introduction to attachment

what is reciprocity?

a description of how 2 people interact.

mother-infant interaction is reciprocal in that both infant and mother respond to each other’s signals and each elicits a response from the other

what is interactional synchrony?

mother and infant reflect both the actions and emotions of the other and do this in a co-ordinated (synchronised) way

what can attachment be defined as?

a close two-way emotional bond between two individuals in which each individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional security.

what behaviours are displayed in attachment?

1. proximity

2. separation distress

3. secure-base behaviour

what is proximity?

people try to stay physically close to those to whom which they are attached

what is separation distress?

people are distressed when an attachment figure leaves their presence

what is secure-base behaviour?

even when we are independent of our attachment figures we tend to make regular contact with them. Infants display secure-based behaviour when they regularly return to their attachment figure while playing.

what is one evaluation point for observation of infants?

IT IS HARD TO KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING WHEN OBSERVING INFANTS

• many studies involving observation of interactions between mothers and infants have shown the same patterns of interaction.

• however, what is being observed is merely hand movements or changes in expression so it’s very hard to be certain, based on these observations, what’s happening from the infant’s perspective

• eg- is the infant’s imitation of adult signals conscious and deliberate?

what is an evaluation point for controlled observations?

CONTROLLED OBSERVATIONS CAPTURE FINE DETAILS

• observations of mother-infant interactions are generally well-controlled procedures with the mother and infant often being filmed from multiple angles

• ensures fine details of behaviour can be recorded and later analysed

• babies don’t care that they are being observed so behaviour doesn’t change in response to controlled observation- problem for observational researc

• overall strength of this line of research because it means the research has good validity

what is an evaluation point for synchrony and reciprocity?

OBSERVATIONS DON’T TELL US THE PURPOSE OF SYNCHRONY AND RECIPROCITY

• Feldman (2012) pointed out that synchrony (and by implication reciprocity) only describe behaviours at the same time- they are robust phenomena because they can be reliably observed- this may not be particularly useful though as it doesn’t tell us their purpose

• however, there is some evidence that reciprocal interaction and synchrony are helpful in the development of mother-infant attachment and helpful in stress responses, empathy, language and moral development

what is an evaluation point on fathers in the role of a babies attachment?

INCONSISTENT FINDINGS ON FATHERS

• there are inconsistent findings on fathers due to the fact that different researchers are interested in different questions

• some psychologists are interested in understanding the role fathers have as secondary attachment figures

• others are more concerned with the father as the primary attachment figure

• the former have tended to see fathers behaving differently form mothers and having a distinct role. The latter have tended to find that fathers can take on a ‘maternal’ role

what is an evaluation point for why children without fathers aren’t different?

IF FATHERS HAVE A DISTINCT ROLE WHY AREN’T CHILDREN WITHOUT FATHERS DIFFERENT?

• the study by Grossman found that fathers as secondary attachment figures had an important role in their children’s development

• other studies however have found that children growing up in single or same-sex parent families don’t develop any differently from those in 2-parent heterosexual families

• this seems to suggest that the father’s role as a secondary attachment figure is not important

what is an evaluation point on the link between fathers and a primary attachment?

WHY DON’T FATHERS GENERALLY BECOME PRIMARY ATTACHMENTS?

• fathers not becoming primary attachment figures could just be due to the result of traditional gender roles- women expected to be more caring and nurturing than men- this means that fathers don’t feel they should act like this

• however, it could be that female hormones (ie- oestrogen) create higher levels of nurturing and and so women are biologically pre-disposed to be the primary attachment figure