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Attachment 16 Mark Plans
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AttachmentQuestion: Describe and evaluate research into caregiver infant interactions in
humans.
AO1: • Attachment --> strong reciprocal two-way emotional bond between two
6 people (usually an infant and caregiver). This is where the
individual sees the other as essential for their own emotional
security. There are three characteristics of an attachment:
proximity, separation distress and secure base behaviour.
• Caregiver-infant interactions are one of the key interactions
between caregivers and infants as it’s a nonverbal communication
(as new-born babies cannot speak), interactions will form the basis
of attachment between an infant and caregiver.
- Reciprocity --> a way of how two people interact. Both parties’
interactions are reciprocal, they respond to each other signals and
each elicit a response from another. E.g. when a baby smiles, it
will often make the mother smile back. Brazelton (1979) suggested
reciprocal behaviour was an important precursor to later
communication.
- Interactional synchrony --> interactions between an infant and
caregiver (actions and emotions) mirror the other and they are said
to be synchronized when they carry out the same action
simultaneously. Meltzoff and Moore (1977) conducted the first study
of IS and found infants as young as 2 weeks old imitated specific
facial and hand gestures. There is an association between infant’s
behaviour and that of an adult role model.
AO3: • Research into mother-infant interactions are done using well
10 controlled procedures
- Interactions are filmed from multiple angles, and fine details of
behaviour can be captured then later analysed. Babies are unaware
they are being observed so behaviour does not change in response to
controlled observations. Studies have good validity as they are
measuring what they intend to measure.
• Replication of Meltzoff and Moore’s study six years later
- The researchers replicated the study in 1983 with infants as young
as 3 days old. Found infants demonstrated the same synchrony
suggesting behaviour is innate. Also suggests the original findings
are reliable, and that caregiver-infant interactions are an innate
mechanism used to help develop an attachment bond.
• Influences a child’s physical, social, and cognitive development
- The interactions formed at this stage become a basis for the
development of basic trust and shapes how the child will relate to
the world, learn, and form relationships. This time in an infant’s
life is vital in being correct for them to develop properly later
in life.
• Issues surrounding observing babies
- Hard to interpret if babies’ behaviour is intentional as they lack
coordination, and their mouths are constantly moving. Difficult to
know if behaviour is intentional and not down to change. Engaging
in this behaviour is uncertain, and we cannot assume that the
infants definitely responses to their caregiver.
26
, Question: Describe and evaluate research into multiple attachments.
AO1: • Schaffer & Emerson’s (1964) study --> studied 60 babies from
6 Glasgow from working class backgrounds. Babies were 5 to 23 weeks
old and visited at their home every month for a year and at 18
months.
- Measured separation anxiety --> asking mothers questions about
their children’s behaviour during everyday separation.
- Measured stranger anxiety --> asking mothers questions about their
children’s response to unfamiliar adults.
- Found 50% of babies showed separation anxiety towards a particular
adult between 25-32 weeks of age. Attachment tended to be with
caregiver that was the most interactive and responsive to the
infant’s signal (sensitivity responsiveness), not the person who
they spend the most time with.
• Their study led to the development of 4 distinct stages of
attachment.
- Stage 1 (Asocial stage) --> birth – 3 months, babies’ behaviour to
human and objects is the same, baby cannot tell the difference
between different human faces.
- Stage 2 (Indiscriminate attachment) --> 3 months – 8 months, where
babies accept comfort from any adult with a preference for people
than inanimate objects.
- Stage 3 (Specific attachment) --> 8 months to 1 year, baby now has
a strong primary attachment to a specific individual. Baby
demonstrates separation anxiety when away from the primary
caregiver and has a fear of strangers.
- Stage 4 (Multiple attachments) --> 1 year onwards, baby will now
begin to form secondary attachments such as the father or
grandparents. The strongest attachment will still be with the
primary caregiver.
- Schaffer and Emerson found that 29% of infants had secondary
attachments within 1 month of forming their first attachment.
AO3: • Schaffer and Emerson’s study was longitudinal
10 - The same children were followed up and observed regularly, meaning
no confounding variables of individuals differences between
participants. The study has good internal validity, the results
obtained and what they are meant to show.
• Accuracy of data collected can be questioned
- Young babies in the asocial stage have poor co-ordination and are
usually immobile. Difficult to make judgements about the infants
based on observations of their behaviour. Questions the reliability
of the data that has been collected.
• Conflicting evidence from different cultures on multiple
attachments
- Research from individualistic cultures (such as this study) say
babies form an attachment to a single primary caregiver before
developing multiple attachments. Research from collectivist
cultures suggest having multiple caregivers is the norm. These
cross-cultural differences make it hard to generalise their theory
to other cultures.
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