Caregiver-Infant Interactions Flashcards
What is attachment?
A strong emotional bond between an infant and their caregiver
What is sensitive responsiveness?
When the caregiver responds appropriately to signals from the infant
What is imitation?
When the infant copies the caregiver’s actions and behaviour
What is interactional synchrony?
When infants react in time with the caregiver’s speech resulting in a ‘conversation dance’
What is reciprocity?
The idea that interaction flows back and forth between the caregiver and infant
What is motherese?
A slow, high-pitched way of speaking to infants
What is the limitation of the features of caregiver-infant interactions?
It is impossible to know when studying interactions, if the infant attaches any meaning to the gestures, or if they are simply imitating them
Why are the observations of caregiver-infant interactions normally high in validity?
They are generally well-controlled, allowing researchers to study behaviour in a systematic way
Who proposed the stages of attachment?
Schaffer
What is the first stage of attachment?
Asocial phase
What is the age range for the ASOCIAL stage and what behaviour does an infant exhibit?
0-3 months. Infants recognise their carers, but their behaviour towards humans and non-human objects is similar.
What is the second stage of attachment?
Indiscriminate attachment
What is the age range for the INDISCRIMINATE stage and what behaviour does an infant exhibit?
2-7 months. Infants prefer people over objects & can recognise familiar people. They don’t usually display separation anxiety or stranger anxiety.
What is the third stage of attachment?
Specific attachment
What is the age range for the SPECIFIC stage and what behaviour does an infant exhibit?
7-11 months. Infant has formed a specific attachment with their, now, ‘primary caregiver’. Display separation and stranger anxiety.
What is the fourth stage of attachment?
Multiple attachments
What is the age range for the MULTIPLE stage and what behaviour does an infant exhibit?
10/11+ months. Infants form attachments to multiple different people. Some may be stronger than others and have different functions. (Secondary attachments formed)
Which study provides evidence for attachment stages?
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) - 60 Glasgow Babies study
What was the sample for the Glasgow Babies study?
60 babies (31 male, 29 female), from Glasgow, from working class families
How did Schaffer and Emerson assess the infants’ behaviour?
Mothers kept a diary to keep track of infant’s behaviours. S&E analysed the caregiver-infant interactions & interviewed the carers.
What type of study was the Glasgow Babies study and how long did it last?
Longitudinal. 18 months.
How often did Schaffer and Emerson visit the infants?
Every month
What did Schaffer and Emerson find from their study?
Around 50% of the infants showed separation anxiety between the ages of 25-32 weeks. By 40 weeks, most infants had a specific attachment.
What was the main conclusion from Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
That infant attachments develop through a number of stages
What did Schaffer and Emerson conclude about who infants became attached to?
Infants tended to attach to the caregiver who responded most sensitively to them, rather than who they spent the most time with, suggesting quality of care is important in forming attachments.
Why does Schaffer and Emerson’s study lack population validity?
All infants came from Glasgow from working class families. Cannot generalise.
Why may Schaffer and Emerson’s study lack internal validity?
Self report method (mothers’ diary) - demand characteristics and social desirability.
Why is Schaffer and Emerson’s study high in external validity?
Conducted in the families’ own homes and most observations were reported by parents. Behaviour of infants was natural.
