Development of attachment

Question 1

Who are the main researchers for the development of attachment?

Answer 1

Shaffer and Emerson

Question 2

Aim of the study?

Answer 2

To investigate the development of attachment

Question 3

Procedure of the study?

Answer 3

• 60 Glaswegian Babies
• Working class
• Children studied in their own homes
• Mothers asked to report the infants response to everyday situations (when separated across different situations and their intensity of protest
• mother asked to explain whom protest was displayed to

Question 4

How was stranger anxiety measured ?

Answer 4

measured by assessing the infant’s response to interviewer at each visit

Question 5

Findings of the study?

Answer 5

• As infant’s gets older stranger anxiety increases
• All 60 infants formed specific attachments by 1 year
• All 60 demonstrated stranger anxiety
• specific attachment develop faster than stranger anxiety

Question 6

conclusions of the study?

Answer 6

Baby’s attachment development in four key stages

Question 7

What is stage 1 called and at what age?

Answer 7

Indiscriminate attachment, 2 months

Question 8

What is stage 2 called and what age?

Answer 8

Precocial attachment/ Beginnings of attachment, 4 months

Question 9

What is stage 3 called and at what age?

Answer 9

Discriminate attachment, 7 months

Question 10

What is stage 4 called and at what age?

Answer 10

Multiple attachments, 9 months

Question 11

What are all the stages in order?

Answer 11

• Indiscriminate attachment
• Beginnings of attachment/Precocial attachment
• Discriminate attachment
• Multiple attachment

Question 12

Describe stage 1

Answer 12

• newborn baby is predisposed to attach to any human
• responding equally to any caregiver
• babies respond similarly to all objects, but prefer social stimuli towards the end of stage
• Reciprocity and Interactional Synchrony begin to be established

Question 13

Describe stage 2

Answer 13

• More social, prefer human company
• Can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people
• Accept care from anyone, do not display stranger anxiety
• Distress when separated from primary caregiver

Question 14

Describe stage 3

Answer 14

• Formed attachments with their primary attachment figure (formed closet bond/intense relationship)
• role usually fulfilled by biological mother
• Display separation anxiety, shown by distress when separated from caregiver
• Stranger anxiety is shown

Question 15

Describe stage 4

Answer 15

• consistent relationships with others lead to multiple attachments
• called secondary attachments
• distress shown when separated from these multiple attachment figures

Question 16

A03 - Unreliable data collection

Answer 16

• Based on mother’s report
• some mothers may be less sensitive to infants protests and therefore less likely to report them
• may have given socially desirable answers
• create a systematic bias which would change the validity of data

Question 17

A03 - Biased sample

Answer 17

• From working class population, findings may apply to that social group
• Sample from 1960’s - parental care has change, may not be bio mother
• stay at home dad’s quadrupled over the last 25 years (Cohn et al)
• If experiment conducted again they might be different

Question 18

A03 - Challenging montropy

Answer 18

• Discussions relating to multiple attachments is whether all attachments are equivalent or whether one/two are more important
• Bowlby: infants form one special emotional relationship
• Subsidary to this are many other secondary attachment which are important as an emotional safety net or to meet other needs
• e.g. father/siblings
• Rutter argues all attachment figures are equivalent, all attachments being integrated to produce infant attachment type
• Suggests that Bowlby may have been wrong about the hierarchy of attachments

Question 18

A03 - Cultural varations

Answer 18

• Important differences between cultures in terms of the way people relate to each other
• Individualist culture (UK, US) only focus on own needs or family
• Collectivist culture more focused on needs of of group rather than individual, people sharing things like childcare
• therefore multiple attachments common in collectivist culture
• Sagi et al: compared attachments in infants raised in family-based sleeping arrangements /raised in communal environments
• Closeness of attachments with mothers was twice as common in family-based arrangement
• Suggests stage model applies specifically to individualist cultures

Question 19

What did Shaffer and Emerson say about the role of fathers?

Answer 19

Shaffer and Emerson state that fathers are less likely to be primary attachment figures

Question 20

What did Lambs report show about fathers?

Answer 20

studies have shown little relationship between father accessibility (amount of time) and infant-father attachment

Question 21

What factors make it so that men may not be able to form intense attachment with babies?

Answer 21

Biological and social factors

Question 22

Explain the biological factor that may not allow men to form deep attachments with infants

Answer 22

• not psychologically equipped because they lack oestrogen
• oestrogen underlies caring behaviour so woman more oriented towards interpersonal goals than men

Question 23

Explain the social factors that may not allow men to form deep attachments with infants

Answer 23

Cultural expectations: sex stereotypes that affect male behaviour. E.g. it is seen as feminine to be sensitive to the needs of others

Question 24

What evidence is there to contradict that men are less sensitive to cues about infants

Answer 24

- Frodi et al - videotape of infants crying show no difference in physiological responses of men and women

Question 25

Outline fathers as secondary attachments

Answer 25

- fathers more playful, physically active and generally better at providing challenging situations - Father seen as exciting playmate - mothers seen as more conventional and tend to read stories - Geiger