ATT 02 - Schaffer's stages + observations (MET t) Flashcards
1
Q
What are stages of attachment?
A
- Many developmental theories identify a sequence of qualitatively different behaviours linked to specific ages
- In the case of ‘stages of attachment’ qualitatively different infant (baby) behaviours are linked to specific ages, and all babies go through them in the same order
2
Q
What is multiple attachments?
A
- Attachments to two or more people
- Most babies appear to develop multiple attachments once they have formed one strong attachment to one of their carers
3
Q
Who conducted Research into the formation of early attachment?
A
Rudolf Schaffer and Peggy Emerson
4
Q
What was the procedure of Schaffer and Emerson’s research?
A
- The study involved 60 babies - 31 boys and 29 girls
- All were from Glasgow and the majority were from skilled working-class families
- Researchers visited babies and mothers in their own homes every month for the first year and again at 18 months
- The researchers asked the mothers questions about the kind of protest their babies showed in seven everyday separations, e.g. adult leaving the room (a measure of separation anxiety)
- This was designed to measure the babies’ attachment
- The researchers also assessed stranger anxiety - the babies’ anxiety response to unfamiliar people
5
Q
What were the findings of Schaffer and Emerson’s research?
A
- The data about attachments is shown in the table on the left
- Schaffer and Emerson identified four distinct stages in the development of infant attachment behaviour
- These make up their stage theory
6
Q
What are the different stages of attachment?
A
- Stage 1: Asocial stage
- Stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment
- Stage 3: Specific attachment
- Stage 4: Multiple attachments
7
Q
Who proposed the stages of attachment?
A
Rudolf Schaffer and Peggy Emerson (1964)
8
Q
What occurs in the asocial stage of attachment?
A
Baby’s age => 0-8 weeks
- A baby’s observable behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects is fairly similar - hence the term ‘asocial’
- However, Schaffer and Emerson did not believe that it is entirely asocial because even at this stage babies show signs that they prefer to be with other people
- Recognise specific faces
- Babies also tend to show a preference for the company of familiar people and are more easily comforted by them
- Happier in the prescence of humans when alone
- Smile at anyone
- At this stage the baby is forming bonds with certain people and these form the basis of later attachments
9
Q
What occurs in the indiscriminate attachment stage of attachment?
A
Baby’s age => 2-7 months
- Babies start to display more obvious and observable social behaviours
- They now show a clear preference for being with other humans rather than inanimate objects
- They also recognise and prefer the company of familiar people
- However, at this stage babies usually accept cuddles and comfort from any adult - hence the term ‘indiscriminate’
- Smile more at familar than unfamiliar faces
- They do not usually show separation anxiety when caregivers leave their presence or stranger anxiety in the presence of unfamiliar people
10
Q
What occurs in the specific attachment stage of attachment?
A
Baby’s age => 7-12 months
- The majority of babies start to display the classic signs of primary attachment towards one particular individual
- These signs include anxiety directed towards strangers (stranger anxiety), especially when their attachment figure is absent, and anxiety when separated from their attachment figure (separation anxiety)
- At this point the baby is said to have formed a specific attachment
- This person with whom the attachment is formed is called the primary attachment figure
- This person is not necessarily the individual the child spends most time with but the one who offers the most interaction and responds to the baby’s ‘signals’ with the most skill
- They use familar adults as a secure base
- This is the baby’s mother in 65% of cases
10
Q
What occurs in the multiple attachments stage of attachment?
A
Baby’s age => 1 year onwards
- Shortly after babies start to show attachment behaviour (e.g. stranger anxiety and separation anxiety) towards one person they usually extend this behaviour to multiple attachments with other people with whom they regularly spend time
- These relationships are called secondary attachments
- The form secondary attahcments with familiar adults with whom they spend time (e.g. mother, father, grandparents)
- Schaffer and Emerson observed that 29% of the children formed secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary (specific) attachment
- By the age of one year the majority of babies had developed multiple attachments
11
Q
What are the strengths of Schaffer and Emmerson’s research?
A
- Has good external validity
- Has real world applications
- Schaffer and Emerson based their stage account on a large-scale study with some good design features
12
Q
How does Schaffer and Emmerson’s research have good external validity?
A
- One strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s research is that it has good external validity
- Most of the observations (though not stranger anxiety) were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to the researchers
- The alternative would have been to have researchers present to record observations
- This might have distracted the babies or made them feel more anxious
- This means it is highly likely that the participants behaved naturally while being observed
13
Q
What real world applications does Schaffer and Emmerson’s research have?
A
- Another strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s stages is that they have practical application in day care (where babies are cared for outside of their home by a non-family adult)
- In the asocial and indiscriminate attachment stages day care is likely to be straightforward as babies can be comforted by any skilled adult
- However, Schaffer and Emerson’s research tells us that day care, especially starting day care with an unfamiliar adult, may be problematic during the specific attachment stage
- This means that parents’ use of day care can be planned using Schaffer and Emerson’s stages
14
Q
What are the limitations of Schaffer and Emmerson’s research?
A
- Mothers were unlikely to be objective
- Poor evidence for the asocial stage
- Ethnocentrism
- Poor internal validity
15
Q
How were mothers were unlikely to be objective in Schaffer and Emmerson’s study?
A
- On the other hand, there are issues with asking the mothers to be the ‘observers’
- They were unlikely to be objective observers
- They might have been biased in terms of what they noticed and what they reported, for example they might not have noticed when their baby was showing signs of anxiety, or they may have misremembered it
- This means that even if babies behaved naturally their behaviour may not have been accurately recorded
16
Q
Why is there poor evidence for the asocial stage?
A
- One limitation of Schaffer and Emerson’s stages is the validity of the measures they used to assess attachment in the asocial stage
- Young babies have poor co-ordination and are fairly immobile
- If babies less than two months old felt anxiety in everyday situations they might have displayed this in quite subtle, hard-to-observe ways
- This made it difficult for mothers to observe and report back to researchers on signs of anxiety and attachment in this age group
- This means that the babies may actually be quite social but, because of flawed methods, they appear to be asocial
17
Q
Why is ethnocentrism a problem in Schaffer and Emmerson’s study?
A
- They only looked at one sample which had unique features in terms of the cultural and historical context- 1960s working-class Glasgow
- The theory of attachment has been developed from a
study using children from a westernised and individualist culture - In other cultures, for example collectivist cultures, multiple attachments from a very early age are more the norm (van IJzendoorn 1993)
- Therefore this theory may not have the capacity to have high external validity, as it
may not be valid when applying it to other cultures
18
Q
How does Schaffer and Emmerson’s study have poor internal valdity?
A
- Research by Bowlby (1969) has suggested that
babies can be distressed when a play mate leaves the
room, and this does not necessarily signify
attachment - It may not be valid to assume that a child
is primarily attached just because they display
separation and stranger anxiety - This may be too
reductionist
