Attachment

• CAREGIVER-INFANT INTERACTIONS   -> babies have frequent + important interactions with caregiver -> both  active involvement 
• Reciprocity =  how 2 people interact  ie. turn-taking
• Interactional synchrony =  reflect actions+emotions simultaneously 
• Proximity = stay physically close 
• Separation= distress signs of anxiety 
• Secure-base = regular contact 
• Brazelton et al


  Like a 'dance'
• Alert phases


  Signals for interaction
• Feldman+Eidelman


  Mothers pick up 2/3 of the time
• From 3 months


  Interactions become more intense and reciprocal
• Meltzoff+ Moore


  Observed babies' response to adults' facial expressions, which they mirrored. Interactions coordinated from 2 weeks
• Isabella et al


  Observed 30 mothers and babies High synchrony associated with better quality attachment
• Tronick


  Still face experiment, parents' reactions affect their baby's emotional development
• Harvard Uni


  Serve and return between baby and adult, neural connectivity is built/strengthens development of communication
• P. Meltzoff + Moore crit

  E. Oostenbroek et al replicated

  Largest ever longitudinal study of neonatal imitation  

  E. Babies just as likely to produce matching to non-matching response 
• P. R+ Reciprocity  

  E. Tronick + Harvard uni study 

  Remove caregivers' side of reciprocity 

  E. Infant distress shows importance of 2-way interactions 

  Strengthens concept of reciprocity 
• P.  R+ M&M filmed 

  E. Many cameras , angles 

  E. Allows small details to be picked up , babies not affected by cameras 

    increases  validity  

  H/E may overanalyze  random movements  
• F/M. Researcher bias 

  E. Researcher watching film may draw conclusions to match their theory 

  E. inter-observer reliability strengthens synchrony theory ( 2 or more observers recording/observing same behavior)
• SCHAFFER’S STAGES OF ATTACHMENT  Stages of attachment= different behaviors are linked to specific ages  

  Multiple attachments= 2 or more people 
• Schaffer +Emerson’s Research

   Procedure -> 60 babies  working class Glasgow

   visited  monthly-> mothers asked questions about kind of protest their babies showed in 7  everyday separations

  Also assessed stranger anxiety 

  Findings->Sch+ Em identified 4 distinct stages of development of infant attachment behavior 
• Asocial stage 

  Few weeks , same response to humans + objects 
• Indiscriminate attachment 

  2-7 months , preference to    ( familiar ) people , No stranger /separation anxiety
• Specific attachment 

  7 months , Stranger anxiety  Primary attachment figure = separation anxiety towards one particular person( mum 65%)
• Multiple attachments 

  One year , soon after Primary develop attachment to 2 or more people  
• P. Crit -> poor evidence 

  E. Young babies have poor co-ordination / immobile 

   Display anxiety subtly / hard to read 

  E. Signs of anxiety ->Subjective 
• P. Crit -> Glasgow unique 

  E. People lived close quarters , less stranger anxiety formed multiple attachments quicker 

  E.       decrease   external validity 
• P. R+ Schaffer and Emerson

  E. At home (natural environment)

  E.  increases Internal validity 

  Babies less likely to have anxiety about different environment 

  H/E Mother bias crit

  E. Mothers don’t want to seem like bad parent if baby doesn’t react 
• THE ROLE OF THE FATHER -> have distinctive roles in parenting , main male caregiver  
• Schaffer + Emerson 

  Father-> becomes important attach figure 

  75% attach by  18 months 

  Rarely  first primary attach figure ( only 3%)
• Grossmann et al -> longitudinal study

  Attachment study  till teen-> suggested fathers' role less important  

  Distinctive role  -> play and stimulation rather than emotional
• Field -> filmed 4-month babies in face- to-face interactions

  More smiling /imitating with primary caregiver fathers and mothers then secondary caregiver fathers 

  -> Potential for emotional support but perhaps only expressed when primary caregiver 
• P. +  ‘playmate’ rather than primary caregiver 

  E. Geiger

  Mothers' interactions=more affectionate/nurturing 

   E. Fathers  more exciting playful interactions then mother
• P. Crit -> fathers not equipped to be nurturing /sensitive 

  E. Hrdy -> fathers less able to detect low levels of infant stress 

  Lack of Oestrogen in men 

  E. -> Role of father Biologically determined 
• P. + can form secure attachments if in intimate marriage 

  E. Belsky et al 

  Marital intimacy affects  close attachment with children 

   E. attachment depends on father+ mothers' relationship 
• ANIMAL STUDIES OF ATTACHMENT for ethical or practical reasons ( breed faster) 
• 3 ethical principles: 

  Replace= use different techniques e.g use videos of animals

  Reduce=minimum number of animals 

  Refine=make sure animals  suffer as little as possible 
• Lorenz’s research 

  Procedure -> randomly divided 12 eggs 

  Half hatched in incubator with Lorenz

  Half hatched naturally with  mother goose

  Findings ->incubator group imprinted onto  Lorenz whereas control group  imprinted on mother 

  Newly-hatched chicks attach to the first object they see instinctively  (imprinting ) 

  Critical period of few hours 
• Harlow’s research 

  Procedure-> 16 Baby monkeys given cloth covered mother

  or plain wire ‘mother’ with feeding bottle attached 

  Findings-> clung to cloth mother rather than wire

  Contact comfort more important than food with attachment 

  Critical period -> 90 days 

  Procedure -> reaction to diabolical object

  Findings -> went straight to cloth mother

  Procedure -> reaction to strange situation

  Findings -> not comforted by wire , explored/ relaxed with cloth 
• P. + imprinting -> Lorenz 

  E. Farming -> wet fostering + skinning ‘jumpering’

  Sheep ‘foster’ abandoned  lamb 

  makes farming more efficient -> less lambs die 

  E. Positive for economy + animal welfare 
• P. + Real world applications -> Lorenz

  E. Social workers + clinical psych 

  E. Learnt importance of keeping baby+ mother together -> hospitals