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P1: attachment
caregiver- infant interactions
define attachment
-an emotional tie formed between two people or things that endures
over time
-they seek to maintain a certain degree of proximity or contact
what is interactional synchrony?
-caregiver and infant interact in a way where their actions and emotions
mirror each other
outline the investigation that looked at when synchrony begins
-Meltzoff and Moore (1977) observed interactional synchrony in babies
as young as 2 weeks
-an adult displayed a facial expression or a gesture and the babys
response was filmed and labelled by independent observers
-babies actions were more likely to mirror those of the adult than
chance would predict
outline the investigation which looked at the importance of synchrony
for attachment
-Isabella et al (1989) observed 39 mothers and babies together and
assessed the degree of synchrony and quality of mother-baby
attachment
-high levels of synchrony= better quality of mother-baby attachment
what is reciprocity?
-involves signalling that they are ready for interaction
-take turns in responding in different ways= not mirrored
describe alert phases and research to do with them
P1: attachment 1
, -babies have periodic phases where they signal for an interaction e.g.
eye contact
-mothers typically pick up on these signals 2/3 of the time (Feldman
and Eidelman) 2007
-from 3 months this interaction becomes increasingly frequent
describe active involvement and research to do with this
-typically, babies are portrayed as passive but the caregiver and baby
play an active role
-both initiate interactions and appear to take turns in doing so
-Brazelton et al (1975) describes this as a dance because each partner
takes a turn to respond
explain one strength of caregiver infant interactions
they use well controlled procedures with both mother and infant
being filmed
-ensures that very fine details can be recorded and analysed frame
by frame
-babies also dont know that theyre behaviour is being observed so
they dont change their behaviour in response to being observed =
high internal validity
-also replicable to test consistency of findings
explain two weaknesses of caregiver infant interactions
difficult to know what they mean by these interactions
-e.g. you might observe hand movements or changes in expression
but its difficult to know if this imitation of adult signals is deliberate
or not
-means we cannot really know for certain that behaviours seen in
caregiver infant interaction have a special meaning
-makes it more likely for observers to portray observer bias as they
over interpret the baby’s actions in a way that fits their expectations
could be considered unethical as its socially sensitive
-Isabella et al (1989) found that high levels of synchrony were
associated with better quality mother infant interactions
P1: attachment 2
, -suggests that mothers should not return to work so soon as they
may be considered a ‘bad mother’ or made to feel guilty for
returning to work
-therefore findings research are less likely to be believed by society
stages of attachment
what did Schaffer and Emerson (1964) investigate?
-how common patterns in attachment behaviours displayed by infants
could be separated into age related stages
method?
-60 babies from skilled, working class families (29f, 31m) , from same
area of glasgow
-researchers visited babies and mums every month for a year and again
at 18 months- longitudinal study
-studied babies for formation of early infant-adult attachments and
strength of these
-measured babies reaction to unfamiliar people and adults leaving room
to measure stranger and separation anxiety
results?
-between 7-9 months 50% of babies showed signs of separation
anxiety usually to mum
-stronger attachment tended to be towards caregiver who interacted
most with infant signals= sensitiveness responsiveness
-by approx 10 months old, 80% of babies formed a specific attachment
and 30% displayed multiple attachments
conclusions?
-pattern of attachment is common to all infants
-attachments are made with those who are most sensitive to infant not
those who spend most time with them
-multiple attachments are normal and have similar quantity
explain 2 strengths of the above study
good external validity
P1: attachment 3
P1: attachment
caregiver- infant interactions
define attachment
-an emotional tie formed between two people or things that endures
over time
-they seek to maintain a certain degree of proximity or contact
what is interactional synchrony?
-caregiver and infant interact in a way where their actions and emotions
mirror each other
outline the investigation that looked at when synchrony begins
-Meltzoff and Moore (1977) observed interactional synchrony in babies
as young as 2 weeks
-an adult displayed a facial expression or a gesture and the babys
response was filmed and labelled by independent observers
-babies actions were more likely to mirror those of the adult than
chance would predict
outline the investigation which looked at the importance of synchrony
for attachment
-Isabella et al (1989) observed 39 mothers and babies together and
assessed the degree of synchrony and quality of mother-baby
attachment
-high levels of synchrony= better quality of mother-baby attachment
what is reciprocity?
-involves signalling that they are ready for interaction
-take turns in responding in different ways= not mirrored
describe alert phases and research to do with them
P1: attachment 1
, -babies have periodic phases where they signal for an interaction e.g.
eye contact
-mothers typically pick up on these signals 2/3 of the time (Feldman
and Eidelman) 2007
-from 3 months this interaction becomes increasingly frequent
describe active involvement and research to do with this
-typically, babies are portrayed as passive but the caregiver and baby
play an active role
-both initiate interactions and appear to take turns in doing so
-Brazelton et al (1975) describes this as a dance because each partner
takes a turn to respond
explain one strength of caregiver infant interactions
they use well controlled procedures with both mother and infant
being filmed
-ensures that very fine details can be recorded and analysed frame
by frame
-babies also dont know that theyre behaviour is being observed so
they dont change their behaviour in response to being observed =
high internal validity
-also replicable to test consistency of findings
explain two weaknesses of caregiver infant interactions
difficult to know what they mean by these interactions
-e.g. you might observe hand movements or changes in expression
but its difficult to know if this imitation of adult signals is deliberate
or not
-means we cannot really know for certain that behaviours seen in
caregiver infant interaction have a special meaning
-makes it more likely for observers to portray observer bias as they
over interpret the baby’s actions in a way that fits their expectations
could be considered unethical as its socially sensitive
-Isabella et al (1989) found that high levels of synchrony were
associated with better quality mother infant interactions
P1: attachment 2
, -suggests that mothers should not return to work so soon as they
may be considered a ‘bad mother’ or made to feel guilty for
returning to work
-therefore findings research are less likely to be believed by society
stages of attachment
what did Schaffer and Emerson (1964) investigate?
-how common patterns in attachment behaviours displayed by infants
could be separated into age related stages
method?
-60 babies from skilled, working class families (29f, 31m) , from same
area of glasgow
-researchers visited babies and mums every month for a year and again
at 18 months- longitudinal study
-studied babies for formation of early infant-adult attachments and
strength of these
-measured babies reaction to unfamiliar people and adults leaving room
to measure stranger and separation anxiety
results?
-between 7-9 months 50% of babies showed signs of separation
anxiety usually to mum
-stronger attachment tended to be towards caregiver who interacted
most with infant signals= sensitiveness responsiveness
-by approx 10 months old, 80% of babies formed a specific attachment
and 30% displayed multiple attachments
conclusions?
-pattern of attachment is common to all infants
-attachments are made with those who are most sensitive to infant not
those who spend most time with them
-multiple attachments are normal and have similar quantity
explain 2 strengths of the above study
good external validity
P1: attachment 3
