Attatchment Flashcards
``Reciprocity
Two way process achieved when a care giver and infant respond to and produce responses from eachother, almost like a conversation
Example of reciprocity
Mum makes a silly face and baby smiles/giggles in response
Interaction synchrony
Caregiver and infant mirror each others emotions and actions in a synchronised way
Attachments
Strong emotional bond usually between infant and caregiver
Caregiver
Provides care for a child
Infancy
Period before a child’s speech begins
When does reciprocity increase in infants
3 months
Example of interaction synchrony
Mum sticks out tongue, baby sticks out tongue
Supporting evidence to interaction synchrony 1977
Meltzoff and Moore 1977 - adult made face at 2/3 week old baby, recorded response, found strong association between adult face and expression in infant
Supporting evidence to interaction synchrony 1989
Isabella et al 1989 - 30 mothers and infants assessed synchrony and quality of attachemnt. Found high attachment = high synchrony
Limitations of interaction synchrony experiments (3)
- Babies can’t communicate = make inferences/cannot give consent
- Socially sensitive - bias/sexist steryo
- Ecological validity - unnatural lab setting/observed
Strengths of interaction synchrony experiments (3)
- Supporting evidence - Tronick et al 1975, still face experiment. Mother and baby show reciprocity, mother turns back with a neutral face and baby panics
- Control observations - good validity (babys don’y know they are observed)
- Useful applications - child parent interaction therapy
Separation anxiety
Distress shown by infant when separated from caregiver
Stranger anxiety
Distress shown by infant when approached by someone unfamiliar
Schaffer and Emerson’s aims for their experiment
- At what age do babies form attachments
- How strong are the attachments
- Who are attachments formed with
What and when is the first stages of attachment
Asocial - birth - 2 months. Similar response to all objects/reciprocity and interaction synchrony establish relationships
What and when is the second stages of attachment
Indiscriminate attachment - 2-7 months. Preference to people but no strong preference
What and when is the third stages of attachment
Specific attachment - 7-12 months. Show separation anxiety to 1 adult (65% mother), show attachment with primary attachment figure (who shows most reciprocity)
What and when is the fourth (final) stages of attachment
Multiple attachments - 1 year + Form more attachments ‘secondary attachments’
Schaffer and Emersons study
1964, 60 babies from working class families in Glasgow , studied every month of their life for the first year and at 18 months and mothers asked questions about separation and stranger anxiety
Findings for Shaffer and emmersons study
At 25 and 32 weeks 50% of babies showed seperation anxiety, indicated 1 specific attachment (most cases mother). Attavhment usually with the one who was most interactive (reciprocity) not necessarily who spent most time with. By 40 weeks 80% had specific attachments - 30% had multiple attachments.
What type of observation was schaffer and emmersons
Naturalistic (natural environment) and overt (caregiver told to watch behaviour)
What do you call a long study
Longatudinal study, allows you to see a vast range of behaviour across different stages. Same individual
Stregnths of schaffer and emmersons research (3)
- Good external validity - babies behaved naturally/done at home
- Longitudinal study - no individual different/good internal validity
- Practical applications - importance of baby/mother attachment (placed mothers and babies in same room after birth)
Limitations of schaffer and emmersons study (3)
- Unreliable data - mothers could hide data /less likely to report issues (social desirability)
- Bias sample - working class mothers from Scotland and took place in 1960’s so social roles have changed
- Cultural variation - individual cultures (UK/USA) focus on own needs/intimidate family needs
Biological factors for men not being equipped to form attachments
Men have testosterone (aggression) where women have oestrogen (caring/motherly). Oxytocin (love hormone/form attachments); females produce a large amount after birth
Social factors for men not being equipped to form attachments
Stereotypical roles can discourage fathers from caregiver roles.
Economic factors for men not being equipped to form attachments
Typically men are the breadwinners and isn’t possible to stay home. Only in 2003, men where granted 2 weeks of paid paternity leave
Men as important secondary attachments - Schaffer and Emerson
Babies attach with mother at 7 months, only 3% was with father. Fathers become attachment figures (75%) at 18 months
Men as important secondary attachments - Geiger playmate role
1996, observed 56 homes, found interaction with father was more exciting/fun/playful whereas mother was caring and nurturing. Both important for child well being.
Men can be primary caregivers as they demonstrate sensitive responsiveness. What is this.
The ability to understand the meaning of infant signals and respond to them appropriately
Tiffany Fields experiment to support fathers as primary caregivers
1978, 4 month babies face to face interaction with; primary care giver mothers and fathers and secondary caregiver fathers. Primary mothers AND fathers spent more time smiling and holding the baby rather than secondary fathers.
Limitations to the studies of the role of the father
- Sexist/stereotypical views on gender roles. May impact custody, pressure women/men into certain roles.
Strengths to the studies of the role of the father (2) - not including supporting evidence
1.Gender pay gap may reduce is parental roles are different
2. Changing laws in 2003 mean men get 2 weeks of paid paternity leave
Strengths of the studies of the role of the father - supporting evidence
- Frodi et al (1978) - showed a video of babies crying and there was difference in stress response between mothers and fathers
- Gordon et al (2010) - longitudinal study to see levels of oxytocin in 160 mothers and fathers in 1st week post birth and 6 months. They found no difference
- McConnachie et al (2020) studied adopted children to two gay dads and found no less attachment than a heterosexual couple
- Gettler et al (2011) found mens testosterone drops when becoming a father to respond more sensitively
Imprinting
The idea there is an innate readiness to form a bond with the mother than takes pace a few hours after birth/hatching.
Procedure of Lorenz study
12 goose eggs. 6 hatched with mother in natural environment, 6 hatched with Lorenz in an incubator
What type of geese where used in Lorenz study
12 greylag goose
What year was Lorenz study
1935
Findings from Lorenz study
Group 1 followed mother, 2 followed Lorenz after birth. Even when mixed up in a box the goose still separated to their ‘mothers’. Suggest this was through imprinting.
What did Lorenz say about imprinting
It was the first moving animal the geese saw after birth and it was irreversible and long lasting
Critical period suggested by Lorenz
A period in which imprinting has to take place (time is dependent on the species). If imprinting didn’t happen, no attachment would be formed to a parental figure.
Lorenz found that early imprinting had an effect on
Mate preference, sexual imprinting. Animals especially birds chose to mate the same objects they imprint to.
Strengths to Lorenz ‘s study
Supporting evidence, Guiton et al 1966, chickens imprinted on a yellow washing up glove
Limitations to Lorenz’s study (3)
- Ethical issues; sperated eggs from mother, denied the opportunity to develop normal behaviour/interact sexually and socially with other geese.
- Generalisability to humans - human attachment is more complex
- Research contradicts - Guinton et al 1966 found imprinting could be reversed
What was Harry Harlow’s aims for his experiment
Understand why infants attach to their mother, for confort or for food
What animal was used in Harlow’s study
Rhesus monkeys
Procedures of Harlow’s experiment
16 monkeys taken from mother where recorded from birth in individual cages. There was a cloth mother and wire mother (provided milk) in both.
What did Harlow record
Recorded time spent on each (cloth/wire mother), which the baby ran to if scared and long term effects
Findings from Harlow’s study
Monkeys spent more time on the cloth mother, ran to cloth mother if scared
Conclusions from Harlow’s study
Rhesus monkeys have an innate need for contact comfort suggesting attachment is to do with comfort and security rather than food
The impact on the monkeys in the future where
More aggressive, less sociable, unskilled at mating, if mothers they neglected young/killed them, maternal deprivation had permanent consequences
Critical period for monkeys for normal behaviour
90 days for an attachment with mother. After attachment was impossible and damage done by early deprivation was irreversible
Stregnths of Harlows study
Real world applications - understand early attachment which has improved the care system and develop social care workers knowledge especially in child abuse cases
Limitations of Harlows study (2)
- Ethical issues - Rhesus monkeys are similar to humans so suffered the same. Cadged. Denied opportunity for normal development. Psychologically distressed and hurt. However important research (cost benifit analysis)
- Extraneous variables - different faces on mothers (cloth mother had a more monkey like face)
