Mary Ainsworth (1970's)

"The Strange Situation"

Aim:

To find the quality of attachment between mother and child

Procedure:

106 children in America with their mothers will enter an artifical playroom situation. A researcher is behind a ONE WAY MIRROR, recording reactions from the child. 8 Episodes are then carried out:

1. The mother and child play in the lab. 
2. A stranger enters the room - Stranger Anxiety is measured by researcher
3. Mother leaves - Separation Anxiety is measured by the researcher
4. Mother returns - Reunion Behaviour is measured by the researcher

*These stages then repeat

Findings:

66% - TYPE B - Secure Attachment 

Mum presence - content

Absence - distressed

Return - greets

Stranger comfort - some

Mum - sensitive

22% - TYPE A - Anxious Avoidant Attachement

Mum presence - not bothered

Absence - not bothered

Return - avoids very strongly

Stranger comfort - avoid strongly

Mum - ignores child

12% - TYPE C - Anxious Resistant Attachment

Mum presence - unsure

Absence - intense distress

Return - rejects

Stranger comfort - resists

Mum - behaves ambivalently

Conclusion:

Children's behaviour varies

Attachment is influenced by mum's emotional responsiveness

Type B - Mum is sensitive to child

Type A - Mum ignores the child ; child learnt rejection from mum

Type C - Mum is ambivalent to child ; child learns inconsistant love

Critisisms:

Ethological Validity is low - artifical situation

Unethical to place a child in distress

Gender Bias - assuming the woman is the main attachment figure

Small sample size of 106

Cultural Bias - held in America

- Vaughn et al. (1980) - change in family circumstances affect children's behaviour

- Larsern and Deiner (1987) - Biological differences between children may mean some infants have a difficult temperament so attachments could be problematic

- Main and Solomon (1990) - repeated the experiment and found
Type D - Disorganised - Abused children

Inconsistant behaviour, confusion, indecisiveness. Children act as the attachment figure and enviornment is a soure of fear.

Sterotyped abused behaviours such as freezing and rocking for self comfort.

Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

"The Glasgow Study"
"The Development of Social Attachments in Infancy"

Aim : 

To investigate the age of a first attachment, who this attachment is with and it's strangth


Procedure: 

60 Glasgow infants (5- 23 weeks)
Observe infants in their own homes every month until they were 1. Researchers return at 18 months again.
Interview of the mum.
Diary is kept from mum to examine 3 measurements;

Stranger Anxiety - response to arrival of a stranger
Separation Anxiety - distress level when separated from carer, degree of comfort needed on return
Social Referencing - degree that child looks at carer to check how they should respond to something new (secure base)


Findings: 

Asocial (0-6weeks) - responds to all stimuli
Indiscrimiate Attachment (6weeks-6months) - does not discrimate against anybody; reponds to all people
Specific Attamchment (7months-1year) -  Attaches specifically to one person at 7 months > attachment threshold. Separation anxiety and Stranger Anxiety at it's peak
Multiple Attachments (1year+)


1/3rd  5+ attachments 
65% Mum is first attachment 
3% Dad is first attachment
30% have a joint "first" attachment


Conclusion:

Attachment is formed between 6 -8 months
The higher the Mother's emotional responsiveness, the stronger attachment


Criticisms:

Cultural Bias - Glaswegian participants only
Social Acceptance - Mum may lie to make herself "look better" , or lie to give "desirable answers"
Gender Bias - Mum's assumed to be the attachment figure
Small Sample Size - 60 

Attachment

"An attachment is the close emotional bond that forms between two people, characterised by mutual affection and a desire to maintain proximity" - Schaffer (1993)

 Kagen et al. (1978) - an attachment is one in which;

• an intense emotional relationship develops specifically between two people
• endures over time
• prolonged separation from the attachment figure causes stress and sorrow

The First Attachment



Within days of birth, baby prefers a human face and responds to human sounds than mechanical sounds


Attachment at birth - crying, eye-contact, grasping, being soothed


Attachment at 2/3 months - smiling, reaching, arm-waving, face recognition




"Mutual Recoprocity" Stern (1977)

When mum talks to an infant, the baby looks intensly at her and make noises.
Child will stop until a response is given from mum.
"Conversation" by recognising cues