attachment

• behaviours which indicate attachment (macoby)

  • proximity seeking
  • general orientation
  • distress on separation
  • joy on reunion
  • sensitivity of caregiver to the needs of infant
• attachment


  strong, emotional bond between a person and someone who cares for them
• caregiver infant interactions


  reciprocity and interactional synchrony
• reciprocity


  mutual, turn taking, both contribute by responding to each others signals and cues
• interactional synchrony


  simultaneous interaction between infant and caregiver, matching, co-ordinated behaviours
• caregiver sensitivity


  caregiver is particularly attuned to the needs of the infant and responds swiftly to these
• A03 of CGII


  Meltzoff and moore found that infant responses matched experimenters facial expression
• a03 of CGII


  inferences - infants cannot communicate thoughts, these inferences can be mistaken and may not be an intentional movement, not truely scientific
• schaffer’s stages

  1. asocial
  2. discriminate
  3. specific
  4. multiple
• asocial stage


  0-6 weeks, anyone can comfort, innate behaviours to humans and innate objects
• indiscriminate stage


  6 weeks - 7 months, develop the ability to differentiate humans and objects, do not show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety
• specific stage


  7 - 9 months, strong bond to primary caregiver, stranger and separation anxiety develop
• multiple stage


  9/10 months and above, forms attachments with other caregivers and stranger anxiety decreases
• glasgow babies study: schaffer and emerson

  DID: longitudinal study, monthly observations then 18 month follow up, assessed stranger and separation anxiety

  FOUND: separation anxiety occurred in most babies by 25-32 weeks, in 18th month follow up 87% developed multiple attachments — strongest with mother
• glasgow babies study AO3

  • not generalisable - working class mothers in 1960s glasgow - not representative and lacks temporal validity
  • high mundane realism - observed in own homes - findings valid
  • longitudinal design - no participant variables
  • difficult to make judgements of infant’s emotions
• lorenz


  clutch of geese randomly assigned to two groups: one with biological mother and one in incubator with Lorenz

  critical period of 32 hrs

  one with mother followed her one with lorenz imprinted on him

  attachment based on vision
• harlow


  test of cupboard love theory

  used rhesus monkeys

  took monkeys away from mother and put them into cage with two surrogate mothers: one wire who gave milk and one cloth mother

  found that when scared ran to cloth mother

  had long term problems for monkeys - maternally deprived

  innate need for physical contact
• ao3 for animal studies in attachment

  • cannot generalise to humans - more complex behaviour
  • practical applications: social works can understand the need for bonding, and a loss of this is a risk factor in development
  • practical app: immediate physical contact after birth
  • unethical: experienced suffering, killed offspring, harmed psychologys reputation
  • cost-benefit analysis: added to research in attachment and had real world application