Attachment

Attachment

1. What is attachment?

   • Attachment is a close emotional relationship between an infant and caregiver
     • Features of Attachment
       • Sensitive Responsiveness = The caregiver responds appropriately to the infants signals
       • Imitation = The infant copies the caregiver's actions a behaviours
       • Interactional Synchrony = Infant reacts in time with the caregivers speech
       • Reciprocity = Interaction flows back and forth between the infant and caregiver
       • Motherese = Song-like, high pitched way the caregiver speaks to their infants
     • Role of the Father
   • Stages of Attachment
     • 1) The pre-attachment phase (0-3 months) = Babies begin to distinguish adults from objects. However, there is no primary attachment figure(s) yet
     • 2) The indiscriminate attachment phase (6 weeks - 7 months) = Babies begins to clearly recognise different people, smiling more at people it knows, and getting distressed when they leave
     • 3) The discriminate attachment phase (7-11 months) = The individuals form a strong attachment with a certain individual (Usually mum)
     • 4) The multiple attachment phase (9 months -) = Infants form several attachments to different people. Some attachments may be stronger than others
     • Schaffer & Emerson study
       • 60 babies were observed in their homes in Glasgow every four weeks from birth to 18 months
         • Interviews also included
           • The stages of attachment were found to occur
             • After 8 months = 50 of the infants had more than one attachment (Multiple attachment phase)
             • 20 of them had either no attachment with their mother or had a stronger attachment with someone else
             • Attachment MUST occur in stages. Factors such as quality of care can affect the level of attachment
       • Poor sample = They used a limited sample, meaning they looked in detail at a small group of working class families in Glasgow and didn't look at other groups in society
       • Cultural Bias = They looked at group in Glasgow. Tronick et al found that infants in Zaire had a strong attachment with their mothers at 6 months. However, didn't have strong attachments with others, though they had several carers
       • High ecological validity

2. Animal Studies

   • Harlow
     • Investigated if baby monkeys would prefer a source of food or comfort as an attachment figure
       • Lab Experiment = Rhesus monkeys were raised in isolation
         • Given two 'surrogate' mothers
           • One was made of wire mesh - contained a feed bottle
           • The other was made of cloth, implying comfort
           • Monkeys clung onto the cloth surrogate and only used the wire surrogate to feed
             • Cloth surrogate provided comfort and protection for the monkeys in new situations.
               • As monkeys grew up = Showed signs of social and emotional disturbance. The female monkeys were violent to their offspring, showing that they experiment was a negative effect on the monkeys
                 • Infant monkeys formed more of an attachment with a figure that provided comfort and protection
                   • Growing up in isolation affected their development, showing that there is a critical period
                     • Ecological Validity = Cannot be generalised to humans as monkeys and humans do not share 100% of their genetics ... Monkeys were not in their natural environment also
                     • From an ethical perspective, the study is extremely distressing for the monkeys and unfair to inhibit them in isolation against their free will
                     • Replicable = The study is easy to replicate as it was under strict control in a lab. This mean that all variables could be easily maintained. However, ethical guidelines mean that you cannot repeat this study in the 21st century
     • Created a further experiment with Zimmerman
       • They added a fearful stimulus
         • When a fearful object was placed in the cage, the monkey would cling onto the cloth surrogate before exploring the object
           • The monkeys in a cage with just the wire surrogate would freeze or run wildly around the cage
             • Concluded that a strong attachment with a primary caregiver is therefore highly important in the development of an infant
   • Lorenz - Study on imprinting using Geese
     • Lorenz found that Geese automatically attach themselves to the first living thing they lay their eyes on
       • This is known as imprinting
         • He divided a clutch of goose eggs into two groups
           • One group with the mother
           • The other in an incubator
           • Lorenz observed when both groups hatched and found that the group who hatched alongside their mother, followed their mother around
             • The other followed Lorenz around
               • When Lorenz released the Geese, they reformed with the other group and followed their biological mother
                 • Lorenz determined that the imprinting occurred after 13-16 hours after further studies. He concluded that there was a critical period in which imprinting occured
                   • After the critical period - it's too late for the young birds to imprint
                     • Lorenz used a precocial species. These are species which can walk right from birth. Therefore, they are very different to humans. So Lorenz's research couldn't be used to apply to human behaviour
                     • Unethical - Could've affected the growth of the Geese who were separated in an incubator in the long term

3. Explanations of Attachment

   • The learning Theory
     • Classical Conditioning = The baby associates the mother with food. When hungry, the infant will start to cry and scream. The mother responds to this with food, which provides pleasure for the baby
     • Operant conditioning = Dollard and Miller (1950) - Claimed babies feel discomfort when hungry. They become aware that the mother provides food which removes the discomfort (negative reinforcement), thus get attached to the mother
     • Lots of supporting evidence to prove this theory (Skinner and Pavlov)
       • Lots of the evidence use animal studies which isn't always generalisable
     • Reductionist = Tries to explain the complexity of attachment using a very simplistic theory
     • Schaffer and Emerson's study don't fully support the learning theory - only half the babies had their mum of the primary attachment figure
   • The Evolutionary Theory (John Bowlby)
     • 1) Attachment can be explained by Evolution - We have evolved a biological need to form an attachment to our main caregiver
       • This is because we have developed through natural selection to ensure the survival of the child to maturity
         • 2) We create one special attachment = Bowlby formed an idea of monotropy. This is where we form one main attachment (Usually our biological mother). Forming this attachment ensures survival as we have food and shelter to keep us healthy
           • 3) We create an internal Working Model of Attachment = Our first primary attachment provides a template for all future relationships - we learn to trust and care for others.
             • 4) There is a critical period for Attachment - The first three years of life are the critical period need to form attachment
               • If the attachment doesn't develop - This may damage the child's social and emotional development
     • Harlow's study supports the idea that we need to attach during the critical period, else we'll struggle to develop socially and emotionally - The monkeys grew to be aggressive as they were raised in isolation
     • Schaffer and Emerson proved that there isn't often one main caregiver during the critical period. After 9 months, should the infant start to form multiple attachments
       • Critical period different areas
     • It has been proven that the effects of broken attachment can be reversed
     • Led to an increase of stay at home mums, which affects the economy as less people were working and possibly relying more on the welfare states

4. Types of Attachment

   • Secure Attachment
     • There's a strong bond between child and caregiver. If the caregiver, the infant becomes distressed. However, when reunited, the infant seeks comfort in the caregiver
   • Insecure-Avoidant
     • The infant is more independent. If the caregiver leaves, the infant shows no sign of being distressed. The infant is easily comforted by stranger and doesn't seek comfort when caregiver returns
   • Insecure-Resistant
     • The infant is uneasy around the caregiver. If the caregiver leaves, the infant becomes highly distressed. Refuses comfort of the stranger and becomes angry when the caregiver returns
   • Ainsworth et al

5. Disruption of Attachment