Stages of Attachment

Question 1

What are the 4 stages of attachment?

Answer 1

• Pre-attachment / Asocial stage
• Indiscriminate attachment
• Discriminate attachment
• Multiple attachments

Question 2

What age is the pre attachment/ asocial stage?

Answer 2

0 - 3 months

Question 3

What age is the indiscriminate attachment stage?

Answer 3

3 - 6 months

Question 4

What age is the discriminate attachment stage?

Answer 4

7 - 12 months

Question 5

What age is the multiple attachments stage?

Answer 5

1 year onwards

Question 6

What happens in the asocial stage?

Answer 6

Infants become attracted to other humans, preferring them to objects and events

Question 7

What happens in the indiscriminate attachments stage?

Answer 7

Infants begin to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar people, smiling more at known people

Question 8

What happens in the discriminate attachments stage?

Answer 8

Infants develop specific attachments, staying close to particular people, and becoming distressed when separated from them (stranger and separation anxiety)

Question 9

What happens in the multiple attachments stage?

Answer 9

Infants form strong emotional ties with other major caregivers, fear of strangers weaken

Question 10

What are 3 evaluation points?

Answer 10

• Difficult to validate asocial stage
• Unclear, conflicting evidence over timing of multiple attachments
• Difficult to measure multiple attachments

Question 11

Who researched stages of attachment?

Answer 11

Schaffer and Emerson

Question 12

What was their aim?

Answer 12

To investigate the age at which infants become attached and who they become attached to

Question 13

What did Schaffer and Emerson do?

Answer 13

Naturalistic observations together with a survey of 60 babies and their mothers. Infants observed in homes every 4 weeks until they reached 1 and then again at 18 months. Tested for separation and stranger anxiety

Question 14

What did Schaffer and Emerson find?

Answer 14

The onset of attachment occurred at around 6-9 weeks, soon the main attachment the infants attached to other people. 39% the person who fed, bathed and changed the infant was not the child’s primary carer. By 40 weeks 80% of the babies had a specific attachments and 30% had multiple attachments

Question 15

What did Schaffer and Emerson conclude?

Answer 15

One primary object of attachment, most often the infants mother, the main attachment figure was not always the person who fed or bathed the infant. Quality of time more important then quantity

Question 16

What are 3 evaluation points from research?

Answer 16

• High ecological validity
• Logitudinal design
• Low population validity