Chapter 3: Attachment
What is an attachment?
An attachment is a two-way emotional bond between two individuals, where each sees the other as essential
for their own emotional security. It takes a few months to develop in humans and is identified by:
○ Proximity - people try to stay physically close to their attachment figure.
○ Separation distress - people show signs of anxiety when an attachment figure leaves their presence.
○ Secure-base behaviour - a common trait in babies, who consistently return to their attachment figure
during play, even when they are independent of their attachment figures.
Reciprocity
From birth, babies and their caregivers engage in intense, pleasurable interactions, demonstrating
reciprocity. This reciprocal interaction, also known as 'turn-taking,' involves each person responding to the
other and eliciting a response from them. This interaction is essential in any conversation, as it prevents
people from talking over each other and ensures a healthy relationship between the two.
Alert phases
Babies undergo periodic alert phases, signalling readiness for interaction through eye contact. Mothers
respond to their baby's alertness around ⅔ of the time (Feldman and Eidelman 2007), depending on their
skill and external factors like stress (Finegood et al. 2016). From around 3 months, this interaction becomes
more frequent, involving verbal signals and facial expressions, with both paying close attention.
Active involvement
Traditional childhood views often portray babies as passive, receiving adult care. However, both babies and
caregivers actively participate in interactions, taking turns. Brazelton et al. (1975) described this as a dance.
Interactional synchrony
Interactional synchrony is 'the temporal coordination of micro-level social behaviour (Feldman 2007). It
takes place when caregiver and baby interact in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror the other.
Synchrony begins
Meltzoff and Moore (1977) observed that babies as young as two weeks old began to exhibit interactional
synchrony when an adult displayed one of three facial expressions or gestures. Independent observers filmed
and labelled the baby's response. Babies' expression and gestures were more likely to mirror those of the
adults more than chance would predict, revealing a significant association between the two.
,Importance for attachment
Isabella et al. (1989) found that interactional synchrony is crucial for caregiver-infant attachment
development. They observed 30 mothers and babies and assessed the degree of synchrony, finding high
levels of synchrony associated with better quality mother-baby attachment, including emotional intensity.
Evaluation
Strengths:
1) Filmed observations. The use of laboratory films allows for control over distractions and allows for
observation and analysis of key behaviours. Filmed interactions also ensure inter-rater reliability of
observations, as babies are unaware of being observed, preventing behaviour changes. This approach
ensures data collected in such research has good reliability and validity.
2) Developmental importance. Early interactions are crucial for a child's development, as Isabella et al.
(1989) found that achieving interactional synchrony predicts the development of a good quality attachment,
suggesting that caregiver-infant interaction is likely important.
Limitations:
1) Observing babies. It’s difficult to interpret a baby's behaviour due to their lack of coordination and
immobile bodies. Observations often focus on small hand movements or subtle expression changes, making
it difficult to determine the baby's perspective and whether the observed behaviours have a special meaning.
2) Developmental importance. Observing behaviours doesn’t tell us its developmental importance.
Synchrony and reciprocity only describe patterns of observable caregiver and baby behaviours (Feldman
2012). These robust phenomena can be reliably observed, but don't reveal the purpose of these behaviours,
making it difficult to determine their importance for a child's development from just observational research.
Extra:
1) Practical value vs ethics. Crowell et al. (2013) found that a 10-minute Parent-Child Interaction Therapy
(PIT) improved interactional synchrony in 20 low-income mothers and their pre-school children. However, it’s
socially sensitive, suggesting that returning to work after having a baby may damage their development.
Schaffer's stages of attachment
Stages of attachment
Schaffer and Emerson’s (1964) study on baby attachment behaviours led to the development of an account
of how attachment changes as a baby grows, proposing 4 stages of attachment observed in all babies.
, Stage 1: Asocial stage
During a baby's first few weeks, their behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects is asocial, but
Schaffer and Emerson argue that babies still prefer to be with others, especially familiar ones. They form
bonds with these people, which form the basis of later attachments, making them easier to comfort.
Stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment
From 2-7 months, babies exhibit social behaviours, preferring human company over inanimate objects. They
recognize familiar people and accept cuddles and comfort from anyone, resulting in the term 'indiscriminate'.
They don't show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety in unfamiliar people.
Stage 3: Specific attachment
Around 7 months, babies begin to display signs of attachment towards a specific person, such as anxiety
towards strangers and separation anxiety. This marks the formation of a specific attachment, with the
primary attachment figure being the mother, who offers the most interaction and responds to the baby's
signals with the most skill, making her the primary attachment figure in 65% of cases.
Stage 4: Multiple attachments
Babies often exhibit attachment behaviour, such as stranger and separation anxiety, towards one person and
extend this behaviour to multiple secondary attachments with regular spenders. According to Schaffer and
Emerson, 29% of children form secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary attachment, and
by one year, most babies have developed multiple attachments.
Schaffer and Emerson's research
Procedure - A study involving 60 Glasgow-based babies, primarily from skilled working-class families,
examined their attachment and stranger anxiety. Researchers visited mothers monthly for the first year and
again at 18 months. They asked about their babies' protest in seven everyday separations, such as adults
leaving the room, to measure their attachment. The study also assessed stranger anxiety, the babies' anxiety
response to unfamiliar people.
Evaluation
Strengths:
1) Good external validity. The research has good external validity due to the fact that most observations were
made by parents during ordinary activities, rather than by researchers, which could have distracted or
increased anxiety in the babies. This suggests that participants likely behaved naturally while being observed.
What is an attachment?
An attachment is a two-way emotional bond between two individuals, where each sees the other as essential
for their own emotional security. It takes a few months to develop in humans and is identified by:
○ Proximity - people try to stay physically close to their attachment figure.
○ Separation distress - people show signs of anxiety when an attachment figure leaves their presence.
○ Secure-base behaviour - a common trait in babies, who consistently return to their attachment figure
during play, even when they are independent of their attachment figures.
Reciprocity
From birth, babies and their caregivers engage in intense, pleasurable interactions, demonstrating
reciprocity. This reciprocal interaction, also known as 'turn-taking,' involves each person responding to the
other and eliciting a response from them. This interaction is essential in any conversation, as it prevents
people from talking over each other and ensures a healthy relationship between the two.
Alert phases
Babies undergo periodic alert phases, signalling readiness for interaction through eye contact. Mothers
respond to their baby's alertness around ⅔ of the time (Feldman and Eidelman 2007), depending on their
skill and external factors like stress (Finegood et al. 2016). From around 3 months, this interaction becomes
more frequent, involving verbal signals and facial expressions, with both paying close attention.
Active involvement
Traditional childhood views often portray babies as passive, receiving adult care. However, both babies and
caregivers actively participate in interactions, taking turns. Brazelton et al. (1975) described this as a dance.
Interactional synchrony
Interactional synchrony is 'the temporal coordination of micro-level social behaviour (Feldman 2007). It
takes place when caregiver and baby interact in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror the other.
Synchrony begins
Meltzoff and Moore (1977) observed that babies as young as two weeks old began to exhibit interactional
synchrony when an adult displayed one of three facial expressions or gestures. Independent observers filmed
and labelled the baby's response. Babies' expression and gestures were more likely to mirror those of the
adults more than chance would predict, revealing a significant association between the two.
,Importance for attachment
Isabella et al. (1989) found that interactional synchrony is crucial for caregiver-infant attachment
development. They observed 30 mothers and babies and assessed the degree of synchrony, finding high
levels of synchrony associated with better quality mother-baby attachment, including emotional intensity.
Evaluation
Strengths:
1) Filmed observations. The use of laboratory films allows for control over distractions and allows for
observation and analysis of key behaviours. Filmed interactions also ensure inter-rater reliability of
observations, as babies are unaware of being observed, preventing behaviour changes. This approach
ensures data collected in such research has good reliability and validity.
2) Developmental importance. Early interactions are crucial for a child's development, as Isabella et al.
(1989) found that achieving interactional synchrony predicts the development of a good quality attachment,
suggesting that caregiver-infant interaction is likely important.
Limitations:
1) Observing babies. It’s difficult to interpret a baby's behaviour due to their lack of coordination and
immobile bodies. Observations often focus on small hand movements or subtle expression changes, making
it difficult to determine the baby's perspective and whether the observed behaviours have a special meaning.
2) Developmental importance. Observing behaviours doesn’t tell us its developmental importance.
Synchrony and reciprocity only describe patterns of observable caregiver and baby behaviours (Feldman
2012). These robust phenomena can be reliably observed, but don't reveal the purpose of these behaviours,
making it difficult to determine their importance for a child's development from just observational research.
Extra:
1) Practical value vs ethics. Crowell et al. (2013) found that a 10-minute Parent-Child Interaction Therapy
(PIT) improved interactional synchrony in 20 low-income mothers and their pre-school children. However, it’s
socially sensitive, suggesting that returning to work after having a baby may damage their development.
Schaffer's stages of attachment
Stages of attachment
Schaffer and Emerson’s (1964) study on baby attachment behaviours led to the development of an account
of how attachment changes as a baby grows, proposing 4 stages of attachment observed in all babies.
, Stage 1: Asocial stage
During a baby's first few weeks, their behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects is asocial, but
Schaffer and Emerson argue that babies still prefer to be with others, especially familiar ones. They form
bonds with these people, which form the basis of later attachments, making them easier to comfort.
Stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment
From 2-7 months, babies exhibit social behaviours, preferring human company over inanimate objects. They
recognize familiar people and accept cuddles and comfort from anyone, resulting in the term 'indiscriminate'.
They don't show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety in unfamiliar people.
Stage 3: Specific attachment
Around 7 months, babies begin to display signs of attachment towards a specific person, such as anxiety
towards strangers and separation anxiety. This marks the formation of a specific attachment, with the
primary attachment figure being the mother, who offers the most interaction and responds to the baby's
signals with the most skill, making her the primary attachment figure in 65% of cases.
Stage 4: Multiple attachments
Babies often exhibit attachment behaviour, such as stranger and separation anxiety, towards one person and
extend this behaviour to multiple secondary attachments with regular spenders. According to Schaffer and
Emerson, 29% of children form secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary attachment, and
by one year, most babies have developed multiple attachments.
Schaffer and Emerson's research
Procedure - A study involving 60 Glasgow-based babies, primarily from skilled working-class families,
examined their attachment and stranger anxiety. Researchers visited mothers monthly for the first year and
again at 18 months. They asked about their babies' protest in seven everyday separations, such as adults
leaving the room, to measure their attachment. The study also assessed stranger anxiety, the babies' anxiety
response to unfamiliar people.
Evaluation
Strengths:
1) Good external validity. The research has good external validity due to the fact that most observations were
made by parents during ordinary activities, rather than by researchers, which could have distracted or
increased anxiety in the babies. This suggests that participants likely behaved naturally while being observed.
