TOTAL P1 PSYCH

What are the different types of caregiver infant interactions

• reciprocity and interactional synchrony

Why are early interactions are meaningful

From a very early age babies and caregivers have intense and meaningful interactions.

The quality of these interactions is associated with the successful development of attachments

Two kinds of interaction reciprocity and interactional synchrony

What interactions involve reciprocity

Reciprocity is achieved when baby and caregiver respond to and elicit responses from each other

A caregiver responds to a baby’s smile by saying something, and then the baby responds by making some sounds of pleasure

What are alert phases are times for interaction

Mothers succesfully respond around two thirds of the time.

From around three months this interaction becomes more intense and reciprocal

What are interactions involving synchrony

People are said to be synchronised when they carry the same actions simultaneously.

A formal definition is ‘the temporal co-ordination of micro-level social behaviour’, e.g. caregiver and baby mirror each other’ behaviour

Whatk is the study done on the BEGGININGS of interacial synchrony

Meltzoff and Moore (1977) observed the beginnings of interacial synchrony in babies as young as two weeks old.

Adult displayed one of three facial expressions or one of three gestures. Filmed the babies response.

babies expression and gestures were more likely to mirror those of the adults than chance would predict.

What is the study on the importance for attatchment in caregiver infant interactions

Isabella et al. (1989) observed 30 mothers and babies together and assessed the degree of synchrony.

The researchers also assessed the quality of mother baby attachment.

They found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother baby attachment

What are the evaluation of the research on caregiver-infant interactions

• filmed observations

• difficulty observing babies

• developmental importance

• counterpoint

What is a strength of research on caregiver infant interactions

filmed observations

P: One strength of the research on this topic is the use of filmed observations

E: Mother-baby interactions are usually filmed, often from multiple angles. Very fine details of behaviour can be recorded and analysed later.

E: Also babies don’t know they are being observed, so their behaviour does not change in response to observation

L: This means the studies have good reliability and validity

What is a limitation of research on caregiver infant interactions

difficulty observing babies

P: One limitation for the research is the difficulty is observing babies

E: It is hard to observe babies’ behaviour because they are not very co-ordinated. We just observe small gestures and small changes in expression.

E: It is also hard to interpret the meaning of babies’ movements, e.g. deciding if a hand movement is a response to the caregiver or a random twitch

L: This means we cannot be certain that any particular interactions observed between baby and caregiver are meaningful

What is a limitation of research on caregiver infant interactions

developmental importance

P: Another limitation is difficulty inferring developmental importance

E: Feldman (2012) points out that synchrony simply describe the behaviours that occur at the same time

E: These are robust phenomena in the sense that they can be reliably observed, but this may not be useful as it does not tell us their purpose

L: This means that we cannot be certain from observations that reciprocity or synchrony are important in development

What is the counterpoint for developmental importance on caregiver infant interactions

P: There is some evidence from other sources, e.g. isabella et al. (1989), to suggest that good levels of reciprocity and synchrony are associated with good quality attachments

L: This means that, on balance, these early interactions are likely to have importance for development.

Who created the stages of attachment

Schaffer and Emmerson

What are the different stages of attachment

Stage 1: Asocial stage

Stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment

Stage 3: Specific attachment

Stage 4: Multiple attachment

What is stage 1 of the schaffer and Emmerson stages of attachment

It takes place over the first few weeks

Baby’s behaviour towards people and inanimate object is quite similar.

Some preference for familiar people (more easily calmed by them)

Babies are also happier in the presence of other people

What is stage 2 of the schaffer and Emmerson stages of attachment

It takes place between 2-7 months

Babies now display more observable social behaviour, with a preference for people rather than inanimate objects.

They recognise and prefer familiar people

Babies do not show stranger or seperation anxiety

Attachment is indiscriminate because its the same towards all

What is stage 3 of the schaffer and Emmerson stages of attachment

It takes place around 7 months

Stranger anxiety and seperation anxiety when seperated from one particular person. Baby is said to have formed a specific attachment with the primary attachment figure.

This is in most cases the person who offers the most interaction and responds to the baby’s signals with the most skill

What is stage 4 of the schaffer and Emmerson stages of attachment

It takes place around a year

Secondary attachments with other adults from shortly after

In schaffer and Emmersons study, 29% of babies had secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary attachment.

by the age of one year the majority of infants had multiple secondary attachments

What was Schaffer and Emersons procedure

60 babies from Glasgow, most from working class families. Research visted babies and mothers at home every month for a year and again 18 months.

Seperation anxiety measured by asking mothers abiut their childhood behaviour during everyday seperations. Stranger anxiety was measured by asking a mothers questions about children’s anxiety response to unfamiliar adults.

What are the findings and conclusions from Schaffer and Emmersons procedure

Babies developed attachments through a sequence of stages, from asocial through to a specific attachment to multiple attachments - as outlined above.

The specific attachment tended to be the person who was most interactive and sensitive to babies’ signals and facial expressions. This was not necessarily the person the baby spent most time with.

What is the evaluation of Schaffer and Emmerson’s study on the stages of attachment

• external validity

• counterpoint

• poor evidence

• real world application

What is the strength of Schaffer and Emersons study

• external validity

P: One strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s stufy is that it has external validity

E: Most of the observations were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to researchers

E: The alternative would be to have observers present in the babies’ homes. This may have distracted the babies or made them feel more anxious

L: This means it is highly likely that the participants behaved naturally while being observed

What is the strength of Schaffer and Emersons study

• counterpoint

P: Mothers may have been biased in what they reported, e.g. they might not have noticed when their baby was showing signs of anxiety or may have misremembered it.

L: This means that even if babies behaved naturally their behaviour may not have been accurately recorded

What is the strength of Schaffer and Emersons study

• poor evidence

P: One limitation is poor evidence for the asocial stage

E: Because of their stage of physical development young vavies have poor co-ordination and are fairlu immobile

E: This makes it difficult for mothers to accurately report signs of anxiety and attachment for this age group

L: This means the babies might actually be quite social but, because of flawed methods, they appear to be asocial

What is the strength of Schaffer and Emersons study

• real world application

P: Another strength is real world application to day care

E: In early stages babies can be comforted by any skilled adult

E: But if a child starts day care later, during the stage of specific attachments, care from an unfamiliar adult may cause distress and longer term problems

L: This means that Schaffer and Emerson’s stages can help parents making day care decisions

What dis Schaffer and Emerson find about the role of the father

Shcaffer and Emerson (1964) found that the majority of babies became attached to their mother first this happens around 7 months.

In only 3% of cases the father was the first sole object of attachment

In 27% of cases the father was the joint first object of attachment with the mother

What is research on a distinctive role for the father

Grossman et al. (2002) carried out a longitudinal study looking at parents’ behaviour and relationship to the quality of children’s attachments into their teens.

This research found that quality of attachment with the father was less important for adolescent attachment than the quality of attachment with the mother

Therefore fathers may be less important in long term emotional development

Who suggest sthat fathers have a different role to mothers

Grossmann et al. found that the quality of fathers play with babies was related to quality of adolescent attachments. This suggests that fathers have a different role in attachment, one that is more to do with play and stimulation and less to do with emotional care.

study on whether fathers can be primary attachment figures

Some evidence suggests that when fathers do take on the role of being the main caregiver they adopt behaviours more typical of mothers.

Field (1978) filmed 4-month old babies found that primary caregiver fathers, like mothers, spent more timw smiling, imitating and holding babies than secondary caregiver fathers.

These behaviours are related to interactional synchrony and the fomation of an emotional attachment.

What is the most important factor in building primary attachment

The level or response instead of gender

What are behaviours that are important when building a primary emotional attachment with a baby

Smiling, imitating and holding babies (interactional synchrony) are behaviours that are important in building a primary 9emotional) attachment with a baby

What is an evaluation for the role of the father

• confusion over research questions

• conflicting evidence

• support to real life

What is a limitation of the role of the father

confusion

P: One limitation of the role of the father is confusion over research questions

E: Some psychologists want to understand the role of fathers as secondary attachment figures. But others are more concerned with fathers as a primary attachment figure

E: The former have tended to see fathers as behaving differently from mothers and having a distinct role. The latter have found that fathers can take on a ‘material’ role.

L: This means psychologists cannot easily answer the simple questions: what is the role of the father?

What is a limitation of the role of the father

conflicting evidence

P: One limitation is conflicting evidence from different methodologies

E: Grossman et al. (2002) suggest fathers have a distinct role in children’s development involving play and stimulation

E: However, McCallum and Golombok (2004) found that children without a father do not develop differently

L: This means the question of whether fathers have a distinctive role remains unanswered

What is a counterpoint to conflicting evidence of the role of the father

P: Findings may not be in conflict. Fathers may typically take on particular roles in two parent heterosexual families. Other family structures adapt to not having fathers.

L: This means that findings may be clear after all - there may be a distinctive role for fathers when present, but families adapt to not having one

What is a strength of the role of the father

findings

P: One strength is using findings in parenting advice

E: Mothers may feel pressured to stay at home and fathers to focus on work. This may not be the best solutioon for all families.

E: Research on the flexibility of the role of the father can be used to offer reassuring advice to parents

L: This means that parental anxiety about the role of fathers can be reduced and parenting decisions made easier.

What did Lorenz and Harlow study

Animal studies of attachment

What was Lorenz procedure on imprinting

Lorenz randomly divided a large clutch of goose eggs:

• One hlaf were hatched with the mother goose in their natural environment

• The other half hatched in an incubator where the first moving object they saw was Lorenz

Mixed all goslings together to see whom they would follow

Lorenz also observed birds and their later courtship behaviour

What was Lorenz findings on imprinting

Incubator group followed Lorenz, control group followed the mother

Lorenz identified a critical period in which imprinting needs to take place e.g. few hours after hatching

If imprinting did not occur within that time, chicks did not attach themselves to the mother figure

Sexual imprinting also occurs wherby the birds acquire a template of the desireable cjaracteristics required in a mate

What is an evlautaion of the Lorenz concept of printing

• support

• generalising

What is a strength of Lorenz concept on imprinting

P: One strength is support for the concept of imprinting

E: Regolin and Vallortigara (1955) exposed chicks to simple shape- combinations that moved

E: When shown a range of moving shaos the chicks followed these in prefernce to other shapes

L:This suggests that young animals are born with an innate mechanism to imprint onto a moving object

What is a limitation of Lorenz concept of imprinting

P: One limitation is generalising from bird to humans

E: The mammalian attachment system is quite different from imprinting in birds

E: For example mammalian mothers show more emotiobak attachment to their young

L: This means that it may not be appropriate to generalise ideas about imprinting to humans

What was harlows procedure for the importance of contact comfort

Harlow reared 16 rhesus monkeys with two wire model ‘mothers’

• condition 1 - milk was dispensed by the plain wire ‘mother’

• condition 2 - milk was dispensed by the cloth covered mother

The monkeys preferences were measured

To meaure attachment - like behaviour, Harlow observed how the monkeys reacted when placed in frightening situations. For example, Harlow added a noisy mechanical teddy bear to the environment

Harlow and his colleagues also continues to study the monkeys who had been deprived of their ‘real’ mother into adulthood

What was harlows findings for the importance of contact comfort

baby monkeys cuddled the cloth covered mother in preference to the plain wire mother regardless of which dispensed milk. This suggest that contact comfort was of more importance than food when it came to attachment bheaviour

The monkeys siught comfort from the cloth covered mother when frightened'

As adults the monkeys who had been deprived of their real mother auffered severe consequences they were more aggressive, less sociable and less skilled in mating than the other monkeys

What is an evlaution for Harlows research on contact comfort

• real world value

• generalising

What is a strength of Harlows research

P: One strength is that harlows research has real world value

E: It has gelped social workers understand risk factors in child abuse and thus intervene to prevent it

E: We also now understand the importance of attachment figures for baby monkeys in zoos and breeding programmes

L: This means that Harlow’s research has benefitted both animals and humans

What is a limitration of Harlows research

P: One limitation is generalising from monkeys to humans

E: Minkeys are clearly more similar to humans than Lorenz’s geese, and all mammals share some similarities in their attachment styles

E: However they are not human and in some ways the human mind and behaviour are much more complex

L: This means that it may not be appropriate to generalise Harlow’s findings to humans

Who came up with the learning theory of attachment

Dollard and Miller in 1950

What is Dollard and Millers learning theory of attachment

Emohasises the importance in food in attachment formation. Children learn to love whoever feeds them

What are the evaluations for Dollard and Millers learning theory of attachment

• counter evidence - animal

• counter evidence - human

• conditioning involved

• counterpoint

What is a limitation of Dollard and Millers learning theory of attachment

counter evidence animal

P: One limitation of learning theory is counter evidence from animal studies

E: Lorenz’s geese imprinted on the first moving object they saw. Harlows monkeys attached to a soft surrogate in preference to a wire one with milk

E: In both these animal studies imprinting/attachment did not develop as a result of feeding

L: This shows that factors other than feeding are important in attachment formation

What is a limitation of DOllard and Millers learning theory of attachment

counter evidence human

P; Another limitatuin is counter evidence from human studies

E: Schaffer and Emerson (1964) showed that for many babies their main attachment was not to the person who fed them

E: Also, isabella et al. (1989) found that interactional synchrony predicted attachment quality

L: This again suggests that other factors are morw important in attachment formation than feeding

What is a strength of Dollard and Millers learning theory of attachment

conditoning involved

P: One strenfth is that some elements of conditioning could still be involved

E; It seems unlikely that association with food is central to attachment . However, codnitioning may still play some role in attachment.

E: For example a baby’s primary attachment figure may be determined by the fact that a caregiver becomes associated with warmth and comfort

L: This means that conditioning could still be important in choice of attachment figures, though not the process of attachment formation.

What is a counterpoint of Dollard and Millers learning theory of attachment

P: However this point of view ignores the fact that babies take a very active role in the interactions that produce attachment.

E: For example they initiate interactions

L:This suggests that learning theory may be inapropriate in explaining only any aspect of attachment

What is Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachments

Attachment is an innate system that gives a survival advantage

imprinting and attachment evolved because they ensure young animals stay close to their caregivers and this protects them from hazards

Why is Bowlby’s theory monotropic

It emphasises the attachment to one caregiver - different from others/more important.

Bowlby believed that the more time a baby spent with this primary attachment figure/mother figure the better

1. low of continuity - the more constant care the stronger attachment'

2. law of accumalated separation - the effects from every seperation add up

What does Bowlby suggest about babies social releasers

Bowlby suggested that babies are born with a set of innate cute behaviours. the purpose of these is to interact with adults to form attachments.

What is the critical period

2.5 years/30 months is the critical period

a child is most sensitive to attachment at 6 months up until 2 years if attachment isnt formed it will struggle to make these laterr

What does Bowlby argue about the first attachment forming an internal working model of realationships

The primary attachment relationship forms a template for what realationships should be like.The internal working model may also affect the later ability to be a parent themself

What is the evaluations for the monotropy theory

• lacks validity

• evidence

• internal working model

• counterpoint

What is a limitation of the monotropy theory

• lacks validity

P: One limitation is the concept of monotropy lacks validity

E: The realationship with the primary attachment figure may simply be stronger than other attachments, rather than different in quality, as bowlby believed

E: Other family members may well develop attachments with the baby that have the same qualities, such as comfort and a secure base from which to explore

L: This means that Bowlby may have been wrong to suggest that there is a unique quality to a childs primary attachment

What is a strength of the monotropy theory

• evidence

P: One strength is evidence supporting the role of social releasers

E: Brazeltob et al (1975) instructed primary figures to ignore their babies social releasers

E: Babies initially showed some distress, but eventually some curled up and lay motionless

L: This supports the idea that social releasers play an important role in attachment development

What is a strength of the monotropy theory

internal working model

P: Another strength is support for the idea of the internal working model

E: The idea of the internal working model predicts that patterns of attachment will be passed from one generation to the next

E: Bailey et al. (2007) studied 99 mothers. Those with poor attachment to their own parents were more likely to have one year olds who were poorly attached

L: This supports Bowlby’s idea of an internal working model of attachment as it is being passed through families

What is the counterpoint of the monotropy theory

P: There are other influences on social development.

E: for example a baby’s genetically influenced personality is important in the development of social behaviour, including their later parenting style

L: This suggests that Bowlby overemphasised the importance of the internal working model in development

Who did research on the types of attachment

Ainsworth and Bell (1970)

What did Ainsworth and Bell research

The strange situation to assess the quality of the baby’s attachment to a caregiver

What type of experiment was the strange experiment

Controlled observation performed in a lab with a two way mirror where psychologists would observe the baby’s behaviour

What were the five categories used to judge the attachment quality

1. Proximity seeking

2. Exploration and secure base behaviour

3. Stranger anxiety

4. Seperation anxiety

5. Response to reunion with the caregiver after seperation for short term

How did each of the five categories show attachment qualities

Proximity seeking

Well attached babies stay close to caregiver

How did each of the five categories show attachment qualities

Exploration and secure base behaviour

good attachment makes a baby confident to explore, using caregiver as point of safety

How did each of the five categories show attachment qualities

Stranger anxiety

displayed by well attached babies

How did each of the five categories show attachment qualities

Seperation anxiety

displayed by well attached babies

How did each of the five categories show attachment qualities

Response to reunion with the caregiver after seperation for short term

Well attached babies are enthusiastic

What were the 7 3 minute episodes in the strange situation

1. Baby is encouraged to explore by caregiver

2. Stranger enters and talks to caregiver, approaches baby

3. Caregiver leaves

4. Caregiver returns, stranger leaves

5. Caregiver leaves baby alone

6. Stranger returns

7. Caregiver returns

What were ainsworth and bells findings on the strange situation

Type A baby

Insecure-avoidant attachment - 20-25% of british todlers

• Baby explores freely but does not seek proximity

• Shows little to no seperation/stranger anxiety

• Avoids contact at reunion

What were ainsworth and bells findings on the strange situation

Type B baby

Secure attachment 60-75% of british toddlers

• Baby happy to explore but seeks proximity

• Shows moderate seperation and stranger anxiety

• Requires and accepts comfort from caregiver on reunion

What were ainsworth and bells findings on the strange situation

Type C baby

Insecure resistant attachment 3% of british toddlers

• Baby explores less and seeks greater proximity

• Shows considerable stranger/seperation anxiety

• Resists comfort when reunited with caregiver

What are the evaluations of the strange situation

• good predictive validity

• Counterpoint

• reliability

• culture bound

What is a strength of the strange situation

good predictive validty

P: One strength is the strange situation has good predictive validity

E: Attachment tyoe predicts later developmeb]nt. For example secure babies typically have greater success at school

E; In contrast, insecure resistant attachmenr is associated with the worst outcomes e.g. bullying and adult mental health problems

L: This is evidence for the validity of the concept because it can explain future outcomes

What is a counterpoint of the strange situation

P: Although the strange situation measures something that predicts development, it may be measuring genetic differences in anxiety.

L: this means the strange situation may not actually measure attachment

What is a strength of the strange situation

reliability

P: Another strength is the starnge situation has good inter rater reliability

E: DIfferent observers watching the same babies generally agree on attachment type. Bick et al. (2012) found 94% agreement on the team

E: This may be because the strange situation takes place under controlled conditions and because the behavioural categorues are easy to observe

L: This means that we can be confident that the attachment type of a baby identified in the strange situation does not just depend on who is observing them

What is a limitation of the strange situation

culture bound

P: One limitation is that the strange situation may be a culture bound test

E: The strange situation test might not have the same meaning in countries outside europe and the us where it was created

E: Cultural differences in childrens experiences mean they respond differently e.g. Japanese babies show anxiety because the are not used to being left by caregiver

L: This means it is difficult to know what the strange situation is measuring in some countries cultures

Who did research on the cultural variations in attachments

Van unzendoorn and kroonenburg (1998)

What reseach did Van unzendoorn and kroonenburg do

Looked at the proportions of the different attachment types across a range of countries

What was Van unzendoorn and kroonenburg procedure

32 studies of attachment where the strange situation had been used, the studies yielded results for 1,9990 children.

The data was then meta analysed the results were then combines to sample size

What were Van unzendoorn and kroonenburg findings

Secure attachment was the most common classification in all countries ranging from 50-75%

In individualist cultures rates of insecure resistant were similar to ainsowrth original sample however this was not true for the collectivist cultures

Differences in cultural differences in the distribution of insecure attachment

Who else did studies with the strange situation

Simonelli et al. (2014)

Jin et al.

What was Simonelli et al. procedure with the strange situation

They assessed 76 babies aged 12 months in Italy using the strange situation to see whether proportions matched the sample

What were Simonelli et al. findings with the strange situations

50% were secure 36% insecure avoidant - lower secure attachment may be due to mothers ling hours

What was JIn et al. procedure with the strange situation

Compared the attachment types of 87% Korean babies to proportions in other studies

What were Jin et al. findings with the strange situations

Similar patterns - only one baby was avoidant similar to japan they have similar child rearing practices

What were the evaluations for cultural variation in attachment

• indigeenous researchers

• counterpoint

• confounding variables

• test culture

What is one strength of cultural variation in attachment

indigenous researchers

P: One strength of the studies is the use of indigenous researchers

E: Indigenous researchers are those from the same cultural backround as the participants

E: Using indegenous researchers aids communication between researchers and participants and helps prevent misunderstandings

L: This means that there us ab excellent chance that researchers and participants communicated succesfully, increasing the validity of the study

What is the counterpoint of cultural variation in attachment

P: This has not been true of all cross cultural attachment research

E: Americans morelli and tronick investigated in the Efé in zaire

L: This means that some cross cultural attachment research may have communication errors and hence lacks validity

What is one limitation of cultural variation in attachment

confounding variables

P: One limitation is the impact of confounding variables

E: Studies conducted in different countries may not be matched for sample characteristics e.g. studies in different countries may use children of different ages and social classes

E; Environmental variables also differ, e.g. using smaller rooms which might encourage babies to explore more

L: This means that studies assessing attachment types carried out in different countries may tell us little about cultural differences in attachment

What is one limitation of cultural variation in attachment

culture test

P: Another limitation is imposing a test designed in one culture

E: Using a test in a different cultural context from the one for which is was designed may be meaningless

E: The strange situation was designed in the US where lack of affection at reunion represents insecure attachment. however in Germany is would be seen as a sign of independce

L: This means that it may be meaningless to compare attachment behaviours across countries

When was Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation

1951

What is Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation

Continuous emotional care from a mother/substitute is necessary for normal emotional and intellectual development

What did Bowlby believe may lead to maternal deprivation

Bowlby believed that mother love is important to an infant mental health as vitamins and protein for physical health

What is seperation according to bowlby

the child is nit being physically in the presence of the primary attachment figure