Attachments: L1-4

Question 1

Reciprocity

Answer 1

An interaction where one person responds and elicits a response

Question 2

Reciprocity - Studies

Answer 2

Feldman and Eidelman: Mothers typically pick up and respond to infant alertness around 2/3rd of the time

Brazelton: Basic rhythm is an important precursor to later communications

Question 3

Interactional synchrony

Answer 3

‘The temporal coordination of micro level social behaviour’
-> Interaction between caregiver and infant is a reflection

Question 4

Meltzoff and Moore

Answer 4

• Controlled observation with independent observers on Interactional synchrony
• Found that infants as young as 2-3 weeks old imitated specific facial expressions
• Suggests that synchrony is innate

Question 5

Piaget

Answer 5

Argues against Meltzoff and Moore

• Claims their findings were a pseudo imitation and that true imitation occurs after a year old

Question 6

Evaluation of caregiver infant interactions through reciprocity and interactional synchrony

Answer 6

Failure to replicate - other studies, such as Koepke et al failed to replicate Meltzoff and Moores findings

Individual differences - Isabella et al found there was variations in interactional synchrony, those with stronger attachments showed greater synchrony

Question 7

Schaffer and Emerson - Procedure

Answer 7

60 babies (6-23 weeks) from skilled working class families in Glasgow were visited in their homes every 4 weeks for the first year, then again at 18 months.

A mix of observations (overt) and interviews were conducted. The mother also kept a diary of the infants response to 7 types of separation, such as being left alone in a room, or left with other people. The mother rated the intensity of any protest on a four point scale, and whom it was directed at.

This measured two specific attachment patterns:
- separation anxiety (distress when separated from caregiver)
- stranger anxiety (distress when approached by someone unfamiliar)

Question 8

Schaffer and Emerson - Findings

Answer 8

65% = First primary attachment was the mother
3% = attached to the father
27% = jointly attached

By 18 months, 75% formed an attachment to the father also

Question 9

Stage one : pre-attachment phase

Answer 9

0-6 weeks (asocial stage) = behaves similarly with objects & humans

6 weeks - 3 months = preference towards humans (indicated by smiling)

Question 10

Stage 2: indiscriminate attachments

Answer 10

3 - 6/7 months = begin to show preference to familiar faces, but do not show preference to one particular adult

Question 11

Stage 3: specific/discriminate attachments

Answer 11

7/8 months = begin to show separation/stranger anxiety & form a primary attachment

Question 12

Stage four: multiple attachments

Answer 12

9 months on = can form multiple attachments (secondary attachments). Schaffer and Emerson found that within one month of becoming first attached 30% of infants formed a secondary attachment

Question 13

Strengths of Schaffer and Emerson’s study

Answer 13

Good external validity = carried out in the families own home & most observations were done by parents, allowing the findings to be applicable to daily life

No ethical issues = consent was obtained & there was no harm or deception involved

Longitudinal design = PPS were followed up & observed regularly allowing far better internal validity as there would be less confounding variables such as individual differences

Question 14

Weaknesses of Schaffer and Emerson’s study

Answer 14

Methodological issues = as it was self report, social desirability bias may have been present as the mothers would want to be viewed as having a better relationship with their infant

Conflicting evidence = cross-cultural research suggests that having multiple attachments is the room (fox 1977)

Stage theories = can be inflexible, such as in cultures where multiple attachments form first, or having multiple attachment is the norm (Fox 1977)

Question 15

Do babies attach to the father, if so then when?

Answer 15

• Fathers are less likely to become a babies first attachment figure
• Schaffer & Emersons study: The majority of babies attach to their mothers around 7 months, 3% of fathers were the first attachment.
• 27% of fathers and mother were jointly attached
• By 18 months 75% of babies were jointly attached to their fathers (determined though separation protest)

Question 16

Do attachments to father hold specific value in a child’s development?

Answer 16

• Grossman et al carried out a longitudinal study where babies were studied until they were teens
• The researchers looked at the parents behaviour and the quality of the relationship
• Quality with mothers: Attachments in adolescence
• Quality with fathers: Quality of play

= The fathers role is more to do with stimulation than emotional development

Question 17

Fathers as primary attachment figures?

Answer 17

• Fathers tend to be secondary attachments
• When father take on the primary caregiver role they are able to adopt the emotional role that the mother usually how
• Field (1978): Filmed 4 month old babies interactions with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers = Primary caregiver father tended to act similarly to primary caregiver mothers, suggesting that fathers can adopt the emotional role

Question 18

Strength of the role of the father

Answer 18

Real world applications = It can be used to offer advice to parents concerned about going back to work (as father are equally as competent as mothers)

• It can also be used to reassure lesbian parents that not having a father will not affect the child development

Question 19

Weaknesses on the role of the father

Answer 19

Confusion over research questions = Different researchers are interested in asking different questions eg some are to do with primary attachments, while others are secondary

Single parent families = MacCallum and Golombrook sound that children growing up with only their mothers/same ex couples do not develop any differently to children in two-parent heterosexual families — urges ting that the role of the father may not actually be important

Question 20

Why don’t father typically become primary attachment?

Answer 20

• Traditional gender roles = women are expected to act more caring and nurturing than men
• Female hormones eg oestrogen may make a woman biologically pre-dispositioned to be the primary attachment figure

Question 21

Imprinting

Answer 21

When a newborn baby attaches to the first living thing they see at birth - this happens on after birth and within a specific time frame

Question 22

Lorenz - Imprinting

Answer 22

Aim: To investigate the mechanism of imprinting

Procedure: Lorenz spilt a clutch of goose eggs into two halves - the first was hatched naturally by the mother, the second in an incubator (with Lorenz being the first moving object they saw)

Lorenz marked all the goslings to determine which half they were from and placed them under an upturned box

Result: The naturally hatched goslings followed their mother & the incubated goslings went to Lorenz - this bond was irreversible

Lorenz also noted that the critical period for imprinting was 4-25 hours after hatching

Question 23

Sexual imprinting

Answer 23

Lorenz also investigated the relationship between imprinting & adult mate preferences. He noted that birds that imprinted on humans would later display courting behaviour

Lorenz also noted that this process was long-lasting and irreversible

Question 24

Strengths of Lorenzs research

Answer 24

• Other studies, have also found similar results eg Guiton, who found that chick could become imprinted on yellow rubber gloves and even attempt to mate with them
• Lorenz also noted how when a peacock was raised with giant tortoises, the bird would only direct courtship towards this species

Question 25

Weaknesses of Lorenzs research

Answer 25

• Guiton found that the process could be reversed during his chick experiment, after the chick spent time with it own species
• The mammalian attachment system is also different to birds, for example mammals show more emotional attachment to young than birds do

Question 26

Harlows study

Answer 26

Aim: To test learning theory by comparing attachment in baby moneys given a wire surrogate mother that produces milk & a cloth mother that does not produce milk.

Procedure: 16 baby Rhesus monkeys were used (4 per condition) in a cage with:
1. A wire mother that produces milk & a towelling mother that does not
2. A wire mother that does not produce milk & a cloth mother that does
3. A wire mother producing milk
4. A cloth mother producing milk

Feeding time, fear response (to loud noise) and degree of exploration were measured

Findings: The monkeys preferred the cloth mother when given a choice, regardless of if it produced milk, when frightened monkeys clung to the cloth mother and monkeys with a cloth mother explored more

Question 27

Harlows isolation study

Answer 27

New born monkeys were raised, isolated for 3, 6, 12 or 24 month. They displayed signs of psychological disturbance (rocking their bodies & and hugging themselves)

When placed with other monkeys they were fearful & attacked, they also harmed themselves. The degree of damage positively correlated with the length of time in isolation.

When Harlow devised a ‘rape rack’ to see how they would cope as parents, the mothers abused and neglected their babies, chewing off their feet & crushing their skulls

Question 28

Strengths of Harlows study

Answer 28

Theoretical value - Shows that attachment does not occur due to feeding; rather it is comfort. Also shows the importance of attachments for the quality of future relationships (the importance of the internal working model)

Practical value - Helps social workers in understanding risk factors and are important in the care of captive monkeys in zoos

Question 29

Weaknesses of Harlows study

Answer 29

Ethical issue - The study could not be done with human (or monkeys) as it caused lasting mental harm

Generalisation - generalising animal studies may be unrealistic due to the complexities of a human mind