The Development of Attachment

Question 1

Outline the study on the stages of attachment

Answer 1

• Conducted by Schaffer and Emerson (1964)
• 60 Glaswegian working class mothers and infants were studied
• At the beginning of the study, infants were 5-23 weeks old
• They were studied until 1 year old, revisited at 18 months old
• The mothers were visited every 4 weeks and asked to report on how their infants behaved in a range of everyday situations e.g. being left alone in a room or with other people. They wer4e asked to rate their infant’s response on a 4-point scale
• The infants’ stranger anxiety was also measured at the 4 week interval by assessing the infants’ response to the interviewer

Question 2

Describe stage 1 of attachment

Answer 2

• Asocial stage
• From birth to 2 months, infants have a similar responses to animate or inanimate objects.
• Towards the end of this stage, they begin to show a greater preference for social stimuli, like a smiling face, and are more content with people.
• During this stage, reciprocity and interactional synchrony play a role in establishing the infant’s relationships with others

Question 3

Describe stage 2 of attachment

Answer 3

• Indiscriminate stage
• At 4 months, infants become more social, prefer human company to inanimate objects and can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people.
• They are still easily comforted by anyone and don’t show stranger anxiety.

Question 4

Describe stage 3 of attachment

Answer 4

• Discriminate stage
• By 7 months, infants show separation anxiety and show joy at reunion with their primary attachment figure. They also begin to show stranger anxiety
• Schaffer and Emerson found primary attachments weren’t always with the person that the infant spends most time with. They observed infants were intensely attached to mothers who responded quickly and sensitively to social releasers. Infants were poorly attached to mothers who had poor sensitive responsiveness. They concluded it was the quality of relationship that mattered most when forming an attachment
• In 65% of the children, the first attachment was to the mother, and in 30% the mother was the first joint object of attachment. Fathers were rarely the sole attachment (3%) but 27% of them were the joint first object of attachment

Question 5

Describe stage 4 of attachment

Answer 5

• Multiple attachments stage
• After the main attachment is formed, infants develop multiple attachments, depending on how many consistent relationships they have.
• Schaffer and Emerson found within a month of first becoming attached, 29% of infants had multiple attachments to someone else, secondary attachments. Infants also show separation anxiety in these relationships
• Within 6 months it had risen to 78%. So by the age of 1 year, most infants had developed multiple attachments and a third of infants had 5 or more secondary attachments.

Question 6

Give evaluation for the stages of attachment (validity)

Answer 6

• Data collected by Schaffer and Emerson may be unreliable as it was based on the mothers’ report of their infants. Some mothers may have lower sensitive responsiveness to their infants and would be less likely to to report them, creating systematic bias which challenges the validity of the data
• However, they conducted the experiment in a natural environment (home) and as the mothers reported to the researchers (other than about stranger anxiety), the infants behaviour was unlikely to be affected by the presence of observers. It’s likely they behaved naturally so they study has good external validity.

Question 7

Give evaluation for the stages of attachment (biased)

Answer 7

• The sample is biased. It came from a working-class population so the findings cannot be applied to all social groups
• Also sample was from 1960s, and parental care has changed alot since that time. More women go out to work so many children are cared for outside the home, or fathers stay at home and become the main caregiver.
• Cohen at al (2014) found the number of dads who choose to stay at home and care for the family has quadrupled over the past 25 years.
• Therefore, if Schaffer and Emerson’s study was repeated today the findings would be different, lowering the reliability of their study,

Question 8

Give evidence that fathers can’t form nurturing attachments

Answer 8

• Schaffer and Emerson found fathers were less likely to be the primary attachment figure than mothers as they spent less time with their infants. However, Lamb (1997) reported studies have shown little relationship between father accessibility (amount of time) and infant-father attachment
• Men may not be psychologically equipped to form an intense attachment as they lack the emotional sensitivity that women offer, may be due to biological or social factors. The female hormone, oestrogen, underlies caring behaviour so women are, generally, more oriented towards interpersonal goals than men. Some cultural expectations continue to have sex stereotypes that affect male behaviour, like being sensitive to the need of others is seen as feminine.
• Heerman et al (1994) suggests men are less sensitive to infant cues than mothers

Question 9

Give evidence that men are capable of forming nurturing attachments

Answer 9

• Frodi et al (1978) showed videotapes of infants crying and found no differences in the physiological responses of men and women
• Frank et al (1997) found that in two-parent families where the father is the primary caregiver, both parents often share the role of the primary attachment figure
• So men can be primary attachment figures but biological and social may discourage this

Question 10

Give evidence that the fathers role is different, a ‘playmate’

Answer 10

• Research has highlighted the fact fathers are more playful, physically active and better at providing challenging situations for their children. Geiger (1996) suggested a father is an exciting playmate whereas mothers are more conventional and tend to read stories to their children
• White and Woollet (1992) suggest the lack of sensitivity from fathers fosters problem-solving by greater communicative and cognitive demands on children
• Bowlby suggested that the role of the father was to play with the child whereas the mother was the nurturing figure