Stages of Attachment Flashcards
Who proposed the stages of attachment?
Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
What did Schaffer and Emerson propose about attachment?
Proposed four identifiable stages of attachment, which identify behavioural changes as infants get older.
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) - Aim
To investigate the formation of early attachments.
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) - Procedure
60 (31 male, 29 female) working-class, Glaswegian infants and their mothers were visited monthly for a year, and then again at 18 months. The mothers were asked questions to assess stranger anxiety, separation anxiety, and social referencing.
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) - Findings
At 25-32 weeks, 50% of infants had formed a specific attachment. By 40 weeks, 80% of infants had a specific attachment, and 30% displayed multiple attachments.
Schaffer and Emerson (1964) - Conclusions
Attachment forms in four stages and there is a pattern of attachment common to all infants. An important factor in forming attachments is being responsive to the infants’ needs.
Social Referencing
When an infant uses the affective displays of an adult to determine whether to perform certain behaviors.
Strengths of Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
- Longitudinal study means that the same infants were being observed at each interval, eliminating participant variables, good internal validity.
- Standardised methods with the same behaviour categories and observations for each child, improving reliability.
- Naturalistic observations used, meaning the children are more likely to act naturally in their natural environment, increasing external validity.
Limitations of Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
- All families were from the same area of Glasgow, and of the same socio-economic status, lacking population validity and generalisability.
- Parenting practices greatly vary between cultures, so thier findings are not applicable to other cultures.
- Self-report method used, with parents observing behaviours then reporting to researchers - may include social desirability bias.
Stage 1
Pre-attachment or asocial (0-6 weeks old).
Stage 1 Features
- Observable behaviour towards humans and inanimate objects is fairly similiar.
- Shows signs of preferring to be with other people and easily comforted by familiar people.
Stage 2
Indiscriminate Attachment (6 weeks - 7 months).
Stage 2 Features
- Begin to display more obvious and observable social behaviours.
- Show a clear preference for humans, and usually accept cuddles and comfort from anyone.
- Do not usually show separation or stranger anxiety.
Stage 3
Specific Attachment (7-9 months).
Stage 3 Features
- Display signs of attachment to one particular person and form a specific attachment to their primary attachment figure.
- Show signs of stranger anxiety and separation anxiety.
- In 65% of infants, this primary attachment figure is the mother.
Stage 4
Multiple Attachments (10+ months).
Stage 4 Features
- Attachment behaviour extends to multiple attachments with other people who they regularly spend time with - secondary attachments.
- 29% of infants formed a secondary attachment within a month of forming a primary attachment.
Strengths of the Stages of Attachment
- Good validity and reliability from the supporting research.
- Supporting evidence from Bowlby (1969) - found most infants form an attachment with a single main carer before forming multiple attachments.
- Useful theory, helping parents to determine when to use daycare (evidence points to using it during Stages 1 and 2).
Limitations of the Stages of Attachment
- Could be argued that jsut having four stages is quite simplistic, and the behaviour categories in the research are also too simple.
- There is limited testability, as there is not much observable behaviour in the asocial stage.
- Limited usefulness to other cultures, van Ijzendoorn et al. (1993) - infants raised in collectivist cultures can form multiple attachments early on.
- Research doesn’t distinguish between behaviour shown towards attachment figures and playmates.
