stages of attachment

Question 1

what is separation anxiety?

Answer 1

signs of distress when the carer leaving, and how much the infant needs to be comforted when the carer returns

Question 2

what is stranger anxiety?

Answer 2

signs of distress as a response to a stranger arriving

Question 3

what was the aim of Schaffer and Emmerson’s study?

Answer 3

To identify stages of attachment/find a pattern in the development of an attachment between infants and parents

Question 4

what is social refrencing?

Answer 4

how often the infant looks at their carer to check how they should respond to something new

Question 5

what did Schaffer and Emmerson find out about babies of parents / carers who had ‘sensitive responsiveness’

Answer 5

that they were more likely to form attachments

Question 6

what did Schaffer and Emmerson find out about sensitive responsivness?

Answer 6

• it was more important than
  the amount of time spent with the baby
• infants formed more attachments with those who spent less time with them but were more sensitive to their needs than those who spent more time with them
  but were less sensitive.

Question 7

What did Schaffer and Emmerson find out about Infants who had parents who responded to their needs quickly and
spent more time interacting with the child

Answer 7

• they had more intense attachments.
• parents who did not interact with their child at all had very weak attachments.

Question 8

when did attachment seem to form?

Answer 8

when the carer communicates and
plays with the child rather than when the carer feeds or cleans the child.

Question 9

what is the order of Schaffer and Emmerson’s stages of attachment?

Answer 9

1. asocial stage (0-6 weeks)
2. indiscriminate attachment (6 weeks - 6 months)
3. specific attachment (7+ months)
4. multiple attachments (10/11 months)

Question 10

asocial stage

Answer 10

• 0-6 weeks
• when the infant responds to objects and people similarly - but may respond more to faces and eyes.

Question 11

indiscriminate attachment

Answer 11

• (6 weeks – 6 months)
• when the infant develops more responses to human company.
• they can tell the difference between different people, they can be comforted by anyone.

Question 12

specific attachment

Answer 12

• 7+ months
• when the infants begins to prefer one particular carer and seeks for security, comfort and protection in particular people.
• also start to show stranger anxiety and separation anxiety.

Question 13

multiple attachments

Answer 13

• 10/11 months+
  when the infant forms multiple attachments and seeks
  security, comfort and protection in multiple people.
• They may also show separation anxiety for multiple people.

Question 14

what ddi Schaffer and Emmerson find out about infants reaching the final stage?

Answer 14

• infants reached this final stage by 10
  months.
• The infants had attachments not only with their mothers, but their fathers, siblings, extended family members and family friends.
• Out of all the attachments the infants formed, they varied greatly in strength and value/importance to the child.

Question 15

lacks population validity

Answer 15

P = lacks population validity
E = infants in the study all came from Glasgow and were mostly from working class families. In addition, the small sample size of 60 families reduces the strength of the conclusion we can draw from the study
E = cannot be generalised, and so is a limited explanation of attachment development
L = lack both population validity and temporal validity - parenting techniques have significantly changed since the 1950s, such as through the influence of Bowlby’s work on attachment, and so caution should be taken when generalising the findings.

Question 16

may lack internal validity

Answer 16

E = it uses the self report method as the parents kept a daily diary
E = accuracy of data collection may not be the best. The parents were busy so may not have included the full details. They may also be subject to social desirability bias, in
that they would skew their reports so they appear to be closer to what they see as socially acceptable or desirable i.e. they may believe that it is better if the infant responds to them, so they would report that it happens sooner than it actually did, or they may intentionally not report
any negative experiences they have.
L = caution should be taken when placing confidence in the conclusions drawn from
this study

Question 17

Evaluation point: the asocial stage cannot be studied objectively

Answer 17

children as young as 6 weeks lack basic motor co-ordination skills, meaning that we cannot establish whether their responses, such as ‘separation anxiety’, are deliberate.
Bremner - distinction between behavioural response and behavioural understanding. Just because a child appears to have a bond with their primary caregiver, does not mean that such a bond exists or that the child understands the significance of such a bond.
Therefore,it is important not to draw causal conclusions!

Question 18

Evaluation point: unreliable data

Answer 18

• based on mothers reports
• some mothers may have been less sensitive to their infants protests so less likely to report them
• create systematic bias challenging data’s validity

Question 19

Evaluation point: data is out of date

Answer 19

• bias from 1960s parenting has changed since then
• more women work now so children are cared for outside the home or fathers stay home as primary caregiver
• if conducted today findings may differ