Attachment

 Attachment is a two-way, enduring, emotional tie between two people (usually and infant and their primary caregiver)

An attachment between an infant and primary caregiver is usually reciprocal (responding to the action of another with a similar action).

This attachment (tie) usually develops in set stages within a fairly set timescale.

RECIPROCITY

Mother-infant interaction is reciprocal in that both mother and infant respond to each other’s signal and each elicits a response from the other.

From around three months the interactions tend to be increasingly frequent and involves close attention to each other’s verbal signals and facial expressions.

An interaction is reciprocal when each person responds to the other and elicits a response from them.

INTERACTIONAL SYNCHRONY

Mother and baby reflect both the actions and the emotions of the other and do this in a co-ordinated (synchronised) way.

Schaffer and Emerson (1964) studied 60 babies from Glasgow at monthly intervals for the first 18 months of life.Interactions with their carers were analysed to establish if and when infants started to display separation anxiety.Results revealed that attachments were most likely to form with carers who were sensitive to the baby's signals, rather than the person they spent the most time with.     Asocial stage (0-6 weeks) Similar responses to objects & people. Preference for faces/ eyes.

Indiscriminate attachments (6 weeks – 6 months) Preference for human company. Ability to distinguish between people but comforted indiscriminately.

Specific (7 months +)  Infants show a preference for one caregiver, displaying separation and stranger anxiety. The baby looks to particular people for security, comfort and protection.

Multiple (10/11 months +) Attachment behaviours are displayed towards several different people eg. siblings, grandparents etc.