Attachment
1. Caregiver-infant interactions in humans
Attachment is a close two-way emotional bond between two individuals, in which each individual sees the
other as essential for their own emotional security. Attachment in humans stakes a few months to
develop.
Signs of attachment
1. Seeking proximity, especially at times of distress
2. Distress on separation
3. Pleasure when reunited
4. Caregiver as a ‘secure base’ for exploration – keeps returning during play
Caregiver infant interaction – most is non-verbal communication. The more sensitive each is to others’
signals the deeper the relationship.
RECIPROCITY
• Interaction is reciprocal, when each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them.
• E.g. mother and baby take turns in iniating reactions – bby plays an active role too
• Babies have alert phases and can signa that they’re ready for interaction.
• Feldman – mothers respond almost 2/3 of the time
• Still face experiment – shows that when mother fails to interact and keeps as straight face bby
becomes distressed
INTERACTIONAL SYNCHRONY
• 2 ppl are said to be synchronised when they carry out the same act at the same time.
• This takes place when mothers and babies actions and emotions mirror each other.
• Meltzoff and Moore observed this in infants aged 2 weeks. Adults displayed 1 of 3 expressions or
gestures. The baby would copy.
Evaluation:
+ Controlled observations are reliable – they can be filmed and thoroughly analysed without being
affected by extraneous variables
- Difficult to observe and see clearly what’s happening. We can only look at observable behaviour,
cants know what conscious/unconscious thoughts are taking place.
Multiple attachments and role of the father
Modern parenting:
• It’s now the norm for mothers to work. 5.3 million British mothers are in employment
• 9% of British single parents are males
Parent-infant attachment:
• Schaffer and Emerson found the majority of babies attached to the mother first.
• After a few weeks formed secondary attachment with father
, Role of the father:
• Grossman (2002) – looked at how both mum and dad behaviour towards infant and how it
impacted upon the quality of children’s attachment into their teen.
• Quality was affected by relations with mum more than dad.
• Quality of play played an important role – father have a diff role to mothers, more to do with play
than nurturing
Father as primary caregiver:
• Tiffany Field filmed 4-month-old babies in face to face interactions with primary caregiver mum or
dad and secondary caregiver dads.
• Primary caregiver dads were same as mums and spent more time smiling and holding infants than
secondary dads.
• Key to attachment = level of responsiveness not gender
Multiple attachments:
• Multiple attachments = attachments to 2+ people
• Attachment to fathers = most kids are attached to fathers by 18 months
• Father role = offering play rather than comfort
• Father as PCG = these fathers smile, imitate and comfort like mothers
Evaluation:
- Inconsistent finding on fathers. All psychologists are focussed on different areas
- Grossman said father had an important role being secondary figure, but infants with single or same
sex families didn’t develop differently. Suggests fathers not that important.
Stages of attachment
Key study – Schaffer and Emerson
Aim:
• To investigate formation of early attachment
Procedure:
• Observed 60 Glaswegian babies from working class families for 18 months. Mothers visited once a
month for a year and then again at 18 months. Asked to look for 2 things:
• Separation anxiety – showing distress when left alone in a room
• Stranger anxiety – showing distress when left with unfamiliar ppl
Results:
• Between 25-32 weeks, 50% of babies showed separation anxiety to a particular adult.
• At 40 weeks, nearly 30% formed multiple attachments
Evaluation:
+ Longitudinal study - same children are used, this eliminated individual difference as a confounding
variable. Results more internally valid
- Culture bias – families involved from same district and social class. Limited and so won’t be able to
generalise.
1. Caregiver-infant interactions in humans
Attachment is a close two-way emotional bond between two individuals, in which each individual sees the
other as essential for their own emotional security. Attachment in humans stakes a few months to
develop.
Signs of attachment
1. Seeking proximity, especially at times of distress
2. Distress on separation
3. Pleasure when reunited
4. Caregiver as a ‘secure base’ for exploration – keeps returning during play
Caregiver infant interaction – most is non-verbal communication. The more sensitive each is to others’
signals the deeper the relationship.
RECIPROCITY
• Interaction is reciprocal, when each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them.
• E.g. mother and baby take turns in iniating reactions – bby plays an active role too
• Babies have alert phases and can signa that they’re ready for interaction.
• Feldman – mothers respond almost 2/3 of the time
• Still face experiment – shows that when mother fails to interact and keeps as straight face bby
becomes distressed
INTERACTIONAL SYNCHRONY
• 2 ppl are said to be synchronised when they carry out the same act at the same time.
• This takes place when mothers and babies actions and emotions mirror each other.
• Meltzoff and Moore observed this in infants aged 2 weeks. Adults displayed 1 of 3 expressions or
gestures. The baby would copy.
Evaluation:
+ Controlled observations are reliable – they can be filmed and thoroughly analysed without being
affected by extraneous variables
- Difficult to observe and see clearly what’s happening. We can only look at observable behaviour,
cants know what conscious/unconscious thoughts are taking place.
Multiple attachments and role of the father
Modern parenting:
• It’s now the norm for mothers to work. 5.3 million British mothers are in employment
• 9% of British single parents are males
Parent-infant attachment:
• Schaffer and Emerson found the majority of babies attached to the mother first.
• After a few weeks formed secondary attachment with father
, Role of the father:
• Grossman (2002) – looked at how both mum and dad behaviour towards infant and how it
impacted upon the quality of children’s attachment into their teen.
• Quality was affected by relations with mum more than dad.
• Quality of play played an important role – father have a diff role to mothers, more to do with play
than nurturing
Father as primary caregiver:
• Tiffany Field filmed 4-month-old babies in face to face interactions with primary caregiver mum or
dad and secondary caregiver dads.
• Primary caregiver dads were same as mums and spent more time smiling and holding infants than
secondary dads.
• Key to attachment = level of responsiveness not gender
Multiple attachments:
• Multiple attachments = attachments to 2+ people
• Attachment to fathers = most kids are attached to fathers by 18 months
• Father role = offering play rather than comfort
• Father as PCG = these fathers smile, imitate and comfort like mothers
Evaluation:
- Inconsistent finding on fathers. All psychologists are focussed on different areas
- Grossman said father had an important role being secondary figure, but infants with single or same
sex families didn’t develop differently. Suggests fathers not that important.
Stages of attachment
Key study – Schaffer and Emerson
Aim:
• To investigate formation of early attachment
Procedure:
• Observed 60 Glaswegian babies from working class families for 18 months. Mothers visited once a
month for a year and then again at 18 months. Asked to look for 2 things:
• Separation anxiety – showing distress when left alone in a room
• Stranger anxiety – showing distress when left with unfamiliar ppl
Results:
• Between 25-32 weeks, 50% of babies showed separation anxiety to a particular adult.
• At 40 weeks, nearly 30% formed multiple attachments
Evaluation:
+ Longitudinal study - same children are used, this eliminated individual difference as a confounding
variable. Results more internally valid
- Culture bias – families involved from same district and social class. Limited and so won’t be able to
generalise.
