Attachments - Interactions/Stages/Role of the Father Flashcards
What is attachment?
- an emotional bond between two people and this behaviour aims to maintain proximity/contact
What are the two main types of caregiver-infant interactions?
- reciprocity
- interactional synchrony
What is reciprocity?
- an interaction is reciprocal when each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them
- for example, when a mother smiles and the baby smiles back
What did Brazelton (1979) argue?
- basic rhythm of reciprocity is an important precursor to later communications
- its regularity allows the caregiver to anticipate the infant’s behaviour/respond appropriately
- the sensitivity to infant behaviour provides a foundation for after attachment
What is interactional synchrony?
- a special type of interaction between the caregiver and infant where they carry out the same action simultaneously
- it is a reflection of what the other is doing (mother and infant reflect the actions/emotions of the other)
What was Meltzoff and Moore’s (1977) study?
- four different stimuli (3 facial expressions and 1 hand gesture) were used to observe the behaviour of infants
- adult model displayed this and infants had a dummy in their mouth (during initial display)
- dummy was removed and any reactions were observed/recorded
- observer watched in real time, slow mo and frame by frame
- it was then judged by independent observers who were asked to identify the model’s behaviours
- behavioural categories:
- mouth opening
- termination of mouth opening
- tongue protrusion
- termination of tongue protrusion
- ** inter-observer reliability scores were above 0.92 **
What were the findings of Meltzoff and Moore’s study?
- young infants imitated specific facial gestures (association)
- in a later study, they demonstrated synchrony with young infants (innate behaviour)
- Piaget (1962) cannot imitate intentionally
- instead they pseudo-imitate because there is a reward
- supporting study:
- Murray and Trevarthen (1985) studied 2-month-old infants interacting with their mother in real time
- when the mother was not responding, the infants showed acute distress
- this shows that they are actively eliciting a response
Why are the strengths/weaknesses of caregiver-infant interactions?
- problems with testing infant behaviour:
- difficult to test the reliability of their behaviour
- infants mouths are in fairly constant motion
- difficult to distinguish between general activity and specific imitated behaviours
- failure to replicate:
- Koepke et al (1985) failed to replicate the study’s findings
- problems may be due to the procedure rather than the babies
- intentional or imitative behaviour:
- Abravenal and DeYoung (1991) found that infants showed little response when shown objects with diff. expressions
- this shows that they do not just imitate what they see, it is in fact a social response
- individual differences:
- there is variation between infants behaviour
- more strongly attached infant-caregiver pairs showed greater interactional synchrony
- value of research:
- studying this is important as it shows how infant interactions forms the basis for social development
- babies associate their imitation with feeling and this leads to them understanding how others think/feel (Theory of Mind)
What are the stages of attachment?
- stage one: pre-attachment (birth - 3 months)
- 0 - 6 weeks = babies behave similarly to both human and inanimate objects
- from six weeks, they become attracted to other humans
- they are also happier in the presence of humans
- stage 2: indiscriminate (3 - 6/7 months)
- babies are more social
- they recognise and prefer familiar adults
- they do not show any separation protest or stranger anxiety
- stage 3: discriminate (7/8 months)
- by 7 months, infants show separation anxiety and show joy when reunited with a specific person
- this is the primary attachment figure
- they also show stranger anxiety
- stage 4: multiple (9 months)
- after the primary attachment is formed, multiple attachments are formed
- Schaffer and Emerson found that within the first month of being attached, 30% of infants had multiple attachments to someone else
What is Schaffer and Emerson’s (1964) study?
- studied 60 babies from Glasgow and were visited in their homes every four weeks
- overt observations and interviews were used/mothers kept a diary of her child’s behaviour
- left alone in a room
- left with other people
- left in their pram outside house
- left in their pram outside shops
- left in cot at night
- put down after being held by adult
- passed by while sitting in cot/chair
- mothers were asked to describe the intensity of any protest
- behaviours that were studied were: separation protest/stranger anxiety
What were the findings of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
- 65% = first specific primary attachment was the mother
- 30% = jointly attached to mother and another figure
- 3% = attached to father
- 27% = jointly attached to father/mother
- most babies formed multiple attachments as soon as the first attachment
What are the strengths of development of attachments?
- good external validity:
- carried out in a natural environment
- would not have shown demand characteristics
- findings are applicable to everyday life
- longitudinal design:
- babies and their mothers were regularly followed up and observed
- so it has a greater internal validity as there are no individual differences
- no ethical issues:
- consent was obtained from parents
- confidentiality was maintained
What are multiple attachments?
- Bowlby believed that attachments were hierarchal in nature with children having one primary attachment figure
- then secondary attachments to others
- rutter proposed the idea of multiple attachments were they are all of equal importance
What are the weaknesses of development of attachments?
- methodological issues:
- observations/self-report measures were used and both are prone to bias
- mothers may have shown social desirability bias
- biased sample:
- only consisted of a working-class population
- parental care has changed considerably since that time (e.g. more women go to work)
- measuring multiple attachments:
- babies may not have shown distress due to attachment but instead because their playmates have left them
- there is a problem in defining the difference between an attachment figure and a playmate
- conflicting evidence:
- it is not clear on whether babies can form multiple attachments
- research implies that they can only be formed when infants have formed a primary attachment
- stage theories:
- they suggest that development is inflexible (e.g. single attachments happen before multiple)
- in other cultures forming multiple attachments may be the norm
What is the role of the father?
- Grossman et al (2002) carried out a longitudinal study of babies’ attachments til teens
- found that quality of baby’s attachment with mothers was related to later attachments (but not with fathers)
- supports the idea that attachment with fathers is less important
- however, he found that the quality of father’s play with babies was related to further attachments
- ** fathers have a different role to mothers **
Can fathers be primary attachment figures?
- fathers tend to be the secondary attachment figure
- however, they are able to take the role of a primary caregiver if they adopt the emotional role of the mother
- Field (1978) studied 4 month old babies interactions with:
- p.c. mothers
- s.c. fathers
- p.c. mothers
- p.c. fathers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding their babies
- this shows that fathers can also become primary attachment figures
What are the strengths/weaknesses of the role of the father?
- real-world application:
- can be used to offer advice to parents
- mothers and fathers may be forced to follow stereotypical roles
- this can help to offer reassurance
- confusion over research questions:
- difficult to research as researchers are interested in diff. questions
- children with single parent/no father:
- studies by MacCallum and Golombok (2004) found that children brought up with only mothers/same sex couples do not develop differently to those with two heterosexual parents
- suggest that role of father is not important
- why fathers are generally not primary attachments:
- due to traditional gender roles, women are expected to be more caring and nurturing
- female hormones may create higher levels of nurturing
What is imprinting?
- when a new born baby attaches to the first living thing they see at birth
- this happens very soon after birth within a specific time frame
What is Lorenz’s study?
- Lorenz split goose eggs into two batches
- one half were hatched in an incubator (he was the first moving object they saw)
- other half were hatched naturally
- they were placed under an upturned box and their behaviour was observed when the box was removed
- natural = went straight to mother
- incubator = Lorenz (showed no bond with actual mother)
- critical period = 4-25 hours
What is sexual imprinting?
- birds that imprinted on a human would later display courtship behaviour
- imprinting is irreversible and long lasting
What are the strengths/weaknesses of Lorenz’s study?
- supporting studies:
- Guiton (1966) showed that chicks who were exposed to yellow rubber gloves during their first few weeks imprinted on them
- Lorenz found that peacocks who imprinted on tortoises
- dispute over characteristics of imprinting:
- it is now thought of a ‘plastic and forgiving mechanism’
- can be reversed (e.g. spending times with more species)
- problems with generalisation:
- birds attachment system is different to mammalian attachment system
What is Harlow’s (1959) study?
- used rhesus monkeys to see if attachments are formed as explained by Learning Theory
- newborn monkeys were individually put into different cages
- wire mother with milk/soft mother no milk
- wire mother no milk/soft mother with milk
- wire mother with milk
- soft mother with milk
- monkeys preferred contact with the soft mother when frightened regardless of whether it produced milk
- those with only a wire mother showed signs of distress
What are the findings of Harlow’s study?
- the monkeys had an innate, unlearned need for contact comfort
- this indicated emotional security
What are the strengths/weaknesses of Harlow’s research?
- theoretical value:
- has helped develop understanding of human-infant attachment
- shows importance of quality of early relationships for later social development
- practical value:
- helped social workers understand risk factors in child neglect/abuse
- important in the care of captive monkeys in zoos/breeding programmes
- ethical issues:
- caused lots of psychological and emotional harm
- many monkeys also died
- problems with generalisation:
- human behaviour is governed by conscious decisions and we do not know how animals make their decisions
What is the learning theory?
- idea that all behaviour is learned rather than inborn
- classical conditioning
- operant conditioning
What is classical conditioning?
- learning through association
- UCS = food
- UCR = salvation
- NS = bell (no response)
- created an association between the bell and food
- bell (CS) then elicits salvation (CR)
What is operant conditioning?
- learning through use of rewards
- positive reinforcement = gaining pleasure
- negative reinforcement = avoiding displeasure
- behaviours that lead to a punishment are less likely to be repeated
- babies cry for comfort (e.g. feeding)
- if correct response is not provided baby cries again
- two-way process as the caregiver receives negative reinforcement (stopping the crying)
What is attachment as a secondary drive?
- learning theory draws on the concept of drive reduction
- hunger is a primary drive
- motivated to eat to reduce hunger drive
- person supplying food is associated with pleasure/removal of discomfort and becomes a secondary drive
What are the strengths of the learning theory?
- plausible theory:
- explains one way in which attachments can be formed
- most babies also form attachments with caregivers who feed them
- newer learning theory:
- social learning theory where infants observe and imitate the behaviours shown by their parents
- it is based on a two-way interaction (reciprocity)
What are the weaknesses of the learning theory?
- based on animal studies:
- behaviourists believed that humans are not much different from other animals
- however, the formation of attachments is a complex process
- attachment is not based on food:
- Lorenz and Harlow’s studies showed that food was not the reason why animals form attachments
- Schaffer and Emerson’s baby study showed that they did not form primary attachment with physical carer
- ignores other factors:
- it does not take into account things like interactional synchrony and reciprocity
- best attachments are those were the caregiver is the most sensitive and easily picks up infant signals
What is the monotropic theory?
- Bowlby argued that although infants may form multiple attachments, they have one with special importance
- this is the primary attachment figure
- usually the mother but can be the person who responds most sensitively to the infant
What are the features of the monotropic theory?
- monotropy:
- law of continuity = more constant/predictable care forms a better quality attachment
- law of accumulated separation = effects of every separation from mother can add up
- p.a.f. provides the main foundation for emotional development
- social releasers:
- babies are born with a set of innate ‘cute’ behaviours that encourages attention from adults
- they elicit caregiving from the caregiver and form attachments through a reciprocal response
- critical period:
- since attachment is innate, there is a limited window, which is the first two years of a child’s life
- if it is not formed within this window, it would be difficult for the baby to form any further attachments
- internal working model:
- relationship with primary caregiver forms a mental representation of what future relationships will be like
- it can generate expectations about what intimate, loving relationships are like
- secure base:
- attachment is important for protection and acts as a secure base
- it can help foster independence
- continuity hypothesis:
- IWM means that there is consistency between early emotional experiences and later relationships
- the view that there is a link between early attachment and later emotional behaviour
What are the strengths of Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
- animal research for imprinting/critical period:
- Lorenz’s study on imprinting shows that it is innate
- also found that if this did not take place within the critical period, they would be unable to imprint in the future
- support for monotropy:
- Tronick et al (1992) studied African tribe where babies were fed by other women but still show one primary attachment
- support for social releasers:
- Brazelton et al (1975) observed mothers and found that babies would be distressed when their mothers did not respond to their social releasers
- shows that they are used to elicit a response
- support for IWM:
- Bailey (2007) assessed 99 mothers and found that those who reported poor attachment to their own parents were most likely to have children classified as ‘poor’
- support for continuity hypothesis:
- Minnesota longitudinal study found continuation between early attachment and later emotional/social behaviour
What are the weaknesses of Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
- counter evidence:
- other attachments are seen as equally as important
- e.g. fathers help with social development, siblings help with forming relationships with peers
- Schaffer and Emerson’s study focussed on idea of multiple attachments
- critical period:
- Tizard and Hodges found that 21/22 children adopted at 4 formed a secure attachment by 8 years old
- idea that poor first attachments cause difficulty forming healthy relationships:
- individuals with difficult/insecure childhoods can go on to develop positive and secure relationships in adulthood
- ignores role of father:
- focuses on the role of the mother as the primary attachment figure and does not consider the father (seen as mainly economic)
- temperament may be important as attachment:
- this is the child’s genetically influenced personality
- generally, happier babies encouraged more sensitive caregiving than moody babies