L2 - Stages of Attachment Flashcards
who investigated DEVELOPMENT OF ATTACHMENT?
SCHAFFER AND EMERSON
what did SCHAFFER AND EMERSON DO?
SCHAFFER and EMERSON investigated the DEVELOPMENT OF ATTACHMENT IN INFANTS using a LONGITUDINAL STUDY where they FOLLOWED 60 INFANTS AND THEIR MOTHERS for 2 YEARS.
what did SCHAFFER AND EMERSON CONCLUDE based on their LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF INFANTS AND THEIR MOTHERS?
They decided that there were FOUR STAGES in the DEVELOPMENT OF ATTACHMENT IN INFANTS:
1) PRE ATTACHMENT
2) INDISCRIMINATE ATTACHMENT
3) DISCRIMINATE ATTACHMENT
4) MULTIPLE ATTACHMENTS
what is the PRE ATTACHMENT stage?
The PRE ATTACHMENT STAGE takes place from BETWEEN 0-3 MONTHS OF AGE.
From SIX WEEKS OF AGE, INFANTS become ATTRACTED TO OTHER HUMANS, PREFERRING THEM TO OBJECTS AND EVENTS.
This PREFERENCE is DEMONSTRATED by their SMILING AT PEOPLE’S FACES
what is the INDISCRIMINATE ATTACHMENT stage?
the INDISCRIMINATE ATTACHMENT stage takes place BETWEEN 3-7 MONTHS OF AGE.
INFANTS BEGIN TO DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN FAMILIAR and UNFAMILIAR PEOPLE, SMILING MORE at the PEOPLE THEY KNOW.
They will still ALLOW STRANGERS TO HANDLE THEM
what is the DISCRIMINATE ATTACHMENT stage?
the DISCRIMINATE ATTACHMENT stage occurs from 7 MONTHS ONWARDS.
Infants DEVELOP A SPECIFIC ATTACHMENT to their PRIMARY ATTACHMENT FIGURE (usually the MOTHER) and they like STAYING CLOSE TO THAT PERSON.
They show SEPARATION PROTEST when (distress when their PRIMARY ATTACHMENT FIGURE LEAVES THEM) and DISPLAY STRANGER ANXIETY (the DISTRESS an infant shows when APPROACHED BY SOMEONE THEY DON’T KNOW)
what did SCHAFFER AND EMERSON NOTICE ABOUT PRIMARY ATTACHMENT FIGURES?
SCHAFFER AND EMERSON noticed that the INFANT’S PRIMARY ATTACHMENT FIGURE was NOT ALWAYS THE PERSON who spends MOST TIME WITH THE CHILD.
They concluded that it is the QUALITY OF THE RELATIONSHIP, NOT QUANTITY that matters the most in the FORMATION OF AN ATTACHMENT
what is the MULTIPLE ATTACHMENTS STAGE?
the MULTIPLE ATTACHMENTS STAGE OCCURS from 7 MONTHS ONWARDS.
VERY SOON after developing their FIRST ATTACHMENT, INFANTS DEVELOP STRONG EMOTIONAL TIES with OTHER MAJOR CAREGIVERS, such as the FATHER and GRANDPARENTS, AND NON CAREGIVERS such as SIBLINGS.
These are called SECONDARY ATTACHMENTS.
The FEAR OF STRANGERS WEAKENS but their ATTACHMENT TO THEIR PRIMARY FIGURE REMAINS THE STRONGEST
- SCHAFFER AND EMERSON (EVALUATING STAGES OF ATTACHMENT)
- The DATA collected by SCHAFFER AND EMERSON may be UNRELIABLE because it was based on MOTHER’S REPORTS OF THEIR INFANTS.
Some mothers might have been LESS SENSITIVE to their INFANT’S PROTESTS and therefore been LESS LIKELY TO REPORT THEM
-BIASED SAMPLE (EVALUATING STAGES OF ATTACHMENT)
- the sample was BIASED because it ONLY INCLUDED INFANTS from a WORKING-CLASS BACKGROUND and thus the findings may not APPLY TO OTHER SOCIAL GROUPS
- CULTURALLY BIASED (EVALUATING STAGES OF ATTACHMENT)
- The sample was ALSO BIASED because it only included INFANTS FROM INDIVIDUALISTIC CULTURES, INFANTS FROM COLLECTIVIST CULTURES could FORM ATTACHMENTS in a DIFFERENT WAY
- TEMPORAL VALIDITY (EVALUATING STAGES OF ATTACHMENT)
- the study DOES NOT HAVE TEMPORAL VALIDITY, it was conducted in the 1960s and PARENTAL CARE OF CHILDREN has CHANGED CONSIDERABLY since then.
MORE WOMEN GO OUT TO WORK and MORE MEN STAY AT HOME
- INFLEXIBLE STAGE THEORY (EVALUATING STAGES OF ATTACHMENT)
- STAGE THEORIES such as this one are INFLEXIBLE and DO NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES, some infants might form MULTIPLE ATTACHMENTS FIRST, rather than starting with a SINGLE ATTACHMENT
what does research into the role of the father show? (ROTF)
there is INCONSISTENCY in the research into the ROLE OF THE FATHER and whether he PLAYS A DISTINCT ROLE.
Some research shows that fathers provide PLAY and STIMULATION to COMPLEMENT the ROLE OF THE MOTHER and that BOTH ARE CRUCIAL to a child’s WELLBEING.
However, other research shows NO SUCH DISTINCTION. Research investigating the EFFECTS OF GROWING UP in a SINGLE FEMALE or SAME SEX PARENT FAMILY show there is NO EFFECT ON DEVELOPMENT - suggesting that the ROLE OF THE FATHER IS UNIMPORTANT
what did SCAFFER AND EMERSON find about primary attachments and the father? (ROTF)
SCHAFFER AND EMERSON found that FATHERS were LESS LIKELY to be the PRIMARY ATTACHMENT FIGURE than MOTHERS.
This may be because they spend LESS TIME WITH THEIR INFANTS, and so they can’t develop as strong of a relationship with them.
Its also possible that most men aren’t as PSYCHOLOGICALLY EQUIPPED to form an INTENSE ATTACHMENT because they lack the EMOTIONAL SENSITIVITY that WOMEN HAVE - this could be due to BIOLOGICAL FACTORS as women have a HORMONE called OXYTOCIN which makes them MORE CARING.
