Schaffer’s stages of attachment

Question 1

What did Schaffer and Emerson study?

Answer 1

Attachment behaviors of babies, particularly the age at which they develop their emotional intensity towards a human

Question 2

What is the first stage of attachment S &E proposed?

Answer 2

Asocial stage

Question 3

Describe the Asocial stage

Answer 3

• observable behaviour towards human and inanimate objects is fairly similar
• Tend to show preference for familiar people ( faces and eyes) at end of stage
• easily comforted by other humans

Question 4

what is stage 2 of attachment proposed by S & E?

Answer 4

Indiscriminate attachment

Question 5

Describe indiscriminate attachment

Answer 5

-display more sociable behavior
- clear preference for humans and familiar people
- Do not show signs of separation or stranger anxiety

Question 6

What is stage 3 of attachment proposed by S & E?

Answer 6

Specific attachment

Question 7

Describe specific attachment stage

Answer 7

-develop signs of attachment to particular person
- signs of stranger anxiety and separation anxiety
- Specific attachment with PAF ( mother in 65% of cases)

Question 8

What is stage 4 of attachment proposed by S & E ?

Answer 8

Multiple attachment

Question 9

Describe Multiple attachment stage

Answer 9

• Stranger and separation anxiety extended to other regular caregivers ( secondary attachments)
• age of 1 year babies had developed multiple attachments

Question 10

S & E research- how many babies were studied and where were they from?

Answer 10

Study involved 60 babies from Glasgow, majority from w/c families

Question 11

When did the researchers in S & E study visit homes ?

Answer 11

Visited babies mothers in their homes every month for year, then at 18 months

Question 12

What did the researchers in S & E study ask the mothers?

Answer 12

Questions about protest in 7 separation situations eg separation and stranger anxiety

Question 13

What did the researchers find in S & E study?

Answer 13

At about 7 months 50% of babies showed separation anxiety
Findings make up stages of theory

Question 14

What does S & E research tell us about day care ?

Answer 14

Practical application in day care

-tell us that starting day care with an unfamiliar face may be particularly problematic in the specific stage so parents can plan accordingly

Question 15

Why do the stages of attachment have good external validity ?

Answer 15

Observations were made by parents during everyday activities, instead of researchers present to record, which would of distracted or made babies anxious&raquo_space;> behaviour more natural

Question 16

What is a weakness of good external validity strength?

Answer 16

Mothers may have biased in what they reported, may not have noticed signs of anxiety or may have misremembered it so behaviour not accurately recorded

Question 17

Why is their poor evidence for asocial stage ?

Answer 17

babies are fairly imobile at this stage, so may have displayed anxiety in quite subtle ways

Difficult for mothers to observe and report back, babies may actually be social?

Question 18

Why does S & E study lack time validity?

Answer 18

Their sample was from the 1960s, and parental care of children has change since then as;
more women go out to work and are cared outside home or fathers stay home

Question 19

What age is the asocial stage ?

Answer 19

0-7 weeks

Question 20

What age is indiscriminate attachment ?

Answer 20

2-7months

Question 21

What age is specific attachment ?

Answer 21

from 7 months

Question 22

what age is multiple attachment ?

Answer 22

10 months onwards