Attachment Flashcards
What is attachment?
a strong, long-lasting emotional bond between two people usually an infant and a caregiver
How is attachment characterised?
by behaviours like proximity seeking, separation distress and pleasure on reunion
How does an attachment develope with a baby and a caregiver?
baby has a need - cries - need met by caregiver - trust developes - attach begins
What is reciprocity?
the actions of one person gets a response from the other person although the response is not necessarily the same and does not occur at the same time
what are alert phases?
babies signal periodically that they are ready for interaction
What is active involvement?
both babies and adults can initiate interactions
What is interactional synchrony?
behaviour is synchronised and is carrier out at the same time, mirroring each other’s behaviours
What improves the quality of an attach with mothers and babies?
high levels of interaction
What is proximity seeking?
people try to stay physically close to their attachment figure
What is separation distress?
people show signs of anxiety when an attachment figure leaves their presence
What is secure-base behaviour?
making regular contact with attachment figure to feel safe
What was the aim of Meltzoff and Moore?
investigated if infants would mirror behaviours of adults interacting with them
What was the method of Meltzoff and Moore?
x18 babies - 2-3 weeks old
controlled obvs
adult displayed 1 of 3 facial expressions - mouth opening, toungue out and pouting lips
1 hand gesture - open hand
the behaviours ands expressions of the infants were observed and recorded
What did Meltzoff and Moore find?
there was an association between the behaviour of the infant and the adult
this behaviour of the infant is innate
What does innate mean?
not learned behaviour, it is naturally installed and unconscious
What are the strengths of Meltzoff and Moore?
controlled obvs = more internally valid
filmed = check for inter-rater reliability - reliable and valid
later replication = reliable
limited to 3 expressions = greater degree of certainty - greater confidence (baby not making random faces)
support from S and E = babies can’t distinguish between people at this age - measured general infant behaviour
What are the weaknesses of Meltzoff and Moore?
not all replications succeeded = less reliable
controlled = reduces generalisability
adult was not their caregiver
What is inter-rater reliability?
meausres the degree of agreement between different people observing the same thing
What was Tronick’s ‘Still Face Experiment’ method?
filmed controlled obvs
3 stages: laster 2-3 mins
1. normal face-to-face - playing with infants normally
2. still face episode - CG stops interacting with B
3. reuinion episode - back to normal interaction
infants were 2-12 months
What did Tronick find during the Still face EPISODE?
Increase in:
-gaze aversion
-visual scanning
- pick me up gestures
-distancing behaviours = twisting/turning
-physical stress indicators = heart rate/ cortisol changes
What did the Still Face Expt show ?
babies are not passive with their interactions
they have an active role in reciprocity
shows the importance of care-giver and infant interactions
getting back into sync is important
What are the strengths of the still face exprt?
controlled obvs - internally valid
replicated - reliable and valid
filmed - checking inter-rater reliablity = increase reliablity and validity
practical implications - can help parenting
What are the weaknesses of the still face exprt?
artificial environment - possible impact on behaviour = lacks ecological validity
ethical issues - distress, showed the effects of neglect, harm to parents
the infant is unable to withdraw from the expt
What are the characteristics of Schaffer and Emerson study of the development of attachment?
longitudinal study - 2 yrs
60 infants aged 5-23 weeks
from workingclass families in Glasgow