Stages of Attachment Flashcards
Attachment
Who identified the stages of attachment?
Schaffer and Emerson in 1964
What research did Schaffer and Emerson carry out?
Research on 60 Glaswegian babies and their families
They visited their homes once a month for the babies first year of life and again at 18 months
How did Schaffer and Emerson gather their data?
Using observational techniques (e.g. measuring the babies’ fear of strangers) and interviews (e.g.asking the mother how the babies responded in different situations such as when an adult left the room)
What did Schaffer and Emerson do with their findings?
Formulated a four stage theory of attachment. It is thought that all infants pass through these stages at approximately the ages suggested
What and when is the first stage?
The Asocial stage
0-6 weeks
What are typical behaviours of the Asocial stage?
Babies begin to distinguish humans from non-humans
They start to show a preference for things that look like humans and those who are more familiar
What and when is the second stage?
The Indiscriminate stage
2-7 months
What are typical behaviours of the Indiscriminate stage?
Babies become more sociable, preferring human company
They don’t yet have stranger anxiety, don’t prefer specific people and so will be comforted by anyone
What and when is the third stage?
Specific/ discriminate attachments stage
7-10 months
What are typical behaviours of the Discriminate attachment stage?
Babies begin to form a main attachment with the primary attachment figure (usually the mother or whoever interacts with them the most)
They start to show separation anxiety when apart from the primary attachment figure
They start to show stranger anxiety
What and when is the fourth stage?
Multiple attachments stage
10-11 months
What are typical behaviours of the Multiple attachments stage?
Begin to form attachments to others (e.g. grandparents, siblings etc.) known as secondary attachments
These attachments all serve different purposes (one for food, one for play, one for comfort etc.)
it was found that 29% of infants had formed multiple attachments one month after forming their primary attachment
What is the strength of the stages of attachment?
High ecological validity- data collected in their homes- behave as normal with no unnatural behaviours- strengthens the validity
What are the 3 limitations of the stages of attachment?
prone to subjectivity and bias- ‘observer bias’ shows different interpretations- inaccurate data- ‘social desirability bias’ as mothers may have lied in their interviews- low in validity/ not trustworthy data
Lacks temporal validity- few stay at home fathers in the past- results may not apply to infants today- can’t assume that the stages will be the same
culture bias- different child rearing practises- Van Ijzendoorn- collectivist cultures developed multiple attachments much earlier- lacks generalisability
