth for 165 days in 1/2 conditions
- Cloth no bottle monkey and wire bottle monkey
- Cloth bottle monkey & wire no bottle monkey
Procedure:
• Observed the rhesus monkeys proximity to & time spent on the cloth or wire monkey
• Introduced novel stimuli to provoke stress (similar to stranger anxiety) in the monkeys, e.g. a toy bear.
Results
• Found that in both conditions, rhesus monkeys stayed closer and spent more time on the cloth than wire monkey, irrespective of whether it had a bottle of milk.
• They were also fearful of other rhesus monkeys, had socialisation issues (aggressive behaviour).
Conclusion
• Monkeys attachment occurred because of comfort rather than food.
• This was a long term effect, which could not be reversed.
what are the 2 explanations of attachment?
learning theory
Bowlby’s monotropic theory
describe the learning theory as an explanation of attachment
two process model: classical conditioning creates attachment, operant maintains/ strengthens it.
classical conditioning:
- Learnt through association by repeated pairings of UCS & NS.
• UCS = UCR (Food = love)
• UCS + NS = UCR (Food + caregiver = love)
• CS = CR
(Caregiver = love)
operant conditioning
- Learnt through consequence
- Positive reinforcement = pleasure from the food (primary reinforcer) increases attachment to the caregiver providing food (secondary reinforcer).
- Negative reinforcement = food removes the hunger drive; thus increasing the attachment to the caregiver (secondary reinforcer) providing the negative reinforcement.
(negative reinforcement for baby - removal of hunger drive, for mother, removal of crying)
