12A

1. Caregiver-infant interactions
◦ Who tested the correlation between physical contact and
attachment?
◦ What is reciprocity? (TT)
◦ One factor of infant-caregiver attachment is “I____________
S____________”
◦ What did Meltzoff and Moore find?

2. Homework…
What we’ve looked at so far…
◦ Physical Contact
◦ Reciprocity
◦ Interactional Synchrony
◦ Evaluate these theories/research using PEE’s for each point made…
◦  Intentional Behaviour
◦  Ethics and infants
◦  Failure to replicate
◦  Individual differences

3.  Intentional Behaviour
◦ P – People have argued that the infants do not imitate facial expressions as an
intentional effort to encourage social attachments
◦ E – However, research has found that infants will not imitate the same facial
expressions used in Meltzoff and Moore’s study when they are simulated by
inanimate objects
◦ E – This suggests that interactional synchrony and imitation is used by infants
as a social response to aid attachment building and therefore is intentional .

4.  Failure to Replicate
◦ P - Despite findings demonstrating new born imitation, Meltzoff and Moore’s study
has been criticised as being unreliable due to replications not finding the same results
◦ E - Koepke (1983) carried out the same experiment as Meltzoff and Moore and failed
to identify any evidence of new born imitation
◦ E - The lack of replicability questions the original findings’ reliability which may have
been vulnerable to experimental bias.

5.  Individual Differences
◦ P – There may be individual differences in the level of reciprocity and
interactional synchrony seen in infants and care givers
◦ E – Isabelle (1989) found that more strongly attached infants are likely
to demonstrate greater levels of interactional synchrony
◦ E – Therefore these behaviours will differ dependent on strength of
attachment

6.  Ethics & Infants
◦ P - Experimenting infant-caregiver interactions can be difficult to pass through Ethical
Guidelines.
◦ E - Observation techniques used may breach Informed Consent guidelines, especially
if they are naturalistic, covert observation methods
◦ E - Researchers can also not guarantee protection from harm as the discovery of an
insecure attachment with one’s infant may be psychologically distressing for the care
giver in question.

7. Observational Research
◦ Observing participant(s) behaviour…
◦ Naturalistic vs. Controlled Observations
◦ Naturalistic = nothing has been manipulated by experimenter
◦ Controlled = researcher regulates aspects of environment
◦ Overt vs. Covert Observations

8. Observational Research
◦  High Ecological Validity (natural observations)
◦  Practical Method for things you can’t test (i.e. aggression in football
hooligans)
◦  No demand characteristics (covert observations)

9. Observational Research
◦ Researchers use either event-sampling or time-sampling to collect
data
◦ Event sampling = ‘how often did the infant stick out it’s tongue’
◦ Time Sampling = ‘Record behaviour at every 20 seconds’

10. Tronick’s Still Face Experiment
◦ Tronick wanted to observe caregiver-infant interactions
◦ He wanted to see what would happen if interactional synchrony and
reciprocity were lost
◦ Mothers were instructed to interact normally with the infant and then
stop responding and show a ‘still face’
◦ The baby’s response was observed and recorded

12. In pairs…
◦Produce an observational schedule using event
sampling
◦You will be observing the response of an infant to the
still face experiment

15. Inter-Observer Reliability
◦ If both yours and your partner’s score
sheets are the same you have ‘High inter-
observer reliability’
◦ If there are differences you have ‘low
inter-observer reliability’
◦ If it’s low, your research can be criticized
as unreliable

16. How to Overcome
Low Inter-Observer Reliability
◦ Train your Observers
◦ Use more observers
◦ Use objective observation schedules
◦ How reliable was meltzoff and moore’s
inter-observer data? (pg. 70)

17. Disadvantages of Observations
◦ Possibly low inter-observer reliability?
◦ Cause and Effect cannot be inferred
◦ Ethics?
◦ Observer Bias

18. DEVELOPMENT OF
ATTACHMENTS
Shaffer and Emerson’s Stage theory of Attachment Development

19. How/when do we make these
attachments?
◦ ‘Stage theory’ of attachment
◦ Schaffer & Emerson (1964) devised 4 stages of attachment
development
◦ They conducted a study to create their stage theory

20. Schaffer & Emerson (1964)
◦ Conducted a Longitudinal Study
◦ Followed 60 infants from a mainly working-class area of Glasgow
◦ Observed parent-infant interactions and ‘Stranger Anxiety’ every
month until they were 18m
◦ Asked parents to report ‘Separation Anxiety’ each month

21. Schaffer & Emerson (1964)
◦ Parent Reports on Separation Anxiety in 7 everyday scenarios;
◦ Left alone in a room
◦ Left with other people
◦ Left in their pram outside the house
◦ Left in their pram outside the shops
◦ Left in their cot at night
◦ Put down after being held
◦ Passed by while sitting on their cot/chair

22. Schaffer & Emerson (1964)
◦ Results:
◦ Half the children showed their 1st specific attachment between 6-8m
◦ By 10m 50% had more than one attachment
◦ 65% had the mother as primary attachment
◦ 39% of the infants had a primary attachment with someone other than the person
who usually fed, bathed and changed them

23. S&E’s 4 stages of attachment
1. ‘Indiscriminate Attachments’
* Approx. 2 months
* Babies respond equally to all caregivers
* Begin to show greater preference for ‘Social
Stimuli’

24. S&E’s 4 stages of attachment
2. ‘Preference’
* Approx. 4 months
* Prefer human company
* Can distinguish between unfamiliar & familiar people

25. S&E’s 4 stages of attachment
3. ‘Discriminate’
* Approx. 7 months
* Specific attachment with PCG
* Experience ‘Separation Anxiety’
* Experience ‘Stranger Anxiety’

26. S&E’s 4 stages of attachment
4. ‘Multiple Attachments’
* Approx. 10 months
* Baby becomes increasingly independent
* Forms several attachments

27. S&E’s 4 stages of Attachment
◦ Indiscriminate
◦ Preference
◦ Discriminate
◦ Multiple

28. Evaluation of Schaffer & Emerson’s
Stage Theory of Attachment
◦  Unreliable/Invalid Data?
◦ Data based on reports from mothers, likely to have been
skewed
◦ Vulnerable to ‘Social Desirability’

29. Reliability vs. Validity
◦ Reliability = Test – Retest
◦ Validity = Accuracy
◦ External Validity
◦ Does it apply to real life?
◦ Internal Validity
◦ Are we measuring what we think
we’re measuring?

30.  Biased Sample
◦ Study used to generate 4 stages was Ethnocentric
◦ Working Class area of Glasgow…
◦ Cannot be applied to other cultures / classes

31.  Temporal Validity?
◦Study was conducted in the 1960s
◦If the study was repeated today would we still get the
same results?
◦Why might there be differences?

32.  Cultural Variation?
◦ UK is an Individualistic country
◦ Collectivist cultures often have shared responsibility of child-
rearing and do not experience just 1 primary care-giver
◦ Thus the stage model may only apply to individualist cultures

33.  Too rigid?
◦ A stage theory suggests all children should reach each stage
at specific time brackets
◦ It doesn’t allow for individual differences
◦ Highlights abnormalities in child development

34. Task
◦ Create a poster/powerpoint on Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
◦ Keep it brief!
◦ Outline main points in A01 + A03 as bullet points…