Introduction to Attachment (Attachment)

Question 1

Developmental Psychology

Answer 1

Development describes the growth of humans throughout the lifespan, from conception to death. The scientific study of human development seeks to understand and explain how and why people change throughout life.
This includes all aspects of human growth, including physical, emotional, intellectual, social, perceptual, and personality development.

Question 2

Learning Theory

Answer 2

According to learning theory, infants learn to be attached to their primary caregiver.

Question 3

Evolutionary Theory

Answer 3

Explains attachment is an innate behaviour that has evolved over millions of years because it increases chances of survival.

Question 4

Attachment

Answer 4

Involves both a baby and a parent who have an emotional link between each other. This ties them together and takes longer to develop than a bond. We can see this when we observe behaviours.

Question 5

Bond

Answer 5

A set of feelings that tie one person to another. For example, parents feel bonded with their new born babies. We cannot see this.

Question 6

Maccoby 1980

Answer 6

identified four characteristics of attachment:
-seeking proximity
-distress on separation
-joy on reunion
-orientation of behaviour

Question 7

Why do attachments form?

Answer 7

-Survival: short term (less than two years old)(need adults for comfort, food and protection), long term (2 years-adolescence)(emotional relationships)

Question 8

Reciprocity

Answer 8

Caregiver-infant interaction is a two-way, mutual process. The behaviour of each party elicits a response from the other. Each party responds to the action of another’s signal to sustain interaction (turn-taking). The responses are not necessarily similar as in interactional synchronicity.

Question 9

Feldman 2007 (studies on reciprocity)

Answer 9

around 3 months caregiver-infant interaction becomes increasingly frequent. From birth, babies move in a rhythm when interacting with an adult almost as if they were taking turns.

Question 10

Brazelton et al 1975 (studies on reciprocity)

Answer 10

suggested that this basic rhythm is an important precursor to later communications. The regularity of an infant’s signals allows a caregiver to anticipate the infant’s behaviour and respond appropriately.

Question 11

Trevathan (studies on reciprocity)

Answer 11

suggested that turn taking in the infant-adult interaction is important for the development of social and language skills.

Question 12

Interactional synchrony

Answer 12

Psychologists have described a slightly different interaction between infants and caregivers called interactional synchrony which is when two people interact in a mirror pattern in terms of their emotional and facial and body movements. Happens with romantic partners also.
Feldman defines it as “the temporal coordination of micro-level social behaviour”

Question 13

Meltzoff and Moore 1977

Answer 13

observed the beginnings of interactional synchrony in infants as young as two weeks.

An adult splayed one of three facial expressions or one of three distinctive gestures.
The child’s response was filmed and identified by independent observers.

An association was found between the expression or gesture the adult had displayed and the actions of the babies.
In a later study Meltzoff and Moore demonstrated the same synchrony with infants only three days old.

Question 14

Other Studies on Synchrony

Answer 14

Isabella et al 1989: found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-infant attachment. Suggests that strong emotional attachments are associated with high levels of synchrony.

Heimann: showed that infants who demonstrate a lot of imitation from birth onwards have been found to have a better quality of relationship at 3 months.

Question 15

(Evaluation of studies on reciprocity and synchrony) Observing infants

Answer 15

-it is difficult during observations to see the infant’s perspective
-is the behaviour conscious or deliberate
-we cannot assume the interaction has a specific meaning

Question 16

(Evaluation of studies on reciprocity and synchrony) Controlled observations capture fine detail

Answer 16

-often observations are video taped from different angles to capture all details
-babies do not know or care that they are being observed, no demand characteristics, improving validity

Question 17

(Evaluation of studies on reciprocity and synchrony) Observations do not tell us the purpose of synchrony and reciprocity

Answer 17

-Feldman 2012 suggests that synchrony simply describes behaviours that occur at the same time
-they do not tell us their purpose
-However, there is evidence that reciprocity and synchrony are helpful in the development of mother-infant attachment as well as helpful stress responses, empathy, language and moral development

Question 18

(Role of the father) Grossman 2002

Answer 18

Longitudinal study looking at parent’s behaviour and quality of children’s attachment into their teens. Quality of fathers’ play with infants as related to the quality of adolescent attachment, suggesting play and stimulation was an important role for fathers and not nurturing.

Question 19

(Role of the father)Schaffer and Emerson 1964

Answer 19

the majority of babies became attached to their mothers first (at around 7 months) and within a few weeks or months, formed secondary attachments.
-75% attachment was formed with the father by age 18 months

Question 20

Father as the primary carer

Answer 20

Field 1978 filmed 4-month old babies in face-to-face interaction with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers.
PCF -more likely to smile, hold and imitate baby behaviours than SCF
Key to attachment is level of responsiveness not gender

Question 21

(Evaluation of Role of the Father) Shouldn’t there be differences?

Answer 21

Grossman- distinct role to do with play/simulation
MacCallum and Golombok (2004) children who grow up in single or same-sex parent families do not develop any differently

Question 22

(Evaluation of Role of the Father) Why don’t fathers generally become primary attachments?

Answer 22

-traditional gender roles
-Oestrogen- higher levels of nurturing and therefore women are biologically predisposed to be primary attachment figures

Question 23

(Evaluation of Role of the Father) Socially sensitive research, working mothers

Answer 23

-this research suggests that children may be disadvantaged by particular child-rearing practices
-mothers who return to work quickly after giving birth, restrict the opportunity for achieving interactional synchrony
-However: Kassamali and Rattani (2014)- results revealed that maternal employment does itself does not enhance or deteriorate attachment with the child. It is a combination of factors that revolve around it impact on their bond