stages of attachment

Question 1

which researchers studied the stages of attachment

Answer 1

• schaffer and emerson

Question 2

what are the stages of attachment

Answer 2

asocial stage
indiscriminate attachment
specific (discriminate attachment)
multiple attachments

Question 3

explanation of the asocial stage and time

Answer 3

Very young infants are asocial in that many kinds of stimuli, both social and non-social, produce a favourable reaction such as a smile. Very few protest.
birth - two months

Question 4

explanation of the indiscriminate attachment

Answer 4

( 2months - 7 months)
infants indiscriminately enjoy human company. They get upset when an individual ceases to interact with them. From 3 months they smile at more familiar faces and are comforted easily by a regular caregiver. No stranger anxiety.

Question 5

specific attachment

Answer 5

7 months
Expresses protest when separated from one particular individual. They attempt to stay close to the person, and show wariness of strangers (stranger anxiety)

Question 6

multiple attachment

Answer 6

from 18months +
Children begin to attach to others. By 18 months the majority of infants have formed multiple attachments and can tolerate brief separation periods from primary care giver

Question 7

what did the schaffer and emerson study entail?

Answer 7

• Observation

Longitudinal

60 infants

Aged between 5 weeks -23 weeks

Observed every 4 weeks until 1 year

Question 8

what were the findings of schaffers and emersons observations

Answer 8

they found that the person the infant was attached too was not the person they spent the most time with but the person who was responded accurately to the babys signals

intensely attached infants has mothers who responded quickly to their demands and who interacted with their child the most
schaffer and emerson called this sensitive resposniveness

Question 9

evaluation for schaffer and emersons observation :)

Answer 9

good external validity as the observation of the babies was done in their own homes ( where they are most familiar with ) babies would not be affected by observers

Question 10

disadvantage to schaffer and emersons study

Answer 10

• limited and biased sample as they were ALL infants from the same city and same working class this study therefore lacks the ability to generalise perhaps in other families where the working class / opportunities to spend time with baby vary the attachment stages may differ in relation to WHEN they occur
  Van Ijzendoorn found that in collectivist cultures it was seen to be the norm that multiple attachments was the first stage of attachment rather than the last as proposed by schaffer and emerson

the study was conducted in the 1960’s so this study lacks temporal validity - since then other factors such as modern parenting style such a dual house incomes and the introduction of child care arrangements may influence attachments patterns more differently