attachment lessons 1-6 Flashcards
what are the two types of caregiver-infant interactions
reciprocity
interactional synchrony
what is reciprocity
when each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them.
research for reciprocity
brazelton suggested basic rhythm is an important precursor to later communications.
what is interactional synchrony
carrying out same action synchronised. the temporal co-ordination of micro-level social behaviour.
research for interactional synchrony
meltzoff and moore used controlled observation where they selected 4 stimuli ( three faces and a gesture) dummy put in mouth to prevent response. child expression filmed. independent observers judged wo any knowledge. asked to note down tongue protrusions and head movements. inter observer scores were greater than 0.92. this shows infants imitate behaviour. however piaget argued it’s not intentional but is for reward.
evaluation of reciprocity and interactions synchrony for caregiver infant interaction
problems with testing infant behaviour as it is not reliable as baby behaviour is unpredictable and difficult to distinguish. failure to replicate as köepke failed to replicate meltzoff.
experiment for stages of attachment
schaffer and emerson used 60 babies from 5 to 23 weeks. they were visited every 4 weeks for a year and then at 18 months. observations and interviews took place. mum asked to keep diary of behaviour. mother asked to give intensity of separation protest.
which attachment behaviours were measured by schaffer and emerson
separation anxiety
stranger anxiety
stats of who babies form attachment with
65% primary attachment to mother.
30% jointly attached
3% attached to father
27% jointly attached to mother and father
by 18 months 75% form attachment to father
what are the 4 stages in development of attachment
pre attachment phase. 0-3 months baby behaves similar to humans and objects
indiscriminate phase. 3-7 months. baby recognise adults and accept comfort
discriminate phase. 7-8 months. baby forms primary attachment figure
multiple phase. 9 onwards. baby develops multiple attachments
evaluation of the development of attachments
strengths: good external validity as carried out in family house so babies behaved naturally. no ethical issues as mothers gave consent and experiment carries out over time.
weaknesses: methodological issues as observations prone to bias when mothers observed. biased sample as working class from 1960s
role of the father in attachment
fathers less likely to become primary attachment figures but 75% are jointly attached by 18 months
fathers role in child development
grossman carried out study on babies till teenage. found quality of baby’s attachment with mother affect attachment in adolescence rather than father. father role is for play and stimulation.
research for fathers as primary attachment figure
field filmed 4 month babies interaction with primary mother, secondary father and primary father. found that primary father imitated behaviour of primary mother such as more time smiling compared to secondary fathers.
evaluation of role of the father
strengths: real world application as it can offer advice to parents such as lesbian parents suggesting it won’t affect child development
weaknesses: what about children born into single parent families which can have an effect on their development
what is imprinting
when a new born baby attaches to the first living thing they see at birth. if it doesn’t happen in critical period it probably never will
experiment into research of imprinting
lorenz spilt goose eggs into two groups. by mother and in incubator where lorenz was first thing they saw. natural eggs followed mother after birth and incubator eggs followed lorenz. results were irreversible
sexual imprinting
lorenz investigated this with geese and found they would display courtship behaviour with him and was irreversible.
evaluation of lorenz research
strength: research support by guiton who used chicks and exposed them to yellow gloves and they became imprinted on them and tried to mate with them
weaknesses: research opposes the irreversible nature like guiton who found the chicks mating with yellow gloves could be reversed by spending time with their own species. also lorenz used birds which can’t be generalised to humans
Harlows research
used rhesus monkeys to see if primary attachment is due to food by putting them in cage with towel mother and removed it to see if they become distressed
procedure of harlows research
4 conditions with 16 monkeys
cage with wire mother milk towel mother no milk
cage with wire mother no milk towel mother milk
cage with wire mother milk
cage with towel mother milk
findings of harlows research
monkeys preferred towel mother when given choice regardless of milk. monkeys with only wire mother had diarrhoea (distress sign) when frightened baby noise monkey clung to towel mother
harlows experiment on isolation
raised newborn monkeys in total isolation for 3,6,12 or 24 months. monkeys showed signs of psycho disturbance hugging and rocking themselves. when placed with other monkeys they were fearful had no social interaction and harmed themselves. degree of harm increased with time. to test them as parents he would tie female monkeys and forcibly mate them. they turned out to harm babies and one crushed its head. can be reversed with therapy
evaluation of harlows research
strengths: practical value as it helped social workers understand risk factors of child abuse and neglect. theoretical value as helped psychologists understand human infant attachment.
weaknesses: ethical issues as can’t be done with humans and it created lasting damage to monkeys and some died. also cannot be generalised to human behaviour.
what is the learning theory
proposes all behaviour is learned rather than innate. known as cupboard theory.
pavlovs classical conditioning experiment
used dogs and food(ucs) which led to salivation(ucr). then used a bell(ns) which led to no response. then paired food(ucs) with bell(ns) to salivation(ucr). after multiple repetition the bell(cs) led to salivation(cr)
what is operant conditioning
based on learning through rewards can be positive or negative
operant conditioning between baby and mother
baby gets food which is positive reinforcement of pleasure and mother removes crying which is negative reinforcement
evaluation of learning theory as explanation of attachment
strengths: there is further development on it to propose imitating the behaviour of role models can explain attachment behaviours
weaknesses: based on animal studies like pavlovs which cannot be generalised to humans as humans behave more logically. attachment is not based off food as shown in harlows study.
bowlbys monotropic evolutionary theory
argues attachments are innate and have evolved to aid survival. contrasts learning theory
4 characteristics that aid formation of attachment according to bowlby
monotropy
social releases
the critical period
internal working model
what is monotropy
infant forms multiple attachments but one is special and is the primary attachment figure. two principles to explain this. law of continuity more constant = more quality and law of accumulated separation less separation = more quality.
what is social releasers
babies born with cute behaviours that are important and elicit care giving from caregiver
what is the critical period
limited window of development which bowlby argued is the first 2 years. if not formed then it is very difficult to do so
what is the internal working model
mental representation of their relationship with primary caregiver and is a template what future relationships will be like and what to expect from others
what is a secure base and continuity hypothesis
secure base: protection that gives babies freedom to explore world
continuity hypothesis: link between early attachment and later emotional behaviour
evaluation of bowlbys theory
strengths: research by lorenz supports idea that imprinting is innate. tronick studied african tribe where babies looked after by other women and breastfed but slept with mother and only showed attachment to her.
weaknesses: puts too much emphasis on child’s attachment to primary figure and disregards fathers who help with social development. tizard found 21/22 babies adopted at 4 went on to have secure attachment by 8
