Evaluations for stages of attachment Schaffer

Question 1

Lacks population validity

Answer 1

• infants all come from Glasgow
• all working class
• small sample size of 60 families ( reduces the strength of the study)
• cannot be generalised
• parenting techniques have significantly changed since the 1950’s, such as the influence of Bowlby’s work on attachment

Question 2

lack internal validity

Answer 2

• uesd self report method as the parents kept a daily diary
• accuracy of data collection not the best
• parents may be too busy and may not include every detail
• subject to social desirability bias - change to be closer to a great parent
• intentionally not report negative experiences
• demand characteristics = tailor their report fit or go against what they think is the aim of the study
• caution should be taken when coming to a conclusion

Question 3

the asocial stage cannot be studied objectively

Answer 3

• children young as 6 weeks lack basic motor coordination skills = cannot establish whether their responses such as separation anxiety is deliberate
• Bremner drew the distinction between behavioural responses
• just because a child appears to have a bond with the primary caregiver does not mean such bond exists
• important to not draw casual conclusions

Question 4

strengths

Answer 4

• Natural study so infants were more comfortable and behaviour of PCG and infant more relaxed
• High ecological validity
• Allowed for the development of the stages of attachment which are still influential and used today
• As it is a longitudinal study we can see the development over time of the same infants, reducing individual differences

Question 5

limitations

Answer 5

• Longitudinal study so drop-out (attrition) could be high as some parents may have become bored, found the research too time-consuming or even moved away
• The mother was asked to self-report how the child responded and this could have led to demand characteristics: Maybe she did not want to look bad so did not report all of her infant’s behaviours
• Population validity: Only infants from one specific area of one city
• This means we may not be able to generalise to other caregivers-infants in other places