attachment

• what is reciprocity in caregiver-infant interactions?


  Reciprocity refers to the mutual exchange of signals or responses between a caregiver and an infant. Both parties respond to each other's signals, building a relationship over time.
• what is interactional synchrony?


  interactional synchrony is when the infant and caregiver mirror each other's actions or emotions in a coordinated way, such as facial expressions or body movements. This is believed to play a crucial role in attachment formation.
• who studied interactional synchrony and what did they find?


  Meltzoff and Moore (1977) found that infants as young as two weeks old imitate facial expressions and hand gestures. This early synchrony is believed to support the development of attachment.
• what is a limitation of research into caregiver-infant interactions?


  much of the research is based on observation, making it difficult to determine cause and effect between caregiver-infant synchrony and attachment quality. Observer bias may also influence findings.
• what is a strength of research into caregiver-infant interactions?


  controlled procedures allow for detailed observations, increasing the reliability of the findings. The use of video recordings ensures that moments of interaction can be accurately analysed.
• what are schaffer and emerson's stages of attachment?


  asocial (0-6 weeks) - Infants show similar responses to objects and people.

  indiscriminate attachment (6 weeks to 7 months) - Infants prefer humans but do not show strong preferences for specific people.

  specific attachment (7-12 months) - Infants form a strong attachment to one person (usually the mother).

  multiple attachments (from 12 months) - Infants form attachments to multiple figures, including the father and other caregivers.
• what was the aim of schaffer and emerson's study?


  The aim was to investigate the formation of early attachments, particularly the age at which they develop and the emotional intensity of these attachments.
• what was the procedure of schaffer and emerson's study?


  They conducted a longitudinal study on 60 infants in Glasgow. Observations and interviews with parents were used to track attachment development over time, focusing on separation and stranger anxiety.
• what are two strengths of schaffer and emerson's study?


  ecological validity - The study took place in the infants' natural environments, providing more realistic data.

  longitudinal design - The study followed children over time, providing detailed insights into how attachments develop.
• what are two limitations of schaffer and emerson's study?


  limited sample - The study focused on working-class families from Glasgow, limiting the generalisability to other social or cultural contexts.

  outdated - Parenting practices have changed since the 1960s, so the findings may not be fully applicable today.
• what is the role of the father in attachment?


  Fathers are often seen as secondary attachment figures who play a key role in providing stimulation, play, and encouraging risk-taking behaviors.
• what research supports the role of the father in attachment?

  Grossman (2002) found that the quality of father-infant play was related to later social and emotional development, suggesting that fathers' roles in attachment are distinct from mothers’.
• what is a limitation of research into the role of the father?


  cultural variations - The role of fathers varies greatly across different cultures. In some cultures, fathers play a more distant role in caregiving, which means that findings from Western studies may not be applicable in non-Western societies, limiting the cultural generalisability of the research. Some studies suggest fathers act as secondary figures, while others suggest they can take on primary attachment roles. This inconsistency makes it difficult to form a unified theory about the role of fathers in attachment
• what was lorenz's aim in his study with geese?


  to investigate the concept of imprinting where certain animals form attachments during a critical period shortly after birth.
• what was lorenz's procedure?

  Lorenz divided goose eggs into two groups. One group hatched naturally with the mother, while the other group hatched in an incubator and imprinted on Lorenz.
• what did lorenz find?

  Lorenz found that geese follow the first moving object they see after birth, suggesting that attachment is innate and happens within a critical period.
• what is a strength of lorenz's study?

  Lorenz’s findings support the idea that attachment behaviors are innate and not learned. His discovery of a critical period for imprinting supports theories like Bowlby’s, which suggest that humans also have an innate biological mechanism for attachment formation.
• what is another strength of lorenz's study?

  Lorenz’s work has had a significant impact on our understanding of attachment in humans. His findings contributed to Bowlby’s attachment theory, emphasizing the role of innate processes and critical periods in attachment development.
• what is a limitation of lorenz's study?


  While Lorenz’s study is useful in understanding attachment in animals, it is unclear how much of this applies to human infants. Humans are much more complex than birds, and their attachments involve emotional as well as biological factors, limiting the external validity of the study.
• what is another limitation of lorenz's study?


  Although geese imprint within a few hours, the critical period for human attachment is longer and more flexible. This difference raises concerns about whether Lorenz’s findings can be used to understand attachment in human infants.
• what was the aim of harlow's study?


  Harlow aimed to investigate whether attachment was based on food or comfort, using rhesus monkeys who were separated from their biological mothers.
• what was the procedure of harlow's study?


  Harlow separated baby monkeys from their mothers and provided two surrogate mothers: one made of wire that provided food and one covered in cloth that provided comfort.
• what did harlow find?


  Monkeys preferred the cloth mother, even when the wire mother provided food, suggesting that comfort is more important than food in attachment.
• what is a strength of harlow's study?


  Harlow’s findings have been applied to human caregiving practices, particularly the understanding that emotional care and comfort are just as important, if not more so, than physical care (e.g., feeding). This has influenced child welfare policies and orphanage care.
• what is another strength of harlow's study?

  Harlow’s research was instrumental in challenging the dominant learning theory of attachment (which argued that infants become attached to those who feed them) and supporting Bowlby’s theory that attachment is based on emotional security and comfort.
• what is a limitation of harlow's study?

  Harlow’s study raised serious ethical concerns due to the extreme distress caused to the monkeys. Many suffered long-term emotional and social harm. This level of suffering would be considered unethical by today’s standards, and it questions the moral justification of the research.
• what is another limitation of harlow's study?


  While monkeys are more similar to humans than birds, there are still significant differences in cognitive and emotional processing. The findings may not fully generalise to human attachment processes, limiting the study's external validity