Attachment Lessons 1-2 Flashcards
Attachment
An emotional bond between two people and is a two way process that endures over time
Reciprocity
A type of Caregiver infant Interaction and is a two way interaction between the caregiver and infant. Referred to as turn-taking
Interactional Synchrony
A type of caregiver infant interaction
A simultaneous coordinated sequence of movements between a caregiver and infant
Two types of Caregiver infant Interaction
Reciprocity and Interactional Synchrony
Evaluation of Caregiver Infant Interactions
+ Murray and Trevarthen Video Monitor. The first part had the infants interact with their mums and in the second part, the infants tried to interact with a pre recorded video of their mum but they didn’t get their attention and eventually gave up. It shows the need to reciprocate
+ Abravnal and Deyong had infants interact with a puppet but there was very little response showing that interactional synchrony is a specific social response to humans only
- Difficult to determine the intention of the infants because they can’t talk. Therefore the readings depend heavily on the researchers view of how they interpret the results. Can lead to researcher bias
The Difficulties in Researching Infants
1) Practical Issues through the fact that babies need to feed and also sleep a lot
2) Babies show stronger behaviours when they are in laboratories and this decreases validity
3) Extra care and protection from psychological harm needs to be taken to make sure the infants and parents are comfortable
4) Have to Infer they can’t speak languages
Stages Of Attachment and Who investigated it
Schaffer Et Al
- Investigated attachment through a longitudinal study that followed 60 infants and their mums for around 2 years
Four stages of Attachment
Pre-Attachment
Indiscriminate Attachment
Discriminate Attachment
Multiple Attachments
Pre Attachment
- 0-3 Months
- 6 weeks of age the infants begin to prefer humans rather than toys
Indiscriminate Attachment
4-7 Months
Infants discriminate between people they know and don’t know, smiling more at people they know
Discriminate Attachment
7 months onwards
A specific attachment between the infant and the primary caregiver who is usually the mother is developed.
Show separation protest and stranger anxiety
Schaffer found the primary attachment figure is formed through the quality of time spent rather than quantity
Multiple Attachments
7 months onwards
Secondary attachments are formed with the father, grandparents and siblings
Evaluation of Schaffer’s Stages of Attachment
- Data shared by the mothers may be unreliable because they may be less sensitive to the infants behaviours and therefore less likely to report it
- There is a sample bias because the infants were all from individualist cultures and not collectivist cultures
- There is low temporal validity because the study was conducted in 1960 and the role of the father and mother may have changed as society changes
- Stage theories are highly inflexible because they don’t take into account individuals who won’t fit into one of these
- Gender bias because it only looks at attachment with mother and not father
Who made the Stage Theories
Schaffer et al
