Attachment

• Caregiver-infant interactions in humans

  Klaus and Kennel (1976) compared mothers who displayed extended physical contact with their babies with mothers who only contacted with their infants during feeding in the three days after birth.

  After one month, the mothers who displayed greater physical contact were found to cuddle their babies more and make greater eye-contact with them than the mother who made less contact.

  These effects were still evident a year later, suggesting that greater physical contact leads to an attachment bond that is closer and stronger.
• Caregiver-infant interactions in humans

  • Isabella et al. (1989) found that infants with secure attachments demonstrated interactional synchrony during the first year of life.

  
  

  • Meltzoff and Moore (1977) discovered that infants aged two to three weeks displayed a tendency to mimic adults’ facial expressions and hand movements, indicating that mimicry is an innate ability that helps in the formation of attachment.

  
  

  • Papousek et al. (1991) found that the use of caregiverese was cross-cultural, suggesting that it is an innate device.
• Caregiver-infant interactions in humans

  Klaus and Kennel (1976)

  EVAL - lead to real-life applications - hospitals placing mothers in the same room as their infants to encourage attachment formation
• Caregiver-interactions

  It is thought that mimicking and caregiverese are innate abilities because they are present from birth and are cross-cultural. This means that they do not evolve from babies' experiences but that they have a genetic element.
• Caregiver-infant interactions

  Stages of attachement

  Schaffer and Emerson observed babies and their interactions with those around them. They concluded that the development of attachment could be divided into a number of specific stages.
• Caregiver-infant interactions

  Schaffer and Emerson

  Method:

  They studied 60 babies from a working class area of Glasgow, observing them every four weeks for the first year and then again at 18 months.

  As well as observations, interviews were conducted with the mothers, including questions about whom the infants smiled at, responded to and who caused them distress.
• Caregiver-infant interactions


  Schaffer and Emerson

  Variables

  Strength of attachment was measured by:

  • Separation anxiety: how distressed the child became when separated from the main caregiver (which suggests an attachment has been formed).
  • Stranger anxiety: distress shown when the child was left alone with an unfamiliar person (which suggests that the child can recognise familiar and unfamiliar people).
• Caregiver-infant interactsions

  Shaffer and Emerson

  Findings:

  • 50% 25-32 weeks showed stanger and separation anxiety - shows strong primary/specific attachment
  • At 18 months 87% had 2+ attachments, 31% had 5+ attachments

  Attachments = easier made when attachment figure = sensitive to infants needs regardless of who spends the most time with them
• Caregiver-infant interactions

  Schaffer and Emerson - EVAL

  • high ecological validity - done in their natural environment
  • data collected directly from mother's POV - social desirability bias
  • large individual differences when attachments formed - may not be exclusively biological
  • longitudinal study - same participants so fewer participant variables
• Caregiver-infant interactions

  Schaffer stages of attachment

  Pre-attachment stage (asocial) - from 0 - 6 weeks - prefer humans to objects - smiling

  Indiscriminate stage - 3 - 7/8 months - distinguish familiar and unfamiliar faces but prefer familiar faces, still ok to be held by strangers, attention-seeking behaviour from everyone

  Discriminate stage (specific) - 7/8 months - increase in stranger and separation anxiety, primarily attached to primary caregiver

  Multiple attachment - 9 months - strong attachments with other people once strong attachment is made with primary caregiver
• Caregiver-infant interctions


  Multiple attachments

  Bowlby: one primary attachment and other attachments formed after the primary one are less important

  Rutter: model of multiple attachments - all attachments are of equal importance, they all combine together to help form a child's internal working model - a cognitive framework that acts as a template for an infant's future relationships based on the infant's primary attachment
• Care-giver-infant interactions

  Schaffer's stages if attachment - EVAL

  • asocial/ preattachment stage - young babies have poor co-ordination and are generally immobile - it is hard to know who they are more attached to physically
  • ethnocentric - in collectivist cultures families work together to care for infants meaning that the attachment to the mother may not be the strongest attachment - in these communities it is likely that multiple attachments are formed more quickly/ before 9 months so Schaffer's stages may not be applicable to all cultures
• Caregiver-infant interactions

  The role of the father

  factors affecting fathers relationships with their children

  • degree of sensitivity - sensitive to kids' needs = stronger attachment
  • type of attachment with their own parents - single fathers tend to form similar attachments with their children as they had with their own parents
  • marital intimacy - intimacy with partner influences the attachment with his kids
  • supportive co-parenting - amount of support father gives to partner to help care for kids affects the type of attachment with his kids
• Caregiver-infant interactions

  The role of the father

  Field - filmed 4 month babies' face-to-face interactions

  Condition 1 - primary caregiver = mother

  Condition 2 - primary caregiver = father

  Condition 3 - secondary caregiver = mother

  • primary caregiver fathers interacted with the baby by smiling, touching, and making noises.
  • second caregiver fathers spent less time interacting with the baby; they spent more time playing with the baby.
• Caregiver-infant

  The role of the father

  Field 1978 - conculsion

  the caregiver's behaviour is more important to establish an attachment with the infant than their gender

  fathers acting as primary caregivers may also assume similar roles as mothers acting as primary caregivers.
• Caregiver-infant

  The role of the father

  FOR

  • Lamb - fathers that become primary caregivers are quickly able to develop more sensitivity to their kids needs - shows sensitive responsiveness is not a biological ability limited to only women
  • Field - primary caregiver fathers attentively interacted with their kids like other primary caregiver mothers - the caregiver's behaviour to help establish attachments are more important than their gender

  AGAINST

  • lamb 1987 - children often prefer fathers as a playmate, seek stimulation - positive emotional state; mothers are an emotional base
• Caregiver infant

  The role of the father - EVAL

  FOR

  • children with secure attachments with their fathers form better relationships with peers and are able to regulate their emotions better - fathers = positive influence
  • supportive co-parenting - fathers are not just important for the kids but also for mothers - reduce stress and overall improve the quality of a mother's relationship with her children
• Learning theory

  Behaviourism - classical and operant conditioning
• Crying

  Negative reinforcer - gets caregiver to act accordingly to stop the crying
• Monotropic attachment


  One primary attachment figure
• Evolutionary benefits of monotropic attachment

  • Mother cares for infant - survival and natural selection
  • Food and protection
  • Social releasers - smiling
• Attachment development

  Growing up, primary attachment figure becomes safe base for infant as they branch out to make multiple attachments (9 months - Schaffer and Emerson)
• Monotropic attachment starts very early on
• Internal working model


  Framework of future attachments and relationships (platonic and romantic) with others
• Secure early attachment


  Secure later
• Secure attachment


  • Trusting, more outgoing, has lots of friends and deeper connections
• Insecure-resistant attachment

  • Seeks and rejects intimacy, not many friends
• Insecure-avoidant attachment

  • Rejects intimacy, independent, lacks trust
• Critical period


  Attachments between infant and caregiver must occur within a certain period of time - 2 and a half to 3 years old
• Hazan and Shaver

  Predict love relationships based on attachment styles - questionnaire measuring attachment styles with parents and relationships (current and past)

  
  

  Secure attachment with parents - Love = enduring, positive relationships current/past
• Main et al - more optimistic - insecure attachment can become secure later on with reflection and therapy, self-work
• Cultural variations - van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg - meta analysis Japan more resistant, Takahasi no avoidants against cultural norms
• Continuity hypothesis - Bowlby believed early attachments reflected in adulthood - early attachments = basis for future attachments
• Critical period

  First 2 years where a strong primary attachment must be made + continuous care before irreversible emotional and social difficulties later on in life
• Maternal deprivation hypothesis

  long term separation form the primary cargeiver can be caused by divorce, death, imprisonment of an attachment

  
  

  Robertson and Robertson

  • studied a 17 month year old boy. John, who was separated from his mother who was hospitalised for 9 days and he stayed in a residential nursery
  • when the mother returned John was confused and tried to get away from her. These negative effects were evident years later.

  John appeared to have gone through the stages of the PDD model and suffered serious, irreversible damage. This supported Bowlby’s theory.
• Bowlby's Maternal deprivation hypothesis

  Short-term separation (PDD model)

  1. Protest - crying, distress at separation initially

  2. Despair - sadness, protesting stops, withdrawal

  3. Detachment - rejection of caregiver, anger towards them

  
  

  • they internalise their anger and respond little to offers of comfort and opt to comfort themselves

  
  

  EVAL - Barrett - individual differences - securely attached and more mature infants may cope better with separation
• Maternal deprivation

  Bowlby and 44 Juvenile Thieves - wanted to investigate the link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation

  
  

  families and criminals interviewed

  
  

  14/44 = affectionless psychopaths, 12 of them had experienced maternal deprivation
• Privation


  Abused and neglected, physical, emotional and intellectual difficulties, no recovery - clingy disinhibited behaviour
• Institutionalisation

  Links to maternal deprivation and even privation, clingy, indiscriminate behaviour to all adults attention seeking - disinhibited attachment
• Effects of institutionalisation

  
  

  Rutter - Romanian orphan study

  compared 111 Romanian orphans with 52 British adopted children, measuring their cognitive functioning

  Conditions:

  1. adopted before 6 months
  2. adopted between 6 months and 2 years
  3. adopted after 2 years

  • 50% of the Romanian orphans...
  • at age 4...

  times between adoption, pre 4 years - normal emotional development, after - disinhibited attachment - clingy and indiscriminate sociability, problems with peers