summarised using all the relevant information, with key points and names in bold. Evaluations are clearly marked as + / - which allows for these notes too easily be converted into essay plans.
Learning these notes achieved me an A*.
-Attachment = an emotional tie or bond between two people, usually a primary caregiver & a child. This relationship
is reciprocal, meaning that it is a two-way relationship that survives over time.
Caregiver-infant interactions
-From an early age, infants have meaningful interactions with their careers. Psychologists believe that these
interactions have important functions for the child's social development, in particular for the development of
caregiver-infant attachment. You must be able to outline and evaluate two types of interaction: reciprocity and
interactional synchrony.
Reciprocity
-This occurs when an individual responds to the actions of another individual in some form of turn-taking. The
primary caregiver elicits a response from the infant.
-Brazelton et al (1795) = compares reciprocity to a dance. Similarly, reciprocity can be described as an interaction
that flows back and forth.
-Feldman (2007) = argues that after 3 months, reciprocity increases in frequency as attention increases to facial and
verbal communications this increasing responsiveness is suggested to strengthen the foundations for further
attachments to develop,
Interactional synchrony
-This occurs when an infant mirrors the action or emotions of another individual. The infant will move or simulate
the actions of their caregiver simultaneously and this serves to maintain communication between the two.
Meltzoff & Moore (1977)
-Aim = to investigate interactional synchrony in infants.
-Method = a controlled observation was used. An adult model displayed one of three facial expressions or a hand
gesture. At first a dummy was placed in the mouth of the child to stop any facial response. The dummy was then
removed and the child's expression was filmed.
-Results = a clear relationship was found between the infant’s behavior and the models. Meltzoff & Moore (1983)
later repeated the study with three-day old infants which produced similar findings.
-Conclusion = interactional synchrony is innate and strengthens attachments between infants and caregivers.
+ Controlled procedures
Mother-infant interactions tend to be filmed from several angles meaning that fine details of behaviour can
be recorded and analysed later. Furthermore babies are unaware they are being filmed so their behaviour
does not change when being observed and therefore it could be suggested that the babies natural behaviour
is being observed.
- Difficult to establish what is happening with infants
When observing infants, hand movements or changes of expression are being observed. However, it is
difficult to be certain whether these are conscious and deliberate imitations of the adults or have happened
by chance. We cannot, therefore, be certain that infants are actually engaging in reciprocity or interactional
synchrony which questions the validity of the research.
- Observations do not tell exactly what is happening
Fieldman (2012) notes that synchrony and reciprocity merely describe behaviours that occur at the same
time but it does not tell us their purpose. Therefore the findings are limited in their usefulness in aiding our
understanding of the importance of these interactions.
, - Individual differences
A criticism of Meltzoff and Moore is that they may have ignored the influence of individual differences in
interactional synchrony. Isabella et al (1989) found that being securely attached increased the likelihood of
interactional synchrony. This would suggest that not all children will engage in interactional synchrony which
Meltzoff and Moore overlook.
- Socially sensitive research
Research into reciprocity and synchrony suggests that children may be disadvantaged by certain child-
rearing practices. For example some mothers who return to work shortly after a child is born may restrict
opportunities to achieve interactional synchrony. This therefore suggests that mothers should not return to
work so soon but this may not always be an option for some parents and therefore the findings are socially
sensitive.
Development of attachment
-Attachment does not occur at a certain age and in the same way. Psychologists have identified several stages that
lead to the formation of an attachment.
Stage Age Description
Asocial 0 - 2 months Similar responses are shown to objects and people. They do,
however, display a preference for face / eyes towards the end of
the stage.
Indiscriminate 2 - 6 months Preference is shown for human company over non-human
attachments company. Infants are able to distinguish between different people
but are comforted by anyone (indiscriminately) and do not yet show
stranger anxiety.
Discriminate attachments 7 - 12 months An infant displays separation and stranger anxiety, showing a
preference for one caregiver.
Multiple attachments 12 months + Secondary attachments are now formed with others such as
siblings and grandparents. They tend to be formed in the month
after a primary attachment is formed; the number of secondary
attachments formed depends on the exposure of their social circle.
Stages of attachment: Schaffer & Emerson (1964)
-Aim = to examine the formation of early attachments.
-Method = sample of 60 babies (31 male & 29 female) from working-class families in Glasgow, aged between 5-23
weeks. The babies were visited at home monthly for the first 12 months and then at 18 months. The mothers were
interviewed and the babies observed during everyday activities in relation to separation and stranger anxiety.
-Results = at around 25-32 weeks, 50% of children showed separation anxiety towards their mothers. By 40 weeks
80% demonstrated specific attachments and 30% had begun to form multiple attachments. These findings support
the stages of attachment.
-Conclusion = attachment develops through a series of stages during the first year of life.
+ High external validity
Many of the observations were made by the parents during everyday activities and reported to the
researchers. This means that the baby's behaviour would not have been affected by the presence of an
observer and their natural behaviour was observed. This would mean that the study had high external
validity.
, - Lacks population validity and temporal validity
The sample used was from the same area, social class and was conducted over 50 years ago. These
children may have formed very different attachments to children from more wealthier families. Additionally,
many parents in contemporary society share parenting or rely on childcare for their work. Thus it would be
difficult to generalise the findings to mothers and babies from all societies and also to the present day thus
reducing the population and temporal validity of the findings of the study which reduces the overall validity of
the theory.
- Social desirability bias
Schaffer and Emerson interviewed the mothers who may not have been honest about the attachments that
their babies were displaying. For example, they may have reported their attachments as secure to portray
themselves as better mothers. This would reduce the internal validity of the findings as the EV of social
desirability bias has not been controlled for, which in turn can lead to biased data.
- Inflexibility of stage theories
Stage theories adopt a nomothetic approach. They suggest that development is not flexible; single
attachments form before multiple attachments. This is problematic for the theory as in some cultures,
multiple attachments may come first. For example, in Israel on a Kibbutz, the care of babies is shared from
a very young age. This could lead to the criticism of culture bias as the theory is not universal as it cannot
be applied to all cultures in society.
Role of the father
-One of the most important areas in attachment research for psychologists is concerned with who infants actually
attach to. Traditionally it has been believed that the mother is the main attachment whereas more contemporary
research suggests that fathers play an important role in nurturing their child's development.
-There are 3 areas that you should be able to outline and evaluate: parent-infant attachment; the role of the father;
and father as primary carer.
Parent-infant attachment
-Traditionally psychologists have researched mother-infant attachments.
-Schaffer & Emerson found evidence to support this. They observed that the majority of babies had formed an
attachment to the mother by around 7 months.
-However, they also found that within a few weeks or months the infants had formed secondary attachments to
other family members including the father. In 75% of the infants studied an attachment was formed with the father by
18 months.
-This findings was determined by the fact that the infants protested when the father walked away; a sign of
attachment.
Different role of the father
-Psychologists have more recently researched the role of the father in a child's development and whether they have a
role distinct from the mothers.
-Grossman (2002) = conducted a longitudinal study looking at parents behaviour and its relationship to the quality
of children's attachments into their teens.
-The research found that the quality of attachment to the mother in adolescent children was more important than
that of the father thus suggesting that the fathers attachment was less important.
-However, the quality of fathers’ play was related to the quality of adolescent attachments. This suggests that
fathers have a different role in attachment; one that is more to do with play and stimulation rather than nurturing.
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