schaffer's stages of attachment Flashcards
stage 1 - asocial stage
- first few weeks of life, behaviour towards others and inanimate objects is fairly similar
- however, schaffer and emerson argue it is not entirely asocial as babies will show signs that they prefer to be with certain people, and they may be more easily comforted by them
- baby is forming bonds with other people and this is the basis for forming attachments later on in life
stage 2 - indiscriminate attachment
- between 2-7 months, display more obvious and observable social behaviours
- clear preference for being with humans rather than inanimate objects, and will recognise and prefer the company of familiar people
- however will usually accept attention and cuddles from almost anyone (indiscriminate), do not usually show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety
stage 3 - specific attachment
- from 7 months, majority display classic signs of attachment toward one person, including separation and stranger anxiety , seeking proximity
- said to have formed a specific attachment, this person is called the primary attachment figure
- not necessarily who spends the most time with the baby, but who responds to the baby’s signals with the most skill and who offers most interaction
- this is the mother in 65% of cases
stage 4 - multiple attachments
- shortly after creating first attachment they will usually extend this behaviour to form multiple attachments with other people who they spend time with, these are called secondary attachments
- schaffer and emerson observed that 29% of children form secondary attachments within a month of forming their primary attachment
- by age of 1 year, most babies have formed multiple attachments
schaffer and emerson’s research / basis study
procedure -
- 60 babies, 31 boys and 29 girls, all from glasgow (western individualist, not collectivist), mostly skilled, working class families
- researchers visited babies and their mothers in their homes every month for the first year, and then again at 18 months
- asked mothers about protest that babies showed in seven everyday separations, such as adults leaving the room
- researchers also assessed stranger anxiety, response to unfamiliar people
- longitudinal study - time-consuming and expensive, but allows research into how attachment changes over time
findings that they used to develop stages
7-8 months - 50% of babies showed separation anxiety to an adult, usually mothers (specific attachment), 3% attached to father primarily
- attachment tended to be to the caregiver that was most sensitive to infant’s signals (reciprocity) - primary attachment figure
8-9 months - 25% had formed multiple attachments (secondary)
- 75% attached to father at 18 months
evaluation - good external validity
- most observations made and reported by parents during ordinary activities
- highly likely that babies behaved naturally during observation
evaluation - counterpoint to external validity
- mothers are unlikely to be objective observers
- may be biased in what they notice and report, for example may not report or even notice any signs of anxiety
- means that even if babies behaved naturally, it may not be accurately recorded
- western individualist culture, can’t generalise to other cultures (collectivist), conclusions are ethnocentric
- limits validity of stages as we are unsure whether research evidence is truthful
evaluation positive - real world application (high credibility)
- practical application in daycare where babies are cared for by another adult
- in asocial and discriminate stages, daycare is likely to be simple as babies can be comforted by any adult
-however daycare with an unfamiliar adult may be problematic during the specific attachment stage - means that parents’ use of daycare can be planned using the stages
- can also be used to indicate if a child is developing normally in relation to their age
- any issues could be an indicator of disorders to come in the future such as social anxiety or autism
