A03

• What are the strengths of Schaffer’s stages of attachment?

  1. Good external validity
  2. Real-world application
• What are the limitations of Schaffer’s stages of attachment?

  1. Culturally biased
  2. Issues with studying the asocial stage
• Strength = good external validity

  • The research carried out by Schaffer and Emerson was completed in families’ own homes - behaviour was observed in an environment where it most naturally occurs
  • E.g. the parents observed and took notes on their infant’s responses to separation and strangers and the researchers were not present at the time, so it is more likely that the infant’s behaviour would be more natural and not affected by the presence of observers
• Strength = real-world application

  • This research has practical application in day care
  • In the asocial and indiscriminate attachments stages day care is likely to be straight forward as babies can be comforted by any skilled adult
  • However, Schaffer and Emerson‘s research tells us that if infants are starting daycare with unfamiliar adults when they are in the specific attachments stage this may be problematic
  • This means that parents’ use of day care can be planned using Schaffer and Emerson’s stages
• Limitation = culturally biased

  • The idea that an attachment with a single caregiver needs to come before developing multiple attachments only reflects individualist cultures and may not apply to other, more collectivist cultures
  • Ijzendoorn’s meta-analysis found that in some cultures, multiple attachments are the norm (collectivist cultures) and are formed much earlier than Schaffer and Emerson suggested
  • E.g. Uganda - most infants are cared for by several adults and form multiple attachments very young
• Limitation = issues with studying the asocial stage

  • Schaffer and Emerson had issues with validity when it came to assessing the asocial stage
  • Young babies have poor coordination and are fairly immobile
  • If babies less than two months old felt anxiety in everyday situations they might have displayed this in a subtle, hard-to-observe way
  • This makes it difficult for mothers to observe and report back to researchers on signs of anxiety and attachment in this age group
  • This means that the babies may actually be quite social but, because of flawed methods, they appear to be asocial