Attachment P1 Flashcards
what is attachment?
The formation of a strong, reciprocal emotional bond between an infant and a primary caregiver
what is meant by reciprocity?
a description of how two people interact. Mother - Infant interaction is reciprocal in that both infant and mother respond to each others signals and each elicits a response from the other.
what is meant by interactional synchrony?
Mother and Infant reflect both the actions and emotions of the other and do this in a co-ordinated way
Non- verbal interactions (communicating without words/ sounds) may determine the formation of attachment.
Interactional synchrony - simultaneous actions from the caregiver and baby reflect each others actions and emotions.
Explain Interactional synchrony, refer to research
• Two people are said to be synchronised when they carry out the same act at the same time
• Takes place when a mother and babies actions and emotions mirror each other
• Meltzoff and Moore (1977)observed this in 2 week old infants, adults displayed one of three facial expressions or gestures the baby copied.
Isabella (1989) observed 30 mothers and infants, High levels of synchrony associated with better quality attachment.
explain reciprocity more …
• Babies have ‘alert phases’ and signal that they are ready for interaction. Mothers respond 2/3 of the time- Feldman and Eidelman 2007
• From three months interaction is frequent and involves close attention to each others facial expressions and verbal signals- Feldman 2007
• Interaction is reciprocal when each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them
• The baby also takes on an active role
• Mother and Baby take turns in initiating interactions
Brazelton (1975) describes this as a ‘dance’ as they respond to each others moves like a couples dance
a strength of care-giver interactions is the use of filmed observations
Mother-baby interactions are usually filmed, often from multiple angles. Very fine details of behaviour can be recorded and analysed later.
Also babies don’t know they are being observed so their behaviour does not change in response to observation.
-> this means that the studies of C-I interaction have good reliability & validity
A limit for Caregiver infant interaction is the difficulty of observing bias
It is hard to observe babies’ behaviour as they are not very co-ordinated. we just observe small gestures and small changes in expression.
It is also hard to interpret the meaning of babies’ movements. e.g. deciding if a hand movement is a response to the caregiver or a random twitch.
-> this means we can’t be certain that any particular interactions observed between baby and caregiver are meaningful.
A limit for Caregiver - infant interactions is difficulty interfering developmental importance.
Fieldman 2012 points out that synchrony simply describes behaviours that occur at the same time. These are robust phenomena in the sense that they can be observed, but this is not useful as it does not tell us about their purpose.
-> this means that we can’t be certain from observations that reciprocity or synchrony are important in development.
Counterpoint for limit of feildman -C-I interactions
there is some evidence from other sources e.g. isabella 1989, to suggest that good levels of reciprocity and synchrony are associated with good quality attachments.
-> this means that on balance, these early interactions are likely to have importance for development
what are the four stages of attachment?
Asocial
Indiscriminate attachment
specific attachment
Multiple attachments
what happens during the asocial stage of attachment?
0-8weeks
baby’s behaviour towards people & inanimate objects is similar
-preference for familiar people, as more easily calmed by them
-happier in the presence of other people
what happens during the indiscriminate attachment stage?
2-7 months
- babies display more observable social behaviour, w a preference for people rather than inanimate objects
- recognise and prefer familiar people
- don’t show stranger or separation anxiety
- attachment is indiscriminate = some towards all people
what happens during the specific attachment stage?
from 7 months
experience stranger anxiety and separation anxiety when separated from 1 particular person - said to form a specific attachment with primary attachment figure
- in most cases, this is the person who offers most interaction and responds to a baby signals with the most skill - 65% = mothers
what happens during the multiple attachment stage?
in the first year
secondary attachments with other adults are formed shortly after specific attachment
In schaffer & emersons study, 29% of babies had secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary attachment
by one, most had multiple secondary attachments
the Schaffer and Emerson 1964 stages of attachment study: the procedure
60 babies from glasgow, mostly from working class families
researchers visited mothers and babies at home every month for a year and again at 18 months
-separation anxiety measured by asking mothers about their children’s behaviour during everyday separations e.g. adult leaving room
-stranger anxiety measured by asking mothers questions about the children’s anxiety response to unfamiliar adults
the Schaffer & emerson study: the findings
Babies developed attachments through a sequence of stages, from asocial to specific - multiple (Supports the stages(
-the specific attachment tended to be to the person who was most interactive and sensitive to babies signals and facial expressions - not person spent most time - quality over quantity
A strength of schaffer & emersons study is that is has external validity
Most of the observatioins were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to the researchers. the alternative would be to have observers present in the babies’ homes. this may have distracted the babies or made them feel more anxious.
-> this means that it is highly likely the participants behaved naturally while being observed
counterpoint to strength of schaffer and emersons study
mothers may hav ebeen biased in what they reported e.g. they might not have noticed when their baby was showing signs of anxiety or may have misremembered it.
-> this means that even if babies behaved naturally their behaviour may not have been accurately recorded
A limit of stages is poor evidence for asocial stage
this is because of their physical development young babies have poor co-ordination and are fairly immobile.
this makes it difficult for mothers to accurately report signs of anxiety and attachment for this age group.
-> this means that the babies might actually be quite social, but due to flawed methods they appear asocial.
A strength for stages of attachment is real-world application to day care
In the early stages babies can be comforted by any skilled adult. But if a child starts day care later during the specific stage, care from an unfamiliar adult can cause distress and longer-term problems.
-> this means that Schaffer and Emerson’s stages can help parents making day care decisions.
extra eval for stages is the generalisability
S&E based their stages on a single but large-scale study of babies' development conducted in working class glasgow. However, child-rearing practices vary considerably according to cultural and historical context. e.g. multiple attachments the norm in collectevist cultures -> ijzendoorn 1993 -> this means that some of the observatioins from this study may not generalise to other populations
what does the role of the father consist of?
- primary attachment usually with mothers but sometimes both
- 75% eventually form secondary attachments with father
- a distinctive role for the father
- fathers can be primary attachment figures
- level of response is most important
what is meant by primary attachment forms usually by mothers but sometimes can be both?
Schaffer & Emerson 1964
found that the majority of babies became attached to their mother first (happens around 7 months)
in only 3% of cases the father was the first object of attachment
-in 27% of cases the father was joint first attachment with mother
What is meant by 75% of babies eventually form secondary attachments with their father?
in 75% of babies studied an attachment was formed with the father by the age of 18 months
-this was indicated by the fact the babies protested when their father walked away, a sign of attachment.
what distinctive role does the father play?
grossmann 2002 - longitudinal study looking at parents’ behaviour & its relationship to the quality of children’s attachments into their teens
- this found that quality of attachment within the father was less important for adolescent attachment than the quality of attachment with the mother
- therefore fathers may be less important in the long term emotional development.
grossmann 2002 counterfindings
however, grossmann also found the quality of father’s play with the babies was related to the quality of adolescents attachments.
-suggesting that fathers have a different role in attachment, one that is more to do with play and stimulation and less to do with emotional care.
what is meant by fathers can be primary attachment figures?
some evidence suggests that when fathers do take on the role of being the main caregiver they adopt behaviours more typical of mothers
- field 1978 filmed 4 month old babies and found that primary caregiver fathers, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding babies than secondary caregiver fathers.
- these behaviours are related to interactional synchrony and the formation of an emotional attachment
what is meant by the level of response is most important in role of father?
smiling, imitating and holding babies are behaviours that are important un building a primary attachment with a baby
- seems the father can be the more emotional attachment figure
- the key to the attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent
A limit of role of father is confusion over research questions
Some psychologists want to understand the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures. but others are more concerned with fathers as a primary attachment figure.
the former have tended to see fathers as behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role. the latter have found that fathers can take on a maternal role.
-> this means psychologists can’t easily answer the simple question: what is the role of the father?
A limit of the role of the father is conflicting evidence from different methodologists
Grossmann 2002 suggest fathers have a distinct role in children’s development, involving play and stimulation. However, McCallum and Golombok 2004 found that children w/o a father do not develop differently.
-> this means the question of whether fathers have a distinctive role remains unanswered.
A counterpoint of conflicting evidence for role of father
findings may not be in conflict, fathers may typically take on particular roles in two parent hetero sexual famililes, other family structures adapt to not having fathers,
-> this means that findings may be clear after all - there may be a distinctive role for fathers when present, but families adapt to not having one
A strength of the role of the father is using findings in parenting advice
Mothers feel oressured to stay at home and fathers to focus on work. This may not be the best soluftion for all families.
research on the flexibility of the role of the father can be used to offer reassuring advice to parents.
-> this means that parental anxiety about the role of fathers can be reduced and parenting decisions can be made easier.
What did Lorenz study?
theories of attachment
-Use goose eggs to measure imprinting
how did Lorenz’s 1952 procedure go?
Lorenz randomly divided a large clutch of goose eggs
- one half were hatched in an incubator where the first moving object they saw was lorenz
- other half were hatched with mother goose in their natural environment
- mixed all goslings together (after hatched) to see whom they would follow
- lorenz also observed birds and their later courtship behaviour
what did lorenz conclude from his 1952 imprinting study?
The incubator group followed Lorenz, whereas the control group followed the mother
- Lorenz identified a critical period in which imprinting needs to take place e.g. a few hours after hatching
- if imprinting didn’t occur within that time, chicks did not attach themselves to the mother figure
- sexual imprinting occurs whereby the birds acquire a template of the desirable characteristics required in an mate
A strength of lorenzs’ study is support for the concept of imprinting
Regolin & Vallortigara 1995 exposed chicks to simple shape combinatioins that moved.
When shown a range of moving shapes the chicks followed these in preference to other shapes.
-> this suggests that young animals are born with an innate mechanism to imprint on a moving object
A limit of lorenzs’ study is generalising from birds to humans.
The mammalian attachment system is quite different from imprinting in birds.
For example, mammalian mothers show more emotional attachment to their young.
-> This means that it may not be appropriate to generalise Lorenzs’ ideas about imprinting to humans
A strength of lorenz is applications to human behaviour
The concept of imprinting can explain some human behaviour. For example, ‘baby duck syndrome’, in which computer users become attached to their first operating system.
-> this means that imprinting is a meaningful process in humans as well as birds/
A strength of lorenz is applications to human behaviour
The concept of imprinting can explain some human behaviour. For example, ‘baby duck syndrome’, in which computer users become attached to their first operating system.
-> this means that imprinting is a meaningful process in humans as well as birds/
Explain what happened during Harlows’ 1958 procedure? - importance of contact comfort
Harlow reared 16 rhesus monkeys with two wire models ‘mothers’
- Condition 1, milk was dispensed by the plain-wire mother
-Condition 2, milk was dispensed by the cloth-covered mothers
the monkeys preferences were measured
to measure attachment behaviour, Harlow observed how the monkeys reacted when placed in a frigthening situations. For example, harlow added a noisy mechanical teddy bear to the environment.
-Harlow & His colleagues continued to study the monkeys who had been deprived of their ‘real’ mother into adulthood.
What did Harlow 1958 find about the importance of contact comfort?
Baby monkeys cuddled the cloth-covered mother in prefernce to the plain-wire mother regardless of which dispensed milk. -> suggests that contact comfort was more of importance than food when it came to attachment behaviour.
-the monkeys also sough comfort from the cloth mother when frigthened
How did Harlows study affect the monkeys later on as adults?
as adults, the monkeys who had been deprived of their real mothers suffered severe consequences - more aggressive, less sociable and less skilled in mating than other monkeys
A strength of harlows study is it has real-world value
It has helped workers understand risk factors in child abuse and thus intervene to prevent it - from Howe 1998. We also understand the importance of attachment figures for baby monkeys in zoos and breeding programmes.
-> this means that Harlow’s research has benefitted both humans and animals
A limit of harlows study is generalising from monkeys to humans.
Monkeys are clearly more similar to humans than Lorenzs’ geese and all mammals share some similarities in their attachment systems.
However they are not human and in some ways the human mind and behaviour are much more complex.
-> this means that it may bot be appropriate to generalise Harlow’s findings to humans.
A limit for harlow is the ethical issues of his methodology
Harlows procedures caused severe long-term distress to his monkey participants, though the research led to useful applications. However, his findings and conclusions have important theoretical and practical applications.
-> this suggests that in spite of its benefits, Harlows research perhaps shouldn’t have been carried out.
Dollard and Miller 1950 learning theory of attachment
-shows importance of food
‘cupboard love’ -emphasises the importance of food in attachment formation, children learn to love whoever feeds them.
-involves classical conditioning & operant conditioning, negative reinforcement and drive reduction
Dollar and Miller 1950 LToA, The role of classical conditioning:
classical conditioning involves learning to associate two stimuli
in attachment: UCS (food) leads to a UCR(a feeling of pleasure). this response is not learned so it is an unconditioned response
How does a baby learn that mother produces a sense of pleasure?
A caregiver starts as the neutral stimulus -> no response
However, when CG provides food over time, they become associated with food (UCS) and become conditioned stimulus.
-Once conditioning has taken place the sight of the caregiver produces a conditioned response of pleasure. According to a learning theorist, the conditioned pleasure response is the basis of love
- now an attachment has formed & the caregiver becomes an attachment figure.
what is the role of operant conditioning in learning theory of attachment?
- explains why babies cry for comfort, a building block for attachment.
- Crying leads to a response from the CG e.g. feeding, as long as CG gives correct response, crying is reinforced as it produces a pleasurable consequence
what role does negative reinforcement have on the learning theory of attachment?
when the baby is reinforced for crying, the caregiver recieves negative reinforcement as the crying stops - escaping something unpleasant,
-this interplay of positive/negative reinforcement strengthens an attachment
