Schafgers stages of attachment Flashcards
how many stages of attachment did Schaffer and Emmerson say there are?
- 4 stages that all babies go through as part of development —> each stage is linked to specific age
when did Schaffer and Emmerson identify these stages?
1964
what are the 4 stages
1- Asocial
2- Indiscriminate attachment
3- specific attachment
4- multiple attachments
Stage 1 Asocial attachment age and characteristic?
Age- Birth to 2 months
Characteristics- behaviours to humans and inanimate objects are similar (asocial)
- babies show preference for company of family ppl and more easily comforted by them —> forming bonds (through reciprocity and Interactional synchrony) that forms basis of later attachments
Stage 2 Indiscriminate attachment age and characteristics?
Age - 2-7 months
Characteristics- infants become more social show clear preference for being with humans rather than inanimate objects, babies recognise caregivers and familiar ppl but will accept closeness (cuddles etc) from any person and don’t show separation anxiety and unlikely to show stranger anxiety
Stage 3 Specific attachment age and characteristics
Age- from 7 months
Characteristics- attachment to a specific caregiver (1 person specific attachment), will show stranger and separation anxiety (especially from primary attachment figure)
what can you say about the primary attachment figure?
- it’s not necessary person baby spends most time with just someone who offers the most interaction and responds to baby ‘signals’ with most skill
- 65% of the time it’s the baby’s mother
Stage 4 multiple attachments age and characteristics
Age- from age of one year
Characteristics- after attachment to primary attachment figure is formed= babies form multiple attachments age with ppl they spend time with (secondary attachments), separation anxiety is possible if separated from them
what did Schaffer and Emmerson find?
- 29% of children formed secondary attachments just a month after the primary one
Schaffer and Emmerson research - what is it and when?
- 1964
- it’s what the based their theory on observational study on the formation of early infant adult attachments
Schaffer and Emmerson research procedure
- 60 babies from Glasgow and majority from skilled, working class family
- researcher visited babies and mum in homes every month for first year and again at 18 months
- researcher visited babies and mum in homes every month for first year and again at 18 months
- researchers asked mum questions on kind of protest their baby shower in 7 everyday situations (e.g. adult leaving a room would show separation anxiety)
- designed to measure babies attachment (stranger anxiety was also looked at)
Schaffer and Emmerson eval point 1
their research had good external validity as most observations were made by parents in home doing ordinary activities and reporting to the researchers = not a controlled lab place and babies not distracted by unfamiliar researchers presence = babies acted themselves
BUT mothers were unlikely to be objective observers may have been biased in what they reported. Some mums may have been less sensitive to child’s distress so report findings different = less accuracy. Some mums may have under -reported or forgotten signs of anxiety etc = data unreliable
Schaffer and Emmerson eval point 2
asocial stage has poor evidence and low validity as young babies lack co-ordination and immobile= anxiety may have been displayed in a subtle hard to observe way = difficult for mums to observe and report back to researchers on signs of attachment and anxiety = babies may be social but due to flawed methods appear to be asocial
Schaffer and Emmerson eval point 3
- practical applications to daycare —> day care starting during specific attachment stage with unfamiliar adult may be problematic —> easier to start day care before 7 months to avoid this attachment stage
eval point 4
- research lacks generalisability as was in individualistic working class population in Glasgow
—-> findings may not apply to other socio economic and cultural groups -
e.g Ijzendoorm found in collectivist cultures multiple attachments normally occurs at much earlier age
eval point 5
- data lacks temporal validity as was collected in 1960s since then fewer mothers stay at home, primary caregiver role may be divided between parents etc
