stages of attachment: shaffer & emerson Flashcards
how many stages of attachment did schaffer and emerson create & name them
4
- asocial
- indiscriminate attachments
- discriminate/specific attachments
- multiple attachments
describe the asocial stage of attachment
- age = birth to 2 months
- infant shows similar responses to objects/people
describe the indiscriminate attachments stage of attachment
- age = 2-6 months
- infant has preference for human company
- comforted by anyone
- no stranger anxiety
describe the discriminate/specific attachments stage of attachment
- age = 7-12 months
- infant has preference for 1 caregiver
- separation & stranger anxiety
- particular person for security/protection
- joy upon reunion
describe the multiple attachments stage of attachment
- age = over 1 year
- attachments behaviours to several different people (secondary attachments)
- usually form in 1st month after primary attachment formed
- no. of multiple attachments depends on social circle of infant
aim of schaffer & emerson 1964
investigate formation of early attachments - in particular, the age at which they developed, their emotional intensity & to whom they were directed
method
- sample = 60 babies (31 male & 29 female)
- from working class families in glasgow
- aged between 5-23 weeks (start)
- researchers visited babies home every month for 1st 12 months & then once again at 18 months
- researchers interviewed mothers & observed children in relation to separation/stranger anxiety for everyday activities
results
- around 25-32 weeks, 50% of children showed separation anxiety towards mother
- at 40 weeks, 80% of children had specific attachment & 30% started forming multiple
conclusion
results provide support for schaffer & emersons stages of attachment & suggests attachment develops through a series of stages across the 1st year of life
AO3 +) schaffer and emerson’s research has been used to develop the stages of attachment, so it has good external validity
-) issues with using the mothers as ‘observers’
E:
- most of the observations were made by parents during ordinary activities and reported to researcher
- as researcher wasn’t present, the babies were likely less distracted/anxious
T: it is probable that the participants behaved naturally during observation
HOWEVER: there are issues with using the mothers as ‘observers’
- may have been biased regarding what they noticed and reported
- eg. not reporting when their baby displayed signs of anxiety or misremembered it
T: babies natural behaviour may not have been accurately recorded
AO3 -) validity of measures used to assess attachment in the asocial stage (stage 1)
E:
- young babies have bad coordination & are predominantly immobile
- if those less than 2 months felt anxiety daily they may have displayed this as subtle, hard-to-observe ways
- this means it’s difficult for mothers to observe &report back signs of anxiety/attachment to the researcher within this age group
T: babies can be quite social but, due to flawed methods, appear asocial
AO3 +) stages have real-world application in day care
E:
- in asocial & indiscriminate stages, day care is often straightforward as babies able to be comforted by any skilled adult
- research tells us that day care, especially beginning day care with unfamiliar adult, may be issue during specific stage of attachment
T: shows how parents can use Schaffer and Emerson’s stages of attachment to plan day care
