Content

• Caregiver-infant Interaction


  Babies have meaningful interaction with their caregivers

  Important functions for child's social development

  Good quality early social interactions are associated with successful development of attachments between babies and their caregiver

  Reciprocity and Interactional synchrony

  Begins as young as two weeks old and higher synchrony associated with better quality attachment.
• Reciprocity

  Babies and mothers spend a lot of time together in intense and highly pleasurable interactionWhen each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them'Turn taking'Babies have periodic alert phases where they signal they are ready for interactionMothers typically pick up on and respond to their baby's alertness around 2/3 of the time

  This varies according to the skill of the mother and external factors such as stressFrom around 3 months this interaction becomes increasingly frequent and involves both mother and baby paying close attention to each other's verbal signals and facial expressions

  Traditional views of childhood have portrayed babies in a passive role receiving care from an adultBoth caregivers and babies can initiate interactions and they appear to take turns in doing soT. Berry Brazelton et al. 1975 - reciprocity is a dance, as each partner responds to the other person's moves
• Interactional Synchrony

  Synchronised when they carry out actions in unison, the same action is performed simultaneouslyInteractional synchrony - the temporal co-ordination of micro-level social behaviour Actions and emotions mirror each otherAndrew Meltzoff and Keith Moore (1977) Observed the beginnings of interactional synchrony in babies as young as 2 weeks oldAn adult displayed one of 3 facial expressions or one of 3 distinctive gesturesThe baby's response was filmed and labelled by independent observersBabies' expressions and gestures were more likely to mirror those of the adults more than chance would predictRussell Isabella et al. (1989)Observed 30 mothers and babies together and assessed the degree of synchronyThe researchers also assessed the quality of mother-baby attachmentHigh level of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-baby attachment
• Schaffer's Stages of Attachment

  Rudolf Schaffer and Peggy Emerson (1964)Four identifiable stages of attachmentStage 1: Asocial stageStage 2: Indiscriminate attachmentStage 3: Specific attachmentStage 4: Multiple attachments
• Asocial Stage

  Stage 1 of Schaffer's attachmentFirst few weeks of a babies lifeObservable behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects similarBabies show signs they prefer to be with other peoplePreference for familiar people and are easier comforted by themForming bondsBasis of later attachment
• Indiscriminate Attachment

  Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

  Stage 2

  From 2 to 7 months

  Babies start to display more obvious and observable social behaviours

  Show a clear preference for being with other humans rather than inanimate objects

  Recognise and prefer the company of familiar people

  Babies usually accept cuddles and comfort from any person (indiscriminate)

  Do not usually show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety
• Specific Attachment

  Schaffer and Emerson (1964)Stage 37 monthsBegin to show classic signs of attachment towards one particular personStranger and separation anxietyFormed a specific attachment to primary attachment figureNot necessarily the person the child spends the most time with but rather who offers the most meaningful interaction and responds to the baby's signals with the most skillPrimary attachment figure is the mother in 65% of cases
• Multiple Attachments

  Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

  Stage 4

  Shortly after babies start to show attachment to one person they usually extend this behaviour to multiple attachments with other people with whom they regularly spend timeSecondary attachmentsSchaffer and Emerson observed 29% of the children formed secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary attachmentBy the age of one year the majority of babies had developed multiple attachments
• Schaffer and Emerson's Research - Procedure

  1964

  Based their stage theory on observational study of the formation of early-infant attachments

  60 babies: 31 males and 29 females

  All from Glasgow

  Majority working-class families

  Researchers visited babies and mothers in their own homes every month for the first year and again at 18 months

  Researchers asked mothers questions about the kind of protest their babies showed in 7 everyday separations

  Designed to measure the babies attachment

  Researchers also assessed stranger anxiety
• Schaffer and Emerson's Research - Findings

  Attachments more likely to form with carers who were more sensitive to the baby's signals, rather than who they spent the most time with

  By 10 months old, most of the babies had several attachments

  The mother was the main attachment figure for roughly half of the babies when they were 18 months old and the father for most of the others

  Found four distinctive stages of attachment:

  Asocial stage (0-6 weeks)

  Similar responses to objects & people. Preference for faces/eyes.

  Indiscriminate attachments (6 weeks – 6 months)

  Preference for human company. Ability to distinguish between people but comforted indiscriminately.

  Specific (7 months +)

  Infants show a preference for one caregiver, separation and stranger anxiety. The baby looks to particular people for security, comfort and protection.

  Multiple (10/11 months +)

  Attachment behaviours are displayed towards several different people
• Attachment to Fathers

  Fathers less likely to be primary caregiversRudolf Schaffer and Peggy Emerson (1964)Majority of babies attached to their mother at 7 months3% of cases father sole object of attachment27% father joint first object of attachment with the mother75% formed an attachment with their father by the age of 18 monthsBabies protested when their father walked away 
• Distinctive Role of Fathers

  Klaus Grossmann et al. (2002)Longitudinal studyBabies attachment studied into their teensBoth parents' behaviour and its relationship to the quality of baby's later attachmentQuality of baby's attachment to mother but not father related to adolescent relationshipsQuality of fathers play with babies related to adolescent relationshipsFathers, different role to mothers, play and stimulationMothers, emotional development
• Fathers as Primary Attachment Figures

  Baby's primary attachment figures has a special emotional significanceBaby's relationship with their primary attachment figure forms the basis of all later close emotional relationshipsTiffany Field (1978)Filmed 4 month old babiesFace to face interaction with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathersPrimary caregiver fathers spent more time smiling, imitating and holding babies than the secondary caregiver fathers which is part of reciprocity and interactional synchrony
• Animal Studies


  20th centuryEthologists conduct animal studies of the relationships between newborns and mothersStudies carried out on non-human animal species rather than on humans, either for ethical or practical reasonsPractical because animals breed faster and researchers are interested in seeing results across more than one generation of animalsLorenz - geeseHarlow - monkeys
• Lorenz's Research - Procedure

  First observed imprinting when he was a child and a neighbour gave him a newly hatched duckling that then followed him around1952Randomly divided a large clutch of goose eggsHalf the eggs were hatched with the mother goose in their natural environmentThe other half hatched in an incubator where the first moving object they saw was Lorenz
• Lorenz's Research - Findings

  Incubator group followed him; Control group followed mother even when mixed up

  Imprinting - Bird species that are mobile from birth attach to and follow the first moving object they see

  Lorenz identified a critical period in which imprinting needs to take place

  Depending on the species this can be as brief as a few hours after hatching 

  If imprinting does not occur within that time Lorenz found that chicks did not attach themselves to a mother figure
• Sexual imprinting

  Birds that imprint on a human often later show courtship behaviour towards humansLorenz 1952 - case studyPeacock that had been reared in the reptile house of a zooFirst moving object the peacock saw after hatching were giant tortoisesAs an adult this bird would only show courtship behaviours to giant tortoisesUndergone sexual imprinting
• Harlow's Research - Procedure

  Rhesus monkeysNewborns kept alone in bare cages often died but they usually survived if given something soft like a cloth to cuddleHarlow (1958)16 baby monkeysTwo wire model mothersMilk was dispensed by the plain wire mother in one condition and cloth-covered mother in the other
• Harlow's Research - Findings

  Baby monkeys cuddled the cloth-covered mother and sought her for comfort regardless of which mother dispensed milkContact comfort was of more importance to the monkeys than food when it came to attchment behaviourFollowed those who had been deprived of a real mother into adulthood Researchers found early maternal deprivation had a negative permanent effectMonkeys reared with a wire mother were the most dysfunctionalEven those reared with a cloth mother did not develop normal social behaviourDeprived monkeys were more aggressive and less sociableBred less and unskilled at matingWhen they became mothers some of the deprived mothers neglected, attacked or even killed their childrenCritical period for attachment formationA mother figure had to be introduced to a young monkey within 90 days for an attachment to formAfter this time attachment became impossible and damage irreversible
• Monotropic Theory

  John Bowlby (1988)

  Rejected learning theory 'were it true, an infant of a year or two should take readily to whomever feeds him and that is clearly not the case'

  Evolutionary explanation that attachment is an innate system that gives a survival advantage 

  Child's attachment to one caregiver is different and more important than others

  More time spent with the primary attachment figure the better

  The law of continuity and the law of accumulated separation
• Social Releasers

  Bowlby (1988)

  Social releasers are innate social behaviours that encourage attention and reactions from adults thats purpose is to make an adult attach to the babyAttachment a reciprocal process where both mother and baby are 'hard-wired' to attachInterplay between the adult and baby attachment systems gradually builds the relationship between baby and caregiver
• Critical Period

  Critical period is a sensitive period at six months which may be extended to the age of two, if an attachment is not formed in this time the child will find it much harder to form later attachments

  
  

  First 2 and 1/2 years of life for psychological development

  If separated from their mother in the absence of suitable substitute care and so deprived of emotional care for an extended period during this period psychological damage inevitable

  Continuing risk up to five years old
• Internal Working Model

  A mental representation of what relationships should be based on the model of their relationship with their primary caregiver
• Law of Continuity

  The more constant and predictable a child's care, the better the quality of their attachment
• Law of Accumulated Separation

  The effects of every separation from the mother add up 'and the safest dose is therefore a zero dose (Bowlby)'
• Internal Working Model

  Our mental representations of the world, in the case of the monotropic theory the representation we have of our relationships based off the model of our relationship with our primary caregiver 
• Strange Situation - Procedure

  Mary Ainsworth and Silvia Bell (1969)

  Aim:

  Observe key attachment behaviours as a means of assessing the quality of a baby's attachment to a caregiver

  Procedure:

  20 minutes, time sampled every 15 seconds

  Controlled observation

  Measure security of attachment a baby displays towards a caregiver

  Room with controlled conditions and two-way mirror

  Caregiver and baby enter an unfamiliar playroom:

  1. The baby is encouraged to explore - exploration and secure base
  2. A stranger comes in, talks to the caregiver and approaches the baby - stranger anxiety
  3. The caregiver leaves the baby and stranger together - separation and stranger anxiety
  4. The caregiver returns and the stranger leaves - reunion behaviour, exploration and secure base
  5. The caregiver leaves the baby alone - separation anxiety
  6. The stranger returns - stranger anxiety
  7. The caregiver returns is reunited with the baby - reunion behaviour
• Strange Situation - Findings

  Ainsworth et al. (1987)

  Type A: Insecure-Avoidant attachment (20-25%)

  Explore freely

  Do not seek proximity or secure-base behaviour

  No separation or stranger anxiety

  No reunion behaviour

  Type B: Secure attachment (60-75%)

  Explore freely

  Frequently seek proximity and secure-base 

  Moderate separation anxiety and stranger anxiety

  Require and accept comfort in reunion behaviour

  Type C: Insecure-resistant attachment (3%)

  Less exploration

  Seek greater proximity

  High stranger and separation anxiety

  Resist comfort in reunion behaviour
• Insecure-Avoidant attachment

  Ainsworth et al. (1978)Type A: 20-25%

  Explore freely

  Do not seek proximity or secure-base behaviour

  No separation or stranger anxiety

  No reunion behaviour
• Secure Attachment

  Ainsworth et al. (1978)

  Type B: 60-75%

  Explore freely

  Frequently seek proximity and secure-base 

  Moderate separation anxiety and stranger anxiety

  Require and accept comfort in reunion behaviour
• Insecure-Resistant Attachment

  Ainsworth et al. (1978)

  Type C: 3%

  Less exploration

  Seek greater proximity

  High stranger and separation anxiety

  Resist comfort in reunion behaviour
• Cultural Variation in Attachment Studies

  van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg

  Simonelli et al.

  Mi Kyoung et al.

  
  

  ~Conclusions

  Secure attachment the norm

  Supports Bowlby's idea attachment is innate, universal and secure is the norm

  Cultural practices have an influence on attachment type
• van IJzendoorn and Kroonenberg

  1988

  Meta analysis of the proportions of secure, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant attachments to assess cultural variation as well as within cultures

  Procedure

  Meta analysis

  32 studies that used the Strange Situation

  8 countries

  15 studies from the USA

  1990 children

  Findings

  Wide variation in the proportion of attachment

  All countries secure attachment most common

  75% Britain and 50% China

  Individualist cultures rates of insecure-resistant attachment similar to Ainsworth's original sample (all under 14%)

  Collectivist cultures (China, Japan, Israel) insecure-resistant rates above 25% and insecure avoidant reduced

  Variations between studies in the same culture 150% greater than those between countries

  USA one study found 46% securely attached and another 90%
• Simonelli et al.

  2014

  Italy

  75 babies

  12 months

  Strange Situation

  50% secure

  36% insecure-avoidant

  Lower rates of secure attachment and higher rate of insecure-avoidant attachment 

  Increasing mothers of very young children working long hours and using professional childcare
• Mi Kyoung Jin et al.

  2012

  Korea

  Strange situation assessed 87 babies

  Most secure and similar secure and insecure to other countries

  Most insecurely attached were resistant and only one avoidant

  Distribution similar to Japan

  Japan and Korea similar child rearing styles 
• Theory of Maternal Deprivation

  John Bowlby (1953)Idea that the continual presence of care from a mother or mother-substitute is essential for normal psychological development of babies and toddlers, both emotionally and intellectually'Mother-love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health'Separation means the child is not in the presence of the primary attachment figure which only becomes a problem if the child becomes deprived of emotional careBrief separations with a substitute caregiver who can provide emotional care is not significant for developmentCritical period - first two and a half years of life for psychological developmentIf separated from their mother in the absence of suitable substitute care and so deprived of emotional care for an extended time during this period psychological damage inevitableContinuing risk up to five years old
• Bowlby's 44 thieves study

  1944

  Procedure:

  44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing

  All thieves interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy

  Families interviewed in order to establish whether they had early prolonged separation from their mothers

  Compared to a control group of 44 non-criminal emotionally-disturbed young people

  Findings:

  14/44 describable as affectionless psychopaths

  12 of these had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first two years of their lives

  Only 5 of the remaining 30 had experienced separation

  Only 2 participants in the control group had experienced long separations
• Effects of Maternal Deprivation on Intellectual Development 

  Deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period they would experience delayed intellectual development characterised by abnormally low IQWilliam Goldfarb found lower IQ in children who remained in institutions compared to those who were fostered and received a higher standard of emotional care
• Effects of Maternal Deprivation on Emotional Development 

  Affectionless psychopathy - the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion towards others which prevents a person developing developing normal relationshipsAssociated with criminality cannot appreciate the feelings of victims so lack remorse
• Romanian Orphan Studies

  Rutter et al.

  Zeanah et al.

  Orphan studies used as a means of studying the effects of deprivation on emotional and intellectual developmentRomania 1990sPresident Nicolai CeaucescuRequired women to have five childrenMany Romanian parents could not afford to keep their childrenChildren ended up in huge orphanages in poor conditionsAfter 1989 Romanian revolution many of the children were adopted, some by British parents