Attachment

Attachment

1. Caregiver-Infant Interaction

   • Reciprocity
     • Research in the 1970s by Jaffe et al demonstrated that babies coordinate their actions with caregivers.
     • Responding to the action of another with a similar action , where the action of one partner elicits a response from the other.
     • From birth babies move in a rhythm when interacting with adults where they take turns, like in a conversation.
       • Brazelton suggested this rhythm is an important precursor to later communications. The regularity of the infants signals allow the caregiver to anticipate and respond appropriately.
   • Interactional Synchrony
     • When two people interact they tend to mirror one another in facial and body movement. Synchrony is when two or more things move in the same pattern.
     • Meltzoff and Moore conducted a study of the synchrony between babies and adults.
       • Used an adult model who displayed one of three facial expressions to or hand movement. A dummy was placed in the mouth of the baby during the initial display to prevent any response. They then removed the dummy and recorded the response.
   • Evaluation
     • There are problems with testing infant behaviour. Babies mouths are in almost constant motion and the tested expressions occur frequently. This makes it difficult to distinguish between general activity and specific responses.
     • Other studies have failed to replicate the results of the experiment.
     • Research suggests the imitation is only with humans and not inanimate objects.

2. Stages of attachment

   • 1) Asocial stage
     • From birth until about 2 months infants produce similar responses to all objects, inanimate or not. Towards the end of this they begin to show preference to social stimuli, such as smile, and are more content around people.
   • 2) Presocial Stage
     • Around 2 months the baby becomes more social, prefering human company to inanimate objects. They are still easily comforted by anyone but begin to distinguish between familiar and strangers, still not showing anxiety when in their presence.
   • 3) Specific Attachment
     • Start to develop separation anxiety This is when they form a specific attachment to their primary attachment figure. Schaffer and Emerson found the primary attachment didn't always form with the person who spent most time with the child. They found intensely attached infants had mothers who responded quickly and sensitively to their signals
   • 4) Multiple Attachments
     • Develops multiple attachments depending on how many consistent relationships they have. Schaffer and Emerson found that within one month of forming a primary attachment they developed multiple with someone else. These are called secondary attachments.