Caregiver-Infant Interactions

Question 1

What are the stages of attachment?

Answer 1

1. Asocial stage (first few weeks)
2. Indiscriminate attachment
3. Specific attachment
4. Multiple attachments

Question 2

What is the asocial stage?

Answer 2

Baby recognising & forming bonds with its carers
However behaviour towards non-human objects & humans quite similar
Babies show some preference for familiar adults - individuals find it easier to calm them
Babies happier when in presence of other humans

Question 3

What is the Indiscriminate attachment stage?

Answer 3

From 2-7 months babies display more observable social behaviour
They show preference for people rather than inanimate objects & recognise & prefer familiar adult
This stage babies accept cuddles & comfort from any adult & don’t show separation/stranger anxiety
Their attachment behaviour, thus said to be indiscriminate - it’s not different towards any 1 person

Question 4

What is the specific attachment stage?

Answer 4

From 7 months majority of babies display stranger & separation anxiety from one particular adult
Baby said to have formed specific attachment, thus adult termed Primary attachment figure
Not necessarily person kid spends most time with - one who offers most interaction & responds to baby’s signals with most skill

Question 5

What is the multiple attachments stage?

Answer 5

Shortly after babies show attachment towards 1 adult they’ll extend this to other adults they regularly spend time with - secondary attachments

Question 6

Outline research into stages of attachment

Answer 6

Schaffer & Emerson (1964) aimed to investigate formation of early attachments

60 babies: 31 male, 29 female, all from Glasgow & majority from skilled working-class families
Babies & mothers visited at home every month for first year & again at 18 months
Researchers asked mothers questions about kind of protest babies showed in 7 everyday separations designed to measure child’s attachment
Researchers also assessed stranger anxiety

Between 25 & 32 weeks about 50% of babies showed signs of separation anxiety towards particular adult (usually mother)
Attachment tended to be caregiver who’s most interactive & sensitive to infant signals & facial expressions - not necessarily person spent most time with
By 40 weeks 80% of babies had specific attachment & almost 30% displayed multiple attachments

Question 7

Evaluate research into the stages of attachment

Answer 7

Strength - Good external validity
E.g. - Schaffer & Emerson’s study carried out in families’ homes & most of observations done by parents during ordinary activities & reported to researchers later
Ex. - Good external validity as behaviour of babies unlikely to be affected by presence of observers - excellent chance parties behaved naturally whilst being observed

Strength - Longitudinal design
E.g. - Schaffer & Emerson studied & observed same babies regularly
Ex. - Better internal validity than cross-sectional as they don’t have confounding variable of individual differences between participants

Limitation -Limited sample characteristics
E.g. - 60 babies & carers was good considering large volume of data gathered on each participant
However, fact all families involved were from same district & social class in same city & at time over 50 years ago is limitation
Ex. - Child-rearing practises vary from one culture to another & one historical period to another
These results don’t necessarily generalise well to other social & historical contexts