attachment Flashcards
define reciprocity
a two way mutual process where two parties respond to each other to sustain interaction - turn taking
what did Meltzof and Moore investigate and what did they find out
investigated caregiver and infant interactions. they used three behaviours shown to the baby by their primary care giver and a stranger the baby wouldn’t know
- they found that babies showed reciprocity from 12 days old providing evidence that there is a biological drive to having an attachment
what occurred in the Tronick still faced experiment and what does this tell us about reciprocity
a mother and baby were copying each others behaviours until the mother stopped, when this occurred the baby gradually became more distressed. it shows how important reciprocity is and how much anxiety it can cause when it is taken away
define interactional synchrony
from around three months old, adults and babies will respond in time to sustain communication. the baby and the primary care giver mirror each others behaviour in time.
what are the issues with studying infants
- can’t give consent
- it can be socially sensitive
- they can’t withdraw information
- they are susceptible to harm depending on observation
- can’t do experiments or gain self report data
- only do observations but even then inferences need to be made
define socially sensitive
where something may become unethical or cause controversy or potential negative consequences later on in life
briefly explain the method and results of Schaffer and Emerson’s study into the stages of attachments
method - 60 babies from working class background in Glasgow. The babies and their mothers were visited every month for the first year and again at 18 months. the mother was asked questions about stranger anxiety and separation anxiety to measure the infants attachment.
findings - between 25-30 weeks 50% of babies showed signs of separations anxiety. by 40 weeks 80% or babies had a specific attachment and 30% had multiple attachments
what are the four stages of attachments according to Schaffer and Emerson
asocial, indiscriminate attachment, specific attachment, multiple attachment
what is the age and give a brief description of the attachment stage asocial according to Schaffer and Emerson
first few weeks
- includes attention seeking behaviours such as smiling and crying that isn’t directed toward anyone in particular suggesting attachments can be made with anyone
what is the age and give a brief description of the attachment stage indiscriminate attachment according to Schaffer and Emerson
up to around 7 months
- seeks attention from anyone but preferences are shown toward familiar faces, there is not really any separation or stranger anxiety
what is the age and give a brief description of the attachment stage specific attachment according to Schaffer and Emerson
around 7-11 months
- start to develop specific attachments staying close to particular people and being distressed when not near them. they will avoid unfamiliar people.
what is the age and give a brief description of the attachment stage multiple attachment according to Schaffer and Emerson
above 11 months
- start to extend their behaviour to more than one person and forming multiple attachments with other adults, they can vary in strength.
give four evaluation points for Schaffer and Emerson’s theory of the stages of attachments
- there is research to back it up
- it challenges the monotropy theory
- practical application
- flawed research
- not universal - individual differences
give four evaluation points for Schaffer and Emerson’s theory of the stages of attachments
- high ecological validity - naturalistic observations in homes = reflecting real life behaviours
- practical application
- challenges monotropy
- not generalisable
- may be difficult to establish cause and effect
what are other infant behaviours other than reciprocity and interactional synchrony that may provide evidence that they have an attachment
when away from attachment
- crying
- proximity seeking (reaching out)
- crawling
- showing comfort behaviours
when with attachment
- proximity seeking
- calm, relaxed, sleeping
what are the 3 main roles of a dad
- play
- to be the primary care giver
- to be the secondary care giver
what are the two theories about infant attachments
The learning theory of attachment
Bowlby’s monotropic theory
what is the main principle of the learning theory and link it to attachment
- all behaviours are learnt through the environment and are a result of nurture and not nature
That baby isn’t attached to mum when first born and the bond forms through the babies attachment to food
explain how an attachment to mum forms according to the learning theory of attachment
the baby is attached to food, mum is the neutral stimuli and at first generates no response. food is the unconditioned stimuli that generates joy, joy is the unconditioned response. due to food being supplied from mum an unconditioned response of joy is given. eventually mum becomes a conditioned stimulus creating a conditioned response of joy
how does an attachment between baby and mum continue - there are two key words
positive reinforcement - through getting cuddles and attention
punishment - through baby crying
what is evolutionary discontinuity
the idea that just because something is learnt through an animal it doesn’t mean it can be applied to humans
what is the theory Lorenz bought about
the theory of imprinting
what is the theory of imprinting bought about by Lorenz
an innate process where animals form an attachment with the first living, moving thing they see. they use this attachment to build an understanding of all future attachments
what research did Lorenz do exploring this theory of imprinting
in a lab experiment he divided up goose eggs with half hatching with their mother and the other half in an incubator where the first living moving thing they saw was Lorenz