SCHAFFER’S STAGES OF ATTACHMENT

Question 1

There are 4 characteristics of attachment:

Answer 1

• Proximity: Trying to stay close to attachment figure
• separation distress: Feeling upset when separated from their attachment figure.
• Pleasure when reunited: Happy once near each other again.
• Secure base behaviour: Making frequent contact with their attachment figure, when away from them.

Question 2

What are the four stages of attachment and the approximate time frame for each?

Answer 2

1. Pre-attachment (asocial) stage - 0-6 weeks
2. Indiscriminate attachment - 6 weeks to 6 months
3. Specific attachment - 7 months onwards
4. Multiple attachments - 10-11 months onwards

Question 3

Outline the pre-attachment (asocial) stage of attachment?

Answer 3

• Initially the infants show similar responses to both people and objects.
• infants begin to show a bias towards familiar people.
• happier in the presence of other people.

Question 4

Outline the indiscriminate stage of attachment?

Answer 4

• Infants become more sociable, preferring people to objects.
• They begin to distinguish between different people.
• Infants do not show signs of separation or stranger anxiety.

Question 5

Outline the specific attachment stage of development

Answer 5

• Infants develop a specific attachment with their primary attachment figure.
• This stage starts with the development of separation anxiety
• Stranger anxiety generally develops one month after the development of separation anxiety.

Question 6

Outline the multiple attachments stage of development?

Answer 6

• Infants begin to show attachment behaviours towards several different people, including siblings, grandparents and childminders.

Question 7

How many people were studied and where?

Answer 7

• 60 infants and their mothers from a working class area of Glasgow were studied.

Question 8

How old were the infants at the start of the investigation?

Answer 8

• They were aged between 5 and 23 weeks old.

Question 9

How was the child’s development assessed?

Answer 9

• Observations and interviews were performed in the infant’s home every four weeks until the child was one and then again at 18 months.

Question 10

What were the findings of Schaffer and Emerson’s research in relation to separation and stranger anxiety?

Answer 10

• By 6-8 months, most infants showed signs of separation anxiety, suggesting their had formed an attachment.
• Generally, stranger anxiety developed one month after the development of separation anxiety.

Question 11

low population validity

Answer 11

• The findings of a study cannot be generalised to wider populations of cultures.
• This is because Schaffer and Emerson used only 60 infants from a working class area in Glasgow and the study was conducted in the 1960s.
• Therefore, the findings cannot be generalised to infants from other economic backgrounds and different countries.
• Moreover, research has shown that the number of fathers who stay at home to look after young children has quadrupled in the past 25 years (Cohen et al).
• Therefore it is likely that I the study were to be conducted today, the findings may be considerably different.

Question 12

one lim is that is has high evaluation apprevation

Answer 12

• This is when participants become concerned that their behaviour will be judged so behave unnaturally.
• This is because Schaffer and Emerson‘s observations and interviews were conducted to make judgements about the infant’s response to separation and strangers
• however, it is possible that the parents may have responded to the infants in a different way (e.g. more caring and interaction more than usual) whilst being investigated in order to look like a ‘good parent’.
• Also, interviews were used and the parents may not have given a truthful answer in order to seem like they were ‘good parents’.

Question 13

longitudinal study

Answer 13

• They used a naturalistic observation conducted in the mothers’ home which is representative of real life behaviour in regards to baby’s attachment stages.
• The infants were studied regularly so it provides more detail and accuracy as they were investigated every four weeks until the child was one and then again at 18 months.
• This means that there is higher internal validity.

Question 14

poor evidence of asocial stage

Answer 14

• because of their stage of physical development babies have poor co-ordination and are fairly immobile.
• this makes it difficult for mothers to accuratley report signs of anxiety and attachment for this age group
• means babies might be quite social - flawed methodology

Question 15

counter of high apprevation

Answer 15

• most of the observations were made by parents during ordinary activites and reported to rerseachers.
• the alternatives would be to have observers present in the babies homes.
• this may have distracted the babies or made them anxious
• highly likely they behaved naturally.