stages of attachment - schaffer Flashcards
what did Schaffer and Emerson propose about attachment?
that it is formed in 4 stages
what are the 4 stages of attachment?
- asocial (birth- 2 months)
- indiscriminate attachment (around 4 months)
- specific attachment (by 7 months)
- multiple attachments (soon after primary attachment is formed)
what happens at the asocial stage?
- this is when the infant responds to objects and people similarly
- may respond more to faces and eyes
- prefer familiar adults
what happens at the indiscriminate attachment stage?
- the infant develops more responses to human company.
- although they can tell the difference between different people, they
can be comforted by anyone
what happens at the specific attachment stage?
- the infant begins to prefer one particular carer and seeks for security, comfort and protection in particular people.
- they also start to show stranger anxiety and separation anxiety
what happens at the multiple attachment stage?
- the infant forms multiple attachments and seeks
security, comfort and protection in multiple people - often people they see on a regular basis
- they may also show separation anxiety for multiple people.
outline Schaffer and Emerson’s procedure
- studied 60 babies from Glasgow, from working-class background
- they analysed the interactions between the infants and carers
- interviewed the carers
- the mother had to keep a diary to track the infant’s behaviours based on the following measures:
- separation anxiety - signs of distress when the carer leaving, and how much the infant needs to be
comforted when the carer returns - stranger anxiety - signs of distress as a response to a stranger
arriving - social referencing - how often the infant looks at their carer to check
how they should respond to something new - longitudinal study lasting 18 months
- they visited the infants monthly and once again at the end of the 18 month period.
outline Schaffer and Emerson’s findings
- first attachment usually formed by 8 months
- stranger distress usually 1 month later (9)
- 65% mother only
- 30% mother and father
- 3% father only
- attachment matters most based on responsiveness, play and social interaction
- primary attachments not necessarily the person who fed, changed, washed or spent most time with
evaluation: lacks pop. validity + temporal
ID: lacks population validity.
Q: infants in the study all came from Glasgow and were mostly from working class families.
EX: this means that the small sample size of 60 families reduces the strength of the conclusion we can
draw from the study. findings cannot be generalised, and so is a limited explanation of attachment development.
AN: therefore, Schaffer’s stages of attachment lack both population validity and temporal validity, as
parenting techniques have significantly changed since the 1950s, such as through the influence
of Bowlby’s work on attachment, and so caution should be taken when generalising the findings.
evaluation: lacks internal validity
ID: furthermore, it may lack internal validity
Q: this is because it uses the self-report method as the parents kept a daily diary.
E = for example, the accuracy of data collection may not be the best. the parents were busy so may not have included the full details. they may also be subject to social desirability bias, by altering their reports so they appear to be closer to what they see as socially acceptable or desirable i.e. they may believe that it is better if the infant responds to them, so they would report that it happens sooner than it actually did, or they may intentionally not report any negative experiences they have. furthermore, there may also be demand characteristics as they try to tailor their report to fit or go against what they think is the aim/hypothesis of the study.
AN: therefore, caution should be taken when placing confidence in the conclusions drawn from
this study.
evaluation: issues studying the asocial stage
ID: the asocial stage cannot be studied objectively.
Q: this means that children as young as 6 weeks lack basic motor co-ordination skills, meaning that we cannot establish whether their responses, such as ‘separation anxiety’, are deliberate.
EX: for example, Bremner outlined the difference between behavioural response and behavioural
understanding. just because a child appears to have a bond with their primary caregiver, does not mean that such a bond exists or that the child understands the significance of such a bond.
AN: therefore, it is important not to draw causal conclusions as it can be difficult to make judgements about the purpose of behaviour
