Development of Attachment

Question 1

define multiple attachment

1

Answer 1

having more than one attachment figure

Question 2

define primary attachment figure

2

Answer 2

the person who forms the closest relationship with the child (demonstrated by the intensity of relationship)

usually the biological mother but can be anyone who fulfils this role, such as the father

Question 3

define separation anxiety

1

Answer 3

distress shown by an infant when separated from their caregiver

Question 4

define stranger anxiety

1

Answer 4

distress shown by an infant when approached or picked up by someone unfamiliar

Question 5

outline the stages of attachment

5

Answer 5

Schaffer and Emerson used findings from their Glasgow study to construct a description of how attachment develops in stages…

STAGE 1: indiscriminate attachment

STAGE 2: beginnings of attachment

STAGE 3: discriminate attachment

STAGE 4: multiple attachment

Question 6

stage 1: indiscriminate attachment

4

Answer 6

from 0-8 weeks old

at the beginning of this period, infants display similar responses to all objects (both inanimate and animate)

towards the end of this period, infants begin to show a preference to social stimuli such as a smiling face and tend to be more content with people

during this time, reciprocity and interactional synchrony play a key role in establishing the infant’s relationships with others

Question 7

stage 2: beginnings of attachment

4

Answer 7

around 4 months old

infants become more social and prefer human company to inanimate objects

they distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people but do not yet display stranger anxiety

relatively comforted by anyone and enjoy being with people

Question 8

stage 3: discriminate attachment

4

Answer 8

by 7 months old

infants begin to show separation anxiety by protesting when their primary attachment figures leaves them and showing joy at reunion with that person

comforted by their primary attachment figure, as they have formed a special bond to them

begin to display stranger anxiety

Question 9

stage 4: multiple attachments

4

Answer 9

soon after the main attachment is formed

the infant develops a wider circle of multiple attachments

shows attachment behaviour towards several different people such as siblings and grandparents

displays separation anxiety in these relationships too

Question 10

outline a key study into the stages of attachment (procedure)

8

Answer 10

Schaffer and Emerson (1964) conducted the Glasgow study

they used this study to construct a description of how attachment develops in stages

investigated the development of attachment by studying 60 infants from working class homes in Glasgow

these infants were aged between 5-23 weeks old and were studied for 1 year

mothers were visited every 4 weeks and asked to describe their infant’s responses to 7 everyday situations such as being left alone in a room

they were also asked to report on the intensity of any protest (e.g. whimper, full blooded cry) which was rated on a 4 point scale

they also had to say who the protest was directed at — to measure separation anxiety

stranger anxiety was tested by assessing the infant’s responses to the interviewer

Question 11

outline a key study into the stages of attachment (qualitative findings)

3

Answer 11

primary attachments are not always formed with the person who spends the most time with the infant

the quality of the relationship matters most in attachment formation

intensely attached infants had mothers who responded sensitively to them, while poorly attached infants had mothers who failed to interact

Question 12

outline a key study into the stages of attachment (quantitative findings)

5

Answer 12

MOTHERS = 65% of infants formed their first specific attachment to their mother, 30% of mothers were the first joint object of attachment

FATHERS = only 3% of fathers were the first object of attachment, 27% were the first joint object of attachment

within 1 month of first becoming attached, 29% of infants had formed multiple attachments and separation anxiety was displayed in these relationships

within 6 months this had risen to 78% and by the age of 1, the vast majority of infants had multiple attachments

1/3 of infants had formed 5 or more secondary attachments to siblings, grandparents, etc

Question 13

x3 evaluation points

Answer 13

unreliable data

low historical validity

low population validity

Question 14

EVALUATION
unreliable data

5

Answer 14

the data collected may be unreliable because it was based on the mother’s own reports

this may be unreliable for two main reasons

firstly, some mothers may be less sensitive to their infant’s protests than other mothers, therefore being less likely to accurately report them

secondly, there is the issue of social desirability — mothers may change their answers or not report all the details in order to appear in a better light or avoid being perceived as a ‘bad parent’

this may have led to inaccurate results, which may challenge the internal validity of findings and limit the study’s ability to explain how attachments develop

Question 15

EVALUATION
low historical validity

6

Answer 15

a limitation of the study is that it was conducted in the 1960s, meaning it may lack historical validity

parental care of children has changed considerably since then — for example, more women go out to work so many infants are often cared for outside the home and more fathers take an active role and stay at home as the main caregiver

this will theoretically change how attachments develop

therefore, results may be harder to generalise to the present day as it’s likely that if the study was repeated, different results would be obtained because children are cared for differently in the present day

for instance, perhaps more fathers will be primary attachment figures and the mothers will not necessarily be more likely to be the first object of attachment

decreases the usefulness of the study in explaining the development of attachment in the present day

Question 16

EVALUATION
low population validity

5

Answer 16

all infants in the sample came from working class families in Glasgow, meaning that the study may have low population validity as it may only apply to individualist cultures like the UK

individualist cultures focus on the individual and each person is mainly concerned with their own needs

whereas collectivist cultures are more focused on the needs of the group as a whole and people are much more likely to share things like childcare — therefore, we would expect multiple attachments to be significantly more common

this is supported by Sagi et al who found that infants raised in communal environments like the Israeli kibbutz were less likely to be close to their mothers compared to infants raised in family based arrangements

this limits the usefulness of the study in explaining the development of attachments across all cultures as the stage model may not apply to collectivist cultures because the sample was biased

Question 17

role of the father

5

Answer 17

much less likely to be primary attachment figures than mothers — Schaffer and Emerson found that only 3% of fathers were the first object of attachment

may be because they typically spend less time with their infants, however Schaffer and Emerson suggest that primary attachments are not about who spends the most time with the infant, quality of relationship is more important

some suggest that men are not psychologically equipped to form intense attachments because they lack the emotional sensitivity that women have

this may be due to biological factors (e.g. women have oestrogen that underlies caring behaviour) and/or social factors (e.g. stereotypes that women are the more sensitive gender and that it’s ‘feminine’ for a man to display emotionally sensitivity, which may discourage them from doing so)

however, men do form secure attachments with their children and can be primary attachment figures — especially in the case of single fathers and both parents often share equal parenting roles in two parent families

Question 18

role of the father (continued)

4

Answer 18

if not a primary attachment figure, fathers are still very important secondary attachment figures

research has shown that they are generally more playful and physically active, often being better at providing challenging situations for their children

Heermann et al found that men are less sensitive to infant cues than women are

Frodi et al found no differences in the physiological or psychological responses of men and women to infants crying