Development of attachment

• How long does the asocial stage last for?

  • Birth- two months
• How long is presocial stage?

  2-6 months
• What is stranger anxiety?

  Distress shown by an infant when approached or picked up by an unfamiliar face
• What is separation anxiety?

  Distress shown by infant when separated from caregiver
• What is a primary attachment figure?

  person who’s formed the closest bond with a child- demonstrated not by time spent with it but intensity of relationship.
• When do infants experience their specific attachment?

  7 months
• Name stats for specific attachment discovered by schaffer and emerson

  • 65%- specific attachment is mother
  • 30% - mother is first joint attachment object
  • 3%- father is specific attachment
  • 27%- father is first joint attachment object
• What is a multiple attachment?

  Having more than one attachment figure
• How many infants have multiple attachments by six months according to Schaffer and Emerson

  78%
• What type of study did Schaffer and emerson conduct?

  Landmark
• Evaluation of stages of attachment?

  • 😊challenges monotropy- may not only be one specific attachment which is important, rather multiple attachments that are equivalent - Rutter argues that all attachment figures are equivalent, and all are integrated to produce an infant's attachment type
  • ☹️ unreliable data as based on mothers reports of infants, some mothers less likely to report insensitivity (social desirability bias)
  • ☹️ biased sample- working class population- may only apply to that social group, not others. Sample from 1960s- temporal bias. More dads = prim attachment figures now.
  • ☹️ cultural variation- individualistic vs collectivist- closeness of attachment to mum may be twice as common i than c, multiple attachments more common and formed earlier in c than i (Sagi et al) showing stage model applied just to i cultures
• why is a father less likely to be an attachment figure than a mother?

  • spend less time with infants
  • lack emotional sensitivity that women offer
  • due to social/biological factors eg- stereotypes attributed to males/lack hormones like women have to induce more caring behaviours
• describe the role of the father as the secondary attachment figure

  • fathers are more playful
  • fathers are more physically active
  • fathers are better at providing challenging situations for their kids
  • father is exciting playmate
  • provide means of fostering problem-solving