Section C – Attachment
Attachment: a close two-way emotional bond between two individuals in
which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional
security.
Caregiver: person who responds to needs of a child e.g. parents,
grandparents, foster parents, siblings
Caregiver-infant interactions:
Attachment behaviours:
Proximity- staying close to person you are attached to
Separation distress- getting distressed when attachment figure
leaves
Secure base behaviour- making regular contact with attachment
figure whilst doing their own thing e.g. playing
Primary attachment- first person you become attached to, usually the
mother.
Secondary attachment- attachment to other family members e.g. father.
Found to be formed at 18months.
Non-verbal communications:
Reciprocity: mother & infant interactions are reciprocal as they both
respond to each other. e.g. caregiver says something, infant responds
by smiling, caregiver smiles back
Active involvement: both infant & caregiver can initiate interactions,
take turns in doing so (Brazelton et al 1975, described this interaction
like a ‘dance’)
Alert phases: eye contact shows that infants are ready for
interactions. Form around 3months, this interaction tends to become
increasingly frequent.
Infant & mother pay close attention to each other’s verbal signs &
facial expressions (Feldman & Eidelman 2007, mothers pick up &
respond to infants’ alertness ⅔ of the time)
Interactional synchrony: temporal coordination of social behaviour,
caregiver & infant mirror each other’s behaviours & emotions (infant mirrors
caregiver) – Isabella et al (1989), high levels of synchrony were associated
with better quality attachments
,Meltzoff & Moore (1977) – Controlled observations of 2-week-old infants
Stimulus- changing facial expressions- tongue pulling, open mouth, lip
protrusion
Infants’ response was filmed & watched back by an independent
observer who did not know what babies had seen, each tape scored
twice by different observers.
Results: an association was found between gesture of adult & infant –
infant mirrored behaviour
Evaluations:
Limitation: difficulty in interpreting baby’s behaviour as babies cannot
communicate which means researchers have to draw inferences. e.g. babies
tend to move around frequently such as waving their arms & opening their
mouths. There are problems with understanding their gestures into
something meaningful. We are unable to identify whether infants are
engaging in interactional synchrony/reciprocity or if the movement are
random. Thus, research into this area may be limited & not fully accurate,
affecting internal validity of observations.
Strength: use of controlled observations. Much of the research in this area
conducts observations in a lab & most of these interactions are recorded.
This allows researchers to re-watch the experiment and take efficient notes
without missing any details; in doing so researchers gain more insight into
infant & caregiver interactions as studies ‘capture’ micro-sequences of
interaction, thus data is more accurate. (can talk about inter-observer
reliability- if more researchers have similar findings from the recordings, data
is accurate & reliable)
Strength: attachment research has clear real-world applications e.g. research
has been able to inform training for mothers to be better at interactional
synchrony & respond better to their infant's needs. Rebecca Crotwell et al
(2013) found that Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) improved
interactional synchrony in 20 low-income mothers and their pre-school
children. HOWEVER, there is also an argument against socially-sensitive
research because research like this can be used to restrict freedom of choice
– in this case the choice of mothers of when to return to work.
Stages of attachment development: Schaffer & Emerson (1964)
60 babies, WC Glasgow (sample bias = low generalisability)
, Longitudinal study- tracked over 1 year, follow up 18months,
observational & self-report measure
Mother as observer, encouraged to keep a diary of baby’s behaviour
Measuring stranger & separation anxiety
Findings:
6-8months – 50% of babies showed signs of separation anxiety
By 10 months – most of babies had several attachments
By 18months – 31% had 5 or more attachments
By 18months – 75% of children had formed an attachment with their
father.
Conclusion: attachment develops in stages in an infant’s life
Stages:
Pre-attachment, including asocial (birth-3months) – babies
cannot distinguish between humans and non-human objects (toys).
-as time goes on, babies become more attracted to humans, preferring
them, preference is demonstrated by smiling.
Indiscriminate attachment (3months-7/8months) – more
observable behaviour, preferences for people rather than objects,
recognise & prefer familiar adults, usually accepts cuddles & comfort,
don’t show separation/stranger anxiety
Specific attachment (7/8-9months) – anxiety towards strangers,
avoid unfamiliar people, separation anxiety when separated from
specific attachment, become distressed (primary attachment figure)
Multiple attachment (9months+) – show attachment to more
adults, formed with known adults, secondary attachments.
-fear of strangers weakens
Evaluations:
Strength: high external validity. The study was conducted in participants’
own homes, and most observations were carried out by the mothers,
not unfamiliar researchers. This reduces demand characteristics and
increases natural behaviour. Findings are likely to reflect real-life
attachment behaviour. Strength: Increases ecological validity and
makes the results more generalisable to real life.
Attachment: a close two-way emotional bond between two individuals in
which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional
security.
Caregiver: person who responds to needs of a child e.g. parents,
grandparents, foster parents, siblings
Caregiver-infant interactions:
Attachment behaviours:
Proximity- staying close to person you are attached to
Separation distress- getting distressed when attachment figure
leaves
Secure base behaviour- making regular contact with attachment
figure whilst doing their own thing e.g. playing
Primary attachment- first person you become attached to, usually the
mother.
Secondary attachment- attachment to other family members e.g. father.
Found to be formed at 18months.
Non-verbal communications:
Reciprocity: mother & infant interactions are reciprocal as they both
respond to each other. e.g. caregiver says something, infant responds
by smiling, caregiver smiles back
Active involvement: both infant & caregiver can initiate interactions,
take turns in doing so (Brazelton et al 1975, described this interaction
like a ‘dance’)
Alert phases: eye contact shows that infants are ready for
interactions. Form around 3months, this interaction tends to become
increasingly frequent.
Infant & mother pay close attention to each other’s verbal signs &
facial expressions (Feldman & Eidelman 2007, mothers pick up &
respond to infants’ alertness ⅔ of the time)
Interactional synchrony: temporal coordination of social behaviour,
caregiver & infant mirror each other’s behaviours & emotions (infant mirrors
caregiver) – Isabella et al (1989), high levels of synchrony were associated
with better quality attachments
,Meltzoff & Moore (1977) – Controlled observations of 2-week-old infants
Stimulus- changing facial expressions- tongue pulling, open mouth, lip
protrusion
Infants’ response was filmed & watched back by an independent
observer who did not know what babies had seen, each tape scored
twice by different observers.
Results: an association was found between gesture of adult & infant –
infant mirrored behaviour
Evaluations:
Limitation: difficulty in interpreting baby’s behaviour as babies cannot
communicate which means researchers have to draw inferences. e.g. babies
tend to move around frequently such as waving their arms & opening their
mouths. There are problems with understanding their gestures into
something meaningful. We are unable to identify whether infants are
engaging in interactional synchrony/reciprocity or if the movement are
random. Thus, research into this area may be limited & not fully accurate,
affecting internal validity of observations.
Strength: use of controlled observations. Much of the research in this area
conducts observations in a lab & most of these interactions are recorded.
This allows researchers to re-watch the experiment and take efficient notes
without missing any details; in doing so researchers gain more insight into
infant & caregiver interactions as studies ‘capture’ micro-sequences of
interaction, thus data is more accurate. (can talk about inter-observer
reliability- if more researchers have similar findings from the recordings, data
is accurate & reliable)
Strength: attachment research has clear real-world applications e.g. research
has been able to inform training for mothers to be better at interactional
synchrony & respond better to their infant's needs. Rebecca Crotwell et al
(2013) found that Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) improved
interactional synchrony in 20 low-income mothers and their pre-school
children. HOWEVER, there is also an argument against socially-sensitive
research because research like this can be used to restrict freedom of choice
– in this case the choice of mothers of when to return to work.
Stages of attachment development: Schaffer & Emerson (1964)
60 babies, WC Glasgow (sample bias = low generalisability)
, Longitudinal study- tracked over 1 year, follow up 18months,
observational & self-report measure
Mother as observer, encouraged to keep a diary of baby’s behaviour
Measuring stranger & separation anxiety
Findings:
6-8months – 50% of babies showed signs of separation anxiety
By 10 months – most of babies had several attachments
By 18months – 31% had 5 or more attachments
By 18months – 75% of children had formed an attachment with their
father.
Conclusion: attachment develops in stages in an infant’s life
Stages:
Pre-attachment, including asocial (birth-3months) – babies
cannot distinguish between humans and non-human objects (toys).
-as time goes on, babies become more attracted to humans, preferring
them, preference is demonstrated by smiling.
Indiscriminate attachment (3months-7/8months) – more
observable behaviour, preferences for people rather than objects,
recognise & prefer familiar adults, usually accepts cuddles & comfort,
don’t show separation/stranger anxiety
Specific attachment (7/8-9months) – anxiety towards strangers,
avoid unfamiliar people, separation anxiety when separated from
specific attachment, become distressed (primary attachment figure)
Multiple attachment (9months+) – show attachment to more
adults, formed with known adults, secondary attachments.
-fear of strangers weakens
Evaluations:
Strength: high external validity. The study was conducted in participants’
own homes, and most observations were carried out by the mothers,
not unfamiliar researchers. This reduces demand characteristics and
increases natural behaviour. Findings are likely to reflect real-life
attachment behaviour. Strength: Increases ecological validity and
makes the results more generalisable to real life.
