Stages of development

• Stages of attachment study:

  • Schaffer & Emerson (1964)
  • 60 glasgow infants from working class homes
  • Longitudinal study - visited at monthly intervals for the first 18 months of their lives
  • Mothers kept a diary of the infant's response in different situations
• In the Schaffer and Emerson study, 65% had mother as main attachment, 3% had father
• Stages of attachment:

  • Asocial stage ( 0-2 months )
  • Presocial stage ( 2 -7 months )
  • Specific attachment ( 7-9 months )
  • MUltiple attachments ( 9 months )
• Stages of attachment:

  • Asocial stage ( 0-2 months ) - produce similiar responses to all objects , reciprocity & interactional synchrony establish relationships
  • Presocial stage ( 2 -7 months ) - prefer humans, no stranger anxiety
  • Specific attachment ( 7-9 months ) - separation anxiety, stranger anxiety , specific attachment to one person ( quality over quantity )
  • MUltiple attachments ( 9 months )
• Stages of attachment AO3:

  • ❌ Unreliable data - less or more sensitive to their infant's cries
  • ❌ Biased sample - small, working class , glasgow, 1960s
  • ❌ Challenging monotropy - Bowlby says 100% of kids have mum as main attachment
  • ❌ Cultural differences - closeness of attachment was double in individualist cultures
  • ❌ Stage theories - development is inflexible - anything otherwise could be called abnormal
• Stages of attachment AO3:

  • ❌ Unreliable data
  • ❌ Biased sample
  • ❌ Challenging monotropy
  • ❌ Cultural differences
  • ❌ Stage theories
• Role of the father is dependent on :

  • cultural factors
  • economic factors
  • social policies - paternal leave
  • biological factors - lack emotional sensitivity to infant cues
  • the child - temperament, age, gender