Attachment- Stages of attachment (Schaffer and Emerson) Flashcards
What type of study was Schaffers
Longitudinal
What type of observation did Schaffer use
Naturalistic
How often were the infants observed
Every 4 weeks for up to 1 year
How was attachement measured
By assessing:
levels of separation protest
stranger anxiety
How old were babies in the ‘asocial stage’
0-5 weeks
What is the ‘asocial stage’
Infant produces similar responses to objects and people e.g. smiling + laughing.
They show no preference for specific people but towards the end of this stage they show a preference for social stimuli (e.g. a smiling face)
How old were babies in the ‘indiscriminate attachment stage’
2-7 months
What is the ‘indiscriminate attachment stage’
Babies become more sociable, can tell people apart + prefer to be in human company.
They can distinguish between familiar + unfamiliar people, but are still relatively easily comforted by anyone. Infants in this stage do not show stranger anxiety.
How old were babies in the specific attachment stage
7-11 months
What is the ‘specific attachment stage’
Infants begin to show separation anxiety and stranger anxiety.
They show a strong attachment and preference to one individual (normally the PAF) However, good subsequent attachments often made from 9 months.
How old were babies in the ‘multiple attachments’ stage
11+ months
What is the ‘multiple attachments’ stage
The baby now makes several attachments to important people in their life.
Infants also display separation anxiety in these secondary attachments.
What attachment stage goes with what
0-5 weeks-
2-7 months-
7-11 months-
11+ months-
Asocial
Indiscriminate attachment
Specific attachment
Multiple attachments
What did Schaffer and Emerson’s research find about multiple attachments
Infants form multiple attachments around 10/11 months;
By 18 months, only 13% of infants had only a single attachment;
31% had 5 or more attachments:
Grandparents
Siblings
Others significant people
Suggests infants can form multiple attachments if the opportunity arises.
By 18 months how many infants had only one attachment
13%
How many infants had 5 or more attachments by 18 months
31%
Evaluation, evidence
Shaffer and Emmerson
P- There is research to support the stages of attachment theory. Schaffer + Emerson’s (1964) study provides support for their stages of attachment.
E- In this longitudinal study Schaffer and Emerson observed the behaviour of 60 babies every 4 weeks for up to a year to develop understanding of attachment behaviour
Findings showed that at 7-11 months babies were in the specific attachment stage, showing stranger anxiety and separation anxiety and then at 11+ months most infants had formed multiple attachments
L- Therefore, this provides credibility to the theory that children develop attachment through these four proposed stages.
Evaluation, methodological problems
P- However, there are methodological problems with Schaffer and Emerson’s study.
E- Generalisability?
Only used 60 infants from Scotland -
Ethnocentrism - cannot generalise the findings to other countries as they may have differences in their child rearing practices
L- Therefore, the results are not representative of all infants around the world, reducing the usefulness of the theory as it may not be universal.
Evaluation, practical applications
P- There are practical applications for the stages of attachment, as the stage theory can be practically applied to society and used as one measure of infant behaviour.
E- This could help in the early identification of abnormal development in infancy and early diagnosis could potentially lead to earlier intervention, thus benefiting children and families.
L- Therefore, this theory has had positive tangible effects by improving the monitoring of child development.
Evaluation, cultural specificity
P- This stage theory of attachment may also be considered culturally specific and limited to describing an individualist concept of the development of attachments.
E- The theory is based on research in an individualist culture where immediate family set-ups are the norm for caregiving. The development of attachment relationships in collectivist cultures, particularly those where group care is more common (e.g. kibbutzim) may not reflect these stages.
L- This suggests that Schaffer’s stages of attachment are not able to describe attachment in a UNIVERSAL way.
Who was the sample
60 newborns and mothers from Glasglow
