attachment Flashcards
(41 cards)
what is attachment?
attachment is a close two-way emotional bond between two individuals in which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security
why are caregiver interactions important?
caregiver interactions are important so attachments can be formed and they are essential for survival for the infant
what are the 2 types of caregiver-infant interaction?
-reciprocity
- interactional synchrony
what is reciprocity?
reciprocity is similar to a conversation, it is a mutual turn-taking form of interaction. both caregivers and infants contribute to the interaction by responding to others signals and cues
give an example of reciprocity caregiver interaction?
A mother smiles at her baby, and in response, the baby smiles back. The mother then giggles, and the baby makes a happy noise in return.
This back-and-forth interaction shows reciprocity, where both the caregiver and infant respond to each other’s signals, reinforcing their emotional bond.
what is interactional synchrony?
A form of caregiver-infant interaction in which both individuals mirror each other’s facial expressions, emotions, and behaviours in a synchronized and rhythmic way
give an example of interactional synchrony?
A mother and her baby are gazing at each other. The mother smiles, and at the same time, the baby also smiles. The mother then gently nods her head, and the baby mirrors the movement.
This shows synchronization, as their actions and emotions are coordinated in a rhythmic, mirrored way.
what are other caregiver-infant interactions in humans?
-imitation: the infant directly copies the caregivers expression
-sensitive responsiveness: the adult caregiver correctly interprets the meanings of the infants communication and is motivated to respond appropriately
-body contact: physical contact, especially skin-to-skin contact is necessary for bonding especially in the first few hours of life (e.g. breastfeeding)
evaluate caregiver- infant interactions?
P- one strength of research into infant-caregiver interactions i the supporting evidence for early imitation, suggesting that infants are born with the ability to observe and mimic others
E-Meltzoff & Moore conducted an experiment where infants aged 12-21 days were shown facial expressions such as sticking out the tongue and opening the mouth in shock. the infants responses were recorded and rated by observers who were blind to the experiment aim. the study found that infants reliably imitated the facial expression, indicating that imitation occurs from a very young age
E-These findings suggest that the ability to observe and reciprocate behaviours is present early in life, supporting the idea that interactional synchrony plays a role in early social development. This challenges the belief that imitation is learned later through experience, implying that infants may have an innate ability to form social bonds, which is crucial for attachment development
L- Therefore, Meltzoff & Moore’s research provides strong empirical support for the role of imitation in early social interactions, reinforcing the importance of caregiver-infant bonding in attachment formation.
P- a strength of interactional synchrony is that research supports the idea that infants are born with an innate ability for social interaction
E- Condon & sander videotaped interactions between adults and new-borns analysing their movements frame-by-frame. they found that the babies movements matched the rhythm of the adults speech showing clear signs of interactional synchrony
E-this suggests that social interactions is built in from birth, rather than something babies learn over time. it supports the idea that interactional synchrony has a biological basis, playing an important role in early bonding and communication between infants and caregivers
L- these findings contribute to the validity of theories on attachment formation and showing that babies are active in social interactions from the start. this helps explain how strong caregiver infant bonds develop, shaping later social and emotional development
P- a limitation of research into caregiver infant interactions is that it relies heavily on inferences which makes findings less scientific
E- infants cannot directly communicate their thoughts or emotions, so researchers must interpret their behaviours, such as imitation or facial expression, to draw conclusion about their internal mental states
E- this is an issue because these interpretations may be wrong. for example when a baby copies an adults facial expression the researcher might assume that this is interactional synchrony where in reality it could just be an automatic reflex. if researchers misinterpret behaviours they may draw inaccurate conclusions about infant development
L- therefore caregiver-infant interaction research may lack scientific credibility as it depends on subjective assumptions rather than evidence, making its findings less valid and reliable
P- one strength of research into caregiver-infant interactions is the high internal validty due to the use of controlled observational methods
E- many studies use multiple observers who are unaware of the study’s aim to ensure inter-rater reliability. researchers also use advanced camera systems to record interactions, allowing them to slow down and carefully analyse small moments of behaviour
E- This high level of control reduces observer bias and ensures that behaviours are recorded accurately and objectively, without being influenced by the researcher’s expectations. As a result, the findings are more reliable in identifying true patterns of caregiver-infant interactions.
L- therefore, using rigorous observational techniques improves internal validity, making the results more likely to reflect genuine infant behaviours rather than being influenced by researcher bias or low reliability.
outline Schaffer and Emersons study?
Aim:
To investigate formations in early attachments, in particular the age they developed and who attachments are formed with.
procedure:
-60 working class babies and their families from Glasgow were studied
-in the first year data was collected through monthly observations and interviews with an additional follow up at 18 months
-Two types of behaviours were assessed:
Separation anxiety – discomfort when the primary caregiver moved to another room
Stranger anxiety – signs of discomfort when left with the researcher
Findings:
-50% of infants showed separation anxiety towards a specific caregiver by 25-32 weeks (around 7 months) – indicating specific attachment had formed.
-Attachments were mostly formed with the caregiver who responded most sensitively to the infant’s signals (not necessarily the one who spent the most time with them).
-By 40 weeks (10 months): 80% had a specific attachment (to one person).
-30% had multiple attachments (e.g., to fathers, grandparents, siblings).
Conclusion:
-Attachments develop in stages (supporting Schaffer’s stages of attachment theory).
-Responsiveness, not just time spent, determines attachment – supporting the idea that emotional sensitivity is key in forming bonds.
outline and explain Schaffer and Emersons stages of attachment?
-asocial stage (0-6weeks): so babies displayed innate behaviours which ensured proximity to any potential caregivers as their perceptual ability is limited which also meant they displayed these behaviours to non-human objects, which meant anyone could comfort them as they do not prefer a specific caregiver
-indiscriminate attachment(6 weeks-7 months): infants develop the ability to tell the difference between humans and objects and between familiar and unfamiliar individuals. yet during this stage they don’t show stranger anxiety (distress in the presence of stranger) or separation anxiety (distress at the absence of a primary caregiver)
-specific attachment(7-9 months): babies form a strong attachment to a primary caregiver which is most often their mother. it is in this stage that separation anxiety and stranger anxiety develops
-multiple attachments(9/10+ months): the infant starts to form attachments with other regular caregivers like father, grandparents and siblings) and stranger anxiety starts to decrease
evaluate Schaffer and Emersons study?
P- a limitation of Schaffer and Emersons study is that its findings may not be generalisable to other populations
E- the study only include working class mothers from 1960s Glasgow, meaning the results may not apply to different social classes, cultures or time periods
E- childrearing practices have changed over time so the study may lack temporal validity. for example modern factors like increased maternal employment, greater father involvement and higher day care use may affect attachment differently today than in the 1960s
L- this reduces the study’s validity as its findings may not accurately reflect attachment in todays society or in different cultures
P- a strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s study is its high mundane realism, meaning it reflects real life behaviour
E- the study took place in the infants own home, where they experienced everyday situations like stranger visiting and temporary separations from caregivers
E- since these events were natural the infants responses were likely genuine, increasing the study’s ecological validity and making the findings more reliable
describe Lorenz’s animal study on imprinting?
procedure:
-lorenz randomly divided a clutch of goose eggs. half the eggs were hatched with the mother goose in their natural environment. the other half were hatched in a incubator where the first moving object they saw was lorenz
findings:
-the incubator group followed lorenz everywhere whereas the control group which hatched in the presence of their mother followed her
-when the two groups were mixed up the control group continued to follow the mother and the experimental group followed Lorenz
-this phenomenon is referred to as imprinting. Lorenz identified a critical period (which is 32 hours) which imprinting must take place
-if imprinting does not take place during the critical period Lorenz found that the gooselings were unable to form an attachment
what is imprinting?
imprinting is when a bird species that are mobile from birth attach to and follow the first moving object they see
when was critical period present according to Lorenz?
32 hours after the monkey has been born
outline Harlow’s animal study of attachment?
-Harlow’s aim was to test the cuboard love theory which where the babies loves the mother due to the mother feeding them
-procedure: rhesus monkeys were removed from their biological mothers and placed in cages with surrogate mothers
-one surrogate mother provided milk but not comfort, as its body was constructed from wire
-the other surrogate mother provided comfort as the wire was covered with a cloth, however the cloth mother didn’t provide food
-time spent with the mother was recorded, as well as which surrogate the infant ran to when frightened by a mechanical monkey
findings:
-the infant monkeys spent most of their time with the comfort providing “cloth mother” only visiting the “food mother” when they needed to eat but quickly returning to the loth mother for comfort
-the infant monkeys returned to the cloth mother when frightened. and monkeys without access to a cloth mother showed signs of stress-related illness.
-in follow-up studies Harlow found that the maternal deprivation his studies has caused resulted in permanent social disorders in the monkeys as adults, including difficulty in mating behaviour and raising their offspring
what di Harlow’s reaserach suggest?
Harlow’s research suggested that rhesus monkeys have a biological need for physical contact and will attach to whatever provides comfort rather than food, this provides evidence against cuboard love theory
evaluate research into animal studies?
p-a limitation of using animal research in psychology is that findings may not be fully generalisable to humans due to biological and cognitive differences
E-studies like Lorenz’s imprinting research on goslings and Harlow’s study on monkeys have been used to explain human attachment. although Harlow’s study on monkeys is more relevant as primates are genetically closer to humans they also lack complex social and cognitive processes that influence human attachment
E-humans have unique social, emotional and cultural factors which shape their behaviour such as social norms and language. these factors do not exist in animals making it difficult to apply animal findings directly to human psychology
L-therefore while animal studies provide useful insight they should be supported by human research to ensure accurate conclusion about human behaviour
P-Harlow’s research on contact comfort supports Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment, showing that infants seek emotional security from a primary caregiver
E- Harlow found that baby monkeys preferred a soft cloth mother over a wire mother that provided food, suggesting that comfort is more important than nourishment in attachment. similarly Bowlby argued that human infants form a monotropic bond (a strong attachment to one caregiver) to feel secure
E- if this bond fails to develop, Bowlby claimed it leads to poor social and emotional development. this is supported by Harlow’s monkeys, who, when deprived of a cloth mother, grew into socially maladjusted adults struggling with relationships and parenting
L-Harlow’s findings provide empirical support for Bowlby’s theory, emphasizing the importance of emotional security in attachment. this research has influenced parenting practices and hospital care, ensuring that children receive both physical and emotional care
P- a strength of animal studies on attachments, such as those by Harlow and Lorenz, is their real-world applications in early childcare
E- finding from these studies where later developed by Bowlby and have influenced childcare practice. for example hospitals now encourage immediate skin-to-skin contact between mothers and new-borns to promote secure attachment
E-this research has also shaped social care interventions to support healthy attachment development
L- therefore these studies have had a significant impact on childcare policies, highlighting the importance of early attachment in emotional and social development
P- a limitation of Lorenz’s research is that findings from animal studies may not fully apply to human attachment
E- Lorenz found that goslings have a critical period shortly after birth, where imprinting must occur for attachment to develop. Bowlby applied this idea to humans suggesting a critical period (6 to30 months), where failure to form an attachment would lead to permanent social difficulties
E- however research on orphaned children suggests that unlike geese humans have a sensitive period rather than a strict critical period. while early attachment is important children can still form attachments later, though it may be harder. this shows that human attachment is more flexible than Lorenz suggested
L- therefore, while Lorenz research influenced attachment theory, it highlights the problems of applying animal studies to humans, as human attachment is more complex than imprinting in geese
what are the 2 explanations of attachments?
-learning theory
-Bowlby’s monotropic theory
explain attachment using learning theory?
-learning theorist Dolland and Miller proposed that caregiver-infant attachment can be explained using learning theory
-classical conditioning is learning through association, when 2 stimulus is present to a creature at the same time
-in the case of the cupboard love theory of attachment the food is an unconditioned stimulus which naturally provides a feeling of pleasure which is an unconditioned response
-as the mother is present every time the baby is fed, the mother becomes associated with pleasure of being fed, which means she changes from being a neutral stimulus to a conditioned stimulus. now in the presence of the mother the infant experiences a conditioned pleasure response
-operant conditioning is learning through patterns of reinforcement
-positive reinforcement is when a behaviour is made more common due to receiving an pleasurable stimulus
-in attachment when a parent feeds a crying baby the baby is more likely to repeat the crying behaviour to get food
-negative reinforcement is when a behaviour is made more common when removing an unpleasant stimulus
-the parents feeding behaviour is negatively reinforced by the baby stopping its crying behaviour when fed
evaluate explaining attachment using learning theory A03?
P- a strength of the learning theory is that is has face validity, meaning it makes sense based on everyday experiences
E- for example babies cry because they learn that crying gets them attention and food. This shows how behaviour can be reinforcement through positive reinforcement, where the baby’s crying is rewarded with something desirable like food or comfort
E- this fits with the learning theory’s idea that behaviours are strengthened when they lead to a reward. the baby crying is reinforced by the attention or food which makes it more likely to happen again. this real-life example supports the idea that learning theory explains everyday behaviour
L- therefore learning theory can explain common behaviour like a baby crying which gives it credibility as a way of understanding human behaviour
P- a weakness of learning theory is that it is environmentally reductionist
E- behaviourist argue that attachment is formed through stimulus-response associations and reinforcement. for example classical conditioning suggests infants associate their caregiver with food, while operant conditioning states behaviour are reinforced through rewards like comfort and attention
E- however this ignores emotional and cognitive factors. many parents believe their bond with their child is more than just reinforcement and involves conscious care and love. Harlow’s study on rhesus monkey also showed that comfort mattered more than food challenging learning theory
L- this suggest that learning theory oversimplifies attachment by ignoring biological and emotional influences. Bowlby’s monotropic theory offers a more complete explanation by considering both innate and environmental factors
P- a limitation for learning theory to form attachment is Harlow’s research on rhesus monkey provides evidence against the cupboard love theory for attachment
E- he found that infant monkeys showed a strong preference for a cloth surrogate mother that provided contact comfort even when a wire surrogate mother provided food
E- this suggests that attachment is not formed through classical conditioning or operant conditioning (as the learning theory suggest) but instead its driven by an innate need for emotional security
L- Harlow’s findings support Bowlby’s monotropic theory which argues that attachments biologically programmed rather than learnt through reinforcement
P- a strength of the behaviourist explanation of attachment is that it is supported by well-controlled research
E- studies by Pavlov (classical conditioning) and skinner (operant conditioning) shows how behaviour, including attachment can be learned through association and reinforcement. these experiments were highly controlled making the findings reliable and valid
E- however similar research on human infants would be unethical and impractical. it would be wrong to manipulate caregiver-infant attachment in a lab, and human attachment is more, involving biological factors like oxytocin which behaviourism ignores
L- this means that while the behaviourist explanation is scientifically supported it may be too simplistic to fully explain human attachment
what is Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
Bowlby’s monotropic theory is an evolutionary explanation of attachment, Bowlby argues infants have an innate drive to form an especially strong attachment to their mother (monotropy) and stay close in proximity. Bowlby argues this drive is instinctual as forming a strong attachment is vital to infants survival as their mother provides food and security
describe Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
Bowlby’s monotropic theory is an evolutionary explanation of attachment he believed infants had an innate ability to form a strong attachment to the mother for survival and since the mother provides food and comfort
-he believed this monotropic relationship formed because babies use signals called social releasers (crying and smiling) which attract the caregivers attention and according to Bowlby’s monotropic theory, mothers are biologically programmed to instinctively find these behaviours cute or distressing
-Bowlby suggested a strong monotropic attachment must form in the first 30 months after birth he referred to this as a sensitive time period and stated if attachment is not formed during this sensitive period then attachment wont form at all and a lack of monotropy can result in permanent negative social, intellectual and emotional consequences for the infant
- Bowlby claimed a Childs monotropic attachment to its mother provides a mental frame work for future relationships (a schema). this internal working model serves as a model for what relationships should be like, therefore it has a powerful effect on the nature of a child’s future relationship
evaluate explaining attachment using Bowlby’s monotropic theory A03?
P- a strength of Bowlby’s attachment theory is its real world applications, influencing both research and childcare practice
E- his work inspired psychologist like Mary Ainsworth who developed the strange situation to study attachment. it has also shaped early childcare policies especially in hospitals and social services
E- for example , hospitals now promote immediate physical contact between mothers and new-born’s to support bonding. Social workers also monitor cases of infant neglect as Bowlby highlighted the long term emotional and cognitive damage caused by early deprivation
L- this shows that Bowlby’s research has had a lasting impact, improving attachment security and child welfare which makes his theory highly practical and valuable
P- A limitation of Bowlby’s monotropic theory is that it suffers from alpha bias, as it exaggerates gender differences in attachment roles.
E- Bowlby claimed that mothers have an innate role as the primary caregiver, while fathers are mainly responsible for financial support. This reflects traditional gender roles
E- However, this view is socially biased and now lacks temporal validity, as modern families often share caregiving. Research shows that fathers can form strong attachments and play a key role in emotional development, contradicting Bowlby’s claim that mothers are uniquely important.
L- This suggests that Bowlby’s theory is outdated and may not apply to modern parenting, making it less relevant today.
P- A limitation of Bowlby’s theory is that the critical period may actually be a sensitive period, meaning attachment is important early on but not strictly limited to a set timeframe.
E- Bowlby based his idea on Lorenz’s research on geese, which showed that attachment must form within a critical period or it will not develop. However, research on Romanian orphans by Rutter et al. found that children who didn’t form attachments early could still recover with proper care, even after the supposed critical period.
E- This challenges Bowlby’s claim that failing to attach within this period causes permanent damage. Instead, it suggests attachment is flexible, and later interventions can still help children form secure relationships.
L- This shows the issues with applying animal research to humans, as human attachment is more complex, meaning Bowlby may have overstated the permanence of early deprivation.
