Attachment

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Parent - infant interaction

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Parent-infant attachment Schaffer and Emerson found that majority of babies become attached to the mother first and within a few weeks or months form secondary attachments. 75% of infants studied found attachment was formed with the father by 18 months, infants protested when the father walked away which is a sign of attachment.

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Schaffer and Emerson

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The Role of the father

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The role of the Father- Grossman carried out a longitudinal study looking at both parents behaviour and its relationship to the quality of children's attachment into their teens. Quality of attachment with mothers but not father's was related to children's attachment in adolescence suggesting the father attachment was less important. But quality of Father's play with infants was related to the quality of Adolescent attachments suggesting fathers have a different role to do with play and stimulation not nurturing.

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Fathers as PCG's

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Some evidence that when father's are main caregiver adopt behaviours more typical of mothers. Field filmed 4 month old babies in face-to-face interaction with the primary caregiver mother's, secondary caregiver fathers and primary caregiver father's. Primary caregiver father spent more time smiling imitating and holding Infants than the secondary caregiver father's, appears important in building an attachment with Infant and fathers can be more nurturing attachment figures. Key to attachment is not gender but level of responsiveness

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Reciprocity

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Mother and baby pay close attention to each other's verbal signals and facial expressions. Reciprocal process when they respond to each other and take turns.

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Interactional synchrony

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'The temporal coordination of micro- level social behaviour'. Mother and Infants interactions mirror each other. Believed important for development of an attachment. Isabella et al observed 30 mothers and babies assessed degree of synchrony and quality of attachment, found high levels of synchrony associated with better quality mother-infant attachment

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Evaluation of caregiver interactions

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It's hard to know what is happening when observing infants. What is observed is just hand movements or changes in expression, it's difficult to know what is taking place from infants perspective, if for example the infants imitation is deliberate . Therefore cannot really know if the interaction has a meaning.

Controlled observation well controlled and usually mother and infant are filmed, often from multiple angles. Ensures fine details can later be analysed, babies don't know or care they are being observed their behaviour does not change in response to the observation which is usually a problem.

Observations don't tell us the purpose-can be reliably observed but doesn't tell us the purpose of the reciprocity and interactional synchrony, but some evidence is useful development of attachment, its helpful in stress response, empathy and language

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Evaluation of role of the Father

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If father's have a distinctive role why aren't infants without father's different? Grossman found father's play important role in children's development but children growing up in single or same-sex parent families did not develop any differently from those in two parent heterosexual families, suggests secondary caregiver fathers are unimportant.

Why don't father's generally become primary caregivers- it could be the result of traditional gender roles women are expected to be more caring and nurturing than man, therefore Father's don't feel like they should act it. Could also be due to female hormones e.g. oestrogen create high levels of nurturing and therefore women are biologically predisposed to be primary attachment figures.

Inconsistent findings on Father's- different researchers are interested in different research questions some psychologists are interested in understanding the role of fathers as secondary caregivers but others are concerned with fathers as primary caregivers, identify whether fathers have a distinct role or to see if Father's can take a maternal role. Problem because father's cannot easily answer a simple question

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Schaffer and Emerson

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They investigated the formation of early attachments

The method 60 babies 31 male 29 female all from Glasgow, majority from skilled working class families. Babies and mothers visited at home every month for first year and again at 18 months. Researchers ask mother's about kind of protest baby showed in seven everyday separations e.g. adult living room (separation anxiety). Designed to measure infant attachment also assessed stranger anxiety infants response to unfamiliar adults.

Findings- between 25 and 32 weeks about 50% showed signs of separation anxiety to particular adults usually mother. Specific attachment attachment usually to most interactive and sensitive to infant signals and facial expressions i.e. reciprocity not necessarily person that child spent most time with, by 40 weeks 80% of babies have specific attachment and almost 30% displayed multiple attachments.

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Stage one attachment

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Stage 1- Asocial stage( first few weeks)

Not aasocial as baby is recognising and forming bonds with its carers but babies behaviour towards non human objects and humans is quite similar. Babies show some preference for familiar adults, find it easier to calm them, babies happier when in presence of other humans

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Stage two attachment

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Stage two- Indiscriminate attachment (2 to 7 months)

Show preference for people rather than inanimate objects. Recognise and prefer familiar adults, usually accept comfort and cuddles from any adults. Don't usually show separation or stranger anxiety, therefore indiscriminant as not different towards any one person

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Stage 3 attachment

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Stage 3- Specific attachment ( from around 7 months)

Start to display anxiety towards strangers and to become anxious when separated from one particular adult (biological mother in 65% of cases) . At this point baby formed specific attachment. Adults primary attachment figure person who offers most interaction and responds to the baby's signals with the most skill.

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Stage 4 attachment

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Stage 4- multiple attachment

After formed primary attachment usually extend it to multiple attachments with another adult who they regularly spend time with- secondary attachments. Schaffer and Emerson study 29% of children had separate attachments within a month of forming a primary attachment by 1-year majority of infants and developed multiple attachments