schaffer's stages of attachment

Question 1

what did Schaffer aim to investigate ?

Answer 1

• the formation of early attachments in early ages
  –> particular the age at which they developed
  —> their emotional intensity
  –> whom they were directed

Question 2

when did Schaffer carry out this investigation and who with ?

Answer 2

• Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

Question 3

what design was the S and E taken place with ?

Answer 3

• a mix of self-report and observation
  OBSERVATIONS took place in infants home
  –> observers noticed how the infants responded in their presence

Question 4

how many babies where involved in the study and the details ?

Answer 4

–> 60 babies 31 male and 29 female
–> majority were from skilled working-class families
–>all were from Glasgow

Question 5

how often was the investigation carried out ?

Answer 5

–> babies and mothers were visited at home every month for the 1st year
–> then again at 18 months

Question 6

what did the researchers ask the mothers ?

Answer 6

• questions about the kind of protest their babies showed in 7 everyday separations
  e.g adult leaving the room –> measure of separation anxiety

Question 7

why did the researchers collect their findings in this way ?

Answer 7

designed to measure the infant’s attachment

Question 8

what did the researchers also assess ?

Answer 8

stranger anxiety - the infant’s anxiety response to unfamiliar adults

Question 9

what did the findings show signs of with the babies and the term for this would be… ?

Answer 9

• between 25 and 32 weeks of age about 50 % of the babies showed signs of separation anxiety towards a particular adult ( usually the mother )
  specific attachment

Question 10

who did the attachment tend to be with ?

Answer 10

tend to be with the caregiver who was the most interactive and sensitive to infants signals and facial expressions ( not necessarily the person with whom the infant spent most time with)

Question 11

what had developed at a specific age group ?

Answer 11

by the age of 40 weeks 80 % of the babies had a specific attachment and almost 30 % displayed multiple attachments

Question 12

what is the conclusion of the study ?

Answer 12

• the results provide support for Schaffer’s stages of attachment
  –> suggests that attachment develops through a series of stages across the 1st year of life

Question 13

define multiple attachments

Answer 13

attachments to 2 or more people
–> appear to develop once they have formed 1 true attachment to a main carer

Question 14

what are the 4 stages of attachment in order ?

Answer 14

asocial stage , indiscriminate attachments , specific attachment , multiple attachments

Question 15

define stages of attachment

Answer 15

• many developmental theories identify a sequence of qualitatively different behaviours linked to specific ages
• in stages of attachment some characteristics of the infant’s behaviour towards others changes as the infant gets older

Question 16

what occurs within stage 1- give a brief bullet point idea ?

Answer 16

asocial stage ( within the 1st few weeks )
–> baby is recognizing and forming bonds with its carers
–> baby’s behaviour towards inanimate objects and humans is quite similar
–> babies show some preference for familiar adults - more easily calmed
–> babies are also happier in the presence of other humans

Question 17

what occurs within stage 2- give a brief bullet point idea ?

Answer 17

indiscriminate attachment (from 2-7 months )
–> babies display more observable social behaviour
–> show a preference for people rather than inanimate objects as well as recognise and prefer familiar adults
–> at this stage babies usually accept cuddles and comfort from any adult
—> don’t usually show any separation anxiety or stranger anxiety
—> attachment behaviour said to be indiscriminate because it is not different towards any one person

Question 18

what occurs within stage 3- give a brief bullet point idea ?

Answer 18

specific attachment ( from around 7 months)
–> begin to display stranger anxiety and separation anxiety when separated from one particular adult ( mother in 65% of cases)
–> baby said to have formed a specific attachment adult termed as primary attachment figure
–> not necessarily the person the child spends the most time with but the one who offers the most interaction and responds to the baby’s signals with the most skill

Question 19

what occurs within stage 4- give a brief bullet point idea ?

Answer 19

multiple attachments ( by age 1)
–> extend this attachment behaviour to multiple attachments with other adults whom the regularly spend time with
–> relationships called secondary attachment
—> in S and E study 29% of chldren had SA within a month of forming their PSA
–> by this age majority of infants had developed multiple attachments

Question 20

what would be considered good from E and S study and why ?

Answer 20

the study has good external validity
–> carried out in family own homes
–> most of the observation was done by parents during ordinary activities and reported to researcher later
this means that the baby’s behaviour was unlikely to be affected by the presence of observers
–> excellent chance that participants behaving naturally while being observed

Question 21

what is the strength of how it was carried out and why ?

Answer 21

• carried out longitudinally
  –> means that the same children were followed up and observed regularly
  –> they have internal validity than C-S as they don’t have the confounding variables of individual differences between participants

Question 22

what design is similar to longitudinal and explain ?

Answer 22

cross-sectional design which observe children at each age an would be quicker compared to LS

Question 23

what’s a benefit of the sample size

Answer 23

–> sample size of 60 babies and their carers was good considering the large volume of data that was gathered on each participant

Question 24

what’s limiting within the 60 children used as well as when the study was initialised ?

Answer 24

• all the families involved where from the same district and social class in the same city
• at a time over 50 years ago is a limtation
  child rearing practices vary from one culture to another and one historical period to another
  RESULTS don’t necessarily generalise well to other social and historical contexts

Question 25

what is a problem with the associal stage ?

Answer 25

–> babies that are young have poo-coordination and are generally immobile
–> therefore difficult to make any judgments about them based on observations of their behaviour ( just isn’t much observable behaviour)
–> DOESn’t mean the child’s feelings and cognition aren’t highly social but the evidence can’t be relied on