Attachment

• Bowlby's theory is supported by the case studies of children who have been separated from their parents, such as Romanian orphans.
• Infancy is the period in a child's life before speech begins
• Infancy usually refers to the child's first year of life
• Interactions between an infant and their caregiver are non-verbal and reciprocal
• Non-verbal interactions form the basis of attachment between an infant and their caregiver
• Two main features of non-verbal communication between an infant and their caregiver

  • Reciprocity
  • Interactional synchrony
• Reciprocal interactions

  are two-way interactions
• Research has demonstrated that caregiver-infant interactions are reciprocal
• Both the caregiver and the infant are active contributors in reciprocal interactions
• They take turns to elicit responses from each other
• Interactional synchrony


  When two people interact, they tend to mirror each other in terms of their actions and emotions
• Research has demonstrated interactional synchrony in caregiver-infant interactions
• Meltzoff & Moore (1977) research into interactional synchrony


  1. Exposed two to three week old infants to an adult model

  2. The adult model displayed one of three facial expressions

  3. A dummy was placed in the infants mouth during the display

  4. Following the display, the dummy was removed and the infant's response was filmed on video
• Schaffer & Emerson (1964) research into the development of attachment


  1. Studied 60 infants from working-class families in Glasgow

  2. The infants were studied until they were 18 months old

  3. The infants were visited at home by a researcher every month

  4. At each visit, the researcher observed the infant and their caregiver
• Four stages in the development of attachment

  • Stage 1: Asocial (pre-attachment)
  • Stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment (pre-attachment)
  • Stage 3: Discriminate attachment
  • Stage 4: Multiple attachments
• Stage 1: Asocial (Pre-attachment)


  • 0 - 2 months
  • Initially, infants produce similar responses to all objects, whether they are human or non-human
  • However, towards the end of this stage infants begin to show a preference for human company
• Stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment

  • 2 - 7 months
  • Infants can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people however they accept comfort from any adult
  • They do not display separation anxiety and do not display stranger anxiety
• Stage 3: Discriminate attachment


  • 7 months onwards
  • Infants have now formed an attachment bond to one person
  • This person is called the primary attachment figure
  • The infant displays separation anxiety when separated from this person
  • The primary attachment figure is always the person who offers the most interaction and responds quickly and sensitively to the infant
  • The primary attachment figure is often the mother (Schaffer & Emerson found that the primary attachment figure was the mother in 65% of cases)
  • Infants also start to display stranger anxiety during this stage
• Stage 4: Multiple attachments


  • 9 months onwards
  • Very soon after the attachment to the primary attachment figure forms, the infant develops a wider circle of multiple attachments
  • This circle includes other adults that the infant regularly spends time with
  • These are called secondary attachment figures
  • Infants also display separation anxiety in these relationships
• Schaffer & Emerson (1964) found that the primary attachment figure was the mother in 65% of cases
• Reasons why fathers are rarely the primary attachment figure

  • Social factors: Traditional gender roles mean that women are expected to be more caring and nurturing than men
  • Biological factors: The female hormone oestrogen causes caring behaviour which means that women are generally more caring than men
• Fathers have an important role to play as secondary attachment figures
• Fathers' role as secondary attachment figures

  • They are more playful and physically active than mothers
  • Their role is more to do with play and stimulation, and less to do with nurturing
• Lorenz was interested in imprinting
• Imprinting is an innate readiness to develop a strong bond with a mother figure
• Lorenz (1935) research on imprinting


  1. Randomly divided a clutch of gosling eggs in half

  2. Half hatched with the mother goose, the other half hatched in an incubator with Lorenz

  3. The incubator group imprinted on Lorenz and followed him everywhere

  4. The other group imprinted on the mother goose and followed her everywhere
• Lorenz identified that there is a critical period in which imprinting must take place
• Lorenz observed that imprinting has a permanent effect on adult mate preferences
• Harlow was interested in whether attachment bonds are based upon the provision of food or the provision of comfort
• Harlow (1958) research on attachment


  1. Created two wire mothers, one bare and one wrapped in soft cloth

  2. 8 infant rhesus monkeys were removed from their mothers at birth and placed in a cage with the two wire mothers

  3. For 4 monkeys, a milk bottle was attached to the bare mother, for the other 4 it was attached to the cloth mother

  4. Measured the amount of time each monkey spent with each wire mother and their reactions when frightened or introduced to new toys
• Cloth mother


  • Cloth was attached to the mother
  • Milk bottle was attached to the bare mother
• The monkeys were studied for 165 days
• Measurements taken concering the 


  Amount of time each monkey spent with each wire mother
• Reactions tested

  1. When frightened

  2. When introduced to new toys
• Classical conditioning


  Learning through association
• Operant conditioning


  Learning through consequences
• The learning theory of attachment is also known as the cupboard love theory
• The learning theory of attachment has now largely been rejected
• Bowlby's monotropic theory of attachment


  An evolutionary theory that views attachment as a behaviour that has evolved through natural selection
• Bowlby's monotropic theory of attachment

  • Critical period
  • Secure base
  • Monotropy
  • Internal working model
  • Continuity hypothesis