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Infant approach behavior as related to attachment
Insights
Infant approach behaviors are context-dependent. While infants approach their mother more overall, crying or pickup-seeking approaches are almost exclusively directed to the mother, indicating attachment. Object-oriented approaches may serve other functions.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Ethology
- Behavioral Ecology
Background:
- Attachment theory posits specific behaviors signal a bond with a primary caregiver.
- Distinguishing attachment-related behaviors from other social behaviors is crucial for understanding infant development.
- Previous research often examined approach behaviors without full consideration of behavioral context.
Purpose of the Study:
- To differentiate approach behaviors serving the attachment system from those serving other behavioral systems in infants.
- To investigate contextual factors influencing infant approach behaviors towards attachment and non-attachment figures.
- To analyze the specific characteristics of locomotor approaches in relation to behavioral context.
Main Methods:
- Naturalistic home observations of 16 male and 10 female infants (26-54 weeks old).
- Examination of locomotor approaches to the mother (attachment figure) and a visitor-observer (non-attachment figure).
- Analysis of approach behaviors within specific contexts (free-choice, crying, pickup appeal, object-oriented).
Main Results:
- Infants showed a slight overall preference for approaching the mother.
- Approaches accompanied by crying or seeking pickup were almost exclusively directed to the mother (p < .0001).
- Object-oriented approaches were more often directed to the visitor (p < .002), suggesting exploratory or affiliative functions.
Conclusions:
- Approach behavior alone is insufficient to infer attachment system activation.
- Context, including behavioral and environmental factors, is critical for interpreting the function of infant approach behaviors.
- Touching behaviors are also context-dependent and not solely indicative of attachment.
Abstract:
The chief purpose of this study was to identify characteristics that distinguish approach as an attachment behavior from approach serving other behavioral systems. Locomotor approaches of 16 male and 10 female white middle-class infants to an attachment figure (the mother) and to a nonattachment figure (the visitor-observer) were examined under naturalistic conditions at home. Observations were made during 4-hour home visits at 3-week intervals; those from 26 to 54 weeks were used. When approach was examined in a free-choice situation and without regard to behavioral context, infants approached the mother proportionally (though slightly) more often than the visitor (p less than .05). In 2 behavioral contexts, however, spontaneous infant approaches were sharply differential to the mother; approaches accompanied by crying and approaches terminating in a pickup appeal were directed almost exclusively to the mother (p less than .0001 for both). Touching upon completion of the approach was not differential, except in the context of a pickup appeal. Object-oriented approaches were more often directed to the visitor than to the mother (p less than .002) and may be either exploratory or affiliative. It is suggested that neither approach nor touching can be assumed to serve the attachment system without consideration of context- both environmental and behavioral.