Schaffer's Stages of Attachment

Question 1

Stages of Attachment:

Answer 1

Many developmental theories identify a sequence of qualitatively different behaviours linked to specific ages. In stages of attachment some characteristics of the infants’ behaviour towards others change as the infant gets older.

Question 2

Multiple Attachments:

Answer 2

Attachments to 2 or more people. Most babies appear to develop multiple attachments once they have formed one true attachment to a main carer.

Question 3

Schaffer and Emerson (1964): Aim

Answer 3

To investigate the formation of early attachments; in particular the age at which they developed, their emotional intensity and to whom they were directed.

Question 4

Schaffer and Emerson: Method

Answer 4

1. The study involved 60 babies (31m, 29f) from Glasgow, majority are from skilled-working class families.
2. The babies and their mothers every month for the 1st year and again at 18 months.
3. Asked the mothers questions about the the kind of protest their babies showed in 7 everyday separations (separation anxiety and stranger anxiety).

Question 5

Schaffer and Emerson: Findings

Answer 5

1. Between 25-32 weeks about 50% of the babies showed signs of separation anxiety towards a particular adult, usually the mother specific attachment.
2. Attachment tended to be to the caregiver who was most interactive and sensitive to infant signals and facial expression (reciprocity). This was not necessarily the person whom the infant spent the most time.
3. By 40 weeks, 80% of the babies had a specific attachment and almost 30% displayed multiple attachments.

Question 6

Stage 1: Asocial Stage 0-8 weeks

Answer 6

1. Baby’s behaviour towards non-human objects and humans is quite similar.
2. Babies show some preference for familiar adults in those individuals find it easier to calm them and happier in their presence.

Question 7

Stage 2: Indiscriminate Attachment (2-7 months)

Answer 7

1. Show a preference for people rather than inanimate objects, and recognise and prefer familiar adults.
2. Accept cuddles and comfort from any adults, and do not usually show separation anxiety or stranger anxiety.
3. It is indiscriminate as it is not different towards any one person.

Question 8

Stage 3: Specific Attachment

Answer 8

1. From 7 months the majority of babies start to display anxiety towards towards strangers and to become anxious when separated from one particular adult. (Bio mum 65% of cases).
2. This is specific attachment, called primary attachment figure.
3. Not necessarily the person the child spends most time with but the one offers the most ineraction and responds to the babys’ signals.

Question 9

Step 4: Multiple Attachments

Answer 9

1. Babies usually extend their attachment behaviour to multiple attachments with other adults, they regularly spend time with.
2. These are called secondary attachments.
3. In S&E study 29% of the children had formed secondary attachments within a month of forming a primary attachments.
4. By the age of one year the majority of infants had formed multiple attachments.

Question 10

E: Good External Validity

Answer 10

1. Study was taken in the families’ own homes and most of the observation was actually done by parents and reported to researchers later.
2. This means that behaviour of the babies was unlikely to be affected by the presence of observers.
3. Excellent chance that pps acted naturally, high external validity.

Question 11

E: Longitudinal Design

Answer 11

1. The same children were followed up and observed regularly.
2. The quicker alternative would have been to observe different children at each age, cross-sectional design.
3. However, longitudinal designs have better internal validity than cross sectional designs because they do not have the confounding variables of individual differences- participant variables.

Question 12

E: Limited Sample Characteristics

Answer 12

1. The sample size of 60 babies and their carers was good considering the large volume of data gathered on each participant.
2. However, all the families involved were from the same district and social class in the same city and at a time over 50 years is a limitation.
3. Child rearing practices vary from one culture to another and one historical period to another.

Question 13

E: Problem studying the asocial stage

Answer 13

1. SE describe the first few weeks of life as the asocial stage, although important interactions take place in those weeks.
2. The problem here is that the babies that are young have poor-coordination and are generally pretty much immobile.
3. Very difficult to make any judgements about them based on observations of their behaviour, there isn’t much observable behaviour.
4. Does not mean that the child’s feelings and cognitions are not highly social, but evidence cannot be relied on

Question 14

E: Conflicting evidence on multiple attachments

Answer 14

1. No doubt that children become capable of multiple attachments at some point it still not entirely clear when.
2. Some research seems to indicate that most if not all babies form attachments to a single main carer before they become capable of developing multiple attachments (Bowlby 1969).
3. Other psychologists, who work win cultural contexts where multiple caregivers are the norm ,believe babies form multiple attachments from the outset (van IJzendoorn et al. 1993).
4. Such cultures are called collectivist because families work together joint in everything.

Question 15

E: Measuring multiple attachment

Answer 15

1. There may be a problem with how mutliple attachment is assessed.
2. Just because a baby gets distressed when an individual leaves the room does not necessarily mean that the individual is a true attachment figure,
3. Bowlby (1969) points out that children have playmates as well as attachment figures and may get distressed when a playmate leaves, but this does not signify attachment.
4. This is a problem for SE stages because their observation does not leave us a way to distinguish between behaviour shown towards secondary attachment figures and shown towards playmates.