development of attachment Flashcards
the stages of attachment
Proposed by Schaffer and Emerson- describes formation of primary and secondary attachment figures, the role of stranger and separation anxiety and how interaction functions in emotional development
what did schaffer and emerson research
the formation of early attachments, what age theyre developed, emotional intensity and who the babies were attached too.
who was the sample for schaffer and emerson’s experiment
60 babies- 31 male and 29 female. all of the babies were from glasgow and working class
what was schaffer and emersons method in their research
- the babies and their mothers were visited at home each month for the 1st year
- then again when they were 18 months oldthe researchers asked the mothers questions about what sort of protest their baby showed in 7 everyday situations (e.g. adult leaving room), to measure infants attachment as well as assessing stranger anxiety
what were the 3 main findings from schaffer and emerson’s research
- 73% (44) babies showed a fear of strangers by 36 week
- 60% showed signs of attachment toward a particular adult by 32 weeks
- 56.6% (34) showed signs of attachment to mother by 32 weeks
what are the 4 stages of attachment
- asocial attachment/ pre-attachment
- indiscriminate attachment
- specific attachment
- multiple attachments
what the the 7 main evaluation points for S&E’s stages of attachment
- good external validity- behaviour observed by parents, went be affected by observers
- longitudinal design- no confounding variables of individual differences
- limited sample characteristics- cant generalise
- limited behavioural measures of attachment- used simple behaviours to define attachment
- problem studying asocial style- no observable behaviour, too young
- conflicting evidence on multiple attachments- babies form attachments to a single main carer before they become capable of developing multiple attachments (bowlby)
- measuring multiple attachments- a baby getting distressed when someone leaves the room doesn’t mean they have an attachment
who is the father in attachment research
the person who is a child’s male caregiver- doesn’t have to be biological father
in Schaffer and emerson’s research, what % of babies formed a primary attachment to their fathers
3%
in 27% of the cases, fathers were joint attachment figures with mothers
based on schaffer and emerson’s research, what % of babies were attached to their fathers by 18 months
75%
explain grossman et al’s study
looked at both parent’s behaviour and its relationship to the quality of their babies attachment into their teens. they found that quality of attachment to their mothers affected later attachments, but that the fathers didn’t
what did grossman et al find about quality of fathers play
fathers play with infants was related to the quality of attachments later into adolescence. their research suggests fathers play an important role in play and stimulation but not nurturing
what do fathers adopt when they are the primary attachment figures
the emotional role more closely associated with mothers
what did field’s (1978) research suggest
fathers who were primary caregivers smile at, imitate and hold babies more than fathers who are secondary caregiver fathers
what are the 3 main evaluation point of the role of the father
- inconsistent finding on fathers- different researchers research different questions.
- if fathers have a distinct role why aren’t children without fathers different- children who grow up in single or same sex parents families dont develop differently from those in 2 parent heterosexual families. role as secondary attachment figure isn’t important
- why dont fathers generally become primary attachments-traditional gender roles, fathers dont feel like they have to be like that women are biologically pre-disposed to be PAF
