schaffer’s stages of attachment Flashcards
pre-attachment (asocial)
during the first 0 to 3 months of life, the baby learns to separate people from objects but doesnt have any strong preferences about who cares for it
indiscriminate attachment phase
between 2 months and 7 months, the infant starts to distinguish and recognise different people, smiling more at people it knows than at strangers. However, there are still no strong preferences about who cares for it. Shows preferences to people rather than inanimate objects
the specific attachment phase
from 7 to 11 months, the infant becomes able to form a strong attachment with an individual. This is shown by being content when the person (65% - mother) is around, distressed when they leave and happy when they return. it may be scared of strangers and avoid them
multiple attachment phase
from about a year old, the infant can form attachments to many different people - some attachments may be stronger than others and have different functions but there doesn’t seem to be a limit of the number of attachments it can make
this is when they demonstrate separation and stranger anxiety towards multiple people
although Schaffer found that after 18 months, approximately 32% of babies had atleast five attachments, with the original being the strongest
schaffer and emerson - method
1964
60 babies were observed in their homes in Glasgow every four weeks from birth to about 18 months using longitudinal method
interviews were also conducted with their families where mothers were asked questions about their child’s response to separation and the researcher assessed stranger anxiety
schaffer and emerson - results
schaffer’s stages of attachment formation were found to occur
also, at 8 months of age about 50 of the infants had more than one attachment
about 20 of them either had no attachment with their mother or had a stronger attachment with someone else, even though the mother was always the main carer
schaffer and emerson - conclusion
infants form attachments in stages and can eventually attach to many people
quality of care is important in forming attachments, so the infant may not attach to their mother if other people respond more accurately to its signals
schaffer and emerson - evaluation
limitation - they used a limited sample
limitation - could be biased and unreliable as the interviews were from families
limitation - Tronick found that infants in Zaire had a strong attachment with their mother by the age of six months but didn’t have strong attachments with others, even though they had several carers
good external validity - schaffer and emerson
most of observations were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to the researchers
the alternative would have been to have researchers observe which may have distracted the babies or made them feel anxious
this means it is highly likely that the participants behaved naturally while being observed
mothers being observers - schaffer and emerson
they were unlikely to be objective observers
they might have been biased in terms of what they noticed and what they reported
for example, might not have noticed when their baby was showing signs of anxiety or they may have misremembered it
this means that even if babies behaved naturally, their behaviour may not have been accurately recorded
generalisability - schaffer and emerson
they only looked at one sample which had unique features in terms of cultural and historical context - 1960s working-class Glasgow
In other cultures, for example, collectivist cultures, multiple attachments form at a very early age and are more the norm
culture bias and temporal validity
Ijzendoorn study - limitation
demonstrated that in collectivist cultures multiple attachments are formed from the outset
therefore stages 3 and 4 may not be separate, demonstrating that the four separate stages of attachment as suggested by Schaffer may not be accurate
