Caregiver-infant interactions in humans

Question 1

define attachment

Answer 1

a two-way, enduring, emotional tie to a specific other person

Question 2

what are the 5 ways caregivers and infants interact?

Answer 2

bodily contact
mimicking
caregiverese - adults use vocal language that is high pitched and slow
interactional synchrony - infants move their body in tune with the rhythm of carer’s spoken language
reciprocity - mutual behaviour

Question 3

what is Klaus and kennell’s research on caregiver-infant interactions?

Answer 3

mums with extended physical contact with babies vs ones who only had physical contact during feeding 3 days after birth
1 month later, the mums with greater physical contact were found to cuddle their babies more & make greater eye contact with them than the other mums - greater contact leads to closer bond

Question 4

Evaluate caregiver-infant interactions

Answer 4

interactional synchrony not found in all cultures so weakens support for it
caregiverese is used by all adults not just those they have an attachment to

Question 5

what are Schaffer’s 4 stages of attachment?

Answer 5

pre-attachment/asocial
indiscriminate
discriminate/specific
multiple

Question 6

describe the pre-attachment/asocial attachment phase

Answer 6

birth - 3 months
infants start to prefer humans to objects
smiling at people

Question 7

describe the indiscriminate attachment phase

Answer 7

3 - 7/8 months
begin to discriminate between unfamiliar and familiar people
smiling more at familiar people

Question 8

describe the discriminate/specific attachment phase

Answer 8

7/8 months - onwards
develop specific attachments
stay close to specific people and distressed when separated from them
protest if strangers try to handle them

Question 9

describe the multiple attachments stage

Answer 9

9 months - onwards
form strong attachments with other major caregivers eg grandparents and other children
fear of strangers weaken

Question 10

what is the procedure for Schaffer and Emerson’s attachment study?

Answer 10

mums and babies studied for first year of lives in home
observations conducted
attachment measured : separation protest - infant left alone in room, stranger anxiety - researcher approaching infant at start of experiment

Question 11

what are the findings for Schaffer and Emerson’s attachment study?

Answer 11

most showed separation protest when parted from caregiver between 6-8 months - stranger anxiety a month later
strong attached had mums who responded to their needs quickly & gave more opportunity for interaction
most developed multiple attachments
18 months - 87% had at least 2 attachments, 31% had 5 or more
39% of prime attachment wasn’t main carer

Question 12

what are the conclusions for Schaffer and Emerson’s attachment study?

Answer 12

attachments more easily made with those who display sensitive responsiveness and responding to infants needs rather than spend most time with them.
multiple arrangements are of similar quality to primary attachments

Question 13

evaluate Schaffer and Emerson’s attachment study

Answer 13

mundane realism - conducted under everyday conditions, so have high validity.
data collected by direct observation or from the mothers with both sources prone to bias & inaccuracy.

Question 14

what is sensitive responsiveness?

Answer 14

recognising and responding appropriately to infants needs

Question 15

what are the 4 factors that affect the relationship between fathers and children?

Answer 15

degree of sensitivity - more secure attachments shown when dads more sensitive to their needs
type of attachment with own parents
marital intimacy - degree of intimacy affects type of attachment with children
supportive co-parenting

Question 16

what are fathers traditionally seen as?

Answer 16

playmate

Question 17

what are mothers traditionally seen as?

Answer 17

show more sensitive responsiveness

Question 18

what is Lucassen et al’s research on the role of the father?

Answer 18

meta-analysis of studies, observations and strange situation, & found higher levels of social sensitivity were associated with greater levels of infant-father attachment security

Question 19

what is Belsky et al’s research on the role of the father?

Answer 19

found that high levels of marital intimacy was related to secure father-infant attachments & low levels of marital intimacy was related to insecure father-child attachments

Question 20

give evaluations for the role of the father

Answer 20

children with secure attachments to their fathers go on to have better relationships with peers, less problem behaviours & are more able to regulate their emotions - showing the positive influence of fathers.
supportive fathers are also helpful for mothers as it helps reduce stress in them and improve self esteem.