Attachment- Stages of attachment (Schaffer and Emerson)

Question 1

What type of study was Schaffers

Answer 1

Longitudinal

Question 2

What type of observation did Schaffer use

Answer 2

Naturalistic

Question 3

How often were the infants observed

Answer 3

Every 4 weeks for up to 1 year

Question 4

How was attachement measured

Answer 4

By assessing:
levels of separation protest
stranger anxiety

Question 5

How old were babies in the ‘asocial stage’

Answer 5

0-5 weeks

Question 6

What is the ‘asocial stage’

Answer 6

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)

Question 7

How old were babies in the ‘indiscriminate attachment stage’

Answer 7

2-7 months

Question 8

What is the ‘indiscriminate attachment stage’

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

How old were babies in the specific attachment stage

Answer 9

7-11 months

Question 10

What is the ‘specific attachment stage’

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

How old were babies in the ‘multiple attachments’ stage

Answer 11

11+ months

Question 12

What is the ‘multiple attachments’ stage

Answer 12

The baby now makes several attachments to important people in their life.
Infants also display separation anxiety in these secondary attachments.

Question 13

What attachment stage goes with what
0-5 weeks-
2-7 months-
7-11 months-
11+ months-

Answer 13

Asocial
Indiscriminate attachment
Specific attachment
Multiple attachments

Question 14

What did Schaffer and Emerson’s research find about multiple attachments

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

By 18 months how many infants had only one attachment

Answer 15

13%

Question 16

How many infants had 5 or more attachments by 18 months

Answer 16

31%

Question 17

Evaluation, evidence
Shaffer and Emmerson

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

Evaluation, methodological problems

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

Evaluation, practical applications

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

Evaluation, cultural specificity

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

Who was the sample

Answer 21

60 newborns and mothers from Glasglow