Active learning ideas
Attachment is the deep emotional bond between an infant and their primary caregiver. This topic introduces the foundational concepts of reciprocity and interactional synchrony, which describe the 'dance' between baby and parent. Students explore how these early interactions form the basis for all future social development. The curriculum also covers Schaffer and Emerson's stages of attachment, providing a timeline for how these bonds evolve from birth through the first year of life.
Activity 01
Students watch short, ethical clips of caregiver-infant interactions. Using a simple coding sheet, they must tally instances of reciprocity and interactional synchrony, then compare their findings with a partner to check for reliability.
What behaviours characterise early caregiver-infant interactions?
Activity 02
Students discuss why traditional research focused almost exclusively on mothers. They then evaluate more recent evidence suggesting that fathers often take on a 'play and stimulation' role rather than a purely nurturing one.
What are the distinct stages of attachment development?
Activity 03
Create four stations, one for each stage of attachment (asocial, indiscriminate, specific, multiple). At each station, students must match specific infant behaviours and ages to the correct stage based on Schaffer and Emerson's findings.
What is the role of the father in early infant development?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Reciprocity and interactional synchrony are the same thing.
Clarify that reciprocity is a 'turn-taking' back-and-forth, while interactional synchrony is doing the same thing at the same time (mirroring). Using physical gestures to demonstrate 'taking turns' versus 'mirroring' helps students distinguish the two.
Infants only form one 'real' attachment.
Explain that while the first attachment is often the strongest, Schaffer and Emerson found that most infants form multiple attachments (to fathers, grandparents, etc.) shortly after. Reviewing the data on multiple attachments helps correct this 'monotropic' bias.
Methods used in this brief
Animal Studies of Attachment
Reviewing the foundational animal research by Lorenz and Harlow. Students will debate the ethical implications and the generalisability of these findings to human attachment.
8 methodologies
Types of Attachment
Exploring Ainsworth's Strange Situation and the resulting classifications of secure, insecure-avoidant, and insecure-resistant attachment. Students will also look at cultural variations in attachment types.
8 methodologies
Deprivation and Institutionalisation
Analysing Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation and the effects of institutionalisation, drawing heavily on the Romanian orphan studies.
8 methodologies