Attachment revision notes (AQA Psychology)
Attachment = a close two-way emotional bond between infants and their
caregivers; see the other as essential for their own emotional security.
Takes a few months to develop.
Schaffer and Emerson research on multiple attachments:
-longitudinal observational study.
-watching behaviour of participants over a long period of time
-60 babies from working class families in Glasglow
-investigated stranger and separation anxiety
-50% of babies showed separation anxiety towards their primary caregiver
in the first 25-32 weeks.
-found that by the time the infants were 18 months they had already
formed multiple attachments.
-in only 3% of cases the father was the first object of attachment
-in 27% of cases the father was the joint first object of attachment
-75% of babies in Schaffer and Emerson's research formed an attachment
with their father by 18 months
-The babies showed the strongest attachments to those who gave them
the highest quality of care
Stages of attachment:
1. ASOCIAL, 0-8 weeks
-baby does not distinguish between human and non-human objects so can
form attachments with anything (not discriminate)
-no separation or stranger anxiety but may show slight preference for
familiar faces
2. INDISCRIMINATE ATTACHMENT, 2-7 months
-will recognise some familiar faces however will accept comfort from any
adult
-smile more at familiar faces than unfamiliar faces
Schaffer and Emersons' stages of attachment
3. SPECIFIC ATTACHMENTS, 7-12 months
,-primary attachments to one particular individual (person who shows most
sensitivity to their signals)
-shows stranger and separation anxiety
Schaffer and Emersons' stages of attachment
4. MULTIPLE ATTACHMENTS, 1 year onwards
-form secondary attachments with familiar adults with whom they spend
time with (e.g. father)
Evaluation of Schaffer and Emerson's research on attachment:
Strengths
-longitudinal design which means that changes and progress could be
tracked over time giving the study good internal validity.
-since the infants were observed in their own homes and their behaviour
was more natural, this observational study had high external validity
Weaknesses
-families all from the same council estate in Glasgow which limits the
generalisability of the findings. Not ecologically valid
-findings may lack temporal validity as families are very different now to
how they were in the early 1960s (e.g. same sex couples)
-in parent report of infant behaviour, some mothers may have been less
sensitive to their infants’ protests, so less likely to report them; unreliable
data
Reciprocity = when the infant and caregiver respond to each other's
signals, and each reciprocate a response from the other. Shown as turn-
taking, like a two-way conversation.
Alert phase = when a baby signals, they are ready for interaction, e.g. eye
contact
Interactional synchrony = mother and infant reflect/mirror both the
actions and emotions of the other simultaneously, so this is synchronised.
- other term for interactional synchrony = temporal coordination of
micro-level social behaviour
Feldman and Eidelman research on reciprocity (2007)
-mothers typically pick up on and respond to alertness two thirds of the
time. This interaction becomes more frequent after three months.
, Meltzoff and Moore research on interactional synchrony (1977)
-controlled observation + filmed it.
-used infants as young as two weeks old
-infants observed parents do a set of actions
-double blind experiment: independent individuals asked to state what
they saw on footage
-2–3-week-old infants could imitate specific facial expressions and hand
gestures made by an adult model.
Evaluation of Meltzoff and Moore's research
Strengths
-filmed experiment so was a controlled observation, making it internally
valid and reliable.
-filming experiment enabled multiple ppl to analyse babies, therefore
good inter-observer reliability
-babies' behaviour may be ecologically valid as there is no impact from
Hawthorne effect as they are so young
-use of the 'double blind' observer who looked at the tapes meant less
biased results
-application - can apply to parenting classes
Weaknesses
-ethical issues; Meltzoff and Moore used an experimenter to make faces at
babies so they may have experienced stranger anxiety.
-babies were not always in alert phase so practical issues, expensive for
researcher
-babies' behaviour could be argued as coincidental rather than deliberate
Isabella et Al research (1989)
-Observed 30 mothers and babies together and assessed the degree of
synchrony and quality of attachment.
-found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality
mother-baby attachment.
Grossman research on father’s influence on child development
(2002)
Attachment = a close two-way emotional bond between infants and their
caregivers; see the other as essential for their own emotional security.
Takes a few months to develop.
Schaffer and Emerson research on multiple attachments:
-longitudinal observational study.
-watching behaviour of participants over a long period of time
-60 babies from working class families in Glasglow
-investigated stranger and separation anxiety
-50% of babies showed separation anxiety towards their primary caregiver
in the first 25-32 weeks.
-found that by the time the infants were 18 months they had already
formed multiple attachments.
-in only 3% of cases the father was the first object of attachment
-in 27% of cases the father was the joint first object of attachment
-75% of babies in Schaffer and Emerson's research formed an attachment
with their father by 18 months
-The babies showed the strongest attachments to those who gave them
the highest quality of care
Stages of attachment:
1. ASOCIAL, 0-8 weeks
-baby does not distinguish between human and non-human objects so can
form attachments with anything (not discriminate)
-no separation or stranger anxiety but may show slight preference for
familiar faces
2. INDISCRIMINATE ATTACHMENT, 2-7 months
-will recognise some familiar faces however will accept comfort from any
adult
-smile more at familiar faces than unfamiliar faces
Schaffer and Emersons' stages of attachment
3. SPECIFIC ATTACHMENTS, 7-12 months
,-primary attachments to one particular individual (person who shows most
sensitivity to their signals)
-shows stranger and separation anxiety
Schaffer and Emersons' stages of attachment
4. MULTIPLE ATTACHMENTS, 1 year onwards
-form secondary attachments with familiar adults with whom they spend
time with (e.g. father)
Evaluation of Schaffer and Emerson's research on attachment:
Strengths
-longitudinal design which means that changes and progress could be
tracked over time giving the study good internal validity.
-since the infants were observed in their own homes and their behaviour
was more natural, this observational study had high external validity
Weaknesses
-families all from the same council estate in Glasgow which limits the
generalisability of the findings. Not ecologically valid
-findings may lack temporal validity as families are very different now to
how they were in the early 1960s (e.g. same sex couples)
-in parent report of infant behaviour, some mothers may have been less
sensitive to their infants’ protests, so less likely to report them; unreliable
data
Reciprocity = when the infant and caregiver respond to each other's
signals, and each reciprocate a response from the other. Shown as turn-
taking, like a two-way conversation.
Alert phase = when a baby signals, they are ready for interaction, e.g. eye
contact
Interactional synchrony = mother and infant reflect/mirror both the
actions and emotions of the other simultaneously, so this is synchronised.
- other term for interactional synchrony = temporal coordination of
micro-level social behaviour
Feldman and Eidelman research on reciprocity (2007)
-mothers typically pick up on and respond to alertness two thirds of the
time. This interaction becomes more frequent after three months.
, Meltzoff and Moore research on interactional synchrony (1977)
-controlled observation + filmed it.
-used infants as young as two weeks old
-infants observed parents do a set of actions
-double blind experiment: independent individuals asked to state what
they saw on footage
-2–3-week-old infants could imitate specific facial expressions and hand
gestures made by an adult model.
Evaluation of Meltzoff and Moore's research
Strengths
-filmed experiment so was a controlled observation, making it internally
valid and reliable.
-filming experiment enabled multiple ppl to analyse babies, therefore
good inter-observer reliability
-babies' behaviour may be ecologically valid as there is no impact from
Hawthorne effect as they are so young
-use of the 'double blind' observer who looked at the tapes meant less
biased results
-application - can apply to parenting classes
Weaknesses
-ethical issues; Meltzoff and Moore used an experimenter to make faces at
babies so they may have experienced stranger anxiety.
-babies were not always in alert phase so practical issues, expensive for
researcher
-babies' behaviour could be argued as coincidental rather than deliberate
Isabella et Al research (1989)
-Observed 30 mothers and babies together and assessed the degree of
synchrony and quality of attachment.
-found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality
mother-baby attachment.
Grossman research on father’s influence on child development
(2002)
