Care-giver infant interactions

• Attachment = close two-way bond between 2 individuals where they see each other as essential for their own emotional security.
• • Separation distress - distress when attachment figure leaves the infants presence
  • Secure-base behaviour - when independent of attachment figure, the infant makes regular contact with them e.g. infants returning to caregiver regularly when playing.
• Reciprocity = reciprocate to mothers interactions. Response is reciprocal, mother & infant elicit responses from each other.

  • Feldman + Eidelman (2007) - from birth, babies have 'alert phases' & signals that they are ready for interactions. Mum's pick up on this 2 out of 3 times. From 3 months this increases mother & baby can initiate interaction & they take turns & keep eliciting these responses amongst one another.
• Interactional synchrony = baby mirroring behaviour, replicates action & emotions the same behaviour is repeated at the same time - these are coordinated.

  Meltzoff + Moore (1977) - adults displayed 3 different facial expressions & the child's response was filmed & identified by observers. Association was found between adult & baby's actions.
• AO3 Care-giver Infant Interactions -

  • Observations were well-controlled procedures e.g. filming both mum & body these can be analysed later & inter-rater reliability can be found. No hawthorne effect demonstrated by the babies. High internal validity.
  • Difficult to understand what babies mean by these interactions or whether they're deliberate. They may not have a special meaning.
• AO3 Care-giver Infant Interactions -

  • Socially sensitive. Isabella et al found high levels of interactional synchrony were associated with better quality mother-infant interactions which may suggest that mothers who choose to work or go back to work neglect their babies & they won't develop properly. This may invoke feelings of guilt in mothers & suggests the role of the father is unimportant so may undermine stay-at-home dads.
• Role of the Father -

  • Historically, fathers would go to work & provide resources, whilst mums take care of the children (nuclear family) Previous research into attachment focused on mothers, role of the father was considered minor.
  • Today's father is not the traditional breadwinner & disciplinarian. He can be single, married, gay etc. Fathers across all backgrounds promotes PIES for children.
• • Schaffer + Emerson (1964) - suggest father is a secondary attachment, role of mother is more important. Found majority of babies formed attachment at 7 months and fathers were the secondary attachment after.
• • Grossman (2002) - fathers role of is different than mum's, linked to play & stimulation rather than nurture. Longitudinal study looking at attachments quality into their teens & parents' behaviour & relationship.
• • Field (1978) - more interaction with infant leads to a stronger attachment. Filmed 4 month old babies with primary mothers & fathers. Interactional synchrony & reciprocity = strong attachment. More meaningful interactions leads to a better attachment.
• AO3 Role of the Father -

  • Lacks temporal validity research from 60/70's has become outdated , roles have changed & adapted.
  • Ethnocentric, imposed etic cannot generalise across all cultures. In modern families, fathers are less likely to engage in physical play in middle-class Indian families.
  • Attachment research focused on nuclear families not same-sex, single etc. Lacks temporal validity
  • Gender bias, alpha bias as the differences are exaggerated between men & women e.g. father's role. Detrimentally impact working mothers & stay-at-home fathers as the research is SSR.
• Schaffer + Emerson (1964) - researchers assessed separation anxiety by asking mothers questions about the kinds of protest the baby showed in 7 everyday separations e.g. mum leaving the room. Also stranger anxiety by the infants, anxiety response to unfamiliar adults adults. 60 babies, 31 males + 29 females, Glasgow from working-class, over 18 months, 1x month researchers would visit (Longitudinal).
• Findings (Glasgow Baby Study) - By 10 months, most had several attachments, mothers are the primary caregiver for about half the babies by 18 months, father for most others. By 40 weeks, 80% had specific attachments, 30% had multiple. Attachments to the caregiver was the individual who had the most meaningful interactions using interactional synchrony & reciprocity. The caregiver is sensitive to infants signals.
• Stages of attachment -

  • Asocial (birth-6 weeks): infants produce similar to all objects: human or non. Towards the end of this stage, infants show a greater preference to humans demonstrated by signals. Reciprocity & interactional synchrony = vital.
  • Indiscriminate (6 weeks - 6 months): clear preference for humans, recognise & prefer familiar adults. No separation or stranger anxiety. Allow strangers to handle & look after them.
• Stages of attachment:

  Specific (7 months+): separation & stranger anxiety when separated from their primary caregiver & show joy when reunited, form meaningful interactions.

  Multiple (10/11 months+): after the main attachment, secondary attachments formed with extended family e.g. grandparents. 75% have formed these within a month of the specific attachment, fear of stranger weakens, primary attachment remains the strongest.
• AO3 Schaffer + Emerson (1964) -

  • Lacks internal validity, problems with the way attachments are assessed. Baby may show signs of distress when playmates leave. Observations don't different differentiate between 'true' attachment figures & playmates.
  • Sample can't be generalised, all-working class, Glasgow can't to other classes & the sample is quite small. Can't apply to collectivist cultures, imposed etic. Lacks temporal validity ignores role of the father , SSR as gender roles have changed since 1964.
• AO3 Schaffer + Emerson (1964)

  • High ecological validity as the procedure was carried out in the babies own homes by the mothers. Controlled observation no hawthorne effect should reflect real-life behaviours. Arguably, mothers may have social desirability bias, want to present their children in the best light possible.
  • Longitudinal (conducted over 18 months) baby's followed up for a long time accounts for EV's that could happen one day e.g. illness, hunger etc. Increases internal validity.
• • There is now an expectation in Western cultures that the father should play a greater role in raising children than was previously the case. Also, the number of mothers working full-time has increased in recent decades, and this has also led to fathers having a more active role.
  • Most infants prefer contact with their father when in a positive emotional state and wanting to play. In contrast, most infants prefer contact with their mothers when they are distressed and need comfort.
• AO3 Role of the Father -

  • It is possible that most men are not psychologically equipped to form an intense attachment because they lack the emotional sensitivity women offer. Oestrogen underlies caring behaviour, and there continue to be sex stereotypes that affect male behaviour.
  • Economic implications – Mothers will feel pressured to stay home because research says they are vital for healthy emotional development. Still, in some families, this may not economically be the best solution.
• AO3 Role of the Father -

  • McCallum and Golombok found that children growing up in single or same-sex families didn’t develop differently from those in two-parent families – Evidence undermines the idea of fathers having distinct roles.
  • In the UK, fathers until recently were not given any paternal leave, so the responsibility for child care was implicitly given to the mothers. This could change the attachment the children make with their fathers. However, this is not the case in every country, so the pattern of attachment between father and children might be different.
• Role of Father -

  • Schaffer & Emerson (1964): 75% of infants studied had formed an attachment with the father at 18 months.
  • research shows that the father may fulfil a qualitatively different role from that of the mother – play vs emotional. support – but this is just as crucial to the child’s wellbeing.
  • quality of attachment with the father may be less influential in adolescence – Grossman (2002).
  • research shows that the role of the father may differ depending on the gender of the child.
• Role of the Father Economic Implications -

  • increasingly fathers remain at home and therefore contribute less to the economy consequently more mothers may return to work and contribute to the economy
  • changing laws on paternity leave, government-funded so affects the economy; impact upon employers
  • gender pay gap may be reduced if parental roles are regarded as more equal.
  • early attachment research, e.g. Bowlby suggests fathers should provide an economic rather than an emotional function.