attachment Flashcards
care giver interactions - reciprocity
. care giver/infant interactions is reciprocal in that b. cg/baby respond to each others signals
. each elicit a response from the other, ex cg. responds to baby’s smile and elicits a response
care giver interactions - alert phases
. babies signal when ready for interaction
. 2/3 of time mother picks up on this, varies according to skill
. from 3 months, interaction increasingly freq
care giver interactions - active involvement
. both cg./baby can initiate interactions and take turns
. brazelton et al describes this as a dance
care giver interactions - interactional synchrony
. cg/baby can reflect each others actions and emotions in a co-ordinated way
. synchrony begins, moore et al; studied babies two weeks old
.filmed and labelled their response
. found babies mirrored cg gestures and expressions more than they thought
. isabella et al; observed 30 mothers and their babies, found high levels of synchrony associated with high quality mother baby attachment
filmed observations - cg interactions evaluation
strength
. cg infant interactions usually filmed in lab so distracting activity can be controlled
. observations can be recorded and analysed later so unlikely so miss key behaviours
. bec it’s filmed more observers can analyse and record data, establishing inter rated reliability
. babies don’t know being observed so no change in beh.
. therefore data collected in research should have good validity and reliability
difficulty observing babies - cg interactions evaluation
limitation
. hard to interpret baby’s beh.
. babies lack co-ordination and r immobile
. ex, cannot know whether movement random or triggered by cg
. therefore cannot be certain that beh. seen in cg interactions have special meaning
developmental importance - cg interactions evaluation
. observing beh. does not tell us developmental importance
. feldman; ideas like synchrony give names to patterns of beh. observed
. can be reliably observed but still may not be useful in understanding child development
. therefore we cannot be certain that reciprocity/synchrony r import. for child development from observational research alone
schaffers stages of attachment - stage 1; asocial stage
1 baby’s 1st few weeks observable beh towards humans/objects similar
2 tend to show preference for familiar people/+re easily comforted by them
3 baby is forming bonds w cert people
schaffers stages of attachment - stage 2; indiscriminate attachment
1 fr 2-7 months babies display +re obvious social beh
2 show clear preference being w others than objects, recog familiar people
3 accept cuddles fr anyone
4 no separation/stranger anxiety
schaffers stages of attachment - stage 3; specific attachment
1 fr 7 months, maj babies start display attachment towards 1 partic pers
2 show stranger/separation anxiety
3 baby forms specific attachment to primary attachment fig, who is pers that interacts/responds to signals most w the best skill
4 65% cases is mother
schaffers stages of attachment - stage 4; multiple attachments
1 shortly after primary attachment beh extends to multiple attachments w others who they spend time w - secondary attachments
2 schaffer/emerson observed 29% of children formed secondary attachment w/n month of forming primary attachment
3 by one yr maj babies developed multiple attachments
good external validity - schaffers stages evaluation
strength
1 most obvs made me parents during ordinary activities
2 alternative meth of researcher observing may have distanced babies
3 therefore means highly likely ppts behaved naturally while observed
good external validity counterpoint - schaffer stages evaluation
limitation
1 mothers unlikely to be objective
2 may have been biased in what they report
3 therefore means even if babies beh naturally the beh not accurately recorded
poor evidence for asocial stage - schaffers stages evaluation
limitation
1 if babies less than 2 months felt anxiety in everyday situs it might be displayed in subtle ways
2 made it difficult for mothers to observe and report back
3 therefore means babies may acc be quite social b bec of flawed meth appear asocial
real world application - schaffers stages evaluation
strength
1 practical application in day care
2 in asocial/indiscriminate attach stages day care is straightforward as babies comforted by anyone
3 starting daycare in specific attach stage is harder w +re problems
4 therefore parents use of daycare can be planned using schaffers stages
attachment to fathers - the role of the father
evidence sugg father much less like to be 1 attach compare to moths
schaffer/emerson; fou maj bab 1st attach to moth at 7 months, in 3% cases was fath
27% cases father was joint 1st w moth
how, 75% babies formed attach w father by 18mon wh was determined by bab protesting when fath walked away
distinctive role for fathers - the role of the father
grossman et al; longitudinal study, bab attach studied until teens and researcher looked at both parents beh/relationship to quality of bab later attach to oths
quality of babys attach w mothers b not faths related to attach in adolescence
sugg attach to fath less import than moths
how. G fou quality of fathers play w babies was related to quality of adolescent attach
sugg fath have diff role fr moths wh is to do w play/stimulation and less w emotional development
fathers as primary attachment figures - the role of the father
evidence sugg when fath take on pcg role they can adopt emotional role +re typically associated w moth
tiffany field; filmed 4 moth bab in face to face interaction w pcg moths, scg faths, pcg faths
pcg faths spent +re time smiling/holding babs than scg faths
shows faths potential to be +re emotion focused pcg and can prov responsiveness required for close emotional attach b perhaps this only expressed when given pcg role
evaluation - confusion over qs; role of the father
limitation
lack clarity over qs asked
before saw faths behave diff 2 moths and have distinct role
latter fou they can take ‘maternal role’
therefore makes difficult 2 offer simple answer as to ‘role of father’ bec depends on what specific role discussed
evaluation - conflicting evidence; role of the father
limitation
findings vary according to methodology used
longitudinal studies sugg faths as secondary attach have important/distinct role in child’s develop
how. if faths role crucial then single moth/lesbian par fami would be diff to those in heterosexual fami
studies show those childr don’t develop diff fr childr in 2 par heterosexual fami
therefore challenges whether faths have distinctive role
evaluation - conflicting evid counterpoint ; role of the father
cou be that par in single moth/lesbian fami adapt to accommodate role played by faths
therefore means clear that fath has distinct role when present b famis can adopt 2 not having fath
evaluation - real world application ; role of the father
research into role can be used for advice 2 par
ex. heterosexual couples can be advised that fath can be pcg
lesbian/single moth informed not having fath doesn’t aff child developm
therefore means parental anxiety about role of father can be reduced
animal studies of attachment - lorenzs research
imprinting; 1st observed when he was child and neighbour gave him newly hatched duckling that followed him
procedure; divided goose eggs, half hatched w. moth, half w him
findings; incubator g followed lorenz, cg. followed moth
when 2 grps moved both still followed 1st pers seen
critical period; few hrs after hatching, if no imprinting w/n time childr don’t attach to moth fig
sexual imprinting; birds that’s imprinted on humans later showed courtship beh to them
animals studies of attachment - harlows research
observed newborn monkeys kept alone in cage died b w something soft +re like survived
procedure; reared 16 baby monkeys w 2 wire model moths
one cond milk dispensed by plain wire another cond by cloth moth
findings; monkeys cuddled cloth moth in pref 2 plain moth and sought comfort fr cloth moth regardless wh dispensed milk when frightened
showed ‘contact comfort’ +re import 2 monkeys than food when came 2 attach beh