Attachment

Question 1

Who developed the stages of attachment?

Answer 1

Schaffer + Emerson (1964)

Question 2

How did Schaffer + Emerson (1964) investigate the formation of attachment within the first year of a child’s life?

Answer 2

Visited 60 babies in the Glasgow area every month and measured various behaviours inc separation protest, stranger anxiety.
-> proposed that attachments develop in 4 stages

Question 3

Name the stages of attachment

Answer 3

Asocial stage
Indiscriminate attachment
Specific attachment
Multiple attachments

Question 4

Stage 1 of attachment formation is called what? Develops when?

Answer 4

Asocial stage

Birth -> 2 months

Question 5

Stage 2 of attachment formation is called what? Develops when?

Answer 5

Indiscriminate Attachment

2 months -> 7 months

Question 6

Stage 3 of attachment formation is called what? Develops when?

Answer 6

Specific Attachment

7 months

Question 7

Stage 4 of attachment formation is called what? Develops when?

Answer 7

Multiple Attachments

7+ months

Question 8

Describe stage 1 of attachment

Answer 8

Birth-2 months : Asocial stage.
• Baby is recognising and forming bonds with carers.
• Similar behaviour towards humans and non-human objects.
• Baby shows some preference for the familiar adults -> these adults find it easier to calm the baby.
• Baby is happier in the presence of other humans as opposed to being alone.

Question 9

Describe stage 2 of attachment

Answer 9

2-7 months : Indiscriminate Attachment.
• Baby displays more observable social behaviour.
• Show a preference for humans rather than inanimate objects -> prefer familiar adults.
• Accept comfort / cuddles from any adult.
• Do not show séparation protest / stranger anxiety.

Question 10

Describe stage 3 of attachment

Answer 10

7 months : Specific Attachment.
• Start to display separation protest / stranger anxiety.
• Baby has formed specific attachments to primary care giver.
• Primary care giver isn’t necessarily who they spend most time with, but the one who offers most interaction / response to baby’s signals with most skill.

Question 11

Describe stage 4 of attachment

Answer 11

7+ months : Multiple Attachments.
• Baby shows attachment behaviour towards other adults with whom they regularly spend time -> secondary attachments.
• By 1 year old 33% of children in Schaffer + Emerson’s study formed multiple attachments.

Question 12

Define stages of attachment

Answer 12

A sequence of qualitatively different behaviours linked to specific ages.
Certain behaviours towards others change as the infant gets older.

Question 13

Define multiple attachments

Answer 13

Attachments to two or more people.

Most babies develop these once they have formed one true attachment to a main care giver.

Question 14

Define longitudinal study

Answer 14

A study which takes place over an extended length of time

Question 15

Define sensitive responsiveness

Answer 15

When the care giver responds accurately to the baby’s signals

Question 16

In Schaffer + Emerson’s (1964) study, what percentage of infants had their father as their main attachment figure?

Answer 16

3%

Question 17

Give limitations with Schaffer + Emerson’s (1964) study of stages of attachment

Answer 17

Limited sample -> low population validity -> can’t generalise to total population.

Societal changes -> low temporal validity -> lot of change since 60s eg stay at home dads, day care as women prioritise careers.

Question 18

What is a limitation with studying the asocial stage?

Answer 18

Babies at this age (0-2 months) are pretty much immobile -> difficult to observe and make judgements.

Question 19

Why do we carry out studies of attachment on animals?

Answer 19

Attachent-like behaviour is common to a range of species -> animal studies can help us understand attachment in humans

Question 20

Give strengths of animal studies on attachment

Answer 20

• Humans and monkeys are similar.
-> Green (1994) states that on a biological level, all mammals have the same brain structure.

• Practical application.
-> Harlow’s research -> implications for childcare, due to importance of early experiences of long term development.

Question 21

Give weaknesses of animal studies on attachment

Answer 21

• Can’t generalise to humans.
-> unlikely that animals reflect the emotional connections / interaction of human attachments.

• Unethical.
-> argued that animals have a right not to be researched / harmed.