Lesson 2 Stages Of Attachment

Question 1

Stages of attachment

Answer 1

Pre attachment
Indiscriminate attachment
Discriminate attachment
Multiple attachment

Question 2

When is pre attachment

Answer 2

0-3 months

Question 3

When is indiscriminate attachment

Answer 3

3-7 months

Question 4

When is discriminate attachment

Answer 4

7 months onwards

Question 5

When is multiple attachment

Answer 5

7 months onwards

Question 6

Stages of attachment study

Answer 6

Shaffer and Emerson (1964) investigated the development of attachment in infants using a longitudinal study where they followed 60 infants and their mothers for two years. They decided that there were four stages in the development of attachment in infants.

Question 7

Pre attachment

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

Indiscriminate attachment

Answer 8

Infants begin to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar people, smiling more at people they know. They will still allow strangers to handle them.

Question 9

Discriminate attachment

Answer 9

Infants develop a specific attachment to their primary attachment figure (usually the mother) staying close to that person. They show separation protest (the distress an infant shows when their primary attachment figure leaves them) and display stranger anxiety (the distress an infant shows when approached by someone they do not know). Schaffer and Emerson (1964) noticed that the infant’s primary attachment figure was not always the person who spends the 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.

Question 10

Multiple attachment

Answer 10

Very soon after developing their first attachment infants develop strong emotional ties with other major caregivers, such as the father and grandparents, and non-cargivers, such as siblings These are called secondary attachments. The fear of strangers weakens but their attachment to their primary attachment figure remains the strongest.

Question 11

Disadvantages of stages of attachment

Answer 11

• The data collected by Shaffer and Emerson (1964) may be unreliable because it was based on mothers’ reports of their infants. Some mothers might have been less sensitive to their infant’s protests and therefore been less likely to report them.
• The sample was biased because it only included infants from a working-class population and thus the findings might not apply to other social groups.
• The sample was also biased because it only included infants from individualist cultures, infants from collectivist cultures could form attachments in a different way.
• 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.
• Stage theories such as this one are inflexible and do not take account of individual differences, some infants might form multiple attachment first, rather than starting with a single attachment.

Question 12

Role of the father

Answer 12

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 (providing emotional support), 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 shows there is no effect on development, and suggests the role of the father is not important.

Question 13

Shaffer and Emerson (1964)

Answer 13

Shaffer and Emerson (1964) found that fathers were far less likely to be the primary attachment figure than mothers. This may be because they spend less time with their infants. It is also possible that most men are not as psychologically equipped to form an intense attachment because they lack the emotional sensitivity that women have. This could be due to biological factors. The female hormone oxytocin underlies caring behaviour so women are more orientated to interpersonal goals than men. Alternatively, it could be due to societal norms. In some cultures there is also the stereotype that it is feminine to be sensitive to the needs of others.

Nevertheless men do form attachments with their children. Shaffer and Emerson (1964) found that 75% of infants studied had formed an attachment with their father at 18 months. Fathers can even be their primary attachment figure (Field, 1978). The role of the father in a single-parent family is more likely to adopt the traditional maternal role, to be the primary caregiver and a nurturing attachment figure.

Question 14

Stranger Anxiety

Answer 14

The distress an infant feels and shows when they’re approached by someone they don’t know

Question 15

Separation Protest

Answer 15

The distress an infant feels and shows when their primary attachment figure leaves them