Attachment

Attachment

1. caregiver- infant interactions

   • reciprocity
     • Babies and caregiver spent time in highly pleasurable interaction that involve reciprocity (when each person responds to other and elicits a response from them)​ E.g caregiver responds to babies smile by saying something which in turn elicits a response.
     • ALERT PHASES periodic phases where babies signal that they are ready for interaction. Mothers pick up on babies alertness two-thirds of the time but varies according to skill of mother (Feldman & Eidelman) and external factors such as stress (Finegood).
     • ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT Both caregiver and baby can initiate interactions and they take turns. Brazelton described this interaction as a dance because each partner responds to the others moves.
   • interactional synchrony
     • Takes place when caregiver and baby interact in such a way that their actions and emotions mirror the other.
     • SYNCHRONY BEGINS Meltzoff & Moore observed beginnings in babies as young as two weeks. Adult displayed one of three facial expressions or distinctive gestures. Response was filmed and labelled by observer. There was a significant association with babies expressions and gestures.
     • IMPORTANCE FOR ATTACHMENT Isabella observed 30 mothers and babies and assessed ​ degree of synchrony and quality of attachment. High levels of synchrony means better attachment.​
     • positives
       • Filmed observations allows inter rater reliability and behavior doesn’t change in response to observation so more reliable and valid
     • negatives
       • Hard to interpret baby’s behaviour so can’t be certain behaviours have special meaning​

2. schaffer's stages of attachemt

   • multiple attachments
     • Secondary attachments with other people they regularly spend time with. 29% of children formed secondary attachments within a month of forming primary.
   • specific attachment- 7 months
     • Attachment to particular person. Stranger anxiety especially when attachment figure absent and separation anxiety. Primary attachment figure is who responds best to the babys signals.
   • indiscriminate attachment- 2 to 7 months
     • More observable social behaviours. Prefer company of specific people but still accept comfort from any person. No separation anxiety or stranger anxiety.​
   • asocial- first few weeks
     • Observable behaviour similar towards all things. Show preference for company of familiar people. Forming bonds at this stage.​
   • schaffers and emersons resarch
     • procedure
       • babies from glasgow in working-class families. Researchers asked mothers questions every month in their own home for the first year about the kind of protest their babies showed in seven everyday separations. Also assessed stranger anxiety. ​
     • evakuation
       • LIMITATION- validity of measures for asocial stage. Babies poor coordination so may be social but just cannot show it. ​ STRENGTH- practical application in daycare. STRENGTH- good external validity ​ Observations made by parents during ordinary activities so babies behaved naturally ​ COUNTERPOINT- social desirability bias ​ Parent as observer may have been biased in what they noticed and reported