Attachment

• Attachment definition


  reciprocal (two way process) emotional tie between infant and a caregiver, mutual affection + desire to maintain proximity, sees each other as essential for their emotional security (not only formed between parents and children) serves the function of protecting the infant

  
  

  the strength of the bonds can be seen in complex two way caregiver infant interactions such as reciprocity and interactional synchrony
• Attachment behaviours


  Seeking proximity eg clinging - remain physically close to those whom they are attached to

  Separation anxiety - people are distressed when an attachment figure leaves their presence

  Joy in reunion

  Secure base-behaviour - display secure-base behaviour when they return to their attachment figure while playing
• caregiver definition


  anyone who provides care for a child, presence can modulate/ dissipate stress of the infant, responsive to an infant's needs
• Why do infants form attachment

  Helpless - need cargiver

  Food and safety

  Innate Desire for closeness will promote survival
• benefits from forming attachment

  Learn how to form relationships

  Learn how to behave in relationships

  How a parent should behave
• caregiver interactions


  Reciprocity

  Interactional synchrony
• Reciprocity definition


  When an infant responds to the action of another person, or where the actions of one partner (eg the infant) elicits a response form the other (eg mother)

  
  

  so mutual responsiveness and respond to each others' signals and cues e.g. when a smile occurs in the infant, it triggers a smile in the caregiver and vice versa.
• Interactional synchrony


  When an infant mirrors the actions of another person eg an infant imitates behaviours/emotions of their parents/ caregivers (rhythmic interaction)

  
  

  so appear rhythmically with matching coordinated behaviour and matching emotional state
• Meltzoff and Morre aims


  to examine caregiver-infant interaction
• process


  Method: an adult model would display one of the three facial expressions or hand movements. The child's responses were filmed

  
  

  The study by Meltzoff and morre was a controlled observation. They selected four different stimuli (3 different faces plus a hand gesture) and observed the behaviour of infants in response.

  
  

  To record observations an observer watched videotapes of the infant's behavior in real time, slow motion and frame by frame if necessary. This video was then judged by an independent observers who had o knowledge of what the infant had just seen. Each observer was asked to note all instances of infant tongue protrusions and head movements using these behavioural categories

  
  

  Mouth opening - abrupt jaw drop opening the mouth across entire extent of lips

  
  

  Termination of mouth opening - return of lops to their closed resting potion (lips closed and touching across entire extent or there might be a small crack)

  
  

  Tongue protrusion - clear forward thrust of tongue such that the tongue tip cross the back edge of the lower lip

  
  

  Each observer scored the tapes twice so that both intra observer and inter observer reliability could be calculated. All scores were greater than 0.92
• Meltzoff and Morre results


  there was a clear association between the behaviour of the adult model and the behaviour of the child (found the same findings in 3-day-old infants)
• Meltzoff and Morre conclusion


  this suggests that interactional synchrony is innate
• Meltzoff and Morre evaluation


  - Questionable reliability of testing infants (not uncommon for an infant to randomly stick their tongue out, yawn or smile, difficult to distinguish between normal and specific imitated behaviour)

  - Fails to replicate the findings of studies on the facing page (Koepke et al, failed to produce same results when replicate., lack of control, earlier studies not replicated)

  - ???????
• importance of the role of the father

  schaffer found that infants' primary attachment figure was most frequently their mother alone (65%), 30% both parents and only 3% the father alone. however at 18 months, 75% of infants had formed an attachment with their father showing separation anxiety. suggesting that fathers play an important role in their infants' lives
• Role of father in child-rearing arguments

  1. Fathers are not psychologically/ biologically/ socially equipped

  2. Fathers are 'caregivers' they are playmates

  3. Fathers can demonstrate sensitive responsiveness
• Fathers are not psychologically/ biologically/ socially equipped (limitation)

  Hrdy (1999) found that fathers were less able to detect low levels of infant distress, in comparisons to mothers
• Fathers are 'caregivers' they are playmates (limitation)


  Geiger (1996) found that a father's role interactions were more exciting in comparison to a mother's. However, the mothers' play interactions were more affectionate and nurturing

  
  

  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 behavior, and there continue to be sex stereotypes that affect male behavior.
• Fathers can demonstrate sensitive responsiveness (strength)


  Belsky et al found that males who reported higher levels of marital intimacy also displayed a secure father-infant attachment, whereas males with lower levels of marital intimacy displayed insecure father-infant attachments.
• the role of the father - active player

  fathers are seen to engage babies in active play activities more consistently than mothers. fathers interactions emphasises stimulation, and so it is thought their role of to encourage risk taking behaviours, compared to the more comforting style of mothers.

  
  

  whereas mothers usually adopt a more caregiving and nurturing role than fathers, fathers adopt a more play-mate role than mothers.
• the role of the father - primary caregiver

  as primary caregivers, in modern western society, mothers are more likely to take part in the workplace, there is evidence to suggest that if men take on the role of primary caregivers, their interactional style changes to be more like mothers, increasing their capacity for sensitive responsiveness
• economic implications of research into the role of father in attachment

  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.
• Evolution of the role of the father (in 100 years)


  Traditionally fathers have played a minor role in child rearing, fathers would go to work and provide resources while mothers took care of the children, however, society has changed significantly.
• Grossman (2002) longitudinal study - looked at both parents behaviour and its relationship to the quality of children's attachments to their teens


  Role of father is less important in the quality of infant attachment, but the quality of fathers play in infancy was related to the quality of adolescence attachments.
• field (1978)


  - filmed 4 month old baby in face to face interaction with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver fathers

  - Primary caregiver fathers like the mothers spent more time smiling imitating and holding infants than secondary caregiver fathers

  - This behaviour appears to be important in building an attachment with the infant

  - Hence fathers can be more nurturing and can also be emotionally sensitive

  And the key to attachment is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parents
• role of father evaluation

  - inconsistent findings on fathers (interest on primary or secondary attachment figures varies, not interested in the same, cannot conclude)

  - If fathers have a distinct role, then why aren't children without fathers different? (Grossman found fathers as secondary attachment figures had an important role, studies have found that children growing up in single or same-sex families do not develop any differently, not important)

  - Why dont fathers generally become primary attachments? (traditional gender roles, oestrogen, higher levels of nurturing, biologically predisposed to be primary attachment figures)

  - Socially sensitive research: working mothers (isabella et al found interactional synchrony to be important in infant-caregiver attachment

  Suggests mothers should not return to work so soon - socially sensitive implications, be cautious of their implications)
• Research suggesting fathers are important attachment figures

  Scaffer and emerson (fathers were the first joint attachment figure in 35% of infants)

  Grossman (adolescence attachments)

  Field (4-month-old baby)
• Research against the importance of the role of father

  grossman (children growing up in single or same-sex families do not develop any differently from those in two-parent heterosexual families.)
• Stages of attachment


  1. asocial stage/beginnings of attachments (0-6 weeks)

  2. indiscriminate attachments (6 weeks - 6 months)

  3. discriminate/ specific attachment (7-12 months)

  4. multiple attachments (one year onwards)
• asocial stage/beginnings of attachments (0-6 weeks)


  - display innate behaviours e.g. crying and smiling to ensure proximity to any potential caregiver

  - Shows similar responses to objects and people, although they do display a preference for faces/ eyes/smiles

  - Individuals find it easier to calm them

  - Reciprocity and interactional synchrony play roles in establishing infant's relationship with others
• indiscriminate attachments (6 weeks - 6 months)


  - Shows a preference for human (animate) accompany over non-human (inanimate) accompany,

  - Have the ability to distinguish between different people as they smile more at the ppl they see frequently, but are comforted indiscriminately (by anyone)

  - Do not show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety, attachment behaviour is not different towards any one person

  - becomes more social
• discriminate/ specific attachment (7-12 months)


  - Shows a preference for one caregiver, displaying separation and stranger anxiety. so forms a strong attachment to a primary caregiver

  - Looks to a particular person for security, comfort and protection

  This adult is termed primary attachment figure, not necessarily the person the child spends the most time with, but the one who offers the most interaction and responses to the baby's signals' with the most skill.

  - Show special joy at reunion with one particular person
• multiple attachments(1 year onwards)


  Attachment behaviours are now displayed towards several different people who they regularly spend time with eg siblings, grandparents, etc. (these relationships are secondary attachments)

  - stranger anxiety starts to decrease

  - attachments were most likely to form with those who responded accurately to the baby's signals, not the person they spent more time with - so most responsive
• Schaffer and Emerson (1964) Aim


  To examine the formation of early attachments.
• process


  Method: Their sample consisted of 60 babies (31 male, 29 female) from working-class families in Glasgow. The researchers visited the babies and mothers in their home every month for the first 12 months, and then once again at 18 months. The researchers interviewed the mothers and observed the children, in relation to separation and stranger anxiety. e.g. asked the mothers questions about the kind of protests their babes showed in seven everyday separations e.g. adult leaving the room. this is to measure the infant's attachment
• Schaffer and Emerson results

  The results provided some support for the stages of attachment. At around 25-32

  weeks, 50% of the children showed separation anxiety towards their mothers, expected at

  the discriminate attachment stage.

  
  

  Furthermore, by 40 weeks, 80% of the children had a

  specific (discriminate) attachment and 30% had started to form multiple attachments.

  
  

  attachment tended to be the caregiver who was most interactive and sensitive to infant signals and facial expressions ie reciprocity
• Schaffer and Emerson conclusion

  The results provide some support for Shaffer's stages of attachment and suggest that attachment develops through a series of stages.

  
  

  The most important fact in forming attachments is not who feeds and changes the child but who plays and communicates with him or her. Therefore, sensitive responsiveness to the baby's signals appeared to be the key to the attachment.
• Schaffer and Emerson evaluation

  1. Lacks population validity and cultural variation (60 Scottish (Glassgow) babies of working class, cannot be applied to the whole of the world's population and different cultures)

  2. The responses/ answers of mothers from the interviews may underlie social desirability bias (may want to enforce their image as a nurturing caregiver, not answer the researcher objectively, may fail to notice certain behaviours of their babies, low internal validity)

  3. It is high ecological validity (taken place in the babies' homes where they are most familiar with, higher mundane realism, more authentic behaviour)

  4. longitudinal study ( Same children were followed up and observed regularly, and not different children at each age (cross-sectional design), have higher internal validity and no confounding variables)
• lorenz process


  Procedure:

  • He took a clutch of gosling eggs and divided them into two groups.

  
  

  One group was left with their natural mother while the other eggs were left in an incubator.

  
  

  When the incubator eggs hatched the first living (moving) thing they saw was Lorenz and they soon started following him around.

  
  

  To test this effect of imprinting Lorenz marked the two groups and placed them together.
• lorenz findings


  The goslings quickly divided themselves up, one group following their natural mother and the other following Lorenz.

  
  

  the goslings who lorenz had hatched imprinted on him, following him rather than the mother goose. the goslings hatched in a natural environment imprinted on the mother goose and followed her. lorenz placed all of the goslings in a box. when the goslings were released from the box, the goslings who had imprinted on lorenz found him and continued to follow him.

  
  

  Lorenz noted that this process of imprinting is restricted to a very definite period of the young animal's life called a critical period.
• lorenz conclusions


  Imprinting is a form of attachment exhibited mainly in bird species that are mobile from birth.

  The first 12-17 hours is the critical period.

  if imprinting does not occur within that time, the gosling will lose the ability to imprint and form an attachment with a mother figure ie mother goose

  
  

  he suggested imprinting is a innate feature of attachment in certain birds, and imprinting is with the first large object visually seen, not other potential cues ie smell or sound