Schaffer and Emerson Flashcards
When was this study carried out? (SE)
1964
What was the methodology of this study?
- Sample consisted of 60 babies - 31 boys, 29 girls: ages 5 - 23 weeks at the start of the investigation
- Working class families in Glasgow
- Researchers visited the babies at their home once every month for the first 12 months and once again at 18 months
- Researchers interviewed the mothers and observed the children in relation to seperation and stranger anxiety in a range of everyday activities
What were the findings of the study?
- At 25-32 weeks of age, 30% showed signs of separation anxiety
- Attachment tended to be with the most interactive and sensitive caregiver
- By 40 weeks, 80% of babies had a specific attachment and almost 30% displayed multiple attachments
What were the 4 stages of attachment that Schaffer and Emerson theorised?
Asocial stage
Indiscriminate stage
Specific stage
Multiple attachments
What is the asocial stage?
- Usually lasts up to 6 weeks after birth
- No discrimination between humans
- Preference for humans over non humans
What is the indiscriminate stage?
- From 6 weeks to 6 months
- Can tell people apart
- Stronger bonds begin to crow with familiar adults
- No fear of strangers
- Displays more observable social behaviour
What is the specific stage?
- Usually develops around 7 months
- Strong displays of separation anxiety
- Distress in the company of strangers
- Primary attachment caregiver (most sensitive person)
- 65% of the time it is the biological mother
What is the multiple attachment stage?
- From around 10 months
- Attachment with primary caregiver grows
- Increased interest in developing bonds with others
- 29% of babies have multiple attachment within 1 month of forming a primary caregiver
What is multiple attachment?
Having more than one attachment (e.g mother and father)
What is a primary attachment figure?
The person who has formed the closest bond with the child, demonstrated by the intensity of the relationship
What is separation anxiety?
The distress shown by an infant when separated from their caregiver
What is stranger anxiety?
The distress shown by an infant when approached or held by someone who is unfamiliar
What was the conclusion of this study?
- Infants form attachment in stages, and can eventually attach to many people
- Quality of care is important in informing attachments, so the infant may not attach their mother if other people respond more accurately to its signals
AO3 - High external validity
Schaffer and Emerson’s study was carried out in the families own homes and most of the observation (other than stranger anxiety) was actually done by parents during ordinary activities and reported to researchers later. This means the behaviour of the babies was unlikely to be affected by the presence of observers, there is an excellent chance that the participants behaved naturally while being observed. We can therefore say the study has good external validity.
AO3 - Limited sample characteristics
The sample size of 60 babies and their carers was good considering the large volume of data that was gathered on each participant.
However, the fact that all the families involved were from the same district and social class in the same city and at a time over 50 years ago is a limitation.
Child rearing practices vary from one culture to another and one historical period to another: these results do not necessarily generalise well to other social and historical contexts.
