Attachment

• What is attachment?

  A close two-way emotional bond between two individuals in which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security
• What three behaviours are frequent in attachments?

  Proximity, separation distress and secure base behaviour
• What is proximity?

  When people try to stay physically close to their attachment figure
• What is separation distress?

  When people show signs of anxiety when the attachment figure leaves their presence
• What is secure-base behaviour

  When we still make eye-contact with our figures of attachment even when we are distant
• What is reciprocity

  When each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them
• What does reciprocity represent?

  Turn-taking
• What is an alert phase?

  When babies signal they are ready for a spell of interaction
• Who studied how frequently mothers pick up on their baby’s alert phases?

  Feldman and Eidelman
• How frequently did Feldman and Eidelman find mothers pick up on their baby’s alertness?

  2/3
• What did Finegood find in relation to Feldman and Eidelman’s research on mothers picking up on alert phases?

  It varies based on skill and external factors like stress
• What did Feldman find about alert phases?

  From around 3 months, it tends to become more frequent and involves mother and baby paying close attention to each others signals
• How do babies play an active role in attachment?

  Taking turns in initiating interactions
• What did BrazeLuton et al explain turn-taking like?


  A couples dance with each responding to moves
• How did Feldman define interactional synchrony?

  The temporal coordination of micro-level social behaviour
• What is it called when baby and caregiver mirror each other in interaction?

  Interactional synchrony
• Who investigated the beginnings of synchrony in babies as young as two weeks old?

  Meltzoff and Moore
• What was Meltzoff and Moore’s procedure?

  Adult displayed one of three facial expressions and one of three gestures and the baby’s response was filmed and labelled by independent observers
• What did Meltzoff and Moore find?

  Babies’ expressions and gestures would mirror adults more than chance would predict
• What is interactional synchrony believed to be important for?

  Development of caregiver-infant attachment
• Who investigated the importance of interactional synchrony for attachment?

  Isabella et al
• What was the procedure for Isabella et al?

  They observed 30 mothers and babies and assessed degree of synchrony, comparing it to quality of mother-baby attachment
• What did Isabella et al find?

  High levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-baby attachment (emotional intensity of the relationship)
• Who found that babies get upset when caregivers stop exhibiting reciprocity to them (still-face experiment)?

  Tronick et al
• What are the evaluations for research into caregiver-infant interactions?

  • Strength: Filmed observations can be analysed deeper later and other observers can see it - inter-rater reliability
  • Strength: Babies don’t know they’re being observed
  • Weakness: Unclear whether babies actions are intentional
  • Strength: Crotwell et al - applies to 10 minute parent child interaction therapy which improved synchrony in 20 low income mothers and their children
  • Weakness: Feldman - Observing a behaviour pattern doesn’t show its developmental importance, however Isabella et al found synchrony correlates
• Who developed the stages of attachment?

  Schaffer and Emerson
• What was Schaffer and Emerson’s first stage?

  Asocial stage
• What happens in the asocial stage?

  • Behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects is similar
  • Babies show signs of preference to familiar people
  • Bonds are forming
• What is Schaffer and Emerson’s second stage?

  Indiscriminate attachments
• When is the asocial stage?

  First few weeks
• When is the indiscriminate attachments stage?

  From 2 to 7 months
• What happens in the indiscriminate attachments stage?

  • Social behaviours
  • Preference for humans
  • Prefer familiar people
  • Accept comfort from anyone
  • No stranger anxiety or separation anxiety
• What was Schaffer and Emerson’s third stage?

  Specific attachment
• When is the specific attachment stage?

  After 7 months
• What happens in the specific attachment stage?

  • Attachment towards one person - primary attachment
  • Stranger anxiety and separation anxiety
• Who is a baby’s primary attachment figure according to Schaffer and Emerson?

  Who responds to the baby’s signals with the most skill?
• What % of primary attachment figures are the baby’s mother?

  65%
• What is Schaffer and Emerson’s 4th stage?

  Multiple attachments
• When is the multiple attachments stage?

  After babies form primary attachments
• What happens in the multiple attachments stage?

  Babies form multiple attachments