attachment -> Schaffer's stages of attachment

Question 1

Who studied the attachment behaviours of babies?

Answer 1

Schaffer and Emerson (1964) proposed the four identifiable stages of attachment, a sequence which is observed in all babies

Question 2

How many babies did the study involve?

Answer 2

60 babies – 31 boys and 29 girls

Question 3

Where were the babies from?

Answer 3

All babies were from Glasgow and from skilled working-class families

Question 4

What was the procedure of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?

Answer 4

60 babies were assessed at regular intervals by asking the mothers questions about their behaviour when separated from the mother (separation anxiety), and towards strangers (stranger anxiety).

Question 5

What were the findings of Schaffer and Emerson’s study between 29-32 weeks?

Answer 5

Between 29-32 weeks about 50% showed signs of a particular adult (usually Mum – specific attachment)

Question 6

What were the findings of Schaffer and Emerson’s study between 25-32 weeks?

Answer 6

Around half of the babies showed separation anxiety between the ages of 25-32 weeks

Question 7

What were the findings of Schaffer and Emerson’s study at 40 weeks?

Answer 7

By the age of 40 weeks, 80% of babies had a specific attachment and almost 30% displayed multiple attachments

Question 8

What are Schaffer’s four stages of attachment called?

Answer 8

• Stage 1: Asocial stage
• Stage 2: Indiscriminate attachment
• Stage 3: Specific attachment
• Stage 4: Multiple attachments

Question 9

What is the asocial stage?

Answer 9

• From birth to 2 months
• An infant shows similar responses to objects and people
• show a preference for the company of familiar people and are more easily comforted by them
• Towards the end of this stage they do display a preference for faces/eyes

Question 10

What is the indiscriminate attachment phase?

Answer 10

• From 2-6 months
• An infant shows a preference for human company over non-human company
• They can distinguish between different people, but are comforted indiscriminately and do not show stranger or separation anxiety yet

Question 11

What is the specific attachment phase?

Answer 11

• From 7-12 months
• An infant shows a preference for one caregiver, displaying separation and stranger anxiety
• Baby has formed a specific attachment at this point, forming a strong attachment to the primary caregiver
• The infant shows joy upon reunion and are comforted by their primary caregiver

Question 12

What is the multiple attachment stage?

Answer 12

• One year onwards
• Attachment behaviours are now displayed towards different people e.g. siblings, grandparents etc
• sometimes referred to as secondary attachments
• Schaffer and Emerson observed that 29% of the children formed secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary attachment

Question 13

Evaluation: Good external validity -> strength

Answer 13

• The observations happened during ordinary activities between mother and infants in each child’s own home
• Likely that the participants behaved naturally while being observed
• Good external validity as the results are likely to apply to other children from a similar demographic in their own homes

Question 14

Counterpoint: social desirability bias -> limitation

Answer 14

• Issues with asking the mother to be the ‘observers’
• May not report accurate details about their children to appear like ‘better’ mothers with secure attachments
• This could cause a bias in the data that would reduce the internal validity of the findings since natural behaviour will not have been recorded

Question 15

Evaluation: Generalisability -> limitation

Answer 15

• They only looked at one sample of 60 working class mothers and babies from Glasgow
• Had unique features in terms of cultural and historical context – 1960s working-class Glasgow, who may form very different attachments with their infants when compared with wealthier families from other countries
• For example, in collectivists cultures, multiple attachments from a very early age are more common
• Unable to generalise the results of this study to mother and babies from other countries and backgrounds as their behaviour might not be comparable

Question 16

Evaluation: Real-world application -> strength

Answer 16

• practical applications in day care
• In the asocial and indiscriminate 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
• Means parent’s use of day care can be planned using Schaffer and Emerson’s stages