Attachment Flashcards
What is reciprocity in caregiver-infant interactions?
The idea that the attachment/bond is reciprocal, meaning that both the primary caregiver and the baby feel the same way about each other.
What behaviors are associated with reciprocity?
- Clinginess
- Proximity seeking
- Protection for the infant
What did Fieldman & Fieldman find about caregiver responses?
Mothers usually respond to a child’s alertness around 2/3’s of the time.
Define interactional synchrony.
The temporal coordination of micro-level social behavior between caregiver and infant.
What and who did Meltzoff & Moore observe in their study and what did they find?
observed I.S in infants as old as 2 years.
They found an association between gestures/expressions displayed by adults and the actions of infants.
What study found a higher level of interactional synchrony between mothers?
Isabella et al
What is a strength of the research methods used to observe caregiver-infant interactions?
High control due to controlled observations, usually filmed, capturing fine detail therefore high in validity
children don’t change behaviours because they don’t know they’re being observed
What is a limitation of the research on caregiver-infant interactions?
Limited insight as it does not reveal the purpose of these interactions or the infant’s perspective.
How do other studies serve as contradictory research for Meltzoff and Moore?
Other studies have failed to replicate the findings of Meltzoff and Moore.
E.G. Koepke et al (1996)
What was the main goal of the Schaffer and Emerson study?
To investigate the formation of early attachments and the age at which they develop.
Who did Schaffer use to investigate formationation of early attachments and how?
60 babies from Glasgow
babies & mothers visited at home every month for the first year and at 18 months where mothers were questioned about stranger and seperation anxiety
What percentage of babies showed separation anxiety to their mother by 25-32 weeks?
50%.
By 40 weeks, how many children had specific and multiple attachments in Schaffer’s study
80% had specific attachments
30% had multiple attachments.
What are the four stages of attachment identified by Schaffer?
- Asocial stage (first few weeks)
- Indiscriminate attachment (2-7 months)
- Specific attachment (7 months)
- Multiple attachments (most formed after one yr)
Define the Asocial stage
baby recognising and forming bonds with carer, but similar behaviour towards human and non-human objects. Preference to familiar adults
Define Indiscriminate attachment
babies show more observable behaviour. Preference for people, recognise + prefer familiar adults. Not much separation/stranger anxiety.
Define Specific attachment
majority of babies display separation/stranger anxiety. Specific attachment formed (primary figure).
Define Multiple attachments
attachment extended towards others (secondary attachment)
What did a follow up experiment by Schaffer and Emerson find about secondary attachments?
29% had secondary attachments within a month after primary attachments formed. Most after 1 year
What is a strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
Good external validity as it was carried out in families’ homes so babies unlikely to be affected by observers.
What is a problem with the asocial stage of attachment?
Important interactions may take place, but evidence is hard to interpret due to immobility of babies at that age.
What methological issues occur in Schaffer’s study
There are problems measuring multiple attachments. A baby getting distressed when someone leaves doesn’t necessarily mean they’re an attachment figure. Bowlby- this could be a playmate rather than an attachment figure.
What did Grossman’s longitudinal study focus on?
The relationship between parents’ behavior and the quality of children’s attachment into their teens.
What did Grossman find about the father’s role in attachment?
Father’s attachment was less related to the child’s attachment quality than the mother’s but the quality of fathers play was related to quality of attachment as an adolescent