A: Stages of Attachment and Multiple Attachments

Question 1

What is stage 1 of attachment? (Schaffer and Emerson)

Answer 1

Asocial attachment (0-2 months)
-similar response to all objects- animate or inanimate

Question 2

Stage 2 of attachment?

Answer 2

Indiscriminate attachment (2-7 months)
-preference for people rather than objects
-prefer familiar adults
-no stranger or separation anxiety

Question 3

Stage 3 of attachment?

Answer 3

Specific attachment (around 7 months)
-stranger and separation anxiety
-specific attachment to primary attachment figure (with most sensitive and interactive person)

Question 4

Stage 4 of attachment?

Answer 4

Multiple Attachments (1 month after stage 3 or 1 year+)
-child displays attachment behaviours with other familiar people - secondary attachments

Question 5

Schaffer and Emerson (1964)

Answer 5

-studied 60 Glasgow babies at monthly interviews for first 18 months of life
-attachments were most likely to form with carers who were sensitive to the baby’s signals, rather than the person they spent the most time with
-by 10 months most babies had several attachments

Question 6

AO3: Schaffer and Emerson
Good External Validity

Answer 6

-study carried out in families homes so babies behaviour likely unaffected
-natural environment and behaviors
-observations mostly done by own mothers
-mundane realism

Question 7

AO3: longitudinal design

Answer 7

-meaning same children were followed up and observed regularly
-better internal validity than cross-sectional design where you observe different children at each age, removes cofounding variable of participant variables/differences

Question 8

AO3: limited sample characteristics (LIMITATION)

Answer 8

-good sample size considering large volume of data collected for each ppt. but…
-all families from same district and social class and at a time over 50 years ago
-child rearing practices vary across cultures and time periods so results cannot be generalised

Question 9

Parent-infant attachment

Answer 9

-in Schaffer and Emerson’s study it was found that the majority of babies formed a primary attachment with the mother
-for 75% of babies a secondary attachment was formed with the father by 18 months

Question 10

The role of the father

Answer 10

Grossman (2002) carried out a longitudinal study looking at parent behaviour and its relationship to the quality of children’s attachments into their teens
-quality of attachment with mothers related to quality of attachments in adolescence
-quality of play with fathers was related to quality of attachment in adolescence

So fathers role in attachment is less about nurturing and more about play and stimulation.

Question 11

Reason why women are usually primary attachment figure

Answer 11

-men may not be psychologically equipped to form an intense attachment as they lack the emotional sensitivity that women have - possibly due to oestrogen - caring behaviour, or due to social stereotypes that being sensitive is too feminine

-however, men can be primary attachment figures, but biological and social factors may discourage this

Question 12

Fathers as primary caregiver

Answer 12

• Tiffany Field (1978) filmed 4 month old babies in face to face interactions with primary mothers and primary/secondary caregiver fathers

-primary caregiver fathers (like mothers) spent more time smiling/imitating/holding infants than secondary

-so when fathers take on the primary caregiver role they do adopt more typical mother behaviors