Attachment

• What is attachment?

  A reciprocal close emotional bond or relationship between two persons characterized by mutual affection and a desire to remain in proximity
• What are the charactersistics of attachment?

  1. Proximity - trying to stay physically close to attachment figure
  2. Separaton distress - show signs of anxiety when attachment figure leaves
  3. Secure base behaviour - even when independent, regularly make contact with our attachment figure
• What are human babies?

  'Attricial' meaning they are born at relatively early stages of development
• What are animals?

  'Precocial' - born at advanced stages of development
• Caregiver and infant interaction

  1. Safety
  2. Anxiety Reduction
  3. Proximity emotional self development - attachment figure may act as role model for future relationships
• Key interaction between infant and caregivers?

  Non verbal communication - may form the basis of attachment between infant and caregiver
• Interactional Synchrony

  When two people interact and mirror what the other is doing in terms of facial expressions and movements
• Meltztoff and Moore (1977)

  An association between the expression of the adult had displayed and the actions of the baby (lab experiment)
• Meltztoff and Moore (1977) - Procedure

  Adult model displayed one of three facial expressions or hand movements

  Dummy was placed in the infants mouth to prevent response, but then removed and child's expression was recorded

  Found that there was an association between infant behaviour and that of the adult model
• Evaluation +

  Filmed observations - in a lab so other distractions can be easily controlled and filming can be recorded and analysed later
• Evaluation -

  Difficulty observing babies - it is hard to interpret babies as they have a lack of coordination and much of their bodies are immobile

  Cannot tell whether a movement such as a hand twitch is random or triggered by something the caregive has done
• Schaffer's stages of development

  1. Asocial Stage - similar behaviour towards humans and animals, but more towards familiar humans, starting to form bonds with certain people
• Schaffer's stages of development

  3. Specific attachment - 7 months, showing attachment to a specific person who offers most interaction and responds to signals) 65% of the time is the mother
• Schaffer's Stages of Attachment

  4. Multiple Attachment - babies start to form secondary attachments with people they regularly spend time with

  Emerson - occurs 1 month after forming specific attachment
• Schaffer's stages of attachment

  2. Indiscriminate Stage - 2 to 7 months clear preference for humans, accept comfort from anyone and doesn't show separation anxiety
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964)- Procedure

  60 Glaswegian babies (31 boys and 29 girls) from skilled working class families

  Researchers visited them once a month for the first year and again at 18 months. assessed babies separation and stranger anxiety
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964)- Findings

  Identified four clear stages in the development of infant attachment behaviour
• Evaluation +

  Good external validity - most observations made by parents were during ordinary activities, meaning babies behaved naturally while being observed
• Evaluation -

  Poor evidence for the asocial stage as young babies are fairly immobile, lack coordination
• Evaluation +

  Real life application - daycare - babies can be comforted by any skilled adult
• Isabella et al (1989)

  Observed 30 mothers and infants and assessed synchrony and quality of mother infant attachment

  Higher levels of synchrony = better quality infant mother attachment
• Reciprocity

  How two people interact and respond to each others signals and gain a response
• Reciprocity


  The idea that attachments are interactional, and that mothers and infant initiate and respond to each other in a meaningful way.
• Secure attachment is characterized by a child feeling secure and confident when the caregiver is present, and distressed when the caregiver leaves.
• Insecure-resistant attachment is characterized by a child being clingy and not exploring the environment, becoming very upset when the caregiver leaves.
• Insecure-avoidant attachment is characterized by a child avoiding or ignoring the caregiver, showing little distress when the caregiver leaves.
• Disorganized attachment is characterized by inconsistent and unpredictable behavior, such as freezing or appearing dazed in the presence of the caregiver.
• Attachment styles can have long-lasting effects on an individual's relationships and social interactions.
• Ainsworth's research identified four main attachment styles: secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-resistant, and disorganized.
• Lorenz- Imprinting

  Newly hatched goslings attach to first moving objects
• What did Lorenz discover

  Lorenz discovered a critical period in the goslings. It must happen before 32 hours or else they will not be able to form attachments
• Sexual imprinting

  Birds show courtship behaviour towards whatever species they imprint on
• How were the two groups split

  Hatched naturally- control group

  Half hatched in an incubator and the first object they saw was Lorenz
• + Evaluation for Lorenz

  Guiton (1966) chicks imprinted on yellow glove- innate mechanism to imprint
• Harlow: importance of contact comfort

  Reared 16 rhesus monkeys with two wire model

  •A - milk dispensed by plain wire mother

  B - milk dispensed by

  cloth covered monkey
• the monkey’s preference was measured by the monkey pressing a lever to get food
• Findings of Harlow’s reasearch

  Monkeys sought comfort from cloth mother when frightened

  As adults monkeys deprived of a mother were more aggressive and less sociable
• + Evaluation for Harlow- Practical application

  Helped social workers to understand risk factors in child abuse - Howe
• -Generalization


  The mammalian attachment system is different from the bird attachment system
• Effects of imprinting not as long lasting as Lorenz said - Guiton- the birds learnt to imprint with their own species