Stages Of Attachment (Attachment) Flashcards
How many stages of attachment are there
4
What is the first stage and what is the age
Asocial attachment -
birth to 2 months
Explain asocial attachment
-Similar responses to all objects and people
-Preference for social stimuli e.g smiling face
-Prefer to be with other people + familiar people (reciprocity and interaction synchrony
What is the name and age of the second stage
Indiscriminate attachment -
2-7 months
Explain indiscriminate attachment
-Infants become more social
-Prefer human company to inmate objects
-Can distinguish between familiar and
unfamiliar people
-Easily comforted by anyone - no stranger anxiety
What is the name and age of the third stage
Specific/discriminate attachment
7-9 months
Explain specific attachment
-Show separation anxiety especially to primary attachment figure
-Show joy when reunited with primary attachment figure
-Primary attachment figure is person who offers most interaction and responds to baby’s signals with best skill
What is the name and age of the fourth stage
Multiple Attachments
10+ months
Explain multiple attachments
-Develops wider circle of attachments based on how many consistent relationships they have
-29% of infants had multiple attachments to someone else (secondary attachments) e.g sibling, grandparent
-By the age of 1 - 78% had developed multiple attachments
Who did the study on stages of attachment
Schaffer and Emerson
Who was the study done on
60 babies (31 M, 29 f) from Glasgow
Skilled working class families
What was the method of the study
Longitudinal Study - 18 months
-Researches asked questions to mothers about the protests their babies showed in seven everyday separations
-adult leaving room (separation anxiety)
-stranger entering room (stranger anxiety)
What was the findings
-25-32 weeks of age - 50% showed separation anxiety - usually to mother
- Attachment = caregiver who was more interactive/sensitive to infant not who was present the most
By 40 weeks
- Specific attachment - 80%
-Multiple attachments - 30%
What are the strengths
real life application - parents can plan when to send child to daycare - may avoid sending around 7 months old as they are starting to form specific attachment — psychological research can seduce to ensure child develops socially
Longitudinal study - 18 months - no participant variables like individual differences - so changes in behaviour reflect actual developmental changes internal validity
What are the weaknesses
Sample - 60 babies + working class families from Glasgow - cannot generalise - lacks population validity
Social desirability - self report questions - - parents may alter behaviour to seem like better parents and like they have a better attachment to their child - Lowers validity
Temporal validity - conducted in 1960 - family dynamics have changed
