Introduction attachment

Introduction attachment

1. Caregiver-infant interactions

   • Reciprocity
     • From birth babies and their mothers (other carers) spend a lot of time in intense and pleasurable interaction
     • Babies have periodic 'alert phases' and signal that they are ready for interaction
     • Mothers typically pick up on and respond to infant alertness around two-thirds of the time
     • From around 3 months this interaction tends to be increasingly frequent and involves close attention to each other's verbal signs and facial expressions
       • A key element of this interaction is reciprocity
     • An interaction is reciprocal when each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them
     • Traditional views of childhood have seen the baby is a passive roll, receiving care from an adult
       • However, it seems that the baby takes an active roll
     • Both mother and child can initiate interactions and they appear to take turns doing so
       • Brazleton et al described this interaction as a 'dance' because it is just like a couple's dance where each partner responds to each other's moves
   • Interactional Synchrony
     • Mother and infant reflect both the actions and emotions of the other and do this in co-ordinated (sychronised) way
     • Two people are said to be 'synchronised' when they carry out the same action simultaneously
     • Can be defined as the temporal co-ordination of micro-level social behaviour
       • It takes place when mother and infant interact in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror the other
     • Meltzoff and Moore observed the beginnings of interactional synchrony in infants as young as 2 years old
       • An adult displayed one of three facial expressions or one of three distinctive gestures
       • The child's response was filmed and identified by independent observers
       • An association was found between the expression or gesture the adult had displayed and the actions of the baby
     • It is believed that interactional synchrony is important for the development of mother-infant attachment
     • Isabelle et al observed 30 mothers and infants together and assessed the degree of synchrony
       • The researchers also assessed the quality of mother-infant attachment
       • They found that high levels of synchrony were associated with better quality mother-infant attachment (e.g. the emotional intensity of the relationship)

2. Attachment figures

   • Parent-Infant Attachment
     • Traditionally we have thought in terms of mother-infant attachment
     • Schaffer and Emerson found that the majority of babies did become attached to their mother first (around 7 months)
       • Within a few weeks or months formed secondary attachments to other family members, including the farther
     • In 75% of the infants studied an attachment was formed with the farther by the age of 18 months
       • This was determined by the fact that the infants protested when their farther walked away- a sign of attachment
   • The Role of the Farther
     • Grossman carried out a longitudinal study looking at both parents' behaviour and its relationship to the quality of children's attachments
     • Quality of the infant attachment with mothers but not farthers was related to children's attachment in adolescence
       • Suggesting that the farther attachment was less importantr
     • The quality of the farther's play with infants was related to the quality of adolescence attachments
       • Suggests that the farthers have a different role in attachment- one that is more to do with play and stimulation, and less to do with nurturing
   • Farthers as Primary Carers
     • Tiffany Field filmed a 4-month-old babies in face-to-face interaction with primary caregiver mothers, secondary caregiver farthers and primary caregiver farthers
     • Primary caregiver farthers, like mothers, spent more time smiling, imitating and holding infants than the secondary caregiver farthers
       • This behaviour appears to be important in building an attachment with the infant
     • Farthers can be the more nurturing attachment figure
       • The key to the attachment relationship is the level of responsiveness not the gender of the parent

3. Evaluation

   • Hard to know what is Happening (N)
     • Observations of interaction between mothers and infants have shown the same patterns of interaction
       • However, what is being observed is merely hand movements or changes in expression
     • It is extremely difficult to be certain, based on these observations, what is taking place in an infant's perspective
       • For example, the infant's imitation of the adult may be conscious or deliberate
     • We cannot really know for certain the behaviours seen in mother-infant interaction have a special meaning
   • Controlled observations Capture Fine Detail (P)
     • Observations of mother-infant interactions are generally well-contolled procedures
       • Very fine details of behaviour can be recorded and later analysed
     • Babies don't know that they are being observed
       • Behaviour does not change
     • Good validity
   • Observations don't tell us the purpose of Synchrony and Reciprocity (N)
     • Feldman points out that synchrony (and by implication reciprocity) simply describe behaviours that occur at the same time
     • These are robust phenomena in the sense that they can be reliably observed, but this may not be particularly useful as it does not not tell us their purpose
     • However, there is some evidence that reciprocal interaction and synchrony are helpful in the development of mother-infant attachment, as well as helpful in stress responses, empathy, language and moral development
   • Inconsistent findings on Farther (N)
     • Some psychologists are interested in understanding the role farthers have as secondary attachment figures
       • Whereas others are more concerned with the farther as primary attachment figure
     • The former have tended to see farthers behaving differently from mothers and having distinct role
       • Maternal Role
     • This is a problem because it means psychologists cannot easily answer a simple question the layperson often asks: what is the role of the farther?
   • Why aren't children without farthers different? (N)
     • Grossman found that farthers as secondary attachment figures had an important role in their children's development
     • However, other studies have found that children growing up in single or same-sex parent families do not develop any differently
   • Why don't farthers generally become primary attachment?
     • Result of traditional gender roles
       • Women are expected to be more nurturing and caring
     • It could be that female hormones create higher levels of nurturing
       • Biologically pre-disposed to be the primary attachment figure