Schaffer's stages of attachment Flashcards
describe stages of attachment
schaffer and emerson studied the attachment behaviours of babies
their findings led them to develop an account of how attachment behaviours change as a baby gets older
they proposed four identifiable stages of attachment, a sequence which is observed in all babies
describe stage 1: asocial stage
in a baby’s first few weeks of life it’s observable behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects is fairly similar
babies did show signs that they prefer to be with other people
babies show preference for the company of familiar people and are more easily comforted by them
the baby is forming bonds with certain people, forming the basis of later attachments
describe stage 2: indiscriminate attachment
from 2-7 months babies start to display more obvious and observable social behaviours
show a clear preference for being with other humans rather than inanimate objects
recognise and prefer the company of familiar people
babies accept cuddles and comfort from any person - indiscriminate
do not usually show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety
describe stage 3: specific attachment
from around 7 months the majority of babies display the classic signs of attachment towards one particular person
includes anxiety directed towards strangers, and anxiety when separated from their attachment figure
at this point the baby is said to have formed a specific attachment to a primary attachment figure
this person is not necessarily the individual the child spends the most time with but the one who offers the most interaction and responds to the baby’s signals
this primary attachment figure is the baby’s mother in 65% of cases
describe stage 4: multiple attachments
shortly after babies start to show attachment behaviour, e.g., stranger anxiety, separation anxiety, towards one person they usually extend this behaviour to multiple attachments with other people they regularly spend time with - secondary attachments
schaffer and emerson observed that 29% of the children formed secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary attachment
by the age of one the majority of babies had developed multiple attachments
how does schaffer and emerson’s research have good external validity (strength)
most of the observations were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to the researchers
if the researchers were present and recorded observations it may have distracted babies and affected their behaviour
therefore, it is highly likely that the participants behaved naturally while being observed
why is there issues with the mothers being the observers (counterpoint)
the mothers were unlikely to be objective observers
they might have been biased in terms of what they noticed when their baby was showing signs of anxiety or they may have misremembered it
therefore, even if babies behaved naturally their behaviour may not have been accurately recorded
why is there validity issues with the measures being used to assess attachment in the asocial stage (limitation)
young babies have poor co-ordination and are fairly immobile
if babies less than 2 months old felt anxiety in everyday situations they might have displayed this in subtle, hard-to-observe ways
this makes it difficult for mothers to observe and report back to researchers
therefore, babies in this stage may have been quite social, but, because of flawed methods, they appear to be asocial
describe practical application of the stages in day care (strength)
in the asocial and indiscriminate stages of attachment, day care is likely to be straightforward as babies can be comforted by any skilled adult
however, schaffer and emerson’s research tells us that day care may be problematic during the specific attachment stage
therefore, parents’ use of day care can be planned using schaffer and emerson’s stages
