Development of Attachment

Question 1

Who developed the timeline of attachment

Answer 1

Schaffer and Emmerson

Question 2

What are the stages of attachment

Answer 2

The asocial stage, presocial/indiscriminate stage, specific attachment, multiple attachment stage

Question 3

What happens at the asocial stage

Answer 3

Infants display similar reactions to all objects, animate or not, and towards the end they show greater preference to social stimuli. This is the stage or reciprocity and interactional synchrony

Question 4

When is the asocial stage

Answer 4

From birth to two months

Question 5

What occurs in the presocial/indiscriminate stage

Answer 5

Infants prefer human company to inanimate objects. They are still easily comforted by anyone, but towards the end they begin to distinguish between family and strangers

Question 6

When is the presocial/indiscriminate stage

Answer 6

from two months to around seven months

Question 7

What happens at the sepcific attachment stage

Answer 7

Infants form a specific attachment with their primary attachment figure. They develop separation anxiety and stranger anxiety.

Question 8

Does the child always form a primary attachment to the person they spend the most time with

Answer 8

No, Schaffer and Emmerson found it was the quality of the realtionship that mattered, such as the sensitivity of the caregiver

Question 9

In how many cases was the mother the primary attachment figure

Answer 9

In 65% of cases

Question 10

In how many cases was the father the primary attachment figure

Answer 10

3% of cases

Question 11

When is the specific attachment phase

Answer 11

From around seven months

Question 12

What happens during the multiple attachments phase

Answer 12

The infant develops a wider circle of multiple attachments depending on how many consistent relationships they have

Question 13

When does the multiple attachments phase occur

Answer 13

Shortly after a primary attachment figure has been identified

Question 14

Within one month of being primarily attached, what percentage of infants had multiple attachments

Answer 14

29%

Question 15

Do infants display seperation anxiety with multiple attachment figures

Answer 15

Yes

Question 16

How did Schaffer and Emmerson conduct their study

Answer 16

Sixty infants from working class homes, in Glasgow, in the 1960’s

Question 17

How many infants did Schaffer and Emmerson study

Answer 17

60

Question 18

What are some issues with the sample used by Schaffer and Emmerson

Answer 18

-Research was done on primarily working class families, may not apply to other social groups
-Parenting has changed from the 1960’s, number of stay at home dads quadrupled over last 25 years

Question 19

How did Schaffer and Emmerson gather data on the infants

Answer 19

Visited mothers once every four weeks, mothers reported on the infants response to seperation in seven everyday scenarios

Question 20

How does Schaffer and Emmerson’s study fit into the montropy debate

Answer 20

Suggests there is one primary attachment figure. Supported by Bowlby

Question 21

Who argues against monotropy

Answer 21

Rutter argued all attachment figures are equivalent, and they are integrated to form attachment type

Question 22

How may culture influence attachment formation

Answer 22

Collectivist cultures can share childcare, and thus multiple attachments can be expected to be more common

Question 23

Who did research into attachment in collectivist cultures

Answer 23

Sagi et al compared attachments in infants raised in communal environments versus those raised in indivdualistic ones. Found closeness of attachment with mothers was almost twice as common in individualistic environments

Question 24

Does this theory allow for flexibility?

Answer 24

No it suggests that attachment forms in a fixed pattern, when sometimes this is simply not the case