Attachement- Schaffers Stages Of Attachment Flashcards
What did Schaffer and Emerson (aim to investigate)
Formation of early attachments
What was the method used in Schaffer and Emersons study ?
Longitudinal study of 60 babies (31-m.29-f)
Babies visited at home very month for a year
Visited again at 18months
Mother questioned about what kind of protests babies showed in 7 everyday separations
Stranger anxiety also assessed
What were the findings of Schaffer and Emerson study
Between 25-30 weeks of age -
50% of babies showed separation anxiety towards particular adult - usually mother
(Due to particular attachment)
Attachment to caregiver who was most interactive and sensitive to infant signals and expressions
40 weeks - 80% of babies had specific attachment
30% - multiple attachments
What is a strength of Schaffer and Emerson study ?
External validity
Good external validity
Study carried out in families own homes, Most observations were made by parents during ordinary activities so behaviour of babies was unlikely to have been affected by observers
Shows participants would have likely behaved naturally increasing external validity
What is another strength of Schaffer and Emerson study ?
Longitudinal
Study has a longitudinal design
The same children were followed up and observed as they aged.
This means study would not have been affected by the confounding variables of individual differences between participants, like it would have been if cross sectional design used.
This also shows that study has high internal validity
What is a limitation of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
Measuring multiple samples
Is a limited sample
All families were from the same district and social class, in the same city at a time over 50 years ago.
The way a child is brought up may vary from 1 culture to another and one historical periods to another
Results do not necessarily generalise to all contexts
List the 4 stages of attachment
Stage 1 - asocial stage
Stage 2 - indiscriminate attachment
Stage 3 - specific attachment
Stage 4 - multiple attachments
Explain what happens in the asocial stage
First few weeks
Behaviour between non humans and humans similar
Recognise specific faces
Preference for familiar adults in that those individuals find it easier to calm them
Prefer face to non face
Happier in presence of other humans
Explain what happens in indiscriminate stage
2-7 months Recognise and prefer familiar people Preference for people than inanimate objects Smile more at familiar adults Accept comfort from any adult No stranger or separation anxiety
Explain wha happens in specific attachment
Around 7 months
Specific attachment to primary attachment figure
The one who shows most sensitivity to their signals and skill to respond
Stranger anxiety
Separation anxiety
Familiar adults -> secure base
Explain what happens in multiple attachments
Form secondary attachments with familiar adults whom they spend regular time with
By age of 1 year majority of infants have developed multiple attachments
What is a limitation of the stages of attachment (problem with asocial stage)
It is difficult to study children in the asocial stage
Young babies have poor coordination and are fairly immobile
Makes it difficult to make judgments based on observation of their behaviour
No observable behaviour
This shows that flawed judgment can be possible in the stage so evidence cannot be relied on
What is another limitation of stages of attachment (multiple attachments)
There is conflicting evidence on the timing of multiple attachments
Bowlby 1969 argues that most babies form attachments to single main carer before they develop multiple attachments.
However in more collectivist cultures eg japan where families work together jointly in everything.
Multiple caregiver - the norm
Multiple attachments appear alongside specific ones
Cultural differences in the stages of attachment
