Stages of Attachment

Question 1

Who researched the stages of attachment?

Answer 1

Schaffer and Emerson

Question 2

What was the method of studying stages of attachment?

Answer 2

• Studied 60 babies from Glasgo from skilled working class families
• The babies and their mothers were visited every month for a year and once more at 18 months after the study began.
• The mothers were asked questions abt the child’s response in everyday separation anxiety related situations.

Question 3

What were the findings of studying stages of attachment?

Answer 3

25-32 weeks of age: 50% of the babies showed signs of separation anxiety towards an adult, usually the mother. Attachment was formed with person who was most sensitive to infant signals, not the person who spent the most time with them.

By 40 weeks: Although most babies had specific attachment to the adult, nearly 30% displayed multiple attachments.

Question 4

Stage 1

Answer 4

Asocial stage (0-6 weeks)

Question 5

Describe Stage 1

Answer 5

• Infant beginning to form bond with its carers
• Infant’s behaviour towards non-human objects and humans is similar
• Show a preference for familiar adults who they are more easily soothed by

Question 6

Stage 2

Answer 6

Indiscriminate attachment (6 weeks to 6 months)

Question 7

Describe Stage 2

Answer 7

• Infants develop clear preference for people over objects
• Still recognise familiar adults
• Accept comfort from adults and typically dont show separation or stranger anxiety
• Attachment is indiscriminate because it is not towards any one specific person

Question 8

Stage 3

Answer 8

Specific attachment (7 months onwards)

Question 9

Describe Stage 3

Answer 9

• Majority of infants start displaying stranger and separation anxiety
• Infants form specific attachment to the caregiver who is most sensitive to their infant signals

Question 10

Stage 4

Answer 10

Multiple attachments (11 months onwards)

Question 11

Describe Stage 4

Answer 11

• After initially showing attachments to just one adult, the infant now extends attachment behaviour to multiple adults
• These adults are individuals who spend the most time with the infants
• These are called secondary attachments
• Majority of infants developed multiple attachments by the age of one year

Question 12

A strength of the theory is that it is supported by a study which was longitudinal in design.

Answer 12

Schaffer and Emerson study observd infants and their mothers regularly; every month for a year and then again at 18 months.
Strength bc allows rich in depth data on ppts as you can see changes in attachment over time. This data provides more validity than a “one-off snapshot observation” that only gives you information about a participant at one moment in time.
Thus as the longitudinal research increases in validit, so does the theory that was based on it.

Question 13

A weakness of Shaeffer and Emerson’s theory is that it lacks temporal validity.

Answer 13

The sample was from the 1960s, and parental care has changed since then. Parents now are more likely to place their child in day care if they both work and are no longer likely to have one parent (traditionally the mother) dedicating their time to them. For example, in 2013, the ONS reported that the rate of employment for woman has increased from 53% in 1971 to 67% in 2013.
Weakness bc shows that findings cannot be used to understand stages of attachment infants go through in modern times. Thus the theory decreases in validity.

Question 14

ONS

Answer 14

Office for National Statistics

Question 15

A weakness of the theory is that it relies on evidence that it is difficult to interpret.

Answer 15

Babies that are very young have poor co-ordination and are generally immobile (especially those in the Asocial stage) and is therefore difficult to make objective judgements about them based on observations of their behaviour.
WB means the researcher will have to rely on a subjective interpretation of infant behaviour, thus making the ovservations less valid.
As the research can be seen as invalid, so does the theory that is based on the research.

Question 16

A weakness of the theory is that there is refuting evidence on the theory of multiple attachments.

Answer 16

Cross-cultural research has shown that when multiple caregivers are the norm, babies form multiple attachments from the outset (Van Ijzendoorn et al 1993). Collectivist cultures often have an emphasis on children being rased in groups, where different families share childrearing responsibilities - rather than just the mother (e.g Kibbutz communities in Israel).
Weakness bc the theory doesn’t take into account cultures where it is normal for multiple attachments to form earlier than 11 months old. Therefore, the theory provides an incomplete explanation of the stages of attachment that infants go through.
Thus the theory decreases in validity.