Stages of attatchment Flashcards
(19 cards)
What are the stages of attachment
Asocial
Indiscriminate attachment
Specific attachment
Multiple attachment
What age is asocial attachment
first few weeks
What age is Indiscriminate attachment
2-7 months
What age is Discriminate attachment
From 7 months
What age is Multiple attachments
8-12 months
What is the Asocial stage
Babies are happier in the presence of other humans, particularly those who have a calming effect
Behaviour towards humans and non-human objects is quite similar.
What is Indiscriminate attachment
Babies now show a preference for humans over inanimate items, and prefer familiar to non-familiar people
However, they will accept attention and affection from all adults equally.
What is Discriminate attachment
both separation anxiety and stranger anxiety occur.
Babies will have formed a specific attachment which in 65% of cases is the mother yet is mainly based on reciprocity
What are Multiple attachments
Babies begin to form multiple attachments to those other than their primary attachment figure (secondary attachments)
What was the aim of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
investigate the age at which attachment forms (including the intensity of the attachment relationship and the person whom it was with).
What was the method of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
60 babies (31 male and 29 female) from working class families from Glasgow.
Babies and their mothers were visited at home every month for their first year and again at 18 months.
The mothers were asked questions about their babies’ reactions when they were separated from them (separation anxiety) and when there was a stranger present (stranger anxiety).
What were the results of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
Attachment behaviours developed in stages which were loosely linked to age
By 6-8 months most started to show separation anxiety from their attachment figure indicating that an attachment had been formed.
* 65% formed their first attachment with their mother.
* 3% formed their first attachment with their fathers.
* 27% formed joint first attachments.
- By 18 months, 87% had at least 2 attachments, whereas 31% were attached to 5 or more people (multiple attachments).
What was the conclusion of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
Attachment develops in different stages and multiple attachments seem to be the rule rather than the exception
- Mother is not always the main attachment figure.
- Attachments are more likely to be formed with those who displayed sensitivity and responsiveness rather than those who spent the most time with the child or who fed them
What are strengths of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
Longitudinal
High ecological validity
What are limitations of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
Low population validity
Self report data
Evaluate longitudinal research as a strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
P: Carried out longitudinally (over 18 months).
E: The same children were followed up and observed regularly (as opposed to observing different children of
varying ages at the same time – which would have led to more individual differences)
E: Strength because the study does not have the issue of individual differences between the participants acting as confounding variables and therefore the findings have internal validity.
Evaluate high ecological validity as a strength of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
P: Research has high ecological
validity.
E: Most of the observations were made by parents during ordinary activities and then this was reported by the mothers to the researchers. This means that the behaviour of the babies was natural and unlikely to be affected by the presence of observers.
E: Strength of the research because the findings about stages of attachment could be generalised to real life settings and therefore has high external validity.
Evaluate low population validity as a limitation of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
P: Low population validity.
E: Sample consisted only of babies from working class families in Glasgow. Glasgow remains the most deprived city in Scotland. High deprivation is often associated with single mothers, ‘stay-at-home’ mothering or both parents being unemployed.
Therefore, the sample may not be representative of babies from middle class families. These babies may have different experiences in terms of how much time at home they spend with their mother, father,
extended family members and staff members at nursery.
E: Limitation of the research because the findings of the research and the stages of attachment may be difficult to generalise to all babies in the population – the pattern of development in these children may be different.
Evaluate self report data as a limitation of Schaffer and Emerson’s study
P: Data was collected from the mother’s reports of their infants.
E: For example, some mothers might have been less sensitive to their infant’s protests and therefore were less likely to report them. In addition, some mothers may have given socially desirable answers because they
may not want to disclose that their child is not attached to their father or that they do not get upset when they are separated.
E: Limitation of the study because the conclusions drawn about the stages in which attachment develops would not be valid.
