developmental psychology Flashcards
0-2 years old
attachment?
enduring a 2 way emotional bond to a specific other person, normally a parent and a child.
how is attachment shown?
stranger anxiety. separation protest. seeking proximity
reciprocity?
= how 2 people interact, which is important for attachment
. for example a mother and infant interaction is reciprocal as they respond to each others signals.
more examples of reciprocity?
. babies have alert phases and signal they’re ready for attention. Mothers respond to alertness
. From 3+ months interactions are more frequent, which involves close attention to each other’s verbal signals and facial moves.
. Brazelton et al 1975- described interactions as a dance because each partner responds to the others moves
what is interactional synchrony?
= mother and infant reflect both the actions and emotions of the other and so this is a co-ordinated way.
. Meltzoff and Moore 1977- observed beginning of synchrony as young as 2 weeks old. Adult displayed a facial expression/ distinctive gesture and baby copied
evaluation?
stages of attachment ?
. Schaffer 1996
. pre attachment phase ( 0-3 months)- infants demonstrate a preference for human faces
. indiscriminate attachment ( 3-7/8 months)- begin to distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people
. discriminate attachment ( 7/8 months onwards)- develop specific attachments and become distressed when separated
. multiple attachments- ( 9 months onwards)- emotional ties to more than one caregiver e.g. grandparents, aunt, uncle etc
study?
evaluation of Schaffer and Emerson?
. high ecological validity - research done in families own home and most observations done with actual parents, it’s reflective of a real life situation, so children would behave similarly in real world so good external validity
. no ptp variables- longitudinal research, same children followed up regularly so better internal validity
. lacks generalisability- 60 babies, most working class, same district ( glasgow) so noy representative of target population. child rearing practices might differ from one culture/ social class so can’t generalise to other social/ cultural groups
. social desirability- mums could lie when being observed to give desirable answers so lacks internal validity. difficult to establish their earlier attachment so hard to conclude effect of this development
what did Bowlby say about the role of a father?
. one primary caregiver, usually mother, so father less of a caregiver and more of a playmate. Mothers seen as nurturing so recognise and respond to needs.
Grossman 2002?
. studied how important father are in children’s development and do they have a distinct role
. longitudinal study= 44 families
. looked at both parents behaviour and relationship to quality of children’s attachment experience
. findings- quality of attachment with mothers related to attachments in adolescence so suggest father attachment is less important BUT quality of fathers play with infants related to quality of adolescent attachments so suggests fathers play a diff role in attachment ( play and stimulation not nurturing)
Field ( 1978)
. fathers can have role of main caregiver
. filmed 4 month old babies face to face interaction
. looked at mother and father as primary caregivers and fathers as secondary caregiver
. finding= spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants like mothers so same attachment as mother primary caregiver, so gender isn’t important
identified factors?
. degree of sensitivity- more secure attachment of father is more sensitive to child’s needs
. type of attachment with own parents- single fathers tend to form similar attachments they had with their parents
. maritial intimacy - partner affects type of attachment he’ll have with his children
. supportive co parenting - amount of support a father gives to his partner affects type of attachment
evaluation?
. evidence suggests children with secure attachments to fathers go on to have better relationships with peers, less behaviour problems and more able to regulate their emotions so supports idea of importance of role of father
. children who grow up without fathers tend to do less well in school, have higher levels of risk taking and aggression, especially boys suggesting importance of role of father
. fathers aren’t only important to children but mothers too. They help reduce stress and increase self esteem of mother which affects her relationship with her children
. when fathers spend more time with their children they develop more secure attachments so amount of interaction is important
. significant individual differences effect how important the relationship is, generally the more positive attachments a child has, the better, but individual differences in how father and child respond vary
Conrad Lorenz 1935?
. aim= investigate how attachments are formed in geese
. design= independent groups
. iv= hatched under mother or incubator
. dv= who they followed ( imprinting)
. procedure= randomly divided a group of goose eggs. Half eggs hatched with mother in natural environment and other half hatched in incubator and first moving object they saw was Lorenz
findings- incubator group followed Lorenz whereas control group followed mother. Even when mixed up. experimental group followed Lorenz and control followed mother
. also known as imprinting - attach to first moving object they see when born ( critical period)
