stages of attachment Flashcards
What do psychologists suggest about attachments in the first year of life?
Psychologists suggest that attachments are formed between a parent and their child in the first year of life.
What was the aim of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
The study aimed to find the age at which attachments start and how intense these attachments are.
What was the procedure of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
They observed a sample of 60 infants from working-class families in Glasgow, recording their attachment behaviors at regular intervals from 6 weeks to 18 months. The study was longitudinal and involved visiting families every 4 weeks until the infant was 1 year old, and then again at 18 months.
How did Schaffer and Emerson measure attachment?
Attachment was measured through separation anxiety (distress when separated from caregiver) and stranger anxiety (distress when around unfamiliar people).
What were the key findings of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
- At 25 to 32 weeks (6-8 months), 50% of babies showed separation anxiety.
- Attachments were formed with caregivers who were most interactive and sensitive to the infant’s behavior
- At around 40 weeks (10 months), 80% of babies had a specific attachment, and 30% had multiple attachments.
- By 1 year, many infants had formed multiple attachments, with ⅓ forming 5 or more secondary attachments.
What are the four stages of attachment identified by Schaffer and Emerson?
indiscriminate attachments
(0-6 weeks)
beginnings of attachment
(6 weeks - 7 months)
discriminate attachments
(7-9 months)
multiple attachments
(10-18 months)
What happens during the “Indiscriminate attachments” stage (0-6 weeks)?
Infants can form bonds with anyone, including inanimate objects. Reciprocity and interactional synchrony are important in developing the attachment.
What happens during the “Beginnings of attachment” stage (6 weeks - 7 months)?
Infants begin to show a preference for human company and seek social interaction with familiar adults, but they still respond positively to strangers.
What happens during the “Discriminate attachments” stage (7-9 months)?
Infants form strong bonds with specific individuals, show separation and stranger anxiety, and seek comfort from their primary caregiver when distressed.
What is the role of the father in the “Discriminate attachments” stage?
During this stage, 65% of infants’ primary caregiver was their mother, while 30% had joint primary caregivers. Fathers were rarely the sole primary caregiver (3%), but 27% were the joint first object of attachment with the mother.
What happens during the “Multiple attachments” stage (10-18 months)?
Infants form multiple attachments with various individuals, such as grandparents and siblings, and are better able to tolerate brief separations from caregivers while still relying on them for comfort.
What is longitudinal research?
Longitudinal research involves following the same group of people over an extended period of time, such as observing children over an 18-month period in Schaffer and Emerson’s study.
What is the strength of using longitudinal research?
Longitudinal research eliminates individual differences as a confounding variable and increases the internal validity of the results, as the same children are observed over time.
What is ecological validity, and how does it relate to Schaffer and Emerson’s study?
Ecological validity refers to the extent to which research findings can be generalized to real-life settings. Schaffer and Emerson’s study had high ecological validity because it took place in the infants’ homes, reflecting natural behaviors.
What is a limitation of Schaffer and Emerson’s study regarding self-report?
The study relied on caregiver self-reports, which could be subject to interpretation and social desirability bias, leading caregivers to overestimate their role in attachment development.
