Attachment

• research into caregiver infant interactions A01

  • Maccoby (1980) characteristics of attachment - seeking proximity, distress on separation , pleasure when reunited
  • Meltzoff and Moore ( 1977) - Reciprocity is when an interaction is reciprocated in that both the infant and the mother 'turn-take' to each other's signals similarly that elicts a response from the other, this is innate in humans, babies use this method of interaction to bond with caregivers
• Meltzoff and Moore research


  • Strength of research
  • Importance of imitative behaviour for social development
  • Proposing a connection between what the infant sees and imitates and associates between infants own acts and own underlying mental state
  • Explains how children begin to understand what others think and feel thus being able to conduct relationships
• Murray and Trevarthen (1985) experiment


  1. Infant showed acute distress from video monitor of mother not responding to infant's facial expressions and bodily gestures rather than interacting

  2. Suggests infant is an active and intentional partner in the interaction
• research into caregiver infant interactions A03 limitation:

  • other studies have failed to replicate Meltzoff and Moore's findings suggesting the studies' findings are unrepeatable and unreliable
• research into caregiver infant interactions A03 limitation:

  • reason to have doubts about Meltzoff and Moore's research because of difficulty in reliably testing infant behaviour. Infant's mouths are constantly in motion making it difficult to distinguish in between general activity and specific imitated behaviour. This research highlights the difficulties in testing infant behaviour
• stages of attachment as identified by Schaffer A01:

  • Stage 1: Asocial attachment
  • Stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment
  • Stage 3 : Discriminate attachment
  • Stage 4: Multiple attachment
• stages of attachment as identified by Schaffer A03: strength

  • research design: scientific study - Schaffer and Emerson's (1964) study was scientific because they used clear behaviour categories to define attachment and used a longitudinal method. Therefore the results are more reliable and have a higher internal validity
• stages of attachment as identified by Schaffer A03: limitation

  • lack of ecological validity as all the participants were from Glasgow where individualist cultures are more common that collectivist ones. This has an impact on how common many multiple attachments would be made
  • this shows that the results could be different outside of Glasgow
• stages of attachment as identified by Schaffer A03: limitation

  • low periodic validity, the experiment was conducted in 1964 where parenting methods may be different and not the same as now in 2024. Therefore the findings from their study can't be generalised to current babies.
• research on cultural variations attachment A01:

  • Ljzendoorn and Kroonenberg found secure attachment to be the most common type of attachement globally in their 1988 study
  • individualist culture values independence
  • collectivist culture values inter - dependence
  • they used meta analysis to determine conclusions
• research on cultural variations A03: strength

  • use of meta analysis
  • allows reliable conclusions
  • 32 studies from 8 countries
• research on cultural variations A03: limitation

  • study compares countries not cultures suggesting the term ' cultural variations' should be used cautiously
• Ainsworth strange situation: A01

  • lab study used to measure the quality of attachment
  • tested willingness to explore, stranger anxiety , behaviour upon reunion with primary care giver , separation anxiety
  • has 8 stages all lasting 30 seconds except for the 2 reunion stages
• Ainsworth strange situation A03: strength

  • use of time sampling focuses the observer
  • created a standardised measure of attachment
• Ainsworth strange situation A03: limitation

  • lack of population validity as participants where white middle class and they may have different parenting methods to others
  • possible demand characteristics as the mothers knew their children were being observed - this could'v caused a change in behaviour therefore invalidating the findings as real behaviour wasn't observed
• Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation

  If an infant can't form a warm, intimate and continuous relationship with its mother then it will have trouble forming relationships in later life and be at risk for behaviour disorders
• Discontinuous relationship

  • Separations lead to unstable attachment and disrupts development of relationship
• Critical period

  • If child goes through many separations in the first 2 1/2 years of their life the child will likely become emotionally disturbed
• Monotropic

  A child needs to form one relationship in their critical period to have healthy emotional development
• Maternal deprivation

  IQ may be affected
• Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation A03: strength

  • research support for the long term effects of maternal deprivation - mental health issues found more frequently in women whose separation occurred before the age of 6, this supports the theory of maternal deprivation hypothesis and the critical period
• Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation A03 : strength

  • real life application in children's hospitals. Many long term patients became emotionally unstable due to continuous separations with their primary care giver, this caused a social change in how they were cared for
• Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation A03: Limitation

  • refuting research, not all children were affected the same therefore there has to be some exceptions within the theory
• romanian orphan studies A01

  • ban on contraception during the communist government meant many children grew up in orphanages without a primary caregiver
  • researchers investigated the effect of institutionalism on children's later development
  • studies in 2010 found that the consequences may be less severe if the children have the opportunity to form attachments after being adopted despite not having a primary care giver
  • many of the children showed disinhibited attachement
• Romanian orphan studies A03: strengths

  • longitudinal research - they have followed the lives of these children over many years
• Romanian orphan studies A03: Limitation

  • individual differences, not all children who suffered from institutionalism struggles to recover