Stages of attachment Flashcards
Who conducted research into the stages of attachment?
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) studied 60 babies at monthly intervals for the first 18 months of their life
Describe Schaffer and Emerson’s procedure
Children studied in their own homes, visited monthly for observations of caregiver interactions and interviews with caregiver
Mother kept diary, recording stranger anxiety, separation anxiety, and social referencing
What is social referencing?
The degree to which a child looks at their caregiver to check how they should respond to something new
What are the first two stages of attachment?
Asocial (0-6 weeks) - Infants respond positively to many stimuli, such as smiling
Indiscriminate attachments (6 weeks to 7 months) - indiscriminately enjoy human company, most babies respond equally to any caregiver, get upset when individual ceases to interact with them
What are the second two stages of attachment?
Specific (7-9 months) - Special preference for single attachment figure, looks to specific people for security, comfort and protection, demonstrates stranger and separation anxiety
Multiple attachments (10+ months) - Baby becomes increasingly independent and forms multiple attachments
What were the findings?
Attachments most likely to form with those who responded accurately to baby’s signals, rather than those they spent more time with (sensitive responsiveness)
By 18 months old, 31% had 5 or more attachments, attachments often formed in hierarchy
Population validity?
All came from working class families in Glasgow, and small sample size of 60 families
Difficult to generalise
Diary accuracy?
Diary is unreliable, with demand characteristics and social desirability bias- mothers not likely to report negative experiences
Temporal validity?
Conducted in 1960s when gender roles were different
Now, more men stay at home with infants and more women go out and work
