Attachment Flashcards
(21 cards)
what is an attachment
a close two-way emotional bond between two individuals where each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security
it endures over time and serves to protect the infant
what are attachment behaviours
name 5
when attachment has occured, the infant shows a series of very specific behaviours
- proximity
- separation
- secure-base behaviour
- stranger anxiety
- reunion behaviour
what is a caregiver
what is an infant
caregiver - any person who provides care for a child
infant - usually taken to refer a childs first year of life, although some psychologists include the second year
what are caregiver-infant interactions
the communication between a caregiver and infant. It is believed that these interactions have important functions for the childs social development and form the basis of the attachment between the two
what are the two caregiver-infant interactions
- reciprocity
- interactional synchrony
what is reciprocity
include
alert phases
active involvement
when each person responds to the other an elicits a response from them
alert phases - babies have periodic ‘alert phases’ in which they signal that they are ready for a spell of interaction
active involvement - babies as well as caregivers take quite an active role. both a caregiver and a baby can initiate interactions and they appear to take turns in doing so
what is interactional synchrony
the temporal coordination of micro-level social behaviour. It takes place when caregiver and baby interact in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror the other
Meltzoff and Moore procedure and findings
interaction synchrony
- they observed the beginnings of interactional synchrony in babies as young as two weeks old
- an adult displayed one of three facial expressoins
- the babies response was filmed and labelled by independent observers
- babies expressoin and gestures were more likely to mirror those of the adult more than the chance would predict
what are schaffers 4 stages of attachment
- the asocial stage
- indiscriminate attachment
- specific attachment
- multiple attachments
what is the asocial stage
- babies in the first few weeks of life
- baby recognises and starts to form a bond with its carers
- babies behaviour towards non-human objects and humans is quite similar
- babies show some preference for familiar adults and those individuals find it easier to calm them
- baboes are also happier when in the presence of other humans
- reciprocity and interactional synchrony play a role in establishing the infants relationship with others
what is the indiscriminate stage
- From 2-7 months babies display more observable social behaviour
- They show a preference for people rather than inanimate objects and recognise and prefer familiar adults
- They can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people. At this stage babies usually accept cuddles and comfort from any adult, and they do not usually show separation or stranger anxiety.
- Their attachment behaviour is therefore said to be indiscriminate because it is not different towards any one person, which is where the name of the stage came from.
what is the specific attachment stage
- The third stage is called ‘specific attachment’ and occurs from 7 months.
- The majority of babies start to display anxiety towards strangers and to become anxious when separated from one particular adult (the biological mother in 65% of cases). Equally, they show especial joy at reunion with that particular adult and are most comforted by them.
- At this point the baby is said to have formed a specific attachment. This adult is termed the primary attachment figure. This person is not necessarily the person the child spends most time with them, but the one who offers the most interaction and responds to the baby’s ‘signals’ with the most skill.
what is the multiple attachments stage
- The final stage is known as ‘multiple attachments’. - Shortly after babies start to show attachment behaviour towards one adult, they usually extend this attachment behaviour to multiple attachments with other adults with whom they regularly spend time.
- These relationships are called secondary attachments. They are commonly to fathers, grandparents, nannies/au pairs, close family friends etc. - In Schaffer and Emerson’s study, 29% of the children had secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary (specific) attachment. By the age of 1 year the majority of infants had developed multiple attachments.
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) procedure
- used a sample of 60 babies (31 male and 29 female) from glasgow with the majority being from skilled working-class families
- this was a longitudinal study where the babies and mothers were studies every month for the first year and then again at 18 months.
- they used observations and interviews with the mothers. they asked the mothers questions about the kind of behaviour their babies showed in 7 everyday situations
- they assessed separation anxiety; through the infant being left alone in a room, left in a pram outside the shop etc
- they also assessed stranger anxiety with the researcher starting home visits by approaching the infant to see if they got distressed
schaffer and emerson (1964) findings
- between 25-21 weeks about 50% of babies showed separation anxiety toward a particular adult (usually the mother)
- equally they showed joy at reunion with that person and are most comforted by that person <– this is called making a primary attachment
- around the same time, the infant displays separation anxiety, another sign that a specific attachment has been formed
- attachment tended to be to the caregiver who was most interactive and sensitive to the infants signals and facial expression (reciprocity)
- in 65% of children, the first specific attachment was to the other
- 27% of fathers were joint first object, 3% were sole primary attachment figure
Schaffer and Emerson - conclusion
- there is a pattern of attachment common to all infants which is biologicaly controlled
- furhermore, attachments are more easily made with those who are sensitive, for examplel recognising and responding appropriately to an infants needs, rather than those spending more time with the child
- primary attachments are more likely to be with the mother than the father
- fathers are more likely to be secondary attachment figures
underminding evidence for the asocial stage
many important interactions occur in the first couple weeks
the problem is that babies that are young have poor coordination and are generally pretty much immobile
it is therefore very difficult to make any judgments about them based on observations of their behaviour
there just isn’t much observable behaviour
undermining evidence for the stages of attachment theory
- suggests that development is inflexible
- in this case it suggets that normally specific attachmetns come before multiple attachments
- in some situations and cultures, multiple attachments may come first
what is the role of the father
- fathers are more playful, physically active and generally better and providing challenging situations
- provide children with a secure environment to learn to be brave
- mothers tend to be primary attachment figures, and fathers secondary attachment figures
Grossman (2002) procedure and findings
role of the father
He carried out a longitundinal study looking at both parents behaviour and its relationship to the quality of the childrens attachment in their teens
quality of infant attachment to mothers, but not fathers was related to childrens attachments in adolescence, suggesting that father attachment was less important
however, the quality of fathers play with infants was related to the quality of adolescent attachments. This suggests that fathers have different role in attachment - one that is more to do with play and stimulation, and less to do with nurturing.
Freeman et al. (2010) findings
role of the father
found that male children are more likely to prefer their father as an attachment figure than female children
