Attatchment Flashcards
What are two caregiver infant interactions in humans
Reciprocity- interaction between two people where they respond to eachothers signals seen as turn taking and back and forth
Interactions synchrony- interaction whereby each person mirrors what the other is doing. Imitating emotions sense of togetherness
Research into reciprocity and intersectional synchrony
Reciprocity brazelton suggested from birth that babies move in rythm when interacting with an adult this sensitivity lays foundation for later attatchment between caregiver and infant
Interactional synchrony - melts off and Moore 2-3 week old infants would mimic facial expressions shown from their caregiver high levels is synchrony associated with strong mother infant attatchments
Stages of attatchment
Schaffer
Pre attatchment - asocial treat all things the same after 6 week infants treat humans different to objects
Indiscriminate attatchment -can distinguish familiar and unfamiliar people easily comforted by anyone
Specific attatchment separation anxiety formed specific attatchment to primary attatchment figure develop stranger anxiety
Multiple attatchment after primary attacthment figure formed, multiple are then formed display depression anxiety still strongest with primary attatchment
Multiple attatchments and role of the rather
Schaffer and Emerson
Fathers are less likely to be primary stretcher figures compared to mothers. Seen as by sterotypes and work demands. Men are less sesnsitve to infants cues than mothers
In single father families father is then primary attatchemy figure
Secondary attatchments fathers
More likely to be secondary attatchemy a as they are new playful physically active and generally better at providing challleneging situations. That allow for good problem solving skills
Geiger mothers more likely to read stories whilst fathers are seen as play mates
Evaluation of multiple attatchments and role of the father
Multiple attatchments supported by Schaffer and Emerson
60 infants Glasgow
29% formed multiple attatchment figures
1ye 1/3 had developed secondary attatchments shows that specific attatchments are followed by multiple attatchments
Schaffers research is based on flawed research meaning it may be biased research lacks internal validity
Lacks temporal validity the fingerings collected in 1960 and society had changed desirably and more mothers go to work and father stay home to look after children. Issue because the stages may not be representative of the modern day attatchments
Ethnocentric assuming that all children develop the same despite being in different cultures specific attatchments is developed followed by multiple yet in some mutiple are formed first. Problem because the theories of child development of limited
Problems with how multiple attatchments are assessed.
Meaning because an infant shows seperation anxiety, doesn’t mean they have formed an attatchment bond as bowlby states children have playmates and can get distressed when they leave the room. Problem because their observations dont allow us to distinguish the behaviours between secondary secondary attatchments and playmates
Animal studies Imprinting
Konrad lorens
Labatory experiment
Grey lag Greece randomly divided
Control group w mother natural environment
Experimental group w Lorenz in incubator
All placed together when hatched and market to distinguish which saw who first and Lorenz followed them into adulthood to see early maternal deprivation effects
Findings who ever the Greece saw moving when they were born was the individual they followed.
Imprinting is irreversible
Critical period in which imprinting needs to occur and if it don’t then the goslings did not attach to a mother figure
Concluded animals imprint a visual image of who they first see living when born
Evaluation
Of Lorenz
Guilton showed leghorn ducks a yellow rubber glove when first born and found they imprinted the glove as a mother figure supports the view that young animals aren’t born to have a attatchment figure but instant attatch to the first living figure
It’s. difficult to extrapolate to humans
Humans and animals differ in important ways human behaviours more goverend by conscious decisions unlike Greece and monkeys problems because animals and humans don’t form complex emotional attatchment bonds in the same way
Contact comfort
Harry Harlow
Monkeys
Lavatory experiment
1: wire money with food cloth monkey
2: cloth monkey food wire money
Each monkey placed in its own cage
We’re free to move
The amount of time spent w each monkey was measured.
Also added a mechanical teddy to frighten the monkeys to see if they found comfort of food more comforting when in danger
Findings
All 8 monkeys spent more time with the cloth monkey regardless of weather it had food.
Concluded that monkeys valued comforted over mothers ability to be fed
Long term effects more aggressive neglected or even killed their young
Critical period
Mother figure had to be introduced during this time other wise maternal deprivation became itreversible
Evaluation of contact comfort
Ethical issues
Lack of protection from harm
Put under psychological stress problem as it goes against ethical code of conduct
High control over variables
Labotory experiment
Standardised procedure
Control extraneous variables
High internal validity
Practical applications
Improved understanding on how important attatchment figures for baby monkey in zoos identify consequences of no proper attatchments. Strength has real benefit to animals lives in real world
Explanations for attatchment learning theory
Classical conditioning meaning attatchemts is through classical conditions the way we learn.
UCS=UCR
UCS+NS=UCR
CS=CR
Caregiver learn to associate baby’s cry with food
Which leans to conditions stimulus =conditioned response
Operant conditioning
Learning by reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Removal of negative things e.g removal of crying through feeding
Postitve reinforcement
Caregiver responds to baby’s distress with food which reduces infants discomfort
Evaluation of learning theory
Harlow monkeys preferred comfort over mothers abilities to provide food therefore is a problem and it suggests learning theory is inaccurate as monkeys should have learnt to associate food mother with please ire and attatched to them instead of
Lorenz imprinting
Imprinted vision of first moving object and formed bond with them. Evidence from Lorenz and greylag Greece
Problem because it suggests that attatchmentis is innate born with it as the infants too young to learn to associate
Schaffer and Emerson
60 infants Glasgow they had many attatchments concluded that attatchments are formed with many people and sensitivity and interaction was more important than food. Problem because leaving theory doesn’t explain why human children attatch
Plausible and scientific
Learning theory and classical conditioning can explain how humans develop many behaviours positive because it suggest that leaning may play a similar role in attatchments as we clearly do learn through association
Trick et al
African tribe efe the children are breast fed and looked after many women but still have a primary attatchment to biological mother. Problem because learning theory expects us to form an attatchment to the individual who feeds them. Therefore learning theory is inaccurate.
Bowlbys monopod theory description
All infants are innately programmed to form an attatchment from birth
Evolutionary theory
Said that attatchment is a biological process
Born with an attatchment gene that programmes them to exhibit innate behaviours called releases
Increases their chance of recovering care such as clinging crying and smiling
Attatchment gene also drives parents to provide care
Argues that there is a critical period in which attatchments tend to be formed between 6 months and 2 and half years if not made during this time then will be aged to form attatchments going into adulthood
Said that mothers had the drive to form one main attatchment monotrophy.
Provides safe base
Mother child relationship has survival value
Infant attatchment gives us a template for future relationships
Forms internal working model
Working as can be changed and develop over years
The primary care giver provides foundations for child’s future relationships
Continuity hypothesis
Bowlbys monotrophic theory evaluation
Hazel and shaver support with live quiz which assessment adult romantic relationships there was a strong correlation between childhood attatchments and adult relationships.
Positive because it supports Bowlbys internal working model since it’s only a correlations it only establishes a relationship and can’t establish cause and effect between early attatchment and adult relationships
Trick et al
African tribe efe
Traditional for many women breatfeeding and looking after ones child despite being fed by other women at 6 months ye infant still showed a primary attatchment to their biological mother
Positive because it supports Bowlbys theory that infants with have amonotropic bond with mothers despite forming other attatchment
Schaffer and Emerson against bowlby
Glasgow 60 infants they had many attatchmnents
Concluded that attatchments could be formed with may different people problem because the monotropu predicts the mother should be the main attatchment not the father
Research critiques the critical period
Ritter et al
Better to describe the period as sensitive period because although its less likely to form bonds outside this window they still form bond after the 2 and half years. This is problem because it suggests Bowlbys theory may be overly negative about the chances of health development following early deprivation
