stages of attachment Flashcards
what are the 4 stages of attachment?
awesome ice skaters move
stage 1 : asocial
stage 2 : indiscriminate attachment
stage 3 : specific attachments
stage 4 : multiple attachments
what age is the asocial stage?
0-8 weeks
what age is the indiscriminate attachment stag?
2-7 months
what age is specific attachments?
7-12 months
what age is multiple attachments?
1 year onwards
what stages of attachment have no stranger or seperation anxiety?
stage 1 : asocial
stage 2 : indiscriminate attachments
in what stage of attachement is seperation and stranger anxiety developed?
stage 3: specific attachments
what are the ages of the 4 stages of attachment?
stage 1 asocial : 0-8 weeks
stage 2 indiscriminate attachment: 2-7 months
stage 3 specific attachments: 7-12 months
stage 4 multiple attachments: 1 year onwards
what are the characteristics in the asocial stage?
preference for familiar faces
smile at anyone
behaviour between humans and non human objects quite similar
recognise specific faces
happier in presence of of humans than when alone
smile at anyone
what are the characteristics of indiscriminate attachment?
recognise and prefer familiar people
accept comfort from any adult
no stranger or seperation anxiety yet
smile more at familiar than unfamiliar faces
preference for people rather than inanimate objects
what are the charactertistics in the specific attachments stage?
primary attachment to one particular individual who is the primary attachment figuire (the person who shows most sensitivity to their signals)
shows stranger and seperation anxiety
use familiar adults as a secure base
what are characteristics of the multiple attachments stage?
form secondary attachments with familiar adults with people they spend time with e.g dad or grandma
may show seperation anxiety to multiple people
what is seperation anxiety?
child shows distress when seperated from certain individuals e.g cry when left by mother
what is stranger anxiety?
fear of unfamiliar people
cries when given to unfamiliar people
what type of study was shchaffer and emmerson?
longitudinal study
what participants were used in shcaffer and emmerson?
60 babies from glasgow working class families
what was the procedure of schaffer and emmerson?
mothers were asked to keep a diary of the infants responds to 7 everyday seperation ( self report)
e.g left alone in a room to test seperation anxiety
left in a pram outside of a shop to show seperation anxiety
what are the findings of shcaffer and emmerson?
the 4 stages of attachment
what are the conclusions of shaffer and emmerson?
if a pattern of attachment is common to all children this suggests some biological control
however environment is also important because attachment forms based on sensetive responsiveness
shaffer and emerson concluded that attachment develops in stages
what are the positives of shaffer and emmerson?
has ecological validity
social applications
replicable
no individual differences with babies
ecological validity shaffer and emmerson
has ecological validity - babies can be left with strangers in real life and be left alone
so it is generalisable to every day situations as seperation and stranger anxiety can occur on a day to day basis
social applications shaffer and emmerson
paternity leave for fathers
uk fathers were not given paternity leave so responsibility of the child was given to the mother. this could change the attachment children make with their fathers
so this research shows importance of paternity leave
why is shaffer and emmerson replicable?
repeated many times and the same stages of attachment have been identified
no individual differences with babies- shaffer and emmerson
it was a longtitudinal study so babies were compared with themselves over time
what are the negatives of shaffer and emmerson?
social desirability bias
lacks population validity
cultural differences
loss of control over exraneous variables
measuring multiple attachments
why does shaffer and emmerson have social desirability bias?
the mothers self reported the data so the mother may change or add things to their report to make themselves look like a better parent
why does shaffer and emmerson lack population validity?
only working class children from glasgow so it cant generalise to the rest of the population
only 60 participants
extrenous variables shaffer and emmerson
loss of control - babies may be crying due to hunger or other factors not due to stranger or seperation anxiety
cultural differences - shaffer and emmerson
it isnt clear when children become capable of multiple attachments because research is conflicted.
bowlby suggests babies form attachments to a main carer first whereas research into collectivist cultures suggest that babies form multiple attachments from the outset this is possibly because multiple carers are the norm
measuring multiple attachment- shaffer and emmerson
just because a a baby gets distressed when an individual leaves the room does not necessarily mean that the individual is a true attachment figure
bowlby pointed out that children have playmates as well as attachment figures and may get distressed when the playmate leaves the room but this does not signify attachment
this is a problem for shaffer and emmersons stages because their observation doesnt leave a way to distinguish between behaviour shown towards secondary attachment figures and play mates
