attachment Flashcards
(37 cards)
what is attachment?
a close emotional bond between two people( carer-infant), characterised by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity. it’s a two ways process and endured over time.
name 3 examples of attachment behaviours
proximity seeking, desire to be physically close
separation protest, distress at separation
stranger anxiety, distress at a stranger interaction
what is the key study by meltzoff and moore?(1977)
a controlled laboratory observation to investigate infant-carer interactions.
Adult presented child with a facial expression.infants expressions were monitored, found that infants imitated expressions shown
what is reciprocity?
infant and carer interaction in a type of non verbal conversation through coordinating actions. allows the carer to anticipate infants behaviour and respond appropriately. lays foundation for attachment to form.
what is interactional synchrony?
imitation between a care giver and infant, due to infants innate response.
important for later communication.
name the 4 stages of schaffer and emerson’s stage theory of attachment.
under 2 months, indiscriminate attachment
2-4 months, beginning of attachment
4-7 months, discriminate attachment
+7 months, multiple attachment stage
What is the indiscriminate attachment stage?
reciprocity and interactional synchrony play a role in developing relationships
what is the beginnings of attachment?
infant seeks attention from a number of different individuals. does not yet show stranger anxiety.
what is the discriminate attachment stage?
infant develops strong attachment to one individual, shows stranger anxiety.
what is the multiple stage attachment?
baby forms strong emotional ties with other caregivers and non caregivers such as siblings
what is the glasgow babies study by schaffer and emerson in 1960s?
60 babies were studied, ranged from 5-23 weeks old. studied until they were 1. mothers were visited every week.mother reported infants response to being separated.
give two points of evaluation for the Glasgow babies. stage theory
- challenge of internal validity, social desirability bias.
2. carried out in the 1960s, temporal validity. cant generalise
what did schaffer and emerson find about the role of the father?
less likely to be primary attachment figure due to biological or social factors, eg man provides for family so works more or that women have oestrogen which is a hormone which is involved in caring behaviour.
what did geiger(1996) and lamb(1987) find?
Geiger: fathers play interactions are more exciting and pleasurable
Lamb: children prefer interacting with fathers when in a positive emotional state.
What was the aim of Harlows research?
he wanted to understand the basis of the bond between a newborn monkey and their mother.
what was the method of investigation used in harlow’s experiment?
baby monkeys were placed in a cafe with two surrogate mothers one with wire and one with cloth.
state a criticism of harlow’s studies.
the two stimulus objects varied in multiple ways, eg the objects had different heads.
what is meant by the term imprinting?
imprinting is an innate readiness to develop a strong bond with mother. this takes place at a specific time in development and if it doesn’t happen then, it probably won’t happen at all
what did Guitons research find?(imprinting)
it is supportive of lorenz’s imprinting theory. he exposed leg horn chicks to yellow gloves during critical period. chicks imprinted on the gloves. supports ideas that young animals imprint on anything moving during critical period.
what did Gutions research challenge?
it challenged the idea that imprinting could be reversible.
Concerning the learning theory what does behaviourist mean?
behaviour is learned from the environment through conditioning.
Concerning learning theory what does evolutionary mean?
behaviours seen today can be explained by their adaptive importance to our early ancestors.
what is classical conditioning?
classical conditioning is when we associate a reflex response with an alternative stimulus.
what is operant conditioning?
operant conditioning is when behaviour is determined by consequences, positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement
