A Level Psychology Attachment 2025
What is an attachment? -(correct answer)An emotional link between the child and there
primary caregiver, which ties them together. Four ways an attachment can be tested? -(correct
answer)1. Seeking Proximity 2. Distress on seperation 3. Joy on reunion 4. General Behaviour
What is a bond? -(correct answer)A bond is a set of feelings that ties one person to another
Benefits of an attachment -(correct answer)Survival Food Love Security Two caregiver-infant
interactions are... -(correct answer)Reciprocity and Interactional Synchrony What is reciprocity?
-(correct answer)Reciprocity is a description of how two people interact, the mother infant
interaction is reciprocal in that they both respond to each others signal and each shows a
response from the other. What is interactional synchrony? -(correct answer)Where mother and
infant reflect both the actions and emotions of one and other and do this in a co-ordinated
manner. Outline research that supports reciprocity -(correct answer)Feldman found that both
babies have periodic alert phases to signal that they are ready to interact and mothers respond
to this on average 2/3rds of the time. He also found that from 3 months of age this interaction
is more frequent and involved close attention to verbal signals and facial expressions.
Brazleton discovered the 'Dance' in which each partner responds to each others moves. Both
the baby and the PCG can initiate interactions and take turns in doing so. Outline research that
supports interactional synchrony -(correct answer)Meltzoff and Moore conducted a study in
which they observed infants at two weeks old and had adults show one of three facial
expressions or one of three gestures. The children response was filmed and identified by
independent observers. They found an association between the action of the adult and the
action returned by the babies. Isabella observed 30 mothers and infants and found that high
levels of synchrony were associated with better mother-infant attachment. Evaluate research
into infant-caregiver interactions -(correct answer):) - Controlled observations in a controlled
experimental setting with standardised procedures and operationalised behavioural categories
with filming from multiple angles. High reliability as can be repeated to check consistency. :) -
, These observations are less prone to demand characteristics as obviously babies are unaware
an experiment is taking place and thus will not change their natural behaviours. :( -
Observations susceptible to observer bias as they require subjective interpretation from
researches who may perceive behaviour as being something else to what it really is, this can
lower the validity. :( - Observations only look at the changes in hand movements and gestures.
It is very difficult to be certain that the moves or gestures etc, were actually deliberate or
accidental, this reduces the value of the insight into caregiver-infant interaction. :( - These
studies don't tell us the purpose of synchrony or reciprocity, they simply state that it happens
and don't imply anything about why and what the purpose is. Other studies have said that it is
important in the development of empathy and morals. :( - Conducting research into
mother-infant interactions is controversial as it sates that certain people may be at a
disadvantage for certain reasons. ie. Mothers going back to work... Outline three research
studies into the role of the father -(correct answer)Schaffer found that initially babies become
attached to their mother (7 months) and then after this form secondary attachments with others
such as the father. 75% of babies had an attachment with their father by 18 months of age,
they showed separation anxiety. Lamb indicated that between the ages of 15-24 months they
will show a preference towards their father, this suggests that the father may become the PCG.
Grossman conducted a longitudinal study and found a direct correlation between the quality of
fathers play with infants and the quality of adolescent attachments. This suggests that the
father may be more about play and stimulation whereas the mother is more about nurturing.
Evaluate research into the role of the father -(correct answer):( - It is very difficult to draw one
conclusion from all the research as some psychologists have looked to prove he father as the
PCG and others have tried to prove him as the secondary caregiver. :( - MacCallum and
Golombrok found contradicting evidence as they found that children growing up in single or
same sex parent families did not develop any differently to those in opposite sex parents. :( -
Alternative explanations about why fathers don't usually become the PCG could be because of
traditional gender roles that people don't like to break as it is not seen as normal and thus they
What is an attachment? -(correct answer)An emotional link between the child and there
primary caregiver, which ties them together. Four ways an attachment can be tested? -(correct
answer)1. Seeking Proximity 2. Distress on seperation 3. Joy on reunion 4. General Behaviour
What is a bond? -(correct answer)A bond is a set of feelings that ties one person to another
Benefits of an attachment -(correct answer)Survival Food Love Security Two caregiver-infant
interactions are... -(correct answer)Reciprocity and Interactional Synchrony What is reciprocity?
-(correct answer)Reciprocity is a description of how two people interact, the mother infant
interaction is reciprocal in that they both respond to each others signal and each shows a
response from the other. What is interactional synchrony? -(correct answer)Where mother and
infant reflect both the actions and emotions of one and other and do this in a co-ordinated
manner. Outline research that supports reciprocity -(correct answer)Feldman found that both
babies have periodic alert phases to signal that they are ready to interact and mothers respond
to this on average 2/3rds of the time. He also found that from 3 months of age this interaction
is more frequent and involved close attention to verbal signals and facial expressions.
Brazleton discovered the 'Dance' in which each partner responds to each others moves. Both
the baby and the PCG can initiate interactions and take turns in doing so. Outline research that
supports interactional synchrony -(correct answer)Meltzoff and Moore conducted a study in
which they observed infants at two weeks old and had adults show one of three facial
expressions or one of three gestures. The children response was filmed and identified by
independent observers. They found an association between the action of the adult and the
action returned by the babies. Isabella observed 30 mothers and infants and found that high
levels of synchrony were associated with better mother-infant attachment. Evaluate research
into infant-caregiver interactions -(correct answer):) - Controlled observations in a controlled
experimental setting with standardised procedures and operationalised behavioural categories
with filming from multiple angles. High reliability as can be repeated to check consistency. :) -
, These observations are less prone to demand characteristics as obviously babies are unaware
an experiment is taking place and thus will not change their natural behaviours. :( -
Observations susceptible to observer bias as they require subjective interpretation from
researches who may perceive behaviour as being something else to what it really is, this can
lower the validity. :( - Observations only look at the changes in hand movements and gestures.
It is very difficult to be certain that the moves or gestures etc, were actually deliberate or
accidental, this reduces the value of the insight into caregiver-infant interaction. :( - These
studies don't tell us the purpose of synchrony or reciprocity, they simply state that it happens
and don't imply anything about why and what the purpose is. Other studies have said that it is
important in the development of empathy and morals. :( - Conducting research into
mother-infant interactions is controversial as it sates that certain people may be at a
disadvantage for certain reasons. ie. Mothers going back to work... Outline three research
studies into the role of the father -(correct answer)Schaffer found that initially babies become
attached to their mother (7 months) and then after this form secondary attachments with others
such as the father. 75% of babies had an attachment with their father by 18 months of age,
they showed separation anxiety. Lamb indicated that between the ages of 15-24 months they
will show a preference towards their father, this suggests that the father may become the PCG.
Grossman conducted a longitudinal study and found a direct correlation between the quality of
fathers play with infants and the quality of adolescent attachments. This suggests that the
father may be more about play and stimulation whereas the mother is more about nurturing.
Evaluate research into the role of the father -(correct answer):( - It is very difficult to draw one
conclusion from all the research as some psychologists have looked to prove he father as the
PCG and others have tried to prove him as the secondary caregiver. :( - MacCallum and
Golombrok found contradicting evidence as they found that children growing up in single or
same sex parent families did not develop any differently to those in opposite sex parents. :( -
Alternative explanations about why fathers don't usually become the PCG could be because of
traditional gender roles that people don't like to break as it is not seen as normal and thus they
