Stages Of Attachment

Question 1

What is the Pre-Attachment stage?

Answer 1

Birth - 3months

• Babies become more sociable

• Tell people apart and begin to form attachments

• Easily comforted by anyone and don’t show fear of strangers

Question 2

What is the Indiscriminate attachment stage?

Answer 2

3months-7/8months

• Infants recognise and form bonds with carers through reciprocity and IS

• Behaviours towards animate/inanimate objects similar

• At end of phase they start to become easily calmed by familiar adults
—> still allow adults to handle th

Question 3

What is the discriminate stage?

Answer 3

7/8months+

• Infant begins to show separation anxiety and ‘protest” when biological attachment leaves
—> Mother in 75% of cases

• formed a specific attachment

• begin to show fear of strangers

Question 4

What is the multiple attachment stage?

Answer 4

9months +

• infants make multiple attachments usually towards friend or grandparents
—> 29% within a month after specific
attachment

Question 5

What was Schaffer and Emerson study in to the stages of attachment?

Answer 5

• Longitudnal study (over 18 months) of 60 babies from working class families in Glasgow
—> from the research they proposed
the 4 stages of attachment

• Babies visited at home every month for the first year, then at 18 months
—> mothers interviewed about how
their infant responded to different
situations to measure attachment
—> e.g. separation/stranger anxiety

Findings:
• 7months - 50% showed specific attachment
• 9 months - 80% specific attachment & ~30% multiple attachments
• 12 months - 78% multiple attachments & 33% 5+ attachments