Stages of attachment/ multiple attachments

Question 1

What is stage 1 of attachment called?

Answer 1

Pre-attachment

Question 2

What age is stage 1 of attatchment?

Answer 2

0-3 months

Question 3

What happens in stage 1 of attachment?

Answer 3

Babies are usually asocial. They have the same responses to all objects (animate or inanimate. Reciprocity and international synchrony play a role in establishing the infants relationships with others.

Question 4

What is stage 2 of attachment called?

Answer 4

Indiscriminate attachment

Question 5

What age is stage 2 of attachment?

Answer 5

3-7 months

Question 6

When do stage 1 babies treat objects differently humans?

Answer 6

6 weeks

Question 7

What happens in stage 2 of attachment?

Answer 7

• Distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people
• Easily comforted by anyone
• Very sociable (enjoy being with people)

Question 8

What is Stage 3 of attachment called?

Answer 8

Specific attachment

Question 9

What age is stage 3 of attachment?

Answer 9

7-9 months

Question 10

What happens in stage 3 of attachment?

Answer 10

Shows protest when one particular person puts them down: separation anxiety
Special joy at reunion and are most comforted by this person
Formed a specific attachment

Question 11

What is stage 4 of attachment called?

Answer 11

Multiple attachments

Question 12

What age is stage 4 of attachment?

Answer 12

9+ months

Question 13

What happens in stage 4 of attachment?

Answer 13

Soon after the main attachment is formed the infant develops multiple attachments
Secondary attachments
Display separation anxiety and stranger anxiety

Question 14

What did Schaffer and Emerson find about the role of the father?

Answer 14

Far less likely to be primary attachment figures as they spend less time with their infants.

Question 15

What did Heermann eat al (1994) find about the role of the father?

Answer 15

Less sensitive to infants’ cues

Can be primary attachment figures in single parent households

Question 16

What did Geiger (1996) find about fathers as secondary attachment figures?

Answer 16

Fathers are more playful, physically active and better at providing challenging situations for their children.
They are an exciting playmate for their children.

Question 17

What did White and Woollett (1992)find out about fathers as secondary attachments?

Answer 17

The lack of sensitivity can be positive as children are forced to problem solve in order to effectively communicate.

Question 18

Who were the psychologists that did research on the role of the father?

Answer 18

Heermann et al
Geiger
White and woollett
Schaffer and Emerson

Question 19

Advantage of stages of attachment/role of the father research: Schaffer and Emerson’s research

Answer 19

E: interviewed 60 mothers of infants in Glasgow. Within 1 month of forming a primary attachment the 29% had formed multiple attachments.
E: They found that by 1year old, 1/3 had formed 5+ secondary attachments
L: this supports the idea that specific attachments are followed by multiple attachments as identified by Schaffer.

Question 20

Disadvantage of stages of attachment/role of the father: Schaffer’s findings are based on flawed research.

Answer 20

E: findings are based on mothers reports which might be biased
E: some mothers may portray themselves as having a happier and healthier relationship than they really do, as well as portraying other family members as having better relationship with their children than they really do (social desirability bias).
L: -ve research may lack internal validity.

Question 21

Disadvantage of the stages of attachment/role of the father: Schaffer’s findings may lack temporal validity

Answer 21

E: the findings were collected in the 1960s and society and parental care has changed considerably since that time, with more mothers going out to work and fathers staying at home to look after the child.
E: more children are growing up in single parent families without a father and do not develop any differently to those living in two parent families.
L:The stages and the attachments formed by mothers and fathers alike may not be representative of how attachments develop in modern day.

Question 22

Disadvantage of the stages of attachment/ the role of the father: it can be seen as ethnocentric

Answer 22

E: it is culturally biased by assuming the way children develop in cone culture, is the way they develop in all cultures.
E: the theory suggests that a specific attachment is followed by multiple attachments, yet in some cultures the multiple attachments come first. Furthermore the role played by mothers, fathers and wider family in child rearing varies greatly which may affect attachments.
L: -ve stage theories on child development and theories on the role of different attachment figures may always be limited.

Question 23

Disadvantage of the stages of attachment/role of the father: problems with how multiple attachment is assessed.

Answer 23

E: Just because an infant is distressed when an individual leaves the room (separation anxiety) doesn’t mean they have a true attachment to that person.
E: Bowlby (1969) children have playmates as well as attachment figures and may get distressed when a playmate leaves the room but this doesn’t signify attachment.
L: this observation does not give a way to distinguish between behaviour shown towards secondary attachment figures and shown towards playmates.