Topic 3: Attachment Flashcards
Define attachment.
Attachment = a close two-way emotional bond between two individuals in which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security
What behaviours show attachment?
Proximity - people try to stay physically close to their attachment figure
Separation anxiety - people show signs of anxiety and distress when an attachment figure leaves their presence
Secure-base behaviour - even when people are independent of their attachment figure they tend to make regular contact with them
Define reciprocity.
Interaction where both caregiver and infant respond to each other’s signals and each elicits a response from the other.
What did Feldman and Eidelman (2007) find about reciprocity?
Feldman and Eidelman found that babies have alert phases where they signal that they need social interaction, which mothers respond to ⅔ of the time.
What did Finegood et al (2016) find about reciprocity?
Finegood et al found that how frequently mothers respond in alert phases varies according to the skill of the mother and external factors, e.g. stress.
When does reciprocity become apparent and increasingly frequent?
From 3 months (Feldman 2007).
What did Brazelton et al (1975) find about reciprocity?
Brazelton et al found that caregiver and baby take turns initiating interaction. This was described as similar to a dance.
Define interactional synchrony.
Interaction when mother and infant reflect the actions and emotions of each other and do this in a synchronised, coordinated manner.
How did Feldman define interactional synchrony?
As ‘the temporal coordination of micro-level social behaviour’.
What did Isabella et al (1989) find about interactional synchrony?
Isabella et al found that high levels of interactional synchrony were associated with better-quality attachment.
What did Meltzoff and Moore (1977) find about interactional synchrony?
Meltzoff and Moore researched interactional synchrony in very young babies and found that when an adult displayed a distinctive facial expression or gestuire, the baby’s expression and gesture (as observed by independent observers) was more likely to mirror the adult’s than chance would predict.
Give three strengths of caregiver-infant research.
Observations are controlled and less likely to be affected by demand characteristics, which increases internal validity
Observations are filmed from multiple angles, ensuring that the researcher can capture fine detail, and establish inter-observer reliability with multiple observers
Caregiver-infant research has practical applications in parenting skills training - e.g. Crotwell et al (2013) found that Parent-Child Interaction Therapy improved interactional synchrony in low-income mothers and pre-school children
Counterpoint: Research is also socially sensitive because it can be used to argue that mothers shouldn’t return to work soon after giving birth, for risk of damaging their baby’s development (other research by Fox in 1977 shows that working mothers will still have time to develop interactional synchrony)
Give two limitations of caregiver-infant research.
When observing infants, it is hard to distinguish between random movements and conscious, deliberate reciprocity or interactional synchrony
While researchers have identified reciprocity and interactional synchrony, it is unknown why they happen (although there is some evidence that they are important in developing attachment and helpful in stress responses, empathy and moral development (Isabella et al 1989))
Define primary caregiver.
The person who spends the most time with the baby and cares for their needs.
Define primary attachment figure.
The person to whom the baby has the strongest attachment (the baby’s relationship with their primary attachment figure forms the basis of all later close emotional relationships).
What did Schaffer and Emerson (1964) find about fathers as secondary attachment figures?
- most babies become attached to their mother first, at around 7 months
- in 3% of cases the father was the sole first attachment
- in 27% of cases the baby became attached to both parents at the same time
- 75% of cases formed attachments with their fathers by 18 months
What did Grossman (2002) find in his longitudinal study on the effect of infant attachment on adolescent attachment?
Grossman found that the quality of attachment to mothers had an effect on the quality of adolescent attachment, but the quality of attachment to fathers did not. However, the quality of fathers’ play was related to the quality of adolescent attachment, suggesting that fathers may have a different role in attachment.
What did Field (1978) find about fathers as primary attachment figures?
Field filmed 4 month old babies’ face-to-face interactions with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers. Primary caregiver fathers acted more similarly to primary caregiver mothers than secondary caregiver fathers, spending more time smiling, imitating and holding infants (signs of attachment). This suggests that fathers can be a more nurturing attachment figure (contrary to what Grossman found).
