Attachment:
Features of attachment:
Care-gjyer-infant interactions:
lnteractional synchrony ~the infant moves their bodies in time with the rhythm of the carer's
spoken language, creating a form of tum taking, interactions are rhythmic and coordinated.
Reciprocity ~interactions lead to mutual behaviour between carer and infant, with both being
I I' I "I ' • I '
able to produce responses from each other. · ~
Mimicking ~infants imitate facial expressions of the caregiver, suggesting an innate biological
drive to form a relationship.
Bodily contact ~ physical interactions help to form an attachment bond.
Careglverese ~ vocal languages used by adults as they interact with infants, includes high
pitched sing song-like vocals, these help communication strengthen the bond.
Isabella ~ infants with secure attachments demonstrate international synchrony during the first year
of life.
Meltzoff and Moore ~ infants aged 2-3 weeks displayed a tendency to mimic adults' facial
expressions and hand movements, indicating mimicry is an innate ability that helps in the formation of
attachment.
Schaffer and Emerson:
They studied 60 babies from W/C area of Glasgow, observing them every 4 weeks for the first
year and then again at 18 months.
Used observations, interviews.
Strength of attachment was measured by separation anxiety and stranger anxiety.
Attachment develops in 4 stages: (AISM)
- Asocial (0-6 weeks, attention seeking behaviour, crying and smiling is not directed at
anyone specific)
- Indiscriminate (6 weeks • 7 months, child seeks attention from anyone and is happy to
receive it from anyone, preferences are shown to familiar faces that elicit a greater
response)
- Specific (7-11 months, primarily attached to the main caregiver, if separated the child
becomes distressed, the child is wary of strangers)
- Multiple (11 months+, after a primary attachment has been forged, multiple
attachments form and vary with strength usually with other family members)
High ecological validity, as they were observed in their own homes.
Data collection being made by the mother can be inaccurate and prone to bias due to social
desirability and not wanting to be seen as a bad mother which leads to them not telling the
truth causing the study to lack internal validity.
The role of the father:
Seen as less of a caregiver and more of a playmate, due to fathers play being more physical,
unpredictable, and exciting than mothers. (mothers are seen to show more sensitive
responsiveness, males can develop this when being the main caregiver).
Factors of father-child dynamic: the degree of sensitivity (fathers who are sensitive to their
child's needs develop more secure attachments), single-parent fathers (from similar
attachments to their child as the father did with his own parents), marital intimacy (the
attachment the father develops with his children is related to the level of intimacy he has with
, ";\• ()(Ct Oi {'r)O n ce.. of\d rcdvC~c..S
'o(nuu. .o..1re,..., 0ut••OYIS. , c d ("'J
co· r ') r )_; Ct::l0.r<'.'.c..l w,rh -~ r-r (-> ,. • ;u
r r ,A
his partner), supportive co-parenting (the level of support a father provides, affects the r r ~("
attachment he will have with his children).
lmpllcatlons: children with secure attachments to their fathers go on to have better
relationships with peers and less problem behaviour generally, also better able to regulate
their emotions. Without a father they do less well in school, have higher levels of risk taking
and aggression. Fathers help to prevent negative developmental outcomes.
L7 H,( n.)1l c( 1-hc ru~ha ui",J tilt' n11 1,(c, , v/lJ c,, 1h( ccuncr,
Antmat studies:
0
.
l'Y\::.,,~ pc YlLJtlUCLv
.
lrv,~<... L.jQ,1 U.Lf--lvC: ft~'li~r
lU() (C....d V r)1..lt{1 dl,IQ (... .--c.ur 11 ,,~(1(v)r"cl C.lu._UeTY1 I' :::6-
Harlow: Conducted a series of experiments on monkeys, he separated newborn monkeys from their
mothers and they were presented with two surrogate mothers, one surrogate mother (wire mother)
was made out of wire mesh and dispensed milk, whereas the other mother (cloth mother) was made
out of soft cloth but did not suspense milk.
Harlow would occasionally expose the monkeys to a loud noise to test which mother they preferred
under stress (cloth mother).
Research showed that the monkeys preferred the cloth mother even though she did not provide any
food. The baby monkeys spend their time clinging to the cloth mother and only went to the wire
mother when they needed food.
The study showed that attachment went beyond nourishment and that feelings of comfort and security
are critical to maternal-infant bonding, which leads to a healthy development.
EVAL: Ethical issues, has been criticised as unethical due to the harm inflicted on the monkeys.(-)
Methodological issues, it is unclear whether the results can be generalised to humans, cannot be
extrapolated. (-).
Lorenz:
Studied the effect of imprinting baby goslings, imprinting is important for survival and must
happen within a critical period of 4-25hours. Imprinting is when an animal attaches to a
moving thing, usually after they hatch, lorenz was imprinted on.
One group of goslings hatched naturally by the mother, the others hatched in an incubator,
and imprinted on him.
The goslings were placed under a box, once lifted the natural goslings followed their mother
but the others went to Lorenz.
If imprinting did not happen during this critical period, the geese would die.
EVAL: Provided support for Bowlby's theory of a critical period for newborn baby humans to form
attachment. (+)
Methodological concerns as goslings are qualitatively different to humans and so cannot extrapolate
findings, so it is unclear from this study the extent to which imprinting occurs in newborn baby
humans, if at all. (-)
ExJ>fanat;ons ot attachment-
Learning theory: Attachment happens because the infant associates the caregiver with food, the
development of attachment is brought on by classical conditioning and operant conditioning.
Classical conditioning:
Features of attachment:
Care-gjyer-infant interactions:
lnteractional synchrony ~the infant moves their bodies in time with the rhythm of the carer's
spoken language, creating a form of tum taking, interactions are rhythmic and coordinated.
Reciprocity ~interactions lead to mutual behaviour between carer and infant, with both being
I I' I "I ' • I '
able to produce responses from each other. · ~
Mimicking ~infants imitate facial expressions of the caregiver, suggesting an innate biological
drive to form a relationship.
Bodily contact ~ physical interactions help to form an attachment bond.
Careglverese ~ vocal languages used by adults as they interact with infants, includes high
pitched sing song-like vocals, these help communication strengthen the bond.
Isabella ~ infants with secure attachments demonstrate international synchrony during the first year
of life.
Meltzoff and Moore ~ infants aged 2-3 weeks displayed a tendency to mimic adults' facial
expressions and hand movements, indicating mimicry is an innate ability that helps in the formation of
attachment.
Schaffer and Emerson:
They studied 60 babies from W/C area of Glasgow, observing them every 4 weeks for the first
year and then again at 18 months.
Used observations, interviews.
Strength of attachment was measured by separation anxiety and stranger anxiety.
Attachment develops in 4 stages: (AISM)
- Asocial (0-6 weeks, attention seeking behaviour, crying and smiling is not directed at
anyone specific)
- Indiscriminate (6 weeks • 7 months, child seeks attention from anyone and is happy to
receive it from anyone, preferences are shown to familiar faces that elicit a greater
response)
- Specific (7-11 months, primarily attached to the main caregiver, if separated the child
becomes distressed, the child is wary of strangers)
- Multiple (11 months+, after a primary attachment has been forged, multiple
attachments form and vary with strength usually with other family members)
High ecological validity, as they were observed in their own homes.
Data collection being made by the mother can be inaccurate and prone to bias due to social
desirability and not wanting to be seen as a bad mother which leads to them not telling the
truth causing the study to lack internal validity.
The role of the father:
Seen as less of a caregiver and more of a playmate, due to fathers play being more physical,
unpredictable, and exciting than mothers. (mothers are seen to show more sensitive
responsiveness, males can develop this when being the main caregiver).
Factors of father-child dynamic: the degree of sensitivity (fathers who are sensitive to their
child's needs develop more secure attachments), single-parent fathers (from similar
attachments to their child as the father did with his own parents), marital intimacy (the
attachment the father develops with his children is related to the level of intimacy he has with
, ";\• ()(Ct Oi {'r)O n ce.. of\d rcdvC~c..S
'o(nuu. .o..1re,..., 0ut••OYIS. , c d ("'J
co· r ') r )_; Ct::l0.r<'.'.c..l w,rh -~ r-r (-> ,. • ;u
r r ,A
his partner), supportive co-parenting (the level of support a father provides, affects the r r ~("
attachment he will have with his children).
lmpllcatlons: children with secure attachments to their fathers go on to have better
relationships with peers and less problem behaviour generally, also better able to regulate
their emotions. Without a father they do less well in school, have higher levels of risk taking
and aggression. Fathers help to prevent negative developmental outcomes.
L7 H,( n.)1l c( 1-hc ru~ha ui",J tilt' n11 1,(c, , v/lJ c,, 1h( ccuncr,
Antmat studies:
0
.
l'Y\::.,,~ pc YlLJtlUCLv
.
lrv,~<... L.jQ,1 U.Lf--lvC: ft~'li~r
lU() (C....d V r)1..lt{1 dl,IQ (... .--c.ur 11 ,,~(1(v)r"cl C.lu._UeTY1 I' :::6-
Harlow: Conducted a series of experiments on monkeys, he separated newborn monkeys from their
mothers and they were presented with two surrogate mothers, one surrogate mother (wire mother)
was made out of wire mesh and dispensed milk, whereas the other mother (cloth mother) was made
out of soft cloth but did not suspense milk.
Harlow would occasionally expose the monkeys to a loud noise to test which mother they preferred
under stress (cloth mother).
Research showed that the monkeys preferred the cloth mother even though she did not provide any
food. The baby monkeys spend their time clinging to the cloth mother and only went to the wire
mother when they needed food.
The study showed that attachment went beyond nourishment and that feelings of comfort and security
are critical to maternal-infant bonding, which leads to a healthy development.
EVAL: Ethical issues, has been criticised as unethical due to the harm inflicted on the monkeys.(-)
Methodological issues, it is unclear whether the results can be generalised to humans, cannot be
extrapolated. (-).
Lorenz:
Studied the effect of imprinting baby goslings, imprinting is important for survival and must
happen within a critical period of 4-25hours. Imprinting is when an animal attaches to a
moving thing, usually after they hatch, lorenz was imprinted on.
One group of goslings hatched naturally by the mother, the others hatched in an incubator,
and imprinted on him.
The goslings were placed under a box, once lifted the natural goslings followed their mother
but the others went to Lorenz.
If imprinting did not happen during this critical period, the geese would die.
EVAL: Provided support for Bowlby's theory of a critical period for newborn baby humans to form
attachment. (+)
Methodological concerns as goslings are qualitatively different to humans and so cannot extrapolate
findings, so it is unclear from this study the extent to which imprinting occurs in newborn baby
humans, if at all. (-)
ExJ>fanat;ons ot attachment-
Learning theory: Attachment happens because the infant associates the caregiver with food, the
development of attachment is brought on by classical conditioning and operant conditioning.
Classical conditioning:
