Attachment

• Attachment


  an emotional relationship between two people in which each seeks closeness and feels more secure when in the presence of the attachment figure
• Why do we form attachments?

  infants are physically helpless, they have an innate ability to seek interactions with other individuals. These interactions offer short term security, in the long term the infants first relationship acts as a template for later relationships, gives them a model of how to behave
• Proximity


  infants seek proximity- being close to the caregiver at all times
• Distress


  both the infant and caregiver feel distressed when separated
• Secure-base behaviour


  the infant is generally always aware of the caregiver and makes frequent contact, the caregiver acts as a safe base
• Reciprocity


  babies move in rhythm when interacting with an adult almost as if they were taking turns as people do when they have a conversation. Reciprocity means two way or something that it mutual, infant and caregiver are both active contributors in the interaction and are responding to each others
• Interactional Synchrony


  relates to the timing and pattern of interaction, the infant and caregiver mirror each others behaviour. The interaction is co-ordinated and can include infant and caregiver mirroring each others behaviour and emotion
• Meltzoff and Moore Study

  Aim: the investigate interactions between caregiver and infant using controlled observations

  
  

  Method: selected 4 different stimuli (3 faces and a gesture) and observed the behaviour of infants response - watched and recorded on tape (seen in real time, frame by frame and slo mo). the videos then judged by independent observers who had knowledge of what the infants just saw, had to note all head and tongue movements. (mouth opening, tongue protrusion, termination of mouth/tongue), a dummy was put in front of the infants mouth during display to prevent any response, following the display the dummy was removed and expression filmed

  
  

  Findings: each observer scored the tapes twice- all scores greater than 0.92

  
  

  Conclusion: there is an association between the infant behaviour and that of the adult model
• Evaluation of Meltzoff and Moore


  +research support= Isabella et al- observed 30 mothers with their infants assessing their level of synchrony and attachment. The results show the better the synchrony the better quality attachment they had= importance of interactional synchrony in forming a good quality attachment

  +reliability= high reliability due to inter-rater/observer reliability- as all the tapes were watched twice by independent observers and all scores higher than 0.92= highly reliable findings

  - purpose of interactional synchrony= no explanation was found- Feldman said that we cannot understand the purpose of these interactions, these could mean nothing and have no overall purpose= it is ambiguous
• Shaffer and Emerson Study


  Aim: to assess whether there was a pattern of attachment formation that was common to all infants and identify distinct stages

  
  

  Procedure: longitudinal study on 60 newborns and mothers from w/c area in Glasglow, monthly interviews in first year and another at 18 months- studied in their own home + interactions observed and carers interviewed - evidence for attachment= separation anxiety and stranger anxiety

  
  

  Results: different aspects of attachment developed at different ages, strongly attached infants had mothers who responded to their needs quickly - more opportunity for attachment, weakly attached infants had mothers who responded less quickly - less opporunity for attachment

  
  

  Conclusion: There is a pattern of attachment common to all infants which is biologically controlled. Attachments were most likely to be formed with those who responded accurately to the signals NOT who they spent most time with= sensitive responsiveness

  multiple attachments are normal and similar quality- opposes Bowlby's idea that attachments are a hierarchy of a prime and minor attachments
• Schaffer and Emerson's Stages of attachment- Stage 1

  ASOCIAL- (0-8 weeks): infant produces similar responses to all objects whether animate or inanimate. Towards the end show greater preference for social stimuli such as a smiling face and are more content with people (interactional synchrony and reciprocity)
• Schaffer and Emerson's Stages of attachment- Stage 2

  INDISCRIMINATE ATTACHMENT- (2-7 months): Infant becomes more social. They prefer human company to inanimate objects. Relatively comforted by anyone, but can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people, but no stranger anxiety.
• Schaffer and Emerson's Stages of attachment- Stage 3

  SPECIFIC ATTACHMENTS- (7-12 months): strong attachments to one individual and are most comforted by them, shows separation anxiety. Also shows stranger anxiety. Schaffer and Emerson found child attaches tho the caregiver who shows the most sensitive responsiveness
• Schaffer and Emerson's Stages of attachment- Stage 4

  MULTIPLE ATTACHMENTS- (1 year +): attachments are developed to other people, uses familiar adults as a secure base. Schaffer and Emerson found that within one month of first attachment, 29% of infants had multiple attachments to someone else (secondary attachments) infant also showed separation anxiety to these. In 6 months it rose to 78% with father, grandparents or older siblings.
• Evaluation of Schaffer and Emerson

  +longitudinal study= high internal validity

  +ecological validity- observed in their own homes in everyday situations- gave findings face validity and high in mundane realism

  -self report data= unreliable as parents would want to appear as if they have a good attachment to their child (social desirability bias)

  -era dependent= carried out in 60's - outdated as society and the ways children were raised have changed due to changes in position of different genders

  -contradicting evidence= Van Ijzendorm and Kroonenberg saw multiple attachments from birth as normal

  -limited sample= all w/c mothers from Glasglow- cannot generalise to population as not representative
• Multiple attachments


  attachment is extended to other adults who regularly spend time with the child (grandparents, siblings)
• Schaffer and Emerson on multiple attachments

  - first attachment formed at 7 months

  - approx one month later secondary attachments are formed

  - additional attachments are formed in the months following the 4th stage (observed that 31% of infants displayed 5 or more attachments at 18 months)

  
  

  Evaluation:

  - inconsistent findings as fathers can be primary attachments, mothers and fathers have distinct roles and behave differently
• Grossman on multiple attachments- The role of the father

  -longitudinal study on 44 families comparing the roles of mothers and fathers contribution to attachment at 6, 10 and 16

  -Fathers play style (whether sensitive, challenging, interactive etc) was closely linked to the fathers own internal working model (a persons expectations about relationships). In other words

  -Mother's relationship with child was linked to how well the child formed attachments later on in life.

  -The fathers role was more about playing and having fun rather than emotional closeness

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Evaluation:

  - children who grow up in single parent households or same sex do not develop any differently suggesting fathers secondary role is not important
• Field on multiple attachments


  Compared behaviours of primary caretaker mothers and secondary caretaker fathers. Face to face interactions were analysed from video footage with infants at 4 months of age

  
  

  - primary fathers can be nurturing attachments figures, key to attachment is rate of responsiveness and not the gender of the parent

  -secondary were less involved emotionally

  
  

  Evaluation:

  - cultural gender roles= linked to womens higher level of oestrogen- more nurturing= women could be biologically predisposed to become the primary attachment figure
• Use of animal studies

  -used to look at the early formation of bonds between non-human parents and their offspring

  -this is of interest because attachment-like behaviour is common to a range of species and so animal studies can help us understand attachment in humans
• Ethology


  scientific and objective study of animal behaviour usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions and viewing behaviour an an evolutionary adaptive trait
• Imprinting


  An innate readiness to develop a strong bond with the mother which takes place during a specific time in attachment, likely the first few hours after birth/hatching. If it doesn't happen at this time, it likely never will
• Critical Period


  A biologically determined period of time in which an infant needs to form an attachment with its caregiver.

  
  

  BOWLBY: Said this critical period is around the first 2.5 years of life. He believes if the attachment didn't form in time, the child may suffer from emotional and social problems which he called 'Maternal Deprivation
• Sexual Imprinting


  the idea that an animal starts developing sexual preferences based on the species they are imprinted on rather than their own species if different
• Lorenz's study


  Aim: investigate the mechanisms of imprinting where the youngsters form and follow an attachment to the first large moving object they meet

  
  

  Method: used goslings split into 2 groups, one hatched naturally and the other in an incubator, behaviour following was recorded. Lorenz marked all goslings and placed them under a box, box removed and behaviour recorded again

  
  

  Findings: after birth the naturally hatched followed their mother and the incubators followed Lorenz, when released from the box the naturally born went to their mother and the incubator born went to lorenz = no bond with mother which was irreversible, takes place in a brief period of 4-24hrs after birth which is the critical period. the incubator hatched imprinted on humans= try and mate wiht humans

  
  

  Conclusion: imprinting is a form of attachment exhibited mainly by birds
• Evaluation of Lorenz


  + Supports the idea of innate attachment, some attachments are biological and instinctive, not learned

  +Guiton et al= research support- found that chickens imprinted on yellow gloves would try to mate with them as adults. Supports the view that animals aren't born with a predisposition to their own species. HOWEVER did find that he could reverse the effects of imprinting, once chickens spent time with own species were able to engage in normal sexual behaviour with other chickens

  -generalised findings of birds to humans- difference in species
• Harlow's study


  Aim: to test learning theory by comparing attachment in baby monkeys with different surrogate mothers

  
  

  Procedure: 8 baby rhesus monkeys studies for a period of 165 days in 2 conditions:

  -4 monkeys had the milk bottle on cloth covered mother

  -Other 4 milk bottle on wired mother

  
  

  the monkeys were frightened by a mechanical teddy to test which mother they preferred during stress and a larger cage was used to test the monkeys level of exploration

  
  

  Findings: All 8 monkeys preferred contact with toweling mother regardless if she produced milk- would stretch to wire to get milk while holding onto towel

  monkeys with only wire mother had diarrhoea a sign of stress

  when frightened would cling to towel mother when she was available

  
  

  Conclusion: monkeys have an innate unlearned need for contact comfort= attachment concerns emotional security more than food (argues against cupboard love theory) monkeys over 6 months with wire no recovery
• Evaluation of Harlow


  +Practical applications- Hospitals now leave babies with mother for skin to skin contact rather than taking them away

  +High internal validity as it marks clear difference between IV and DV

  
  

  -confounding variables- the two stimulus objects varied in another way than just being covered in cloth or not- heads were different

  -ethical issues: psychological harm later on with developing attachments

  -problems with generalisability: humans aren't the same as monkeys
• Learning theories


  behaviourists suggest that all babies are born a blank slate- all behaviour is learnt
• Classical Conditioning


  learning through association
• The process in classical conditioning

  A new born cries because it is hungry (UCR) and the parent (NS) will respond with milk (UCS), after crying a few more times and being fed by the parent, the child will associate the parent with food. Mother (NS) becomes CS, pleasure for the mum becomes CR.

  
• Operant conditioning


  Learning through reinforcement. Has positive and negative reinforcement.
• Positive & negative reinforcement

  The baby will have positive reinforcement- This is because the baby is crying and then getting rewarded, learning to cry for the positive stimulus.

  
  

  Caregiver receives negative reinforcement. Her comforting the baby results in the removal of an unpleasant stimulus, the baby crying.

  
  

  The mutual reinforcement strengthens the attachment between the two.
• Evaluation of learning theory

  +supporting evidence from Pavlov's Dogs and Skinner's Rats

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  -reductionist- simplifies human behaviour to responding - other factors involved

  -Schaffer and Emerson- attachment not dependent on who fed or clothed the baby it was dependent on who was with the child and most responsive

  -counter evidence from other animal studies eg Harlow and Lorenz
• Evolution


  natural selection of behavioural and physical characteristics which support the survival of species

  we have adapted to form attachments in order to survive
• Maternal deprivation


  if failed to form an attachment with the mother the child may experience emotional maladjustment in the future
• Adaptive


  attachments are adaptive and give our species an 'adaptive advantage' making us more likely to survive
• Social releasers


  behaviour the child does to attract the attention of an adult
• Critical Period/ Sensitive Period

  when attachment is needed to form within 3 months or up to 2 years
• Monotropy


  attachment with one particular caregiver- this is different and more important, the more time spent with the primary attachment figure the better