Schaffers Stages Of Attatchment

Question 1

Describe Schaffer and Emerson’s method

Answer 1

60 Glasgow babies from working class families.
Longitudinal study.
Researchers visited the house each month for 1st year and again at 18M. Asked questions.
Assessed stranger and separation anxiety.

Question 2

What did Schaffer and Emerson find?

Answer 2

Between 25-32 weeks 50% showed separation anxiety to a specific adult (usually mother) by 40 weeks 80% had a specific attachment. 30% showed multiple.

Question 3

Give one strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s study (AO3)

Answer 3

Good external validity
Carried out at own house and most observation by parents

Behaviour unlikely to be affected by presence of an observer. Good chance they behaved naturally.

Question 4

Give another strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s study (AO3)

Answer 4

Longitudinal design study

Same children followed up and observed regularly.
Good internal vanity as no confounding variables of individual PPS differences.

Question 5

List and describe the 4 stages of schaffers attachment stages

Answer 5

Asocial - first few weeks, behaviour to humans and objects similar.

Indiscriminate - 2-7M prefer familiar faces but cuddles anyone

Specific - 7M display stranger and desperation anxiety to one adult

Multiple - shortly after attachment to multiple adults

Question 6

One limitation of schaffers stages of attachment (asocial) (AO3)

Answer 6

In asocial stage important interactions take place however babies are immobile and have poor coordination. Therefore difficult to make judgements based on observations.

Question 7

Another limitation of schaffers stages of attachment

Answer 7

Conflicting evidence for multiple attachments
Not entirely clear when multiple attachments begin

Bowlby: secondary attachments later on
However Ljzendoorn said multiple begin from start