attachment

• Attachment


  A strong, reciprocal, emotional bond between an infant and his/her caregiver(s) that is characterised by a desire to maintain proximity
• Common Attachment Behaviours


  • Watching
  • Separation protest
  • Following
  • Using as a safe base
  • Reunion behaviour
  • Stranger anxiety
• Watching


  The child will keep his / her eyes on the attachment figure as they move about the room
• Separation protest


  Crying or distress when the attachment figure moves out of sight
• Following


  Children who are able to crawl or walk will attempt to keep contact with the attachment figure by following and clinging to them
• Using as a safe base


  A child will play in close proximity to the attachment figure, perhaps venturing away to get a toy but returning frequently and playing close by. This behaviour is especially obvious when the child is startled by, or suspicious of, something
• Reunion behaviour


  The child will show obvious pleasure at the return of an attachment figure, smiling and holding up his/ her arms as a signal to be picked up
• Stranger anxiety


  The child will show a dislike of strangers, demonstrated by turning away and crying if the stranger attempts contact
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964) developed a hypothesis in which they looked at WHEN an attachment is formed, INTENSITY of attachment, and TO WHOM they are attached to
• Infant attachment with mothers


  Related to attachment in adolescence
• Infant attachment with fathers

  Not related to attachment in adolescence
• Quality of fathers' play


  Related to adolescent attachments
• Fathers in traditional nuclear families

  • May take on a different role to the mother (fathers = play; mothers = nurture)
• Fathers develop nurturing role


  If they become the main caregiver
• Imitation


  When an infant mimics/copies the adults behaviour
• Reciprocity


  An interactive condition in which two individuals mutually respond to each other while performing activities together
• Interactional synchrony


  Interaction between mother and child where there is a mutual focus and are responsive to each others cues
• Sensitive responsiveness


  An adult attends sensitively to an infants communications
• Childhood attachment styles


  Thought to have an influence on our entire lives
• Areas influenced by childhood attachment styles

  • Friendships
  • Romantic relationships
  • Attachment with our children
• Strange Situation Technique (SST)

  A controlled observation developed by Mary Ainsworth to assess an infant's attachment type
• Aim of Ainsworth and Bell


  • To investigate individual variation in infant attachment; in particular differences between secure and insecure attachments
  • To prove their method of assessing attachments using the SST would be a reliable and valid measure of attachment
• Procedure of the Strange Situation Technique (SST)

  1. Lasts for 20 mins

  2. Used on American infants aged 12-18 months

  3. Takes place in a lab using a controlled observation
• Attachment styles identified by Ainsworth (1970)


  • Type A insecure avoidant
  • Type B secure
  • Type C insecure ambivalent/resistant
• Ainsworth concluded that these attachment styles were the result of early interactions with the mother
• Secure Attachment


  • Happy when carer is present
  • Distressed when carer is absent
  • Return quickly to carer on return
• Insecure Avoidant Attachment


  • Indifferent to presence/ absence of carer
  • Stranger could comfort as easily as carer
• Insecure Attachment (insecure-ambivalent/resistant)


  • Unsure, even anxious, in carers presence
  • Distressed at carers absence
  • Quickly go to carer on their return but would then struggle to get away
  • Resisted strangers
• Insecure Avoidant


  • Do not orientate to their attachment figure while investigating the environment
  • Very independent of the attachment figure both physically and emotionally
  • Do not seek contact with the attachment figure when distressed
  • Likely to have a caregiver who is insensitive and rejecting of their needs
  • Attachment figure may withdraw from helping during difficult tasks and is often unavailable during times of emotional distress
• Insecure Resistant


  • Adopt an ambivalent behavioural style towards the attachment figure
  • Commonly exhibit clingy and dependent behaviour, but will be rejecting of the attachment figure when they engage in interaction
  • Fail to develop any feelings of security from the attachment figure
  • Exhibit difficulty moving away from the attachment figure to explore novel surroundings
  • When distressed they are difficult to soothe and are not comforted by interaction with the attachment figure
  • Behaviour results from an inconsistent level of response to their needs from the primary caregiver
• The SST is regarded as a good measure of attachment
• Because infants are old enough to move about we can clearly see behaviour
• The SST allows us to discriminate between attachment types
• The SST concludes that secure attachment is preferred
• Strange situation test


  Standard way to assess infant attachment
• The strange situation test shows that not all infants are securely attached
• Typical ratio of attachment types in America

  • 20% Avoidant
  • 70% Secure
  • 10% Resistant
• The American ratio is used as the standard against which other samples are measured
• Comparisons of attachment patterns between cultures

  • Look for similarities and differences
  • Due to cultural differences in child-rearing practices and expectations of children's development
  • But also similarities since an infant's basic needs are universal
• Classical conditioning


  • Infant learns to associate feeding/comfort with primary carer /mother
  • Mother acquires comforting properties by association