Lecture notes
Attachment notes
- Institution
- AQA
Entire attachment module notes condensed - 1 subtopic per page including evaluation.
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ATTACHMENT→ A close two-way emotional bond between two individuals in which each individual sees the other as
essential for their own emotional security.
Signs of attachment:
• Proximity – physical closeness to attachment figure.
• Separation distress – anxiety shown when attachment figure isn’t present.
• Secure-base behaviour – despite independence, there is regular contact with attachment figure.
Caregiver-infant interactions
• Meaningful social interactions between the carer and infant are important for the child’s social
development.
• Good quality early social interactions are associated with successful development of caregiver-infant
attachment.
Reciprocity
• How two people interact – caregiver-infant interaction is reciprocal as it’s mutual and responsive.
• Reciprocity involves each person responding to the other and eliciting a response in return – ‘turn-
taking’.
• It’s essential for effective communication, preventing interruption and talking over each other.
Alert phases Active involvement
• Periodic phases where the baby signals they are • Traditionally, babies would be seen as having
ready to interact. the passive role however now they are noticed
• Feldman and Eidelman (2007) – mothers notice to have the active role like their carers, as both
and respond to these phases 2/3rds of the time. can initiate interactions.
• Finegood et al – they notice depending on the • Brazelton et al – it is like a dance as each
skill of the mother and external factors. person responds to the other’s moves.
• Feldman – 3mths old is when interaction is
most frequent as signs (verbal and facial) are
paid close attention to.
Interactional synchrony
• This interaction is synchronised as they carry out the same action simultaneously.
• Feldman – how the caregiver and the infant coordinate their behaviours and actions e.g., timing and
rhythm of speech, facial expressions, gestures, and movements.
Synchrony begins Importance for attachment
• Meltzoff and Moore – observed interactional • Isabella et al – observed 30 mothers & babies
synchrony in 2-week-old babies who mirrored and assessed degree of synchrony and quality of
adults' facial expressions or gestures, which attachment. → Found high levels of synchrony
were filmed and showed significant association. were associated with better quality attachment.
Evaluation
Strengths Limitations
• Filmed observations in a lab – controlled • Difficulty observing babies – difficult to
variables so can establish cause and effect and interpret behaviour as they lack coordination
films can be analysed later so key behaviours and have immobile bodies so can’t make clear
are not missed. (Inter-rater reliability) movements and may not be to show interaction
• Practical application – Crotwell et al found 10- • Lacks developmental importance – Feldman
minute PCIT improves interactional synchrony. names aspects of interaction but doesn’t show
• Supported by research – Isabella et al showed importance in child’s development.
importance for attachment thus leads to • Lacks ecological validity and has demand
developed research and improved attachment. characteristics – lab experiments.
Page | 61
, Schaffer’s stages of attachment
→ Schaffer and Emerson (1964) studied attachment of babies and found there are 4 identifiable stages of
attachment within all babies.
Stage 1: Asocial stage (first few weeks)
• A baby’s behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects is similar. (Asocial)
• Schaffer and Emerson found they are not entirely asocial as they like to be with other people, especially
those who are familiar and comforting.
• This is the stage that babies form bonds and later leads to attachment.
Stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment (2-7mths)
• Babies display obvious and observable behaviours by showing a preference towards humans than
inanimate objects.
• They accept comfort from anyone and don’t show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety.
Stage 3: Specific attachment (7mths)
• Babies display classic signs of attachment (stranger anxiety and separation anxiety) towards one
person.
• This is when a specific attachment is formed and there is a primary attachment figure present (most
interaction and skilful responses to baby’s signals). → this is the mother in 65% of cases.
Stage 4: Multiple attachments (1yrs old)
• Babies extend attachment behaviour (stranger anxiety and separation anxiety) towards multiple
attachments (known as secondary attachments).
• Schaffer and Emerson found 29% of children form secondary attachments a month after forming a
primary one.
Schaffer and Emerson’s research
• An observational study on the formation of early infant-adult attachments.
Procedure: Findings:
• 60 babies from skilled working-class • 4 distinct stages in the development of
families in Glasgow. infant attachment behaviour.
• They visited the babies every month for the • At 25 weeks, high rate of attachment to
first year and at 18 months. mother and fear of strangers.
• They asked mothers about babies’ protests • At 53 weeks, less attachment to mother
when there were separations to measure and less stranger anxiety.
attachment as well as stranger anxiety.
Strengths Limitations
• Good external validity – most observations • Bias – Mothers being observers is subjective as
were made by parents and reported thus they may not notice anxiety or misremember
natural behaviours were reported. behaviours thus not accurately recorded.
• Real world application – if parents are aware of • Poor evidence for asocial stage – babies have
levels of anxiety of a baby at different stages, poor co-ordination so can’t display anxiety
they can plan when to send their baby to day clearly thus is difficult to observe and shows
care. that babies are asocial even if they are not.
• Generalisability – large-scale study with both • Can’t be generalised – Glasgow children have a
boy and girl babies. different culture thus may not be as social as
children from other cultures.
Page | 62
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