1
Attachment notes
Table of contents - 1
Basics - 2
Schaffer & Emerson’s study - 2
Ainsworth’s The Strange Situation - 2
TSS Cultural variations - 3
The role of the father - 4
Animal studies - 4
Nature vs Nurture explanations - 5
Bowlby’s Maternal deprivation hypothesis - 6
Effects of Institutionalisation - 7
Influence of early attachments on later relationships - 7
, 2
Basics
Attachment - a close emotional bond between two people, two-way process that
develops over time
Infancy - the period of a child’s life before speech begins
Reciprocity - two-way flow of interaction, mutual responsiveness
o Meltzoff and Moore - found that babies imitated expressions shown by a
caregiver
Interactional synchrony - actions and emotions reflected in a coordinated way
o Isabella et al. - found the higher levels of synchrony were associated with
better quality attachments
Schaffer & Emerson’s study
Method -
o Longitudinal study, 60 babies from Glasgow and from working class families
o Mixed methods approach: interviews, observations, diaries
Findings -
o At 25-32 weeks: 50% showed separation anxiety
o At 40 weeks: 80% showed specific attachments, 30% showed multiple
attachments
Stages -
o Asocial - no differentiation between objects and people
o Indiscriminate attachment - preference towards people, no display of
anxieties
o Specific attachment - primary caregiver bond, separation and stranger anxiety
o Multiple attachments - secondary attachments form (with non-primary
caregivers)
Evaluation
Strengths - longitudinal design so high internal validity
Limitations - limited sample so not applicable to whole population and results
cannot be generalised, conflicting evidence on multiple attachments such as in
some cultures babies form multiple attachments much earlier (S&E’s study is
culturally biased)
Ainsworth’s The Strange Situation
Aim -
o To assess the quality of child’s attachment to caregiver
Participants -
o 100 middle class white American families
Method -
o Overt, non-participant, controlled observation
Procedure -
o Parent and baby enter room
o Child encouraged to explore room (parent seen as a secure base)
Attachment notes
Table of contents - 1
Basics - 2
Schaffer & Emerson’s study - 2
Ainsworth’s The Strange Situation - 2
TSS Cultural variations - 3
The role of the father - 4
Animal studies - 4
Nature vs Nurture explanations - 5
Bowlby’s Maternal deprivation hypothesis - 6
Effects of Institutionalisation - 7
Influence of early attachments on later relationships - 7
, 2
Basics
Attachment - a close emotional bond between two people, two-way process that
develops over time
Infancy - the period of a child’s life before speech begins
Reciprocity - two-way flow of interaction, mutual responsiveness
o Meltzoff and Moore - found that babies imitated expressions shown by a
caregiver
Interactional synchrony - actions and emotions reflected in a coordinated way
o Isabella et al. - found the higher levels of synchrony were associated with
better quality attachments
Schaffer & Emerson’s study
Method -
o Longitudinal study, 60 babies from Glasgow and from working class families
o Mixed methods approach: interviews, observations, diaries
Findings -
o At 25-32 weeks: 50% showed separation anxiety
o At 40 weeks: 80% showed specific attachments, 30% showed multiple
attachments
Stages -
o Asocial - no differentiation between objects and people
o Indiscriminate attachment - preference towards people, no display of
anxieties
o Specific attachment - primary caregiver bond, separation and stranger anxiety
o Multiple attachments - secondary attachments form (with non-primary
caregivers)
Evaluation
Strengths - longitudinal design so high internal validity
Limitations - limited sample so not applicable to whole population and results
cannot be generalised, conflicting evidence on multiple attachments such as in
some cultures babies form multiple attachments much earlier (S&E’s study is
culturally biased)
Ainsworth’s The Strange Situation
Aim -
o To assess the quality of child’s attachment to caregiver
Participants -
o 100 middle class white American families
Method -
o Overt, non-participant, controlled observation
Procedure -
o Parent and baby enter room
o Child encouraged to explore room (parent seen as a secure base)
