Stages of Attachment- Schaffer Flashcards
What are the 4 stages of attachment?
-Asocial Attachment
-Indiscriminate Attachment
-Discriminate Attachment
-Multiple Attachment
What age is the asocial stage?
birth to 3 months
What is age the indiscriminate stage?
3-6 months (around)
What age is the Discriminate attachment stage?
7 months onwards (around)
What age is the Multiple Attachment stage?
10 months onwards (around)
What is Asocial Attachment? (description)
-From birth infants produce similar responses to all objects (animate or inanimate)
-Towards end of stage (3 month mark), infants begin to show greater preference for social stimuli, such as a smiling face and more content when with people. (not specific)
-R and IS play role in establishing infants relationships with others
-No preference
What is the indiscriminate stage?
-infants begin to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar people (smiling more at known
-Still easily comforted by anyone, enjoy being with people
-Do not display stranger anxiety (no preference)
What is the discriminate stage?
-Infants begin to develop specific attachments to one person ( primary care giver
-Shown through separation anxiety and joy on reunion (show pleasure)
-Also begin to display stranger anxiety as they avoid unfamiliar people and protest if strangers try handle them (show distress) (preference£
What is the Multiple attachment stage?
-Soon after main attachment is formed, infant also develops a wider circle of multiple attachments (grandparents,siblings,father)
-Relationships called secondary attachments
-Infants display separation anxiety in these relationships (preference)
What is separation anxiety?
Baby shows distress form baby when not in presence of care giver (e.g stop playing or engaging)
What is stranger anxiety?
Baby shows distress when stranger attempts to handle them (protest)
Who did the research into Stages of Attachment?
Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
What are the four attachment behaviours? (biggest ways to determine attachment)
-Joy on reunion
-Separation Anxiety
-Stranger Anxiety
-Proximity Seeking
-
What is proximity seeking?
-If an infant wants to stay close to care giver- seek pleasure knowing parent is there as a safe base
What is was Schaffer and Emerson’s aim?
-to investigate the formation of early attachments, and to identify the distinct stages by which attachments form
What was Schaffer and Emerson’s procedure?
-longitudinal study, conducted using 60 infants from many working class homes in Glasgow
-Mothers, and babies studied each month for first year of their lives in their own home and again the 18 months
-At each visit each mother reported their infants responses to separation
and seven every day situations (separation, anxiety)
-The researchers also assessed the infants anxiety response to unfamiliar adults (stranger anxiety) e.g. researcher
what does the 60 infants being from mainly working class homes mean?
They could perhaps be treated differently
why were the babies most likely studied at 18 months again?
Secondary attachment might be formed
Where did the research take place?
at homes
The findings of the research?
-first attachment usually formed between six and eight months
-mother=main attachment figure for 65% of children at 18 months old, 3% of infant studied, developed primary attachment to father
-18 months, old 31% of infants had formed attachments (to grandparents and siblings)
-research, as also found that primary attachments were not always formed with the person who spend time with the infant
-They observed that intensely attached the infants had mothers who responded quickly and sensitively to their signals and who offered their child most interaction.
in the findings, who were babies attached to?
Mostly to the Socially sensitive mothers
What was the conclusion of the research?
-they concluded that it is the quality of the relationship not quantity that mattered formation of attachments
(quality not quantity)
