The Development Of Attachment

Question 1

Who studied the stages of attachment and how did they study it

Answer 1

in 1964 Schaffer and Emerson conducted a study on 60 babies from working class families in Glasgow, visited families every month for a year
from their findings they created the 4 stages of attachment, primary caregiver based on quality time

Question 2

Stage 1

Answer 2

asocial stage - occurs 0-2 months, infants produce similar responses to all objects

Question 3

Stage 2

Answer 3

Indiscriminate stage - occurs 2-7 months, become more social, prefer humans to inanimate objects, more sociable

Question 4

Stage 3

Answer 4

specific attachment stage - occurs 7 months-1 year, start of separation anxiety and stranger anxiety, form specific attachment to primary caregiver

Question 5

Stage 4

Answer 5

multiple attachment stage - occurs 1 year onwards, develops multiple attachments, separation anxiety

Question 6

Evaluation for stages of attachment

Answer 6

1. Unreliable data
2. Biased sample
3. Longitudinal study

Question 7

Evaluation: unreliable data

Answer 7

P - unreliable data
E - based on mothers reports on infants
E - some mothers may have been less sensitive to their infants protests, so less likely to report them
L -this would create a systematic bias that would challenge the validity of the data

Question 8

Evaluation: biased sample

Answer 8

P - biased sample
E - sample was from 1960s, parental care has changed
E - more women work now, so children are cared for outside the home, or fathers stay home as primary caregiver
L - if conducted today, findings may differ

Question 9

evaluation: longitudinal study

Answer 9

P - longitudinal study
E - same children were followed up and observed regularly
E - no individual differences confounding the results
L - makes it easier to establish cause and effect