stages of attachment Flashcards
(10 cards)
which researchers studied the stages of attachment
- schaffer and emerson
what are the stages of attachment
asocial stage
indiscriminate attachment
specific (discriminate attachment)
multiple attachments
explanation of the asocial stage and time
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
explanation of the indiscriminate attachment
( 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.
specific attachment
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)
multiple attachment
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
what did the schaffer and emerson study entail?
- Observation
Longitudinal
60 infants
Aged between 5 weeks -23 weeks
Observed every 4 weeks until 1 year
what were the findings of schaffers and emersons observations
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
evaluation for schaffer and emersons observation :)
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
disadvantage to schaffer and emersons study
- 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