The Development Of Attachment

Question 1

What are the stages of attachment?

Answer 1

Stage 1 - indiscriminate attachments
Stage 2 - he beginnings of attachment
Stage 3 - discriminate attachment
Stage 4 - multiple attachments

Question 2

What is stage 1 in the development of attachment?

Answer 2

From birth until about two months infants produce similar responses to all objects, whether they are animate or inanimate.

Towards the end of this period, infants are beginning to show greater preference for social stimuli, such as a smiling face, and to be more content when they are with people.
During this period reciprocity and interactional synchrony play a role in establishing the infants relationships with others.

Question 3

What is stage 2 in the development of attachment?

Answer 3

Around the age of 4 months infants become more social they prefer human company to inanimate objects and can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar people.

However, they are still relatively easily comforted by anyone, and do not yet show stranger anxiety.
The most distinctive feature of this phase is their general sociability (enjoyment of being with people).

Question 4

What is stage 3 in the development of attachment?

Answer 4

By seven months most infants begin to show separation anxiety.

They show especial joy at reunion with that person and are most comforted by them (their primary attachment figure).
They also begin to display stranger anxiety, another sign of a specific attachment having formed.

Question 5

What is stage 4 in the development of attachment?

Answer 5

Very soon after the main attachment is formed, the infant also develops a wider circle of multiple attachments depending on how many consistent relationships they have.

Specifically Schaffer and Emerson found that, within 1 month of first becoming attached, 29% of the infants had multiple attachments (other relatives, neighbours - known as secondary attachments - separation anxiety is also displayed in these.
Within six months this had risen to 78% - by the age of about 1 the majority had developed multiple attachments, with 1/3 having formed 5 or more secondary attachments.

Question 6

What did Schaffer and Emerson find about multiple attachments?

Answer 6

Within 1 month of first becoming attached, 29% of the infants had multiple attachments (known as secondary attachments - separation anxiety is also displayed in these).

Within six months this had risen to 78% - by the age of about 1 the majority had developed multiple attachments, with 1/3 having formed 5 or more secondary attachments.

Question 7

What is a primary attachment figure?

Answer 7

The person who has formed the closest bond with a child, demonstrated by the intensity of the relationship.

Usually a child’s biological mother but others can fulfil the role.

Question 8

What is a secondary attachment figure?

Answer 8

Multiple attachments to someone other than the primary attachment figure.

E.g - other parent, grandparents, siblings, other relatives, friends, neighbours.

Question 9

What are multiple attachments?

Answer 9

Having more than one attachment figure

Question 10

What is separation anxiety?

Answer 10

The distress shown by an infant when separated from his/her caregiver, this is not necessarily the child’s biological mother.

Question 11

What is stranger anxiety?

Answer 11

The distress shown by an infant when approached or picked up by someone who is unfamiliar.

Question 12

Who conducted the study about the development of attachments?

Answer 12

Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

Question 13

What was the procedure for Schaffer and Emerson’s study?

Answer 13

60 infants from mainly working class homes in Glasgow were studied. 
At the start of the investigation the infants ranged from 5 to 23 weeks. They were studied until the age of 1. 

The mothers were visited every four weeks.

1. At each visit each mother reported their infants response to separation in seven everyday situations.
2. The mother was also asked to describe the intensity of any protest (e.g - full blooded cry or whimper), which was then rated on a four-point scale.
3. Final the mother was asked to say whom the protest was directed.

Stranger anxiety was also measured by assessing the infants response to the interview at each view.

Question 14

What did Schaffer and Emerson find about primary attachments?

Answer 14

Not always formed with the person who spent most time with the child.

They observed that intensely attached infants had mothers who responded quickly and sensitively to their ‘signals’ and who offered their child the most interaction.
Infants who were poorly attached had mothers who failed to interact.

Question 15

What did Schaffer and Emerson conclude about primary attachments?

Answer 15

That it is quality of the relationship, not quantity, that mattered most in the formation of attachment.

In 65% of the children the first specific attachment was to the mother, and in a further 30% the mother was the first joint object of attachment.
Fathers were rarely the first sole object of attachment (3%) but 27% of them were the joint first object.

Question 16

What are the evaluative points of Schaffer and Emerson’s study?

Answer 16

Unreliable data 
Biased sample 
Are multiple attachments equivalent?
Cultural variations
Stage theories

Question 17

What is meant by unreliable data in the development of attachment study?

Answer 17

The data collected was based mothers reports of their infants.
Some mothers might have been less sensitive to their infants protests and therefore were less likely to report them.

What is particularly important is that this would create a systematic bias which would challenge the validity of the data.

Question 18

What is meant by biased sample in the development of attachment study?

Answer 18

The sample was biased in a number of ways -
Working-class population and the findings may only apply to that social group.
The sample was from the 1960s - parental care has changed considerably since then.
More women go out to work so many children are cared for outside the home, or fathers stay at home and become the main carer. Research shows the number dads who chose to stay at home and care for family has quadrupled over the past 25 years.

Its likely if a similar study was conducted today, the results might be different.

Question 19

What is meant by are multiple attachments equivalent in the development of attachment study?

Answer 19

Bowlby’s view was that an infant forms one special emotional relationship (monotropy).
Subsidiary to this are many other secondary attachments which are important as an emotional safety net, and also other needs. For example, fathers may offer a special kind of care, and relationships with siblings are important in learning how to negotiate with peers.

By contrast, Rutter (1995) has argued that all attachment figures are equivalent. He believes that all attachments are integrated to produce an infants attachment type.

Question 20

What is meant by cultural variations in the development of attachment study?

Answer 20

Psychologists identified two different kinds of cultures - individualist and collectivist cultures.

Sagi (1994) compared attachments in infants raised in communal environments (Israeli kibbutzim) with infants raised in family-based sleeping arrangements.
In a kibbutz children spend their time in a community children’s home cared for by a metapelet, including nighttime.
Closeness of attachment was almost twice as common in family-based arrangements than in the communal environments.

This suggests the stage model applies specifically to individualist cultures.

Question 21

What is an individualist culture?

Answer 21

Focus on the individual
E.g - the UK and US
Each person in the society is first and foremost concerned with their own needs or the needs of their immediate family.

Question 22

What is a collectivist culture?

Answer 22

More focused on the needs of the group rather than the individual.
In such cultures people share many things, like possessions and child care.
It follows that, we would expect multiple attachments to be more common.

Question 23

What is meant by stage theories in the development of attachment study?

Answer 23

Developmental psychologists often use stage theories to describe how children’s behaviour changes as they age.

One difficulty with such theory is that they suggest development is rather inflexible.
In the case of the stage theory of attachment, for example, it suggests that normally single attachments must come before multiple attachments.
In some situations and cultures multiple attachments may come first.

The problem is that this becomes a standard by which families are judged and may be classed as abnormal.

Question 24

What did Schaffer and Emerson find about the role of the father?

Answer 24

They were far less likely to be primary attachment figures than mothers. This may be because they spend less time with their infants

Question 25

What did lamb find? (Father - primary role)

Answer 25

1997 - There was little relationship between the amount of time fathers spend with their infants and infant-father attachment

Question 26

What are the biological factors that may cause men to form a less intense attachments?

Answer 26

The female hormone oestrogen underlines caring behaviour so women, generally, are more oriented towards interpersonal goals than men.

Question 27

What are the social factors that may cause men to form a less intense attachments?

Answer 27

There are cultural expectations and stereotypes that affect male behaviour, such as it’s thought of as rather feminine to be sensitive to the needs of others

Question 28

What research is there about male sensitivity?

Answer 28

There is evidence that men are less sensitive to infant cues than mothers (Heerman, 1994)

However, Frodi (1978) showed videotapes of infants crying and found no differences in the physiological responses of men and women.

Question 29

What did Frank find? (Father - primary role)

Answer 29

In two-parent families where the father the primary caregiver, both parents often share the role of primary attachment figure

Question 30

What are the important roles of the father as a secondary attachment?

Answer 30

Fathers are more playful, physically active and generally better at providing challenging situations for their children.

A father is an exciting playmate whereas mothers are more conventional and tend to read stories to their children (Geiger, 1996).

Question 31

What did White and Woollett suggest?

Answer 31

1992 - It may be that a lack of sensitivity from fathers can be seen as positive because it fosters problem-solving by making greater communicative and cognitive demands on children.