Stages of attachment Flashcards
what was Schaffer and Emerson’s (1964) study?
glasgow babies
what was the glasgow babies study?
longitudinal study of 60 babies (5-23 weeks) from w/c homes at monthly intervals for 18 months
found the stages of attachment
what are the stages of attachment?
asocial attachment
indiscriminate attachment
specific attachment
multiple attachments
what is asocial attachment?
birth-2 months
similar response to all objects
start showing preference for people
time reciprocity and synchrony help to establish relationships with others
what is indiscriminate attachment?
2-7 months
marked preference for people
recognise and prefer familiar adults
no stranger or separation anxiety
what is specific attachment?
from 7 months
show stranger and separation anxiety
formed specific attachment with a primary attachment figure
what is multiple attachments?
happens a month after forming a specific attachment
by 1 year, babies typically make secondary attachments
what is sensitive responsiveness?
the baby is most likely to attach to whoever responds accurately to their signals, not who they spend most of their time with
what are strengths of schaffer and emerson’s study?
good external validity
longitudinal
what are limitations of schaffer and emerson’s study?
culturally bias
study is over 60 years old
social desirability bias
what are limitations of stages of development?
difficult to judge babies behaviour
stage theories are inflexible and assume we go through all in the same order
individualistic vs collectivist cultures (sagi et al, 1994)
culturally bias
what did Sagi et al (1994) find?
compared infants raised in communal environments (Israeli Kibbutzim)
found attachments with mothers was twice as common in family based living arrangements than in communal communities
what does individualistic mean?
focus is on the individual
people focus on their own needs and their family’s needs
what does collectivist mean?
more focus is placed on the needs of the group
multiple attachments in likely to occur
