Attachment

Question 1

What is developmental psychology?

Answer 1

It is a branch of psychology concerned with the progressive behavioural changes that occur in individuals across their lifespan.

Question 2

Define Attachment

Answer 2

Attachment is an emotional bond between two people. It is a two-way process that endures over time. It can lead to certain behaviours, such as proximity seeking.

Question 3

Describe the first stage of attachment

(Shaffer and Emerson investigated the development of attachment in infants using a longitudinal study where they followed 60 infants for 2 years. They decided that there were 4 stages in the development of attachments in infants)

Answer 3

The first stage is called pre-attachment, this is from 0-3 months. From 6 weeks of age infants become attracted to other humans, preferring them to objects and events. This preference is demonstrated by their smiling at people’s faces.

Question 4

Describe the second stage of attachment

Answer 4

The second stage is called indiscriminate attachment, this is from 3-7 months. Infants begin to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar people, smiling more at people they know. They will still allow strangers to handle them.

Question 5

Describe the third stage of attachment

Answer 5

The third stage is called discriminate attachment, this is from 7 months onwards. Infants develop a specific attachment to their primary attachment figure, staying close to that person. They show separation protest (the distress an infant shows when their primary attachment figure leaves them) when that person leaves, and they show joy when they are reunited with that person and are easily comforted by them. At the same time the infant begins to display stranger anxiety (the distress an infant shows when approached by someone they do not know).

Shaffer and Emerson noticed that the infant’s primary attachment figure was not always the person who spent the most time with the child. Intensely attached infants had mothers who responded quickly and correctly to the infant’s signals and poorly attached infants had mothers who failed to interact with them. They concluded that it is the quality of the relationship,not the quantity that matters most in the formation of an attachment.