Characteristics of an attachment Flashcards
Attachment
Schaffer, a close emotional bond between 2 people characterised by mutual affection and a desire to maintain closeness
Maintaining proximity
Infant wants to be physically close to primary attachment figure
Seeks involvement by wanting to include their carer in their activities (or vice versa)
Separation anxiety
Intense distress shown by infant when primary attachment figure isnt present
Joy on reunion
Securely attached infants show visible pleasure on being reunited with PAF after period of separation
Easily comforted and will quickly resume play when PAF is close
Stranger anxiety
Intense distress shown by infant in response to strangers
Secure base
Ainsworth, primary attachment figure acts as a secure base
Infant demonstrates confidence whilst the primary care giver is present because of the security they provide
Sensitive responsiveness
Ainsworth, a secure attachment develops through sensitive responsiveness
This is where the primary care giver responds consistently and sensitively to the infants needs
Stage 1
Asocial
0-6 weeks
Stage 1 desc
Initially infants show similar responses to both people and objects
Very rapidly, infants begin to show a bias towards human-like stimuli by attending more to faces and eyes
They quickly learn to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar people through smell and voice
Stage 2
Indiscriminate attachment
7w-1m
Stage 2 desc
Infants become more sociable, preferring people to objects
They begin to distinguish between different people
Infants dont show signs of stranger or separation anxiety at this stage
Stage 3
Specific attachment
7m+
Stage 3 desc
Infants develop a specific attachment with their primary care giver
This stage starts with development of separation anxiety
Stranger anxiety generally develops 1m after development of separation anxiety
Stage 4
Multiple attachments
10-11m +
Stage 4 desc
Infants begin to show attachment behaviours towards several different people, including siblings, grandparents and childminders
Stages of development
Schaffer and Emerson 1964
Theory suggested that the primary care giver was usually the mother and this is who the child first formed an attachment to
In 3% of cases, the father was the first person they formed an attachment to. 75% of infants had formed an attachment to their father by 18 months.
Criticised by more recent research that shows importance of the role of the father
Mothers provide
Nurturing, affectionate and emotional care
Educational or imaginative play, such as counting or colour games or dressing up
Source of comfort when distressed
Caretaking activities such as brushing hair or cleaning teeth
Supports infants in their emotional, social and cognitive development
Fathers provide
Less likely to provide type of care more often provided by mother
Active, physically stimulating, rough-and-tumble play such as chasing, wrestling and swinging
Supports infants in the development of their confidence and their ability to assess risks
Attachment with father is important
Idea that the role of father is as important in childrens development has supporting research from Verissimo (2011)
Who found that the quality of the attachment between infants and fathers positively correlated with the number of friends a child has at pre-school
The fathers attachment seemed to be more important than the mothers attachment in this respect
Suggesting that the father has a unique influence on infants development
Attachment with father not
Grossman (2002) found that fathers had an important role in their childrens develoment involving play and stimulation
However, the idea of the role of the father not being important in childrens development has supporting research from McCallum and Golombok (2004)
Who found children in same sex or single parent families develop no differently to those in traditional two-parent households
This suggests that the father is not a unique influence on a infants development or can be substituted by another “father figure” who is not necessarily a man
Operationalising the role of the father
Research into the role of the father cares in how it operationalises this role
This means conclusions drawn from different studies must be viewed with caution
This is because some research tries to understand the father as a secondary attachment figure and view it as a unique figure different to the mother, whilst others measure the father as a primary attachment figure which can act as a substitute to the role traditionally played by the mother
Therefore, answering the question what is the role of the father is a complicated one
Implications for the economy
As some research suggests the father does play an important and unique role in the development of infants, there may be implications for the economy
This means government and business may need to make changes to paternity leave and be more flexible when in the working hours of fathers
The 2015 shared parental leave act means that either the mother, father or adopted parents can share the leave offered to them by law to care for their child rather than this being just 2 weeks for the father
Additionally, fathers may choose to work less hours than before meaning they will contribute less in taxes meaning the government has less money to fund other services
This shows that changing norms based on existing studies can have wider implications that go beyond the conclusions of research
