dimanche 19 juin 2022
Attachment - 16 markers
Daniella spoto
Outline and evaluate caregiver- infant interactions (16 marks)
Interac ons between caregivers and infants provide an insight into the type and nature of
a achment. Reciprocity is when an infant responds to the ac ons of another by turn taking. The
ac ons of the primary caregiver elicit a response from the infant. The interac on between both
individuals ows back and forth. Meltzo & Moore (1977) conducted an observa onal study
whereby an adult displayed facial expressions or a hand gesture. Following the display from the
model, a dummy was removed from the child’s mouth and their expressions lmed. There was an
associa on between the infants’ behaviour and that of the adult model, showing reciprocity.
Interac onal synchrony takes place when infants mirror the ac ons or emo ons of another person,
e.g. their facial expressions. The child will move their body, or carry out the same act as their
caregiver simultaneously, and the two are said to be synchronised. This serves to sustain
communica on between the two caregiver and infant. Psychologists suggest that caregiver–infant
interac ons, such as reciprocity, are present from birth and therefore are the product of nature and
are innate social behaviours in order to help infants form and maintain an a achment. However,
such innate behaviours do not act in isola on and interact with the environment (caregivers) to
prompt a response (e.g. a en on). Consequently, researchers should consider the interac on of
innate infant behaviours with the environment (e.g. their caregivers) to fully appreciate and
understand the complex nature of caregiver– infant interac ons
One limita on of research into caregiver–infant interac ons is the ques onable reliability of
tes ng children. This is because infants move their mouths and wave their arms constantly, which is
an issue for researchers inves ga ng inten onal behaviour. Therefore, we cannot be certain that the
infants were engaging in interac onal synchrony or reciprocity, as some of the behaviour may have
occurred by chance. This ques ons the validity of research in rela on to reciprocity and
interac onal synchrony and suggests that psychologists should be cau ous when interpre ng the
ndings from research in this area.
There are methodological problems with studying interac onal synchrony using observa onal
methods. There is the possibility of observer bias where the researchers consciously or
unconsciously interpret behaviour to support their ndings. To address this problem, more than
one observer should be used to examine the inter-observer reliability of the observa ons. Recent
research by Koepke et al. (1983) failed to replicate the ndings of Meltzo & Moore which suggests
that their results of research examining infant–caregiver interac ons are unreliable.
A further cri cism of Meltzo & Moore’s research is that recent research has found that only
securely a ached infants engage in interac onal synchrony. Isabella et al. (1989) found that the
more securely a ached the infant, the greater the level of interac onal synchrony. This suggests that
not all children engage in interac onal synchrony and that Meltzo & Moore’s original ndings may
have overlooked individual di erences which could be a media ng factor.
1
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, Outline and evaluate Scha er’s stages of attachment (research into caregiver- infant
interaction) (16 marks)
Scha er and Emerson proposed a achments develop in four stages and inves gated the forma on
of a achment within the rst year of a child's life. They visited 60 babies every month meaning it
was a longitudinal study . A majority of these families were working class. Both mothers and babies
are visited in their homes un l 12 months and then again at 18 months. Research was conducted
observa ons and interviews and it also assess the babies response unfamiliar people. A achment
was measured by the amount of separa on protest and stranger anxiety displayed. They found that
separa on protest was most evident in 6 to 8 months old and stranger anxiety started one month
later. Strong a achments developed between babies and mums when the mums were very
responsive and sensi ve to the baby’s needs (sensi ve responsiveness) most infants develop
mul ple a achments at 18 months old 87% had at least two and 31% had ve or more. 39% of
infants had a primary a achment to a caregiver who was not the mother. The rst proposed stage
was the asocial stage which took place un l two months old where babies behaved in a similar way
to both humans and inanimate objects however Scha er and Emerson believe that they had a
preference for humans and familiar adults. Stage two was from 2 to 7 months and was called the
indiscriminate stage where babies displaying more observable social behaviour whilst they show
preference to familiar humans they accept comfort and cuddles from any adult and therefore do not
show separa on or stranger anxiety. Stage three takes place at seven months and is the speci c
a achment stage where infants start to display anxiety towards strangers and a separa on. They
formed more speci c a achments and an adult is termed the primary a achment gure this is the
person who o ers the most interac on and response to the baby’s signals with the most skill. The
nal stage is at seven months and over and is the mul ple a achment stage. This is where babies
start to share a achment behaviour towards other adults with whom they regularly spend me
with- secondary a achments. By the age of one year 33% of children in the Scha er and Emerson
study had formed mul ple a achments and within one month of forming a primary a achment
29% from secondary a achments.
A strength of the research is that there is real world applica on and child daycare. During the
asocial and indiscriminate stage daycare should be simpli ed and able to be comforted by skilled
adult however during a speci c a mul ple a achment stage star ng daycare with a stranger may be
problema c therefore research into the stages forming an a achment can help inform parents of
the best me to use daycare depending on the age and stage the baby.
However a weakness is that the research may be biased as it was solely done on the working-class
popula on so ndings can only be applied to the social group. Moreover it was done in the 1960s so
parental care of children has changed considerably since that me. More women go out to work a lot
with the primary caregiver. Research shows that the number of stay at home dad has quadrupled
over 25 years. Due to this it's likely that the ndings may be di erent today and lack temporal and
popula on validity.
Further weakness is that there is con ic ng evidence from di erent cultures are mul ple
a achments. Other psychologists par cular those who work in cultural contacts were mul ple
caregivers are the norm and the babies for mul ple a achments from the outset par cularly in
collec vist cultures where the families work jointly together in everything. This is a problem because
2
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titiffffti tt fi ti fifffi ti titt titi fi ti
Attachment - 16 markers
Daniella spoto
Outline and evaluate caregiver- infant interactions (16 marks)
Interac ons between caregivers and infants provide an insight into the type and nature of
a achment. Reciprocity is when an infant responds to the ac ons of another by turn taking. The
ac ons of the primary caregiver elicit a response from the infant. The interac on between both
individuals ows back and forth. Meltzo & Moore (1977) conducted an observa onal study
whereby an adult displayed facial expressions or a hand gesture. Following the display from the
model, a dummy was removed from the child’s mouth and their expressions lmed. There was an
associa on between the infants’ behaviour and that of the adult model, showing reciprocity.
Interac onal synchrony takes place when infants mirror the ac ons or emo ons of another person,
e.g. their facial expressions. The child will move their body, or carry out the same act as their
caregiver simultaneously, and the two are said to be synchronised. This serves to sustain
communica on between the two caregiver and infant. Psychologists suggest that caregiver–infant
interac ons, such as reciprocity, are present from birth and therefore are the product of nature and
are innate social behaviours in order to help infants form and maintain an a achment. However,
such innate behaviours do not act in isola on and interact with the environment (caregivers) to
prompt a response (e.g. a en on). Consequently, researchers should consider the interac on of
innate infant behaviours with the environment (e.g. their caregivers) to fully appreciate and
understand the complex nature of caregiver– infant interac ons
One limita on of research into caregiver–infant interac ons is the ques onable reliability of
tes ng children. This is because infants move their mouths and wave their arms constantly, which is
an issue for researchers inves ga ng inten onal behaviour. Therefore, we cannot be certain that the
infants were engaging in interac onal synchrony or reciprocity, as some of the behaviour may have
occurred by chance. This ques ons the validity of research in rela on to reciprocity and
interac onal synchrony and suggests that psychologists should be cau ous when interpre ng the
ndings from research in this area.
There are methodological problems with studying interac onal synchrony using observa onal
methods. There is the possibility of observer bias where the researchers consciously or
unconsciously interpret behaviour to support their ndings. To address this problem, more than
one observer should be used to examine the inter-observer reliability of the observa ons. Recent
research by Koepke et al. (1983) failed to replicate the ndings of Meltzo & Moore which suggests
that their results of research examining infant–caregiver interac ons are unreliable.
A further cri cism of Meltzo & Moore’s research is that recent research has found that only
securely a ached infants engage in interac onal synchrony. Isabella et al. (1989) found that the
more securely a ached the infant, the greater the level of interac onal synchrony. This suggests that
not all children engage in interac onal synchrony and that Meltzo & Moore’s original ndings may
have overlooked individual di erences which could be a media ng factor.
1
fitttiti titi tttifltiti tt tt fftitifftitititi fftititi fi fiti titi ti tititiffti ti tiff fititt ti ti fi tititi
, Outline and evaluate Scha er’s stages of attachment (research into caregiver- infant
interaction) (16 marks)
Scha er and Emerson proposed a achments develop in four stages and inves gated the forma on
of a achment within the rst year of a child's life. They visited 60 babies every month meaning it
was a longitudinal study . A majority of these families were working class. Both mothers and babies
are visited in their homes un l 12 months and then again at 18 months. Research was conducted
observa ons and interviews and it also assess the babies response unfamiliar people. A achment
was measured by the amount of separa on protest and stranger anxiety displayed. They found that
separa on protest was most evident in 6 to 8 months old and stranger anxiety started one month
later. Strong a achments developed between babies and mums when the mums were very
responsive and sensi ve to the baby’s needs (sensi ve responsiveness) most infants develop
mul ple a achments at 18 months old 87% had at least two and 31% had ve or more. 39% of
infants had a primary a achment to a caregiver who was not the mother. The rst proposed stage
was the asocial stage which took place un l two months old where babies behaved in a similar way
to both humans and inanimate objects however Scha er and Emerson believe that they had a
preference for humans and familiar adults. Stage two was from 2 to 7 months and was called the
indiscriminate stage where babies displaying more observable social behaviour whilst they show
preference to familiar humans they accept comfort and cuddles from any adult and therefore do not
show separa on or stranger anxiety. Stage three takes place at seven months and is the speci c
a achment stage where infants start to display anxiety towards strangers and a separa on. They
formed more speci c a achments and an adult is termed the primary a achment gure this is the
person who o ers the most interac on and response to the baby’s signals with the most skill. The
nal stage is at seven months and over and is the mul ple a achment stage. This is where babies
start to share a achment behaviour towards other adults with whom they regularly spend me
with- secondary a achments. By the age of one year 33% of children in the Scha er and Emerson
study had formed mul ple a achments and within one month of forming a primary a achment
29% from secondary a achments.
A strength of the research is that there is real world applica on and child daycare. During the
asocial and indiscriminate stage daycare should be simpli ed and able to be comforted by skilled
adult however during a speci c a mul ple a achment stage star ng daycare with a stranger may be
problema c therefore research into the stages forming an a achment can help inform parents of
the best me to use daycare depending on the age and stage the baby.
However a weakness is that the research may be biased as it was solely done on the working-class
popula on so ndings can only be applied to the social group. Moreover it was done in the 1960s so
parental care of children has changed considerably since that me. More women go out to work a lot
with the primary caregiver. Research shows that the number of stay at home dad has quadrupled
over 25 years. Due to this it's likely that the ndings may be di erent today and lack temporal and
popula on validity.
Further weakness is that there is con ic ng evidence from di erent cultures are mul ple
a achments. Other psychologists par cular those who work in cultural contacts were mul ple
caregivers are the norm and the babies for mul ple a achments from the outset par cularly in
collec vist cultures where the families work jointly together in everything. This is a problem because
2
fitt tt
tifftititititititt tiffttfitt ttfi titt
titttt fi tifittff ttti tifl tititi ttfi ti titt
ffti fi tttt
titiffffti tt fi ti fifffi ti titt titi fi ti
