attachment

attachment

1. Caregiver–Infant Interactions

   • Key Concepts
     • Reciprocity Interaction flows both ways; caregiver and infant respond to each other’s signals. Interactional Synchrony Mirroring actions/emotions in a coordinated way (e.g., Meltzoff & Moore).
   • Stages of Attachment (Schaffer & Emerson)
     • Stages
       • Asocial (0–6 weeks) Indiscriminate (6 weeks–7 months) Specific attachment (7+ months) Multiple attachments
     • Evaluation
       • High ecological validity (home‑based study) Biased sample (Glasgow, working‑class) Issues with measuring attachment (stranger anxiety)

2. Animal Studies of Attachment

   • Lorenz (Imprinting)
     • Geese imprint on first moving object Critical period Sexual imprinting
   • Harlow (Monkeys)
     • Contact comfort > food Long‑term social damage from maternal deprivation
   • Evaluation
     • Real‑world applications (social workers, animal care) Ethical issues (Harlow) Generalisation to humans is limited

3. Learning Theory of Attachment

   • Key Ideas
     • Classical conditioning (food = pleasure) Operant conditioning (crying reinforced) Caregiver becomes secondary reinforcer
   • Evaluation
     • Reductionist Contradicted by Harlow Ignores reciprocity/synchrony Some support from conditioning principles