Schaffer’s Stages Of Attachment

Question 1

What is social referencing?

Answer 1

The extent of which the child looks at the carer to check how they should respond to new situations.

Question 2

What was the aim of Schaffer and Emerson (1964)?

Answer 2

To study the development of attachments.

Question 3

What was the method of Schaffer and Emerson (1964)?

Answer 3

Observation of 60 infants from working class families in Glasgow for 18 months.
Mothers were asked to observe their children’s behaviour and record it in a diary.

Question 4

What was the result of Schaffer and Emerson (1964)?

Answer 4

-25-32 weeks: 50% of infants showed separation anxiety.
-1 month: 29% of infants showed multiple attachments.
-6 months: 78% of infants showed multiple attachments.

Question 5

What is the acronym for Schaffer’s stages of attachment?

Answer 5

All
Infants
Say
Mum

Question 6

What are the four stages of Schaffer’s stages of attachment?

Answer 6

-Asocial stage.
-Indiscriminate attachments.
-Specific attachments.
-Multiple attachments.

Question 7

How old is the infant in the asocial stage?

Answer 7

0-6 weeks.

Question 8

How old is the infant in the indiscriminate attachments?

Answer 8

6 weeks-6 months.

Question 9

How old is the infant in the specific attachments?

Answer 9

7 months +.

Question 10

How old is the infant in the multiple attachments?

Answer 10

10/11 months +.

Question 11

What are the characteristics of the asocial stage?

Answer 11

-Infants produce similar responses to objects and people.
-Social and non-social stimuli produce a favourable response.
-Preference for faces/eyes.

Question 12

What are the characteristics of the indiscriminate attachments?

Answer 12

-Enjoy human company.
-Respond equally to all caregivers.
-Get upset over a cease of interaction.
(From 3 months, infants smile more at familiar faces).

Question 13

What are the characteristics of the specific attachments?

Answer 13

-Infants show a preference for one caregiver.
-Looks to a particular person for comfort.
-Shows stranger anxiety and separation distress.

Question 14

What are the characteristics of the multiple attachments?

Answer 14

-Infant becomes increasingly independent and forms several attachments.
-Attachments develop with those who respond accurately to the infants, NOT the person they spend more time with.

Question 15

What is an advantage of Schaffer’s stages of attachment?

Answer 15

During Schaffer and Emerson’s study, the infant’s behaviours were observed in their natural environment.

For example, the parents observed and recorded their infant’s responses to separation and strangers in their own home. Additionally, the researcher was not always present so the child would act naturally.

We can therefore say that the study has ecological validity, and the results can be generalised to real life settings.

Question 16

What is a disadvantage of Schaffer’s stages of attachment?

Answer 16

The sample population was purely collected from working class families in Glasgow.

The sample size of 60 is comparatively small compared to the population of infants. The fact that the entire sample is based on working class infants in one city leads to overgeneralisation.

For example, in more upper class families, children may end up being provided a nanny/babysitter, and form a primary attachment to them rather than the parent. This can distort Schaffer’s stages of attachment.

Therefore, we can say that the results of the sample size and the chosen participants can’t be generalised to the whole population.